While waiting for Diana to complete the procedures at the counter, Iris (René) looked at the requests that were posted around the counter.
The request sheets listed the reward, the description, the client, and the estimated difficulty of the request in terms of the adventurer’s rank.
Picking medicinal herbs, exterminating giant rats living in the sewers, cleaning up a goblin settlement, and collecting feathers from early birds… were all for low-level adventurers…
So what happened to the more difficult requests …for example, an ogre tribe settled in the vicinity, which is rare, … what do they do? They are often sent to a larger branch in the vicinity.
The “Dragon’s Throat” members were fourth-class Guards, which meant they were mid-level adventurers, but in a city of this size, even that was precious. There was no system in place to deal with requests of estimated fifth-grade adept difficulty or higher. And it was not in the client’s best interest to be left with unmanageable requests.
That was the reason why the requests board was so disorganized. However, the number of requests itself was small for a branch of this size, so there were very few requests for mid- to high-level adventurers.
There was nothing of particular interest to Iris (René), but as she looked at the posted requests in order, she saw a series of non-requests in the middle of the board.
Illustrations of vicious monsters wielding fangs and claws. Alongside, their battle records and characteristics, and horrifying names such as “Bloody Fangs” and “Mad Beast” were written below.
Printed documents probably transcribed with magic. It looked like a bounty hunter’s wanted list.
Just as there are various humans, from ordinary people to heroes, there were naturally individual differences among monsters as well.
The Adventurers’ Guild attached a nickname to those who displayed extraordinary bravery or abilities far above the average for their race.
This was the “Named Monster” system.
Named monsters are an object of fear not only for ordinary people, but even for adventurers. However, in a sense, they were also one of the greatest adventurers’ dreams.
Even if you are not a battle-crazed junkie adventurer, the thought of a duel with a dragon would make your heart beat wildly. In the same way, battles with named monsters are accompanied by a heroic yearning.
Most named monsters have a bounty on them from the state or the local inhabitants, and the adventurer who defeats them will be rewarded with riches (or fame, depending on how big the bounty is).
Iris (René) was looking at the Named ones, who were a threat but of limited strength, such as “destroyed a village” or “wiped out a party of third-grade Explorers”, when she spotted an illustration of a different color.
It depicted a beautiful girl who exuded an ethereal atmosphere.
The pose in which she held her own severed head as an offering. Her eyes closed, she looked like she was silently praying, perhaps even divine. A beautiful, frilly dress. A rose on the left front part of her skirt, as though her clothes were stained with blood.
The illustration was drawn in a heinous manner, and the atmosphere was distinctly different from the illustrations of other named monsters around her, which looked like wanted posters.
Written like the title of a painting were the words…
“‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’?”
“Oh, that’s it. That’s the one that caused a commotion in the capital the other day, that one.”
“You mean the one about the executed princess who turned into a Dullahan?”
The branch manager and Diana responded to Iris (René) who unintentionally mumbled.
–…Isn’t this!? This is me!
Iris (René) struggled to hold back her expression as she felt her face was about to turn limp.
“It’s a very elaborate illustration.”
“Artists working on the “wanted list” are always forced to draw monsters. They rarely get to paint pretty girls, so they must have been enthusiastic about it. In addition, this one has a story to suit the occasion. I heard that the Knights protested to the Adventurers’ Guild, saying, “Don’t call her a princess.” … I wouldn’t care to know… The Adventurers Guild even calls female orcs princesses. There is no reason not to call her a princess when she was born with royal blood.”
“Named monster nicknames are often very simple.”
–Heh. I wonder who she is, she doesn’t look like me. I can’t believe there was another princess who was decapitated and turned into a Dullahan besides me.
Nothing changes even if one tries to escape from reality.
It’s not every day that a monster that had already been defeated is later designated as a named one. And they don’t put up an arrangement like this.
This meant that the Guild still considered the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” as a target to be defeated.
“But, wasn’t this monster defeated by the Commander of the Order?”
“I heard that was the story, but apparently not. The government did not ask for the designation of a named one, but it is said that a request for cooperation in gathering information has been issued by the government. So the guild thought something was going on, and for the time being, they have been informed of the domestic named designation.”
–So at least the country thinks I’m still alive…, or at least undead, so I’m not alive. They think I haven’t been defeated yet. Ahhhh…. the way they killed me like that…, at first sight, they would think I was defeated. How did they know I escaped?
Iris (René) was pretending to be calm, but inwardly she was quite agitated.
The battle with Lawrence in the royal capital. Realizing that she could not win, Iris (René) threw away her body and escaped with only her spirit. If they had thought they had defeated her with that and let their guard down, she would have been able to move freely for a while…
–Maybe it was bad that I put blood on the magic sword?
That was about the only cause she could think of.
The Curse «Blood of Resentment». It was a spell that imbued the blood with a curse and cast it on enemies and equipment that was exposed to it. Although she set it up as a last-ditch effort, it was possible that her presence was detected by someone or something.
–I’d better move with care so they don’t notice where I’m operating…
They asked the guild for information, so they didn’t seem to know her current whereabouts, but the kingdom probably didn’t think they had defeated René yet, and they were not willing to leave her alone. In that case, she needed to be even more careful.
At the same time as being wary, Iris (René) felt a little better when she saw the wanted list.
Named monster “Rose Princess of Hellrage”.
Not bad, Iris (René) thought. It was not bad to become infamous in the world and to become a synonym for terror that surpassed even the Demon King.
If Hilbert was now trembling in the depths of the castle in fear of her presence…, it would be a delight for her just to imagine it.
–Hmm… that’s another form of revenge. If you think about it, killing is a momentary pain. It is also good to build up a bad name, have them scared to death, and then finally attack and finish them off. Let them slowly despair and then die… When this one is over, I’ll consider self-branding as a medium- to long-term policy.
“But … they also did terrible things to a girl who wasn’t even … old enough to understand.”
Diana’s bitter words made Iris (Reé) thrill in a different way.
The fact that there was someone who felt pity for her, even though her heart should have already been shattered, seemed slightly warmer.
“The royal brothers’ faction didn’t say anything about it, but the story goes that they killed her after inflicting a great deal of pain on her. When she went up to the executioner’s platform, her face was so battered and bruised that they didn’t even know if she was male or female. It would be understandable if she wanted to transform herself.”
The branch manager also lamented.
The rumors had a tail attached to them, but it was true that she had suffered a great deal.
Life taken from her. Mother deprived. A meaningless torment. Hilbert, the pretender who was the source of it all. Lawrence, the Knight Commander who betrayed the king and disgraced everything René was deprived of…
–That’s it. I’ll make this resentment go away, I promise.
“…Iris?”
Iris (René), who had been staring at the wanted list almost intently when Diana called out to her, came to her senses.
“Your face scares me.”
“Ah, um, it’s cruel…”
“I see.”
Diana looked at Iris (René) painfully.
“I don’t know much about politics, but I can’t believe that the people who make a little girl look like that are sane.”
Iris (René) was silent. She knew firsthand that they were not sane. She wasn’t sure if she was sane, either.
“It’s poison to the body and the mind to be angry, Iris. You need to moderate it.”
“It’s okay to be … angry. I’m supposed to laugh and forgive for whatever happens?”
Iris (René) thought it might seem a little unnatural, but she still couldn’t resist retorting. It was impossible to laugh at it and forgive.
Diana shook her head as if to say, ‘That’s not what I meant’.
“Someone has to get angry at unreasonable things. But, you know, being angry doesn’t make you happy. That’s why I don’t want you, or any other child, to have that look on your face. I want you to smile. Leave the dirty work to adults.”
“Smile…”
“Yeah, that’s right. A smile, especially from a girl, is magic in itself.”
“I don’t mean to be such a child.”
“You…, you can’t talk to me like that until you grow hair down there!”
“Ouch!”
Diana lightly poked Iris (René) on the head.
Iris (René) read Diana’s emotions.
Her heart was filled with warmth and compassion, true to her words.
Iris (René) wondered if she could say the same thing if she saw René in her true form in front of her. In any case, her words would not save anyone. If there is such a thing as a “happiness function” in the human heart, Iris’s (René’s) was already broken.
–I don’t need to smile and be happy. Yes, for example…
Iris (René) concentrated her mind with a blank expression on her face and spread her spiritual senses to her surroundings at once.
Earlier, when she read Diana’s emotions, she had picked up on a reaction that bothered her.
The range of perception expanded from Iris (René), who was in the branch of the Adventurers’ Guild.
Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, confusion, desire, and the sincere prayers of the clergy…
She could read the various emotions of the people living in the city.
Among them, ‘hostility’ was present. A coldly honed hostility with neither anger nor resentment mixed in.
Normally, people develop hostility toward someone as a result of anger or resentment.
To skip that process and harbor hostility… like this, perhaps an assassin who was trying to kill someone on the job.
–Something is coming.
She didn’t know where those feelings are directed, and she didn’t know if they were related to the Night Pythons or not. But it seemed worth at least trying to find out.
–I’m just an escort and a double now. I have to be passive. If there is an opportunity for me to jump in, I can’t let them get away. I’ll make sure I catch them!
And she didn’t want Diana to see that. If she got any more worried, she might cancel the Earl’s request and leave.
“I’m going home first, after all. I’m going to buy some dried fruit from ‘Mizudori’ on the way, so I may be a little late.”
“Really? Be careful on your way back.”
“Got it.
Unfortunately, she was about to jump into danger herself, but of course she didn’t say anything about it.
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