Russell stared at Hulim’s action with dumbfounded disbelief, his mind blank and his body frozen stiff.

  Crack!

  A crisp sound of bone snapping rang out through the hall.

  Before the searing agony could register in his muddled brain,

  the world spun wildly before his eyes, his vision flipping upside down in a dizzying blur.

  Boom——!

  A thunderous crash echoed as his body slammed hard into the stone floor.

  He lay sprawled flat on his back like a limp puddle of flesh, the pained scream clawing at his throat smothered by the heavy impact.

  “Perfect! Less than three seconds! I win! Hand over the coin!”

  A triumphant cheer erupted from the tavern side, loud and raucous.

  “Tch, you lucky swine!”

  “Russell’s just as useless as ever...”

  “Dammit, if I’d recognized her sooner, I wouldn’t have lost the bet...”

  “Pay up and scram, you got off easy...”

  At the guild counter, meanwhile,

  the straw-blond rogue Russell lay motionless on the floor, his eyes glazed over. Fragments of his twenty years of life flashed through his mind in a jumble, and through the fog of his consciousness, he faintly saw a familiar, kind old man waving to him from the distance.

  As if beckoning him over.

  “What the hell—?! ”

  Russell jolted awake with a sharp gasp, cold sweat dripping down his brow—not summoned to the afterlife, but scared half to death by his own delusion.

  “Damn it! I thought I saw some old geezer I know—AH!!! What is this?!”

  His eyes snapped open, and another scream of terror burst out of him.

  The young girl who had felled him with a single move stood towering over him, her silver eyes fixed on his crumpled form.

  Her pupils were filled with unbridled disgust, as if she were staring at a pile of filthy garbage.

  “Do you believe it now?”

  The girl spoke in a cold, flat tone.

  “A-Ah???!”

  Russell scrambled backward on his hands and knees, his mouth agape and unable to form a single word.

  “A runt...”

  “A snot-nosed brat...”

  “Pointed your finger at me?”

  With each phrase she spoke, she took one slow, steady step forward, closing in on him.

  Russell’s face paled more and more with every step, his panic surging to the brink of madness.

  As her silver wand neared his trembling face, he finally scrambled to his feet, then stumbled and fled toward the guild’s great door as fast as he could.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Hulim did not chase him.

  The lesson she had given him was sufficient enough.

  Yet unexpectedly, Russell skidded to a halt at the doorway, spun around, and shouted a shrill threat at Hulim at the top of his lungs:

  “I’ll remember you! You just wait! I’ll be back for revenge!”

  With that, he gave her no chance to respond, turning and bolting into the streets until his figure vanished without a trace.

  “......”

  Hulim stared at the empty doorway, lost in quiet thought.

  Had she been far too lenient with him just now......

  After the petty incident with the rogue adventurer Russell, order finally returned to the guild hall.

  “I am so sorry, Lady Hulim, that you had to endure such a nuisance.”

  The guild clerk apologized earnestly.

  “It is nothing. He is gone now.”

  Hulim replied calmly.

  She would simply break both his legs the next time they met.

  “Um......”

  The clerk hesitated for a moment, then spoke haltingly,

  “Lady Hulim, you really need not pay that fool any mind. He is a little annoying, yes! His character is lacking, and he is terribly unreliable......”

  Her voice trailed off, growing quieter with each word, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

  “......A-All in all, he is not completely a bad person. Probably?”

  “......Probably?”

  Could that really be called "not bad"?

  Not a single redeeming quality had come through in her words at all......

  Sensing her own words were only making things worse, the clerk quickly changed the subject, her voice brightening in relief:

  “Ahem! Right! Lady Hulim, I have confirmed your business here!”

  “If you would, please register your arrival right here.”

  She hurried to hand a registration form and a quill to Hulim.

  Hulim glanced at the form—it was nothing more than a sign-in sheet for the High-Rank Advancement Trial candidates. She picked up the quill and filled it out without delay.

  As she wrote, the clerk explained beside her:

  “The High-Rank Adventurer’s Trial will not start for a while yet. There are multiple candidates for this certification, and some have not yet arrived in Bongisto. The trial will only commence once all participants are present.”

  “I see. Understood.”

  Hulim handed the completed form back to the clerk.

  The clerk checked it over quickly, then nodded with a warm smile:

  “Perfect, all details are confirmed!”

  She slipped the guild’s letter back into its envelope, then returned both the letter and Hulim’s Adventurer’s License to her—along with a postcard stamped with the guild’s official crest.

  “Lady Hulim, you may stay at the guild’s exclusive luxury inn—the Chongs Inn—for the next few days. All expenses will be fully covered by the guild until the trial ends. We will notify you once the trial date is set.”

  “Thank you.”

  Hulim tucked the postcard away carefully.

  “You are most welcome! Wishing you a pleasant stay in Bongisto!”

  After leaving the guild, Hulim unfolded her map and studied it.

  “The Chongs Inn... it is this way, is it not......”

  Having confirmed the direction, she folded the map and set off.

  She had taken only a few steps, however,

  when a rowdy party of adventurers approached the guild hall, their voices loud and boisterous.

  Hulim’s gaze fell on one familiar face among them, and she paused.

  At that exact moment, the party spotted her too.

  “Ah——! It’s her! That’s the girl!”

  Russell all but shrieked, pointing at her furiously—only for a sharp thwack to crash down on the top of his head.

  Thud!

  He crumpled to his knees instantly, clutching his skull in pain.

  “Shut your fool mouth, you idiot!”

  A young female adventurer in the party snapped at him sharply.

  “Eileen! What the hell are you doing?! You nearly killed me!”

  Russell howled, rubbing his aching head.

  Eileen’s expression darkened, her hand clamping down hard on his scalp and shoving his face into the cobblestone street, her voice cold and venomous:

  “Do I need to remind you what you just did? Apologize to her. Now.”

  “......?”

  Hulim stared at the absurd scene before her, a faint look of confusion crossing her face, a silent question mark hanging over her head.

  Just what was going on here......

  “I am truly sorry for the trouble our party member has caused you, my lady.”

  A young man stepped forward from the party, his bearing calm and dignified, and bowed his head in apology to Hulim.

  “Who are you all?”

  “Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are the Silver Party of adventurers. I am Lucien, the party’s Captain.”

  The young man gestured to his companions and began the introductions.

  “This is Eileen, our rear guard and healer.”

  “Greetings. I am Eileen. My sincerest apologies for the trouble our fool has brought you.”

  “Who’re you callin’ a fool?!”

  Russell snapped defiantly, lifting his head—but Eileen pressed her hand down harder, making him whimper in pain.

  Captain Lucien acted as if he had seen nothing, continuing his introductions unhurriedly:

  “This is Frots, our scout.”

  “Greetings.”

  Frots nodded at Hulim briefly, his expression calm and reserved.

  “And as for that fool pinned to the ground over there...”

  Lucien’s gaze flickered to Russell, his voice dry and unamused,

  “That is Russell—the member of our party with an uncanny knack for stirring up trouble wherever he goes.”