19 The Rogue

Ding!

[ Loading Quest… ]

[ Recruit the Rogue ]

[ Completion Reward: 20💰, Leadership +10 ]

[ Failure Penalty: Severed Hand, Title: Lightweight ]

'Finally!' Pete thought. 'A goddamn quest! Why don't I get these more frequently? I need to level up fast.'

[ Quest Accepted ]

"Decide quickly, outsider!" the hooded figure warned, waving the dagger threateningly. Pete frowned and crossed his arms. "Hey now! Let me tell you that I am a bonafide citizen of Nottingham!"

The attacker sneered. "If you don't cough up the gold right away, you will be a DEAD citizen of Nottingham!"

Pete sighed and took his left foot forward in a stance. "I'm not giving you a single coin, mister! But you will have learned manners at the end of this fight!"

[ Courage +2 ]

[ Intimidation +1 ]

"You're so dead!" The figure wasted no time and lunged at him with his weapon.

Tap! Pete's body moved instinctively. He stepped aside neatly.

Swish! His attacker sliced through thin air. It was a swing and a miss.

The attacker pivoted on his path with incredible speed and aimed his weapon at Pete's guts again. "Gotcha!" he announced with a smirk.

"No, you didn't," the boy said from behind him. The figure gave a start, shocked by how his target had gotten behind him so fast.

[ Agility + 1 ]

Thwack! Pete landed a chop on his attacker's arm. The figure dropped the dagger with a yelp.

"That was easy."

He was about to punch his opponent senseless when he remembered the quest's title.

'Recruit the Rogue. So… if I defeat the rogue, I win the fight but lose the quest. Hmm.'

Pete didn't want to repeat his experience with Knuckle. His beginner quest had been a disaster, almost getting him killed.

Instead of attacking, he grabbed the figure's hood and lifted him in the air.

"Let me go!" the attacker squeaked, struggling and kicking his legs in vain. This time, the voice sounded different. Was it a child?

"I don't want to fight you, kid," Pete said in a mature voice. "Let's just talk. If you don't give up on your own, I'll turn you over to the Sheriff's office."

It was a bluff. Pete had no idea where the Sheriff's office was or whether they accepted citizen arrests in the first place.

The figure slipped out of the hood and fell into the mud.

As it got to its feet, Pete saw it was not a guy but a little girl, perhaps no older than thirteen. She had short, green curly hair and wore a canvas vest and pants. Her lowers were torn in the tussle, exposing her entire left leg.

Pete scrutinized her face. She was tiny and needed a shower urgently. There was an exotic beauty about her, which reminded him of Morgiana.

Sob! There were tears in her eyes. The boy realized her knees were bruised as she fell.

"Please don't send me to the Sheriff's office," she whimpered.

"Okay. I won't as long as you stop attacking me." The girl nodded obediently.

"Here, have a potion," Pete said, throwing a bottle at her. She caught it reluctantly, opened the cork, and smelled the contents with suspicion. Then she finished the potion in one gulp.

"You are weird," she said after her injuries were healed. "Nobody helps their attacker."

Pete shrugged. "Tell me… how old are you?"

"I am fifteen."

"Oh?" the boy exclaimed, eyeing her petite body and exposed leg. He was not a lolicon per se, but…

The girl fixed her pants and crossed her arms over herself. "Pervert!"

Pete smiled and asked her, "Where are your parents?" He heard a shallow rumble. "I am hungry," she replied, ignoring his question.

"Hmm, I figured." Pete went to the nearest food stall and purchased bread and sweets for her. She sat down on the ground, gorging on the food like an animal.

[ Virtue +2 ]

"What is your name?"

"They call me Bree."

"They? Your rogue friends? Never mind. Okay, Bree… Where are your parents, and where do you live?" The boy leaned on an alley wall and nursed a cup of mead.

"I don't know," she replied with her mouth full. "I've always lived on the streets."

Pete nodded. "I see. So… Do you intend to spend your entire life in dark alleys? Do you want to mug passersby forever to make a living?" While he said the words, his past life came to his recollection. What a pathetic life did he lead!

Bree looked up at him with big, green eyes. "What else can I do, mister? I will die of hunger otherwise. A girl gotta eat."

"Hmm. Right. Well… Can't you work as an adventurer?"

"Ha! You need a reference from an adventurer to register at the guild, mister! Nobody will vouch for someone like me. Besides, I don't have any gold to buy equipment."

"Okay, Bree. I have an offer for you."

The girl paused eating and scowled. "My body is too young to be used for your fantasies, mister."

Pete spat out his mead and laughed.

"No, no. I have a different offer."

"What is it?" The girl had finished her food. Color had returned to her face, and she appeared more cheery than when trying to kill Pete.

"Can you fight and carry luggage?"

"I can do that. I am pretty handy, mister."

"Excellent. Then you can work for me. I will take care of your living, dining, and other expenses for the time being. And you will have two percent of my daily income as wages. Does that sound like a good deal?"

Bree's eyes had gone moist again.

[Bree's LOYALTY and AFFINITY have significantly increased ]

She joined her hands and ogled at Pete with puppy eyes. "Really, mister?"

"Yes," Pete replied, trying not to be swayed by how adorable she was. "But you have to swear your loyalty to me. I am Rob Huntington."

"I will be your servant forever, mister- I mean- MASTER ROB!"

She ran to the boy and hugged him tightly.

Pete cringed for a moment. She was tiny and light and young. He flushed out the evil urges from his mind.

[ Virtue +1 ]

However, he felt content somehow. Pete could not remember the last time someone had hugged him, especially with a genuine sentiment of gratitude.

Ding!

[ Loading… ]

[ Recruit the Rogue ] [ Completed! ]

[ Completion Reward: 20💰, Leadership +10 ] [ Rewarded! ]

[ New Title: The Benevolent Master ]

[ Your Party Tab is Unlocked ]

[ Add BREE Level 1 to Party? ]

[ Yes/ No ]

'What? I can build a party? Awesome! Accept!'

[ BREE Level 1 has been added to your party! ]

Ding!

[ User Level Up! ]

[ Robin Hood Level 3 ]

[ HP 5000 ]

[ MP 2500 ]

Pete almost did a fist pump. Everything was going perfectly.