Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Royal Road Hero Tale (16)
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As soon as I opened the door, the stench of booze assaulted my nose. Is this a tavern or a guild?
The guild hall was packed with tables like a bar, and rough-looking adventurers were clustered around them in groups, boozing it up.
The walls were plastered with quest notices, and right beside them hung wanted posters with sketches of criminals' faces.
Toward the back was a staff area where a woman who looked like a guild employee was scratching her head while poring over some documents. She's probably the one to talk to.
With Siwoo stiff from nerves and Sophia clinging to my back, we approached her. That's when a burly adventurer nearby opened his mouth.
"Hey! What're a couple of kids doing here? Go suck your daddy's dick some more first!"
The woman, who already seemed pissed off, marched over to the guy and slapped him hard across the face.
"It's mommy's tits, you ignorant bastard! Stop ruining business and fuck off!"
Whoa, tough lady...
The slapped adventurer crumpled to the floor, then staggered back up like it was nothing and rejoined his drinking buddies.
"Ow, that bitch! My teeth are rattling. Hey! Anyone wanna buy a tooth? Booze on me!"
Looks like he was just your typical sloppy drunk, despite the scary mug.
Honestly, I'd been a bit intimidated...
"So, what brings you here? A quest?"
Once the adventurer had slunk away as she ordered, the woman flashed a bright smile and got down to business.
For some reason, even her smile felt intimidating. I wasn't the only one—Sophia gulped audibly from behind me.
"We're here to register as adventurers."
"Ugh, really? Got a guarantor? Figures you don't. Pay one gold per person and wait. Gotta do a skill test. Sigh, why do even kids like you wanna be adventurers these days?"
Her smile vanished in an instant, replaced by an annoyed scowl and a rude tone.
Man, her attitude flips the second you're not a client?
And one gold? I've been cooking for half a year and only saved 37 silver. That's way too steep a deposit.
"Got ID? No? That's another gold. Oh, and cough up one more, and I'll skip the test and make you rank 7 right away. Deal?"
Rank 7 was the lowest rung of adventurer—barely qualified to call yourself one. Intern level, really.
They couldn't even hunt monsters; just forage herbs or haul luggage and other odd jobs.
Asking for another gold on top of that? Total scam.
"We have a recommendation letter. Here."
But that's why I'd prepared in advance.
Originally, the plan was to use the village chief's connections to get one from the Zie Merchant Company's branch manager. But I scored one from someone even higher up, so this works out better.
"Oh yeah? Let me see... Louise? Louise... What?! Klein Louise?!"
The woman jumped in surprise, staring at us with a flustered expression.
"This isn't forged, right? You know faking one of these is serious trouble?"
"Feel free to verify it."
"Of course I'll verify! This isn't right... Come with me first."
Connections really make a difference. Her bossy attitude evaporated.
We followed her up to the second floor, where a swanky reception room awaited—worlds apart from the chaos downstairs.
After sinking into the plush sofa and sipping some warm tea—which even my unrefined palate could tell was fancy—we waited a bit before the guild branch chief himself showed up, not the woman from before.
"Whoa! Never dreamed Klein Louise would vouch for adventurers!"
I hadn't expected it either. I'd asked her on a whim, figuring what the hell, and she'd whipped up the letter without hesitation.
Probably thanks to Siwoo's protagonist halo.
"Those goblin bastards gave us a real headache too. Zie put in a request, but no one would take it.
That dangerous, and you kids handled them solo! Can't judge a book by its cover, huh? Heh."
"Huh? We..."
"We did handle it. Just got lucky, really. Goblins got careless."
Louise must've spiced up the story a bit. Siwoo started to spill the truth like an idiot, but no need to correct the record.
This builds our rep and helps down the line. No point spitting in the wind.
"Heh. Monsters are monsters, no matter how strong.
Hmm... Took down rank 5 monsters, plus Klein Louise's vouch—rank 6 start should be fine.
Wanna make you rank 5, but rules are rules. Do a few quests, and we'll promote you quick. No worries."
A big-name guarantor really smooths things out. After some chit-chat, we got our adventurer cards.
Now all three of us were official adventurers.
Thanks to the branch chief's generosity, we took rooms at the inn right in front of the guild.
This inn was guild-run, so safer than most—not open to just anyone.
Only adventurers with solid credit could stay. I silently thanked Louise again.
We rented two rooms, unpacked lightly, and headed down for dinner.
When bedtime rolled around, I launched my pre-planned scheme.
"...Which is why I can't let Sopi sleep alone."
"Huh? Even so, that's..."
"No, it's the right call. Leaving a girl alone in a room is risky, even in a reputable inn. Word gets out she's solo, and you'll have creeps buzzing around."
"Then who with...?"
Siwoo snuck a glance at Sophia's face.
Pretending otherwise, but clearly hopeful.
"You two share. I'm the oldest, right? Let me take the comfy spot."
I shot Siwoo a signal as I spoke.
Of course, no such intention. This was the ploy Sophia and I cooked up.
Act like I have zero interest in her to lower Siwoo's guard—while bunking with Sophia!
As expected, opportunity in hand, Siwoo hesitated.
"So me... with... Sopi...? Sopi, uh, you okay with that? I don't mind..."
Ears beet red, sweating bullets, eyes darting anxiously.
God, what a pushover. Can he even land a sub-heroine like that? Might need to drag him to the brothel and pop his cherry sometime.
"...Sorry. I'm too embarrassed... Oppa, can I just share with you?"
Sophia stuck to the script, and Siwoo looked gutted. But he couldn't muster the guts to insist.
"Sigh..."
I sighed openly at him, and he looked apologetic.
"Can't be helped. Sopi and I'll share. It's late—rest up in your rooms, meet in the lobby tomorrow morning."
"Yeah! Hehe."
"...Okay."
Sophia glomped my arm, and Siwoo trudged off to his room.
Click!
The second Siwoo left and the door shut, Sophia bolted to lock it, then threw herself into my arms.
I naturally laid her on the bed and stroked her hair.
As we cuddled, the weight of the day finally hit me. What a packed twenty-four hours.
First monster fight.
Stabbed by a sword.
Poisoned.
Nearly died.
Ran into the guards.
Became adventurers.
...I'd played it cool in front of the kids, but I was scared too.
Even in a 'Heroine NTR' world, the pain and agony were real.
And the terror of death—the thought of never seeing Sophia again—that chilled me to the bone.
Mulling over the day like this, Sophia suddenly burst into tears.
"Sob... Oppa... Oppa...!"
Reliving it herself, she trembled with anxiety, tears streaming.
I silently held her tight as she burrowed into me, shaking all over.
But her fear wouldn't fade.
"Waaah... Sob... Sob sob... Oppa can't die..."
"Never... Never! Sniff... Don't die... Don't leave me behind... Okay?"
"Sob... Thinking you almost died... My chest hurts so much... Even heals won't fix it..."
She bawled until her eyes were puffy red, clinging to me desperately.
I felt my chest grow wet with her tears.
Sophia, loving me this much—she was utterly precious.
At the same time, I hated myself for making her hurt like this.
"Sopi..."
I leaned down and kissed her.
It tasted salty, like our first kiss.