The night had come and darkness had enveloped the world once again, but despite the looming darkness, like stars in a lonely night, hundreds of lanterns illuminated the plains as people traveled towards the village.
Leading the people were Grey and Yuna. They had just returned from the Orc Horde extermination special quest. And behind them are the people which once lived in the village ravaged by orcs.
Seeing such a strange spectacle at night, the guards were alarmed and rallied below the gates, ready to intercept the source of the lights if they were to be enemies.
"Huh, aren't those...!" ［Dale］
Thankfully, there was one person amongst the guards who recognized Grey and Yuna. It was Dale, the guard who granted them temporary ID cards on their first day in the city.
"Dale, you know them?" ［???］
"Y-Yes Sir, they are rookie adventurers who just arrived at Galderia about a week ago." ［Dale］
As the conversation between the two continued, Grey, Yuna, and the villagers came into the light of the city lights. They were finally able to rest from the long journey.
"I heard from Dale about you. You're Grey and Yuna, right? I'm Ragnar, the knight in charge of the eastern gate." ［Ragnar］
Whilst Grey and Yuna were making sure that the villagers were fine, the muscular man who was talking to Dale approached them, introducing himself as a knight.
As Merusia's civilization was similar to that of Earth's Middle Ages, knights are of course present across all countries. But unlike Earth where only gentles and nobles were able to become knights, even commoners have a chance to become one.
In the ranks of the military, the ranks are divided into three which consists of trainees. soldiers, and knights.
Trainees are pretty self-explanatory, they are those which are still undergoing training and have no proper rank yet. They are further divided into "Recruits" (soldiers-in-training) and "Cadets" (knights-in-training).
Soldiers are those who didn't graduate from the Royal Academy and just enlisted, equating to non-commissioned officers in modern armies. While knights are those who have graduated from the Royal Academy, receiving the title of "Knight". Knights can be considered equivalent to commissioned officers.
While most knights come from gentle and noble lineages, there are also those who earned the title by sheer hard work and talent. Ragnar was an example of this.
"Ah, yes, that's us." ［Grey］
"Then, I'll get straight to the point, what is the meaning of this?!" ［Ragnar］
With an imposing aura, Ragnar asked Grey a question with a very serious tone. His eyes were that of a tiger ready to pounce at its prey if something were to go wrong.
Of course, Grey and Yuna weren't a little bit by Ragnar's aura. To them, it just felt like the air became a little bit heavier. But to normal people, what their eyes saw was true terror.
"Well..." ［Grey］
As calmly as he could, Grey explained the situation to Ragnar. He explained that the villagers lost their homes from an Orc Horde and that they were sent by the Guildmaster to protect them, and Ragnar listened to his explanation attentively.
Although most of what Grey said was true, he lied about who defeated the Orc Horde. He only said that Kris and Aria were sent to deal with the horde as they evacuated the villagers. After all, the knight probably won't believe them if they said they were the ones which annihilated the horde.
"What an unfortunate incident... You can leave them in my hands, so go report to the guild about the situation. They must be awaiting your return." ［Ragnar］
"Then, we'll be imposing on your kindness, Sir Ragnar." ［Grey］
"Thank you very much." ［Yuna］
After bowing their heads to the knight, Grey and Yuna headed straight to the Adventurers' guild.
On the way there, the streets were completely quiet as if the city had been deserted. It was very different compared to its atmosphere in the day where it was so lively and joyous.
The moment they entered the guild, all eyes were fixated on them. Some were filled with envy, some filled with curiosity, some were filled with confusion, but what was most evident were eyes filled with anxiety.
But among them, there was a certain group of adventurers which looked at Grey and Yuna as if they were some kind of pests. They were a group which had a strong stench of alcohol emanating from them.
Even with that, Grey still understood their reactions. After all, almost everyone would be annoyed if some rookie got the favor of the boss and were treated as if they were heroes.
Speaking of the boss, the guildmaster was silently waiting in front of the reception desks. His face was completely serious, with hints of anxiety all over the place.
"So... how did it go?" ［Gaston］
Asked Gaston with a noticeable tinge of nervousness present in his voice.
Despite knowing Grey and Yuna's strength, he was still nervous about the results. It wasn't because he didn't trust them but because of the fact that it had been far too long since Grey and Yuna had departed.
"Buhahahha, they probably got scared and came back empty handed!"
"Maybe they even sh*t their pants! Hahahaha!"
"That's what you get for being so arrogant! Kuhahahaha"
But rather than either Grey or Yuna answering, what echoed throughout the guild were the voices of the drunken adventurers, laughing as if there was no tomorrow.
The nearby adventurers didn't voice out their opinions on the matter. Despite the fact they were pretty pissed about how a certain group of adventurers laughed at such a serious matter, there was nothing they could do about it.
The group which was laughing was a party of D-rank adventurers. Not only that, they were considered strong even within the D-rank spectrum. With the 5 of them, they could take down a C-rank monster without much issue.
But it wasn't their strength that was the reason why the other adventurers kept quiet. It was because of their bad reputation in the guild that no one dared to speak up against them. And surely enough, the moment Grey used "Judgement", they were immediately branded as "Evil".
Grey was also running thin on patience. If it weren't for the laws imposed on adventurers, he would have already given them a piece of his mind.
"Hm...? Hey, isn't that elf girl kinda cute?"
"Now that you mention it... she really is a beauty!"
"She also has a great body, kuhahaha!"
"She might be a bad adventurer, but she must be good in bed! Otherwise, why would anyone keep such a delicate girl! Hahahahaha"
"Bahahaha! I wonder if she'll play with us, if we ask her nicely, buhahahaha!"
Hearing those words, Grey could barely contain his anger. One more push and he'll most likely tear them apart.
Yuna on the other hand, with her meek personality, felt a sense of fear creeping within her body. Even if she has a strong body, mentality is another thing. Hearing the drunken men's words, it was as if she thrust into a pit of darkness, multiple hands reaching out to her. After all, it was the first time she had experienced sexual harassment.
Not giving a care about the spectators, one of the drunken adventurers stood up from his seat and went towards where Grey and Yuna were standing. Following him, the others also stood up and walked behind him.
"Hey, brat. I know you can't defeat that orc horde whatever, so how about I offer you a deal, hm?" ［Scum Leader］
Face to face with Grey, with his mouth reeking of the stench of alcohol. The drunkard, who seemed to be the leader, offered Grey a deal.
"Jaco, I'll only warn you once, cease what you're doing, right this instant!" ［Gaston］
"Shut the f*ck up old man! This has got nothing to do with you!" ［Jaco］
The Guildmaster tried to stop Jaco from whatever his scheme was, but it was pointless. The group of drunken adventurers still continued as they pleased.
While the Guildmaster could forcibly stop Jaco, it would only cause the situation to escalate. What's more, the nearby adventurers and staff might get caught up if a fight were to ever break out.
"What do you say? We'll defeat the horde for ya... so, how about you lend her to us for a night. I promise we'll make her very happy!" ［Jaco］
With a disgusting smile plastered on his face, the leader of the drunk adventurers finished his words, offering Grey a very atrocious deal. It was a deal only severe degenerates who are rotten to the core will offer.
"What... did you... just say...?" ［Grey］
As if the last string holder his temper had snapped, anger boiled from the deepest depths of Grey's heart. His vision had turned red, ready to dispose of the pieces of trash in front of him.
"Hahaha, what's wrong? I couldn't hear your voice. Hahahahaha" ［Jaco］
"He's probably scared sh*tless!"
The drunken adventurers continued laughing at Grey as they ridiculed him, but that laughter did not last long.
"You f*ckers, I'm gonna kill you!" ［Grey］
Like an unstoppable flood, Grey's aura filled with killing intent enveloped the whole guild, stopping everyone from their movements and making breathing much more difficult as if they were carrying hundreds upon hundreds of kilos on their backs.
Although Grey had concentrated his aura towards the drunk adventurers, the leaking aura was still enough for the nearby adventurers to be heavily affected. It was as if they were treading against a violent storm and in front of them was death itself!
It was even worse for the drunkards. In their eyes, it was as if death was extending its hands towards them, ready to rob them of their lives at any moment. Not to mention the pressure they were suffering was enough to crush normal people's bones into paste.
Even when they were at the pinnacle of D-rank, it took the drunk adventurers all their might just to resist the crushing pressure. It was strong enough to make the scums sober up and realize that they had crossed the wrong person.
"Can you repeat what you just said?" ［Grey］
With menacing eyes resembling that of the Grim Reaper, Grey lifted Jaco who was kneeling on the ground by his collar.
The moment Jaco's eyes met with Grey's, a world-defying fear sprouted from the depths of his heart. It was as if the abyss itself was grabbing him limb by limb, dragging him to the depths of hell.
'S-Save me!' ［Jaco］
Screamed Jaco from the depths of his heart as he fainted from indescribable fear. His mouth frothing with foams and his eyes turned white.
But Grey did not care whether Jaco was conscious or not. Grey clenched his other hand, and with breakneck speed, it headed towards Jaco's head.
"Grey, stop!!" ［Yuna］
Thankfully, Yuna's voice echoed inside of Grey's ears, stopping him just in the nick of time from murdering a person. She was also grabbing Grey's arm, trying to stop it. Thanks to that, Grey was able to snap back into reality.
With his reason restored, Grey dispersed his aura, letting the air return back to normal. He also let go of the fainted Jaco, making him fall to the ground together with his similarly fainted acquaintances.
After that, everyone in the guild no longer thinks of Grey and Yuna lightly. In their eyes, they had become they shouldn't cross. All that awaits those who try is a cruel fate which is above any other.
'Crap, what was I about to do?' ［Grey］
Grey asked himself, seeing how he almost took a life out of pure anger. Although the trash adventurers were wrong, it was still his fault for letting his anger get the better of him.
Within the three years Grey had lived in the Haltea Great Forest, life was either kill or be killed. Because of that, Grey's instincts had greatly derailed from the norm. It was also the reason he was not able to control his actions after he was taken over by great rage.
Although life isn't as treasured in Merusia as it was on modern day Earth, killing a person out of pure rage was still not justifiable. It doesn't matter how despicable they are, there are right processes for things.
"Guildmaster, I apologize for my sudden outburst. I'll accept any punishment that comes from this." ［Grey］
Grey sincerely bowed his head as he apologized to the Guildmaster. He had now returned to his usual self and had reflected on his actions.
"Haah, don't worry about it. There won't be any punishments. After all, you didn't actually bring any harm to them." ［Gaston］
Gaston replied, making Grey a little puzzled but relieved.
Even when Grey knew that things worked out differently in Merusia and Earth, the concept of "harm" was so different that it baffles him. If it was on back Earth, a slightly offensive verbal remark could already be considered "harm", but on Merusia, it was only considered "harm" once you assault someone.
"Enough about that, what about the Orc Horde and Orc General. Did you defeat it?" ［Gaston］
"No." ［Grey］
To Grey's answer, everyone in the guild became shocked as anxiety started creeping into their hearts once again.
"Then about the villagers! What happened to the villー" ［Gaston］
"Ah, sorry. I wasn't being clear. We did defeat the Orc Horde, but it wasn't led by an Orc General. It was led by an Orc King." ［Grey］
As he said those words, Grey opened up his "Inventory", a myriad of items came flooding out into the guild's floors. From mana crystals, to leather, and even weaponries, a lot of items came flooding out, but what surprised them the most was...
"Isn't this the Orc King's Necklace?!" ［Gaston］
It was the item which was a rare drop from an Orc King, dropping only at a rate of 1 in 5 Orc Kings. An item which stood out like a sore thumb, especially when it was sitting on the top of the pile.
The spectators were so shocked by the appearance of the "Orc King's Necklace" that they didn't pay attention to how much things Grey brought out. Just a single glance and anyone could tell it was more than 5 cubic meters worth of items.
Rather than a B-rank threat, it was actually A-rank! That was the thought which many people were having at the same time. They just couldn't fathom how much danger one would face against such a quest.
To think that such a difficult quest was handled by a pair of youths which aren't even 20 was a world-defying act. Not to mention that they had collected all the drops, meaning the battle was actually much shorter. They could only imagine how powerful those two youths were.
"Guildmaster, can I borrow a room for a minute?" ［Grey］
"U-Uhh... S-Sure, go ahead..." ［Gaston］
With the permission from the Guildmaster, Grey and Yuna went to an employee-only section and borrowed a room inside.
While one of the reasons for Grey's actions was to cool down away from people, the real reason was that he wanted Yuna to be away from such a crowd. Although people hadn't noticed yet, Grey's eyes could clearly tell that she was trembling.
It seems that the sexual harassment Yuna received from the trash adventurers didn't just cause a small shock, but it had made Yuna sensitive to the surroundings, especially to the people around her.
Proof of it was how tightly she had been holding Grey's right arm ever since she stopped Grey's punch. It was as if she was a scared child who didn't want to let go of their parent, but unlike a child, she was exerting enough force to crush stone into fine powder.
Grey was afraid that Yuna might develop a deep fear towards men after today. After all, it wasn't rare for women to develop a trauma after being sexually harassed by a man.
After all, no matter how strong Yuna was, she was still a normal girl. And like a normal person, one's emotions are fragile which could easily be shattered by an unfortunate encounter.
Slowly but surely, Grey had Yuna seated on a seat and let her drink a glass of water carefully, making sure to not worsen the situation.
"Yuna, have you calmed down?" ［Grey］
Towards Grey's question, Yuna didn't utter any words and lightly nodded her head instead. Her hands were still trembling but she tried to be strong.
A few minutes had passed since the incident but Yuna was still shaken. Seeing her like that, Grey wanted to cheer her up but didn't know how to approach it.
Suddenly, Grey remembered a scene from a few days ago when the two of them were still taking their registration exam. He had finally found a way to calm Yuna down, the very same way he had used before.
"Hey... Yuna, do you want to hold my hand?" ［Grey］
Hearing Grey's words, Yuna was a little surprised as she saw Grey extending his hand. A few seconds later, she nodded meekly and accepted Grey's offer.
Their fingers interlocking, warmth from each other's hands enveloped one another as silence filled the room.
Silence enveloped the room entirely for a few minutes. It was a situation where Grey couldn't do anything but wait for Yuna to open up.
"Grey... I was scared..." ［Yuna］
While it might have taken a few long minutes, silence was finally broken by Yuna's words. Although she was still trembling, it wasn't as much as before. She had greatly calmed down after holding hands.
"Although I have fought many monsters... Today, I realized that... people are even scarier... Although I could fight against strong beasts and monsters... at that time, my heart was occupied by fear I had never experienced before... It felt as if their stares were touching every part of my body... It was really uncomfortable... and scary..." ［Yuna］
Without saying a single word, Grey just listened to Yuna. Even when Yuna clenched her hands even tighter, he only listened. He had just let Yuna let out all her pent out emotions.
"Sorry, I'm such a mess right now... I'm so pathetic... I can't even handle simple words..." ［Yuna］
"No, Yuna, you are strong." ［Grey］
Grey had planned to keep quiet, but the moment Yuna started saying self-deprecating words, he wasn't able to remain quiet anymore. He needed to tell her what he really thinks of her.
"Even when you were scared, you still did your best and were able to stop me from making a mistake... Even when you were scared, you didn't show your weakness to others and tried to keep standing... And even when you are scared, you are still able to admit your shortcomings and reflect on them. That takes courage that not everyone has... Yuna, you are strong." ［Grey］
His words full of sincerity touched Yuna's heart, and the fear which once enveloped it started to disappear albeit slowly.
"You might still be scared of them right now, but I'm sure you'll overcome these fears later on... So take your time slowly, no one is rushing you... Just remember, I'll always be here when you need me." ［Grey］
"Uuu... Grey... hic... I was really... really scared... hic..." ［Yuna］
Like a dam which finally broke down, tears trickled down Yuna's face as soon as Grey finished his words.
Seeing Yuna cry like a little child reminded Grey of the fateful day when Yuna bawled her eyes out on his shoulders. It was the very first day Yuna had opened her heart to him.
It is normal for people to develop fear no matter be it from darkness, heights, fears, or even something nonsensical. After all, no person is perfect the moment they are born. It is only through experiencing obstacles and pain that they are able to grow.
Like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, all one needs is perseverance and a will to grow better than before, that one achieves their wings and soar higher than ever. It is then that one could truly achieve freedom and be the best versions of themselves.
CHAPTER 17 END