Chapter 114: Temper.

Chapter 114: Temper.

Did you think that I wouldnt be able to hear you through all this noise, huh? Did you honestly believe I wouldnt remember that rooster head you call hair? Come on, I know you want to let everything out, so do it already!

I was livid. Blood was rushing through my body from my hearts furious pounding, agitated by the words this young man sneakily gossiped about me. The rational parts of my brain, which included my parallel minds, were trying to convince me to calm down, but the childish side of me, the part that still remembered the annoying prattling of the other idol trainees, overwhelmed everything else.

The searing heat I could feel from the center of my chest made me aware that I had to let my anger out. My solar core wouldnt rest until I did.

The red-haired boy widened his eyes like a surprised pug, looking at me with a mix of bafflement and anxiousness. As I was staring him down, my anger was slowly taking the control away from my [Draconic Aura] skill. Among the three skills that comprised this master skill was [Tyrants Aura], the evolved version of [Terror Aura], and it was just oozing out of me, pressuring the five people sitting at this table.

Hey, Miss priestess, I would like to ask you to calm down. We aint looking for trouble. We want to enjoy our evening after some hard work, a well-built man with a greatsword leaning next to him at the table reproached me. His glare told me of his irritation, that he didnt want to deal with whatever argument that was about to happen.

Within the hunters and mercenary guild, there were rules for how an adventurer was allowed to act in public. As fantasy as this world might seem, guilds were still run by the guild master using a set of rules that each member had to follow, regardless of their rank. This was to keep the unity and peace within it. This wasnt some rag-tag organization just cause of their rowdy members.

A couple of these rules mentioned the interaction between adventurers.

Normally, from what I heard from Ellaine, a commoner was never, ever allowed to disobey a noble, regardless of their rank. If a noble invited you to come to their mansion for a meeting, a commoner wasnt allowed to decline without a proper reason. The caste system in the Kingdom of Artorias influenced its society, giving nobles even the right to punish a commoner without a real reason.

However, Melia explained that within guild property, a noble could not exert their influence over an adventurer. From what Farron, the guild master, told me, I had the support and protection of the guild while I was a member so long as I followed the local towns laws. The guild wasnt part of the Kingdom of Artorias; it was international and had some room for leeway concerning the unfair authority nobles had over commoners, but that didnt mean they could break the law. If a member broke a law, even the guild couldnt protect them without risking being shut down.

Cause of these rules, nobles couldnt ask for special treatment from the guild. Even as royalty, I would have started at G rank like any other newcomer, if not for my profile and all the D rank monster materials I handed in.

As such, a noble adventurer couldnt force a commoner adventurer to do anything. I had no authority over them. Then again, Im not the type of person to actually abuse my titles and status to strongarm somebody.

I would like to apologize for interrupting, but please stay out of this. This is between me and your party member here, this rooster head, I replied, still conscientious enough to not direct my rage at bystanders. As long as I dont escalate this, then nothing can be done, right? The guild doesnt forbid quarrels.

Adventurers werent allowed to attack others without a warning or the other partys approval. If you did, you would be kicked out of the guild and sent to the local authorities. I also wasnt allowed to kill another member if it wasnt for self-preservation. Arguing and fighting, however, is just another part of being a rowdy adventurer.

However, this rowdiness that I was creating seemed to have attracted the attention of those around us. As my rage wasnt subsiding, more and more people noticed the atmosphere deteriorating; the cause coming from a table of five adventurers and one angry little crimson-haired dragonewt girl.

U-Uhm, Lady Shrine Maiden, f-fighting here would displease the G-Goddess, somebody said as I was staring daggers at Rooster Boy, so I turned around. Standing behind me was one of the white-robed priests who handled the healing of those poisoned hunters, whose hands were trembling as he was about to touch my shoulder. Eeeeeek! But before he could, he flinches backward, nearly falling.

Why was he calling me My Lady? Did he notice my robes?

I apologize for this unsightly display, I responded. But, leave me alone, Mister. This has nothing to do with Aurena or the church. This is personal.

With another scared groan, the priest finally landed on his butt, looking at me with fearful eyes.

Huh, why did you fall down, Mister? Did you trip on your robe? As I was puzzled at my interaction with this priest, my attention returned to the table as somebody slammed his fist on it.

Why the fuck do I gotta apologize to her?! She came and shouted at me first, Lucia! Rooster Boy shouted in defiance at the robed girl next to him.

Adjusting her blue mage hat, a strand of green hair fell on her dainty face, which was beginning to redden in anger. Because youre the one who cant stop speaking behind her back, you imbecile! Just because shes a noble doesnt mean you have to spite her every single time, Leif!

Like kids, the two began to shoot out arguments and insults at each other, having completely forgotten about the events leading up to this point and the atmosphere surrounding them. Although the girls tongue was sharp, the boy wasnt holding his punches back. If I were a responsible adult like Saori, I would try to diffuse the situation or watch on until they became too tired.

Unfortunately, I wasnt. If two can play this game, so can a third!The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

HEY! Dont just ignore me like that and enter your own tiny world! I pointed my finger at Rooster Head to interject, before turning to the girl beside him. In the first place, Im supposed to shout at him, not you!

I expected her to come to his defense now that I interrupted their own argument, but against common sense, she raised her hands as if she was surrendering, and replied in a nonchalant tone, Im sorry, my Lady. Leif is all yours. She then turned her head away from me and began whistling, treating the situation as if it had nothing to do with her.

Rooster Heads other companion did the same in her own fashion. The beautiful green-feathered arvision lady, a bird beastman, covered her face with her winged arm, using it as an impromptu fan. Meanwhile, the fully furred wolfkin said, Damn, am I thirsty. I need more ale, before standing up and literally running away from us, displaying his high Agility as a rogue. The human greatsword wielder massaged his temples, muttering, You reap what you sow, brat, before continuing eating from the plate in front of him, silently.

Ooooh, even his teammates gave me their approval. Well, get ready to get roasted, dude!

Whether it was cause of the consent of his party member or maybe cause of time, my anger slowly waned to the point that my lips curled into a smug. Well, well, well, looks like youre in a pick

Shut up, you bitch! As an adventurer, youre not allowed to use your status as a noble to order me around! I know the rules! I can say whatever I want cuz your birth doesnt matter here at all! Now, fuck off! Rooster Head blurted in a fit of trepidation.

Ok, now Im angry again.

Before I could say another word, the red-haired boys mouth wouldnt stop opening. And you want to hear what I said before, huh?! Thats right, youre a lousy priestess! The Goddess is a warm-hearted divine mother who cares for her followers, but you aint showed anything similar! You didnt rush to help those injured hunters. You made those other priests do the job cuz they are commoners, and you cant move a finger cuz youre a stinking noble sitting on her golden chair!

Uh, wha-what?

I was flabbergasted, and it seems I wasnt the only one. The other adventurers around us had their mouths open, looking at the young man as if he was crazy or stupid. The atmosphere shifted from me being the center of attention to him. Even my [Stage Fever (Minor)] was gone.

Probably thinking his words intimidated me, Rooster Head continued, You heard that right! With the hunters guild, Ill rise through the ranks and gain enough strength and authority so nobles like you cant even touch me. In fact, Ill make sure incompetent adventurers like you will be punished for abusing your status to

WILL YOU FUCKING SHUT UP, ALREADY!? My agitation boiled over. I raised my voice to shut the Dummkopf up, accidentally activated [Draconic Roar], slightly injuring the people in front of me. Considering he looked around my age, it probably looked like two red-haired kids flaring up a childish argument.

Are you fucking serious, when you said all that? Do you even have a brain, Dummkopf? Did you not notice my tail or horns? Im not from this kingdom, you fucking moron! I dont have the authority to do anything to you and even if I did, Im not shallow enough to wield it just because Im angry, you asshole! I yelled out. You can call me selfish, lazy, stubborn, or whatever you want, but dont you fucking dare question my abilities! Ive worked hard on them like anybody else! Ive got to this point because Ive trained every single day; even if I have been slacking recently, I can still kick your pathetic ass to the other side of town like a fucking football!

Amidst my earnest rebuke, a few adventurers who showed equal displeasure at the fact he was unfairly bashing me, made their own opinions clear.

Hey, brat, you and your party have been away for a week now. The lass and her party have been working like any other upstanding adventurer. What kinda man badmouths a girl behind her back, eh?

In the Goddess mercy, this white grace shall be free of charge, I proclaimed with [Benevolent Aura] activated to appear more priestly. I then raised my hand with the other white circle. When was the last time you guys have been to church? When was the last time you got blessed? Itll be on the house, then~

Although I still couldnt obtain [Multi-Cast], I still was able to cast multiple spells at once due to my parallel minds. By materializing both spells magic circle simultaneously, I was literally telling everybody I had [Multi-Cast], or at least, thats what they should think. Even if Rooster Head couldnt understand it, I had a feeling the girl next to him should. She was a mage, after all.

The white magic circle in my hand flew up to the ceiling, which was one story high, quickly expanded like [Sacred Field] and began rotating. Oh, Goddess of Light, Aurena. I bid you, hear our prayers of gratitude and ardent worship so it may empower you evermore in your duties of overseeing us. I beg of you to hear us and grant upon us your blessing of light, Prayer!

Pouring in as much mana as the spell needed, I made it immediately ready to cast the moment it rotated. Normally, [Prayer] was a cooperative spell that needed multiple priests to be cast due to its insane Mana cost. As not every priest had as much Mana as I did, the spell also had the effect of absorbing praying followers Mana to fuel it.

Only an accomplished mage with a huge dispensable Mana capacity would be able to be the sole caster for it. Even for me, it felt like a piece of me was just ripped off. Next time, it would be better to do this as slowly as possible.

[Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

I-Impossible! Brothers, did you start praying to aid the Lady shrine maiden?!

N-No, she cast it all by herself, and its moderate, too! Dear Goddess, is this a message from you? Have you chosen this merciful maiden to show us our lack of faith? Oooh, we are unworthy!

Praise the Goddess, for she has blessed our souls. Her graceful hands are guiding us on our path of growth! This noble shrine maiden is showing our lacking piety.

A message from the Goddess, indeed, brothers! Our noble sister here cannot just be an ordinary shrine maiden. A saintess! She must be! Ah, I can see the divinity of the Goddess, the light shining around her! We white-robed priests have much to learn, oh, Crimson Saintess!

4 humans have become your followers

Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Spark Inferno Dragon, Hestia Atsuko]:131

Dudes, Im not your sisterAlso, whats with this freak-out?! This should be entirely possible for a high-ranking bishop or cardinal, or whatever clergy ranks existed in this world!

While everybody was still mesmerized by the sight, I smiled at a job well done. I then turned to Melia, whose eyes were shining like stars, and told her I wanted to meet with the guild master. Before she could come to her senses, I was already at the stairs.

The guild masters secretary said I needed to make an appointment to meet him, as he was supposedly busy. However, before I could start complaining, the voice of a man suddenly came from behind the secretarys desk. Let her in, it said in the guild masters voice.

What do you want, kiddo? Farron, the guild master, greeted me without taking his eyes away from a stack of documents.

K-Kiddo, where did that come from?! Didnt you call me Lady Hestia last time?! No, not that! How did you know I wanted to see you? I asked, a bit flustered at my sudden nickname.

When Melia and the other receptionist were reporting to me what happened to those three newbies, my secretary reported some loud shouts from the guildhall. When the door opened, I heard your voice, Farron explained, informing me why Melia didnt diffuse the situation immediately. So, now, what do you want? A complaint? Didnt think you were the type of person to come running after getting angry.

Nah, I just resolved it. No problem there, dont worry, I replied with a hand gesture. However, what I actually came here for is because I want to spar with you, Mister Mysterious Know-it-all.

Spar?

Yep, I heard you were once an A ranker, right? Well, my Master has the strength of a B ranker, you see. I havent been able to defeat him once yet, but Im curious about how you stack up to him.

Raising his head, he frowned in confusion. Huh? You have a master? How did-, when d- wait, no, it doesnt matter. The answer is no, kiddo. Im busy.

Yeah, yeah, I kind of had that feeling you would say that, I replied with a shrug. So, lets just assume Im close to [Battle Frenzy]? How about that? I need to cool down and Im asking the strong and brave Wing Ripper to help me train. And besides, if youre stuck in this chair the whole day, then some exercise is better than none. Take it from me, my world proved sitting down too much is bad for your health.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at me with a hint of irritation now, but quickly gave it up to sigh in exasperation. The training grounds are at the back of the building. Give me some time to prepare. Meet you there, kiddo.

After hiding my presence with my stealth skills, I sneaked past the adventurers that I had blessed. They seemed to be in a good mood. When I went through the guilds back door, a field the size of a European football field greeted me. Despite the falling snow, the training ground remained snow-free.

I could see a few adventurers currently training and sparring inside it, but luckily there was still enough space for my spar with the guild master.

When I entered the premises of the field, a warm sensation covered my body, reminding me of those temperature regulators Ellaines mansion had. Was it the same kind of manatech? Wait, how rich was the hunters guild? Or was this another loan like those [Crystals of the Divine System]?

Regardless of what it was, I simply shrugged and chose a spot large enough for the upcoming spar. I stretched and did some warmup exercises to bring my body into top form.

WooooSomebody stronger than Master Kush. Wow, I feel kinda nervous.

It had been a while since I last had a chance to fight somebody that might be stronger than me, status-wise. Saori was a great sparring partner, but after evolving into a B rank monster, the stat disparity between us increased to the point I could mostly brute-force through her strategies. If not for Tasianna and her smart usage of skills and spells, it wouldnt be much of a challenge.

But now, I got the chance to fight somebody who could be stronger than the man I still couldnt defeat. Farron wasnt a mage but a warrior. Id learned how to fight against a mage and an arcane trickster, but I dont think Id ever gotten the chance to spar with a warrior before, so this was exciting.

However, what motivated me most about this fight was cause of what happened today. Did I earn this instant promotion to D rank? Well, my stats and skills are good but Im currently lacking the attitude of one. Ive been taking it too slow after my debut and I forgot an Idol cant just stop her training. She needs to strive for more and more. Vacation is over, its time to get back into the groove.

Ill take care of [Idol] tomorrow. Today, Ill see where I still need to improve and test out some ideas.

Eventually, Farron exited the guild building; with him was a posse of adventurers. No, I think most of the guild came out to spectate us.

Whats with that look? he mentioned as he stood on the opposite side of me. You dont have any armor or real gear, so I only brought out my weapon. With all the enchantments and runes on my armor, there would be too much of a handicap for you. I saw your profile so this one weapon should be good enough.

He sounded a bit arrogant, or maybe just confident in his strength, but that wasnt why I was staring at him. What actually caught my eye was his massive greatsword or halberd. It was essentially a sword stuck on a long spear shaft, looking like a sword spear.

As far as appearance goes, it was the most eye-catching weapon Ive ever seen in this world. Its shaft was black and shiny, looking like it was made from some sorta black metal, while the cross guard was covered in a combination of white and black feathers. The sword part of this sword spear, or whatever, was long and looked like the long canine of a giant lion. The blade was decorated with multiple weird circles in different colors, each of which emanated a dim light.

This was the first real fantasy weapon Id ever seen. I had the feeling it was not only made with exquisite metals, but also high-quality monster materials, combined by a master blacksmith into this intimidating weapon of death.

Wait, is he trying to kill me?