9 – Formal Party (1)

‘What have I done…’

A nobleman with slicked-back white hair was staring blankly at Charlotte, and everyone around him who heard those words was gaping at the scene.

A moment of silence passed as everyone stood motionless, and then the guard was the first to regain his senses, throwing a fierce punch.

“You wench!!! How dare you to Reinhardt-nim!!!!”

-Thwack!!!

“Ugh…”

Charlotte managed to block the incoming fist with both arms. But the force was tremendous, and Charlotte’s body was sent flying, slamming into the Adventurer’s Guild wall.

-Crash!…

“Ugh… shit… why all of a sudden…”

-Thud! Thwack!

The guard closed the distance in an instant and began to beat Charlotte mercilessly.

“Argh!!! Ack!!! Ugh!”

Charlotte’s skills were simply not enough to block the punches. Her arm bones were breaking, and her muscles were tearing, leaving her unable to even lift her arms.

-Whump!

Finally, she was struck hard in the solar plexus and collapsed to the floor.

“Cough… hack…”

“Hmph… How dare a slut like you insult Reinhardt-nim!!!!”

‘Ah, shit… I think I messed with the wrong guy.’

Just as the guard was about to stomp on Charlotte’s head with his military boots,

“Enough. That’s enough.”

The onlookers parted to the sides, and the white-haired nobleman stepped forward.

“Hmm… I didn’t intend for this to happen, but my guard was a bit excessive…”

‘That crazy bastard…’

This time, it was a genuine thought. She was afraid she would die if she uttered it out loud one more time.

“I’ll ask you again. Lady, will you come with me?”

Ah… Seeing him grinning, it was clear that this bastard had ordered it. This filthy son of a bitch… Rage surged within her.

It was the moment when the masculinity dormant within her exploded.

Her arms were already somewhat recovered, so it was possible.

“Fuck! Off!”

-Thwack!!!

Charlotte couldn’t hold back!!!

The punch she threw with all her might landed squarely on the nobleman’s face, and the nobleman fell backward in an unsightly manner with a groan!

‘Hahaha!!!!’

Seeing the blood flowing from his nose, she knew it was her victory. She wanted to tear off his balls, but he was out of reach.

Either way, following that crazy nobleman would only lead to a future of being locked in a basement, tortured, and brainwashed. She’d rather die.

“You wench!!!!”

The guard drew his sword and activated his Aura Blade.

‘Wow… am I really going to die like this?’

She just hoped she wouldn’t run into Heinkel in hell; otherwise, he’d come to rape her again. Wait a minute! This can’t be my life flashing before my eyes!!!

In the meantime, the guard’s blade was rapidly approaching when

-Clang!!

Someone’s blade blocked the guard’s sword.

“Who is causing a disturbance in the Adventurer’s Guild?”

A deep, resonant voice echoed through the Adventurer’s Guild.

And from all around, she heard voices saying, “Oh, it’s the Guild Master,” and “Thank goodness,” which gave her a rough idea of the situation.

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The situation was quickly resolved.

When the Guild Master intervened, the Baron and his guard only said the cliché line, “You’ll regret this,” glared at her, and ran away. It was a surprisingly anticlimactic exit.

‘Wow… I almost died just sitting here.’

“Are you alright, young lady?”

The Guild Master asked. He was a large, muscular man with white hair and a white beard. Impressive.

“Yes… I’m fine. It’s not like it’s the first time.”

“Try to be more careful in the future; you’re not the only victim of that guy.”

“Really? But why do you just let him get away with it?”

“Hmph… It’s a matter involving domestic politics, so I can’t just act rashly. Even Baron Dick can’t do anything about it.

Just remember this: that man’s name is Reinhardt Alexander.

And his Hyung is Alexei Alexander, a Swordmaster of the Royalist faction.”

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Charlotte had a brief vision of going to heaven and getting laid by Heinkel, and she just thought, “Oh, so he’s the Swordmaster’s younger brother.”

She could kind of understand why he was acting like this here.

He was probably acting out due to an inferiority complex towards his Hyung and was essentially exiled.

The story was starting to take shape.

‘Ugh… Please, let’s not meet again. When I get stronger, I’ll destroy that bar along with him… I definitely will…’

‘Yeah, let’s get stronger first. I’m still weak.’

Charlotte now snapped out of her delusion of being overpowered.

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A little while later, Charlotte sat at a table, looking at the people in front of her.

There were three male adventurers in front of her, chosen by the busty blonde receptionist.

“Ah! Nice to meet you, lass! I’m Matthew, and this is Jim, and this is Mark. We’re all Bronze Badge adventurers who’ve been adventuring for over ten years.”

Looking at their faces, they were just Damian 1, Damian 2, and Damian 3. In other words, they were average. The way they were glancing at her body without making it obvious was also typical of men.

For a moment, she wanted to jump up and smack the busty blonde receptionist’s tits, but she held back.

And she couldn’t bring herself to say harsh words in front of the uncles who were smiling expectantly.

“Yes! Nice to meet you all! How about we have a sparring match to see each other’s skills?”

If that was the case, then no questions asked! She wanted to clear her complicated head and see their skills.

‘It’s nice that there’s a sparring arena in the back of the Adventurer’s Guild.’

If they were Bronze Badges, that meant they were Mana Users, so it should be worth fighting them, right?

“Hehehe… You’re too hasty, pretty lady. We’ll just make sure you don’t get hurt. It wouldn’t do to have that beautiful face scarred. Hehehe!”

Was she still not considered a woman yet? She was getting a little annoyed at being treated like a woman.

-Snap!

That was the sound of Charlotte’s forehead creasing.

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The sparring match was surprisingly easily won by Charlotte.

Were these guys even Mana Users? It was like they just paid for Mana lessons and didn’t train at all.

How could they run out of Mana after swinging their fists three times and collapse on their own? Did they get their Bronze Badges by finding lost cats?

“Seriously, guys! How can three Bronze Badge adventurers lose to one Iron Badge adventurer?”

‘Am I actually overpowered?’

At this point, Charlotte didn’t know what to make of it.

“Ugh… You’re just too strong…”

Two of the three were already unconscious and didn’t respond.

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After waking up the two, she took them all back to the Adventurer’s Guild table.

“Haa… Well, let’s still form a party. But let’s make it temporary for just three weeks.”

Lark said it would take about two to four weeks, so this should be about right.

“O-Okay.”

The three, who seemed to have shrunk to half their size compared to before, answered simultaneously.

She hadn’t even drained their energy yet, but they already looked like they had.

That was exactly what a normal Damian looked like after being drained of energy. Yeah, you guys are Damian 123 now.

And finally, her first quest!

Now that she had a formal party, she could take on jobs that paid properly, instead of just beating up random monsters.

That was actually why she formed a party with Damian 123.

They were unskilled but high-ranked, so they were great partners for Charlotte, who wanted to take on better quests.

The quest was:

-Investigate and resolve the mysterious disappearances occurring at the Ebina Mine-

Ooh!! Just the title made it sound like a fun adventure was waiting! Her adventure radar was going crazy!!

But Damian 123 seemed negative.

“Most of these quests are just asking to be monster food… Iron and Wood Badge adventurers go in and die, then Bronze Badges die, and Silver Badges are usually the ones who solve it…”

“Huh? Really? How are you so sure?”

“What do you think we’ve seen after doing this for over ten years? I’ve known thousands of adventurers, and only a few dozen of them are still alive.”

“Especially young and talented adventurers like you always die taking on dangerous jobs.”

“If you’re curious, ask at the reception desk if there have been any failures with the same quest.”

The answers that Damian 123 gave one after another sounded very plausible.

There was a reason they were Bronze Badges, and there was a reason they had survived for over ten years.

“Hmm… Okay, I’ll go ask about it.”

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This time, she went to the pink-haired busty girl instead of the blonde busty girl.

Blonde busty girl, I’m never coming to you again, you rude bitch. But do they pick receptionists based on their chest size?

“Excuse me… Have there been any adventurers who have failed this quest?”

“Ah! This quest!!!”

The pink-haired girl exclaimed, her eyes widening. Her chest also shook accordingly.

‘What’s going on? Is there really something?’

“What is it?”

“It was just updated!! Five Bronze Badge adventurers went, and one came back with his arm cut off!”

“…What?”

“It was just changed to requiring at least two Gold Badges or ten Silver Badges! You’re a little late on the news! A Chimera created by a Black Magic User has appeared in the mine!”

‘What the fuck… How can the quest details change so drastically?’

Cold sweat poured down her back. Wow, Damian 123, what’s that about? I guess you have to respect the veterans.

Wait, but why is a quest that someone else has already taken still posted? Did they post it again assuming failure?

Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine.

I see why most adventurers die…

It turned out that this place wasn’t an adventurer training center or anything like that.

It was an excellent execution ground that exploited and executed all sorts of criminals.

Think about it: you’re a criminal on the run, and, oh? There’s a place that doesn’t ask about your past crimes or background and accepts you? And they even provide support? I’d run there too if I were them.

And then they give them hope so that they can start anew, and then they push them into the abyss of death.

From the kingdom’s perspective, they save on both criminal tracking costs and monster extermination costs.

Of course, this was all just Charlotte’s speculation; no one knew the truth.

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So this time, she asked Damian 123 to bring her a quest.

And the quest they brought was:

-Investigate pests on the Ragia Farm-

‘Wow, that sounds so boring?’

“Seriously… Why would an adventurer do this? Are we going to become insect experts? Are we going to be Fabre 123?”

“Hehe, you don’t know how good this kind of quest is. Let me tell you.”

“First of all, the longer the deadline for this kind of quest, the more money you get. And there’s no penalty for failure, so you can just kill some time, and if you think you can solve it, you can, or you can just play around and come back.”

“That’s right, you’re not going to die from being bitten by pests, are you? You can just endure the pain and spend time there.”

‘Wow… A master.’

For a moment, Charlotte almost stood up and clapped.

“Ah… No, no, this isn’t an adventure!!!!”

But Damian 123’s persuasion was amazing.

Knowing that Charlotte was a novice adventurer, they persistently persuaded her that it was important to see the preparation and resolution process of a quest rather than just fighting, and they got her to agree.

‘Yeah, yeah, this is all experience~’

In the end, Charlotte gave in.

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Damian 123 was also leisurely about the departure. The sun was still high in the sky, but they were leaving after breakfast tomorrow…

With the remaining time, Charlotte decided to visit the Swordsmanship Guild.

-Ding~

“Excuse me~ Is this the Swordsmanship Guild?”

“Oh, yes! You’ve come to the right place!!”

A burly, bald man greeted her cheerfully.

“Are you here to join?”

“Ah… Well, I need to know what it’s about before I join…”

“Ah! Hmm…”

Suddenly, the bald man stopped talking and scanned her body.

Ah… The Bojacks leather armor was embarrassing today (actually, it wasn’t embarrassing anymore).

“We have the perfect teacher for you. Follow me!”

Following the bald man, she saw many adventurers training in the middle.

Since she saw them, they saw her too. She was casually harassed with comments like “Wow, look at those tits” as she followed.

The training rooms seemed to be divided by teacher.

“Well~ This person would be perfect to guide you! Go on in!”

The teacher that Charlotte saw there was

‘The busty blonde receptionist Noona? Why are you here?’

It was the receptionist Noona holding a giant greatsword.