“Kehaha, give me your gem, or your life-Agahh!?”

“Rose-senpai, I love you!! So, Please die with me-Ogahh?!!”

“There you are, you little twerp! Don’t think you can get away with punching me unconcious-Guhhh!??”

Another member of the Ruby Rubber that never learn their lesson

A ghost that should have gone to heaven a long time ago, yet find themselves hopelessly and suicidally in love, wanting to drag their target to the afterlife with them

A certain idiotic Third Son gets himself knocked out into tomorrow again, because the first thing he does when he wakes up from a coma is to seek another concussive treatment.

"…Say, these things really only happened to us here, don’t they?" (Marigold)

After apprehending those three to the relevant authorities, Marigold dejectedly made those remarks, her gradually frowning face clearly losing enthusiasm.

"Kyu? (What? You mean the fact that we keep triggering these random enemy encounters despite being in a city biome?)" (Dragon)

" I mean, that too, but just the fact that weird things keep happening to us at a much more consistent rate than many of my peers make me worry about our standing in this world and all that…" (Marigold)

“…Rather, you’re worrying about making another big mess again, aren’t you?” (Rose)

“Uuu…”

Despite things ending on an amicable (?) note, things could have blown out of proportions again, and it's just right after Marigold managed to put the last incident under the lid as well…

It’s now clear that, instead of Big Sis Rose who is the strangest one among them, and JustADra-kun who is the most boisterous and mischievous one, it’s her of all people who is the one making the biggest and baddest mess so far, and as the result, she had become the most noticeable one among them all.

And she was confident that she was the most normal and humble-looking one in the family, so she felt even more dejected, her motivation meter nearly dropped to zero…

While she was losing steam, Rose's hand hovered over her head, and patted her ever so gently. A stern, yet warm gaze looks directly upon her eyes, bathing her in an assurance Big Sisterly aura.

'Big Sis's healing vibe is the best, after all!' Marigold thought of it for a second, as she awaited her words, that would surely be filled with kind reassurances and caring words…

"Marigold… your confidence has always been unfounded anyway." (Rose)

“Not even a “Don’t Worry”!?” (Marigold)

Getting hit in the face with the sudden cruelness of reality, her motivation meter dug straight into the crust of the earth, and in an instant, she became some sort of Amoeba-like creature whose only function in life is crawling upon the ground where they depressingly belong.

“Kyu… (Oof, that’s harsh… Even I would dress that up with some glitter and glue before delivering the lethal injection)” (Dragon)

“The earlier she hears this the better, so it’s a necessary evil…Also, I don’t think your suggestion would have made things better.” (Rose)

"Kyu~(Who said I was trying to? Anyway, cheer up Mari-Dork, you will have plenty more chances to mess up big time when we arrive at the Guild's front door~.)" (Dragon)

"…not even in it. As expected, I really am just simply a mass of trouble, perhaps I shouldn't even try…" (Marigold)

“Kyu! (That’s the spirit!)” (Dragon)

"…Honestly, you two always have the weirdest way of helping each other out. And yes, like what Dragon goaded you to say, you shouldn't try too hard on this." (Rose)

Picking up the blobby mess that was the current representation of her very soul and snapping it right back up, Rose gave her advice firmly, yet assuringly.

"Don't try to over-complicate things, or think about any Rube-Golbergian scheme to make it seem normal, and instead just keep it simple. All we have to do here is just come over and register ourselves, pick some simple quest, and have a good time for all, got it?" (Rose)

“Got it…but are you sure we can do that how we like? After all, there is her at the reception table…” (Marigold)

“Don’t worry about her for now, and instead visualize what you want to do when we come, okay? For better or for worse, she is fundamentally helpful here” (Rose)

"Kyu! (Yeah, and who knows? Maybe we will get to watch some amusing show)" (Dragon)

"Stick to the plan, keep it simple, Don't worry about her…Got it, I think I am ready. Thanks, Big Sis." (Marigold)

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"You should thank me later, we're here already." (Rose)

Talking casually on the way, they arrived at the Adventuring Guild in a blink of an eye.

To describe how it looks, two words are usually enough: Practical, and Cliché.

A typical government-like 2-stories made entirely out of woods and nails. A simple open doorway with a simple sign hanging on top of it. The utter lack of design or color outside of wooden brown, and The faint yet unmistakable scent of sweat and odor emanating from deep in the building waffling toward them…

To put it positively, it’s retro, and to put it harshly, it’s as if this building was made by a focus group of Isekai nerds, aiming to check all the Isekai boxes.

Yet, it's this clichéness that makes it instantly recognizable. For the people who deeply love the genre, it's the very platonic idea of the adventuring guild itself.

"…Though personally, I don't really get why they put so much effort into making a building so precisely plain. I also don't really get why some people are so enthusiastic about this, either." (Rose)

“Well… passion, tradition, and cynicism, I guess.” (Marigold)

“Kyu (Basically a theme park’s attraction-kind of feels, or a player-focused Venus Flytrap.)” (Dragon)

Bravely entering into the opening, tempting maw (not really), the three slowly enter inside, into the most typical receptionist space ever designed by god and man. Filled with people wearing all sorts of gear, everyone here is busily working out all their usual adventuring stuff, from checking out requests, to registering missions and receiving rewards, to grouping up together and having small talk and discussion.

… Or at least, it should have been.

Instead, everyone around is as silent and quiet as a ghost in a church house, the atmosphere’s so tense you could cut it with a knife. Everyone is looking at them so deeply, they could drill through the shackity doorway behind their back.

"…So, here it is. Remember your training, and remember what we have talked about earlier." (Rose)

“Got it, Big Sis.” (Marigold)

“Kyu (Aye Aye, Bossess).” (Dragon)

It feels like the confrontation of a lifetime, as if they have stepped into a Great Lion's den. Or perhaps, this feels more like the prelude to a Western duel, where not even dust dares to disturb the pensive air.

Looking even more serious than usual, Rose's demeanor turned frigid and freezing, her gaze sharpened to the limit, as if it could cut down everyone before her into ribbons. Following that up, the two of them also are putting on their best A-game, showing off a confident stride and puffed-up chest.

The eyes that focused toward them, quickly darted toward a certain reception table, looking so suspiciously clean and pristine, filled with flower and waffling perfume scent, as if trying to hide a corpse.

Behind them, stands a receptionist girl of quite ordinary bespectacles looks. With well-trimmed black hair and neatly-placed makeup on a balanced oval face, she's the type of plain office beauty that, even if you pass by her every single day, her smile will still catch you by surprise…

The smile that, despite looking so normal and polite, felt as if it was a mask made of human skin, disguising a terrible desire behind her upturned eyes, barely hiding a bestial thirst between the gap.

"Greetings to Meet You, My Customer. How Can I Help You-?"

(Eek!!)

Even her false falsetto voice brings a chill upon her skin and bone. Clearly feeling her gaze scanning all across every inch of her skin, Marigold almost felt as if she was a prized pig waiting to be stuffed jussst fat enough to be put into the oven wholesale, slowly cooked over an open flame while her eyes salivating over.

'That isn't how a human is supposed to look at each other at all!' She almost let that retort out of her mouth, only saved by her sheer martial discipline. Utilizing nearly all of her fighting experience, she solidly keeps her composure as calm as a lake, not letting her nervousness leak through for even an iota of a whiff.

"Greetings. We're here to register our adventuring licenses." (Rose)

“Oh~, Wonderful~, We Are Always Welcoming To New Pre-Adventurers Joining Into Our Fold~. So first, can I know your name…”

“(Oho…’Pre’, as in ‘Prey’ huh-kyu)” (Dragon)

Naturally standing in front of Marigold, hiding her behind, she calmly conversed with the receptionist in front of her, as she gave out the necessary information for registration, as representative for all three.

Though, despite looking at each other in the face, their eyes aren’t reaching each other at all. Instead, both of their pupils are shifting wildly, as if they’re fencing with their sight alone, striking and parrying at every swipe in the span of moments.

As a bystander, Dragon finds this Cold War-like exchange quite amusing, and almost reaches out for popcorn inside her inventory in jest. If this gets even more exciting, she needs to prepare drinks, as well.

“Greaattt, we have everything in check already." Said the receptionist, smiling like a serial killer. "Now, let me finalize the steps and give you your Adventure License Card…"

"That would be appreciated… Oh, we aren't expecting much, so just the normal F-rank license is good enough." (Rose)

“Got it~, EX-rank licenses, coming right up!"

"F-rank licenses, please." (Rose)

"Got it got it, special limited VIP EX-rank licenses, coming right up~!"

"No no, F-rank licenses only, please." (Rose)

"Yes yes, only the most prestigious EXtra shiny licenses, coming right up~.”

"...F-rank license, please. I insist." (Rose)

"Sure thing~. EX-rank license, it is~♥”

Violet asked curtly, the receptionist responded enthusiastically.

Violet snipes down the newly-minted cards with countless cuts, the receptionist produces countless more with a sleight of hand.

The atmosphere is as thick as concrete, the killing intent (?) is oppressive, the cold sweat seeps into all the peanut's tiny puny spines, watching the conflict between tiger and lion.

And so, the game is set. And so, the war has begun.