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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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By the time we left the guild, evening had already deepened considerably.
We were told that the specific rewards would be delivered within a week, so we should visit then.
After that, we headed toward the mansion on foot.
We had passed the regular dinner time by over an hour, but we weren’t hungry after snacking on those chocolates.
In fact, at this age, with how active we were, it felt like no matter how much we ate, we’d still be hungry.
“It’s gotten quite late today. Father might scold me.”
Cheryl said nonchalantly as she stretched, her steps carrying not a hint of hesitation or regret.
Cheryl had rejected Engrim’s request.
She didn’t explain why, so I didn’t ask.
Perhaps she felt her abilities were still inadequate since all the information was confidential.
“You’re not asking why I rejected it?”
As if reading my mind, Cheryl suddenly asked.
Having long since shed her adventurer persona and returned to her noble self, there was a slightly arrogant tone in her words, but it was something I had already grown accustomed to, so I didn’t mind.
What was harder to get used to was how she occasionally seemed to delve into my thoughts.
“Did you expect me to reject it?”
“No, I naturally thought you would accept the request.”
I hadn’t doubted for a moment the gravity of the task.
I had firmly believed she would unconditionally accept if it was a serious matter.
It was only after she rejected it that I realized she drew her own guidelines as an adventurer.
“And you’re not curious about that?”
Cheryl glared at me again, suddenly seeming displeased for some reason.
But since I saw no need to pretend about something that wasn’t true, I nodded.
“It’s your business, so why make a fuss about it?”
This brat is smarter than me.
What was I doing when I was 15?
I think I was engrossed in anime and comics.
I did practice kendo around that time, but I wasn’t particularly outstanding, just a bit more serious than my peers.
If the me from back then were next to Cheryl now, I might have died from a sense of inferiority.
“No matter what reason led to your decision, I respect it. There’s no need to be curious.”
“…Vexing.”
“What?”
Without answering the part that piqued my curiosity, Cheryl silently continued walking.
Just a vexing brat.
“But what if I accept it even though you didn’t?”
“Hm?”
“What the guild master said. I’m interested, so I’ll accept it.”
“…Couldn’t you have just said that back there?”
She looked at me as if asking why I was taking the troublesome extra step, but I had my own reasons for my actions.
“Wouldn’t it be more befitting of adventurers if it was like ‘we discussed it and our opinions diverged, so I’ll accept it alone’…?”
It’s rare for adventurers and commoners to directly see and remember a noble’s face.
That’s why Cheryl and I brazenly show our faces and names, while pretending to be adventurers.
It’s a class society that almost perfectly matches the saying “different worlds.”
That’s why in Engrim’s eyes, we were just young but exceptionally skilled adventurers.
And among a pair of adventurers, it’s unnatural for one to split off and take a separate commission.
If that were the case, there would be no reason to move as a pair in the first place.
While adjusting opinions behind the scenes is possible, blatantly breaking off a pair by saying “I won’t do it. Okay, I’ll do it alone” is not a form adventurers are accustomed to.
If we showed that, they might become suspicious of who we really are and start investigating, which would undoubtedly cause long-term issues for Cheryl’s hobby.
“You do make a fair point there.”
Cheryl nodded contemplatively with her chin raised, but her expression showed she still had lingering doubts as she continued questioning.
“But why? Don’t you think it’s risky accepting a task where no information can be disclosed in advance?”
“Slaying the demon lord’s commander is the goal, so more experience is always better.”
“…Are you serious?”
“It’s one of the most sincere things in my life, isn’t it?”
Just in case I start to settle into my current life, I always remind myself and voice the goal of killing the demon lord’s commander.
It’s a habit born from how my previous self lacked the drive and passion to pursue ambitions relentlessly.
Even Cheryl, despite not conveying the specifics of my deal with Ekaf to her family, didn’t seem to take this as a joke.
Even Jin from Ogwen had taken it seriously.
“Anyway, that’s how it is. I’m not sure if they’ll accept me alone, but I’ll go back tomorrow.”
“…Get as much information as you can before deciding.”
“I’m not that oblivious to not know that.”
Engrim was the guild master, after all.
Surely he didn’t have the quirk of withholding information to lead people astray like some pavera bastard.
And so, I leisurely went to meet Engrim around lunchtime the next day.
Of course, under normal circumstances, one couldn’t meet him at any time, but thanks to the previous day’s events, having a private audience with him wasn’t particularly difficult.
“Does the guild master think I alone can be of help with that task?”
He reacted quite sensibly, expressing concern over whether my pair with Cheryl had broken up while also welcoming me.
Having no particular impression of Engrim before, I now viewed him more favorably as I calmly broached the main topic again.
“There are others I’ve requested besides you two. My goal is to form a party.”
The type of talent Engrim sought was simple:
Those who had yet to make a major name for themselves, but clearly possessed abilities beyond their rank, and could properly understand and complete requests.
He had been probing whenever he encountered such individuals.
“If they all agree, wouldn’t that make it a whole platoon in motion?”
“I’m not probing so indiscriminately. That’s just how I expressed it. To begin with, there’s no way such talents would be overflowing, right?”
The world is vast, and fools are many, but talents always seem to be in short supply.
At any rate, it didn’t seem to be a problem.
“Let me inform you in advance, if you wish to accept the request, you’ll have to agree to undergo a minor seal for security purposes.”
“I can do that much.”
I had come to accept it no matter what.
This seal was just a precaution against information leaks; it wasn’t some curse that would kill me or prevent me from leaving until I completed the request.
“You agree quite readily.”
“I came here today with the intention of accepting it.”
Apparently pleased with my response, Engrim broke into an amiable smile.
“That’s fortunate. Would you be able to visit again during dinner this evening? Another adventurer also expressed willingness to join at dawn. Thanks to you, Eldmia, it seems we can proceed with the contract today and discuss the commision.”
“You’re providing dinner, of course?”
“Certainly.”
There was no reason to refuse a free meal.
After cheerfully accepting and shaking Engrim’s hand, I descended to the first floor in a pleasant mood.
“Huh? That brat again?”
And just as I was about to step off the last stair, my pleasant feelings plummeted into an abyss.
“Didn’t I tell you? I remember your face.”
The person brazenly approaching me while taunting, with a scowling expression accompanied by his lackeys, was the child molester Dantel.
In that moment, the bad Eldmia and the even worse Eldmia resurfaced after a long absence, blazing furiously.
“Didn’t I also tell you? I said to remember, because I’d beat you senseless if you forgot.”
A thought flashed through my mind that I should seriously consider if I had bipolar disorder, as my plummeting mood seemed to pierce through the abyss itself into the realm of utter crap.
“Are you so dim-witted that you couldn’t understand? Was my warning that I’d kill you if you forgot my face really that hard to interpret? If you remembered my face, you would have ran away like a whipped dog the moment you saw me.”
I seem to frequently get entangled with the scumbags littering the earth, but I wanted to believe it’s just my foul mood.
However, belief and action are separate matters, so I also strode forward boldly.
If even those scumbags could approach me brazenly, there was no way I could cower and retreat like a coward.
“Huh?”
As I closed the distance with quicker and quicker steps, a premonition that something was amiss seemed to flash across their menacing faces.
That couldn’t be allowed.
Those bastards had to be beaten down today.
With most others, there might have been room for leniency, but not with this Dantel.
He was unforgivable.
Garun, who was no better than a petty thief, died trying to do justice by killing those criminals, yet why was this child molesting piece of trash still strutting around shamelessly?
Even if he was alive, he should have been hanging his head in shame, let alone raising his voice arrogantly.
From the moment Garun died, Dantel’s mere existence was enough to trigger rage issues for me.
“You should beg for your life until you crawl all the way to Mandeli Port, because you’re going to get beaten down.”
“Wha-What? How do you know tha-”
“Shut your mouth before I cut out your tongue with those pointless questions!”
WHACK!
“Arghh!”
It wasn’t until after my man’s punch struck Dantel’s face without any restraint that my plummeting mood began to ascend again.
Dantel went down spitting corn kernels from that single blow, and his lackeys’ faces drained of color at the sight.
The moment I charged at them without hesitation, I heard adventurers around us shouting.
“Eh, Eldmia’s gone crazy again!”
It’s not me who’s crazy, it’s this damn world.
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Kanye-level Bipolar Syndrome.