CH 9

At the start of the week, I went to work as usual.

Today, I headed to the Adventurers Guild to deliver medicine. The snow that had been falling continuously during my days off covered the ground, giving everything a pure white snow-covered appearance, the usual winter scenery in the frontier.

Since realizing Lily’s feelings, I’ve started to think that maybe I don’t have to stick to the story so strictly. In the novel’s conclusion, Gil and Lily become a couple. Perhaps Gil is already interested in Lily as well. It might be unnecessary to add another episode with other heroines. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t have to go through the attempted rape, and everything would be perfect.

I arrived at the Adventurers Guild, being careful not to slip, and saw Natalie entering just as I got there.

“Natalie! Wait up!”

“Oh, good morning, Rei Rei! Here you go.”

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.”

Natalie held the door for me, and I entered the guild.

I completed the delivery procedures at the counter. Despite the deep snow, many adventurers stay in the frontier, all the year-round, so medicine replenishment is essential.

However, it was still early, so there were few people around in the guild.

As I received my receipt and turned to leave, I heard voices arguing near the guild’s entrance.

Since adventurers can be rough and even casual conversations can sound like fights, I assumed it was one of those situations. But I was still curious and turned my gaze toward the noise, where I saw Natalie being grabbed by an unfamiliar man.

“Let go of me!”

“Not bad. In this remote place, there are no decent men around, right? I’ll keep you company,”

The man was undoubtedly a high-ranking adventurer, with a sturdy build and impressive equipment. As if to prove it, a gold medal shone on his chest.

I quickly looked around, but unfortunately, there were only novice-looking adventurers around. Everyone except Natalie was completely intimidated.

I couldn’t stand still and jumped in front of Natalie.

“Hey, she doesn’t like it, can’t you see?”

The man appeared to be in his early twenties, with bright blond hair and a seemingly well-proportioned face, but his eyes were bloodshot, his eyebrows were raised, and deep wrinkles were etched on his forehead which ruined his handsome features.

“What do you want?”

The man glanced at me and let go of Natalie’s hand, then lifted my chin.

“Hmm, you have a pretty face. You’ll do too.”

“Yuck! This smell, is it a Hedro Serpent…?”

Just then, as if on cue, the guild door opened, and the guild master came in.

“What? Stench of a Hedro Serpent?”

The Hedro Serpent is a monster that appears in polluted swamps and such. It’s not that strong, but its characteristic is a strong odor that irritates. I could smell a faint odor from the man in front of me, but it wasn’t coming from his mouth…

The man’s face turned red at the guild master’s words.

“Are you making fun of me!?”

The angry man grabbed my collar.

“Wait! That’s not what I meant–”

The guild master’s words silenced the man, and he clicked his tongue and left the guild.

“That guy has been coming here lately and acting like he’s something special as an A-rank adventurer. I try to warn him when I’m around, but sorry about that,” said the guild master.

“No, I’m fine. Natalie… ”

“I’m okay. I’m more worried that Rei Rei might have been targeted.”

I nodded slowly in response to Natalie’s words. It wasn’t in the novel, but this was probably a flag for an event, so there was nothing to be done about it.

But what caught my attention was something else.

“That person may have contracted Hedro Serpent Syndrome.”

“Hedro Serpent Syndrome?”

It’s a very rare disease that occurs very occasionally when bitten by a Hedoro Serpent. At first, the symptoms are only fatigue and joint pain. However, gradually, the ability to feel pain and other sensations is lost, and along with it, the personality becomes more violent, making it difficult to be aware of the symptoms and making it difficult to diagnose the disease. Furthermore, in the final stages of the disease, the person emits a strong odor similar to that of a Hedoro Serpent from the bite mark. At this point, it is only noticeable when approached, so if treatment is started immediately, it should be possible to recover.

“But if the odor is due to the disease, wouldn’t it be strange if we could hold a conversation?”

As Guild Master pointed out, it is often difficult to communicate even if the bite mark emits an odor when they enter a state of delirium.

However, if the person has a high level of magical power, there is a possibility that they can suppress it with their rationality.

“Yes. But that person is an A-class adventurer, right? They should have considerably high magical power. Also, that person was wearing the gold medal bestowed by the country. That ferocious personality may be due to the disease.”

The Gold Medal is a special medal bestowed by the country, and only those who are not only capable but also have a superior personality, like a hero, are eligible for the honor. I think that the possibility that their personality has changed from their original state when they won that medal is high.

Guild Master pondered on my words nodded and said,

“I understand. I’ll look into that person as well. I’ll send you back to the research lab for now. You can’t fight, so be careful for a while.”

Certainly, now that the flag for attempted rape has been raised, it is better to be cautious. I thanked Guild Master and asked him to take me back.