God’s Guide for Teasing Heroes

Narrator POV 

 

 

 

 

 

"What now" <Rio> 

  

  

Bored, Rio sat by the oddly unpopulated plaza outside the guild to gather her thoughts. 

She was teeming with excitement as she realized that her reunion with Kazue is nearing. 

For the past few months, she has been chasing the traces of Kazue by gathering info in the towns and cities she passed by during her adventures. 

Luckily, Kazue leaves quite an impression on the people she meets on her way to Riles. 

Her sharp gaze, as well as her unique-looking familiars often leave an impression on the people she meets. 

All Rio have to do was to look for those people who came in contact with her. 

She can simply read their mind and find something out about Kazue. 

It was just a matter of time before she meet Kazue again. 

Thus, After all her efforts in following her trail, she finally catches up to her. 

  

  

The feeling of boredom from seconds ago faded as soon as she thought about meeting her good friend. 

"So... Kazue is now a D-ranked adventurer. I need to catch up to her." <Rio> 

Stating this fact, Rio glanced at the wooden ring on her right thumb. 

This ring is proof that she is an E-ranked adventurer. 

  

  

The rings that adventurers carry often signify how high the guild ranks them. 

Once an adventurer graduates from being a newbie adventurer AKA, F-rank. 

They will receive a wooden Ring that signifies their rank. 

Of course, whenever an adventurer receives a promotion, they will receive new ones that correspond to their rank. 

And of course, adventurers are not required to show it off. 

They could pretend like they are a lower-ranking adventurer by showing others a lower-ranking ring than they are. 

Well... there is an unspoken rule to wear the proper ring for your adventurer rank. 

  

  

Rio recalls the teachings of Orga Les Versi back in the Artesia Empire castle. 

In one of his lectures, Rio remembers... 

An E- rank adventurer would be given a wooden ring. 

It is the most basic ring a full pledge adventurer can have. 

It is a ring that signifies that you are no longer a newbie adventurer as you have graduated from F-rank. 

Meanwhile, D-rank adventurers will then receive a ring made out of Iron. 

C-rank adventurers will receive a ring made out of pure Diamond. 

For B-rank adventurers, they will receive a Mana Crystal Ring. 

For A-rank adventurers, they will receive a ring made out of the mystical metal "Mithril". 

For S-rank adventurers, they will receive a pitch-black ring made from the material they call the "Abyss Essense" 

And lastly, the SS-rank adventurer will receive a "Soul Ring".  

Unfortunately, information about the "Soul Ring" and the Ring that the legendary "SSS rank" would receive was not discussed. 

  

  

Rio also learned that a special function will be added to the ring as you go higher in rank. 

As for the wooden ring that Rio had. 

It only has the function of revealing its owner's personal information. 

Rio imagines how she would compare to Kazue right now. 

Will she be able to stand next to her? 

Will Rio be able to match Kazue and not be a burden like what happened in Altus a long time ago? 

She wanted to know. 

Compared to how she was at that time, she is now a lot stronger. 

Rio was excited to know. 

  

  

 

  

Someday had passed. 

Today Rio was walking to the guild once again.  

Rio had been visiting the adventurer guild every day to ask the receptionist if Kazue had come back. 

She rented a room in one of the Inns near the guild. 

When renting a room she found out that most of the cheap rooms were already rented. 

There were a lot of adventurers who were looking for rooms these past few days. 

Of course, it was due to the "Noble's summit". 

Many adventurers from different employers are renting those rooms. 

Since most of the cheap rooms were not available, she decided to rent a quite pricey room for herself. 

She had a lot of money to spare. 

She still hasn't spent half of the money that the empire gave her as pocket money. 

Rio is currently in Vestir, the place where she plans to meet with Kazue. 

She thought it was fine to take a break and treat herself after traveling for more than 4 months. 

  

  

Rio worked really hard these past few months. 

Thanks to this, Rio became a lot stronger compared to how she was back in Altus. 

To be exact, she pushed herself hard to become stronger. 

She wanted to become stronger. 

Rio wanted to show off her current self to Kazue. 

She started imagining their reunion. 

[Aa~ I really want to see Kazue as soon as possible.] 

  

  

Rio imagined the two of them working as a duo to hunt and complete missions outside the city. 

Rio was also imagining what Kazue's familiars look like in person. 

She was curious as to how those familiars were able to leave a lasting impression on the people who saw them. 

Sure, seeing them in the minds of others is already impressive. 

But, Rio wanted to see Kazue's familiars in person, not through other people's minds. 

After all, if she does see them in person she may touch their majestic furs. 

As she was doing this a faint smile appeared on Rio's face. 

  

  

. 

. 

. 

  

  

As Rio was in a daze a voice entered her ears. 

"See?! I told you it is Ota-san" 

"???" <Rio> 

It's been a while since someone called out her "last name". 

Upon arriving, in this world, the last time she heard someone calling her "Ota-san" was inside the Imperial Capital Castle. 

There are very few people in this who would even call her in such a manner. 

Hearing this nostalgic call, Rio looked at the person who called her "Ota-san" 

  

  

Several people jogged towards Rio. 

[Ah, I know these people.] 

Rio thought, seeing those people close to her. 

There were 2 males and 1 female that came to her. 

The first guy was a thin and ordinary-looking guy with black hair. 

From the way he dressed, he looks like the typical adventurer. 

The other guy was tall and muscular. 

He was wearing a fitted tank top shirt and baggy pants. 

Lastly, a female that Rio never met before. 

The female had white hair and red eyes. 

She was cute, but she also looked alluring in the thin and revealing clothes she wears. 

She carries a large hammer on her back. 

[Hmnn???... Rabbit ears?] <Rio> 

Rio noticed that the girl was not human. 

The girl was a beast man as she had bunny ears. 

  

  

"Ota-san, I did not expect to see you here! It's been a while. The last time we saw each other was back in the Artesia Capital castle." <Muscle guy> 

"Woah! I was surprised to meet Yuma-san here and amazingly Ota-san is also in Riles! What an amazing coincidence!" <Thin Boy> 

"..." <Rio> 

Despite those two boys talking to Rio. 

Rio's eyes were focused on examining the girl's rabbit ears. 

As a result, she ended up ignoring the two boys. 

Rio has seen a lot of beastmen during her adventures. 

They have several kinds of animal ears on their head. 

She has seen several kinds of Dog-eared, cat-eared, pig-ear, and fox-eared beastmen. 

This is the first time Rio has seen a beastman with rabbit ears. 

That is why she was distracted. 

Especially the rabbit girl was very cute and suits the rabbit ears so well. 

  

  

"Rio-san?" <Thin Boy> 

The thin boy waved his hands in front of Rio's face while calling her out. 

This forced Rio to notice the boy this time. 

She even realized that she was too distracted by the rabbit girl's ears. 

Rio quickly tried to recall the two boys' names. 

[If I remember it correctly... these two are...] 

"Yoshitte-san, Aoki-san" <Rio> 

It was Yoshitte Yuma and Aoki Nikko. 

The boy with a well-built body is Yoshitte Yuma. 

The Thin boy is Aoki Nikko. 

They are both Rio's former classmates. 

It really was an unexpected meeting. 

  

  

Like those two, Rio was not expecting to see them here. 

This place was countries away from the empire of Artesia. 

This world is supposedly about as large as the planet "Earth". 

If one was to estimate how far these two places were in relation to their former world. 

The distance is comparable to the distance between Canada and Brazil. 

None of them were expecting to see each other in such a place. 

Thus, all they could do was feel amazed. 

Even Rio herself was surprised about this unexpected meeting. 

  

  

"Whoa! what a coincidence! I did not expect to see you here in Riles Ota-san!" <Yuma> 

"A-a... yeah..." <Rio> 

Rio weakly replied. 

"How are you Ota-san?" <Nikko> 

"Uhmm.... I'm doing fine..." <Rio> 

"hahaha..." <Nikko> 

As usual, Nikko finds talking to Rio to be very odd. 

After all, he was never close to her. 

The only person he saw talking to Rio normally was another one of their classmate, Mizusawa Kazue. 

  

  

"Are you here alone Ota-san?" <Yuma> 

Rio nods in reply. 

"What? You're alone?" <Nikko> 

Nikko said surprised. 

Unfortunately, Rio took this differently and thought that Nikko was pointing out that she was being a loner. 

"Sorry for being a loner..." <Rio> 

Rio replied with a down voice. 

  

  

Nikko felt bad and tried to explain what he meant. 

It seems that Ota Rio understood his word negatively. 

"Oh! No! No! I did not mean it that way Ota-san. I was not expecting you to be traveling alone." <Nikko> 

"Huh?" <Rio> 

This time Rio answered in a confused voice. 

"Uh... how do I explain this. Uhmm... you see... I saw Mizusawa-san here in the city so I thought you were with her." <Nikko> 

"Eh?! You saw Kazue?! Where? When?!" <Rio> 

As expected, Rio reacted positively after hearing about her friend's name. 

Nikko was surprised. 

He was not expecting a silent and unsociable girl like Rio to react like that. 

He was surprised to see Rio's face upon hearing Mizusawa Kazue's name. 

She was very interested and excited to hear about Kazue. 

Yuma was also surprised at how Rio reacted after hearing Kazue's name 

  

  

"Wow! I never heard Ota-san being this loud before!" <Yuma> 

"Eh? oh... sorry..." <Rio> 

Rio realized how out of character she was right now. 

She blushed and controlled herself, she then backed down and apologized. 

"Hahaha, it's fine. I was just surprised. Even back in the castle, I've never seen you this excited." <Yuma> 

Yuma exclaimed honestly with his lively. 

  

  

"Sorry, I was just excited after hearing about Kazu-... Mizusawa-san earlier." <Rio> 

"hahaha, it is okay Ota-san. I guess you were just excited to hear about your friend. I understand. By any chance were you looking for her?" <Yuma> 

"Yes... I heard that she is also here in Riles. So... I've been looking for her and asking about Kazue in the guild for the past few days." <Rio> 

"I see... so Mizusawa-san is also here in this city? What is this coincidence?" <Yuma> 

"Right?" <Nikko> 

Nikko said in agreement. 

Who would have expected such an unbelievable coincidence to happen? 

  

  

"Anyway. About Mizusawa-san. I haven't talked to her yet but I saw her yesterday when I arrived here in Vestir. I saw her entering this city with several wolves and a beautiful girl. Mizusawa-san was seeing a lot of attention at the entrance." <Nikko> 

"Oh... I see... I wonder where she is right now." <Rio> 

Of course, as Nikko was explaining this to Rio. 

Rio was already reading his mind and saw that Nikko have nothing much to say to help Rio find Kazue. 

It did not take long for Rio to realize that Nikko's information about Kazue was not something of help to her. 

A clear expression of disappointment was painted on Rio's face. 

Seeing Rio's disappointed face, Nikko and Yuma looked at each other and felt a little bit sad for her too. 

The two boys seemed troubled about what to do. 

"..." 

  

  

-poke- -poke- -poke- 

Yuma felt something poking his shoulder. 

Noticing this, Yuma looked behind. 

It was Coco poking him to get his attention as if she had something to say. 

"What is it, Coco?" <Yuma> 

"She looks sad, how about inviting her to eat with us for now." <Coco> 

"That's a good idea. Let's do that" <Yuma> 

"Okay, leave it to me." <Coco> 

  

  

Coco approached Rio. 

"Ota-san, was it? I know you are busy looking for this Mizusawa-san but how about coming with us for now? We are actually on our way to eat lunch. I hope you can tag along." <Coco> 

The rabbit girl said asking Rio to come with them. 

She just can't help to ask Rio after seeing her sad. 

Seeing one of his boyfriend's old acquaintances, she wanted to help and cheer her up. 

"Um... Okay..." <Rio> 

Seeing no reason to refuse Rio accepted the invitation from the cute rabbit girl with Yuma and Nikko. 

  

  

"Right, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Coco, as you can see I am a beastman." <Coco> 

Coco was pointing at her ears as she said this at the same time her ear twitched cutely. 

Coco had noticed that Rio was looking at her ears a while ago. 

She thought of using this asset of hers to help Rio open up to her. 

"I am also this man's fiance. Nice to meet you Ota-san." <Coco> 

"Fiance?" <Rio> 

Rio looked at the man Coco was pointing at as she said those words. 

At the same time, Yuma scratched the side of his cheeks and had a shy expression on his face. 

"whuut?" <Rio> 

Rio had an expression of disbelief on her face hearing this. 

"Shocking right... I reacted that way too when I heard about it." <Nikko> 

  

  

"Fufufu..." <Coco> 

Coco could only laugh at how Nikko and Rio reacted. 

She wrapped her body around Yuma's arm and teased him even more. 

"Ehh???" <Yuma> 

Nikko looked very surprised and jealous. 

"uwah..." <Rio> 

Rio looked at the pair with more disbelief.  

  

  

Later. 

The group went to eat. 

Rio decided to come with them as she can ask about Kazue in the guild later. 

At least for now, she knows that Kazue has returned. 

She was excited to see Kazue as soon as possible but she also thought it would be rude to refuse the rabbit girl's invitation. 

She also has less reason to refuse since the place where they will be eating is a nice eatery near the adventurer's guild. 

  

  

. 

. 

. 

  

  

Meanwhile... 

Azurearosi Mansion - Noble's Residential Area, Vestir. 

  

  

A man together with two girls is standing in front of the mansion's gate. 

They are all waiting for the servants to open the gate and allow them to enter inside. 

  

  

... 

The three were silently waiting for the gate to open. 

Mizusawa Kazue was standing next to a man and a girl. 

At her left is A man wearing a silver mask. 

On her left was an unbelievable beauty with fluffy blonde long hair. 

She was wearing quite revealing clothes that contrast her natural pure-looking beauty. 

She is not accustomed to wearing this kind of clothes and felt awkward moving in this kind of clothes. 

In fact, she was only wearing these clothes because she is currently in disguise. 

This blonde beauty's name is Calm Eastertale. 

People of this land know her as the saint of Riles. 

  

  

At the same time. 

The man wearing a silver mask was leisurely standing next to Kazue. 

His name is Argent. 

An adventurer that had once saved Kazue's life before. 

Beside Argent were three unconscious people wearing black robes. 

Just a while ago, he captured them as he saw them tailing Kazue. 

These people are assassin that is aiming for Calm's life. 

"So, what will we do with these people?"  <Argent> 

Argent said in a nonchalant voice. 

"To be honest, I don't know... for now let's capture them for questioning later." <Kazue> 

Kazue replied calmly at Argent. 

  

  

At the moment Kazue is trying to keep Calm Eastertale safe from these people who are aiming for her life. 

For the past 5 days, Kazue had been keeping Calm safe. 

The reason why she was in front of the Azurearosi's Mansion is to hide Calm in that place for the time being. 

These people Argent captured are people who are aiming at Calm's life. 

Neither Kazue nor Calm herself know why she was being targeted. 

It would be perfect if they could question these captured assassins later. 

  

  

"Okay... I guess." <Argent> 

The man with the mask faced his open palm at those unconscious people. 

A silver liquid appeared from the masked man. 

It quickly turned into a thin thread-like object and wrapped each of those suspicious people's hands and feet. 

With that, it would be hard for them to move freely once they wake up. 

  

  

The blonde beauty as well as Kazue looked amazed after seeing what the masked man just did. 

She tugged on Kazue's clothes to get her attention. 

She pulled herself toward's Kazue's ear and whispered to her. 

"Kazue, Kazue... I been wondering... who is that man?" <Calm> 

"Hmnn... oh..." <Kazue> 

Kazue leaned toward Calm and whispered back. 

"I am not really close with him but... I think he's someone we can trust." <Kazue> 

"Oh... I see, if Kazue thinks so I guess we can trust him." <Calm> 

  

  

Calm looked at Kazue. 

She looked very tired. 

If Calm was being honest, she still does not trust the man standing next to them. 

But... 

Seeing the girl who had been protecting her for the past 5 days is visibly tired and stressed. 

She decided to just trust the man as Kazue said so. 

After all, she is trying to lessen the pressure on Kazue right now. 

Just a while ago, Kazue was forced to kill a man who tried to harm Calm. 

Ever since then, Kazue had been acting very weird. 

It did not take long for Calm to realize that Kazue was bothered by what she just did. 

  

  

Calm thought. 

[I need to lessen Kazue's burden.] 

[She looks very tired] 

[She must have been very stressed protecting me.] 

[I wonder if I can somehow help Kazue in any way possible.] 

These thoughts were on Calm's mind. 

Calm was very concerned with Kazue. 

For now, she was trying her best not to bother Kazue. 

If trusting this man who she barely knew is a way to help Kazue, she is willing to do so. 

  

  

Soon enough a servant came to the gate and opened the gate for them.  

The servant asked for their names and after confirming their identities the servant let them enter the mansion. 

As for these assassins caught by Argent, they were put into the underground prison under the mission. 

Argent, Kazue, and Calm were escorted into a fancy room meant to receive the guest. 

The servants of the mansion warmly welcomed them into the mansion. 

The servant of the mansion served tea to keep them relaxed. 

A servant wearing a nice butler outfit welcomed them. 

"The miss will be coming soon, please wait for a while." <Butler> 

  

  

Argent sat on the sofa and leaned back in a very relaxed manner. 

On the other hand, Kazue sat on the sofa with her head down. 

It looked to that she was about to fall at any moment. 

She keeps on sighing quietly and keeps on shaking her head slightly... 

This is making Calm concerned about Kazue. 

  

  

The room was very cozy. 

In normal circumstances, with the servant serving them and with the warm tea and delicious foods they serve, one would normally feel at ease. 

As the saint, Calm had experienced these kinds of service all the time. 

She usually feels relaxed and at ease at times like this. 

A man wearing a weird mask was sitting not so far from her. 

But, In this situation, she can't help herself but feel uncomfortable. 

  

  

Kazue had been acting weirdly. 

Calm's mind had been very occupied by the fact that she was being targeted by assassins. 

Because of this, Calm could not drink the alluring warm tea served to her. 

The situation is too much for her to relax. 

  

  

... 

Minutes passed. 

There was silence. 

The man with the silver mask did not try to start a conversation. 

Calm did not want to start a conversation but she can't keep this awkward situation. 

Kazue was not in the right mind to talk. 

Calm tried to talk to her but Kazue's mind was somewhere else that she can't keep a proper conversation. 

Calm mustered her courage and tried to start a conversation with the masked man. 

  

  

"Uhmm... excuse me, Argent-san was it?" <Calm> 

"Hmnn? yes? " <Argent> 

"Uhm, yes, Um... I am wondering what is your relationship with Kazue-san." <Calm> 

"Ahhh... I don't know. If I am to explain how we are related... I guess I am a person who once helped her in the past is what I can say." <Argent> 

"Oh is that so? " <Calm>  

"Yeah... I think it was several months ago. I met Kazue inside a dungeon. At that time she was trapped inside the dungeon and was in a very dangerous situation. I ended up helping her and that's about it." <Argent> 

"Hee... so that is why she said we can trust you." <Calm> 

"Trust me?" <Argent> 

"Oh, no it's nothing." <Calm> 

"Hmmn..." <Argent> 

  

  

Argent continued to talk with Calm. 

This time he asked a question at Calm. 

"How about you, what is your relationship with Kazue miss Calm." <Argent> 

"Oh... uh..." <Calm> 

Calm thought. 

Kazue saved her life when she was in trouble. 

She is now relying on her to be safe and as of the moment, she is the only one she can trust. 

[Eh? Isn't it the same as Kazue is to Argent? I mean... Argent saved Kazue once, that is why Kazue trusts him. Now I can understand... I see... I think I can trust this man.] 

"Ahaha... funny, Kazue also saved my life recently. Right now we're traveling together." <Calm> 

"I see. That is good to hear. I guess saving her before resulted in something nice. If I haven't saved Kazue before, you must have died... Am I right...Miss Calm Eastertale..." <Argent> 

Calm happily nods... 

"..." <Calm> 

"Eh?" <Calm> 

Calm made a blank face that seemed very confused. 

"!!!" <Calm> 

  

  

Calm felt a gaze behind the mask. 

Kazue reacted hearing this and lifted his head. 

"Eh?" <Kazue> 

Both Calm and Kazue reacted to Argent's words. 

[I'm sure I introduced Calm earlier using her name "Carise". How did he... WAIT DON'T TELL ME, HE KNOWS?!] 

[Wait... I haven't said my name is Calm right? How did... DON'T TELL ME!] 

Kazue and Calm's expressions changed. 

They were clearly on full alert. 

  

  

"Relax... I know your circumstances. I am not one of the guys after you." <Argent> 

Argent said in a relaxed tone, trying to calm the two down. 

"Argent-senpai" <Kazue> 

"How did you..." <Calm> 

"I had a feeling. Also, you were the one who confirmed it was you." <Argent> 

"Huh? But... When? How?!" <Calm> 

"When I asked you about what was your relationship with Kazue earlier, I called out your name "Calm". With the way you reacted, you don't seem to find it odd for me to call you by that name. If I was wrong, or if you've noticed I said the name incorrectly, you should have denied it. Unfortunately, neither of you two noticed it and answered so naturally. That is how I was able to confirm my suspicions." <Argent> 

  

  

The door of the room opened. 

A lady in a blue dress entered. 

"I see that my guess has arrived." <Alicia> 

Said the lady as she entered. 

"Lady Alicia..." <Kazue> 

Kazue did not have time to think. 

Argent already discovered the fact that the person with her is a saint. 

Miss Alicia has arrived. 

It is too late for her to back down now. 

If Alicia and Argent are the people who are aiming for Calm's life, it would be game over for her. 

Cold sweats were forming on Kazue's back. 

Calm was also tense as she also have no idea what to do. 

In the end, the only thing Calm could do was cling to Kazue. 

She meekly grabbed Kazue's clothes and gulped her saliva in anticipation of what would happen next. 

The two could only pray that they have done the right decision in trusting these people. 

  

 

 

 

A smile appeared on Alicia's face. 

"I see you managed to bring her here, as expected." <Alicia> 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Note:

I decided to publish new chapters around this time every week.
I have some chapters made in advance but I will hold myself from releasing them all at once.
I do want some leeway to write and edit chapters moving on.

I hope I can continue releasing chapters consistently from now on!
Let's go New Year's Resolution!