"So, you want us to do this quest?" Lone asked as he took a sip of his ale and reread the sheet of paper that Sarah had pulled out of her pocket and handed to him.

The grand guildmaster grinned. "Yup. It's far away, which is why I need a quick group to handle it. It was commissioned by a right dickhead, but he's got political clout and a good heart beneath all of the foreskin that makes up his body. Me and Erion can only do so much when it comes to refusing the nobles and the crown, ya see?"

Scott looked confused. "How come? Doesn't The Adventurer's Guild have, like, continental-wide power?"

Hazel looked at the muscular teen like he was a fool. "Don't be dumb, Scott. Think about it like this; just because Ford sells cars in every country, that doesn't mean that they can ignore political pressure."

Emma put a finger on her chin. "There's also the fact that it took a lot of effort to reform Falron to the point that it banned slavery. If accepting a slightly tricky quest every now and then is all the guild has to do to placate the nobles, then that's no skin off the guild's back. Or something like that."

Scott's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Emma said something smart... She's not a complete bimbo..."

Alisa punched her boyfriend for being so rude while George stifled a laugh and Emma smiled charmingly.

Sarah scoffed down a few of the chicken wings she'd ordered as she nodded her head. "I've no clue what or who Ford and cars are, but yeah, more or less. They never issue impossible quests. Plus, this one seems like a real problem, so I wanna send someone with actual strength to go clean it up."

Lone didn't care much about this. "Why us? I imagine Mystopolis is teeming with X and double-X-ranked adventurers. I've sensed at least seven since yesterday evening. The quest isn't a cakewalk, but I doubt it really needs us. I'd rather work on the mountain of quests you tasked me with completing as soon as possible," he noted.

Sarah's lips curled upwards. "You guys are the fastest group in the whole city. Even faster than The Seven Deadly Sins, which trust me, is no small feat."

Lone raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think we're fast?"

The grand guildmaster gave him a cheeky smile before she downed her drink and chuckled after she finished off a burger and two grilled chicken thighs. "C'mon. I've not got a way with words, yeah, but I'm not touched in the head. Do you really think I wouldn't know about the human girl who can control exceptional barriers as well as teleport seemingly effortlessly? Plus, I know for a fact that you were at the eastern world tree only yesterday."

Soph's face flushed red at the unexpected praise. She covered herself in a few of Lone's tails when Sarah shot her a coy glance. The word 'lesbian' rang through the small girl's head over and over again as she submerged herself in her kingdom of fluff.

"Mind you, if I'm wrong and you've, oh, let's say, found a magical worm that can move through the ground at about Mach-Five, then go ahead an' prove me wrong," Sarah said with a shrug of the shoulders and then snorted triumphantly.

'Mach five? She knows about those kinds of speeds? How? That's a first. I thought her old friend came here ages before Earth learned about stuff like that...' Lone thought as he adjusted his glasses. "I don't really care. I was just curious how you knew. I guess it makes sense considering how little we hid our powers at the world tree."

Again, Lone looked at the quest he had been handed.

'A baby Rock Dragon has been spotted in my territory. I demand the services of a Gold-plate adventurer or an X-ranker at the minimum to complete this quest. The reward shall be ten white-gold coins as well as a full set of antique palladium armour.

Should this quest not be completed within ten days, I shall file a complaint directly to the crown. I cannot have such a dangerous beast in my territory which holds the power to ravage my lands and slaughter my people.

It is believed that it has been abandoned by its mother due to its severed tail and front arm. Regardless, slay it and I shall be eternally grateful.

Yours sincerely, Count Lorton of Rithbane.'

"The quest-giver certainly does sound like a dickhead, but he seems to have his subjects in mind. There're a couple of issues, though," Lone said as he folded the request up and tapped his finger against the table a few times. "I've not got any use for money. The antique palladium armour is interesting, but it's not worth potentially enraging a fully grown Rock Dragon by killing its kid. Sure, that's no Darkness Dragon, but it's trouble, trouble I'm not touching unless the deal is sweetened."

"Hahaha! Man, fuck, it feels good to have folk try to haggle with you despite how big and bad you are. Sure. Sweeten the deal, huh? How's about I count this as the rest of your S-ranked quests for the info on how my old buddy 'left'. I'll even teach you a skill," Sarah said enticingly.

Lone shook his head. "No way. I've seen the quest boards downstairs. There are enough S-ranked quests for me to do, plus, they're perfect for training these guys," Lone said as he gestured to the kids. "I did, however, noticed that there's only one X-ranked quest. I need to do two. See how the maths isn't exactly adding up here?"

Sarah smiled once more. "Sure. So, the original quest reward as well as cutting down your required X-ranked quests for that info from two to one, and a skill, of course."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Sounds good. I'll do it right now. Look after these kids, will you? Soph, Breena, and I, should be back while the night is still young," Lone declared confidently.

"Sure. I don't mind. Pick up your new adventurer plates before you go. They should be done. I'll tell these kids what I wanted to tell you about the war-ranked quest since you're so eager to complete this one first. Remember to visit the count before and after you kill the dragon. Need directions to his mansion?" Sarah asked.

Lone stood up and shook his head as he took Soph's hand into his own. "No need. He's from Rithbane, yeah? I'll just look for the fanciest house. That one should be his. Easy enough. Luckily I've studied quite a few maps of Altros in detail. Like I said, we should be back before long."

"'Kay. Have fun," the grand guildmaster said as she chugged her newly-poured ale.

Lone glanced at Saturn and said loudly, "Stay here and protect the kids." He then glanced at Sarah. "It's not that I don't trust you... but I don't trust you. No offence."

The burly woman just laughed. "None taken. I can respect a bloke who's a suspicious bastard. Throwing caution to the wind only serves the foolish and the soon-to-be-departed." She stroked her chin and added, "A lot like the Chruch of The Primals. Anyhoo, safe travels and all of that shit."

Lone nodded. He and Soph said their farewells to the teens and returned to the lobby on the first floor where they were awarded their new plates. Lone's was now pure golden instead of its previous mix of gold and silver. Soph's dark-steel plate had been replaced with one made entirely of silver.

Some of the adventurers - as well as customers issuing quests - raised an eyebrow and a conversation or two upon seeing their new plates.

Getting an upgrade wasn't the rarest thing in the world, however, moving past steel plate was incredibly hard since you were judged on your personality as well as your merits and strength. Naturally, not everyone was impressed.

"Bastard. Why'd the grand guildmaster let his whole group rank up? What bullshit is that? Is it cuz he's got nine tails? This is corruption!"

"Yeah! It's supposed to be impossible to get a silver plate - let alone a gold plate - without lots of back end tests to make sure the adventurer ain't a filthy cocksucker!"

"Buncha bitter old sods..."

"Whatdya say?! Wanna say that to ma face, ya inbred dwarf?!"

Lone just sighed lightly and whispered into Soph's ear, "Hey, Soph, do you mind teleporting us about seventy-two miles southwest from here? Rithbane's around that area if I'm remembering the map of Falron correctly."

She squeezed his hand and held her free palm to her chest nervously. She pressed herself up against his side and looked up at him a bit anxiously. "H-Here? In front of all of these people?"

Lone smirked. "Fuck 'em. Go ahead and show off a bit. I can tell that a lot of these idiots only see you as a child. Well, the ones below B-rank anyway. Besides, who cares if it becomes public knowledge that you're the world's most talented and cutest teleporter? The more who know, the better. More people to get jealous that you're all mine."

'Hehehe... Lone is speaking very arrogantly. We cannot say that we hate it. His words have some truth to them. We're looking more and more forward to having a body of our own as we watch him display his... hmm... dominance? That word feels fitting. It's quite... alluring, no?' Soph's reddening cheeks was enough of an answer to satisfy Sophie.

She bobbed her head up and down slowly before she expended some of her mana. Soph and Lone then disappeared without a trace, causing quite a commotion on the guild's first floor.

----------------------------------------

Were he to be entirely honest, Lone wasn't a fan of dealing with racists. As cathartic as it was to choke out the painfully ignorant and bigoted, if they weren't strong, and if he wasn't killing them, then he was gaining almost nothing from wasting his time by beating them up.

In lieu of this, Lone had decided to get Soph to just teleport the two of them directly to the entrance of the most lavish mansion in the city. He couldn't care less about paying the city's entry tax. He was here to do a job as an adventurer, not to be a citizen of Falron.

"Are you sure the count guy lives here, Lone?" Soph asked as the two approached the building's front gate.

Lone nodded. "Count Lorton is the lord of Rithbane. I'd be pretty damned surprised if he didn't own the most expensive-looking building in the city."

"Huh. I wonder who the lord of Mystopolis is then?" Soph asked as she cocked her head adorably.

A tail snaked its way into her hands playfully as Lone responded, "Technically, no one. It's governed by the joint efforts of The Academy and The Adventurer's Guild, but I did hear that Falron has someone stationed to act as the city lord when he's needed."

Their pleasant chat was interrupted by a well-armoured knight. "Halt! Who goes there?!"

Lone took out the guild request and gestured to it and his gold-plate. "I'm Lone Immortus from The Wanderers adventurer group. We're here about the urgent request to slay the Rock Dragon that's entered your lord's lands. We were told that we had to meet the count before and after completing the quest."

The knight took the quest scroll and read its content carefully. "This is certainly the seal of my lord. I shall escort you to him."

Lone silently agreed. With his Good Hearing skill, he could pick up the other knights mumbling disrespectful words about him and his adorable companion.

"Only two SS-rankers? Won't they just die? Even if it's a baby, it's still a dragon..."

"She's a kid too. To be that strong that young... Do you think she's a failed Seeker?"

"Maybe."

"The fox does have a gold-plate, so maybe they can at least weaken it enough for it to be forced into hibernation?"

"We can only hope."

Lone frowned. He raised his voice as he said, "Is it normal for the knights of Count Lorton to talk shit to his guests? Hell, I've half a mind to tell him to go fuck himself and his stupid Rock Dragon."

'Immature. Too immature. What are you up to, Lone?' Sophie asked rhetorically. Soph just hid behind a tail or two as she chose to watch this play out. Lone usually knew what he was doing, and she felt that now was no different from those times.

The leading knight turned to Lone for a moment before he gripped the hilt of his sword. He studied the foxkin's face very intently before he removed his hand from his weapon and glared at his men. "Fifteen laps around the estate. In full-plate and with a sack of bricks on your backs and tied to each limb. The guest is right. I should have you all demoted and stripped of honour for showing such a disgraceful display to a stranger. It will do nothing but reflect poorly on the lord. Any who fails this task shall be given forty lashes with an orichalcum-tipped whip before being stripped of their knighthood."

The men winced and shook in fear.

Lone grinned from ear to ear. "Would you look at that. You're a smart cookie, ain'tcha?"

The knight said nothing in response and simply returned to leading Lone and Soph through the garden towards the expansive mansion.

'Hmm... Now, why did he back down, I wonder? Do they have a communication orb and know what a certain nine-tailed foxkin did to the Seekers and the Archbishop of Mystopolis? Could he sense that I would follow through with my words? Did he judge it to be wise to not antagonise me since they're all A or S-rankers? I have a strong feeling that he's trusting his gut... This got a lot more fun than I was expecting all of a sudden,' Lone thought excitedly.

He was now expectant of his meeting with Count Lorton. Perhaps he could make a new ally here? One with some influence outside of Mystopolis. Now that, well, that could certainly be useful. Very useful.