Chapter 44

00044 Emergency Preparedness

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"Everyone is suffering in the shadows. Though we may be enemies... still, it's nice to meet you."

"Hmm. I've heard a lot about you. Han So-young, the commander of the battlefield. And you, the Sword Master under her command? Jin Su-hyun, right?"

"Oh, sorry. It's not Jin Su-hyun, but Kim Su-hyun."

"Perhaps. If I had met her first, I might have joined her command. She's that charming a user."

"The quality of your jokes is terrible. The place I'm in now isn't bad. And I have no hobby of betraying others."

*

Fortunately, the warp gate still maintained its discount policy. Originally, it would cost 2 gold per person, totaling 8 gold, but thanks to the 50% discount, we only had to pay 4 gold in total.

The kids showed their amazement as they entered the portal, where ripples of calm waves were visible. They should be getting used to it by now, having experienced it a few times during the initiation ceremony. But their heads turning around so much was no different from advertising, "I'm a beginner user."

Such minor actions could make them targets for vagrants, and I really wanted to warn them. However, I didn't want to be labeled as a nagging mother from the start, so I closed my half-open mouth.

As I fully immersed myself in the portal, a refreshing sensation, as if I had entered the sea naked, enveloped my entire body. I closed my eyes quietly. After savoring the clear energy that filled my body, I opened my eyes again, and the scenery of the shabby city had already appeared in my eyes.

We had arrived in the small town of Muel.

It was hard to say that Muel was thriving, even in a figurative sense. The kids' reactions were especially noteworthy. The straight roads and clean buildings, the bright and grand atmosphere of the big city Barbara, made them speechless when they saw such a rundown town.

It could be said that it was a distant dream for a frontier town to catch up with Barbara. Unless the skills of the main clan leader, So-young, were extraordinary, it would be difficult. I led the kids, stepping on the uneven, clay-colored earth.

Muel's streets were generally deserted. The users seen occasionally were mostly wearing shabby equipment. Considering that it was around lunchtime, and most people were out of the city, it was clear that we couldn't expect to see users with every step, as in a big city. (Of course, I didn't expect it from the beginning.)

Yujeong, with an unfamiliar face, looked around and asked me curiously.

"Brother, what do we do now? Are we going to go outside the city right away?"

What a big deal. At the very least, we need a place to return to before we go out. I shook my head.

"No. First, we need to find an inn to use as our base camp."

"Base camp? Inn?"

"If you're not registered as a formal clan, it's hard to even get a house, let alone a clan house. Think of it as living in an inn for now."

I planned to visit the inn first to have breakfast and lunch. The kids might think differently, but I consider it not bad for our first step into Hollow Plain. It would be hard for users who can't join a clan or who drop out of the User Academy to make a living.

While a pub might be the most sensitive place for information flow in a city, I chose the inn for a different reason. I had briefly been active in Muel during the first round of Hollow Plain and stayed at an inn without much thought.

At the time, I stayed at that inn without much thought and passed through it, but later I had the opportunity to confirm a certain fact related to the inn.

After retracing my memory for a while, I stopped in front of a shabby-looking inn. The kids, who had been following me, also stopped. A faded sign with the strange name "Modest Lady" hung above the door. I smiled, feeling that I had found the right place, and was about to enter.

Bang! Bang!

"Uaaaaaah! Save me, Sara!"

A loud noise came from inside the inn, and a male user with a dark beard burst out of the door, running as if his pants were on fire. He actually rolled in front of us.

But immediately, he got up with a technique that was almost like a magic trick and ran away without looking back. I could guess the situation and smiled, but the kids just stared at the direction he ran in, dumbfounded.

"Stop standing there and come in."

After a while, a slightly husky but distinctly feminine voice came from inside the inn. I led the dazed kids inside, where the scene was a mess. Dishes and tables were scattered everywhere, and Anhyun groaned at the sight of broken chairs and overturned tables.

In the center of the hall, a woman stood with a composed face. She wore a satisfied, lazy smile. The unique feature that set her apart from other users was the faint ash color in her hair.

She glanced at me and then slowly looked around at all of us before speaking.

"New faces. Are you guests?"

Her soft, smooth voice made Anhyun's face turn red without him realizing it. This guy, again. I, already immune to such temptations, could calmly respond.

"Yes, we are guests."

"Meal? Accommodation?"

"Both. I'd like to have a meal first."

Her response to my answer was a gentle laugh.

"I like polite men. Good. Kids, this place is a mess, so it might be a bit difficult. Why don't you go to another table and wait?"

I went to the spot she pointed to and sat down. The kids, who were initially too flustered to notice, began to look around once they settled down.

The "Modest Lady" was an inn I hadn't seen in a while. The inn had three floors in total. The first floor was used as a lobby and restaurant, while the second and third floors were used as accommodations. The important thing was that there was not a single user in the inn besides us.

A short while later, the woman approached our table with a smile. The table and chairs were still in place. She almost threw the water, cups, and menu at us, but strangely, they all spun around once and landed gently in the center of the table. The kids' eyes widened in surprise.

"Besides what's on the menu, you can order anything. I can make most things. What would you like to eat?"

The kids turned their gaze to me simultaneously. I glanced over the menu briefly before answering. To be honest, I only pretended to look; I already knew what to order when coming here.

"A Course for four, please."

"Wow. Good choice, handsome. The A Course will be out soon, so please wait a moment."

She walked briskly into the kitchen, showing off her explosive figure. Ansol looked at me with a pouting face, and Yujung also looked strange. Only Anhyun looked at me with envious eyes.

"Brother, this place feels weird. Why did we come here?"

"Yeah, it's weird. Can't we just go somewhere else?"

When Yujung spoke with a displeased look, Sol quickly chimed in to agree. I tilted my head in confusion. I didn't expect them to suggest going somewhere else. Is it that strange? Anhyun, who had been listening, quickly spoke with an urgent face.

"Well! I think it's fine. It's not weird at all. Is there any need to go somewhere else?"

The moment Anhyun finished speaking, the two female users glared at him simultaneously. Yujung looked at him with a "Well, that's what I thought" expression, and Sol looked at her brother with a disappointed gaze. Anhyun, startled by their gazes, cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.

"I'm really hungry. Let's eat first and talk... later."

"You're just playing around. Did you fall in love at first sight?"

Anhyun didn't respond. He just turned his head to look at a distant mountain (?). Yujung, shifting her gaze from him, immediately turned her attention to me. Her voice was sharp. Sol, who had been sulking since the Barbara square, was unusually grumbling.

"Hmph. I don't like being called 'kids.' We're not babies."

After Sol finished speaking, Yujung looked at her with a startled expression. I, who had also thought of them as kids, had nothing to say. Yujung scratched her head for a moment and continued to vent her complaints. Hmm. Why are they acting like this?

"Choose a proper inn if you're going to come. This place is obviously weird. The inside is a mess, and that man ran away as if his life depended on it."

You're the one with the weird personality. I can't figure you out. I barely suppressed the urge to say this and responded with a forced smile. Yujung, clearly dissatisfied with my reaction, kept grumbling and was about to start gossiping with Sol and me when—

Swoosh.

"Ugh!"

Yujung let out a strange scream and writhed. A woman, holding a plate in one hand, suddenly appeared behind Yujung. Anhyun and Ansol also looked as if they were about to faint when they saw the woman. They couldn't sense her presence even though she was right next to them. It made me think that life is all about real combat.

The woman, with her characteristic lazy eyes and soft voice, spoke.

"Oh... I've never heard such a unique scream before."

"You... you...!"

Yujung, perhaps angered by the woman's calm face, was about to reveal her true nature. At that moment, her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and she stopped speaking. The woman bent down and wrapped one hand around Yujung's shoulder, pulling her into her embrace. Yujung's face was suddenly buried in the woman's chest.

"Kid."

Before Yujung could speak, a gentle aura rose from the woman's body. The aura quickly enveloped the surroundings and then turned into a heavy, oppressive air. The moment the air changed, Anhyun, Ansol, and Yujung all stiffened, their faces hardening.

The woman leaned close to Yujung's ear and whispered.

"Are you curious why that man ran away so desperately...?"

Yujung didn't respond. Or rather, she couldn't respond.

I deliberately didn't act and observed the situation. What the woman was doing was part of a basic skill that users with talent in magic could perform: <Magic Emission>. Watching her magic quietly and secretly envelop the surroundings, I was inwardly impressed. Of course, I also had the intention of correcting Yujung's behavior. It's like fixing a runny nose without using your hands.

"Did he come in and ask for an order...? What did he say he wanted to eat?"

The uneasy, tense air filled the table, making it almost suffocating. Anhyun and Yujung might not have been able to resist, but Sol, who was more experienced, should have been able to. Seeing Sol's flustered face, I thought she needed real combat experience.

While I was thinking, the woman continued to speak to Yujung.

"He said he wanted to eat my milk."

Seeing the woman laugh, I thought she lived up to her reputation. She eventually turned her gaze from Yujung to me and Hyun, giving us a seductive smile. I wanted to let it go a bit longer, but I couldn't ignore Yujung's desperate plea for help in her eyes.

I slowly moved my right hand and picked up the water glass on the table. The woman's eyes changed with interest as she watched me. I took a sip and, as I placed the glass back on the table, I subtly infused it with magic.

Thud.

The sound of the water glass touching the wooden table was unusually loud. At that moment, the magic I emitted spread out from the glass, instantly neutralizing the magic the woman had spread around. Normally, I would have given a big shock to the opponent, but this wasn't a combat situation.

The无形的气场随即如窗帘般被拉开，消失得无影无踪。气场一散，几乎埋在椅子中的安贤和安索尔都惊愕地交替看着我和那女人。

尤静因为靠近，受到的影响最大，粗重地喘着气。她的脸上满是愤怒，但她的目光却低垂着，盯着桌子下面。刚才尤静本能地感受到了她和那女人的用户等级之间的巨大差距。

“啊……？”

女人显然没想到会这样，发出小小的惊呼声，身体重新挺直。她先是惊讶，接着脸上充满了好奇。我平静地开口说道：

“听上去，那个男人确实有理由被赶出去。”

我的低语让女人露出有趣的表情，她随即点头回答：

“……是啊。但他是客人啊。现在生意也不好做……所以我只收了他一百金币。”

我有一千金币。

“那个男人。他看起来并不像有很多钱。”

“嗯。你说得对，他说他没有钱。但他说……可以给我其他好东西。”

“好东西？”

我问完，女人嘴角的微笑更加浓了，继续说道：

“嗯。他说可以给我很多注射器。”

“这里，这个，霍洛平原也有注射器吗？”

安贤似乎稍微平复了心情，插话进来。有趣的是，他用了一种平时不会用的低沉声音。看他试图和女人搭话的样子，我再次感到男人真是个可悲的生物。

“当然。男人都会带着装有营养液的注射器。”

“啊……？”

安贤反问，女人用纤细的手指指着他的裤子：

“你也有吧。装有白色营养液的注射器。”

“白色营养液？啊……？！”

“嗯。他说会亲自放在我的两腿之间。”

安贤似乎终于明白了她的话，脸红了，低下头。只有索尔似乎不明白他们在说什么，一脸茫然。

“他想弄断那个注射器……可惜他逃跑了。运气真好。”

女人遗憾地咂了咂嘴。听到她的话，安贤吞了吞口水，迅速夹紧了大腿。

============================ 作品后记 ============================

* 尤静和索尔之所以这么烦躁，是因为他们看妈妈的眼神和孩子们一样。呵呵呵呵。

* 本次重要的角色登场了。希望读者们能如我所愿地接受这个角色。

* 啊哈哈。主角的公会名已经确定了……不过大家推荐的很多好名字我也非常感谢。真心感谢读者们的支持。

1) CrossDie : 恭喜获得第一名。新的冠军诞生了！正如你所说，确实是一个意外的惊喜。 :)

2) 娥玉阿诺尔 : 哦，全身爱抚。下次希望能得到更深入的指导。（笑）

3) 艾莉莉亚 : 感谢指出错别字。已经修改完毕。考虑到秀贤的性格，你应该能大致猜到。

4) vkfkd54 : 关于回归，创建一个公会名字也是个不错的想法。感谢你宝贵的建议。

5) Toranoanal : “韩”这个公会名已经想好了。我也是因为想起了这个名字……根据你的建议，我又想出了一个公会名字。感谢你宝贵的建议。另外，你提到的第二点，可能在下一章或下下章中可以看到。

6) 初夏 : 那个小偷可能会遭到反向旅游，而且是深入骨髓的……

7) 封印的托尔斯泰 : 哇，你评论了很多。这让我找到了很多素材。感谢你宝贵的建议。

8) 熊熊利兹 : 咳咳！快点好起来……呜呜。最近路滑，一定要小心，再小心。

9) Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusk : 你可以在第二章内看到。请稍等一下。 :)

10) 布拉米 : 是的，确实有明确的优势。因为巴巴拉最初也是像亚特兰大这样的未开发地区。更详细地