After leaving the dessert shop, we went looking for the Adventurers' Guild. Even though the capital was enormous, it was surprisingly easy to find.
The building stood out at a glance—its structure was completely different from ordinary houses, and the plot of land it occupied was massive, large enough to fit at least fifteen normal homes.
Inside, it was spacious and crowded. Rows of tables and long benches filled the hall. Adventurers chatted, ate, and even flirted loudly.
There were five counters, but even that wasn't enough—lines stretched from each one.
Eight quest boards stood at the side, each with different colored borders: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. They were completely covered in quests. Adventurers simply picked quests according to their rank.
One board had a rainbow-colored border. Only a single sheet was pinned to it. Rainbow-ranked quests were the most dangerous—so having few was actually a good sign.
"Hey, look at that white-haired girl—she's adorable."
"She looks so elegant. Is she a noble's daughter?"
"You can't see well under her cloak, but her figure is incredible."
"The black-haired guy next to her—is he her guard? He's pretty handsome!"
"He's totally my type. Clean and refreshing vibe."
We drew attention the moment we stepped in. Lina had always been cute, but she had recently grown even more beautiful and graceful—with the figure of a model.
On our way here, countless men and women turned to look at her. Many were so distracted they bumped into poles… or each other.
I was now 174cm tall, while Lina was 160cm. Our height difference had grown over the years. Lina was unhappy at first, but she eventually accepted it.
We headed toward Counter No. 3, since the line there was the shortest.
We needed to register in the capital before taking any quests, and we also wanted to ask about the labyrinth. Rumor had it that the labyrinth had its own special adventurer ranking system.
Just then, the man in front of us turned around, glanced at us, then quickly turned back and tapped the shoulder of the person before him. He whispered something quietly.
That person then turned to the next, and soon the whisper spread through the entire line like a wave. Before long, everyone was staring at us.
Did we do something wrong? We were literally just standing here. We didn't cause any trouble… right?
Lina and I were both confused. A man standing ahead of us kept glancing at Lina like he wanted to say something, but he stuttered helplessly.
"Bea… beau… beau…"
Beau what? Hurry up! The suspense was killing me. I was anxious, Lina was frightened, and finally the man blurted it out.
"Beautiful!"
Immediately, the entire line erupted—both men and women.
"What a gorgeous girl! I wonder what her name is?"
"That snow-white hair, flawless skin, and those crystal-blue eyes… her beauty is unreal. I'm in love!!!"
"Even as a woman, I feel like I can't compete with her at all…"
"And she's got a great figure too. I'm so jealous."
Everyone's attention zeroed in on Lina. Compliments were thrown one after another. People even started inching closer, overwhelming her until she nervously grabbed the back of my shirt and hid behind me.
"She's holding onto that guy—who is he!?"
"Don't tell me he's her boyfriend!?"
"Just like that, my heart got broken…"
"That guy's eyes look so sharp and cool… totally my type!"
"He's tall too! And handsome! Too bad he already has a girlfriend…"
Now I had become the target of attention. And based on my experience in every new town, the next thing that always appeared was—
"Hey hey, what's all this noise? Let me in on it."
—someone looking for trouble.
Sure enough, the crowd parted. A huge man walked toward us. His build was on par with Wiley, the guild master back in Bakiko.
His skin was dark brown, several scars ran across his face, and his expression was terrifying. His hair was a tall, flaxen punk style.
"What a beautiful woman. Hey, kid, hand her over to me."
Another scumbag treating women like objects. Can these people not?
"I refuse."
"You don't know who I am? I'm Brett—also known as Exploding Axe."
Brett? Exploding Axe? Not a bad title actually. My left hand drifted naturally to rest on my hip.
"Never heard of you."
"You really don't know me!? I'm famous, you know! I've reached the Level 75 of the dungeon! I'm a Red-rank adventurer!"
A Red-rank adventurer, and he reached the Level 75…
Reached. Meaning that was probably his limit.
I unconsciously crossed my arms.
"Am I supposed to know you?"
The script was always the same. They brag. I refuse. They get angry. Then I beat them up.
Not arrogance—just experience. In these three years, I'd realized non-attribute magic was unknown to this world. Two or three years of enhancement magic were enough to surpass most people without exhausting myself.
Even the first boss I ever fought—the Beastman King—I could now defeat without going all-out.
"Why isn't he reacting the usual way? What do I do now!?"
Brett muttered to himself, looking genuinely shaken.
"Why you're not following the script!? Aren't you supposed to get mad and try to fight me now!?"
His reaction threw me off.
"Hey, Brett… this isn't your real personality, is it?"
Brett looked startled, then suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
"Huh? You noticed? Hahaha!"
After laughing for quite a while, he finally calmed down.
"Sorry, I was just messing with you two. Didn't expect you to react differently than everyone else—it caught me off guard."
"…Is this funny?"
If he were genuinely picking a fight, fine. But as a joke? That was just childish and annoying.
"Hey, kid, don't be mad. Let me treat you both to a meal as an apology."
If it's free… then of course we're getting the most expensive thing.
"If you're paying for the most expensive items, I might consider forgiving you."
Brett burst out laughing again.
"Hahaha! Kid, you've got a sense of humor! Sure!"
The people around him didn't seem to hate him, so maybe he wasn't a bad guy after all. I'd observe him more later.
"We need to finish our check in first. Wait for us over there."
Registering—and learning about the labyrinth—was more important right now. Food could wait.
I turned back toward the counters. Everyone was still staring at us. Or rather—staring at Lina.
"Hey! Focus on what you were doing first!" Brett yelled at them.
The crowd snapped back to reality instantly.
"R-right! Line up! Move!"
Everyone rushed back into action.
Except… the people in our line.
They didn't go back to queue. Instead, they moved to other counters—or stepped behind us.
Which meant—
We suddenly had no one in front of us.
The counter clerk blinked in confusion, astonished that the line had magically opened up for us.
(Wait—wasn't Brett telling them to hurry up and finish their business? Why does this feel more like 'please, go ahead first'?)
But since the line had vanished, it would be weird not to move forward. Lina still clutched my shirt tightly as we approached the counter.
"I've never seen someone face Brett without flinching… those cold eyes—ah, I can't take it!"
"That girl really found herself an amazing boyfriend."
"To meet a girl that stunning, and she's already taken… ugh, but I still wish them happiness…"
"What a perfect, beautiful couple."
Even while walking, we could hear people's comments.
I glanced at Lina—her face was bright red, but she looked happy.
Probably because she heard the word "couple."
I was happy too. But this wasn't the time to show it.
Good thing I'd trained my poker face over the years.