episode_0037

“Why the hell not?!”

The sound of a table being slammed drew the attention of everyone around.

No—to be precise, the guests had already been cautiously stealing glances at them the moment they walked in, deliberately avoiding direct eye contact. Now, their stares had simply turned blatant. The intensity of their curiosity hadn’t changed since the beginning.

Because seated there was the most famous mage in the world, now a criminal charged with treason. Despite facing such a dangerous figure, the innkeeper, though visibly sweating from fear, refused to back down.

“Glaring at me won’t change anything. We can’t let a criminal stay at our inn.”

Arina gritted her teeth. She had been running around all day looking for lodging, only to receive the same rejection everywhere.

While this sort of thing had happened occasionally in other villages, it had never been this bad. Unlike most places where people still held a friendly perception of her, this village openly treated her with hostility.

The gazes of the inn’s guests burned like needles on her skin.

“You think you’ve been living comfortably all this time thanks to who?!”

“Hard to say. At least for the past few years, it certainly wasn’t thanks to you.”

Frost began blooming around Arina. Seeing this, the patrons immediately stood and placed their hands on their weapons.

Perhaps because the land was barren, the village had more adventurers than actual residents. A quick glance around was enough—every single one of them looked battle-hardened.

Still, in terms of pure skill, they were nothing more than pebbles beneath her boot. But if she attacked first without just cause, she’d become no different from a true villain.

Despite her blazing glare, Arina withdrew the frost and turned away.

“Wait a minute!”

Lilit hurried after her as she stormed outside, stomping the ground petulantly with every step. Once they were out, Lilit placed a comforting hand on her tense back.

“What’s the matter?~ It’s not like this hasn’t happened before.”

“If I deserved this, I wouldn’t be this frustrated. But are you telling me I had to keep throwing myself at that bastard on the battlefield for nothing?”

She suppressed the urge to burst into tears out of sheer indignation. This was only the beginning.

While some still viewed her favorably, people were easily swayed by public opinion. If things continued like this, eventually, everyone would turn their backs on Arina.

Once that day came, there would be no place left for her to stand.

“I knew it would come to this. And yet…”

Understanding something rationally didn’t mean she could control her emotions.

She had always lived surrounded by goodwill—gratitude, trust, expectations. Those were things Rielfrost had received; they were gazes she had grown too accustomed to.

In contrast, the looks directed at Arina were frigid. Disappointment, despair, hostility—completely overflowing with animosity. The stark difference in emotion behind those eyes was agonizing.

The higher you climbed, the harder the fall. And if that saying held true, the crash awaiting Arina was like being thrown off a bottomless cliff into the abyss.

“…Am I useless now that I’m not part of the Hero’s party?”

To Arina, Rielfrost was her everything. It had already been six years since she vowed revenge and started wandering the world.

Apart from a few recently made friends, Arina had no one to talk to during that time. Her identity, her self-worth, the affirmation of her existence—all of it hinged on Rielfrost.

Adapting to this sudden female body had been difficult and painful, but hearing her own story told by someone else was oddly fulfilling and even amusing.

She had thought she had lost everything. That now, with nothing left to lose, she had nothing to fear.

Yet the moment the name Rielfrost was sullied—the moment her last shred of pride was trampled into the dirt—she realized she was terrified.

“That can’t be true. Just a little while ago, you were surrounded by friends.”

Lilit pulled her back into a hug. Though Lilit was slightly taller, Arina didn’t quite fit snugly in her arms—but there was still comfort in the embrace.

For all the contempt she once held for demons, having spent so much time with one, their warmth and voice had become an unexpected consolation.

Once her mood improved slightly, Arina turned red, embarrassed by her earlier moment of weakness.

“…Not exactly surrounded.”

“That’s not true. Daniel and Ian clung to you like shadows.”

Lilit gently stroked Arina’s hair. Honestly, at this point, who was the master and who was the slave?

But this was only natural. Though she might not have strength, as a woman, Arina was leagues ahead of her. This girl still didn’t understand that women lived differently from men.

That was why she couldn’t abandon this unexpected little sister-like girl—cocky, ill-mannered, petty—yet leaving her alone made her restless beyond reason.

“…That’s enough. It embarrassing.”

“Oh my~ Is someone feeling teenage angst?”

“I passed that age long ago.”

Arina cooled her flushed face with magic and tried to squirm out of her subordinate’s grip—only to freeze when a voice called out.

“Heyyy, Rielfrost!”

A man approached, enthusiastically waving his hand. His attire was… unusual.

The armor he wore was light but clearly crafted from high-grade materials. His sword radiated mana—undoubtedly an enchanted blade with engraved circuits.

Most strikingly, the adventurer’s badge hanging from his neck was embedded with a red gem. The mark of a Special-Class Adventurer, someone who had surpassed human limits and stepped into the realm of the extraordinary.

“Do you know him?”

Lilit asked as the man walked up with an overly friendly expression.

“No, never seen him before.”

“So cold~ We met once at the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“My life hasn’t been leisurely enough to remember every random adventurer I run into.”

Despite Arina’s dismissive tone, the man let out a hearty laugh.

“Color me surprised. So the genius mage Arina, who became a Special-Class Adventurer in just a month, was actually Rielfrost all along. Anyway, you two need a place to stay, right? I can hook you up.”

“This village is ruthless. You’re telling me there’s really a place here for us?”

“Of course. A village living off adventurers’ coin? There’s bound to be lodgings for those with a less-than-stellar reputation.”

Which, in other words, meant sharing a roof with actual criminals. Granted, legally, Arina was also a criminal—one with charges on an entirely different scale than petty outlaws.

But since they were the ones in need, Arina reluctantly agreed to follow him.

“Here we are.”

The inn the man led them to was tucked away in an isolated corner, as though trying to quarantine its unwanted patrons. Its neglected state was obvious at a glance—so run-down it was practically falling apart.

“Looks the part of a criminal den.”

Though the thought of staying in such a place repulsed her, she stepped inside.

“Hey now, don’t go saying stuff like—”

The man’s warning came too late. Brutish-looking men glared at the group as they entered. There was no way they hadn’t overheard the comment outside.

Scanning them, Arina mused internally. They’re stronger than the adventurers at the last inn. To casually walk around after committing crimes, you’d need at least this level of skill.

But to Arina, they were still nothing more than pebbles to be kicked aside.

“What’re you looking at?”

Her sweeping gaze, silently demanding if they had a problem, immediately made the scowling adventurers avert their eyes.

Mm-hmm. This is how the world should be.

Satisfied, Arina strode further inside. When she approached the counter, the adventurers blocking her path instinctively split apart to let her through.

This was the weight the name Rielfrost carried.

Even trapped in this fragile, doll-like appearance, her true identity was enough to make anyone tremble—she was the symbol of overwhelming power, an existence that commanded fear.

And these criminals, of all people, would know better than most how merciless she could be. While she preferred admiration from others, the fear she instilled in outlaws wasn’t half bad either.

Feeling her wounded pride mend slightly, Arina recited her request.

“Two rooms, meals, and a place to wash up.”

“…1 gold.”

That was steep for a single night’s stay for two. But given the clientele—people with nowhere else to go—and the inclusion of bathing fees, it wasn’t completely unreasonable.

Tossing a coin onto the counter, Arina immediately disappeared to clean up.

By the time she and Lilit returned after washing, the atmosphere had shifted. The lingering water droplets on their skin and the warmth accompanying them carried a sensual air, drawing the men’s attention.

No matter how hardened a criminal, female adventurers rarely stayed in places like this. In a den of outlaws, women would struggle to resist or escape unwanted advances.

Yet now, two stunning beauties—rarities even in normal circumstances—had walked in. Even if they knew one of them was a towering legend like Rielfrost, lust and reason existed in separate realms.

“Even knowing who I am, these looks don’t change.”

“That just means you’re that captivating of a woman, Master. Even more so if you’d keep your mouth shut.”

“Sounds like sarcasm.”

Just as Arina’s eyes sharpened, a staff member carrying bowls intervened.

“Your meals are here.”

The light pre-meal squabble promptly halted.

“Heya, Rielfrost.”

The man who had guided them to the inn casually slid into a chair next to them just as Arina took her first bite.

“How’s the inn I recommended?”

Every damn thing here is garbage—the facilities, the people, all of it.

Biting back those words, Arina silently ate. Undeterred, the man stared intently at her, studying every movement.

Urgh. This was gonna ruin her appetite. She set her spoon down and glared at him.

“If you’ve got something to say, say it. Staring at someone eating isn’t exactly polite.”

“Oh, it’s just…”

His gaze briefly flicked to Lilit. Following it, Arina saw Lilit suddenly drop her spoon.

“Urk—!”

A frail moan escaped Lilit as she clutched her stomach.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

She couldn’t be pregnant, could she? Given how much she fooled around with men, it wasn’t impossible—but could a succubus even conceive with a human?

Shaking off the bizarre tangent, Arina checked Lilit’s condition.

“Where does it hurt? Your stomach?”

“Hahh… Hah… I-it’s not pain—Hahk!”

The excessively sensual moans puzzled Arina.

The answer came from behind them.

“She isn’t hurt. She’s high on aphrodisiac.”

The man who had led them here smirked. And not just him—every patron surrounding them, the innkeeper, the staff. They were all in on it.

Their eyes gleamed with anticipation as they watched Arina.

“Adventurers always carry two things on their travels—potions and antidotes. Which makes poisoning tricky. So we needed something new.”

It would have been smarter to neutralize the enemy before the drug fully took effect—yet Arina remained seated, silently listening. Despite her outward calm, the man was convinced she must already be feeling the effects.

“Every damn one of you. You prepare for poison, but none of you expect an aphrodisiac—because who’d think pleasure could be a weapon? But once intoxicated, fighting becomes impossible. You’re starting to feel it too, aren’t you?”

A potent aphrodisiac, strong enough to affect a succubus. Against a mage who needed intense focus to cast? A perfect strategy.

At least, it would have been.

—Had their target not been Arina.

“So, you’re after the bounty?”

“The others? Sure. But I’ve got a debt to settle with you.”

They had met before—and it hadn’t been a pleasant memory.

Yes. That was—

“I couldn’t care any less about your pathetic grudge.”

The man scowled as Arina cut off his attempt to reminisce.

Just like before. She treated him then as she did now—like insect beneath her notice. He still remembered the beating he took trying to humble her pride.

When he learned that the genius mage Arina was none other than Rielfrost, he nearly despaired—until now. Now, she sat before him, having consumed the drugged meal.

Like a rabbit stepping into a snare, she was trapped—and the man grinned.

Then came the realization.

Ah, she remembered now. That sleazy undertone in his smirk sparked recognition.

“Now I recall. A third-rate adventurer with skills as mediocre as his temper. And just like back then, you rely on cheap tricks.”

“That hurts~ I put so much effort into this. But you’re running out of time to bluff, aren’t you? The aphrodisiac should be taking full effect by now.”

His confidence was unshaken. No matter how powerful a mage, once intoxicated and unable to cast, she was just a helpless woman. In this state, she wouldn’t even stand a chance against a village boy, let alone a Special-Class Adventurer.

“I told you back then, didn’t I? Just because we’re both Special-Class doesn’t mean we’re equals.”

“Quit the act. If you surrender now, I might go easy on—Ghk?!”

Turning around, the man’s eyes widened at the sight behind him—a frozen wasteland of jagged ice.

“Huh?”

His jaw hung slack as he numbly turned back to Arina.

Slurp.

Right in front of him, she deliberately took another spoonful of the drugged soup.

A chilling aura spread. Frost crept up from the floor, encasing his legs. He still couldn’t process what was happening.

“H-How?! Why can you still use magic?!”

“I don’t owe you an explanation.”

Turning her back on the man now frozen solid, Arina walked over to Lilit and placed a hand on her.

Moments later, the moaning girl slumped over the table began to calm.

“Huh? How’d you do that?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Aw, c’mon, you can tell me.”

“If I told you, would you stay you?”

The truth was simple. But admitting that she had been maintaining a libido-dampening spell ever since that day with Marin—when she had moaned from having her chest groped—was not a story she wanted to share.

“Let’s just say… no experience is ever truly wasted.”