Chapter 14: Viscount Khardin
I walk back out of the store after handling the resale agreement. Surprisingly, the owner of the store is a timid and weak merchant. He's also very fat. That doesn't matter though. What matters is the fact that he agreed; quite easily at that. I guess it's because of my natural intimidation factor. Yep, totally that.
All jokes aside, I really don't know why he accepted. Maybe he wants to kill me and steal my stock of weapons? But I produce weapons on demand.
Somehow, a couple minutes after leaving the shop, I run into Arin again. Does she have a homing beacon on me? Or is Ed slacking off in the concealment department?
"Hey, Daniel! Are you going to Viscount Khardin's speech?" (Arin)
"No, definitely not! Please leave me out of that obvious flag!" (Daniel)
"Flag? No, the speech is on the exploration, not a new flag! The pay is good apparently. If it is, sign me up!" (Arin)
"That's not what I meant!" (Daniel)
Uncultured swine! Why must people take things so literally? Is it not fine to have figurative speech? What's going to happen when you make comparisons? I prefer similes over metaphors. Jeez.
"Anyway, I'm definitely not going!" (Daniel)
"Aww, come on! It'll be fun! And it's not like you need to accept the quest anyway. Actually, you aren't even part of the Adventurer's Guild. It's more like you CAN'T accept the quest." (Arin)
Now that she says it, that's a good point. Wait, no! My instincts are telling me run away, yet my heart is yearning for something it shouldn't! Argh!
Sigh… looks like I have no choice anymore. As I was ruminating on my ever-so-important dilemma, I was once again dragged away by Arin. Women like her are my kryptonite. I can't look directly at their faces and say no to them. Why? Because I can't even look at her face properly! It's too beautiful!
Is a handsome young man like me really going to be controlled by women?
"By the way Arin, how old are you?" (Daniel)
Ah, crap. My EQ just went straight down the drain. On the plus side, though, this might ward her off me. Decisions, decisions…
"Hmm? I'm 316. Why?" (Arin)
"Uwah! You're an old hag!" (Daniel)
Again! I swear it's not me! Bloody Dumb Idiot! Come out right now! Did you fart on my brain or something?!
Great, Arin's looking at me with repulsion. I guess most people are sensitive about their age, especially Elves.
"S-Sorry. T-That just caught me by surprise." (Daniel)
Why surprise? You must be thinking, surely, I've seen Elves in my first life?
Nope! They died out before I was even born there. Seriously, how does a race like that die out?
Ah, but now you're thinking about my second life. They had Immortal Fairies there, right? Well too bad, I never got to interact with any of them. After all, my best friend killed me for wooing a normal lady.
Sigh… let's get back on topic. Arin is now looking at me with disdain, which is both a good and a bad thing.
"How old are you?" (Arin)
"Me? I'm 14." (Daniel)
For some reason, Arin looked at me weirdly now. Oh no! What if she thinks my previous 'blunder' was because I'm not mature enough to understand women? She's not wrong though.
"Aww, I forgive you! Listen, Daniel. Don't casually ask women about their age, and definitely don't react like that when they tell you, okay?" (Arin)
I was right! Damn! Now she's going to be that archetypal seductive Onee-san who teaches the young boy about intercourse!
"A-Alright, Arin. Thanks." (Daniel)
I just hope we can reach the Guild without any major mishaps along the way.
---
It seems like my prayers were answered. Nothing happened along the way, and now we are waiting for Khardin to show up.
"Arin, Daniel! Over here!" (Arkan)
Oh, looks like Bork and Arkan are here as well. Who are those two suspicious looking men next to them?
"Ah, these two are Chev and Shev, twin Thieves. Don't get me wrong, while their class is Thief, that just means they are good at using daggers. They are very good people!" (Arkan)
Yes, yes you don't need to tell me. After all, I am a Thief as well! Long live steal – *ahem* I'm also a good person.
"Hello, I'm Daniel." (Daniel)
"Un." (Chev, Shev)
"Ah, don't worry about that. They are silent people! The fact that they made any noise means you already have their approval! Hahahaha!" (Bork)
Oof. I really don't want the approval of two male thieves. I'd prefer if they were female.
Anyway, Viscount Khardin is finally here.
Hmm, yep! A typical evil noble! Just looking at his face gives me the shivers. How can someone have such a hooked nose?! Not only that, his 'smile' looks more like the smile of a creature from hell! How does he even rule over people?
"Hello, everyone! I'm sure you're all curious as to what this exploration is about. As you all know, our predecessors have all tried to explore the Alphari Desert! It has almost become a tradition for us to fail! BUT! I'm here to change that! Using the experience that they have accumulated, I will make sure that we are successful! For Border Town!" (Khardin)
Ooh, looks like he's quite eloquent. At least, he's successfully riled up the adventurers. I'm sure there are a few paid actors mixed in there.
Whoops, I guess I should also be acting in case I draw attention to myself. I'm wearing my armor right now, since I didn't have time to change before meeting Arin. I guess that fact already makes me stand out.
Anyway, he can't touch me since I'm not a part of the Adventurer's Guild. I'll just wait until he finishes his speech and then go to the library.
---
A major miscalculation! I am sooo screwed right now! To enter the library, you need to be a part of the Adventurer's Guild!
Now, I need to weigh up what's more important. Information, or avoiding the flag.
Information, or avoiding the flag…
Screw it! At most, I'll refuse the exploration quest!
Yosh! Let's sign up!
…
"Just a reminder, if you sign up as an Adventurer now, you will be forced to join the exploration!" (Receptionist)
Damn! Do I have a hole in my fate? Why are my plans falling through all the time!?
Whatever. I'll skip the boring introduction about ranks with a brief explanation.
The ranks are from F to SS. The missions are also ranked the same. An F rank mission is designed for kids or people who can't fight, and are mostly centred in the city. An SS rank mission means the end of the world as we know it. Like Bork said, an F rank mission can net you about 20 coppers. That's all. Exposition end.
Okay, I can finally access the library! Time for an info dump!
Cue the exposition!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SSBGoditz
SSBGoditz 2nd chapter of the day.
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