When Minami Yojuro emphasized the words "entire fortune," Rex and his two companions immediately wore extremely awkward expressions.
As fairly experienced adventurers, no matter how destitute they might be, there was no way their entire fortune consisted only of that small pouch of copper coins from earlier. The only reason they said that at the time was to take advantage of Minami Yojuro and his sister, assuming these country folk didn't understand how things worked.
What they hadn't expected was how small the world truly was. They thought they would never see each other again—but who would've guessed that after parting ways in the morning, they'd meet again that same afternoon? And even worse, the person they had swindled turned out to be the younger brother of the goddess they were trying to court.
"Rex, I never imagined you had such a helpful side," the goddess said lightly. "But I don't want to owe you too much. However much you gave Yojuro, I'll reimburse you."
Rex's face stiffened even more. He had only been trying to build up goodwill, but if the truth came out, wouldn't that completely destroy any chance he had with the goddess?
"Haha… no, no, it's nothing at all. I've always enjoyed helping others," Rex said, forcing a grin. "By the way, Miss Soya, your brother… is he really just a rookie adventurer?"
In order not to disappoint his goddess, Rex had to brazen it out. Luckily, Minami Yojuro only stood nearby with a faintly amused smile, choosing not to expose him.
"He really did just register as an adventurer today," Soya admitted. "But he claims to have a certain amount of strength and wants to take on E-rank or higher quests. I was a bit worried… so I thought perhaps you could take him along to build some experience."
In Soya's eyes, Rex and his group might not be among the strongest in the city, but they were at least mid-tier adventurers. Taking along a "newbie" like her brother should've been well within their capability.
However, after hearing her request, the three immediately pulled constipated expressions. Rex's two teammates didn't hesitate at all—they each found excuses and bolted.
"Rex, I suddenly feel a little unwell… so I'll take my leave."
"Same here! I just remembered my girlfriend asked me to go shopping with her today. I promised her ages ago, so… sorry!"
Rex nearly cursed out loud. The one who claimed to be sick had been flexing his muscles the whole way here, full of energy. And the other one? They had been teammates for so long, yet Rex had never once heard about him having a girlfriend. Shopping together? With who, his left and right hands?
"Miss Soya, as you can see, both of my companions had sudden emergencies," Rex said, forcing a bitter smile. "It looks like we can't take on any commissions today. Perhaps another time, when we're free, we'll bring your brother along to experience adventurer life?"
In truth, Rex completely understood why his teammates had run for it. If not for the goddess standing right there, he would have done the same.
Because the so-called "rookie adventurer" brother of the goddess was, in their eyes, nothing less than a powerhouse disguised as a newbie!
Have them show him what it means to be an adventurer? The man could easily crush all three of them barehanded.
They had ditched him before, and now being forced to go adventuring in the wild together—the chance of ending up as a corpse left in the wilderness was ridiculously high.
"Sister, I really am strong. If you don't believe me, why don't I have a spar with this Mr. Rex?
If I can defeat him, then please allow me to take on more difficult quests. If I lose, then I'll follow your arrangements completely and accept only missions suited to my adventurer rank. How about that?"
Of course, Minami Yojuro and Soya weren't really siblings, but since she had introduced him that way to Rex and the others, he naturally couldn't ruin her cover.
"I'm sorry, I just remembered something important I have to do today, so I'll be going now!"
Before Soya could even respond to Minami Yojuro's proposal, Rex, upon hearing it, instantly decided to run.
What kind of sick joke was this? Spar with him? That was the same as asking to be beaten down. The three of them together hadn't lasted even a single minute against Yojuro, who hadn't even drawn a weapon. And now a one-on-one duel? He'd be lucky to last five seconds!
Running away in front of his goddess was embarrassing, yes—but not nearly as humiliating as being instantly crushed in a duel.
"Very well. If you can defeat Rex, then I'll make an exception and let you take on a higher-ranked quest," Soya said firmly.
Rex had barely lifted his foot to leave when Minami Yojuro clapped a hand down on his shoulder first, grinning wide enough to show his teeth. "Then please take care of me, ever-so-helpful Mr. Rex."
The world never lacked spectators—especially in a place like the Adventurer's Guild, where bored adventurers often gathered.
The moment a fight was about to break out, plenty of them grabbed their mugs of mead and crowded around to watch, some even setting up betting pools.
As for Rex, his expression was one of absolute misery. He and Minami Yojuro were now surrounded by onlookers; if he tried to run at this point, he would forever be a laughingstock in the adventurer community.
Truly, lust was a blade that cut to the bone. If not for his desire for Soya's beauty, how could he have landed himself in such a situation today?
With no way out, Rex finally drew his sword, putting on a stern, serious expression as he faced Minami Yojuro.
"No way, no way. Look at Rex's face—he's actually taking this seriously!"
"His opponent is just a newbie who registered as an adventurer today. Is that really necessary?"
"Hah, looks like I'm about to lose my bet. I was hoping for an upset. After all, Rex has been chasing after Miss Soya for ages. I thought he'd go easy on her 'brother' to save face. But from the looks of it, Rex is being a real man about this."
It was true that Minami Yojuro had only registered as an adventurer that very day—many people in the guild had seen it with their own eyes.
And while Rex's skills were nothing remarkable, beating a rookie with zero experience should have been as easy as pie. So, none of the adventurers watching believed Minami Yojuro had any chance of winning.
But compared to the onlookers, only Rex himself knew the truth: the white-haired man standing across from him was no mere newbie at all.
°°°
A/N: My bad for the later release, here's double chapter for ya, make sure to drop those stones and keep dropping comments and reviews, see ya