Chapter 22

I'll go ahead and say it.

Solo play complete! Solo play complete! Solo play complete!

This is an announcement that the solo play has ended.

After accompanying Alexia in her level grinding and seeing her smiling face, I continued to party with them.

What I learned from spending time with them is that their role-playing is quite realistic, and I don't feel any sense of discomfort from Alexia's mannerisms. She might be a real lady.

A real lady—talking to a young man in the game was a bit too much for me, but since they are considerate, the conversation mainly revolves around the game, making it very easy to talk.

When I talked to Liam, we also got along well with game topics, and since I have been researching the settings of Another World, there's no shortage of topics to talk about.

So before the quest, I would chat with Alexia about the game's settings and skills.

On the other hand, Irene doesn't participate much in the conversation.

I want to talk to her as well, but she doesn't seem to be the type to initiate conversations.

When she looks at Alexia, she often smiles, so it doesn't seem like she's bored, but she doesn't seem interested in the game talk and sometimes looks exasperated at our conversations.

I guess it's because I get too enthusiastic. It's a bit embarrassing.

Thanks to these two, I can enjoy playing every day.

I hope we can find new party members at this rate.

Today, I was waiting for them in the adventurer's guild waiting room... but for some reason, there were three tough-looking men with evil faces around me.

I wonder what's going on. It doesn't seem to be an event.

In real life, I would have run away by now.

"Hey."

Ah, yes, what is it? I look at one of the men's faces.

"You were with those two noble girls, right?"

"Yeah."

Alexia and Irene's faces come to mind. What happened to them?

"If that's the case, don't get involved with those two anymore."

...What?

"Don't you get it? I'm saying you're in the way."

...Why do I have to be told this by a stranger? I'm starting to get angry.

In the first place, why would they want to separate me from them—aha, I get it.

These guys want to hit on them!

Indeed, the girls I met in Another World stand out in terms of appearance.

I can understand why they want to get closer, but targeting Alexia, who looks like a primary or middle school student, is definitely creepy.

But this is just a game.

Moreover, characters can freely change their appearance, so even a beautiful girl could be played by a middle-aged man in real life.

Still, I can't understand why they would hit on characters in the game like it's a dating app.

While it's true that there is a tendency to pamper female characters, especially those who play cute characters (some might be naturally cute) and are treated like mascots or idols, known as 'princesses,' and many men give them items.

However, those who take it too far and think it's normal to receive support from others are called 'non-girls' and are often avoided.

In any case, Alexia and Irene seem like real women to me.

But more importantly, they are people who genuinely enjoy the game and talk about its settings.

That's why I don't want guys with ulterior motives to get close, and I especially don't like the twisted nature of these guys who threaten others to get close to them.

I glare at them in anger and answer.

"No. It's none of your business how they choose to interact."

"What did you say, you brat!"

The men get angry. Ugh, they look intimidating.

But I can't back down.

"Hey, they're here."

One of the men notices something and alerts the others.

I look over and see Alexia and Irene entering the adventurer's guild.

"Tch, remember this, kid."

The men spit and leave the guild.

I might have heard such a cliché line for the first time—maybe I'm just letting my guard down and thinking about trivial things.

"Teacher, good morning."

Still, it's a hit on the girls.

Having a cute character is also a challenge.

Would such problems increase in a VRMMORPG? Since my character looks almost the same as in real life, I don't get any special treatment.

"Teacher? Is something wrong?"

Oops, I shouldn't be spacing out. Alexia and Irene are already in front of me.

They must have noticed my different atmosphere and asked out of concern.

"No, nothing's wrong."

I'll forget the unpleasant things and enjoy the game.

Leveling up is going smoothly.

Thanks to the efficiency of party play, the wiki information, and the 'Book of Blessing' that increases experience points, my level has surpassed the closed beta.

The higher the level, the more experience points are needed to level up, so I have to fight stronger monsters that are far from the city.

This has gradually increased the time spent on travel, which was a concern, but I learned a skill that solves this problem.

'Warp Portal'—a teleportation spell.

It allows you to teleport to 'Portals' near large cities or ruins.

However, you can only teleport to 'Portals' you have visited before, but since the party can move together, the range of action has greatly expanded.

Currently, I travel on foot to the destination and use 'Warp Portal' to return, but I also search for 'Portals' while hunting for future convenience.

However, only mages and healers (healers can also learn the same skill) can learn this skill, so it's recommended for parties.

Damn, what a setup that's not friendly to solo players!

...I guess it's a style where you camp out at a hunting ground for a few days.

Still,

There are an unusual number of monsters today.

The key to efficient leveling in MMORPGs is to hunt a large number of monsters that are 2-5 levels lower than your own, but there are more than usual today. Why is that?

Well, it's fine. It's more convenient this way.

"Chaos! Lady Alexia!"

Irene, who is attracting monsters, calls out.

Irene uses her speed to avoid enemy attacks and take their hate, acting as a 'dodge tank'—a barrier between the monsters and the party.

"Sleep Cloud"

Alexia uses a spell to put the monsters to sleep, and the ones she can't control are

"Mana Explosion"

killed by me with an explosion, while Alexia moves to the center of the sleeping group

"Mental Burst"

and a torrent of light from Alexia's position engulfs and defeats the monsters.

The remaining monsters are killed by Irene.

I wonder if Irene has studied fencing. She's so skilled that even a layman can tell.

Actually, with two damage dealers and area-of-effect spells, we had a surplus of firepower.

So I took on the role of 'bait' to attract distant enemies and item collector, but with the increased number of enemies today, even the bait role is unnecessary.

We're almost ready for our second job.

What's with that guy!—Karl Friedrich von Neurath was furious at the scene before him.

It all started when he saw her at the magic academy.

Marie Alexia von Zavareis.

From the moment he saw her, he was captivated.

It was the second love of a young boy.

He wanted to find a way to connect with her.

However, the environment around her was as bad as it could be.

She was a magic failure, shunned and eventually stopped attending classes.

Approaching her would draw the ire of other nobles.

As the son of a baron, he couldn't afford to anger the higher nobility.

He spent his days in frustration, unable to do anything.

His opportunity came when she decided to participate in an extracurricular activity.

He thought the 'failure' Alexia wouldn't participate, but she did.

No other nobles would act with her, as she had no friends.

This meant he wouldn't be under the scrutiny of other nobles during the activity.

His actions were swift after this realization.

He bribed adventurers to prevent Alexia from forming a party, and when she was left stranded, he planned to offer his help.

The plan was going well until the adventurers he hired canceled, leaving her stranded.

He couldn't stop laughing at how well it was going.

All he had to do was approach her as if by chance.

But before he could, a voice interrupted him.

A foreign mage, a bit older than him, acted faster.

What is this—shocked by the unexpected turn of events, he realized it was too late to change the situation.

The boy joined the party and went on the quest.

But the boy was a rare foreigner.

He thought the boy might just be earning travel money temporarily.

Fortunately, the extracurricular activity was held multiple times.

He could try again next time.

But his prediction was wrong.

The boy was still with Alexia.

Why is that boy next to her?

Why can that unremarkable boy get close to her?

—And why is she showing him a smile she never showed before?

He couldn't take it anymore.

Having been raised as a spoiled brat, he had surprisingly endured this long.

So he—.

"So, kid. You just need to make that brat leave the noble lady, right?"

"Right, make sure he never gets close again."

He hired thugs to take action.

"Is this really okay, Friedrich? If it's discovered, Lady Alexia won't stay quiet."

Reginald, the only one who knew the plan, was not enthusiastic about following his master's orders.

If the son of a baron family meddled with the daughter of a count family, it would lead to a disaster involving their families.

A wise person would avoid such a situation.

"Hmph, we'll be back before it's discovered. If it comes to the worst, we can cut our losses. What happens to a few commoners doesn't matter."

"I'm a commoner too, you know..."

Reginald muttered, but Friedrich didn't hear.

He was only thinking about what would happen after the obstacle was removed.

However, the plan failed when Alexia and the others arrived.

Chaos, the boy, was rarely alone.

They would gather at the adventurer's guild and leave immediately, and when they returned, they would go to the equipment shop together for the next day's preparations.

The only time Chaos was alone was before meeting Alexia.

"Is there any way to get rid of that guy?"

Friedrich ground his teeth in frustration, but had no good ideas.

One of the hired thugs smiled and offered a suggestion.

"Hehe, kid, I have a good idea."

"What is it? Tell me."

"It's simple. We sic other monsters on them while they're fighting."

"What... That would put Alexia in danger!"

"That's where you come in. You just happen to be passing by when the noble lady is attacked and save her heroically. The brat can't protect her and gets fired. Two birds with one stone!"

—If Chaos heard this, he would call it a MPK (Murder, Pillage, and Kill), a malicious act, but no one pointed it out.

(That won't work)

Reginald calmly dismissed the thug's suggestion.

Even if it were staged as an accident, it would be too unnatural and raise suspicions.

Moreover, it was questionable whether his master, who performed poorly in the academy, could defeat the monsters while protecting Alexia.

However, Reginald had to admit that there was no way Alexia would develop feelings for Friedrich through proper means.

His appearance was obese and far from handsome, and his personality was arrogant.

In terms of family status, a baron was inferior to a count, and there was no chance of success.

If a woman liked him, she must be a real oddball.

"Hmm, it's a good plan. If it works, I'll increase the reward."

At that moment, the element of 'the master is a complete fool' was added.

If something went wrong, Reginald would have to step in—so he resolved himself.

They didn't know what Alexia and the others were like outside the city.

They still saw her as a 'failure.'

"…What is that?"

Friedrich, despite his shock, managed to speak, which was impressive in a way.

"Right, it looks like a scene from hell or a massacre."

Around Alexia and the others, the ground was covered with monster corpses.

Even when the boy cleared some, new ones quickly replaced them.

There must be more than a hundred.

It looked like a true scene from hell, and the number of monsters made it seem like a massacre.

This was not a typical extracurricular activity.

The number of monsters was limited to 1-2 at a time, making it a sport-like hunt for nobles.

They were in a situation like a jar of poison, surrounded by enemies and struggling to survive.

However, upon closer inspection, it seemed that they—especially the boy—still had some room to spare.

"Lord Friedrich, Lady Alexia was indeed called a 'failure' for her lack of magical talent, right?"

"Yeah, she couldn't even use 'Mana Bolt' properly. What's going on? And she's using spells I don't even know."

There was no sign of the girl called a 'failure.'

Instead, there was a mage using unknown spells.

"…Are you still going to do this?"

"Of course! If they keep pushing themselves, they'll eventually run out of stamina. I'll save her then!"

(No way they can be saved against that many, this is hopeless)

In the end, they didn't fall into danger, and the hired thugs got tired and collapsed first.

"Damn it! I won't give up!"

Reginald sighed at his master's futile determination.