"I'm here to report on a new Irregular, Your Excellency," Sir Galen knelt in front of the old man who was sitting on his desk, poring over paperwork.
"Did he cause any trouble?" The old man appeared to be quite fatigued as he posed the question.
"This Irregular is a bit peculiar, but he can be reasoned with."
"Has he agreed to join us?"
"For now, yes. He has acquired some slaves and seems to be testing their skills and abilities."
"Slaves...Is he the same as the others?"
"No, Your Excellency. He doesn't approve of the concept of slavery. It seems he just wants to form a party for dungeon exploration."
"I hope he remains that way," the old man sighed.
-----
Augustus was finally free from the knight's clutches and able to explore the new world around him. "Can you guys tell me about this place? I somehow don't trust the knight that much," Augustus inquired, his eyes darting from one person to another.
Arielle glanced at him, then sighed. "There's not much I can say about this place. This is Eldrida, one of the cities that exist on Exonia, ruled by the Kingdom of Drakonia," she replied, her voice laced with boredom.
"No, I mean Exonia itself. Can you tell me more about Exonia? What is this world like? Why do slaves even exist? There's also the Irregulars. What about their race? Is there an ongoing war or rebellion?" Augustus bombarded Arielle with questions, unable to contain his excitement.
Arielle was overwhelmed by Augustus' questions. "I think it's better if you head to the nearby library and read the history there," she suggested.
"Where is it? Lead me there." Augustus was eager to learn more about this new world, and he had a feeling that the library held the answers he sought.
As he entered the library, Augustus was awed by the sheer size of the place. Rows upon rows of books lined the shelves, and the smell of old parchment filled the air. "This is the third library. I have never visited so many libraries before in my previous life," Augustus muttered to himself, marveling at the sight.
"Welcome, how can I help you?" the librarian greeted him with a smile, her pointed ears giving away her elven heritage.
"I want to read some books. How much do I have to pay?" Augustus asked, pulling out a gold coin from his pocket.
"Thirty bronze coins, please," the librarian replied, eyeing the gold coin with interest.
"I only have gold coins. Do you have change? If not, it's fine." Augustus was aware that gold coins held a higher value than the smaller denominations, and he didn't want to inconvenience the librarian.
"Umm, is it fine if I give you 99 silvers instead?" the librarian suggested. Arielle, who had been hovering nearby, interjected. "No, for sure you have enough change. Give my master the change."
"Yes, please wait." The librarian flustered as Arielle scolded her. After a few moments, she returned with two huge pouches of coins. "Here you go…" The librarian handed Augustus the coin pouches.
"Keep this silver as a tip. Sorry for the trouble," Augustus said, slipping the pouch into his dimensional storage. He then pulled Arielle away, while Vera timidly watched.
"What? Why did you give her a silver?" Arielle asked, confused by Augustus' actions.
"She helped me get some silvers and bronze coins, so I just decided to tip her. Now, guide me to some history books," Augustus replied, eager to start his research.
As Arielle handed Augustus the stack of books, he couldn't help but impressed of her knowledge. Despite her youthful appearance, her wisdom and expertise were apparent. 'Is it because she's half-elf?'
"This book here, read from here to here," Arielle instructed, pointing out the pages and paragraphs relevant to Augustus' inquiry about slaves.
As Augustus read, he learned that the existence of law in this world was largely due to the influence of the powerful Irregulars, who often owned or desired to own slaves.
"The Irregulars are overwhelmingly powerful and pose a threat not only to kingdoms, but to the entire world. Can you tell me more about them?" Augustus asked, intrigued.
Arielle handed him another book on the topic, which revealed that Irregulars were actually transmigrated people who received blessings from God. They were often erratic and defied the norms of Exonia, making them difficult to reason with.
"The first Irregular who arrived in Exonia decided to overthrow the place, kill the demon lord, wage war against all races, build a kingdom, and create his own laws," Augustus muttered in disbelief.
"That's insane. Are all Irregulars as strong as him?"
"No, not all of them are as strong as the first Irregular, but they all have some sort of blessing from the goddess and possess great potential for growth," Arielle explained.
Curious, he asked, "How many Irregulars are there in Exonia?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but there are likely hundreds or even thousands. The Irregulars tend to hide themselves, so it's hard to get an accurate count," Arielle replied.
Curious about how they viewed him, Augustus asked, "What do you guys think of me as an Irregular?"
"Weird," Arielle replied bluntly.
"Very kind," Vera added shyly.
"So, do all Irregulars just kill indiscriminately and are fine with slavery?" Augustus questioned.
Arielle nodded, "Not all of them, but many are like that."
Intrigued, Augustus asked if there were any Irregulars in the area that he could meet. "Preferably someone weaker than me," he added.
Arielle hesitated for a moment before responding, "There is one individual that comes to mind, but I wouldn't recommend confronting him. He's quite notorious in these parts."
[Sudden Quest arrived]
[Investigate the Irregular that was mentioned and get rid of it]
[Reward: 10000 points]
Augustus looked at the notification from the system with a mixture of curiosity and eagerness. A new quest had arrived, instructing him to investigate and eliminate an Irregular who had caused trouble in the dimension.
"Compare my strength with him, which one of us is stronger?" Augustus asked, his eyes glinting with determination.
Arielle considered his question for a moment before responding. "From what I've heard in the rumors, he has the ability to control gravity. It's a formidable magic, but if you can kill him before he has the chance to use it..."
"So, I can kill an Irregular without any repercussions?" Augustus clarified.
"Most of the people here don't care," Arielle replied. "They're just afraid of getting dragged into the fight. In fact, most of them would support you, even the knights, as Irregulars have caused lots of problems."
"Gravity Magic, that's kind of overpowered," he thought. "Depending on how much he can control and how many times he can multiply the gravity, he could even create a strong force similar to a black hole."
Augustus decided to focus on training and improving his strength before taking on the Irregular. He handed Arielle and Vera a mana stone, which he had obtained from Ian, and instructed her to use the meditate.
"I have around mana stones in my storage," Augustus added. "Feel free to ask for more if you need them."
"What are we supposed to do with this stone again?" Arielle asked, her confusion evident as she held the stone in her hand.
Vera was equally bewildered, clutching the stone without any idea of what to do with it.
"Meditate? Circulate mana? You guys don't know how?" Augustus attempted to explain it in the simplest way possible, but they still couldn't understand.
"Wait, let me see. Come here." Augustus pulled Arielle over and checked her mana by holding her hand.
"Yeah, she said she's a Magic Bow user. I'm not sure what kind of mage that is, but she's at least a 2-star mage."
"Sit down. Feel the mana that I send through your body and circulate it." Augustus touched Arielle's back for better flow.
"Sir… Can you guys not do it here?" The librarian was blushing as she watched their actions in the library, as were the other guests.
They had been staring the entire time, especially as Arielle and Vera were still wearing their ragged goblin clothes from the dungeon, which exposed a lot of skin.
Arielle didn't mind at first, but after the librarian pointed out the situation, she seemed to be embarrassed too. Vera had been embarrassed from the beginning, but didn't complain much as she was a slave.
"Ahem. Right, I'm sorry." Augustus apologized to the librarian. "We'll move somewhere else."
Meanwhile, the spectators glared at the librarian for snitching on them. "We were having fun here," they thought.
"I should get you guy changed," Augustus said as he walked on the street, looking for a clothing store.
He stopped in front of a store specialized in women's clothing. "I'm sorry about earlier, totally forgot about it. Choose any clothes you like; I'll buy them for you."
"But we're slaves?" Vera said sheepishly, but Arielle cut her off. "Just get it. I don't like people staring at me with their perverted looks."
With Arielle's straightforwardness, they quickly got into the store and began browsing for clothes. Augustus followed them, and for some reason, the cashier gave him a weird look. However, he didn't think too much about it until Arielle and Vera began undressing, not minding Augustus at all.
"What? There's no changing room?" Augustus quickly turned and looked at the cashier, who then pointed to a sign that read "No men allowed."
Augustus left the clothing store after leaving a gold coin at the cashier for Arielle and Vera's clothing.
As he stepped out onto the busy street, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
"I need to fix this place. The Irregular screwed up this dimension and turned it into their own heaven and hell for the people here."
A while later, Arielle and Vera got out from the store, wearing medieval-era clothing that allowed them to move freely. Augustus was surprised they didn't opt for anything cute or stylish.
"You guys didn't buy any dresses or something cute?" Augustus asked as he saw a lot of unique-looking clothes from the shop but they ended up picking the normal ones.
Arielle grinned at him. "I thought you weren't into that kind of thing."
Augustus was caught off guard, not knowing how to respond. He quickly composed himself and said, "No, I just thought you guys might want to look nice while not in the dungeon."
Arielle pointed to her bag. "I have some dresses in here, but I'm just wearing this now because it's more comfortable."
Augustus didn't even want to look inside the bag. "Let's go find an inn so I can teach you guys how to circulate mana and get stronger."
"I have a wife. I have a wife. I had a wife," Augustus tried to convince himself but gave up in the end.