Black Clover: Starting from the Sign-in

"Hmph, we never agreed to that. If you want to stay in the Adventurer's Tavern, do as I say and voluntarily forfeit your mission reward. Otherwise, don't blame us for being rude," the burly man growled, casting a furious glare back before leading the group toward the bustling tavern nearby.

The silver-haired girl tightened her grip on her clothes, her eyes red as she silently followed.

As she passed Kuroha, she gave a slight bow and murmured, "Sorry for causing you to be scolded earlier..."

With that, she quickly hurried toward the tavern.

Watching her retreating figure, Kuroha frowned as a name surfaced in his mind: Noelle Silva.

One of the key characters in the original story, Noelle was from one of the three great royal families. Despite her noble lineage and extraordinary mana, she was a prodigy only in possessing terrible control over her magic.

Kuroha recalled that the Silva family had four siblings, with the eldest brother being the captain of the Silver Eagle Squad, a top-ranking group among the nine Magic Knight squads.

However, nobility valued strength above all, and Noelle's lack of control over her magic, coupled with the fact that her mother died in childbirth, made her an outcast.

After her father's death in battle, Noelle was expelled from the royal family for her magical shortcomings. Though the family occasionally sent her token support, it was merely for appearances.

Kuroha hadn't expected to encounter her in such circumstances.

"Ding! Random sign-in task: Host is required to sign in at the Adventurer's Tavern within one hour. Successful completion will grant a random reward."

The system's ethereal notification interrupted his thoughts.

Kuroha raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected a new task so soon after the previous failure.

With nothing better to do, he decided to follow.

Bang!

The tavern doors were kicked open as the injured man and his team stormed in, their expressions dark.

Although it was daytime, the tavern was already filled with adventurers.

Most of them were individuals with magical talent who had failed to enter the Magic Knights. Refusing to resign themselves to a life as peasants, they frequented the tavern to take on various commissions. Over time, these adventurers formed a guild-like network.

The most common tasks included escorting caravans, hunting magical beasts, and defending villages.

"Ha! O'Neill, you fool, did you really take that woman on a mission? What a joke!" a towering man at the bar jeered.

"Ottor, you're no different, dragging women along just to sniff some perfume during a mission. What a farce!"

"Women who can't even use magic are nothing but bad luck."

"Yeah, sure, they might be bad luck on missions, but in bed—"

Loud, crude laughter erupted, filling the tavern with rowdy noise.

Noelle's face turned pale. She had experienced such mockery countless times.

Normally, she could reveal her royal lineage to shut them up. In the Clover Kingdom, strict social hierarchies existed: serfs, peasants, commoners, nobles, royals, and the royal family.

Insulting someone of royal blood could lead to certain death.

However, knowing she was considered a disgrace to the Silva family, Noelle felt a pang of humiliation. Her pale face turned ashen, and she lowered her head further, almost burying her chin in her chest.

She only hoped to finish the task quickly and leave the tavern.

Kuroha walked in just behind them.

In the original story, he had a decent understanding of Noelle's background. Still, he hadn't expected her life before joining the Black Bulls to be so grim.

It seemed even nobles didn't have it easy.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, on arriving at the Adventurer's Tavern. Sign-in process initiated. Leaving midway will count as a failure..."

"Sign-in will take one minute."

One minute?

Kuroha raised an eyebrow. This was longer than any previous sign-in duration.

Still, if it promised better rewards, it might be worth the wait.

Besides, he was curious to see how the Adventurer's Tavern in the capital compared to rural task agencies.

"Hurry up and hand over the mission log. We need to get treated," O'Neill barked impatiently.

Noelle, who had been trailing behind, quickly stepped forward, fumbling for an iron token and handing it to the elderly man at the bar in charge of task handovers.

"Mission: Bronze-level Goblin Fang retrieval," O'Neill sneered as he dropped a bag of items on the counter.

"And while you're at it, kick this woman out of the team. Transfer her share of the reward to my account."

Noelle bit her lip, her hands trembling slightly as she stood silently by.