A man burst into Ifühl Counter.
As soon as he entered the reception, he cut across the lobby and swiftly made his way to the counter. As he did so, the raucous lobby fell silent as one by one the adventurers noticed his presence. Their eyes widened, their mouth agape, and they could not speak.
Alina cocked her head in confusion—just then, the man who had gathered everyone’s attention suddenly appeared at her counter.
‘Hey.’
Leaning against her desk was a tall, young adventurer.
Although there were many other counters and many other receptionists, the man had clearly come to see Alina. His hair was the colour of silver, his face refined and refreshing. The great shield on his back—a relic arms engraved with the Mark of Dia, the longsword at his waist, and the armour on his body were piece for piece first-grade items. Moreover, his sturdy, reliable build was proof that he was a first-class tank.
There can’t be a soul who does not have his name come to mind when they take one look at his face. Regarded as the strongest tank in the guild, this first-class adventurer is the first to possess three transcendent skills and with his handsome face has won the hearts of many women. Jade Skleid, the nineteen-year-old leader of the guild’s elite party, The Silver Blades.
Uggggh!
Their eyes met, and Alina froze at his sudden appearance, even forgetting to give her usual “Welcome!”.
The Silver Blades. That is to say, he is one of the adventurers who saw Alina beat up the hellflame dragon a month ago.
Why is this guy here? Alina thought. There should be no more quests for the elite party. Have they found out? No, no way. She hid her face and took the quest under a false name. Even her first-class adventurer’s license card was a fake. There shouldn’t have been any traces leading back to the receptionist Alina Clover.
‘Sir Jade!’
However, before the confused Alina a saviour appeared. The moment Jade showed up at her desk, a co-worker, who was supposed to be on duty at another counter, shoved Alina out of the way in a terrifying display of power and forced herself in front of Jade. Her prided style, showing off her ample cleavage through the gap of her uniform shirt, added to her beautiful looks that could make any man turn his head. It was Sue, the most popular receptionist of Ifühl Counter.
Sue, who never spared old Ganz a second glance despite being in the same Silver Blades, looked at the famously handsome adventurer Jade, her long eyelashes fluttering and blue eyes sparkling.
‘What could bring the revered leader of the Silver Blades to such a humble place as ours? Is there anything I can be of assistance with?’
Jade flinched for a moment at Sue’s assertiveness, but quickly regained his composure and began searching for Alina.
‘I have some business here. Hey, that dark-haired girl who was just—’
‘If you wish to accept a quest, this humble receptionist is at your service.’
‘Ah, no, that’s not what I came her for…’
Jade’s gaze moved past Sue, scanning the counter.
‘Excuse me, that receptionist over there…’
Sue turned to where Jade was pointing, her eyebrows knitted in displeasure. With a start, Alina, who had been trying to stealth away, hurriedly turned her back.
‘Alina Clover still lacks experience as a receptionist. If you’re here fore a quest, I would be more qualified to—’
‘That’s not what I’m here for. I want to talk to that receptionist, Alina, alone.’
‘With Alina? Alone?’
‘Right.’
‘…Yes, sir.’
Sue had no choice. She called Alina over and resigned herself to her post. On the way there, Alina felt as if someone were staring at her with a tremendously threatening look, but it was probably just her imagination.
This is the worst. Alina stood at the counter, a bitter expression distorting her face. Jade was the last person Alina wanted to talk to, but he was the leader of the elite Silver Blades. As far as his status within the guild was concerned, he was in the same league as the top brass.
‘How may I help you?’
While forcing a courteous smile, Alina inquired, looking down.
‘There’s something I want to ask you.’
‘If it’s about a quest, I’m at your service.’
‘You know, last month I saw an incredibly strong adventurer in the dungeons. They were wielding a huge hammer.’
‘You’re talking about the rumoured warhammer user, are you not?’
‘Truth is, ever since then I’ve been searching far and wide for that person. You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?’
‘I am awfully sorry, but I don’t know any adventurer like that. I could go and ask the other receptionists, if you don’t mind.’
With that, Alina was ready to make good her escape, but Jade’s next words brought her back to a halt.
‘You know, I have good eyes and a good nose. I can see pretty well even in the dark.’
Alina gasped.
‘So I got a good look at the Executioner’s face, miss Alina Clover. As I recall, that warhammer wielder was a girl with black hair and pretty jade-coloured eyes.’
Finally, Alina was speechless.
Black hair and jade-coloured eyes. These were the features she inherited from her mother, and she was certainly the only one in Ifühl Counter to meet that description.
‘I see.’
She barely managed to get out before slowly turning to Jade. Alina looked back into his straightforward eyes. For a while, silence hung over the counter as they stared at each other. Jade already seemed convinced. The girl before him is The Executioner.
Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!!
Alina wore a calm exterior, but inside she was sweating like a pig. For a moment, her vision wavered and a her head whirled in dizziness.
He’s got to be lying. He’s got to be joking. She started making excuses to herself. I did hide my face under a hood, and it was quite dark in the dungeon, and he couldn’t possibly have seen my face…
But is was already too late. Regret wouldn’t do her any good now either.
Whatever the reason, receptionists aren’t allowed to have a second job. Of course, being an adventurer on the side is out of the question.
It—It’s over! My receptionist’s life, it’s all over!!
Alina swallowed hard. Like a near-death experience, her life so far flashed before her eyes. It may not have lasted long, but she was able to enjoy a modest life of peace and quiet. Looking back, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d mostly worked overtime and didn’t have all that many good memories, but oh well, it’s a hundred times better than being an adventurer and constantly having to worry about death and unemployment……
no.
Alina’s eyes, which seemed to have given up and almost lost their spark, suddenly lit up. It wasn’t over yet. She had finally managed to get a stable and secure position. She couldn’t just give up now.
‘Still, it all makes sense now, why I couldn’t find you. I was looking for an adventurer.’
While Alina was feeling troubled, Jade, in contrast, was all smiles, his cheeks flushed like an innocent child.
‘I never would’ve thought you were a receptionist, you know? Oh, by the way, I was meaning to give you this. Please accept it as your spoils.’
Apparently this man was unaware that his words and actions were causing the receptionist in front of him the biggest crisis of her life. With a twinkle in his dark-grey eyes, Jade placed the red orb on the counter. The relic with the mark of Dia inside was probably what was in the belly of the hellflame dragon. Alina took a single glance at the orb, but she currently had other things to worry about.
‘Mister Jade,’
Alina let out a long, thin breath. She forced her heart to calm down and slowly opened her mouth.
‘I am currently on duty. If you are here to make fun of me, please take your leave.’
‘Eh? I’m not making fun of you, I’m—’
‘Mister Jade,’
Calmly, Alina picked up the red orb on the counter.
‘Relics are the culmination of the Ancestors’ knowledge and technology. Their strength and durability are said to be superior to that of any modern material.’
‘Hm? That’s right. That’s why relic weapons are as strong as—’
‘Hmpf!’
Alina tightened her grip on the sphere. With the sound of breaking glass, the red orb, which didn’t look like it could be broken by human strength, shattered mercilessly into pieces, falling to the floor at Jade’s feet.
Silence.
Jade’s expression, which had been full of smiles until then, suddenly froze.
‘Y—y—y—you crushed a relic?!’
As the guild’s strongest tank he had used his relic arms, his great shield, to fend off the attacks of many monsters, so he understood how much inhuman strength it took to crush a relic single-handedly.
Alina bent her head slightly to the side and said in a low voice barely audible to jade:
‘I just want to live quietly as a receptionist’
‘Eh? Ah…right.’
‘If you intend to stand in my way I won’t forgive you. I don’t care if you’re an elite or whatnot. If you don’t want me to smash open your guts like I did with that sod of a dragon, then get lost. And don’t ever show your face in front of me again.’
Jade froze in place, unable to mutter a single word, as Alina’s low, cold voice, sounding as if it came from the depths of hell, replaced her high-pitched customer-friendly voice of before.
His mouth opened and shut like a broken doll as he looked back and forth between the shards of the relic at his feet and Alina’s unsmiling smile.
‘Do you get it?’
His face grew paler and paler as Jade sensed the terrible bloodlust behind Alina’s smile.
‘Do. You. Get. It?’
‘…yes, ma’am.’
Finally, with a low mutter, he left the counter, dejected.
