Proofreader: Xemul
“So, do you have anything to say about this disaster, Loren?”
It was not until sometime later that Lapis regained consciousness.
As soon as she did, she began questioning Loren about what had happened, but her gaze was focused only on him. She didn’t even glance at Luxuria and Gula, who were nearby. Loren wondered if she really disliked that guy that much, but when he glanced over at them, his eyes met Luxuria’s super large and bright eyes, and he winked at him. Loren could understand why she didn’t want to look at him.
“You know who that person is. I thought that only their same kind could keep watch over them.”
“It’s not like I don’t understand your thinking, but the result is a mess, isn’t it?”
Loren could find nothing to say in reply to Lapis, who pointed to the entrance of the Adventurers’ Guild.
Even though their group was hiding behind the corner, the man and woman in front of the door must have already noticed their presence since they made such a commotion, but the big smiles on their faces never changed, making Loren suspect that they were stationed there for real.
“Could it possibly be the same inside too?”
Lapis slightly turned her face toward Luxuria, her movement so awkward that the sound of her neck cracking was almost audible. Luxuria, who was being held down by Gura and made to look in a different direction, turned only his face toward Lapis and nodded.
“Of course, the inside is also filled with my beautiful lovers.”
“No wonder, they say the Adventurers’ Guild is destroyed…”
Lapis said with slumped shoulders. Unable to find any words to say to her, Loren scratched his cheeks with a troubled expression. In his opinion, while Luxuria’s appearance could only be described as shocking, it was not so bad once you got used to seeing it.
Loren, who had not expected Lapis to be shocked to the point of losing consciousness and foaming, lightly patted her on the back as she hung her head.
“People can get used to anything, don’t you think?”
“I don’t want to get used to it…”
Loren chuckled at Lapis’s despondent expression and wondered if she really disliked Luxuria that much.
“Loren, if you don’t quickly get this over with and get rid of these guys, the Adventurers’ Guild is going to sue you for obstruction of business.”
Loren got fired up when Gula told him so. He didn’t even want to think about the hellish scenery inside the Adventurers’ Guild building, but he was sure that if he didn’t move forward with this, it would stay that way forever, and he would end up causing trouble for the guild.
“I’ll go then. Lapis, you can go somewhere to kill some time…”
Loren told Lapis, but she interrupted him.
“I’ll go with you.”.
Lapis, with a half-desperate look on her face, sat up, clenched her fists tightly, and stared at the entrance to the Adventurers’ Guild as if she was looking at an enemy.
“I can’t let Loren go to that demon world by yourself.”
“It’s not like I’m going to be eaten…”
“I don’t have the confidence that I will survive if you come out of there, glistening with oil, Loren.”
So that was what she really hated.
[‘Do you want me to exercise Energy Drain on those inside the building in advance, onii-san? If there is an Evil God in there, only that person can withstand it, I think.’]
Loren heard in his head the voice of the girl who was the King of Death, the highest ranking undead who was living inside his mind. Hearing Shayna’s suggestion, who normally seldom revealed herself due to the intensity and danger of her existence, Loren felt his heart waver, albeit only for a moment.
Certainly, if he had her do it, the person he wanted to see would be the only one unharmed among a heap of unmoving bodies, but Loren immediately rejected the idea. No matter how shocking their appearances were, they still came to help him, so he felt that it was too cruel a treatment to put them into a comatose state with Energy Drain. He also realized that even if they were comatose, their presence would not diminish, but he did not tell this to Shayna. He gently stopped her instead.
“I’m warning you just in case, but don’t do anything weird, alright?”
Perhaps he had spent so much time with Gula that he no longer felt much danger from those so-called Evil Gods, but the other party was still a being worthy of such a title, so there was no telling what they might do.
That was why Luxuria nodded with a slightly obedient expression at Loren’s warning.
“I know.”
“I’ll tell him off, so it’ll be fine.”
With Gula taking responsibility, Loren made up his mind and headed for the entrance of the Adventurers’ Guild.
The only way to get inside was to pass through the muscular gate of the man and woman standing outside. Loren hardened his resolve and opened the door without looking at the ever-smiling faces.
The air wafting out from inside made him involuntarily flinch.
“This again…”
It was no wonder that Lapis, who was standing by Loren’s side, covered her mouth with a hand.
The air that wafted out of the Adventurers’ Guild building was thick with the smell of sweat and grease, which was disgusting.
If that had been all, Loren would not have flinched, but there was also a horrifyingly strong scent of perfume in the mix.
Enduring the scent, they walked on, only to find that the building was filled with countless men and women who were not much different from the two standing at the entrance. It seemed like this made most adventurers turn around at the entrance and walk away, even if they could bear passing between the two standing at the entrance.
Looking toward the adjoining diner, Loren noticed that the waitresses, who usually took orders and served the food while passing among the adventurers, were frozen at the far end of the restaurant, looking pale. As expected, the chairs there were also covered with muscles.
“This is terrible.”
“Who do you think is to blame?”
“At least not me.”
Shaking his head, as if he was not willing to be blamed for the situation, Loren continued on his way through the building, looking for the person he wanted to see.
He was heading for the reception counter of the Adventurers’ Guild.
The guild’s employees would normally be there taking care of the adventurers who line up to receive and report their commissions, but with not a single adventurer in sight, they simply sat in their chairs and stared at the scene on the floor, which seemed to be from another world entirely, with a stiff expression on their faces. Loren located a female staff member with a troubled look on her face among them and went to stand in front of the counter where she was sitting.
“It hasn’t been that long, has it?”
“‘Well… I’m not sure how to reply to that.”
The one who answered with a laugh was a female staff member named Ivy Bridgegard, with whom Loren’s party had briefly been involved with in the past. While the rest of the staff had pale faces and stiff expressions, she was the only one with a smile on her face, as if she wasn’t shocked at all.
Resting his elbows on the counter and bringing his face a little closer, Loren spoke to Ivy in a whisper.
“You know why we’re here, don’t you?”
“I can sort of guess. I heard that you entered those ruins in the land of the beastmen.”
As expected of an employee of the Adventurers’ Guild, this information had already reached Ivy’s ears.
“You’re not going to run away, are you?”
“I don’t see any particular reason to run away.”
“Right. We don’t come here to capture and eat you.”
Loren did not even think of doing anything to Ivy just because her last name was the same as that of the Evil God of Envy. They might be related in some way, and as long as she was honest enough to pass on that information, there was no point in getting into a fight.
“It’s good that you’re so quick to talk. I just have one question I want to ask you, and as long as you speak, there won’t be any trouble.”
“I see. But I’m a little hesitant to talk about it here.”
Being told so, Loren turned back and looked around.
Lapis was watching the conversation with interest, and for some reason, Gula and Luxuria were standing side by side with their eyes fixed on Ivy.
As the reaction of the two Evil Gods tugged at something in his mind, Loren looked around more and saw frightened Adventurers’ Guild employees, waitresses in the adjacent cafeteria, and a crowd of muscles. It certainly didn’t seem like a good idea to continue the conversation here, and Loren decided he needed a change of location.
“Do you have a room somewhere?”
“But first, is it possible to get these rather large people to leave? It’s hard for us to tell them to leave, since… all of them are registered as bronze class adventurers.”
Loren looked at Luxuria, and Luxuria crossed his arms in front of his bulky chest without a hint of guilt.
“It couldn’t be helped, you know? We can’t fill the guild floor with people who have nothing to do with the guild.”
“The Adventurers’ Guild in this town is going to be destroyed after all. Or rather, it will be better if it is destroyed.”
Loren did not know how many adventurers had registered with the Adventurers’ Guild in Kapha, nor did he know how many adventurers used the guild. However, the fact that so many people had registered with the Adventurers’ Guild at once that it filled an entire floor and even the dining hall next door should have meant that some percentage of the total was occupied by muscle-heads that were Luxuria’s followers.
Ivy smiled a troubled smile at Loren, who was tempted by the devastating thought that it would be better for the guild to be destroyed than to become a guild of muscles.
“No, please don’t destroy it. We’ll be in trouble if we lose our workplace.”
“Unless these guys cancel their registration, we’re going to have to deal with muscles forever, you know?”
“This density is crazy, but it’s still manageable if they’re mixed in with normal people.”
Loren wondered if that was true, but if the staff member who was dealing with the situation said so, then it must be. The only thing left to do now was to pray that the muscles didn’t form parties with other muscles.
As Loren was thinking about this, Luxuria began to instruct the crowd of muscles to disperse, and the muscles that had filled the floor began to walk out as if their job was done.
“Thank you. We won’t be able to work if it’s like this day after day.”
“We’re the ones who made them do it.”
“That… can’t be helped, I guess.”
Ivy said and gave some instructions to the guild employees, who looked relieved to see that the atmosphere on the floor was returning to normal. Then she got up from her seat and walked past the counter to Loren’s group.
“I’ll prepare a place, but you’ll pay for it. Is that alright?”
“We’re the ones who will listen to you talk, so it’s not like we have a choice.”
Loren thought about paying himself, but unfortunately he did not have enough money on hand. When he looked at Lapis, who held the party’s purse’s string, to ask for her opinion, she shrugged and said.
“I hope it’s not too expensive.”
“No, it’s a place where guild’s employees can pay with our wages.”
Ivy was the first to walk away, as if telling them to come.
And so, Loren and the others followed after her and left the Adventurers’ Guild behind.