"No way! This is shit."
Hazuki shook his head, crumpling the suspicious recruitment notice in his mind.
With a deep sigh, he turned away from the board and headed toward the receptionist desk.
At the Reception Desk
"Hello."
The receptionist looked up, instantly smirking.
"Oh~ the 'strongest'—"
She made exaggerated air quotes.
"'High-level' adventurer. Welcome~"
Hazuki's eye twitched.
"GIIIII!!! THIS GIRL!!"
Still, he swallowed his anger and leaned on the counter.
"There's no quest I can take, so I just want to ask something."
The receptionist rested her chin on her hand, looking amused.
"Oh? What is it, Mr. 'High Level'?"
Hazuki ignored her sarcasm.
"If I kill a monster and bring it here, the guild buys it, right?"
She nodded.
"Yes~ The guild will buy any monster you bring."
Then—
She raised her hands and made air quotes again.
"Except for 'slimes.'"
Hazuki twitched again.
"The hell's wrong with slimes!?"
The receptionist chuckled.
"They're worth almost nothing. Even merchants don't bother with them."
Hazuki turned away from the counter, ready to leave—
But then—
The receptionist called out to him.
"Oh, and one more thing~"
Hazuki paused.
He slowly turned his head, already sensing trouble.
The receptionist grinned smugly.
"If you can bring a 'dragon' here…"
She raised her fingers, making dramatic air quotes.
"I will 'marry' you."
Hazuki froze.
His brain short-circuited.
The other adventurers nearby stopped what they were doing.
Then—
Loud laughter erupted from the guild.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"DID YOU HEAR THAT!?"
"OI, KID! YOU BETTER GO HUNT A DRAGON!!"
Hazuki gritted his teeth.
"YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT!?"
The receptionist smirked, resting her chin on her hand.
"Who knows?"
Hazuki felt like screaming.
"LIKE HELL I'M GOING AFTER A DRAGON JUST FOR THAT!!!"
The receptionist just winked playfully.
"Teehee~"
Hazuki froze for a moment, taking in the laughter around him.
Then—
He smirked.
"Ah~ sorry… but…"
He raised his hand, casually showing off his ring.
The receptionist blinked.
The other adventurers quieted down slightly, curious.
Hazuki grinned wider.
"I already have a better girl waiting for me."
He let the words sink in.
Then, with a smug look, he delivered the final blow.
"When the time comes, she'll be beautiful, cute, and…"
He leaned in slightly.
"Younger than you."
The guild fell silent.
The receptionist stared at him.
Then—
"PFFT—!!"
Laughter erupted again— but this time, directed at her.
"OOOH, SHE GOT REJECTED!!!"
"BRUTAL! ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL!!"
"KID, YOU'RE A LEGEND!!!"
The receptionist's eye twitched as she forced a smile.
"Oh my, how wonderful~"
But her fingers were digging into the desk.
Hazuki turned around with a victorious grin.
"Heh. That'll shut her up for a while."
Then, just as he was about to leave—
The receptionist called out with a dark smile.
"Oh My~? Then why don't you take a DRAGON quest to prove your worth to your 'cute, younger' future wife?"
He smirked.
Slowly, he turned back, looking at the receptionist with pure confidence.
"Oh… she doesn't need me to prove anything."
He raised his hand again, letting the light reflect off his pinky promise ring.
"This ring is already proof enough."
The receptionist's smile twitched.
The adventurers nearby were grinning, sensing something legendary about to happen.
Hazuki grinned wider.
"Even if you wanted me… well… I don't think you can."
He shrugged casually.
"You know about pinky promises, right?"
The receptionist's eye twitched.
She clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, looking away.
"Whatever."
The guild EXPLODED with laughter.
"OOOOH!!! HE GOT HER AGAIN!!!"
"THE KID'S ON FIRE!!!"
"THIS GUY'S GOT A DEATH WISH! HAHAHA!"
Meanwhile, inside Hazuki's mind…
"HELL YEAH!!!"
He turned around and walked out like a king.
Victory was his.
Hazuki stretched his arms and casually strolled toward the town gate.
"Well… off to the… errr… outside!"
Just as he was about to pass through—
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"Oi, wheelbarrow guy."
Hazuki froze.
"Oh crap!"
He slowly turned his head and saw two familiar guards grinning at him.
"Damn it! I totally forgot about the wheelbarrow they let me borrow!"
One of the guards let out a fake, exhausted sigh.
"You know… we had a hard time getting that wheelbarrow back from the guild."
The second guard dramatically wiped his forehead.
"Yeah… it was sooo heavy."
Hazuki twitched.
"Eeeee… these two guards…"
He forced a smile.
"Ahaha… I'm sorry, I forgot about it."
The first guard clicked his tongue.
The second guard waved his finger, shaking his head.
Then—
"You know… we both feel kinda… thirsty."
The guard grinned, casually touching his throat.
Hazuki narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, come on…"
They weren't even trying to be subtle.
Hazuki sighed in defeat and pulled out some coins from his pouch.
"Fine… here."
He handed them 20 copper coins.
One of the guards grinned.
"Oho~ now that's good."
The other guard immediately took the money and headed toward a nearby drink stall.
The vendor saw them coming and just shook his head.
"These two…"
Meanwhile, the remaining guard casually threw an arm around Hazuki's shoulder.
"Jeez, thank you."
Hazuki twitched slightly under the weight.
"Y-Yeah… you're welcome."
Then—
The guard grinned wider and patted Hazuki's back.
"You know… you can borrow the wheelbarrow again next time."
Hazuki froze.
His eye twitched.
"HELL NO! THESE GUYS JUST WANT MORE FREE DRINKS!!"
But—
He just forced a smile.
"Yeah… sure…"
And then, he quickly walked away before they asked for more.
Hazuki finally walked out of the gate, stretching his arms.
"Haaa… finally, some fresh air."
He took his time, enjoying the scenery as he slowly walked along the path.
Then—
He noticed something.
A bunch of kids were gathered around, poking at some slimes.
"Guess slimes aren't that dangerous here, huh?"
He kept walking, taking in the sights, when—
A slime wobbled right into his path.
Hazuki stared at it.
Then, without hesitation—
He kicked it.
"Move over!"
The slime bounced away like a rubber ball.
The kids watched, wide-eyed.
Another slime slowly jiggled closer to him.
Hazuki narrowed his eyes.
"What? Got a problem?"
The slime wobbled.
Hazuki grinned.
"Wanna get stabbed by my sword?"
With a dramatic flourish, he unsheathed his sword.
Its light green metal gleamed in the sunlight—the blade fused with slime crystal.
The slime froze.
Then—
It bounced away as fast as possible.
The kids burst into laughter.
Hazuki sheathed his sword and smirked.
"Hmph. That's what I thought."
Feeling extra confident, Hazuki grinned and struck a dramatic pose.
He raised his sword high, slicing the air with exaggerated movements.
With his cape (actually just his coat) fluttering slightly in the wind, he mimicked the stance of a legendary hero.
Then, in his most powerful voice, he declared:
"ALL BOW DOWN TO THE LEGENDARY HERO!!!"
The kids stared.
The slimes jiggled in confusion.
A passing merchant glanced at him, then quickly walked the other way.
A nearby bird squawked and flew off.
Hazuki stood there, holding his pose.
"…."
One of the kids raised a hand.
"Uncle… are you okay?"
Hazuki's eye twitched.
Slowly, he lowered his sword and coughed awkwardly.
"Ahem."
Then, as if nothing happened, he kept walking forward.
The kids whispered among themselves.
"I think Uncle lost it…"
"Maybe the sun's too hot today."
Hazuki pretended not to hear.
( End of Chapter )