A small feline humanoid was seated on the bench beside her, clad in a regal western-styled knight's armor. The exceed peeked over her arm at the parchment and hummed softly. "But I'm afraid we don't have enough jewels on hand to pay for the trip."
Noticing the gathering of tears in the corner of her eyes the Exceed quickly corrected himself: "Don't panic my fair lady! I'm certain that it will be a trivial matter to gain some funds. You see, this city is the domain of Fairy Tail, a guild of mages who frequently help people in need."
The elf turned her gaze toward her companion and asked softly. "You're going to ask them for help?" To which the Exceed laughed merely. "Nonsense, we're going to do that which every individual does when they desire something: Work for it~"
He gestured energetically toward the nearby bulletin board and explained further. "That board contains a collection of job offers for people to take. Why don't we take a look to see what type of work we can find?"
The elf nodded her head sheepishly as she rose from her seat, approaching the board as her gaze wandered along all the quests. "Oh... It seems some of the local stores are being threatened by bad people... That's pretty terrifying."
Lily muttered softly, to which the Exceed exclaimed in anger. "That is downright villainous my lady! We have to help them! On my honor and stalwart valor, I promise thee: Not a single shop will be robbed while I'm watching over it!"
Lily smiled weakly at the Exceed's excited outburst, asking it with a light tilt of her head. "Don't we need to get hired by these people first?" It made sense to ask if they wanted their help first! After all, she would be meddling in their affairs otherwise. And she was not an meddlesome elf...