Chapter 4: Overwhelming Talent.

“I am Rainia.”

With her white hair, a chest as big as her head, confidently displayed abs, and long ears perked up on her head, I was captivated by her wild charm but paused when I noticed her ears moving on their own.

“Are you a beastkin?”

“Yep. That’s right. Got a problem with it?”

“No, I’ve just never seen a beastkin before. Are those real ears? Don’t you have human ears?”

“Haha, what a funny guy.”

Rainia chuckled lightly as she looked down at me. However, after a moment, she sighed deeply and began to scrutinize me from top to bottom.

“The guildmaster is too much. Why would they ask me to take care of a weakling like you?”

“Weakling? I’m pretty strong, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure you are. Most rookies think they’re strong right after becoming adventurers.”

“No, it’s not like that. I really—”

“This guy keeps talking back?”

And in the next moment, Rainia quickly locked me in a headlock. Her large breasts enveloped my head.

As the soft-looking breasts covered my face, I briefly contemplated whether to push her away or to endure it like a man.

‘Let’s just stay like this.’

When I didn’t resist, Rainia slowly released her grip, pulling away slightly as if she understood my intentions. Looking at her with a face full of disappointment, she scratched her cheek with a sullen expression.

“Hey, how old are you?”

“I’m fifteen.”

“Fifteen? What’s with that… whatever. As I just said, I’m Rainia, the leader of the party White Wolf.”

“What about the other party members?”

“They’re on their rest day.”

“Rest day?”

“Yeah, the one that happens once a month.”

I let out an “Ah” of realization, nodding at her words. It was the day when women experience pain and bleed from their lower bodies once a month.

However, if the other members were resting due to their period, one question arose.

“Don’t you have that, Rainia?”

“What the hell are you asking?”

“Your period.”

“Wow, you really are a crazy one, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I guess for you, being a beastkin, it wouldn’t be a period but a heat cycle instead.”

Upon hearing my words, Rainia let out a light laugh.

“…You really are something else, huh?”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“Why did they send someone like you? The guildmaster…”

Rainia smiled bitterly.

I tilted my head in confusion, unable to understand.

***

‘Guild master, what are you thinking?’

Rainia sighed inwardly at the sight of the fifteen-year-old kid in front of her.

Seeing Evan sent by the guild master, she thought that if she openly sighed in front of him, he might snitch to the guild master, making her look bad.

As a high-level adventurer, Rainia and her party were valuable assets to the guild, but they were not irreplaceable.

That meant she couldn’t afford to make a bad impression on the guild master.

Moreover, Rainia was a beastkin.

There weren’t many things she could do other than being an adventurer.

‘Still, why send such a rookie?’

She hadn’t come to the guild the night before because all her fellow party members were on their menstrual cycle, so the entire party was on a break.

Therefore, she hadn’t seen Evan hunting high-risk monsters that even she couldn’t tackle, dragging their corpses back with him.

To her, unaware of the prior situation, Evan seemed like a parachute, relying on the guild master’s backing, or at best, a runaway noble son.

“Wow… Rainia, your armor looks amazing.”

“Amazing? Is that all you’ve got?”

“Yes, but…?”

Rainia, dressed in gear meant for missions, frowned at Evan, who didn’t have even a simple leather armor.

Whether he was a parachute or not, she couldn’t just throw a beginner out in front of monsters without equipment.

Ultimately, Rainia, who had planned to let him do a few simple hunts, turned and headed toward the blacksmith’s area.

“First, we need to get you equipped.”

“Is equipment really necessary?”

“As an adventurer, you can easily die from a blind attack that comes out of nowhere.

Don’t complain; just follow me.”

Evan had some complaints about not having any armor and only wielding a sword while sweeping through monsters last night, but he didn’t ignore her words as a senior adventurer.

When they arrived at the blacksmith, Rainia looked at Evan and asked, just in case, “Do you have any money?”

“Yes, a little.”

“A little isn’t enough to buy good equipment. How much is it…?”

Rainia clamped her mouth shut after checking the contents of the wallet Evan handed her.

Inside the wallet were plenty of 100 ELSO bills.

Considering that even full plate armor worn by knights costs about 10,000 ELSO, there was no shortage of money.

This was not the amount of money a mere beginner would carry around.

Seeing the contents of the wallet, Rainia narrowed her eyes and glared at Evan.

This strengthened her suspicion that he was a runaway noble.

In reality, it was just a portion of the reward for the mission he completed yesterday that he had received in advance, but Rainia was unaware of that fact.

“Buy something decently good with this. When you earn more later, then you can order custom armor that fits you.”

“Decently good armor… Do you have any recommendations?”

“Plate armor. It’s best to wear a solid piece of metal.”

As one could tell from her fully armored appearance, Rainia firmly believed in plate armor. For a broke beginner, even leather armor would be a blessing, but if one has money, they shouldn’t skimp on their defense gear.

However, Evan didn’t think that way. Steel armor seemed uncomfortable to wear and didn’t look particularly protective. After all, Evan himself was skilled enough to cut through steel or rock without a problem.

Since he could cut through steel himself, he couldn’t trust the plate armor sold in this local blacksmith shop.

Unless it was a magical armor made by a grand sorcerer from a fairy tale or a relic bestowed by the gods, of course.

“Then I’ll go with this one.”

“I told you to wear plate armor!”

“It looks too suffocating.”

“Are you crazy…?”

Ignoring Rainia’s colorful curses, Evan purchased the leather armor and recalled that the blade of his sword was dull. Sure enough, when he casually drew it from its sheath, he found that the blade was quite worn down.

It wouldn’t be a big problem to swing it as it was, but since he was already at the blacksmith, he decided to get a longsword and left the shop outfitted with new gear from head to toe.

“Is that really so great?”

“Yes? Well, I bought new stuff, so it’s obviously good, right?”

“I don’t get it anymore. Whether you live or die.”

Watching the carefree Evan, Rainia spoke in a worried tone, hinting at his future. A rich, reckless rookie. He might not die today, but that wouldn’t last long.

Being an adventurer is dangerous. Even if you have high-ranking adventurers guarding you with money, you could still end up dead. Anything could happen in real combat.

Rainia, who had come to the grassy plains where weak monsters frequently appeared, looked at Evan and cautiously opened her mouth.

“The monsters that appear here don’t attack first, and they aren’t that dangerous. Go ahead and try to catch one. I’ll be watching from behind.”

“Are you not going to help?”

“If it looks dangerous, I’ll save you. I won’t let you die. —You’ve been saying how strong you are since earlier, right? Show me how exceptional your skills really are.”

“Yes ma’am.”

After hearing Rainia’s words, Evan drew his sword and stepped forward. As he confidently unsheathed his sword, Rainia watched him with the same concern one would have for a child playing near water.

And when he sliced a monster in half with a single stroke, a faint exclamation of admiration escaped her lips.

“Oh, not bad…”

His swordsmanship was quite impressive. It seemed that he wasn’t just a rookie relying solely on the guild master’s backing. Rainia quietly observed how far Evan could go.

Evan continued to slice through monsters effortlessly as he ventured deeper into the plains. The deeper he went, the stronger the monsters became, but his pace didn’t slow.

Instead, Rainia’s anxiety began to rise.

“That’s a Dire Wolf. Be careful. Even a decent mid-level adventurer…”

He cut it down.

“A Knight Killer!? That thing can’t be harmed by physical attacks—!”

He cut it down.

“…D-Demon Bear! Run away, E—”

He even defeated monsters that even Rainia herself couldn’t conquer.

As they went further in, Rainia’s words gradually decreased.

When they finally finished hunting and returned, Rainia spoke with a look of defeat.

“You… are really strong.”

“I told you I was strong.”

In front of Evan’s overwhelming talent, Rainia’s common sense crumbled effortlessly.

In the week to come, Rainia worried that she wouldn’t be able to endure under the pressure of this overwhelming talent.