Chapter 132
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Namesake -2-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Roman... you idiot!! Hurry up and come already!"
It really happened in an instant.
The rowdy tavern fell silent at her single shout. The chill in the air was so piercing it raised goosebumps on her skin.
Some adventurers glanced around with fear in their eyes, peeking not at her but elsewhere.
Even those dead drunk couldn't hide their curiosity, their gazes fixed not on her but on one particular table.
There were others who couldn't keep up with the sudden shift in mood,
but they all shared something in common—rookie adventurers fresh out of the nest, or out-of-towners like her aiming for a promotion.
Scraaaape—
A muscular man shoved back his chair and rose to his feet.
Thud... thud...
He stood right before her.
After staring down at her from his great height for a long moment, the man asked shortly, his tone laced with puzzlement.
"Why?"
Alice froze at the man's abrupt question, standing there out of nowhere asking why.
...Why all of a sudden? Why what? What kind of question is that?
She'd had countless men hit on her back in Edelmann and even in the capital, but this was a first.
Unlike those leering with lust in their eyes, this gaze held no ill intent—just calm detachment.
But the overwhelming pressure she felt up close stirred the dragonkin blood in her veins, blaring warnings that this man was dangerous like a mad alarm.
He harbored no killing intent toward her, nor any goodwill.
It was a transcendental terror that made her shrink back from his mere presence.
This was an experience unlike any she'd had in her life.
Her instincts screamed that this man was the most dangerous, the strongest she'd ever encountered.
In this sudden crisis she'd stumbled into,
even as she debated pulling out a defensive spell, her instincts blocked the impulse, screaming no.
What flashed through her jumbled mind was a conversation with her parents.
····
Back when she was in Edelmann, grinding through adventurer quests alongside Roman like her life depended on it, she'd once asked her parents about it.
That day, she'd just been promoted to silver-rank adventurer and was celebrating modestly with her family.
The warm atmosphere, with her family genuinely thrilled about her growth and promotion, made her bold enough to ask without hesitation.
She'd dropped the bombshell that she wanted to become an adventurer, fully expecting them to try and stop her—yet they'd permitted it so readily. Why?
—Your old man here is the same, but mixed-blood dragonkin like you tend to be cautious folk. They dodge crises like pros and live long lives, no matter what they do.
Her father said he never would've allowed it if she'd been pure-blooded dragonkin.
Pure-blooded dragonkin—the true rulers and powerhouses of the federation— reveled in clashing with the strong, seeking out danger of their own accord.
The acute senses for detecting crises and foes, evolved in the primordial days when the dragonkin race was born just to survive.
Over eons, for whatever reason, that temperament evolved, and they twisted those senses to live and die on battlefields, calling it an honorable death.
Her father said her own diluted dragonkin blood, barely a fraction pure, was perfect for an adventurer's life.
It wasn't just about tough bodies. The innate dragonkin senses for sniffing out danger and sizing up threats were still there,
but the pure-bloods' thirst for combat was nowhere to be found.
For adventurers, whose top priority was survival above all—even if it meant ugly means—it was ideal.
"Hey, you—back off from Alice. Keep messing around, and I'll cut you down."
"...What the hell?"
Roman, who'd been downing drinks amid the female adventurers, sauntered over at her sharp command and grabbed the man's shoulder from behind.
In the short time he'd waited up top, he'd clearly drunk enough for the buzz to hit—his face flushed beet red.
As Roman's hand drifted to the sword at his waist, fueled by booze, the muscular man looked exasperated. At the same instant, the tavern erupted in raucous cheers.
Crash! Clatter!
—Ooooh!! It's been ages!!
—Young blood from out of town got no fear—love that!
—A challenger after one-eyed Nottingham...
—Unicorn from the Adventurer's Guild just dropped!!!
···
···
Cheers exploded from the adventurers nursing their drinks, and folks grabbing bottles and plates rose, crowding around like a circus ring.
—Bets?
—Why bet on a foregone conclusion?
—True... but fun's what matters!
—Rookie! Give it hell! If you die, we'll pour one out for ya!
···
···
Alice realized something was deeply off as the adventurers swarmed with bizarre shouts.
This is weird... no, dangerous!
From her time at the capital's Adventurer's Guild, underground tavern brawls between adventurers were commonplace.
Local bullies scrapping with out-of-towners had everyone laughing and cheering like it was entertainment.
But no one went this berserk, eyes gleaming with feverish anticipation.
The madness ramped up, like they were stoking the crowd to trap her in place. Even Roman, her own party member gripping his sword behind the man, looked thrown by the bizarre vibe.
The man ahead seemed used to it, digging at his ear with his pinky, looking annoyed.
Seeing Roman's sword hand twitch, Alice hurriedly tried to intervene.
"W-Wait! Stop!"
"It's fine, Alice. I'll go easy."
Roman's sword cleared its sheath, booze fueling a swing that traced a path etched into muscle memory.
····
Clang—!
"Urk!! Urrghhh...!!"
Even with her sharp dynamic vision, she couldn't track what happened in that instant.
Roman's blade, meant to slash past the man, shattered like glass and scattered.
Clutching his gut, Roman dropped to his knees and retched up a slimy mess.
—Boo!! Over already?!
—Kid! Put some back into it!
Jeers rained down, and the muscular man snarled irritably at the crowd, laying down the law.
"Shut your traps and get back to your seats. Too damn noisy—can't even talk."
—Ahem...
—Aw, food's getting cold.
—Y-Yeah, let's eat!
The swarm of adventurers, a rowdy bunch of stubborn types who bowed to no one, slunk away without a peep, lips pursed in disappointment.
The absurd sight of them heeding this young man's word only amplified her terror.
"Where you from, adventurer?"
"E-Edelmann..."
He ground Roman's head into the vomit with his heel, scratching his chin in thought.
"Hmm—Edelmann, huh. So why'd you call me over?"
They'd been off-kilter from the start. He wasn't toying with her or flirting.
"I just came down looking for my party member..."
"This guy?"
He jabbed at Roman sprawled on the floor, and she nodded frantically. After staring silently at the mess awhile, something clicked, and he asked again.
"What's this fool's name?"
"R-Ro... Roman."
Polite speech slipped out naturally—something she never used with fellow adventurers.
The man let out a deep sigh, his face finally easing into relief as he delivered his answer.
"My name's Roman too."
Alice's mind pieced it together in a flash.
"...Ah!"
The horrifying possibility that this might be that person clamped her mouth shut.
Looking down at her stunned expression, the man who called himself Roman lectured gently.
"I get it—happens all the time, easy mix-up on both sides. And yeah, no fault on your end."
"...!"
His even tone suggested no plans to harm her over this, but then his gaze shifted to Roman underfoot.
"Still, can't forgive whipping out a sword before we even talk it out."
He wasn't wrong. Her friend had struck first.
"I-I'm sorry! He's my party member...!"
"Don't sweat it. Good mood today, so... maybe lop off an arm for that bad habit. Church can reattach it if you hustle—good lesson."
He picked up Roman's shattered sword rolling on the floor, his face dead serious—no joke.
The grave aura pouring off him as he hefted the blade made Alice fidget in place.
W-What do I do!? More apologies? Bribe him...?
As she fumbled trembling hands toward her pouch of worldly goods, salvation arrived from an unexpected source.
Click-clack... click-clack...
"Mr. Roman. Your scheduled guest for today is here. If you're busy, shall we show them to the reception room?"
The receptionist delivered her businesslike line, and his stony face cracked into a sloppy grin.
The guild receptionist had descended the stairs and witnessed the violence but showed no surprise.
"Oh yeah? Do that—appreciate it! Be right there."
Still holding Roman's half-smashed sword in one hand, he grimaced at his smile, clicking his tongue.
Clink—!
"Tch—can't get blood on my hands before good news... You there."
He tossed the sword to the floor and pointed squarely at her glaring back.
"Eep! Y-Yes?!"
"When this idiot wakes up, make him clean the whole tavern. Run off without... well, you can look forward to it."
All she could do was nod like a maniac.
Satisfied, he lifted his foot from Roman's vomit-smeared head and whistled up the stairs.
"Haa...!"
Alice had held her breath until the man vanished completely, then collapsed as her legs gave out.
No strength to stand.
Staring blankly at her unconscious friend face-planted in puke, a pink-haired woman and a bearish man approached.
"Miss, whatever got that guy to drop so easy... your party's lucky."
"You okay? Lucky Roman seemed in high spirits today."
Grasping the pink-haired woman's kindly offered hand and her gentle smile, Alice finally hauled herself up.
