Ch.111Benas+

# 111. Benas+

“Jo, what do you mean by ‘we’re either screwed or have an opportunity’?” asked Guild Leader Aniri, unable to bear the tense atmosphere. Guild Leader Golden Wing ran his hand through his hair and began explaining calmly.

“Everyone remembers the Ayord story, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then do you perhaps remember the Anti-Alb quest?”

“Yes. But why?”

“Ah. You don’t mean the expeditionary force was annihilated?”

“Yeah. I think that’s exactly what happened.”

Guild Leader Yalyali, who understood midway through, provided additional explanation to Guild Leader Aniri.

The trio completely understood why the atmosphere in Albrant was so hostile.

“With this, we’ve confirmed several facts or learned new ones. First, there is indeed only one tower. Second, there’s either no reset or it has a very long cycle. Third, someone, presumably Guild Leader Veritas and his party, completed the Anti-Alb quest somewhere and utterly destroyed the Alb expeditionary force. If we’re talking about an expeditionary force around this time, it must be the Alb invasion force from the Anti-Alb quest, so it’s almost certain.”

“The Anti-Alb quest is a chain quest that appears in the Ayord story after Albrant… so at least the third floor. No, the fourth floor?”

“Setting aside where they might be, the problem is that the fallout could affect us.”

“Fallout…?”

Guild Leader Golden Wing, seemingly parched, downed a cup of water in one go.

“I won’t bother explaining why Albs are a hostile race. Look, their expeditionary force was annihilated. By humans who cooperated with the Ayords, whom they consider beasts. And we’re humans sitting right in the middle of Albrant.”

“Surely… you’re not saying they might harm us just because we’re human, even though we have nothing to do with it?”

Guild Leader Golden Wing didn’t bother listing the Albs’ “achievements.” Guild Leader Aniri’s tone suggested not that she didn’t believe him, but rather that she couldn’t believe the situation itself.

“Normally, after completing the Anti-Alb quest, the consequences vary slightly depending on the outcome, but the closer you get to an overwhelming result, the more hostile Albrant becomes toward you. Unless you later resolve the hostility through a quest given by the Elven Saint El-Saphina.”

“But we’re not those people.”

“The point is, we’re the humans they can see right now. When someone’s lost their mind, a lot of things like reason, common sense, and logic get thrown out the window. It’s just shitty that we might become their target.”

“Then, brother. What about the opportunity part?”

“Assuming this place is generally similar to the game but with some realism, and that we won’t get screwed over unfairly, there are mainly two possibilities. One is that the Alb numbers have decreased significantly, and they’ll need a ‘reorganization’ period, which means more job quests will appear. The other is… if we happen to receive the same mission, we might be able to complete the Anti-Alb quest without effort.”

Guild Leader Aniri clapped her hands.

“That’s right! Since they were annihilated! It’s an Anti-Alb quest but there are no Albs!”

“Shh, shhh! Keep your voice down!”

“Ah, got it. But isn’t that more likely to be on the third floor? Besides, we need to avoid being harmed before we even get to the third floor.”

“Actually, if they wanted to harm us, couldn’t they have done so already?”

Is that so?

Even though Albs are a hostile race, are they not that crazy?

Just as we decided to be more cautious than usual and to always move together even when going out nearby—

*Knock knock knock*

“Human guests.”

*Gasp!*

*The innkeeper?*

“There’s someone who would like to meet you.”

*I thought you said that wouldn’t happen!!!*

The trio let out a silent scream of horror.

**

Benas, the city of freedom, independence, and neutrality.

With all those grand modifiers attached to its name, Benas could be described as something like Ayord MK.2.

While Ayord was diverse and free due to the Ayord race itself being divided into various branches, yet still maintained the unity of being Ayords, Benas was truly a place where diverse races jumbled together and rubbed shoulders.

Not only were there humans, Albs, and Ayords that we had encountered so far, but also Darbs (equivalent to dwarves), Levilrugs (equivalent to halflings), and even demons who had defected.

Was it just the races that were diverse? Not at all.

Even among humans, there were incredibly varied professions. No further explanation was needed.

“It’s because they have the major agreement called ‘the rules of Benas’ that they can maintain their status as the most populous city on the continent in terms of single-scale population.”

“But these rules are all so brutal.”

After entering Benas, we saw a Lizardian woman hanging laundry while swishing her thick tail, a cat Ayord looking dejected after trying to pet Danya who hid behind me, two Levilrugs having a serious yet adorably cute lovers’ quarrel, and two Darb men drinking beer as they walked, bumping into a building wall and promptly vomiting.

The most shocking sight was an Alb and an Ayord greeting each other amicably.

This happened within five minutes of our arrival.

“…Seeing it in person is really something else. In many ways.”

As Yuri let out a sigh filled with multiple meanings, Arang, who was reading the rulebook beside me, read one rule aloud.

“Article 2: Discrimination between races and resulting conflicts are not tolerated within Benas. Section 2.1: Those who engage in racial discrimination will have a minimum of 20% and a maximum of 80% of their possessions confiscated, depending on the severity. Half of the confiscated property will be paid to the victim as compensation.”

“Wow.”

“Section 2.2: Those who engage in racial conflict will have a minimum of 40% and a maximum of 80% of their possessions confiscated and may be expelled, depending on the severity. 75% of the confiscated property will be paid to the victim as compensation.”

Even for wandering Albs and Ayords who had shed much of their racial identity, the fact that they coexisted peacefully?

There was always a reason.

“So basically, they just confiscate a percentage of your possessions.”

“The land is limited, the population is large and diverse, there’s plenty of work, and plenty of money. As a neutral city, it’s free from external invasion or interference, but if something happens internally, it’s also difficult to receive external support. In a place like this, if an incident occurs, it can easily spread widely due to the city’s characteristics, resulting in massive damage, so they’re extremely strict.”

“As expected from the Elite Etiquette Wiki.”

“What’s an Elite Etiquette Wiki now?”

While searching for a decent inn, we continued to witness unusual sights. Even Danya, who had been staring blankly at the backs of the friendly Ayord and Alb earlier, let out an exclamation after a long time—this place was truly a new world.

“Nyaaah!”

[My head feels like it’s going to explode!]

Benas, where widely accepted common sense was so easily destroyed.

As you progress through the Benas story, you naturally learn about the countless obstacles and changes it went through to become what it is now, but that’s a story for later.

After walking for about two hours, we were able to reach a relatively decent inn called “The Immortal Cat.”

*Nyaaah~*

“Welcome to The Immortal Cat, where cute cats run the place and cute cats bring your food, nyah!”

As we opened the door, we were greeted not by a bell but by a cat sound and an energetic welcome message.

Cat ears, cat tail, clothing that somewhat resembled a maid uniform, and a welcoming smile.

After this place became known to gamers, there was widespread speculation that one of the developers had reflected their personal preferences under the shield of racial diversity.

Of course, everyone praised the developer’s taste. I was one of them. Cats are just right.

‘Wow. This is basically an isekai maid café.’

As I was looking around at the waitress and the interior of the inn, I felt a considerable pain in my side.

Gritting my teeth, I glanced sideways to see Subin pretending she hadn’t pinched me, arms crossed.

‘What? Don’t tell me. Jealousy?’

I couldn’t help but smirk. Seeing Subin’s eyes starting to sharpen, I quickly decided to rent rooms first.

“Seven humans and one cat.”

“We have single rooms up to rooms for ten people, nyah!”

A single room seemed too luxurious, and I didn’t think the guild members would want that. But all of us in one room didn’t seem right either. After a brief discussion, we decided to rent two four-person rooms.

Actually, I would have preferred to rent at least three rooms, but we had already spent a significant amount on entrance fees… and the accommodation costs were not cheap either.

“Here are the keys to rooms 301 and 302, nyah! If you need anything, just ask the cute cat anytime, nyah!”

“Thank you.”

“What a polite guest, nyah!”

Passing by the waitress who handed me the keys and waved her hands enthusiastically, I unlocked the door to room 301.

And as soon as I closed the door, Danya screamed.

“NYAAAAH!!!”

[That was a human female!!!]

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Nyah?!”

[W-what?]

“Oho. So that’s why you were staring so intently.”

Ah. A slip-up.

My inner thoughts just…

I found myself facing six—no, seven pairs of intense gazes as soon as we arrived at the inn.