Chapter 99 – Proper Hospitality
<span style="font-weight:400">In the beginning, we just walk in rtive silence while heading towards the meeting ce. But, it doesn’t stay like that for long. Marcia quite quickly starts pulling everyone into various short conversations, including of course Ghilerie and Teffith.
<span style="font-weight:400">Even though the majority of our current group consists of people who rarely speak, for whatever reasons, be it due to their shy nature or being silent introverts, for example, she never backs down and exchanges a few words with all of us. And no one seems to be especially bothered. She is really talented at being social and it shows clearly.
<span style="font-weight:400">I have no doubts that this quite colourful group was able to somehow be friends with each other thanks to her influence. Many of them are visibly different and it’s honestly a miracle they managed to stay together for so long without any major conflicts in their ranks.
<span style="font-weight:400">It also seems that Marcia was an important factor in Kamil at least trying to look at things differently. I honestly wasn’t sure if he would ever change even slightly ever, or if he wouldn’t at some point dig himself even deeper into that pit of negative emotions.
<span style="font-weight:400">But, fortunately, things are starting to look a little better now thanks to this truly incredible girl. I hope everything will only keep moving forward just like that, without any more misunderstandings and hostility. This journey together is a great opportunity to be the first step on that new path.
<span style="font-weight:400">Well… One thing I’m pretty sure everyone can agree with me is the fact that Marcia is very open with herself. I would say… a little bit too open. Open enough to voice her quite indecent thoughts out in the open, in the middle of a crowded street.
<span style="font-weight:400">Many people turn their heads towards our group when they hear quite vivid descriptions of Marcia’s intimate ns with the toys she has received from me, and not only. Pretty much no topic is able to make her embarrassed or ashamed to any extent. What can’t be said about the four of us apanying her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Finally, after around fifteen minutes, we reach our destination and notice the rest of the party tending to their chosen horses. I must say, each animal looks strong and majestic like from some tale.
<span style="font-weight:400">Fortunately, the King didn’t throw any shy caparisons on them, aiming to unt our affiliation, and the horses wear only the necessary equipment on their backs, like saddles and bags. Now that Shino has a sizable storage ring, they don’t need as many of them as previously.
<span style="font-weight:400">Paules to greet us when we get close enough.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see that you still like to show up early no matter which world it is, stair.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Old habits die hard. But, I’m not the first one this time. Anyway, you are the leader here, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">He nods with a wry smile. “Damn, it still feels awkward calling your teacher by name. But yes, I ended up taking that position. Thanks to my ss, I can observe the others from a distance so it was the best choice. You are fine with that, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I chuckle. “Trust me, it feels as weird to me as it does to you. And yeah, no issues here. I’ll fill you in on what I can do after we depart so that you can put me wherever you think will work the best. Don’t expect too much from that little show we had a few days ago. There are some limits and restrictions for me to go that far.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Not to sound rude, but I’ve already considered that with just your ss’s name. Still, that duel was impressive and I’m sure our party will only get stronger and safer with you around.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Marcia leans into me from the side and winks at him. “Our party will certainly get much stronger. Especially the female half.” She chuckles while grazing her hand over my chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">I roll my eyes at that. “I hope you don’t expect me to sleep with everyone every three days, forgetting the fact that only one person here has gotten intimate with me before. Teffith and Ghilerie aren’t like that.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Shino drops her gaze to the ground and blushes a little, knowing well who I''m talking about. Marcia pouts at me, rubbing herself into my side even more.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s not fair~ Shino said you agreed to help us grow stronger~ We can’t waste this opportunity after finally reuniting~ Am I not right, Nat?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Natalie turns her head around as she has been caressing her white horse and rolls her eyes at the redhead. “Do whatever you want but don’t casually assume I want to get into Mr Carter''s pants as much as you do.”
<span style="font-weight:400">She returns to her previous activity and Marcia leans closer to my ear with a snicker.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Don’t worry, she’s just a bit shy. There’s nothing more fun than some group intimacy within good friends~”
<span style="font-weight:400">I sigh and shake my head. Shino slides her petite hand into mine and I nce at her with a soft smile. She reciprocates it with the same as her cheeks turn a bit rosier. It would be too much for me to expect nothing sexual happening during this trip, wouldn’t it? I bet Shino’s head is already full of countless outdoor ns.
<span style="font-weight:400">In any way, we move past this slightly awkward conversation and get to finishing the preparations. That’s when I notice that something is not right. There are eight of us in total but I can only see seven horses.
<span style="font-weight:400">Just as I turn around to walk up to Paul again to ask about it, I notice Shino standing behind me while cutely digging her foot in the ground and ncing half to the side, with her hands joined behind her back.
<span style="font-weight:400">I put mine on my hips and squint my eyes at the adorable shortie. “This is your doing, isn’t it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Shino doesn’t say anything but her fleeting gaze as she attempts to look at me is enough of an answer.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ummm… It looks like the King didn’t have enough horses to spare… So… I think we have to ride together, Sensei…”
<span style="font-weight:400">But of course. And I was wondering why this saddle seemed a bit bigger than the other ones. This little sly devil nned this from the very start. I should have expected something like this.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Seriously… You seem to be perfectly fine with showing our rtionship to everyone now. If you have prepared yourself for the consequences of this decision, then I will dly oblige,” I answer with a mysterious smile.
<span style="font-weight:400">She blushes even harder and nods very faintly, making me chuckle. I brush through her beautiful ck hair and we continue tending to our horse together. No one else has any issues during the preparation and we soon bring our valiant steeds out of their temporary shelter, walking with them through the gate.
<span style="font-weight:400">After the guards bid us farewell, I help Shino up and jump behind her with ease. She immediately leans more into me, giving me a shy nce over her shoulder. This damned adorable thing wants my heart to explode.
<span style="font-weight:400">We move out in a previously discussed formation. Kamil and Marcia take the front, Paul, Natalie and Ghilerie ride in the middle, and our teacher-student duo closes the back with Teffith, effectively putting our archers and bard in between all of us.
<span style="font-weight:400">From time to time, when we are riding through big and safe trails, Paul switches with Teffith so that the two of us can talk a bit easier. As promised, I fill him in on my abilities and stats while he shares with me everything useful about all of them and their usual strategies.
<span style="font-weight:400">Naturally, I do mention <i><span style="font-weight:400">all</i><span style="font-weight:400"> of my stuff so the petite girl sitting right in front of me grows very flustered at least a few times, knowing well that Paul’s intelligent enough to connect most if not all of it with what the two of us might have gone through. That’s what you get for trying to act sly. Now suffer in shame and my affectionate hugs.
<span style="font-weight:400">We do have some distance to cover as the supposed location of Ghilerie’s settlement is quite far, near the very border of the Humannds. For the most part, we will be moving through simple andfortable routes with some smaller towns on the path so there shouldn’t be many dangers awaiting us.
<span style="font-weight:400">That is unless our group of isekai protagonists on an escort quest doesn’t miraculously stumble on a group ofpletely oblivious bandits or some kind of a Demon Lord taking a stroll through the Humannds while undercover. I’m low-key expecting something to happen even though I would prefer things to stay <i><span style="font-weight:400">normal</i><span style="font-weight:400">.
<span style="font-weight:400">And the highest chance of anything going off the rails is when we will have to travel through andmark called the Barren Valley. There’s a short but wide mountain range on our path that separates us from the almostpletely devoid of life desert that looks like a dried-upke all over.
<span style="font-weight:400">We could go around it but that would dy us by at least a week or two depending on the circumstances and isn’t exactly that much safer either. So, considering our decently strong party, we’ll just go straight through. I mean, merchants do that all the time with their escorts so we wouldn’t be able to?
<span style="font-weight:400">Past the Barren Valley, we will be around two-thirds into our journey, arriving semi-close to the border. We’ll have to start looking around more at that point, perhaps trying to gather some information from the locals too. Maybe we will be able to track down the bandits that captured Ghilerie. I’m sure she would appreciate an opportunity for payback. And the less scum in this world the better for all those monstergirls.
<span style="font-weight:400">The first day of our great expedition passes uneventfully. As it starts getting darker, we move off the path and set up a camp for the night. Since we do have quite some cooking equipment and utensils in one of my storage rings, prepared of course by Sirgia, we are able to fix a decent meal instead of relying on travelling supplies.
<span style="font-weight:400">Marcia and Paul take care of the dish and I quickly learn that they are good cooks. The former boasts about her skills the whole time while preparing the food and thetter lets his actions speak louder than words. They cooperate well together so I assume it’s somethingmon.
<span style="font-weight:400">From what I know, Shino isn’t that good at it and I could bet Kamil knows jack shit about cooking. I have no idea about Natalie, but considering how busy her past life should have been, I would assume she didn’t have time to study that too. She already was putting a lot of it into the school subjects. Unless it’s her secret hobby. Who knows.
<span style="font-weight:400">Naturally, both of my otherpanions can handle it by themselves, having plenty of experience surviving in the wilds and just generally on the go. And Marcia notices that. They agree to take turns in preparing food during our journey so that we can cycle between different cuisines. This should be fun.
<span style="font-weight:400">Today though, we end up with white borscht from the Human duo. Some potatoes, eggs and sausages. A really good one. It tastes like back at home, which is surprising considering that they used ingredients only from this world. They know what they are doing.
<span style="font-weight:400">After the meal, we spend some time over the maps to discuss what paths to take while moving forward and then head out to our respective tents, deciding on the order of night shifts. There’s enough of us to cover them prettyfortably.
<span style="font-weight:400">I did suggest taking care of that since staying up a single night is not even worth mentioning for me after all the changes and upgrades, but most of them, especially the girls, didn’t want to agree to my offer. Marcia was leading the opposition and I can guess why. That would give her fewer chances to sneak into my tent.
<span style="font-weight:400">Therefore, I end up taking only the first shift and then getting reced by Shino after my time ends. For a while longer, I chat with my girls back at the mansion as I rx in my tent. Just some random topics and how both sides are doing.
<span style="font-weight:400">We agreed to have such brief meetings to talk before I left. Mostly thanks to me noticing that I got proficient enough with Whispers to join us together in the form of something akin to a conference. A very lewd and sensual-sounding conference, but I digress. It’s fun.
<span style="font-weight:400">At some point, I hear footsteps closing onto my location. I sigh to myself while resting on my back with my hands behind my head, waiting to see who is the one going to show up at the entrance. Or if they will announce themselves.
<span style="font-weight:400">They stop shortly before the front of the material and just wait there for a few moments. I’m not sure if they are hesitating or are trying to figure out if I’m asleep. Well, considering the fact that I haven’t yet turned off the smallntern by my side, I guess it’s the former, but you can never know. I could have dozed off with it still on.
<span style="font-weight:400">Finally, after around three minutes, a hand pierces the slit of the entrance, which is held together by maic mana flowing through a set of vertical runes, and a familiar face peeks inside. As expected, it’s Shino. Who else would be this indecisive? She must have finished her shift just recently.
<span style="font-weight:400">Our gazes meet and I raise a brow at her. “What brings you to my humble abode at thiste hour?”
<span style="font-weight:400">She smiles shyly, clearly holding back a giggle and blushes a little. I chuckle at her reaction and extend my hand forward, still lying on my back.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Come in. You don’t need an invitation or a specific reason to be here, do you?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sino nods and walks inside, closing the entrance properly. She then turns around and just stands there slightly embarrassed like the adorable thing she is.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ummm… Do you mind if… we slept together, Sensei?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I shake my head. “Of course not. I was wondering how long you willst before sneaking into my tent, but I honestly thought it would take a little longer than just a few hours after we departed.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Shino turns a shade redder from my remark. I gesture at her with my still extended hand while smiling warmly. She clutches her shirt for a brief moment and her clothes disappear a few secondster, leaving her just in underwear. Dark purple this time, huh. It matches her charming eyes perfectly.
<span style="font-weight:400">She slowly walks closer and uses the help of my hand to lie by my side after I make some space on thefy mattress. I cover us with a thin nket and turn towards the lovely littledy, meeting her gaze. Shino stares at me for a second and gently pecks my lips before snuggling closer to me.
<span style="font-weight:400">I thought that would be all, but after ten minutes, I realize that her heart has no intentions of slowing down its quite raised tempo.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Say, Sensei…” She finally decides to speak, raising her eyes to meet mine again. “Are you tired?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I chuckle at her. “Me? Tired? You should know me well enough to understand how good my <i><span style="font-weight:400">endurance</i><span style="font-weight:400"> is. I could get up now and spend hours <i><span style="font-weight:400">exercising</i><span style="font-weight:400"> before having to rest."
<span style="font-weight:400">Her cheeks grow even more flushed after she realizes that I’ve seen through her intentions. I move my face a bit closer and we join our lips in a tame kiss.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then… My instructors always told me… that if I don’t feel spent before going to sleep… I should train more… So…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That won’t do. You should always listen to the advice of your elders. Should I make sure that you are properly <i><span style="font-weight:400">exhausted</i><span style="font-weight:400"> before we fall asleep then?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I smirk at her and draw the Hall of Serenity sigil between us, letting Shino watch how ites to life around us. Recognizing the spell after it activates, she gives me a faint nod and I can sense her slender fingers beginning to brush over my chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">My hand ventures over her smooth belly too and arrives at the piece of material down below. As expected, my fingers run over a very damp spot quite quickly. She’s been thinking about it for a while.
<span style="font-weight:400">Just as Shino wishes, we spend two hours making sure that she getspletely exhausted, trying out countless exercises in the form of numerous positions. Unfortunately, or fortunately, thanks to the boost from my stats, Shino doesn’t tire as easily as before, thus such a long practice time.
<span style="font-weight:400">Naturally, as her instructor, it would be a shame if I wouldn’t be able to match her stamina, but there’s nothing to worry about in that aspect. I could <i><span style="font-weight:400">train </i><span style="font-weight:400">with her for many hours more if the need arises. Although, maybe in a different ce. This tent limits our options substantially and we have to be careful not to tear through the material walls by ident.
<span style="font-weight:400">After around seven rounds of intense exercise, Shino finally tires out enough to peacefully doze off in my embrace with a dreamy smile, snuggled to my chest. I deactivate the sound-cancelling barrier and follow after her shortly, cing a kiss on her forehead.
<span style="font-weight:400">In the morning, I wake up to a weird sensation that is already familiar enough for me to instantly recognize what is happening.
<span style="font-weight:400">And, of course, I find Shino under the nket, bringing me from the dreand in a quite indecent way. She exins herself by saying that she always wanted to wake me up with a morning blowjob. I wonder what else is on her to-do list. Some tent action can already be crossed out.
<span style="font-weight:400">We fix each other up, exchange a few good morning kisses, and head out, lured by the scent of already prepared breakfast. As we sit together and enjoy our portions, I catch a few people ncing our way, including my travellingpanions and the very ostentatiously pouting Marcia.
<span style="font-weight:400">「<em>Do they know? I’m pretty sure that I’veid the silencing array down properly. Kamil doesn’t look any different, focused on his meal, and Paul’s usual, calm nature prevents me from making any urate guesses.</em>」
<span style="font-weight:400">Natalie, sitting on my other side, leans closer to me and whispers to my ear.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I would suggest turning themp off for the next time.”
<span style="font-weight:400">「<i><span style="font-weight:400">Ah, shit.</i><span style="font-weight:400">」
<span style="font-weight:400">I chuckle inwardly, realizing that we have turned it off <i><span style="font-weight:400">after</i><span style="font-weight:400"> we were done. I can only imagine the shadow theatre that took cest night. Shino shivers a little, managing to hear Natalie’s message, starting to grow redder and redder while dropping her gaze.
<span style="font-weight:400">After breakfast, we continue our ride through the safe trails. A few days pass without much happening. We meet some caravans and other people heading both ways and stop by three small viges. Since we aren’t in an extreme rush, we take our time, letting the horses rest properly. We are making good progress nevertheless.
<span style="font-weight:400">I expected Marcia to try and sneak into my tent next, or at least act a bit more implicative, but she surprisingly doesn''t press too much on the case. Maybe it’s because Shino keeps sleeping by my side. Marcia''s always been very understanding and considerate of others. That or the girls are scheming something.
<span style="font-weight:400">Because nothing is actually happening on the way to our destination, we don’t yet get a chance to practice our cooperation or properly fight together. Due to that, we all agree to check if the next vige or town isn’t in need of some help. I’m still surprised we haven''t stumbled on bandits on the first day. Where are all the cliches when you need them?
<span style="font-weight:400">Therefore, three dayster, we arrive in the decently-sized vige of Novum. It’s closer to a town but the people living there keep calling it a vige so why should we argue with them? The good point is, there’s a small Adventurer’s Guild branch here and that means there should be some tasks.
<span style="font-weight:400">We leave our horses at the stables and book a few rooms at the local inn before heading out for some job hunting. Some vigers give our group uncertain looks and I’m pretty sure that’s because of Teffith and Ghilerie. I’m d there’s no open hostility. As I’ve heard, the further from the big cities and capitals, the less friction between the races.
<span style="font-weight:400">With everything set, we enter the guild’s building. There are more people inside than I thought there would be. But, judging by the quest boards, there’s not that much work to be done, at least for the lower ranks.
<span style="font-weight:400">While passing by, I catch a few pieces of papers with ranks above and including C. Guess this bunch either doesn’t care about those due to the risk or they are just all low ranks. It’s not like this vige is specifically on any very crowded travelling routes so the number of higher-ranked adventurers might not be that high.
<span style="font-weight:400">We stop in front of a free receptionist, a mature woman with long copper hair and amber eyes. She smiles while swiping with her gaze over each of us, most likely trying to pinpoint the leader.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her eyes remain on Kamil the longest since he wears the most shy armour out of all of us, but Paul makes a step forward before she addresses him, capturing the woman’s attention.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wee to Novum’s Adventurer’s Guild! Considering that I don’t recognize your faces, I assume that it’s most likely your first time here. How can I help you today?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hello. We are just passing by and decided to check if there’s anything we could help with while taking a rest in the vige,” Paul replies.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m d to hear that and I hope you will enjoy your time here. As for work, are you all one big party?” she asks, ncing at the non-human members.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You could say that we are two parties temporarily working together,” I answer. “These five are one while I’m with the Dragonewt and Elfdies. They aren’t adventurers. Is that a problem?”
<span style="font-weight:400">She quickly shakes her head. “No, of course not. I was just curious after seeing the cor.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Right. Teffith chose to wear hers even though I told her that it isn’t really necessary. I remember her usually taking it off while not working in the past, but it seems that she got used to it and started keeping it on most of the time. And well, the fact that it’s a spatial storage might be another reason.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m a registeredbat ve. This cor was a gift from my master,” Teffith surprisingly joins in, ncing my way.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see. I honestly think it looks very lovely, like a very well-thought piece of jewellery. But, anyway, there’s no problem as long as at least one person in the group is a registered adventurer. The guild has no issues with them employing more help but they have to remember that the reward will be paid out to the person who registered for the quest and we don’t have any say in what happens after that.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That doesn’t really concern us since we are all good friends here,” Marciaments, throwing her arms around Paul’s and Kamil’s necks.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then, could I ask about your ranks? I will check if we have anything fitting it. But, I can already tell you that most lower-level tasks are gone so quickly people even make queues and reservations for them.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Paul takes over again. “The five of us are B-rank. We are a party from Evaneheim called The Five Chosen.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Interesting name. Looks like Kamil didn’t manage to push through them with something too cringy, which is good. It does hint about them being Heroes but just smartly not enough to be too obvious. I kind of like the sound of it. Wonder who came up with it.
<span style="font-weight:400">The receptionist moves her gaze to me and that’s when I realize that it’s our turn.
<span style="font-weight:400">「<i><span style="font-weight:400">Hmmm… We don’t have a name... Should Ie up with one? Considering that we might be a mercenary force in the future, I guess I should... Oh, I know.</i><span style="font-weight:400">」
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m an E-rank and the leader of Utopia’s First Regiment, Eden Alpha. The Dragonewtdy is mypanion and we are escorting this Elf traveller to a certain destination.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Ghilerie nods her head towards the receptionist. “I’m unaffiliated and unregistered.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“And do you n on taking the quest together? I’m pretty sure we have something for a B-rank if thest subjugation hasn’t been withdrawn since no one was able to pick it up, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to drag an E-rank around, especially with just a singlebat ve. I can’t stop your party from taking the quest and then doing it together, but I would strongly advise against bringing any unnecessary dead weight to high-ranked tasks,” the receptionist says to Paul, giving me a slightly unamused look.
<span style="font-weight:400">A snicker reaches our ears somewhere from behind. “Looks like we got another leech here, heh.”
<span style="font-weight:400">「<i><span style="font-weight:400">Oh boy. Are we finally going to get into the Typical Random Guild Encounter Number Twenty-One? Nah, I know better than to respond to some idiots trash-talking behind our backs. Like I care whatever any of you think. We’ll just—</i><span style="font-weight:400">」
<span style="font-weight:400">“Who said that?!” Shino turns around and scans the room with an angry re. “I dare you to repeat that! Sensei is not a leech! He is stronger than everyone in this hall!”
<span style="font-weight:400">「<i><span style="font-weight:400">Typical Random Guild Encounter Number Twenty-One it is then...</i><span style="font-weight:400">」
<span style="font-weight:400">Some buff, bald dude in leather armour chuckles again. “Yeah? Why is he an E-rank then? Got too stressed during the examination? Or maybe his ve-nanny wasn’t allowed to carry him through it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">A few other peopleugh at his words and they certainly don’t make Shino happy. I make a quick prayer in my mind, barely squeezing it in before Shino’s figure disappears in pure-ck shadow and plunges itself into the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">A loud crash follows and the guy flies through the window after Shino shows up right in front of him with an already prepared kick, of course, shattering it into pieces.
<span style="font-weight:400">The guys sitting with him stand up and reach for their weapons. “You bitch—”
<span style="font-weight:400">As I snap my fingers, ominous purple chains shoot up from the floor in a blink and bind the four men,pletely restricting their movements.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sit down if you don’t want to end up torn into shreds,” I say to them after they turn their heads my way, leaking out quite a bit of killing intent, which is just pretty much condensed mana properly aimed at somebody.
<span style="font-weight:400">The whole hall falls silent from the previous murmuring and I don’t see anyone intervening. After squinting my eyes at the four men, they nod nervously and I retract the chains. Surprisingly, they don’t follow the Standard Thug Protocol and sit back down instead of throwing themselves at us while shouting expletives.
<span style="font-weight:400">Shino walks back to us and stops in front of the receptionists. “I demand a reevaluation. I will not let anyone nder Sensei’s name.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Under the intense re of the girl who has just sent a massive man flying, the receptionist sweats a little.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhhh… I’m sorry but our branch is too small to be authorized to hold those… There’s no one with their rank high enough to be an instructor…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“And you still pick on random adventurers of low rank?” Paul sighs while shaking his head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“This shithole sucks. Should we just go to the next one?” Kamil asks.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No need.” I plop my hand on Shino’s hair and ruffle through it. “I don’t care about this stuff. Do you have any jobs for them or not?” I ask the receptionist.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah. Yes. Please, give me a moment and I’ll check!”
<span style="font-weight:400">She runs off to the back room and leaves us alone in this silent hall. I nce down at Shino.
<span style="font-weight:400">“There was no need to do that. Just ignore them. But, thank you. I appreciate you standing up for me.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m sorry… I will try…”
<span style="font-weight:400">I chuckle seeing her blush with that lowered gaze. The receptionist soones back and hands us a B-ranked quest with a wide smile, acting very polite and cooperative, even to me. The task is to subjugate a big group of Kobolds that has made the nearby cavern system their den and is sometimes harassing the vige.
<span style="font-weight:400">From what I know, Kobolds aren’t that hard to handle and they should have been able to deal with them if they grouped up even half of the people currently present in this guild, but maybe the number is really too high for that.
<span style="font-weight:400">The receptionist informs us that the scouts noticed Kobold hunters moving out at five in the evening and strongly suggests striking at that time to assure the highest safety with their forces split.
<span style="font-weight:400">There are still three hours until that time so we ept the task and walk away to wander through the vige a bit to discuss our approach with whatever information we have received. This should be a decent opportunity to practice together and showcase our abilities to each other.
<span style="font-weight:400">We move out of the vige a bit earlier to arrive at the marked spot before the mentioned time to see the Kobolds leaving with our own eyes. Gotta make sure that the info is urate or if their habits didn’t change.
<span style="font-weight:400">Half an hour before their supposed departure, we arrive at our destination. The bottom of a rocky cliff indeed enters our sight. But, there’s one small problem. There’s no entrance to any cave anywhere near.
<span style="font-weight:400">I’m sure we are at the right ce. It’s impossible to make a mistake with a map and at least three experts at reading it and guiding others through the woods.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Maybe that chick gave us the wrong map because she got a tad nervous?” Marcia suggests.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It even has handwritten notes on how to get here on it so that’s very unlikely,” Paulments.
<span style="font-weight:400">I walk closer to Teffith, who is kneeling to the ground on the side. “Found any tracks?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, I did. They even look fresh. But… I don’t think these belong to Kobolds…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I agree,” Ghilerie joins in and turns around towards the forest. “There are people around us.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“What? Who?” Kamil asks in confusion.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Come out! It’s pointless to keep hiding anymore!” she shouts into the woods.
<span style="font-weight:400">Just when Shino opens her mouth to ask something, people start walking out of the trees.
<span style="font-weight:400">「<i><span style="font-weight:400">Ahhhhhhh, fuck.</i><span style="font-weight:400">」
<span style="font-weight:400">I quickly recognize at least a bunch of faces from the Adventurer’s Guild. Many adventurers make their way closer, all of them dressed in armour and armed, with their weapons already drawn. There’s at least twenty of them, if not more. And the guy with the smashed face is amongst them too, of course.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What is the meaning of this?” Paul asks as all of us reach for our weapons too.
<span style="font-weight:400">Some random dude steps forward. “This? This is just our little vige showing you guys proper hospitality. We have failed as hosts previously so it’s only natural to fix that mistake, isn’t it? Hahahaha!”
<span style="font-weight:400">A few other peopleugh with him and I sigh while rubbing my temples. “So, there were no Kobolds from the start, weren''t there?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, there were. I can see them very well. They are standing right in front of us, aren’t they?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“For fucks sake…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Theyugh again until Kamil interrupts them while pointing his fancy sword at the crowd.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You fuckers! Why would you even do this?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s simple. Our vige is like one big family. And a family takes good care of its members. We don’t take kindly to outsiders who harm our people. Well, we don’t take kindly to outsiders in general since they disrupt our workflow and steal our quests, but that’s another thing.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That means it’s not just us receiving such <i><span style="font-weight:400">hospitality</i><span style="font-weight:400">.” I look at them with disdain.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Whoops. We have a perceptive one here. Good thing you guys caused a scene. It made it easier to gather folks for this. They are usually quitezy.” The men around himugh. “We can’t risk some smartypants snooping around our vige, can we?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Typical Human scum…” Ghilerie curses by my side.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I can’t even refute that...” I sigh again.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alright. Enough chit-chatting. Let’s get it done. Millie is already preparing a round of beer for our return.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The adventurers cheer and get ready to charge us.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you guyspletely retarded?”
<span style="font-weight:400">But, my question stops them in their tracks before they even make a single step.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What did you say?!” the man who got himself beaten by Shino responds.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I asked if you guys arepletely retarded. Did I fucking stutter?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I can spot veins bulging out on the bald guy’s head. Some other dudes get a little riled up too.
<span style="font-weight:400">“These guys on my side are all B-ranks and you know it well. You even saw one of them wreck your guy in a sh. Do you really think a band of lowlifes below C-rank stands a chance against them?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ha! So what? We outnumber you guys three to one. Do you really think there’s such a big gap between B and D-rank? It’s as close as D is to F-rank. We are all adventurers here. Who do you think your <i><span style="font-weight:400">friends</i><span style="font-weight:400"> that you are using to hide behind their skirts are? Some battlefield heroes?”
<span style="font-weight:400">「<i><span style="font-weight:400">You have no idea...</i><span style="font-weight:400">」
<span style="font-weight:400">“Listen. This is yourst chance to reconsider it. You are making a huge mistake.” I make onest attempt.
<span style="font-weight:400">The self-proimed leader rubs his chin while tilting his head. “Hmmm… Maybe you are right...”
<span style="font-weight:400">「<i><span style="font-weight:400">There’s no way they will back down with just this, right?</i><span style="font-weight:400">」
<span style="font-weight:400">“You have a quite pretty face. Killing you straight away would be a huge waste. Little Willy has been sulking for like two months already. He could use a new boyfriend after thest one kicked the bucket. I’m tired of taking baths with my ass constantly clenched.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I shiver when a wave of killing intent much stronger than what I have emitted earlier washes over me from behind, crashing into them too.
<span style="font-weight:400">「<i><span style="font-weight:400">Aaaaaaaaaaaand they are dead...</i><span style="font-weight:400">」