“Hello, are you Anver Remington?”

“Yes.” Anver put his cup of mead down on the table. He looked up to see a muscular guy wearing a brown vest and a yellow shirt. Next to him was a nervous young lady. Purple hair, clothes almost entirely in black. He switched his sight back at the guy after a glance.

Something about the girl unsettled him. Maybe the fact that she dressed like a priest performing a sacrificial ritual?

“Are you here about the recruitment notice?”

“Why, yes. May I sit?” The man grinned. Without waiting for an answer, he sat down on the chair across the table from Anver. He waved to the girl and she did the same, with a chair next to him.

“Interesting. You look well-built, but you don’t look like you have wielded a sword or a spear.” Anver looked at the guy’s hand. Too clean. No calluses.

[Dude doesn’t touch a hoe, let alone a sword.]

His interest was still the same, though. He was desperately in need of people. If it wasn’t for that motherf*cker, he would have already gotten one.

“Oh no, I’m not the one applying for the position, it’s this girl here.” The blond-haired man pointed to the girl. Anver raised an eyebrow.

[This delicate, bashful lady? A mercenary?]

Anver’s expression turned dark.

“That’s enough, get the f*ck out of my face.”

“What?”

“You didn’t hear me? Did Hank tell you to mess with me? How much did that guy pay you?”

The blond dude looked amused for a moment. Talking about the devil…

A familiar scarred face appeared. This red-haired bastard had annoyed him for the entire month.

“Oh, what do we have here, the mercenary team with the worst rating in the entire guild?” The guy’s stinky loud mouth opened. “Are you recruiting a new strawman for your joke of a team?”

“This guy single-handedly filled half of the population in the Domain.” Hank waved his hand. “Teams like yours should be illegal.”

Anver’s face turned red. Veins were popping up on his face.

“None of your business.”

“How the f*ck did you come to that conclusion?” Hank slammed the table. “Who would join the guild if people keep dying when they step into this place?”

“If the guild master is not so blinded by profit, three-people teams would never be a thing.” Hank gritted his teeth to lower his voice. “You should keep your devil-tainted hands away from the new recruits, as well as their hopes and dreams.”

“If my words don’t get through your stupid head, there will be a day when my sword does.”

“And you,” Hank pointed to the man sitting across Anver. “You heard me. Don’t commit suicide. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get a proper five-people team that doesn’t throw away the lives of its members.”

Hank turned and walked away. He joined a crowd of a dozen people in another corner of the hall. Most of them were staring daggers at Anver’s position.

[So, this dude wasn’t sent by Hank. But this should be the time when he thinks of some excuses and stand up.] Anver looked at the ceiling, hands clasped under his chin. Then he looked down at the floor, hands on his forehead.

“Back to the matter at hand…”

Anver looked up.

“I can see that you are desperately in need of people. Your working situation is horrible, you can sit here till the end of the year and nobody will join you.” The blond man spoke slowly.

“What are you trying to say?” Anver furrowed his brows.

The man grinned.

“This girl here is my sister-in-law, Naomi White, she has always wanted to be an adventurer.”

“Mercenary.” Anver cut in. Everyone in this place hated that name. [Naomi? What an uncommon name.] This thought fleeted through his head.

“Yes, unfortunately, she was born deaf.”

“You can’t be a mercenary if you’re deaf.” Anver face-palmed. [This is getting worse and worse.]

“Yes, yes, situational awareness and all, right? But behold, the miracle of the Source has cured her! The holy priest touched her ears, and now she could hear again!” The man praised in an exaggerated manner.

[Oh, that must have costed a fortune.] The mercenary mused.

“But, since she was only cured of her ailment recently, she has yet to speak the language.” The man raised a finger. “She can understand simple commands. And she can learn to speak gradually. What do you think?”

“Forget about it.” Anver shook his head. “She is a girl, she doesn’t have fighting experience.” He pointed to the crowd at the other corner. “You’ve heard what the guy over there said. Even if I am desperate, I am not going to take a fragile girl to the Beast Forest.”

The man smirked. Anver didn’t like his attitude.

“There is one other thing. After being blessed by the Source, she could feel its holy power flowing inside her. She is very strong. You’ll be surprised.”

[Oh, now that is just bullsh*t.] Anver was getting tired of this conversation. He spoke his thought out loud.

“Oh, now that is just bullsh*t.”

“Ha-ha, would you like a bit of friendly arm wrestling? With this delicate lady?”

“Why the f*ck not. Come here.”

“Oh, but I wouldn’t suggest you do it here. She would be troubled if she humiliates you in front of your colleagues.”

Anver really, really did not like the man’s attitude.

“Stop wasting my time. We do it here, or I’ll kick you both out of this place.”

10 seconds later, Anver deeply regretted his hot-headed decision.

***

“She is way too cute.” Lena exclaimed. She pinched the girl’s cheeks and pulled it apart. The young lady in black hood was panicking over the woman’s show of affection.

“Hmm-hmm-hmmmm…”

“So cute!”

“That’s enough, Lena, don’t scare our new recruit.” Anver was still clutching his right hand.

The mercenary team was now standing in a large grassland outside the town. The blond man said goodbye after leaving the guild.

“You lost an arm-wrestling match with this tiny girl? You must be getting old.” Lena said as she covered half her mouth with her hand, not having any intention of hiding her smirk.

Anver diverted his sight to the ground. [What a monster. She just slammed my hand right into the table after the countdown. It was so loud everyone in the guild looked at us. Damn it! How can I ever live this down?]

He coughed. “Stop the nonsenses. We are here to give her some basic training. Take this. Do it after me.”

A spear was thrown at the girl. She caught it with both hands.

“Gloves, no.” Anver pointed at his hand and made a gesture of taking off a glove. “Can’t hold on to a spear properly with gloves. Splinter is something you just have to deal with.”

The girl shook her head, multiple times, for an entire minute, still hugging the spear.

[First day in the team and already disobeyed the leader’s command. This will go well.]

Anver’s disappointment was immeasurable and his day was further ruined.