32 Chapter 29 "Back in the city with a status update."
Intermission.
The shadows in a dimly lit corridor suddenly began to writhe and squirm. A humanoid figure emerged from the wriggling mass, as if oozing out of the darkness. Like a developing film, her features slowly came into focus. Young, red hair, dark skin, and pointed ears. The wriggling mass of darkness didn't dissipate. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that said mass was actually a living creature. It was like a chimera from hell, a mishmash of ferocious beasts all fused together into one black thing.
The woman looked down the dim passageway. Kouki's party lay in that direction, though they were too far to see with the naked eye. She deftly hid her presence and waited. The party passed by her hiding spot, never realizing she was there.
"Hmm, so that's the fabled hero. Looks like nothing but a spoiled brat to me. Do we really need someone like him? A shame my orders are absolute. Well, I've assessed his abilities. I should hurry up and finish this job so I can move onto conquering the labyrinth."
She touched the creature at her side. The wriggling darkness absorbed her, and she slowly faded from sight. A second later, it was as if there had never been anyone there.
Kouki and the others were still unaware. Unaware that countless enemies lay in wait mere feet from where they were.
Intermission End.
The mercantile [I think that's the correct word] city-state of Fuhren. A place where people, goods, and ambitions all mixed together to form the largest trading center in the world. Today too, it was bustling with activity. One could hear the clamor of the city a good distance away from the walls, even.
A long line of adventurers, merchants, and tourists snaked out from the main gate. They were all waiting their turn for Fuhren's trademark inspection. Some lounged about lazily, while others tapped their feet impatiently.
At the very end of the line stood a man who was dressed rather ostentatiously. Next to him were two women outfitted in equally flashy garb, presumably his servants. Though he didn't seem too impatient, he was complaining incessantly about the necessity of the inspection.
He was the kind of fool who thought spouting large words made him seem smarter. He went on at length about the incompetency of the Fuhren government. The nearby merchants struggled to hold in their derisive laughter, but the man and his two female attendants seemed not to notice.
In the middle of his tirade, the gaudily-dressed man began to hear a high- pitched noise, one he had never heard before. It sounded like steam hissing out of a pipe.
At first he tried to ignore it and continued droning on to his two servants, but they, along with the other merchants, ignored him. Their eyes were fixated on something behind him. Giving up once the sound grew louder, the man let out a harrumph and turned to see what all the fuss was about.
The man let out a squeal of surprise. An unfamiliar black box-shaped object was heading for the city at an incredible speed, kicking up clouds of dust in its wake.
A commotion broke out among the waiting travelers. Many turned to run, thinking it was a monster, but the black box was far faster than any of them could have ever predicted. Before they'd gone a single step, it was already upon them.
The gaudily-dressed man stiffened up in fear. Despair coloured the travellers' faces.
However, just before the box crashed into the line, it turned to its side and came to an abrupt stop. The force of its deceleration caused it to kick up a massive cloud of dust. As the travellers all stared at Brise [Truck] in wonderment and confusion, its front door opened.
"Man, this line is always so damn long."
"I agree this line is infringing upon our right's to enter this city"
"...Yeah. What can you do, though?"
Hajime, Regulus and Yue stepped out of the car, heedless of the fear and confusion they'd caused. Shea and Tio followed after, with Will Cudeta coming out last. Will's expression seemed somewhat stiff.
A few days back, the head of Fuhren's adventurer's guild, Ilwa Chang, had asked Hajime and his party to go to the northern mountain ranges and search for Will. They had accepted, finding Will alive in the process. After protecting him from the wrath of a mind-controlled Tio, they'd safely brought him back home.
Will bowed uncharacteristically low for a noble and apologised for startling all of the people waiting in line. However, he realised quickly that no one was paying any attention to him.
Everyone's gazes were focused on the three beautiful ladies. The fact that they'd just come out of a speeding black box was of very much little importance. The men only had eyes for them now. Every time they so much as moved, sighs of appreciation rang out among the crowd.
Hajime sat down on Brise's hood and studied the line.
"Probably gonna take another hour, well at least it looks like that." he said as he narrowed his eyes. Sitting in the car for so long had left Hajime a little stiff, so he started stretching along with the others. There was still a lot of time until they got in, so he might as well relax, he thought.
'That bishop better NOT start ranting' Was what he though.
Regulus cracked his neck from side to side, loosening up a bit after turning [Stillness of an Object's time] off. Yue sat down behind him and massaged his shoulders.
Displaying a satisfied Smile, Regulus leaned back into Yue.
Shea's rabbit ears drooped a little. Feeling left out, so she clambered up the hood and sat down next to Hajime.
"Allow me to join you as well!" Tio proclaimed. She climbed to Regulus's side and attempted to press her breasts against his arm. However, a slap from Hajime sent her sprawling. Though, the way she moaned as he slapped her implied she'd enjoyed it. He'd hit her hard enough that she'd spun around a few times, but... for the masochistic Tio, there was no greater reward.
Hajime scowled hoping that Regulus won't start ranting about personal space or something while Tio panted excitedly at his feet. Smiling awkwardly, Shea asked him the foremost question on his mind.
Shea: "Umm, Hajime-san? Was it really alright to drive all the way here in Brise? I thought you wanted to hide your abilities..."
Hajime: "It's a bit late for that now. We broadcast them to a whole village already. I guarantee you everyone but the sticks will have heard of us in a week. Besides, I expected this day would come eventually. Though, I was hoping it wouldn't happen so soon." He said while eyeing the second white haired member of their party.
[AN: I just remembered that Hajime also has white hair]
Regulus: "Yeah. Well no need for caution now, all we have to do is move to our goal to satisfy our self's."
Hajime shrugged his shoulders. Until recently, he'd been willing to suffer a little inconvenience if it saved him trouble down the line. However, after the battle at Ur, he had no doubt tales of his wondrous artefacts would spread throughout the kingdom in no time. Since his cover had already been blown, there was no reason for him to hide his abilities or equipment anymore.
Hajime: "Hmm, I guess you're right. There's no stopping the Holy Church or Heiligh from pressuring us now. I just wonder if Aiko-san and Ilwa-san will be willing to help us..."
Regulus: "If my memory doesn't betray me, which it never does, isn't the 'Hero Party' made up off your classmate's?"
"They didn't care about me before and I doubt anything has changed even if it has it dosnt really affect me, and the thing with Sensei and Ilwa was just extra insurance. It'd be nice if it pans out, but there's no big loss if it doesn't. From the start, I was ready to fight the entire world if it came down to it. We'll mow down anything in our way. That's all there is to it, Shea. You don't have to go around pretending to be my slave now, either. You can take the collar off if you want."
They really had just been extra countermeasures. Hajime wasn't too concerned with whether or not they'd really end up helping him when it came down to it.
Hajime gently rapped on Shea's fake slave collar as he spoke. Shea was strong enough to beat down anyone who tried to mess with her, so there was no reason not to let her walk around as their equal anymore. To Hajime's surprise though, Shea gently touched her collar and shook her head.
"It's fine, I don't mind staying like this. It is still technically the first thing you ever gave me, Hajime-san... and it's proof that I belong to you. Besides, I've actually started to like wearing it so... I'll keep it on."
A faint blush spread up her cheeks. Her bunny ears were twitching in embarrassment too. Even Hajime had to admit the way she looked down shyly was cute. Many of the men standing close enough to hear their conversation had already been overcome with nosebleeds.
Hajime: "I see. Gotta at least make it look nicer, though."
"H-Hajime-san?"
Hajime gently lifted Shea's chin up. Her face was completely flushed now. Around them, the men's nosebleeds had turned the ground into a river of blood.
Hajime pulled a set of dazzling jewels from his Treasure Trove and transmuted them onto Shea's collar. Furthermore, he rearranged the gems already on there. Shea's collar had served the purpose of making it look like she was Hajime's slave, so he hadn't spent much time on its initial design. Because of that it had come out looking rather plain. It had just been to avoid trouble after all.
However, if Shea was going to keep wearing it because she liked it, Hajime felt it deserved an upgrade in the looks department too. That was why he retailed it to suit her appearance more.
Her new collar had white and blue ornaments adorning the simple black fabric. Furthermore, he had transmuted a fragment of his now spent Divinity Stone into a luminous sky blue cross, and transfixed it to the front of her collar. It now resembled a fashionable choker from his old world. No one would think it was a simple collar meant to identify a slave.
Hajime nodded in satisfaction. Shea had lost herself in the sensation of Hajime's fingers on her neck, but she snapped back to herself when he handed her a mirror. She excitedly looked at her neck. The beautiful choker was a huge improvement from her old collar. It seemed the colour of the cross was the same as her eyes.
Shea: "Wow~ This is the first time I've ever had something so pretty."
Shea beamed happily as she played with the tiny cross. Until recently, Shea had never left her village, much less the sea of trees. She had never owned fancy things like jewellery. Of course, that didn't mean she hadn't liked them. She'd always been jealous of the girls she'd seen in Verbergen. The ones rich enough to afford the scant amount of gems that could be found in the sea of trees.
And now she finally had jewelry like that of her own. She was ecstatic. Doubly so because it had been gifted to her by the boy she loved. Her bunny ears hopped up and down with joy.
"Thank you so much, Hajime-saaan!" She hugged his arm and buried her head in his chest with a smile. Her ears rubbed against him and her tail twitched happily.
Hajime simply shrugged his shoulders.
The sight of them all flirting brought the onlookers to their senses, and they looked at the party with a mixture of emotions clouding their faces.
The girls all sighed, admiring Yue, Shea, and Tio's stellar looks. They didn't even have it in them to be jealous. Meanwhile, the guys were split between being entranced by Yue and the others, extremely jealous of Regulus & Hajime, or fascinated by Hajime's artefacts and looking to see how much they could potentially make off them.
None of them had tried approaching him yet, though. The merchants would have walked up to him, but they were too busy keeping each other in check while waiting for the perfect opportunity to give the others the slip and approach Hajime first.
The gaudily-dressed man was comparing his own girls to Yue and Shea, and was clearly displeased. He then attempted something that could only be called rash.
The Idiot who Chose Death: "Hey, you two. Would you be interested in—"
"Get your filthy hands off her, scum." He'd completely ignored Hajime and walked up to Yue and the others. If all he'd done was talk to them, then Hajime would have just activated his Intimidation and made the guy faint. However, he'd gone one step too far, and tried to cup Shea's cheek.
Though his outfit was needlessly ostentatious,[AN: Look at me using cool words] he was actually a rather handsome man. His confidence in his looks had given him the mistaken belief that any woman would swoon before him as long as he walked up to her and said some pretty words. Shea glared coldly at the man and made to swat his hand away, but before she could, Hajime grabbed the man's head in a vice grip. If looks could kill, the man would already be dead.
The Idiot who Chose Death: "Hiii!?"
The man shrank back, a pathetic whimper escaping his lips. Hajime lifted him up and threw him as far as he could toward the town. He landed on the ground a good thirty meters away. He fell face-first, sliding across the ground for a good ten meters. Then, he did a headstand for a few seconds before flopping to the ground.
He stayed there in a cloud of dust, unmoving. Everyone's gazes went from the man, who had just flown an unbelievable distance, to Hajime, their jaws hanging open in shock. The man's two female servants gave Hajime one last fearful look before running away screaming. Hajime gazed at the gathered onlookers with a stare that could freeze hell over.
The merchants who had a second ago been trying to stop each other from being the first were now eagerly pushing their fellow traders forward instead. Hajime's gaze promised the same for anyone else who tried anything.
When he saw no one else came forward, he smiled in satisfaction and returned to ignoring the crowd.
"Although I do not like attention I can see that you had every right to do that to him as he violated out right's good job Hajime"
"Hawawa, Hajime-san got mad for my sake. Have his feelings toward me started growing? Just a bit more and we'll finally be real lovers!"
"Shea, good luck."
"Yue-san... thank you. I'll do my best!"
"Hmm, despite what he says, he truly seems to cherish you. Master, when will you start cherishing me like he cherishes the bunny? I would love it if you could throw me like that man."
Shea clapped her hands over her cheeks and squirmed with happiness. In truth, Hajime just hadn't been able to understand how the guy had walked around as if he owned everyone and everything. Though it was also true that he held Shea dear, so he couldn't exactly deny what Tio had said either.
As an aside, when Tio expressed her desire to be thrown as well, Hajime simply slapped her again. She fell to the ground, moaning in ecstasy again. Hajime glared at her, but that only made her more excited. Giving up, he sighed dramatically and decided to ignore her while hoping that Regulus wouldn't start ranting at her but he seemed to weirdly enjoy her attempts at grading his attention.
Will alone sat in the back of the truck, hugging his knees. He was extremely envious of the child Wmyuu who was taking her nap and hands been aware of the actions outside, So he was trying his best to pretend like he had nothing to do with the group up front. Just then, a huge commotion broke out at the front of the line.
Hajime looked over, spotting the gate guards heading this way. They'd probably spotted the earlier altercation and had come to see what had happened. Or maybe they'd just seen the man lying on the ground and wanted to find out what had occurred.
Three men in armour had ridden out on horses and were questioning the nearby merchants as they made their way toward our septet. One of the merchants pointed to Hajime, then to the man lying on the ground. Then, one guard barked out orders and rode over to the collapsed man. The other two headed toward Hajime and the others, who were still flirting on top of Brise's hood. Their gazes hardened. Not because that was their duty as guards... but because they were jealous.
"Hey, you! What's all this commotion about!? And what's that black box thing!? Explain yourself!"
Though he was addressing Hajime, his gaze kept shifting over to Yue, so he didn't really sound as intimidating as he intended. Hajime had expected this, so he answered in a Regulus's manneristic way without hesitation.
Hajime: "This is my artefact. It's a vehicle that can move without horses. As for that guy... he tried to lay a hand on my companion, so I sent him flying. He was trying to rape her. Can you believe it? Look at how scared she is now... Honorable guard, surely you don't mean to take the side of that rapist. Me and my friends would never feel safe coming into Fuhren, knowing that the law protects criminals like him... You understand, right?"
Hajime spun his tale without batting an eyelid. Shea was clinging to Hajime, and depending on how one interpreted it, it could have looked like she was terrified.
Will glared at Hajime from the back.
"Silver-tongued devil," he muttered. However, Hajime ignored him. The nearby merchants all whispered things like "Rape her? He barely even said anything before he got sent flying," or "She doesn't look very scared to me. In fact, she looks pretty happy," but Hajime ignored them too. After all, between a man dressed in tacky clothes and a group of beautiful girls, it was obvious who the guards were going to believe.
"Why, that's terrible," one of the guards exclaimed, without even bothering to verify the truth of Hajime's statement. However, the other guard tilted his neck and examined Hajime. Suddenly, a look of realisation passed over him and he started whispering to the other guard.
Guard: "Come to think of it, you're right," the other guard muttered, as he looked over Regulus.
Guard: "Could you four be Hajime, Regulus, Yue, and Shea?"
"Hm? Yeah, we are, but..."
"I see. Does that mean you've returned from the quest the branch chief sent you on?"
"Yeah, that's right... Do you have some kind of message from him or something?"
The guards nodded. They'd been informed by Ilwa to let Hajime's party through right away. Thanks to that, Hajime wouldn't have to wait in line. He started up Brise and followed after the guards. The rest of the travellers watched with curiosity as Hajime rode into Fuhren for the second time.
While a certain person was very indigent upon as he was interrupted but after saying the consequences he decided to forgive the guard for this time.
Once they were inside, the group headed straight for the adventurers guild.
They were let into the same waiting room as last time. There, they greedily devoured the tea and cakes they were offered while they waited. Five minutes later the door slammed open and Ilwa Chang stepped into the room.
"Will, are you alright!? You're not hurt, are you!?"
There was none of the calm composure he'd had last time. Without even greeting anyone, he dashed toward Will, fretting over his safety.
'He must have been really worried.' Hajime thought.
Will: "Ilwa-san... I'm sorry. Because I insisted on going, I ended up causing you so much trouble..."
Ilwa: "What are you saying? It's my fault for recommending such a dangerous request to you... I'm so glad you made it back safely. I don't know how I'd face Greil and Saria if something had happened to you. They were both worried about you too. You should go let them know you're safe. I've already told them you're alive. They're here in Fuhren right now."
Will: "Father and Mom are... I understand. I'll go there immediately."
Ilwa told Will where they were staying and urged him to see them at once. Will expressed his thanks to Ilwa for setting up a search party, promised Hajime he'd properly repay him later, and left the room. Hajime would have been fine at leaving things there, but a Regulus quickly intruded and said that they would keep that in mind.
Once Will left, Ilwa focused his attention on the group. He smiled and bowed his head low.
Ilwa: "Thank you so much for finding Will. I honestly did not believe I would see him alive again. I cannot express how grateful I am that you brought him back alive."
Hajime: "It was his own luck that let him survive for that long."
"Hohoho, is that really so? I suppose that did play a part in it, but... I heard you also defended him from an army of monsters. Isn't that right, Sir Goddess' Knight?"
Ilwa grinned mischievously as he spoke the nickname Hajime had been given in Ur. Hajime's expression stiffened. It looked like information between guild branches traveled even faster than Brise.
Hajime: "So you found out already, huh?"
"Most of the guild's higher-ups have an artifact that allows them to communicate with each other over long distances. Ur's branch chief isn't ranked high enough to have one, so I'd actually sent one of my subordinates there to relay information to me. The first time I'd ever heard him cry was when he tearfully reported how he'd lost sight of you a few minutes after you'd left Fuhren."
Ilwa smiled wryly. It seemed whoever he'd sent to Ur had wanted to tail Hajime to learn his secrets.
Whether that had been on Ilwa's instructions, or his own decision, he must have been quite frustrated that he'd lost sight of Hajime so soon. Then, after riding to Ur as fast as he could, he'd seen four people face off against an army of sixty thousand. Moments after that was over, he'd probably raced out of town to head back as fast as he could. He was probably riding to Fuhren as they spoke... Hajime couldn't help but sympathise with the guy a little.
Ilwa cleared his throat and put the subject of his spy's trials and tribulations to the side.
"Regardless, it must have been tough. To think the anomalies in the northern mountains had been the signs of such a disaster... I'm doubly grateful you chose to take this request. I'm truly interested in what power you must possess to be able to eliminate such an enormous army so easily... Would you mind telling me what happened there first?"
Regulus: "That can wait I am sure Hajime won't mind. But could you get Me, Yue and Shea their status plates first? As for Tio—"
Tio: "I see... You plan to show this man their stats. Very well. If that is your decision, Master, then may I be granted a plate as well?"
Regulus: "... Well, you heard her."
"I suppose seeing all of your stats will lend some credibility to the story that you annihilated an army of monsters... Very well."
Ilwa could tell there was something special to Hajime and his party, even the newly added Tio. And so, he called over an attendant and had them bring three new status plates.
[AN: A bunch of status information for the masochistic readers who like this stuff (jk)]
Their stats were as follows:
Yue-
Age: 323
Female
Level: 75
Job: Divine Priestess
Strength: 120
Vitality: 300
Defense: 60
Agility: 120
Magic: 6980
Magic Defence: 7120
Skills: Automatic Regeneration [+Pain Dampener] — All Elemental Affinity — Spell Melding — Mana Manipulation [+Mana Emission] [+Mana Compression] [+Remote Manipulation] [+Increased Efficiency] [+Ether Absorption] — Image Composition [+Increased Imagination] [+Multiple Spell Image Composition] [+Delayed Casting] — Blood Conversion [+Body Strengthening] [+Mana Conversion] [+Stamina Conversion] [+Mana Strengthening] [+Blood Oath] — High Speed Mana Recovery — Creation Magic — Gravity Magic
*Image Composition allows the wielder to use imagined magic circles in lieu of real ones. Blood Oath increases the effectiveness of bloodsucking abilities when the blood being sucked belongs to the contracted.
—————
Shea Haulia
Age: 16
Female
Level: 40,
Job: Diviner
Strength: 60 [Max 6100]
Vitality: 80 [Max 6120]
Defense: 60 [Max 6100]
Agility: 85 [Max 6125]
Magic: 3020
Magic Defense: 3180
Skills: Future Sight [+Automatic Activation] [+Branching Paths] — Mana Manipulation [+Body Strengthening] [+Partial Strengthening] [+Conversion Efficiency II] [+Increased Concentration] — Gravity Magic
*Conversion Efficiency II allows one point of mana to increase two points worth of stats.
————————
Tio Klarus
Age: 563,
Female,
Level: 89
Job: Guardian
Strength: 770 [+4620 while in dragon form]
Vitality: 1100 [+6600 while in dragon form]
Defense: 1100 [+6600 while in dragon form]
Agility: 580 [+3480 while in dragon form]
Magic: 4590
*Draconic Roar II allows the wielder to use their dragonbreath while outside of dragon form. Wind Veil wraps the wielder in an armor of wind while draconified, aiding in their flight speed. Pain Conversion is a truly wonderful skill. It's proof the wielder has opened the door to a new world. Come, partake of this wonderful sensation!
———————
Name: Regulus Corneas (1) // Regulus Corneas (2)
Age(1): Unknown
Age(2): 129
Gender: Male
Level(1): 45 [+55 With Greed]
[+Ư̷̢̡̟̼͎̮͈̟͎͚̗̥͎̟̲̲̺̰̪̲̞̤̻̗̭̺̻͓͔͋͋̈́́̈́̑̈́͛͂̇͘n̷̨̧̛̫̗̳̘̥̥̲̱̟͉̦̘̥̼͍̜͓̏̆̑͋̈́̒̅͋̿̇́͆̋̔̅̐̐̊̒̑̂̍̃̐̎͆̎̾͝k̵̢̨̢̧̨͙̜̠͍͇̣͓̰̜̜͚̩͕̼͔̣̲͍͉͈̠̟̞̜̖̐̿n̷̺̯͈͊̓̌̈́̈́̄̚̕ǫ̷̨̧̛͍̭̮̗͈̮̪̗̝̱̼͎̟̼͙̱̻̮͎̙̣̖̞́͋̓̒͂̋͂͌͑͒̉̌̉̉͂̽͒͂̐̔́͘̚̕̚͜͠w̵͕̹͗͊̔̽̌̇́̏̎̐͜͠ņ̴̟̟̱̰̤̟͔̈́̈̓͗̐̾̏͊̋͑̌̆̀̓͝͝ With Vainglory]
[+54 With Melancholy]
Level(2): 100 [+200]
Job: [Sin Archbishop], [Warlock Of Sin], [Representative of Greed], [Representative of Melancholy], [Representative of Vainglory].
Strength: 50 [+Infinite With Greed] [+900 With Vainglory] [+1900 With Melancholy]
Magic/Mana: 0 [+Infinite With Vainglory] [+5000 With Melancholy]
Magical Defence: 0 [+Infinite With Greed] [+2450 With Melancholy] [+Infinite/Error With Vainglory]
Skills:
Authority Of Greed- [Lion's Heart] + [Stillness of an Object's Time]
|
Authority Of Vainglory- [Reality Manipulation] + [Authority Over The World]
|
Authority Of Melancholy- [Gravity Manipulation] + [Magical/Physical Resistance]
|
[Infinite Vocabulary]
--
Though Regulus's stats looked like they went and gone the girl's weren't quite as broken as Hajime, each of them were strong enough to take on the rest of Hajime's cheat-level classmates all at once. All of their best stats were so high that even Kouki with [Limit Break] wouldn't have been able to match up to them. Naturally, most combat jobs wouldn't even come close to their level of strength.
And that was just their stats. Their unique skills and abilities had left Ilwa completely speechless.
It was hardly surprising. Skills such as Blood Conversion and Draconification belonged to races that had supposedly gone extinct centuries ago. Furthermore, they were races that, according to the Holy Church, had betrayed the gods centuries past.
And while Shea didn't belong to a heretical race like Yue and Tio, her stats and abilities were completely abnormal for her species.
Although Regulus's stats were the oddest one's out of all, and the only thing ilia recognised was one of his job classes [Warlock Of Sin], or to be more accurate he only recognised the word 'Warlock' as it was one of the more old sayings for Mage or Sorcerer but the sin part made no sense.
"My word... I had expected to see something out of the ordinary, but not this out of the ordinary..."
Sweat dripped down his forehead, and his usual smile was conspicuously absent. Unconcerned, Hajime began explaining what had happened at Ur. Normally, Ilwa would have laughed such a story off as impossible, but he had no choice but to believe Hajime after seeing their stats and skills.
Once Hajime finished talking, Ilwa crumpled into the sofa, looking like he'd aged a decade.
Ilwa: "No wonder you caught Master Catherine's attention. I had assumed you were one of the summoned heroes, Hajime-kun, but... this is far beyond my expectations."
Hajime: "So, what are you gonna do? Report us to the Holy Church for being heretics?"
Ilwa hurriedly straightened up under Hajime's piercing gaze.
Ilwa: "That's a good joke. I couldn't even if I wanted to. Turning you into my enemy would spell disaster not just for me, but likely for the entire guild. Besides, what kind of monster do you think I am? You lot are my saviors. I'll never forget that, not for the rest of my life."
"I see. Then we're good." Hajime shrugged, as if apologising for testing Ilwa. He gestured his thanks. Ilwa smiled and nodded in response.
Ilwa: "As promised, I'll do everything in my power to support you. Both as a manager of the guild, and as an individual. Though, after that little display of might, I doubt the higher-ups will be in any hurry to go after you. In order to make this easier for us, we'll make your adventurer rank gold as well. Normally there's a lot of silly ceremonies and formalities that accompany a promotion to gold rank, but... well I'll make sure everyone accepts it. It'll be easier since you have Master Catherine's recommendation, along with my own. That, and your newfound reputation as 'The Goddess' Knight.'" Along with all of that, Ilwa also allowed them to stay at the VIP room in the guild- managed inn for as long as they were staying in Fuhren. Furthermore, he provided them a letter bearing his personal crest. He was serious about maintaining a friendly relationship with their party.
Hajime: "Thanks a lot. The more cards we have to play, the better. Looks like it was worth racing all the way out to Ur after all."
Ilwa"I'm glad you don't regret it. However, I'm sure you're aware those two girls' identities will be discovered eventually, even if they don't show people their status plates. Though I have pledged my support, in all honesty, it's like trying to block a fireball with a piece of paper..."
Ilwa scratched his cheek and smiled bitterly. Hajime brought his teacup to his mouth and shrugged his shoulders.
"A piece of paper can be a good shield if you use it right. My job's Synergist, you know? My duty is to make sure anything that can be useful is made useful. Don't worry, I'll make good use of your support."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. Besides, remember what you said when you asked me to take this request?"
"What?"
Ilwa tilted his head in confusion. Hajime grinned wolfishly and repeated the words Ilwa had told him a few days ago.
"I was prepared for a confrontation from the start."
"I see. I did say something to that effect."
Whether Hajime had Ilwa's help or not was irrelevant. Having it would make things a little easier in the future, but he wouldn't be stopped regardless. His pupils glimmered, his smile promising ruin to anything or anyone that dared stand in his way.
Ilwa couldn't help but smile when he saw Hajime's determination, and the resolve his companions had to follow him down that path. His spirits soared. He suddenly remembered the time he was a young boy, when he had given it his all to work his way up to branch chief.
He had a premonition. These four who dared to stand up against the Holy Church would be the ones to change the world.
It wasn't that he hated the current status quo. He was on the side of the haves, not the have-nots, after all. He was a human living an honest life in this world. If anything, he should have wished for the world to stay as it was.
But the reason he couldn't help but feel excitement, and possibly a little fear, at the prospect was because he, Ilwa Chang, was part of the adventurer's guild.
Ilwa: "I pray your travels turn into the most wonderful adventure and bring the most trouble this world has ever seen."
"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say thanks to that or not."
Even Hajime wasn't sure how to interpret Ilwa's heartfelt words. But well, it's very much like him, he thought with a wry smile.
Yue, Shea, and Tio all turned to each other with bemused looks on their faces.
While the forth person was starting at his stad with suddenly surge of realization.
Seeing their expressions, Ilwa laughed. He hadn't laughed like this in years. For so long he'd just been busy with the work of managing the guild, but things were finally going to change.
After they parted ways with Ilwa, Regulus said that they should settle in but not fo long and they went to the guild- managed inn in the center of the city. It was a massive, twenty-story building, and their room was situated at the top floor. They had an unobstructed view of the tourist quarter. The room they'd been given was magnificent as well. There was a wide living room, as well as four separate bedrooms, each furnished with a massive canopy bed. Both the sofas and the rug were soft and fluffy, and they could tell at a glance every piece of furniture was high-class.
Hajime and Regulus sank into the couch, while Yue, Shea, Tio and myuu excitedly explored their new living quarters.
"Anyway, let's rest for today. We've gotta restock on supplies tomorrow."
Hajime lazily closed his eyes as Regulus contemplated what he said. However, Shea objected to Hajime's plans. She grabbed Hajime's leg and started shaking him.
"Wait, Hajime-san. You promised..."
"Oh yeah, I did say I'd take you around the tourist quarter." As a reward for saving Aiko's life, Hajime had promised to take Shea around the tourists' quarter for a day.
Shea looked at Hajime expectantly. However, he hesitated. They still had to get a lot of shopping done too. It was then that Regulus came to the rescue.
Regulus:"Yue, Tio and I will do the shopping. You go with Shea."
Hajime: "Are you fine with that?"
Regulus: "Yes, it won't do me any bad if I went out and had a nice walk in the city while visiting shops, I needed some stuff anyways so it will benefit us both"
So just like that they had a whole day planned out.
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