NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20. Killing Intent
Seeing that the receptionist was growing paler by the moment, Kara had no choice but to reassure her that she wasn't serious and that she wasn't truly interested in her, so her fiancé was out of any danger.
'Hmph, scum girl! She knows how to play with the emotions of cute girls....', thought the receptionist as she guided Kara back to the main hall where the reception was, feeling relieved yet with a trace of regret.
Seeing that the receptionist had regained her professional attitude, Kara followed her quietly, unaware that in the mind of the young woman in front of her, she had become a girl who couldn't be trusted, one who took pleasure in teasing cute girls.
"Well, we're back. If you want to choose a mission today, you can go to the wall opposite the reception to see what missions are available. As far as I remember, there were about 10 Rank B missions that didn't necessarily have to be taken only by those who are part of a team..." the receptionist told Kara after they arrived in front of the reception desk.
"Okay, I'll go check, and if I find something that interests me, I'll come back to have the mission assigned to me. Anyway, thank you for your help. I hope in the future I'll have the chance to reward you...", Kara replied to the receptionist, a teasing smile appearing on her face again before she turned around and headed towards the wall about 30 meters away.
"No, no. There's no need. I, I just did what I had to do...", the receptionist replied, her face turning red again.
'Damn it! Why do I have to give her satisfaction every time? Do I really have to get flustered every time she teases me? Yes, I'm sure she does it on purpose. She probably enjoys seeing me lost for words. Scum girl! Scum girl!', the receptionist began to shout again in her mind, after she had settled back into her seat and watched Kara's back as she almost reached the wall full of mission brochures.
Kara, unaware of what was happening in the young receptionist's mind, reached the wall where the missions were posted and began to read the brochures attached to the designated space for Rank B missions.
'Hmm, from what I see, most of the available missions are ones that would take at least a week to complete, like escorting caravans through a goblin-infested area or collecting a large number of mana cores from rare beasts that live in the middle levels of the great dungeon near this city. Unfortunately, I don't see anything simple that could be resolved in a single day, like exterminating a dangerous creature terrorizing a village or a group of bandits...'
Kara spent another 5 minutes analyzing the missions and eventually decided to choose a mission that involved identifying and exterminating the beasts that had destroyed 3 caravans in the last month traveling the road between this town and the kingdom's capital, all the people who were part from the caravan being impossible to find.
'Since the area to be investigated is quite large, and the creatures that attacked the caravans seem to be somewhat intelligent and have left almost no clues behind, I think it would take me a couple of days to find their lair. Well, there is also the option of following a caravan that will use that route, hoping that the creatures will show themselves, but in this way, I might waste my time for nothing...' Kara thought, having just taken the brochure from the wall and intending to return to the reception to accept the mission.
"Hey, stop! That mission is already selected by us. As soon as our leader arrives, we will go to the reception and accept it!" a very slim man dressed like a magician told Kara, accompanied by a man as big as a bear, carrying a nearly two-meter-long sword on his back.
"Well, I don't see why that should be my problem. You know what they say: first come, first served. Besides, no one's stopping you from accepting this mission as well, since it's not specified to be exclusively for a single team. I believe the city's leader would be quite pleased if it were accepted by as many as possible, as the issue would be resolved more quickly..." Kara replied, a little bored by the fact that she had to talk so much with unimportant people.
"Maybe this is true, but only those who accomplish the mission will receive the reward, while the other teams will waste their time in vain!" the frail man continued, blocking Kara's path.
"If you're not competent enough and you believe that you won't succeed in claiming the reward if you have competition, that's your problem. Anyway, you'd do well to stop blocking my way and step aside if you don't want trouble," Kara told the two of them, not intending to further continue this pointless discussion.
"Alright, alright, wild girl! There's no need to argue. We're all colleagues, aren't we? What would you say if you joined us on this mission? No matter how skilled you are, I don't think you'll be able to accomplish much on your own..." intervened the second man who hadn't said anything until now. Despite trying to appear relaxed and eager to assist a fellow adventurer, his intense gaze gave away his true intentions – he was deeply attracted to Kara and probably had less honorable motives than he claimed.
"No, thank you. I can handle things on my own," Kara replied, then she started to bypass the two to go to the reception.
"Hey, wait..." the burly man said, attempting to reach out to stop Kara.
"Disappear!" Kara told them, turning her head toward the two, allowing her killing intent to flow freely toward them, her pupils starting to shift colors, turning into a mix of red and black.
So far, the two had been in many life-threatening situations and faced numerous creatures whose gaze could freeze their blood and prevent them from sleeping peacefully for days on end, but they had never felt a greater danger than the one emanating from the girl in front of them, who seemed to have become the very reincarnation of a death god, capable of bringing death to both living beings and lifeless objects.
'Aaaahhh!!!' they screamed in their minds, desperately trying to force their bodies to move and escape the imminent threat before them. Unfortunately for them, their bodies no longer obeyed, trembling involuntarily as if submerged in near-frozen water, and the only sounds they made were the chattering of teeth and the sound of urine drops trickling from their pants, falling onto the floor of the Adventurer's Guild in front of the curious onlookers who had stopped to witness the showdown between the newcomer and the two adventurers who were part of a fairly well-known team in that region.
"Haha, look! They wet themselves!"
"Hahaha! What idiots!"
"Hehehe! I told you they're not that tough..."
Although Kara agreed with the adventurers laughing at the two and found the situation quite amusing, she didn't want to stay near such disgusting people for too long, so she averted her gaze from them and continued toward the reception to accept the mission.
"How did you do that? The magic-detection devices inside the Adventurer's Guild didn't show anything unusual!" the receptionist asked Kara as she reached her.
"Well, I'll tell you, but only if you get close enough for me to whisper it because I don't want the whole world to find out..." Kara replied after discreetly moistening her lips.
"No, no! It doesn't matter! I don't want to know anymore!" the receptionist told Kara, certain that Kara's intentions weren't entirely pure."
"Well, it's your loss... Anyway, this is the mission I've chosen..." Kara told the receptionist, placing the brochure she had taken from the wall in front of her.
Since she wanted to have as little to do with Kara as possible, the receptionist hastily filled out the necessary paperwork and handed Kara a document confirming her acceptance of the mission, containing all the mission-related details.
"Thanks again. Hope to see you soon..."
After saying goodbye to the receptionist, Kara headed toward the exit, and even though she seemed to disregard everything around her, she was aware of the hostile glares from the two men who had finally managed to move their bodies and had fallen onto the wet floor.
"That bitch, I'll make sure she pays dearly for this humiliation..." the frail man muttered slowly, making sure only he could hear.
'Well, I'll give you the chance to get your revenge. I hope you'll be just as excited then...' Kara thought after hearing his threat as she exited the building where the Adventurer's Guild was located.
......................................
"That whore! She made fools of us in front of everyone. Until I get my revenge, I won't have peace!" the frailer man told his comrade while they were sitting at a table in a tavern near the Adventurer's Guild.
"Yes, such behavior is unacceptable. Don't worry. I'll take care of taming her with my own hands. Such..."
"What are you saying, you idiotic giant! Do you still have such thoughts? If I think about it, it's your fault for everything! Because of you, we ended up in this situation! I don't understand why you've always been drawn to such wild women! Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'll kill her with my own hands, no matter what you say!"
After half an hour of continuing to argue and reproach each other, during which they each consumed a pitcher of wine, the two eventually managed to calm down and they agreed to discuss this problem with the leader of the team they were a part of, realizing that without his help, they wouldn't stand a chance of getting revenge on the young woman who humiliated them.
"Look, it seems the boss has arrived! Huh, who's the beauty accompanying him?" the frailer man said when he noticed the two people entering the tavern.
"How am I supposed to know? It's the first time I've seen her. The scoundrel! He's always been successful with women..." his partner, who had just downed a large glass of wine, replied.
Although their leader was a handsome man, his silver armor making him look like a knight from stories about dragons and princesses, the woman next to him completely overshadowed him because her beauty and noble aura seemed to belong to another world. Both her seductive face with warm amber eyes and her sensuous body that seemed sculpted by a pagan fertility goddess, made her the center of attention for those around her, even though her clothes were simple – she wore only a white dress without any expensive accessories – and her long chestnut hair was not styled in any particular way.
"Clank!" was the sound of a dropped spoon hitting the floor from one of the patrons at the tavern, who got stuck staring at the stunning woman passing by.
"Hey, guys, what's going on? Why are you frozen? Do you want our new team member to think you're idiots?" the man who had just arrived began to ask his companions, who had been stuck for the second time that day, unable to utter a word.
"Hello, my name is Ophelia. Nice to meet you. I hope we'll work well together in the future..." the young woman said to the two men in front of her, trying to ease the tension.
"Hello..."
"Hello...."
Seeing that his partners were making a wrong impression, the team leader apologized on their behalf, saying that they had been affected by the large amount of alcohol they'd consumed, then he left the tavern with Ophelia, heading toward the Adventurer's Guild to complete the necessary formalities to add her to his team.
'Lucky bastard!'
That was the thought of the two men who had been left behind, determined not to leave the tavern until they were completely drunk to forget everything that had happened that day.