40. Romance of the Receptionist

Edmund made the journey himself, via his demonic magic, to the city of Errama. He had notified his people that he would be away on a secret mission for a few days.

Errama, from what he checked, should be the next city the hero would visit. In this leg of the journey, they would attempt to battle the Demon Lord Karras, who claimed a large abandoned castle as his home. Errama was a future staging ground for the multiple skirmishes against the forces of Karras, but for now, it was still at peace.

Karras had not started his attacks, they would only do so once the demons arrived, and Edmund needed to move quickly. In time, this place would be a battlefield and a fortress, and he needed to ensure that he had his own agents here.

His first target? A receptionist at the Guild of Adventurers of Errama. It was evening, and she had just finished her shift. The Guild was always open, at all hours, because adventurers sometimes returned at night, and they had to be there.

Edmund, with his camouflage magic active, stalked the receptionist, Riley, back to her home in a quiet apartment not far from the guild. He had seen the Guildmaster earlier, and realised that the Guildmaster had some resistance to [enthrall], but thankfully, someone like Riley didn't.

Riley was his original target anyway. In the game, Riley, the receptionist at the adventurer guild, awarded most of the jobs to the hero Group, and steered them towards where they were most needed.

What Edmund intended to do, was to use Riley, and give them missions that take exceptionally long periods, and send them towards silly, stupid missions where they would waste their time. If possible, he'd also use Riley's position as the Adventurer Guild's Receptionist to award female-only missions, where he could then 'split up' the hero's party. That way, he could find ways to then set traps on the females themselves.

That way, he could buy time for himself, and also, get close to the heroes. The receptionist, despite the lowly title, was quite powerful, and also had some bandwidth on the rewards to be granted to any adventurer party, and could therefore pay them slightly lower than normal.

Riley, of course, stretched her arms, and yawned. "Hi, are you Miss Riley?" Edmund appeared, dressed in a very expensive suit. He sprayed his strongest aphrodisiac on his body and his suit.

The receptionist stopped, and turned to face Edmund. A whiff of the aphrodisiac tickled her nose. "Sorry, you are?"

"I'm Edmund. A travelling merchant, and I happen to notice you're leaving work."

"And?"

"May I have the honor of taking you to dinner?"

Riley paused, and smiled. She was a beautiful lady, as receptionists often were, but because of her low status as just an employee, the adventurers rarely paid her any mind. In fact, everyone just assumed that a receptionist like her must be sleeping with someone else, that no one actually tried to hit on her. Riley, cleverly, also wore a ring on her finger, just to ward off anyone that didn't seem nice, but she always took it off after work.

Riley looked at Edmund again, and noted he was slightly older, probably in his 40s. Riley herself wasn't a young woman either, she's already in her late 20s, having worked at the Adventurers guild for the past ten years. "I've got a ring."

"It's just a ring." Edmund smiled. "And it's just a dinner."

The receptionist stretched, and was very amused. She looked around, realised that her life will be the same every day, and then back at Edmund. She supposed she had time for dinner. "If you're paying."

"Oh certainly. I'll even pay up front."

Riley nodded, and Edmund looked around. "Let's have that restaurant." Edmund pointed to a slightly classy restaurant around the corner, and she shrugged in agreement.

Edmund approached the waiter, and placed one gold coin on the table. "I'd like a private room."

"Why, certainly. This way." The waiter happily kept the gold coin, and escorted them to a private room normally reserved for nobles and wealthy merchants. The fact that Edmund dressed like a wealthy merchant just made it easier for the waiter to decide it was so.

Riley, followed, a little suspicious but amused. She wondered briefly whether she's now attracting older men. Once seated, Edmund then passed a small pouch to the waiter. "My 5gold deposit for my tab, under this lady, Riley." The waiter nodded.

"Here's our exclusive menu for the day, for our special guests. I'll be outside, just call if you want to order."

They ordered, and Edmund smiled at the receptionist. "So, Miss Riley, why do you wear a fake ring?"

Riley smirked. "How do you know?"

"I saw you take it out when you exited the Adventurer's Guild. Is the attention from the adventurers' that bad?"

She laughed. "Do you know the kind of men adventurers usually are?"

"Poorly educated, and fond of fights?"

"Partly, but also short-sighted, horny, and usually crazy. They also die quite young." Riley said. "Not exactly... marriage material."

"I see." Edmund smirked. "Merchants are not much better. We get targeted by bandits while we travel."

Riley sighed. "Yeah. And all the stable ones, like the blacksmiths, the noble aides and officers are all taken."

"I didn't expect it to be a tough market for a beautiful woman like yourself."

"We attract the wrong kind of people all the time."

"I suppose that includes me."

"Yes." Riley smirked.

"Then you're doing this just to humor me." Edmund smiled back. "I like that." Edmund checked the menu again, and ordered a bottle of wine. The food was decent, but very well plated and designed.

"So, what about you? Why'd you pick me for your dinner partner for tonight?" Riley asked, as she ate another mouth of her steak. She rarely had steak, it was usually so expensive.

"I like the company of beautiful women." Edmund answered frankly, and the room was flushed with aphrodisiacs. Riley sipped on her wine, and felt a little hazy.

"Heh. We're just pieces of meat, in the end." Riley said. In frustration, she finished the first glass of wine, and poured herself another. The aphrodisiac was getting to her, and made her feel hot. Her thoughts became jumbled. She finished her food, and looked at Edmund. "Do you do this every town you go to?"

"Not all of them. Not everyone one of them have beauties that are still single, available, and most importantly, beautiful."

"We're just women that you collect?" Riley downed her second glass of wine. "Women that you sleep with at night?"

Edmund teased her. "If they are willing, yes. I'll even give them money to sweeten the deal."

Riley's body was burning, and she looked at Edmund. "How much money?"

"Usually... 20 gold."

Riley's eyes popped. That was her entire year's salary! Edmund smiled, and Riley, a receptionist was defenseless. She had no magical resistance whatsoever, and his aphrodisiac had infected every part of her money. Her face was red, and she looked at Edmund funny. "20 gold is alot..."

Edmund smiled, and stood. He touched her hand, and pulled her up. She was dressed in just a thick, long plain dress that hid the beautiful body below, and then, he whispered into her ears. "I'll pay you 25 gold, per day. Take the next two days off."

Riley melted, helpless before Edmund's magical energies. "...yes."

A magical bubble emerged in the room, and Edmund leaned in for a kiss. The kiss was passionate, his tongue battled with hers, and his energies flooded her. "Let's go home."

"...yes." Edmund and Riley walked out, though, she was a little tipsy and needed Edmund to support her. He tossed a gold coin to the waiter, and once they were out, he carried Riley to her home.