“Ahhh~ This is life.”

Esther let out a long and contented sigh. Currently, she was inside the bathroom, enjoying herself, trying to ignore the flickering blue screen in the corner of her vision.

[Automatically accepting the Quest in 25:09]

If last time was anything to go by, she wanted to prepare everything she could before accepting the Progression Quest.

“F-Fox spirit, is this okay?”

Esther glanced behind her. She could see Freya trying her best to do her tail. Freya dipped her hands in the bucket of oil and applied them to Esther’s tails, making them slicker.

“That’s fine. Keep going.”

The reason why Freya was doing this was that she was caught stealing Esther’s panties. Again. So this was her punishment.

I think she’s enjoying it. Not much of a punishment, but it’s not doing any harm to me.

After everything was done, she kicked Freya out of the room and hogged the bathroom for herself. Washing her hair, she remembered the scene from a few hours ago.

-”Rest well. The mayor’s throwing a party for you tomorrow.”

Apparently, it was to thank her for rescuing the schoolchildren. But Esther knew better than to actually believe that at face value. It wasn’t to say that she thought the Guildmaster was lying.

Why would the mayor do this months after the incident? And the timing’s suspicious, too; right after I received my progression quest.

She could vaguely remember some rumors about Otherworlders being able to influence Causality without being a Monarch, but this was the first time she’d experienced it in person. Yep, something’s going to happen there. I’d better be prepared.

So, after a good night’s sleep, Esther spent the whole day preparing equipment and caring for her armor. Once night fell, she put her armor and sword into a Space Bag that she’d nagged the Guildmaster to buy her. She also had to ponder on what she’d wear.

Her normal clothes were still drying, and her other clothes weren’t really suited for combat. Shrine Maiden, it is.

When she got to the entrance of her house, she saw Fred, Freya, Nowa, and the Guildmaster all standing there, waiting.

She looked at Fred and Nowa and gave them a sorry smile. Apart from the Guildmaster, she could only bring one other person (or bear) with her. She couldn’t risk getting Nowa in danger, and Fred was useless without Ursa.

So, the only reasonable option was to bring Freya.

But just as she was about to leave, she felt Nowa’s intense stare on her. She sighed, turned around, and pulled her little sister into a hug.

“Don’t be so sad. I’ll be back soon.”

But Nowa stayed silent and glared at her. Obviously mad that she didn’t get to go.

Esther scratched her head. She couldn’t say that many people would die today at the party—Nowa would definitely beg her to stay if she knew. So, she did the only thing she knew and kissed Nowa.

Parting lips with her, Esther ruffled her hair. “Be good, okay? I’ll be back in no time.” She then stared at Fred expectantly.

Fred knew what this meant. He sighed. “Just go. I’ll take care of her.”

Esther nodded and left for the party with the Guildmaster and Freya. Along the way, she didn’t forget to warn them.

“Be careful.”

“W-What?” Freya’s face paled upon seeing Esther’s serious expression.

In contrast, the Guildmaster was calm. He carefully analyzed Esther’s face before he said, “What’s going to happen?”

“I don’t know,” Esther sighed. Again. “but something big is going to happen. Just… keep your guard up.”

.

.

.

.

“Name?”

Esther stared at the guard in disbelief. She twirled around, pointed at her ears, her tails, and then the Guildmaster.

The guard scratched his helmet. “It’s just standard procedure. Please cooperate.”

“Fine. Esther Raze. Happy?”

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The guard nodded. He opened the big metal door and let Esther in.

The venue was what she’d expected considering that it was inside the mayor’s mansion. Big, spacious, illuminated by expensive chandeliers, and occupied by, surprisingly, common people.

There were also guards stationed all over the venue, and she could even see some sneaking food on the tables into their mouths.

This annoyed her. Just a little bit. I thought this was supposed to be my party….

Freya came up from behind her. “Woww… So pretty!” It was probably her first time being in an event like this.

Suddenly, all the light went out. Esther tensed her muscles. She hovered her hand over her pouch, ready to take out Requiem at a moment’s notice. But then, a spotlight was turned on, illuminating someone in the center of the venue.

“Can I have your attention, please?”

A fat man standing in the middle of the room smiled amicably and spoke into the weird device that was attached to his ear. Once he got everyone’s attention, he continued.

“Our main guest is here. Please give a warm welcome to Esther—”

The light went out again,

“—Raze!”

And the spotlight reappeared on Esther.

Seeing everyone applauding for her, Esther removed her hand from her pouch and bowed elegantly. She’d been to events like this many times before. She knew what to do.

After giving her an ovation, everyone went back to what they were doing - that was, clearing the tables of food.

Even the fat mayor exited the venue with his guards.

Esther’s eyebrows twitched. Calm down, calm down. It’s better this way. I can scout the area without anyone bothering.

And scout she did. She observed everyone, and found no one suspicious. That was until someone approached her.

It was a woman in her twenties. Her green hair was tied in a ponytail. Her green eyes were lit up with amusement.

“Well, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

…What?

“Do I know you?”

As if remembering something, the woman chuckled and snapped her finger. Instantly, her entire body was wrapped in a dark cloak, and her voice turned manly. “Remember now?”

“Y-You! The merchant!”

The same one that sold her [Bloodletting]!

“Glad you remember me.” She dispersed her cloak. “So, you’re Esther. Are my siblings doing well?”

Siblings? And then it hit her. Freya had told her something about a sister. “L-Lun… Lyn…”

“It’s Lua.”

Esther nodded. Then, she looked around and tried to find Freya. But Lua stopped her.

“I’m just here to have a few words with father. No need to involve her.” She stepped away from Esther. At just a step away from blending into the dancing crowd, she smiled. “Until next time. You will love my wares!”

…What a weird girl. Pouring herself a glass of grapevine, she downed it, exited the venue, and entered the garden of the mayor’s mansion. She wanted a bit of fresh air… And she wanted to observe things.

[Automatically accepting the Quest in 00:01.6]

If her guess was right, then the event would happen inside the venue. People may die so that she could observe the threat from a safe distance, but she didn’t care enough for anyone there.

Lua said that she’d be with the Guildmaster, who was deeper inside the mansion, so no worries there. The only one left was Freya.

She should be here right about… Now.

And she was right. From a corner, Freya appeared. She was holding a rose in her hand.

Esther sat down on a bench and patted the seat next to her. To be truthful, Esther didn’t plan for Freya to appear here. She only knew that she would be here because Freya had told her that she wanted to go somewhere quiet. Apparently, she wanted to tell her something.

[Automatically accepting the Quest in 00:00.5]

Freya sat down. She fiddled with her fingers for a bit, slapped herself, gathered up her courage, and slowly opened her mouth.

“Fox spirit, I lov—”

“Shhh!” Esther put a finger to Freya’s lips. Although it looked like she was staring deep into Freya’s eyes, she was looking at the blue screen before her.

[Timer completed. Commencing quest…]

[Quest gained]

[Kill 500 sentient beings

Failure condition: More than two years have passed since the initiation of the quest

Completion condition: Kill 500 sentient beings within two years]

Oh, I was worried for nothing. Esther heaved a sigh of relief. As she was about to tell Freya to continue with what she was saying, she noticed that the Status screen was blinking red.

[{Monarch of Violence} has evoked his second curse]

What the—

[ERROR! TAMPERING WITH THE FLOW OF CAUSALITY IS DETECTED!]

[Emergency Quest’s name: From Scratch]

[Complete the Tutorial Dungeon

Failure condition: Death

Completion condition: Survive]

[Transporting every living being in your vicinity in 00:00.3]

Esther froze. She wasted eight precious seconds trying to comprehend the text before her. When she realized what was happening, she quickly pushed Freya aside and rushed inside the venue again.

SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITS!

She dashed through the crowd, knocking the guards aside, and barged into the deeper part of the mansion. She dashed through the mansion cluelessly like a headless chicken and shouted,

“GUILDMASTER! WHERE ARE YOU!?”

If she was going to delve into the Tutorial Dungeon, she’d rather drag a 6-star with her!

[Transporting every living being in your vicinity in 00:00.1]

SHIT! WHERE IS HE!?

[Transporting every living being in your vicinity in 00:00.03]

COME ON! COM—

Suddenly, someone appeared from a corner and clashed into Esther. She rubbed her head in pain, but quickly looked up to see who had ran into her. Please be the Guildmaster Please be the Guildmaster Please be the Guildmaster Please b—

“Fox spirit, why did you run a—”

[The timer is up. Transporting….]

Tendrils of Causality rose up from the ground and wrapped themselves around Esther and Freya, dragging them to where they came from.

“Sh-it—! GARGHHH! LET ME GO!” Esther gritted her teeth. She reached her hand out and screamed for help. She was close. So close to touching a door handle. If she could hang onto it, maybe she could stay here for just a little longer!

But her hand just fell short of the handle, and a mocking blue screen appeared.

[{Monarch of Violence} wishes you a very pleasant death.]