Chapter 655: The Formidable Alicia
Chapter 655: The Formidable Alicia
“I knew it. I should have known when I saw him dragging all those pretty women around. He’s the worst!”
“Right! Just because he’s handsome, the Goddess’s messenger, and the Saint, he thinks he can do anything! …The Supreme Archmage, a Cardinal, the daughter of Count Barbet, and that one over there is the Guild Master’s daughter, isn’t she? I heard he’s even won over the princess enough to visit the palace all the time… I wonder if he’s amazing at night, too?”
“Of course he’s amazing. Have you heard about the rookie who just joined our clan? She’s still low-level, so she got to attend the sex-ed class at the temple. She said she saw that rumored video, and it was even more incredible than people said. You can’t see the woman’s face, but from her fantastic body, she must be a pretty high level, yet she couldn’t even put up a proper fight. Every time the Saint touched her, she just kept… ugh! W-wait, that’s not what’s important right now! The Saint is the enemy of us women! An enemy!”
“But… what if we get to a high level and become beautiful, and the Saint approaches us…?”
“Then you’d obviously become his concubine, mistress, sex friend, whatever! Is that even a question?!”
“The important thing is that there’s absolutely no chance the Saint will ever approach us as we are now.”
“Exactly! What matters is now! Right now! He’s the worst kind of man, one who won’t even give us low-level adventurers a second glance and only judges women by their looks! Why would the Goddess send a man like that as her messenger?!”
“It must be because he’s capable. You just said so yourself.”
“I-I’m not doubting the Goddess’s choice! So are you trying to say the Saint isn’t our enemy?!”
“Of course I think he’s the worst…”
Sigh…
Hearing the conversation around me, I almost let out a sigh before I could stop myself.
Of course, as a receptionist, I couldn’t show such a lapse in composure, so I held it in and maintained my professional smile.
To adventurers, the receptionist is a symbol of the beginning and end of a dungeon expedition.
I couldn’t afford to wear a gloomy expression and sour the luck of the adventurers standing right in front of me, applying to register their party before heading into the dungeon.
But apart from my responsibilities as a receptionist, I couldn’t help but feel the urge to frown.
It wasn’t just now. All day long, while working at the guild, I could hear low-level adventurers whispering the same rumors several times a day.
The rumor that Mr. Guwon only judged women by their looks had started among the low-level adventurers and had now spread so far that anyone who frequented the guild knew about it.
In a way, it was only natural for the rumor to spread so quickly.
He was the Goddess’s messenger, handsome enough to turn heads even without the boost from his level, and yet he wasn’t the arrogant type who lived off his own greatness. Judging by his clothes, he was quite easygoing and humble.
Then was he authoritarian, as befitting his status? Not that, either. In fact, seeing how he treated his women, he was the type to yield to them.
From the perspective of low-level female adventurers, he had all the perfect qualities of a Prince Charming. There was no man more fitting for the role.
And that was precisely why the rumor was so virulent.
He only cares about looks. In other words, it meant that low-level women had absolutely no chance of catching Mr. Guwon’s eye.
It was only natural for these low-level adventurers, who could no longer even dream of the situation every woman yearns for—of an ideal Prince Charming one day sweeping them off their feet—to badmouth Mr. Guwon so obsessively.
If there was a silver lining to this unfortunate situation, it was that the rumor wasn’t getting any worse, as it was fueled by a distorted desire for what they couldn’t have.
The very same low-level female adventurers who spread the rumors about Mr. Guwon were also the ones who admired him more than anyone.
They cursed him out of a sense of betrayal and disappointment, but because a part of them still held onto that admiration, they couldn’t go too far.
Of course, for someone like me who had to listen to their badmouthing all day long, it was unbearable.
It’s not my place to say, since I was the one who started the rumor, but to just let such a baseless rumor spread… Mr. Guwon is just too insensitive.
And Lady Diana and the others are the same. To let a rumor like that fester just because it means fewer women will cling to Mr. Guwon.
Of course, Lady Diana probably predicted this would happen.
That even if the rumor spread, it wouldn’t get worse than a certain point.
After all, the occasional nasty rumors about Lady Diana herself were usually of a similar nature.
And to be honest, I could understand the desire to prevent other women from clinging to him.
No. In fact, I understood it all too well. Especially these days, when I hear Mr. Guwon’s name from all directions.
Become his concubine, mistress, sex friend, whatever.
Could they be subtly dissing me because they know I rejected the position of concubine, saying it was too unstable?
That was just an excuse.
The truth is, if I really entered that kind of relationship with Mr. Guwon, if I were to…
The gossiping women were so eager that they looked ready to give him their liver and gallbladder if he just said the word, while I was making excuses to no one in particular.
Mr. Guwon’s party members must have been aware of this kind of attention for a very long time, so it was understandable that they had become so wary.
Besides… it’s a bit awkward for me to say this, but Mr. Guwon seems to be the type who has trouble rejecting women who like him.
But still, it’s uncomfortable to keep hearing the person I like being badmouthed like this.
Should I step in and say something?
No. But if I do that, a new rumor might spread that the Guild Master’s daughter is trying to boss the adventurers around…
It takes more effort than you’d think for the Guild Master’s daughter to work as an ordinary receptionist.
Staying in the shared guild dormitory is part of that effort; I must never assert my authority as the Guild Master’s daughter.
If anything, I’m in a position where I have to be even more careful with my words and actions than anyone else.
If even the slightest bad rumor started about me, my mother, who already disapproves of me working as a receptionist, might make me quit immediately.
Then what on earth should I do? I don’t want to keep listening to them badmouth Mr. Guwon.
“Hey! You over there! What did you just say?!”
As I was wrestling with my thoughts, a familiar, booming voice cut through the air.
“Wh-what?! A-are you the executive from the Arachne Clan…?!”
“Yeah. So you recognize my face, for what it’s worth. So, what was that about Guwon?!”
“N-no, um, it’s just…”
Alicia, who was showing her face at the guild for the first time in a while, was shouting at the group that had been badmouthing Mr. Guwon just moments before.
The fact that the Arachne Clan and the Saint’s party were on friendly terms was already a well-known fact among the rumor-loving adventurers.
The gossipers seemed to be well aware of this, and the panic on their faces was plain to see.
“What?! Cat got your tongue?! Can’t you speak clearly?! You call yourselves adventurers, don’t you?! You were chattering away so loudly in the guild, so you couldn’t have been saying anything you shouldn’t have, right?! I’m curious too, so just say it again. Why?! Did I ask for something impossible?! Huh?!”
Alicia, if you ‘ask’ like that, they’d be too scared to speak properly even if they weren’t badmouthing him, I thought.
But even so, I didn’t leave my receptionist’s desk to stop her.
To be honest, I thought they had it coming.
“U-um… we were just… talking about a rumor…”
“Right, that rumor! I’m curious about it, too! It’s been a while since I’ve graced this place with my presence, you see! Why don’t you give me, a person out of the loop, some information?! If it’s good info, I’ll even reward you handsomely!”
“Th-that’s…”
The adventurers being browbeaten by Alicia now looked like they were about to cry.
Truthfully, given Alicia’s position, her actions were risky. It could easily start a rumor about a major clan bullying a weaker party, but Alicia didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
“What is it?!”
“Hic… The Saint… he… judges women by their looks…”
“You’re saying Guwon only judges women by their looks?!”
“W-we were just repeating a rumor…”
“Hey. Do I look ugly to you?”
As the adventurers once again tried to make excuses, Alicia’s expression suddenly turned serious as she asked a completely random question.
“Wh-what?”
“I’m asking if I look ugly to you!”
Alicia… what are you talking about all of a sudden?
“Eek! N-no! You’re incredibly beautiful!”
“Don’t flatter me, tell me the truth!”
“It’s true! You really are beautiful!”
“And yet, even I confessed to Guwon and got rejected. If Guwon was the piece of trash you say he is, who only cares about looks, shouldn’t he have accepted my confession while drooling all over himself?”
“Wh-what…?”
At Alicia’s subsequent bombshell, the adventurers just stared blankly.
Of course, they weren’t the only ones who reacted that way.
Whaaaat?!
A-Alicia was rejected by Mr. Guwon…? That Mr. Guwon rejected a woman who liked him?! Especially someone so beautiful and who he was so close to?! No. Since when did Alicia even like Mr. Guwon…?!
The group of gossipers, the adventurers eavesdropping nearby, and even me.
Ignoring the fact that everyone in the vicinity had been thrown into a state of panic, Alicia continued.
“I was rejected too! So Guwon is not a piece of trash who only judges women by their looks! Get that straight! And that goes for all of you, not just them! If I ever hear that weird rumor again, I’ll take it as you badmouthing my looks, and I’ll hunt you down and kill you!”
After boldly declaring this not just to the adventurers in front of her but to everyone around, Alicia, still looking like she hadn’t vented all her anger, stomped over to me.
“H-hey, Rachel. Long time no see. I’m here to register my party. We’re heading to the 4th floor, same three as before.”
Approaching me, Alicia spoke cheerfully as if nothing had happened, but contrary to her tone, her face was so red it was visible even through her coffee-colored skin.
“Y-yes. Welcome, Alicia. Party registration, right? Please wait just a moment.”
I was still in a state of panic from Alicia’s bombshell, but I somehow managed to perform my duties as a receptionist on reflex.
Alicia must know about my relationship with Mr. Guwon…
Wh-what kind of expression am I supposed to make?!
Should I offer comfort…! No. Would that be weird?! Then should I thank her for stopping the gossip about Mr. Guwon…! I-is that weird, too? Does it look like I’m just showing off that I’m his girlfriend?
Ah, ahhh! Wh-what should I do! What do I do!
“Um… Rachel. You heard what I just said, right?”
“Hye?! Y-yes?! Th-that is…! I mean!”
“Don’t be so flustered. It’s all in the past. More importantly, about what just happened… keep it a secret from that guy.”
Alicia calmed me down, her own face still slightly flushed as she spoke.
“What? But…”
You shouted it loud enough for everyone to hear. It’s going to become a huge rumor whether I say anything or not, isn’t it?
Especially now that the rumor about Mr. Guwon only caring about looks has been debunked, it’s going to spread like wildfire among the low-level adventurers whose hopes for a Cinderella dream have been rekindled.
“I know. But you know that bastard is a little dense, right? And it seems like you’re the only one at the guild he really talks to. So I thought if you just kept your mouth shut, he might not find out. You know. If he hears that I got angry about people badmouthing him, it’ll look like I still have feelings for him, won’t it?”
To my eyes, the look on Alicia’s face as she said that still seemed like that of someone in love with Guwon.