"Ryan, do you want to do it one more time?" Mirian asked with a mischievous smile after catching her breath.
"Of course I do," he replied firmly.
Then he processed it for a second longer.
"...But now is not the time for that. Get dressed already," Ryan added as he got out of bed and began putting on his clothes.
Mirian was still on the bed, her legs slightly parted and her chest exposed.
'I've thought about it before, but Mirian really is gorgeous,' he thought, admiring every part of her beautiful, well-kept body.
"Ryan, don't look at me like that. After what you told me, now you're looking at me as if you wanted to devour me..." Mirian said with a teasing smile.
"Stop wasting time. Karol and Helen should be back soon, and if they really brought the materials, we'll have to leave," Ryan commented in a less serious tone than intended.
'Even though it took longer than the time we were given, I hope there won't be issues at the guild over this quest. No... there definitely will be.'
After Ryan and Mirian finished dressing, they went out to the main hall that led to the exit and sat down there.
However, Ryan noticed that something had definitely changed in Mirian.
She couldn't stop looking at him.
Even while they talked, she seemed distracted, though there was a constant sparkle in her eyes.
Whether it was because he had sex with Mirian or because he had added Karol to the party, Ryan suspected that from now on, his daily life would become far more troublesome.
So, while they waited, he decided to spend some of the points he had accumulated so far.
"Stat."
[CHARACTER STATUS]
› Name: [Ryan]
› Level: 72 — Rank: B
› Class: Priest
› Title: Wolf Hunter.
› Strength: 1,170 | Magic: 768 | Agility: 720 | Psyche: 1,140 | Defense: 1,250 | Luck: 100 |
› Available Points: [140]
› EXP: 155,000 / 250,000
He began allocating his points into Strength.
Strength: 1,150 → 1,290
'Now I have a solid attack power, and with my Luck maxed out... this will be really useful for leveling up in S-rank dungeons once we return.'
'Although I'm not that far from reaching A-Rank, it's true that my current output is already comparable to an A-Rank. Not to mention I have healing and buffing magic.'
Ryan smiled, thinking about how thrilling that was.
After Karol arrived with Helen and everyone gathered in the living room of the house, they began planning what to do next.
However, Helen, seeing the strange look Mirian was giving Ryan, couldn't help but think something had happened between them. Stepping closer and looking at him inquisitively, she remarked in a serious tone:
"What the hell did you two do... you reek of—"
"That's enough," Ryan ordered, cutting off her words. "We can't keep wasting time here."
Mirian stood up from her seat, ignoring Helen's accusing glare.
"At this point, it should be obvious, but I'll confirm it anyway..." Mirian said, looking at Helen for a moment, then at Karol, and finally turning her gaze toward Ryan.
"Is this mage girl, Karol... going to be a new member of our party?"
Helen tensed for a moment, her gaze darting back and forth.
Ryan thought she would complain, but she remained silent.
So he simply stated it.
Karol locked eyes with Ryan cynically and smiled at him.
Then, Ryan sighed.
"Yes, Karol will be the fourth member of our party and also the mage we needed. She might look like a silly brat, but her offensive magic is truly powerful."
"Stop it, Ryan, don't say that, you'll make me blush," Karol commented with a brazen smile.
"That wasn't a compliment, you know," Ryan continued. "Well, looks like everyone is on board after all," he added.
Karol had brought the materials they needed, so for now, they had no reason to linger in the city any longer.
Now, Ryan's party had to head back to the adventurers' guild in Lunar Veil.
Regardless of whether things had gone smoothly or not, Ryan couldn't help but think that, despite ending up in this world for some strange reason, it was a place he was starting to enjoy.
However, given the days it would take them to return to the guild, the party knew they had exceeded the time limit Sophia gave them to complete the quest, but they brushed that aside and simply prepared to set off.
Even using the flight magic Karol claimed to possess, they wouldn't arrive in time to avoid being penalized by the guild.
◇◇◇
Now that they were finally back in Lunar Veil, they headed to the guild to report the completion of their quest and deliver the materials.
As soon as they walked in, the guild was unusually packed.
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen most of these people here before," Helen commented as they walked toward the counter.
"So this is the guild in this city; it's not much different from other guilds," Karol murmured.
They stood before the counter, though Sophia wasn't there—only a girl Ryan recognized: Irene, Sophia's assistant.
The surrounding adventurers kept glancing at them and whispering among themselves, though Ryan couldn't make out what they were saying.
"Is the guild master not here?" Helen asked Irene.
"She's busy right now. Are you here to turn in a quest?" Irene asked with a strained smile.
"Yes," Ryan intervened. "Karol, take out the materials," he added, leaning against the counter.
Karol did so; she pulled out her magic inventory artifact and placed the materials on the counter.
Just as Irene was about to take them, a voice interrupted them.
"You trio of fools! Can you ever complete a quest within the allocated time?!" Sophia's voice rang out, holding a sheet of paper in her hand. "You're S-rank now, at least show some enthusiasm. What good is having so much power if you've gone and built such a dreadful reputation for yourselves?" Sophia sighed heavily.
She brought her hand to her forehead and rubbed it with her fingers.
"You know? In all of Lunar Veil, they call you the party of infamy."
"Who the hell is calling us that? I'll beat them down right now," Helen grumbled, glaring at every single adventurer present in the hall.
"Oh Helen, see? It's precisely because of that attitude that they fear us. You're S-rank now, don't you think it's time to start acting more responsibly?" Mirian commented.
"Mirian, you be quiet." Sophia held up the paper in her hand. "This report says you destroyed a tower with devastating arrows in Ehres Valley. What the hell were you thinking using your power inside the town?!" Sophia demanded in the most serious tone.
'Damn, I assume all that destruction was caused while looking for me. But didn't they go a bit overboard?'
"Alright, alright, calm down. We have a good explanation this time," Helen intervened.
"Is the guild master always this loud?" Karol asked Mirian in a low voice.
Mirian replied:
"Yeah, she never changes, it's always the same. But she's actually kinder than she seems, you know."
"Well, I'm not mad about the quest itself this time, since a baron in Ehres Valley covered the expenses according to the report I received. But you're giving the guild a bad name, understand?"
Sophia sighed.
"However, there's another important matter: His Majesty the King is hosting a celebration, and he invited nobles, adventurers, the S-Rank Hero William, and of course, you guys as well."
"Hmm... a celebration for what?" Ryan asked.
"Basically, it's to introduce the new S-Rank Heroes to the nation," Sophia added.
Sophia leaned against the counter.
"Just don't cause any more trouble this time."
Mirian stepped up to Sophia.
"Alright, alright. But I'm very sorry, honestly, I'd rather decline anyway; I hate those kinds of events," the archer commented.
Sophia stood tall in front of them.
"I'm very sorry, but you cannot refuse," Sophia said, looking at the three of them.
Then she fixed her eyes on Karol.
"Or do you want to pass your debts onto your new companion?" she said in a malicious tone.
"Huh? What is she talking about? What debts do you have?" Karol asked, looking at the party.
'I don't like dealing with those nobles either, let alone a king, but she mentioned another S-rank hero will attend. Meeting him will give me an idea of why the duke was so insistent on pairing him with Mirian and Helen. Besides seeing the power of other S-rank heroes for myself,' Ryan evaluated in his mind, letting out an annoyed sigh.
"Fine, we'll go. When are we supposed to present ourselves before the king?"