In this world filled with darkness, where devil would lurk around the shadows waiting for their prey to pounce on and put terror to the hearts of innocents. For many years humans became afraid of these demons even with a large army and the ever-growing populace of adventurers putting their own life, the demons still managed to put fear in everyone's heart. With their unnatural regeneration, strength and speed, a veteran adventurer would have a hard time dealing with it without a proper plan. However, if someone would widen their view these unnamed demons would not hold a candle to their leader, a true incarnate of evil. A being that leads the army of demons to the continent. It has many names, the leader of darkness, the bringer of despair, the destroyer and so on and so forth. But many knew its name as Demon Lord.
Thus, for the people the true peak is the subjugation of the demon lord. Of course many adventurers tried to defeat that evil however it only led to one conclusion, death. Though one may lose hope, there is still a light in this never ending darkness. A prophecy is made, a single human with his sword glowing with seven colors will vanquish the source of evil. Many oracles call this hope or rather human as 'Hero'. It was obvious from the start, of course someone called the hero or rather the one who will be called as hero will defeat the evil. A being truly blessed by the gods, even the strongest and the best of the best adventurer or soldier will not match for him. Yes, you can try to reach the hero however you will always be one percent less than him, not having a chance to be his equal in power. Though they say that everyone can be the main character of their story, the hero is the true main character of the story of the world.
However, this is not the story of the mighty hero trying to kill the evil lord. In fact the demon Lord is already defeated. Just yesterday the demon lord was subjugated, and with the defeat of the source of evil the news spread like wildfire, from the largest country, city, and even the smallest village. Many were surprised that just after the hero gained his title two years ago he managed to kill the leader of devils that many people tried for many years. Though even after the defeat of the demon lord, evil is still rampant and it will be a long time before 'peace' is truly achieved. This is a story about an adventurer trying his best to live in a world free of 'demon lord'.
"Shiro!" a voice down in the guild counter shouted "SH-I-RO!" the guild receptionist called again, finally gaining his attention, he looked back. Right, that's my name, I'm Shiro. However, I don't know why the receptionist is calling me, as far as I know I haven't done anything that will gain her attention. In fact I was just about to pick a quest to start.
"Shiro, come here" she signaled me to come with her hands going back and forth. I sense that it must be pretty important for her to call me this early so I turn my attention away from the guildboard and walk towards her.
"Did you know that the hero already defeated the demon lord" her eyes are full of star as if she was reminiscing an epic story of old, though she may only heard the story, she acted like she was there. By the way, the defeat of the demon lord is still a hot topic today. I guess defeating the demon lord is truly an act of miracle but I have doubts. I think it is not really that easy for the demon lord who has ruled the devil's to be defeated that easily even by the hero. But I won't say that in public.
"Yeah, I've already heard it many times… "
"Why are you acting like it's not like a big deal? You know it right, the hero defeats the big bad. I'm sure the decrease of demon army will help all the people''
By the way, the girl in front of me is Kyoko, a receptionist in the guild. She had yellow hair cut just below her shoulder and a dragon hairpin on her left bangs. She wore the standard blue guild uniform though she wore the same clothes as others she excluded a different aura, catching the attention of others.
The first time I registered as an adventurer was the same time I saw her. Like me she was a newbie in the guild and just after two years she was promoted. It was not my position to say things but many adventurers had already confessed to her but she gracefully turned her down by saying "I'm sorry but just look for someone else".
"So, why did you call here ? I know you won't call me just for simple talk" I asked her, raising one of my eyebrows.
She took a sigh, "Can't you just enjoy that some cute girl is talking to you?" she pouted at me. I am quite offended at what she does, does she think I'm that not popular that no one will take to me. I already know it but there's no need to rub on salt. But why did she mention it now?
"Well, since you don't want to have a good small talk with this cute girl in front of you I will just go with the main point" she pouted at me again, her cheeks getting red in anger. "Just like I said, due to the defeat of the demon lord, the power of the demons and monsters suddenly goes down. This prompt the large amount of adventurer trying termination and subjugation quest"
So, that's the reason why I can only do a small amount of termination quests on the guild board, even the horned bunnies quest which I always take is in low numbers. Though it may sound similar, termination and subjugation quests have a very simple difference. The termination quest consists of killing a set number of weak monsters like the horned bunnies while subjugation quest consist of killing a powerful monsters and demons that can or will terrorist human settlement like dragons.I can understand the low ranking quest getting in low numbers since there are no more powerful demons there is no need to be overly cautious. But it was still surprising that even those in higher rank quests are getting fewer. Are those people getting overconfident?
"Oh, so that is the reason you call me here, " I said "But I still don't understand that you need to call me just to remind you I'm just a lowly rank E adventurer. It's not like I'm going to be overconfident and challenge a dragon"
The ranking in the guild is separated into six groups; Rank F being the lowest and Rank A being the highest. There is also a special rank that can only be given by the country itself, this rank is Rank S. The number of people that received this ranking can be counted on fingers. Speaking of rank, I am Rank E, just one rank higher above the lowest. It still hurts me that in my batch I am only the one who is still in lower ranks. All of my batchmates are either rank B or rank A, and to put a scorching heat on my confidence they say that the Hero is in my batch too. Just remembering that fact made me want to sulk around the corner and cry in tears. .
"tch, tch" she waved her pointer finger at me "that's where are you wrong" she said to me. "You're here to join a party, "
"... but can you call it a party if there are only the two of you?" she whispered.
Thinking that it may not be important I moved on.
"This is the first time I hear this about beside you know my circumstances" This is very surprising to me as no one wants to party with me even those who are in E rank and the same rank as me is avoiding me like a plague and more to the higher one. Due to my strength and my inability to learn anything past the beginner stage be it sword and magic technique I was even given the nickname "The Weakest of Weakest" and aside I really wonder why no one is approaching me as if I was cursed.
"Oh don't worry about it, she won't judge you" I gave her a doubtful look.
"There she is, " she pointed at the girl, silently standing at one of the tables. "Come, come" Kyoko called to her, she was the same as before. No delicacy at all, can she say that the girl she was calling didn't want to gather attention at all. I sighed inwardly at her antics, I needed to remind her about people who are like me.
"Shiro, this is the one I am talking about" she reintroduced her to me. I am thankful that I finally have to face who I am going to party with. Wait, I'm still not agreeing with what Kyoko said.
I gazed at her figure, then suddenly she flinched slightly revealing her amber eyes out of her hood. The neutral atmosphere between us became airy, it was clearly obvious she was wary of me. I don't want to think about it but Did I just get branded as a pervert in her mind? Of all things that she can think of me, why did it need to be a pervert. I took a heavy sigh on what's about to come.
She stood slightly below me, if I can say she was the same or slightly smaller than Kyoko. She wore a checkered hood together with her elf - style hunting outfit. In her hips, there were two small swords. Remembering her Amber eyes, I shiver slightly on the image of those two small swords cutting me on the back.
"So, if it's a party where are the other two?" I ask. It was natural to ask, a party consisting of four people. The most common roles in a party are; warrior, tank, thief, healer. Some of the other parties are also composed of mage and paladin but those parties who have those are on the C rank and above.
"Well… " Kyoko trailed off "There is only the two of you"
"What!" I rounded my eyes "What are you saying that we are only two, you cannot call this a party if we are just two."
"Actually, you can still call it a party even if you are two, the guild considers something a party as long as you are not alone. It's just that a Four-man party is the most common one, " she explained "but let's not talk about it,"she laughed. I scowled at her, how dare she laugh at our circumstances. Out of all people, she should know about my abilities and how they compare to others, even the lowest, based on my nickname. It should be obvious. "Don't worry about it, she has the same rank as you," she winked at me "now, let's introduce you to each other!" she pumped her fist up.
I couldn't agree more…
"As you heard from Kyoko, I'm Shiro, a rank E adventurer" I put my hands in front.
"likewise, I'm Frey, just Frey" she put her hand in front and we have a handshake "I'm also rank E but please treat me well"
After our introduction to each other,Kyoko claps her hands. There is a wide smile in front of her, but unlike those genuine smiles that you can see from your friends. Her smile is wicked, no it was better to say that it is full of mischief. Just by seeing it I can already tell that she is planning something.
"Now that you know each other. I will go back to my desk" she hops back into the guild frontdesk "Oh, before I forgot you can choose the quest you want to go. Anything can go as long as your rank permits it. " I was petrified that even with a mischievous smile she didn't do anything, but let's not talk about that now.
I nodded to her before we walked towards the guild board.
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Just like what Kyoko said and what I saw earlier. The termination quest for Rank E adventurers are so few that it is pretty none-existent. Even the termination quest for horned bunnies and red hounds is so low.
I turned my head to Frey who was just silently watching me, picking a quest. Feeling that I am ignoring her. I suddenly spoke.
"Is it really fine for me to choose the quest?" I ask her.
She nodded at me. I took a silent sigh, as the girl I am talking to didn't even speak a single word. Though even with that, a question suddenly pops into my mind. How does a rank E like her need to party with other adventurers? I'm sure that Kyoko will help her pick a very easy solo quest so that she will not endanger her life. To top it off, Kyoko even called me to just party up with her. I'm sure an average E rank adventurer is much stronger than me, so why?
"Yeah, why?" I suddenly said.
"What do you mean why?" I took a step as she suddenly appeared at my side. Her hood is still blocking her face, I don't know if she is still wary or just genuinely curious. But I think this is the perfect opportunity to ask my question.
I took a breath. "Is it OK to ask a question?"
She tilted her head "If I can answer it"
"So, why did you need to party ? I know that if you ask Kyoko she will give you an easy quest, seeing that you have a low rank."
"I see… " I saw her amber eyes intently looking at me as if she was looking at her next prey, seconds after it mellows out and once again her eyes had been block by the shadow of her hood "My home is… far away from here and this is the first day that I will take quest in this land. So, I am not really familiar with the place. Seeing that I request to party up with someone to familiarize myself with the monsters and the area where you can hunt."
By familiarizing the monsters in the area and learning about the terrain, she would not be surprised if she was suddenly ambushed by the monsters. Like what they say in the guild, information is gold. With proper planning you can tackle anything. I see now, that is her reason. But why would Kyoko party with me? There are a lot of people in the guild with the same rank as her. I took a sigh, you don't really need to think about it deeply. Me, being a rank E for a long time, means that I already know the place where you can see and hunt the low ranking monsters where rank E and F can hunt.
Before I realize it, I already grab two quests. Being rank E surely has its benefits, I said to myself with a deprecating tone. My hand moved on its own, grabbing the paper with the picture of horned bunnies and red hounds.
In the past there was an accident where I was caught up in a quest beyond my capabilities and it almost ruined my life. I remember that without that person I would not be standing here. So, I slowly read the content of the quest, my eyes bulge as the contents of the quest absorb into my mind.
"twenty horned bunnies!, " I shouted " and ten red hounds! "
Even with the cute appearance of horned bunnies, they can still quite put a punch and with their hard coiled horn, one could die if the bunnies hit you in the right in your body. To see someone hunting double the amount of the common termination request for horned bunnies made me surprised. They even double the amount of red hounds. I took a defeated sigh, as I saw the reward for the quest, it was ten thousand Gil. If I take the quest I will have the money to last for a week and so and if I don't I will starve for the next few days.
I look towards Frey asking if it's okay to take the quest where she just nodded.
"Are you really okay with taking this quest? I know that this monster are low ranking but they are still dangerous"
Once again she just nodded at me, Taking her permission. I walk towards the front desk to finalize the quest.
But instead of the usual 'You officially take this quest' I heard Kyoka said "Be careful out there" , her cheeks reddening ever so slightly. I took a double take to see if she was really blushing, but when I turned my gaze to her. She is looking at me with her professional smile. Meanwhile, the girl beside her is grinning like a goblin.
'Maybe it's just my imagination, it's impossible for her to blush'
My thoughts suddenly stopped as I felt a chilling cold in my spine. I even heard the whispers "Explode" and "Die" . I fasten my steps as fast as I can to get out of the guild as I feel that I would die if I remain there even just for a second.
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Just after an hour finally arrived at our destination. . As we actually take two quests one for horned bunnies and red hounds. We chose the Nanline plains who is close to Leraine woods, the nearest hunting ground in the city located just a few kilometers away.
"Horned bunnies can multiply fast, so we will not found any problem finding them" I explained to Frey "Even with what Kyoko said I think the number of horned bunnies will not be affected"
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Once again, Frey just nodded at me.
"Since you said that you need to familiarize the ground around here. You will take the less chaotic side of the plains and I will go here" I said pointing in the opposite direction. "I will hunt ten bunnies and you will hunt around ten too or how much you can get. We will meet here after three hours" I brandished my shortsword "After we hunt horned bunnies, we will hunt red hounds together as they move in packs unlike the horned bunnies which mostly act individually."
She nodded at me, without leaving a word she walked towards the opposite direction ready to hunt the bunnies. As for me, I took another sigh, I really don't know how to communicate with others so I don't know if what I'm doing is right. It certainly didn't help that Frey is a girl with just a few words. I took a sigh and walked towards the opposite direction.
"Where are they!!!" I shouted. It's been an hour, but I still can't find a single trace of the bunny. In the past, even with just a few minutes exploring Nanline plain you can find a horned bunny but today I cannot find even a single one.
'Does the defeat of the demon lord have this drastic effect on the monster even with the passive monster' I ask myself. If the amount of wyverns or devil suddenly diminished I will not question it as they are powerful monsters, but with horned bunnies. I will not believe it. Even considering the mating habits of horned bunnies, it is still quite impossible for them to suddenly disappear.
Suddenly, I saw white figure running in the corner of my eyes. I grin like crazy, as I know what that figure really is. That is an elusive monster I've been hunting for an hour. I quickly hide behind the large rock near me and watch my prey. Aside from the deadly horn in its head, Horned bunnies are also known for their speed. One wrong move and my prey could flee from me before I even managed to be near it.
Direct confrontation with the small animal will just lead to failure, so I grab my two throwing knives. Having the experience of hunting Horned bunnies almost everyday, I'm very confident that I will be able to hit it even at this distance. And if I fail, then my nickname must truly be fitting for me.
I threw my first knife behind the horned bunny, sensing danger the horned bunny swiftly moved away from where the knife landed. One could say that I am blind that I miss a target even with a close distance. However, it's all part of my plan. If the horned bunny doesn't feel any kind of panic danger, it can easily run off from you. By having it, entirely focus from fleeing, it will not think about another thing,
Capitalizing the moment, I equipped my second knife. Slowly, I took a deep breath and used my knife as a scope to follow its movement. In a swift arc, I throw the knife, slicing the air and finally hitting the body of the horned bunny. The bunny twitches for a moment before losing all its life.
"After an hour, I finally hunted something" I let out a relaxed breath "I have two hours to go."
I could only sigh in dejection even after two hours I only managed to find a single one. After finding the first one my luck suddenly poof out of existence. Even though I explored the plains and the usual parts where horned bunnies gathered I could not find any bunnies. I arrived at the place where I told Frey where we would meet, but she was not here yet.
"Maybe she is still looking for the bunnies," I said to myself. I could not blame her as even me is having a hard time finding the bunnies. Minutes after I arrived at our rendezvous point Frey arrived. I rounded my eyes, contrary to what I thought she was dragging a bag of horned bunnies. Seeing that, I feel ashamed as even with two years of being an adventurer that hunts horned bunnies I could only find one.
"How did you find that many horned bunnies?" I asked in surprise.
"I found them there" she pointed at the near horizon of where I previously pointed "There are in groups, so I didn't have a hard time locating the others."
I just really have bad luck, maybe I just got on the wrong side and the bunnies have migrated to another area in the Nanline place, I said to myself trying to alleviate my own mood. But how did Frey manage to kill all of them? Like I said earlier, horned bunnies are fast creatures so if they see you they instantly run. I look at Frey.
'She was not holding any bows and arrows, and she didn't have any throwing knives. It cannot be stone too, as Horned bunnies have hard skulls. So, what did she use as a projectile?'
I look inside the bag and again I'm surprised. The number of horned bunnies inside is exactly twenty. "How did you kill all of them?" I ask.
"I used magic. " she instantly replied.
Wait, did I just misheard that? "Can you repeat it, Frey?"
"I used magic. "
Of course… It was magic.
I looked back at the bag, there I saw the burned pelts of the bunnies, some of them were even twitching. Though they are a menace for farmers I could still pity the 'poor little things'. Thankfully, the guild uses the horn of the horned bunnies as the verification for bunnies.
"Lets go to the Leraine Woods then" we walk towards the nearest edge of the woods.
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Unlike my luck at the plains, we instantly found a pack of red hounds. I lower my body and hide behind the bushes, similarly Frey follows me. Since red hounds work together in groups, the best strategy is to eliminate them one by one or instantly where they could not react. However, this is easier said than done. At best I could only hunt three red hounds, but maybe… 'with Frey's help we could do it. ' I said to myself
Just as I was thinking about what we will do. I smell something like burning. I instantly look at the bag where the horned bunnies are stored but when I smell it, the burning smell was not there. When I was about to ask Frey about the smell, I saw her hands holding a fireball.
I suppress my urge to shout at her, using that kind of spell here could only cause a major disaster. Magical fireball is much more dangerous than the normal fire and more importantly it could lead to a massive forest fire. If the guild learned that we are the cause of it I'm sure that we would be thrown down in the dungeon of the kingdom not to see the sunlight again.
I swiftly grabbed her wrist "You can't do that! " I whisper to her. Frey turned her head to me and stared straight into my eyes. I could see her fiery amber eyes staring right into my soul. 'please, please stop your magic'
She closed her fist, and the once magic fireball dissipated "Why did you stop me?"
If I could put my hand into my face right now, I would instantly but it's not the right time for that.
"Was it really not obvious? If you use that kind of magic you risk the forest from burning" I scolded her, still keeping my voice down.
"I see… " she replied. Her voice is monotone as ever, making it hard for me if she is really listening to me. It certainly didn't help that her hood is still keeping her face off.
"Umm..."I took another sigh. Why make everything hard? Is Frey just really not the typical adventurer or is there a problem with me? "Here is the plan, I will take the attention of the first two hounds and while they are focused one will support me from the back" I explained to her. "Can you use any other magic? Preferably something not destructive" I asked where she just nodded.
Without wasting any time I threw one of my knives on the hounds, instantly the rest of the red hounds retaliated because I hurt one of their comrades. Swiftly, the others dash forwards to our direction, unlike the horned bunnies which can be one-shotted with the right amount of force. The red hounds have a higher pain resistance and are more durable, even the one that I hit with a knife managed to dashed forward to me. I can clearly see the grudge he has in his eyes.
"I will never hunt red hounds again" I sighed.
To my surprise, the red hound with my knife led the pack to attack me. Even with shock, I throw my remaining knife to the leading hound. Which again to my surprise, he easily dodged. 'He is really hell bent on killing me' I whisper underneath my breath. I won't be surprised if managed to move even if he died.
But I won't be beaten by this single hound, for the whole two years I spent my time hunting this kind of monster. If this red hound thinks that he can kill me, then I will prove to him what I can do.
"I will be beaten by you, this is what the Weakest can fight for. "
I twisted my head body performing an one-eighty spin, at that moment I equipped my short sword. In a perfect arc, I slashed the eyes of the red hound in front, but my attack didn't just stop that. Using the momentum from my first attack I reverse my grip and pierce the neck of the incoming red hound, before I perform a wide swing finally killing the first hound.
Full of adrenaline, I gripped my sword ready to battle the remaining hounds. Also behind my back, Frey is charging her attack, I just need to give her some more time before she can unleash her magic. If I consider what her magic did to those poor horned bunnies I'm sure that the red hound will suffer the same fate as those bunnies.
However, before I noticed it something struck my side. The sheer amount of force threw me in the air. My eyes widen as I saw what hit me. 'Another hound' I grunted. Out of nowhere, a hound hit me. I gritted my teeth and raised my short word high in the skies before I pierced the head of the hound that hit me. Unfortunately, as I was about to finally hit the ground my head hit a stray stone. In that instant, everything turns dark.
The next moment I knew is that I am lying the grass. Every part of my body is assaulted with stinging pain from ears to stomach and even my foot. I instantly open my eyes and shot up my body. I jumped from one point to another, trying to get out the ants that manage to enter my clothes. Before I knew it, I was like dancing a primitive tribal dance. However, I instantly stop when my gaze suddenly caught the figure of Freya staring at me.
She is not wearing her hood, revealing her face to me. I am expecting some kind of grand reveal that she is somehow a princess or a hero, but it is anticlimactic to just see her face like this. She has short raven hair and amber eyes. Looking at her now, she had this kind of aloof face and emotionless eyes. But even so you can easily be captivated by her eyes as if it is like a lamp shining inside a dark room. I was expecting her to be an elf due to her affinity with magic, but looking at her ear now. It is similar to human, there is no even sign of pointiness that is unique to elves and even half-elves.
"This never happened" I look at her straight into eyes. 'I need divert her attention quick'
"Let's go, we need to find more red hounds, right? " Before I could take another step, she grab my shoulder and pointed at the pile behind me. Taking a closer inspection, I was instantly surprised. The pile is made out of no other than red hounds. "One, two, three… " I began counting, and again just like what happens with horned bunnies. Frey managed to kill the remaining red hounds and even find another five.
"Are you really sure, that you are an E rank" I ask her, this time looking for any sign of lying.
"Yes"
'There is no sign of deceit' maybe she is just that powerful. Many adventurers, even if they have the capability to one-strike a dragon, need to start from the lowest rank due to the guild rules. Just then the guild will be able to promote the adventurer if they complete a special quest to really confirm their strength together with other variables like teamwork, spatial awareness, planning, and more. 'Maybe, Frey has the same circumstances' Nevertheless, I am stuck again with a powerful person.
I took a defeated sigh. There is no reason to be down, at least we finished the two quests in just one day. "Let's go back Frey."
She nodded before putting the hood back and following me.
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After an hour, we finally arrived at the guild.
'Why are there so few people?'
At this time of the day, the guild is commonly filled with tons of adventurers checking out the rewards from the quests they take. This is specially true to the lower ranked adventurers as the quests they take should not take that whole day but this time, you can even count the people in your hand. I was just curious but it is not our problem, so we just move on.
However, before I and Frey reach the counter. A certain adventurer bumped into me.
"Tch, get away me from weakest"
The adventurer who bumped me is a C-rank adventurer notorious for bullying the lower ranks especially those who are in F and E. And me being the weakest, of course he would always know my name.
I just passed him. He said to get away from him, So I complied. Besides, I don't have the time and energy to deal with him anymore. It's getting evening and I want to sleep. I think Frey wants to rest too.
"So, it's the weakest. You're getting cocky. Remember, you are at my mercy If I want I could kill you right now. Don't you turn your back to me!!! " His words are full of rage. Even his face is getting red in anger.
He curled up his fist and began charging at me. But he was instantly interrupted by his goons."Boss, don't do that"
"Why should I stop, that weakest can't even scratch on me" he spat.
"We know that boss but," he pointed at the person standing in the staircase "the guildmaster is looking at you"
"Tch, you are spared this time weakest. But the next time I see you." his eyes are bloodshot "You would wish that you were never born" with that he got out.
As for me, I took a sigh and began checking out. I passed the quest paper and gave the bodies of the horned bunnies and red hounds. Since we didn't exactly dismantle their bodies we just gave it all
"Here is the requested twenty horned bunnies and ten red hounds" I said to Kyoko
"Good job to the two of you. I never expected that you would be able to finish it this quickly" She has a genuine shock on her face, her mouth forming an 'o' shape . My brows twitched from her reaction. I really want to pinch the cheeks of this girl in front of me. Not only did she party up with another person without my consent. She didn't even have the confidence that we would be able to do it. I took a sigh. I really cannot distinguish her serious and playful side.
Before I realized it, my hands were already coming to her face. Ultimately I rejected the idea. I dejectedly drop my hands.
Instead of just letting my moment of weakness. Kyoko let out her trademark mischievous smile "Oh my, what are you going to do? Are you gonna pinch my check so hard that I will moan your name to stop. To violate my body and remember your touch. I didn't know you had that side, Shiro. "
"Can we just go on, I really want to sleep" I beg her.
"If you really want to sleep that much, then I will let you sleep in m-"
"Please, please stop… I beg you"
"You don't have to beg me, I already finished all of the documents and given the reward to Frey" I look at my side, true to what Kyoko said Frey is already holding the bag of money. She even lifted it slightly to show it.
"Then why… nevermind"
The only problem remaining is how we can divide the money equally. Since, Frey almost hunted all the bunnies and hounds, I think she should have gotten like seventy-percent of the reward or should I have raised it. I was immediately interrupted, when Frey suddenly gave me a bag of money.
"That is the half of the reward, take it"
"huh? Half of the reward should be like seventy-five percent of the reward. I didn't even hunt that many of monster" I reasoned to her "I cannot take it"
"Take it" she insisted
"I said I cannot take it" I suddenly felt a chill in my spine. I looked at her there. I saw it again, her amber eyes looking at me like I am a prey. A small animal at the mercy of the predator. 'Making her mad would lead everything into mess'
"Fine, I would take it but, " I raised my finger "You need to order me something that would make this reward like I earned it"
She takes a few moment to think before answering "Party with me"
"Hmmmm, I think that will be good" I replied to her "Well, I will see you tomorrow, Frey. Good Night."
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I am very confused right now, no it is beyond terrible. Why do you ask because the one that I said good night to is following me. Commonly, if you said good night it is either that you will be going to bed or you will go separate ways. But, Frey right now is following me like a cat.
"Ummm, Frey, why are you following me?"
"No, I am not following you"
"Then, why are you taking the same road and even the alleyways!" I accidentally raised my voice
"I'm going to that inn," she pointed at one of the buildings, which was noisier than the other.
Oh, she is checking in at the same Inn I am currently living at. If I could scream right now, I would do it. But it will make me look like an insane person so I will not prefer it at the moment.
I let out a wryly smile. The atmosphere between us could only be described as awkward. I have never felt this kind of awkwardness ever since I fell on top of Kyoko.
"Good night again" I winced.
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In this night where the only light is the stars, and the warmth of the day is replaced by the cold breeze. A predator lurks in the dark, jumping from roof to roof looking for its prey.
"Damn, because of that weakest I have lost streak. He gave me bad luck" He complained
"Don't worry boss, I know that if you see him again you will beat him up"
"Yeah, boss he is no match for you"
"You're goddamn right" he let out a boisterous laugh, reverberating throughout the alleyway. However, his prideful laughter suddenly died down when he heard a screeching sound. Even with his attitude he is still a C-rank adventurer with experience. And with experience comes wisdom. He only knew one thing who could make that annoying sound, a sword being dragged in the ground.
Instantly, he turned his head towards the sound and raised his sword. Seeing this his goons also copy him. Whatever, he is sure that he will manage to fight. He is a high-ranker after all.
"Fight m-"
Before he could finish his words, his hands were suddenly cut down. He could see it, his hands were not in his arms but his brain kept on refusing the information. He looks at his goons at his side. But compared to him, they are already lying on the ground. Cut down in mass of flesh. His body trembling, cold sweat ran to his body. He wants to run away, away from the monster that cut his arms and his goons, but no matter how much he will himself his mind won't obey.
There is no hope, he will die. Even if he managed to run he was sure that this monster would hunt him down. There is no place to hide nor a safe place, he could only hope that he will be spared. But even that is just hopeful thinking. The last thing he could remember is the fiery draconic eyes staring at him in the dark before he was cut down. At that moment his life ceased to exist.
"If these adventurers are not that arrogant then they will not be killed. And if the heroes didn't defeat me and destroy my kingdom this will never happen"
She wore a midnight dress and in her hands was a large cursed sword. In its hilt is a large eye twitching, while the blade eats all the mana around and those it cuts, and in the process releases a dark malicious energy . Of course, the demon Lord has no real reason to kill those adventurers as even the demon folks have arrogant devils. However, the mistake that those adventures have is to threaten the human she is currently using as a camouflage.
A human curse to become weak and to be surrounded by the strong. It is like a human trying to grab an apple but before he could touch it someone already claimed the apple. If she could describe him, he is the perfect clocking device. Even if she accidentally releases a strong magic spell, he will just reason it to be a strong person. If she wants to remain under the radar of the heroes, she needs to hide her powers. Then where she should hide, of course it was obvious, beside the weakest. Like they say, Hide a tree inside a forest.
Until she regains her strength she will hide and restore her kingdom in the shadows.
"I hope you will help, Shiro" with that words she vanishes.