As the sun beat down high above in the sky, the trudging of boots through dirt could be heard plainly in the quiet forest. The azure adventurer gripped parchment in her hand as she read out the details of her job. In short, she was to skulk around the woods and collect mushrooms, akin to how a drug addict might poke and prod the streets for something resembling their next high. The only difference in this case was that the butterfly knight would be put to death much more quickly than the years it would take to build up to an overdose through addiction. A single spore could do irreparable damage, or so the information printed caused her to believe.

Sooner or later death will come for us all, and if I'd be so weak to die to some fungus...

She clenched her fist in frustration, crushing the details of her mission into a heap and shoving it into her pocket. The details were memorable enough that she wouldn't struggle to remember them: that the mushroom was tall and skinny, that it was mostly gray, with the difference being green dots aligning its flesh contrasting with the dullness of its majority.

"Simple.", the masquerader would mutter lowly to show her own confidence in the task.

With that, Celica set herself to the task and began rummaging through the forest, picking out mushroom after mushroom. Due to her love of cooking she noticed many of the mushrooms immediately as the kind that would go well as flavor enhancers towards future dishes. She would carefully and methodically place those particular fungi into her bag in a separate pocket from her job's required items. It was only after half an hour or longer that the butterfly realized she was actively prioritizing her own cooking dishes over her mission, and a slight blush crept across her obscured features upon being struck by this.

"Oh...", she would mutter out, flushed by her own blunder.

With that, she spent another five minutes gathering her cooking ingredients before setting out once more to her actual job. As there was no actual time limit other than to bring them back before nightfall, Celica felt at peace in the woods outside Oak Town. She was at ease, feeling this was as much a relaxing day trip as it was a job to be completed out of self gain. To highlight this, she sipped from a water canteen as she went, gracefully stepping through the forest and around any mushrooms that were a dead giveaway as being either too lethal for the job's requirements or just blatantly not the correct type of fungus.

After another fifteen minutes of this tactic, Celica happened across it: the first mushroom matching the description listed. Mentally she went over the details of it in her head once more, and upon confirming that it perfectly matched the job's requisites, plucked it from its place near a small tree. Inside of her bag was a smaller plastic bag, which she scooped it into carefully. One could not be cautious enough when dealing with poisons, especially when they were being stored in places one would usually keep more mundane and everyday items.

This process repeated for another hour, stumbling across multiple more until it was revealed to Celica that her plastic bag was now almost fit to burst with mushrooms meeting her job's description. She always was somewhat an overachiever, and as such it would be fitting that there was many more than the shopkeeper would likely pay for. In this regard she would be scamming herself, but surely it would at least impress the man once he reunited with her.

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Celica returned as the sun began to set smelling of dirt and leaves. The woman in her felt disgusted by this, but the overpowering knight side of her blocked those thoughts out in exchange for glee that her job had been completed. All that was left was to make her way back to her employer with mushrooms in hand. The pack was weighed down from the amount of supplies she was skidding through town with, and garnered some odd looks from townsfolk. Not just due to the weighty girth of the backpack, but also generally due to her attire - the mask in particular. Celica was accustomed to these looks already, and nodded in response to the more obvious stares. It wasn't every day that a woman walked freely through towns dressed as some kind of butterfly assassin, and the absurdity of it was not lost on Celica, her lips forming upwards.

"Hehe. I guess I'm the spotlight for now.", she would mutter to herself, admitting only personally that a part of her could enjoy the attention every now and again.

She reached the door to Stephan's shop and pushed it open an hour before closing time. He was dealing with a customer, but upon seeing Celica, muttered a simple "keep the change" to him and politely escorted him out with a smile and a wave. Before acknowledging Celica's existence once more, Stephan flipped the shop's sign to "closed" and locked the door. He raised an inquisitive brow towards his azure mercenary and she responded in kind with a nodding of her head. This quiet exchange caused Stephan to turn on his heel and head towards another wooden door and gestured down a flight of stairs.

"After you, Miss.", he would respond in a gentleman-like tone, clearly mocking the vernacular of nobles as he tipped the rim of his glasses upward to straighten them.

Celica eyed him underneath the mask, her gaze sharpening as she walked past him and down the stairs. Dealing with a man as underhanded as this, she would feel compelled to have a hand at the ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice. She took auditory note that he did not slam the door behind her, and instead followed closely behind her down the stairs. This relaxed her somewhat but she would still be on guard, not one to be fooled by sneak attacks.

They reached the bottom without conflict, and arrived in a dimly lit basement with a large dining table in the center.

"Place it. Uh, over there.", the despicable doctor raised his pointer finger to the middle of the table with a tone of command obviously present.

Celica asked no questions of her employer and emptied her plastic bag onto the table, showing a multitude of the exact same mushroom indicating success in her endeavor. She spread them out evenly and neatly rather than leaving them in a crumpled mess of a pile before returning her gaze to Stephan.

"They're all here. I'll take my payment now.", Celica blurted out coldly, talking as a machine would to the one operating it.

Stephan procured a pouch from his coat and tossed it towards Celica, which she caught without breaking her gaze. Upon counting out the money, she nodded and added it to her own coin purse. Just like that, the transaction was concluded and she no longer had a reason to stay in such a dark and dirty basement. It made her skin shiver, more in disgust and not in fear.

"I'll stop by if you need any more, but with this done I will take my leave now."

She took a bow as one would before their dancing partner, and walked past Stephan who was altogether too focused on his new stock than to reciprocate with anything other than a grunt of acknowledgement.

Celica left without issue and began walking back towards the guild for a night's rest and perhaps a hot bath to wash off the forest smell she now carried.

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[1000/1000]

[Exit]