Adventurers VS the boy (part 2)

"You just want to bully someone weaker than you."

"Alright, fine. That's three birds with one stone, then."

The shieldmaiden pointed out an accusation, but instead of becoming troubled, the monk's grin widened as he leaned back and raised his ring finger too, adding the accusation as another benefit.

"..."

Constance sighed and had a quick glance at the grumpy-faced water mage, and her expression hardened.

"Fine. But I'm not going to attack him at all and only show how good my abilities are paired up with this shield!"

She scoffed, taking up the shield and strapping it to her arm.

"That's the spirit! Let's go~!"

Finlay chuckled and nodded as the two of them stood up together.

"Huh?! Finlay, Constance, wait...!"

"Big bro, don't."

The shocked archer gasped and stood up, but his sister reached out over the table and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"What the...? Solange! Those two knuckleheads don't realize that if the cart belonged to that kid, then he was the one to hunt down four Stone Fang dogs! Four! He can't be as weak as they think!"

"Shhh."

Amo shook his head and gasped at the water mage, but the girl only shushed him and snickered nastily.

"Oh, I know that, but I am also annoyed at that pair of childhood friends. I think it will be fun watching them fall apart when their great plan fails miserably."

"...Solange..."

The girl snickered, and the boy groaned in disbelief but stopped trying to go after their comrades.

"...well, you might not get what you want, though. I've seen a lot of E ranks and even a few D ranks use the same type of shields."

The archer sat back down and pointed out with a shrug.

"The shield is good. Constance's abilities and timing of using her Skills are not. Everyone knows that you get bonus EXP points for using new equipment until you master it, but she just tossed away the gear she barely got and switched to a new one."

The water magician shrugged back at her brother and glared at the shieldmaiden's back.

"...you mean, everyone who has an appraisal-type skill like you knows about that. Maybe if you told Constance about it instead of being yourself, then she would..."

"I did tell her. But she got smart with me and claimed that it didn't matter all that much. Bitch. I even pointed out that mastering a piece of equipment can sometimes give its user a skill, but she declared that even if her old shield had given her a Skill, it would not be a good one."

Amo sighed, rubbing his temple, but Solange declared grumpily, putting her arm on the table and resting her chin on it.

"...she said that...? Alright then."

The brown-haired boy raised his brows and gasped before turning around and glaring coldly at the other half of their party.

"Hey."

"...?!"

By that time, Finlay and Constance made their way behind the black-haired boy, and the monk snatched his damaged dark red staff while calling out.

"H-huh...?! Hey! Give it back! It's mine!"

"Whoa there!"

Zorey turned around and called out, reaching his hand for his property, but the monk with a shaved head took a quick step back while raising the former weapon out of his reach and snickered.

"Finlay, wasn't it? No fighting in the guild building is allowed. You should already know that."

"...!"

Zorey gritted his teeth, and his expression turned dark as he clenched his fist, winding it back to throw a punch at the offender's stomach, but he stopped that immediately as he heard the bespectacled receptionist scolding.

[!!!]

"...!?"

For a moment, Constance's danger detection skill picked up and alarmed her, but the marker disappeared before she could localize its origin. Nonetheless, she gulped down her saliva and became hesitant about the whole thing.

"Miss receptionist, this is not fighting. Just a Monk giving a lesson to his younger colleague."

Finlay declared confidently, grabbing the stolen staff with both hands and putting pressure on it...

*CRUNCH*

"!!!"

"Lesson one – don't parade around with trash. Everyone can see the grade of that thing, so you're not making anyone think that you are tough."

The monk snapped the staff in half, and the damaged wood splintered into dozens of pieces as if it was completely rotten, causing Zorey to freeze up with his eyes focused on the remains, and Finlay clasped his hands together to get rid of pieces stuck to his hands.

"Seriously, instead of using garbage like that, you would do better focusing on your unarmed combat Skill."

"..."

Finlay scoffed mockingly, earning himself a cold glare from the bespectacled receptionist while the black-haired boy was too focused on the remains of his weapon to react to him.

"I guess I did mess up your... equipment... but because I am a Monk too I will help you out. My friend here is a shieldmaiden; if you duel with her, she will be leanient with you, and who knows, you might be able to level up your unarmed combat skill – or earn one if you haven't got it yet."

The monk glanced back and smiled at the sight of many eyes being focused on him, so he continued the slightly benevolent and very mocking act, stepping to the side and patting the anxious Constance on the shoulder.

"A teaching experience like a duel is allowed, isn't it, Miss Receptionist?"

Finlay added with a big smile looking at the strict-faced woman behind the counter.

"Only if he accepts. And trash or not, putting your hands on the equipment of someone else is a habit that you should stop before it develops into something problematic."

"...!"

The receptionist's cold answer was outside of Finlay's prediction and made him grit his teeth.

"I am only thinking about the future of my young colleague. Anyway. You will accept our generosity, won't you?"

"He doesn't have to accept anything!"

"Thalia."

The monk stepped towards the black-haired boy and leaned down, patting his shoulder menacingly, which made the bespectacled receptionist call out angrily, but she was immediately stopped by her long-eared coworker.

"If he's a real monk, then he will accept. People in our Class never miss a chance to better themselves!"

Finlay snickered and called out, thinking that he was putting the younger boy against a wall.