“W-When did thou get here?! I did not see thee when we got to this table!” Ms. Gallofree exclaims while the other girls put up their guards.

“Ah, I have ways of blending in with the crowd. I saw you four passing by and I was curious, so I followed you. I’ve been with you all since then.”

That’s really scary … actually, something like that happened last night, too. Nobody even noticed she was passing by on a stroll while the infiltration took place, like they couldn’t even see her. So how was it that I could see her at that time and not now? Even on my way here, I glanced back a few times and saw no one was there, yet Nyra said that powerful magic was still following us. Did she do something different with her ‘invisibility magic’ that I couldn’t see her then?

“Anyway, I couldn’t hear what you were talking about until you got to the counter. What did the older Arachne mean about you registering as an adventurer?” Ms. Umeiyon asks me while she tilts her head in confusion.

“Sir Kotori will be judged of his rank as an adventurer among the many others all over Padimon. People who take quests that will benefit the people to live their peaceful lives while getting properly paid for their services. It may be dangerous depending on the difficulty of the assigned quest, but it is for a noble and worthy cause.” Ms. Gallofree puffs her impressive chest as she explained. I guess she takes pride in her work. Going by what I heard so far, being at a higher rank than Ren and Erizora, she must be rather passionate about what she does.

“Judged of his rank … will his power of strength and magic be accounted for?” Ms. Umeiyon asks.

“Yes, among other things.”

“Interesting. Though I don’t know why Jinma Kotori needs to get paid when he already has my offer to be considered, I’m rather interested in how they measure his value. Could I possibly have mine measured as well?”

“Thou can, but there art hefty registration fees to pay for. I do not mean to be rude, but can thou afford it with thy … lack of attire?” Ms. Gallofree asks while quirking a brow.

“Ah, if money’s involved, that won’t be an issue—”

“Because I’ll pay for it!”

My loud interjection not only surprises the girls, but the other adventurers near us look over their shoulders with a questionable look.

“I mean … I can use the monsters I collected to help pay for my stuff, and I should have plenty to pay for Ms. Umeiyon’s as well, so why not?”

“O … kay?”

“Jinma Kotori, you don’t really need to—hff mmh bh,” Ms. Umeiyon says right as I cover her mouth.

“Excuse us for a moment,” I say as I get up while pulling Ms. Umeiyon out of her seat before I lead us to a vacant section of the guild where we could talk in private. “You got any silver and copper coins in that [Storage] of yours?” I whisper.

“Pft. No? They’re of lesser value than gold and white gold coins, yes? I have collected many gold coins, as well as white gold, and other valuables like the Chaos Ore lumps over the course of my lifetime. Why would I need such a small monetary change for making such a grand offer that my potential mate almost couldn’t refuse?”

“… Did you pay the toll to get in with gold coins?”

“Toll? What is this ‘toll?’ Is that what those Centaurs were standing outside the gates for? Other than last night, I’ve been going around the same way as I did when I followed you here. While Lizardmen are a race that resides in the Demon-kin’s Territory, I wasn’t sure if I could pass off as one being so outside of their usual area of residence.”

This Dragon has no common sense!

As Nyra wails in laughter from my internal scream, I sigh and rub my eyes. “Okay, I think you’ll be fine if you’re with me. Let me pay for everything right now until we get to the talk of your offer, just … don’t wave any of your money or valuables around out in the open. You’ll attract the wrong crowd.”

“Hmm, so stay with you and follow your lead, then?”

“Yes, please.”

“Very well, I can do that much for my mate, no problem, just one question.”

I try not to let the cringe of being called her mate show on my face. “What is it?”

“Do we have to be this close at all times?”

“…”

I look down and realize I still have my arm wrapped around her waist since I pulled her to the vacant space. Not only that but with Ms. Umeiyon being taller than me in this form, I notice how big her breasts are as I’m pressing myself against one of its sides, even under those heavy, draping rags. Erizora’s still reigning champion for size, but Ms. Umeiyon’s look to be even bigger than Ms. Winny’s and Ms. Raize’s.

“O-Oh!” I exclaim as I jump back. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to get that invasive of your space.”

“Uh, no, it is quite all right …” Ms. Umeiyon seems to be contemplating something as she feels the areas I touched, including the side of her breasts, with her eyes closed.

Is she … feeling herself up? I subconsciously block visuals with my body in case there were other people looking in.

“If the two of thee wish to flirt, take it somewhere else. This guild is no place for such uncouth tomfoolery.”

A gruff voice snaps me out of the trance of Ms. Umeiyon touching herself—not in that context, of course—before we both look behind us to see a Centaur. One can definitely see at a glance that he’s seen and experienced dangerous times, one being his scars resembling claw marks that ran from his left cheek, over part of his lips, and nipped off the chin. Even with the graying hairs on his head, beard, and tail poking out of the cloth draping over his horse body, he still has a strong, lean physique in the top human half that might resemble one in his mid-30’s.

His hardened eyes look like they could stab someone as he looks down on me, his head well over 40 centimeters [at least a foot] above mine, taller than Ms. Gallofree who stands next to him with a strained smile. Even the golden armlet on his left bicep signifies his authority in a way. When I looked above the man’s head, I read his name.

[Eugus Gallofree.]

Wait, isn’t that …

<“Oh, no … she’s related to the guild master?!”>

Ms. Gallofree clears her throat. “Guild Master, this is Sir Jinma Kotori, the one who made the biggest contribution to saving Dondegarm last night, and this is his acquaintance, Ms. Umeiyon, who would also wish to register. Sir Kotori, Ms. Umeiyon, this is—”

“Thou did not tell me the boy was a human, Kalline,” the guild master … let’s just call him Eugus for convenience sake, interrupts with harshness in his tone as he glares at her.

“A-Ah, well … it is because I saw more in him than just being human, sir. He is even able to wield the cursed tanto without getting possessed.”

Eugus snorts before glancing down on me. “Such naivete. Is the butter knife thou have on thine side that same tanto? ‘Tis but a ruse.”

Nyra exclaims. I’m not sure if she even remembers how he can’t hear her.

“Honestly. It is bad enough I have more important matters to attend to after having it thrown on me last-minute, I then come back and hear a group of pathetic humans and Bear Moles tried to level my city, as well as my people down to the bloody dirt.” Eugus turns himself around. “It is not often that thee would put in a word for someone, Kalline. I must say I am disappointed. We will have a talk on how to judge one’s caliber properly later,” he says before moving on his way without looking back.

“Guild Master—!”

DON!

Bwooooooooooooooooon!

“Hrnk?!”

Eugus stops mid-step and stays stiff in place from my loud stomp on the ground followed by my ‘Glare.’ Actually, it looks like a bunch of others in my sight also got affected as I can see where in the air gets the heaviest. Lili and Ms. Raize who I didn’t know was standing a fair distance behind the guild master were unfortunately also in my sight, and so they got afflicted with the ‘stun’ ailment as the others did.

“Oh, god … such animosity~. I think I’m gonna melt~.”

“Eri, please, this is not the time and place. You’ll embarrass Master if you make an accident here.” Though my new companions weren’t within the area of effect, Erizora is somehow affected by my skill in a strange way while Ren tries to reprimand her for it.

I mentally apologize to everyone in the guild for getting caught up in this mess, but Ms. Gallofree’s relative or not, I couldn’t let this guy walk away after talking to her like that.

“… Do I have your attention now, Guild Master?” I ask while spitting his title like venom. I walk to the front of him, pull out Nyra, and point her at his neck while still keeping my ‘Glare’ on him. “Since you’re so in a hurry, let’s cut the crap and get to business. You will put me and Ms. Umeiyon in our appropriate ranks, and then you go back to whatever other important matters you need to attend to. If this isn’t enough to be worthy of your time, I have much more proof that can say otherwise.” I look towards a general area over my shoulder. “Oi! Give me space if you know what’s good for you! And lots of it!”

The patrons in my line of sight obliged without question as they quickly moved themselves and any furniture. With about a quarter of the guild’s ground floor open and the high ceiling above me, I judge this more than enough as I turn around and point both hands at two separate spots.

“[Storage, Out!]”

The guild is filled with gasps, followed by some coughing and wheezing as two large things appear from out of nowhere. On my left, the Toxic Troll I killed yesterday, permeating its stench from its poisonous, rotting odor around the guild, and on my right, the mountain of monster corpses I used to vent out the curse’s side-effects earlier.

“I beat the Toxic Troll to death on my way here yesterday, and with this tanto and her magic to attract monsters, I took down alllll of those in that pile just a couple of hours ago.”

“I can attest to the monster pile,” Ms. Umeiyon says as she comes up to my side with her arms crossed and eyes stern, not even the slightest bit affected to the tense atmosphere. “I arrived a bit later when he started, but I saw with my own eyes that Jinma Kotori killed every last monster on his own seamlessly with that weapon of his.”

“N-No way …” Shaken out of her ‘stunned’ ailment, Ms. Raize approaches the corpses with a web-knitted handkerchief over her face and examines them. “Th-The Toxic Troll … it’s Glock the Putrid that we put up as a purple-rank subjugation quest. There are signs of repeated beatings to the face before a great force was acted on it for the finisher, and oh god, the unrecognizable condition on his genitals. As for the monsters in this pile … Horned Boars, Venom Beasts, Great Hornets, Wilderballs, Black Wilderballs?! Even Red Banes?! I’ve never seen so many that were done in around the same time, and save for a handful of monsters that were done in by a blunt weapon, the rest have such clean cuts like the Bear Moles we collected from last night’s infiltration! And these were all within a couple of hours?!”

This must be due to the skill Lili mentioned Ms. Raize having when she examines the corpses. From how the other patrons were talking amongst themselves in shock, they must believe her words to be true.

“Well, there you have it, Guild Master. Still think I’m not worth your time? Otherwise, I’d be more than happy to show you what I’m really made of outside,” I say before I slowly move Nyra’s blade across Eugus’ beard. I only intended to brush it, but I didn’t expect it to cut his hairs with little effort as if they were nothing. With his now weirdly-cut beard, I just proved how sharp she really is, or it could be the constant vibrations from the ore that she mentioned earlier that made the tanto like an electric razor. Either way, things would take a really bad turn very quickly if she was mishandled.

Still, seeing such a hardened warrior breaking into a cold sweat at my subtle threat couldn’t help but make me smile.

“… If I may ask, art thou … the same man who shielded Kalline? From the very tanto thou have in thy hand?” he asks with his tone not as condescending and hard as it was earlier.

“That’s right, and you should know that Ms. Gallofree fought valiantly as she guided me through the streets last night. She knew the tanto was being taken from wherever this was sealed, yet she put the lives and safety of the people above stopping those who stole the weapon. So, if you still don’t give her credit for her ‘judgment of caliber,’ at least give her some for setting her priorities straight.”

“Sir Kotori …”

“A thousand pardons for my rudeness, Mr. Kotori.” Eugus takes a few steps back and bows his head with a hand on his chest. “Thou hast open mine eyes. If thou can find it in thy heart to forgive me, I would be honored to help thee in thine registration.”

“Ms. Umeiyon’s, too?”

“Of course.”

“… You are forgiven.” I then pull Nyra back and sheathe her.

“I thank thee. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am the guild master of Dondegarm’s adventurer’s guild, Eugus Gallofree. I also give thee my sincerest gratitude for helping to save Dondegarm in my absence … and putting thine life on the line for my niece.”

“Nice to meet … wait, niece?”

“Yes. This is my late mother’s older brother,” Ms. Gallofree explains.

<“That dude’s her uncle?!”>