As I chatted with Ember, out of nowhere, Cinder charged at me and grabbed my... guild card from my pocket. She got so close that I could feel her breath brushing against my face, her silky hair caressing my cheeks, and she even smelled pleasant. While I was processing this, a sudden sound caught my attention.
"Ahem… Guild Master, please stop bothering Mr. Doyama," Ember calmly addressed Cinder, though her smile didn't quite hide the anger in her eyes. A vein even popped out on her forehead.
"Fu fu fu… sorry about that, I got a little excited," Cinder said with a casual shrug.
Just as I was processing what had just happened, Ember grabbed my hand, snapping me back to reality. She urged, "Mr. Doyama, please take a seat," while sporting a slightly eerie smile.
"O-Okay," I stammered, complying and settling onto a nearby couch. Cinder also sat down across from me, still holding onto my guild card. Ember, on the other hand, was nearby, preparing tea for all of us. It was then that Cinder began to speak.
"Well, Mr. Doyama-san, do you know why I wanted to meet you?" She suddenly asked me, her tone becoming serious.
"Well, let me guess. It's because of the quests," I replied.
"Exactly. Since the creation of the Adventurer's Guide, no one has been able to do what you did, not even the other heroes of the past. You managed to gather five hundred Renewmints in a single day, and what's more, is that you also managed to kill five hundred small monkeys the next day," she continued.
"Well, it's true that small monkeys are one of the weakest monsters around, but their incredible agility makes them a tough foe to deal with for beginner adventurers. These feats alone are impossible to begin with, but you also did something even more ridiculous," she told me, her tone serious.
Now that I think about it, all the quests I received from the Verdant Grove never told me to finish them in a single day. Even the quest to hunt Monkey Kong had no time limit. I was the one who pushed myself and completed them within two days.
While lost in thought, Cinder resumed speaking.
"Mr. Doyama, do you know what ridiculous thing I'm referring to?" she asked me.
"Let me guess again. It's the Ruler of the Verdant Grove, Monkey Kong, right?" I replied.
She shook her head and said, "That's right. There's a reason why Monkey Kong is known as the Ruler of the Verdant Grove, and there's also a reason why no one has hunted him till now." For some reason, her expression turned intensely serious, and it sent shivers down my spine.
"W-Why hasn't anyone hunted Monkey Kong until now?" I inquired, my curiosity tinged with a touch of nervousness.
"The reason is that the other side of the forest is connected to the Oni's territory. Oni's are allied with the Demon Lord, and Monkey Kong is the sole obstacle preventing them from crossing the forest. If they had truly tried, they could have eliminated Monkey Kong long ago. However, Monkey Kong was far from an easy opponent. Engaging him would have resulted in substantial losses for them," she explained with unwavering seriousness.
"The same is true for us. It takes at least a party of five or six Iron-ranked adventurers, or three to four Silver-ranked adventurers, or even a small army of regular soldiers to bring down Monkey Kong. Due to this, we've let him be. Additionally, he unintentionally acted as a protector of Random Town, so no one bothered to hunt him down," she continued.
"And that's not all. He possesses numerous rare and potent skills that can temporarily amplify his powers significantly. Moreover, he wields a formidable grey magic capable of practically obliterating a small village in a single strike," she spoke with an intense seriousness in her voice.
"Are you referring to 'Monkey Monkey Ha' and 'Overdrive'?" I asked curiously.
As soon as I spoke those words, both Ember and Cinder stared at me in wide-eyed surprise. Ember's surprise even led her to accidentally overflow the teacup she was preparing. When she noticed the mess, she quickly apologized and began to clean it up. On the other hand, Cinder's expression was a mix of astonishment and shock as she questioned me.
"How do you know about those skills?" she inquired, rising from her seat and leaning closer, closing the distance between us. This brought her face very close to mine, and I could feel her breath and the softness of her hair.
"W-Well, it's because he used those skills on me, along with a couple of others called 'Monkey See Monkey Do' and 'Super Monkey Fist'," I replied, my voice stumbling a bit.
"Wait, you fought the Ruler of the Verdant Grove, Monkey Kong, head-on? I thought you had managed to sneak up on him and take him down. How on earth did you defeat him?" she asked, genuine surprise evident in her expression.
Then I told her about my encounter with Monkey Kong how he made a sneak attack on me how I dodged it like the guy in the Movie named after Math and how he dodged the bullets in slow motion while bending in an unnatural way. I avoided the part where it hit me between my legs and how I was squirming on the ground because of the pain.
And how he offered me to reject Humanity and Become Monkey and how I rejected him and he went Ape shit crazy because of it and started attacking me and how I got my ultimate attack and everything after that.
After my story, both Ember and Cinder wore expressions that combined surprise and shock. Cinder was the first to speak, asking, "It's impressive that you took down Monkey Kong face-to-face. But I'm curious, why did you name a skill similar to 'Monkey Monkey Ha' as 'Holy Shit'?"
"W-Well, that name was sort of an accident, but surprisingly, the skill itself is quite powerful," I answered with a forced smile.
Ember kindly offered both Cinder and me some tea. We both expressed our gratitude, and Cinder continued, "Now, could you please explain the deal with 'Bloody Axe Rex' and 'Truck-Kun'?"
"Well, 'Truck-Kun' is the unique skill I received from the Craz- I mean, the Goddess Megami. As for 'Bloody Axe Rex,' I stumbled upon it in Mr. Owen's shop," I explained.
Cinder appeared surprised. "Wait, my Dad had a weapon like that? I've never heard of any weapon like that from him," she said, giving me a somewhat suspicious look.
"Well, he kept it in the beginner's section, and I had to use my appraisal skill to find out about it," I told her the truth.
"Appraisal, huh? While it's not an extremely rare skill, most adventurers don't possess it. Usually, skills like that are more common among merchants," she remarked before continuing.
"Anyway, if others learn about your accomplishments today, they might not believe you and label you as a fraud. So, the best option we have is to reveal that you are one of the heroes," she explained once again, her tone serious.
"Wait, you want me to reveal that to everyone? Do you understand why I've been hiding it for the past few days? It's because I'm not certain about my own strength. I could be surprisingly weak, and anyone from the Demon King's army could target me at any moment," I explained firmly and seriously.
"Are you sure about that? You've already defeated the Ruler of the Verdant Grove, Monkey Kong, single-handedly. I believe you've already surpassed the strength of a normal Silver-ranked adventurer," she countered.
I thought about what she said. It did make sense, but I was still unsure about revealing my hero status to everyone. However, since I have plans to leave this town soon, maybe it wouldn't be a problem after all.
"Alright, I guess that's fine. I'm planning to leave Random Town soon anyway, so I don't really care anymore," I told her with a casual shrug.
Just as I finished speaking, a sudden noise grabbed my attention. It was the sound of something breaking. I looked over and saw Ember had dropped the teacup she was holding, and it had shattered on the ground.
"Ember, are you okay?", I asked with a concerned expression.
"I-I'm fine, Mr. Doyama. I was just shocked to hear that you're leaving soon. I'm sorry, but I have other things to attend to. Please excuse me, and I'll send someone else to clean up this mess," she said, her voice carrying a note of sadness. I even noticed a tear forming in her eye.
After saying that, Ember quickly left the room, leaving me puzzled. I looked at Cinder and asked with a puzzled expression," What's up with her?"
*sighs*
Cinder let out a sigh and remarked, "You really are Dumb, aren't you..."
What? What the hell does that mean? I was still trying to process her words when she spoke again.
"Anyway, another reason I called you here is to inform you about your promotion. Congratulations on becoming an Iron-ranked Adventurer."