Chapter 186

It was four o’clock in the afternoon, and the sun was starting to set. Our tourist trip was now at an end, but not before getting we had gotten thoroughly lost. Still, we were now at the guild and waiting in a line to get to the Questions/Other counter. As we were here to collect our reward money, we could have gone to the Reward counter as well, but we had never been asked to collect the money in this way, and I thought Other was a safe bet. Daniela agreed. And if we were wrong, well, we had time.

“You’re up next.”

“Thanks.”

Said the guild worker, who was a blonde woman with a very laid back manner. Blonde hair was by no means unusual here, but there was something about her that seemed rough…oh, and her ill-fitting uniform was quite open at the collar.

“My face is up here.”

“Uh, sorry.”

“Of course, you are. Now, what can I do for you?”

She casually raised her feet onto the desk.

“Uhh. We were told by a town guard that the reward for hunting bandits would be paid through the guild. But I wasn’t sure which counter to go to.”

I said as I passed her our status cards.

“Oh, uh-huh. Just give me a minute then.”

She took the status cards from me and set them inside of the reading machine in order to print their contents. Her eyes scanned the papers and she sometimes looked up as if to compare me with what she was reading. I felt like I was being appraised.

“Uh, yes. You are Mister Asagi and Miss Daniela. I will bring you the money right now, so please wait close by.”

That was all she said as she returned the status cards before going off somewhere. She had grabbed a quiet looking guild worker on the way and pointed towards her counter, so at least the others who were waiting would not be abandoned for long.

And so we moved away from the counter but remained in sight of it.

“Did you fancy her chest and legs that much, Asagi?”

“I was just surprised at her unusual sense of style.”

“Hmmm.”

Daniela looked at me through narrowed eyes. But I was completely loyal to her. Something might catch my eye now and then, but not my heart.

Still, she was quite unusual indeed… I guess they were different in every region.

Then I looked at the status card and remembered.

“That’s right. Status open.”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Name: Asagi Kamiyashiro

Race: Human

Job: Adventurer(Rank: C)

Alias: Silvergreen

LV: 79

HP: 773/773

MP: 738/738

STR: 398 VIT: 393

AGI: 827 DEX: 419

INT: 392 LUK: 38

Skills: Jack of all Trades, Master of None(-), Legs of the Forest Wolf(-), Single-handed Sword(7/10), Shortsword(6/10), Spear(2/10), Bow(2/10), Greatsword(6/10), Presence Detection(7/10), Night Eyes(4/10)

Magic: Ice Magic(8/10), Water Magic(7/10), Fire Magic(2/10)

Quests: None

Party: Daniela Villesilf

Equipment: Armor

Head – None

Torso – None

Arms – None

Legs – None

Feet – Accel Panther Boots

Weapons – None

None

Clothes – Bewitching Black Cotton Shirt

Taunting Black Caterpillar Trousers

Accessories – None

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“Hmmm…”

It had been a while since I last checked my status. I had always had decent DEX, and this seemed to have affected my skill with the great sword, which had gone up from 2 to 6. Yes, I quite liked the great sword now. My strength, muscle and magic had gone up. I had ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ to thank for that, I think.

Alright now. Since I was the type of person who preferred to raise their stats up to be average, I was satisfied with where I was with the great sword. The next weapon I would use was…

“Hmm…”

“What are you thinking?”

I told Daniela that I was trying to decide which weapon to use next, and then she began to search in my bag. I was watching from behind and could not see what it was at first.

“Why not this?”

“Hmm? Oh, that.”

It was the spear I had taken from the lord of the swamp. I had forgotten about it. I was mostly considering a bow or a spear, and so this made my decision easy.

Just as I made my decision, someone stood in front of me. Had the money been prepared for us?

“Hey, got a minute?”

“Yeah?”

I looked up to see an unfamiliar Adventurer.

“I’ve seen that spear before.”

“Ah, is that right?”

“That belonged to Aeneus, an Adventurer who was quite famous in this town.”

“Really? But it was in the hands of the lord of the swamp.”

“Do you have any proof?”

I did not. We hadn’t even gone back to collect the fins. Well, it was actually that I was dead tired and had forgotten to do it. And Daniela had slept. Besides, it had started raining as soon as we began to walk, and so all thoughts of fins had been lost in oblivion.

“No. But it’s obvious enough if you go to the swamp. There is no lord there anymore.”

“That can hardly be considered proof. I really looked up to that man. You should give that to me. An outsider such as yourself should not be allowed to carry such a weapon.”

“Eh? You can look up to whoever you want, but that doesn’t give you a claim to anything. Now get lost. Or do you want to see what happens when you don’t?”

Arrogance. Tyranny. I realized recently that you had to meet such Adventurers with the same attitude that they displayed. I did nothing but apologize when I was a store clerk, but I was now a real working man who lived under the light of the sun. I had to protect my position.

“You little shit… You killed Aeneus and stole it. Didn’t you!?”

“What!?”

Was this guy stupid? Why would I do that!

“Everyone! I finally know why Aeneus suddenly disappeared! This guy murdered him! Look! He has his spear!!”

“Wa-wait. You damn bastard. Are you kidding me!!”

Other Adventurers who had been watching this exchange now stood up and approached us.

Well, well, well…something was about to happen…

“Daniela. What do you think?”

“We cannot avoid making a scene, it seems… But I will tell you this. I am very annoyed by this accusation. I say we knock them off their feet.”

“Heh. It is you who will go flying. For what you did to Aeneus…”

The Adventurers cracked their knuckles menacingly. They were also fully armored and ready. Probably just returned from a quest.

On the other hand, we were just on a detour during a date. I was in ordinary clothes that were not even made of monster materials. Though, Miss Turia had said they were woven from thread that was made of some animal and plant that were quite rare.

The Adventurers kept flocking around us. It was nice and all that this Aeneus person was well-loved, but I was a little annoyed at him over this predicament now.

“This is the guy who killed Aeneus?”

“That is his spear! I’ve seen it before!”

“And he looks like such a coward. I bet he stabbed him right in the back.”

“How dare you…!”

“She must have helped him! Let’s beat them both!”

My emotions had already been running high, but now I snapped. I really only had a talent for speed, and so I had to use it in battle. If people wanted to call it cowardice, fine. I could accept that.

But Daniela had nothing to do with it. Daniela was so beautiful, strong, cool, cute, and a big eater… And they wanted to beat her?

“Alright guys…you’re all dead!!”

Now fully enraged, I took the initiative and kicked upwards into the jaw of the man who stood right in front of me. Blood sprayed from his open mouth. I ignored him and then slammed my foot into the guy who had threatened to beat Daniela.

“Bastard!”

“Get them!”

While late, the other Adventurers finally raised their fists and began to throw them at us. I dodged the first attack and countered with a kick. But I let my guard down in the next moment, and a fist took me square in the back. My face hit the floor.

“Damn you!”

“Asagi!”

Daniela’s leg shot out like a whip, causing one Adventurer to sink to the ground. Then she followed with another kick to the guy who had punched me.

“Why are you doing this!”

“Like I said, you killed Aeneus! You deserve to die!”

“The hell!? I’ve told you, we didn’t kill him!!”

My fist slammed into the stupid bastard’s face, sending him flying into the air.

As the fight continued, I could see that reinforcements were coming. Those who had been spectators were now joining the fray. This was so stupid. Did they think this was some kind of festival?

And so the fight spread. I was hit, and I hit back. I was kicked as I kicked others off of their feet.

But any who attacked Daniela were my main priority.

“Hhhh…haahh…damned idiots…”

I spat blood on the floor and wiped at my lips.

Unconscious or groaning Adventurers lay at our feet after having been taken down.

Now no one was walking over them in order to reach us.

“What the…these two are ridiculously strong…”

“That’s how they killed Aeneus!”

“I told you, we didn’t kill him. How many times do you idiots have to hear it…!”

Their stubborness was making even angrier.

“So. Who wants to be next…?”

I took a step forward, ignoring the groan of the Adventurer I stepped on.

“I won’t be so merciful to the next guy.”

I raised my foot and enveloped it with silver and green wind. The part under my foot began to chip away at the armor of the Adventurer under it. Suddenly, the rest of them gasped in realization.

“Hey, that…”

“Silver and green wind…it can’t…”

“Shit… Oh, shit…!”

The many lies and rumors of us seemed to send the worst possibilities into their minds now. I had always been annoyed by them, but it suddenly seemed to our advantage now. If it would make them stop, then I would accept it.

“Bah. What he’s saying is the truth.”

A cheerful voice sounded, cutting through the air like a knife. It sounded like someone was enjoying themselves.

“See here? It’s the lord of the swamp that he killed.”

And then something was thrown heavily to the ground. Everyone’s eyes moved towards it. Of course, that included me and Daniela.

“The sahuagin are monsters who fight with spears. And as a spear-wielder myself, I wanted to fight them. But uh, I was taken by surprise and my spear was stolen.”

The speaker pushed his way through the crowd as he advanced. He sounded like he was saying that he was the owner of the spear…

“You… You’re the guy who passed by us on the road.”

“Well, I was only going in that direction in order to wait for the lord of the swamp to come out. I wasn’t exactly traveling anywhere.”

The man said with an amused smile. Yes, it was the man we met on the road through the swamp.