"Then let's decide by majority vote whether Master joins the party!"
Letty clapped her hands, the sound sharp as a starter's pistol. I had long ago stopped correcting the "Master" nonsense; she only grinned wider when I tried. Arguing with a hurricane was less exhausting than arguing with her.
"I don't care… though it is a little worrying." Lina's snake-slit pupils narrowed, pinning me like a butterfly to cork. I shrugged; prey or not, I had no intention of being mounted.
"…Either way is fine." Eve's voice drifted past like smoke, already bored with the future.
"It doesn't matter which you choose! The three of you can form one group!" I spun the words into a tongue-twisting knot, hoping to tangle their thoughts. Lina's hand snapped to the back of my collar before the sentence finished.
"Mmm, Eve clearly wants you! Look at her face—it screams 'Join us~'!" Letty beamed, pointing at Eve's blank mask. "It's expressionless! I just want to go home!"
"Your relaxing time won't shrink—join!" "My precious time will vanish!"
We shouted over each other, voices climbing like rival songbirds. The client had not yet arrived, thank the gods; the other adventurers gawked as if we were street theater. Heat crawled up my neck.
"Fufu, Master is stubborn! Eve gets the final vote… right, Eve? You want him because…!!" "Don't forge her lines! She hasn't moved her mouth in five minutes! Do you want a delusional D-rank with muddy eyes?"
I waved my arms, selling my uselessness like a desperate merchant. Self-roast tasted bitter, but freedom was worth the burn.
"…I said I don't care!!" Eve stalked off, cheeks faintly pink. I winced; maybe I had been too loud.
"You don't have to worry—she's always like that." Lina's tone softened a fraction. "When I joined, she announced, 'I'm not here for friends; I have one purpose.' I'm here for my own reasons too."
Complicated pasts hung between them like unsheathed blades. Letty alone remained untouched by shadows. "I wonder if I'm hungry…?" she mused, stomach growling on cue.
I screamed internally for the client to appear and end this farce.
"Hero! It's been too long!" A new voice sliced the air, oily and loud. "I'm Cain Storz, B-class adventurer! Meeting here—fate! You and I are destined!"
Blond hair gleamed like polished gold, clothes dripping with ornamental gems no real fighter would wear. Aristocrat through and through. B-class by party carry, not merit.
He shoved me aside and loomed over Letty, eyes raking her up and down. She bristled, annoyance plain. He flicked a glance my way. "Who's this guy?"
"Even with you here… something worries me." Cain turned, gaze sliding downward like I was dirt on his boot. "Why is D-class garbage on this request?"
Silence rippled outward. Adventurers froze mid-motion.
"I just took the quest…?" I answered honestly; shame had no place here. Rank was irrelevant when the posting said "anyone."
"Hmm. Not the point." Cain's smile curdled. "I'm the third son of House Storz. Let me explain, even for trash. A D-rank on a C-to-B level escort? Unsuitable. Understand?"
"The road to Etal is tough for D-class… but not forbidden." Monsters ranked C to B prowled the route; a weak link could drag the chain. Fair point, if you ignored the fact that rank meant nothing to me.
Cain clicked his tongue. "Trying to cozy up to nobles? Steal spoils? Low-ranks are all the same—parasites."
He flicked a purse open. Ten gold coins spun through the air, clinking across the dirt. Gasps rose from the crowd.
"Pick them up."
Letty surged forward, fists clenched. I caught her wrist. "If you take his coin, you forfeit the quest. D-class are only good for gathering herbs anyway."
Easy money, easy escape. My fingers hovered over the gleaming circles. I did not touch them.
"What, trash? Want more?" Another ten coins rained down, ringing like mocking bells. His eyes glittered with contempt.
"…Low-ranks really are garbage. The guild's useless. Maybe I should clean house myself."
"It's not wrong to want money." Letty's voice trembled, confusion and hurt warring on her face. I met her gaze, steady.
"I'm no hero. Just a lazy bum. He's not entirely wrong about me." Cain opened his mouth to gloat.
"I might be trash, but low-ranks aren't!" The words tore out before I could stop them. I had met too many unsung D-ranks who knew every herb, every monster weak point, who cleaned the city's filth without complaint.
They worked hard. They deserved respect.
Cain's face twisted. "No matter what you say, they're garbage. Pick it up and scram."
"…Fine. Wallet's empty." I knelt, fingers brushing the coins. Letty's breath hitched.
"One, two… wow, twenty. Thanks." I straightened, coins cupped in my palm.
Cain smirked. "Good. Now leave—"
I flung the gold back to the dirt, the clatter sharp as gunfire. "Changed my mind. I need the quest more than pocket change." His jaw slackened.
"I'm the third son of Storz—you can't afford to offend me." Panic flickered behind the arrogance.
"Don't you need this money?" I smiled, slow and cold. "Third sons don't inherit. Why not buy sweets for the client instead, B-class carried by daddy's coin?"
His face blazed crimson. The ornamental sword flashed from its sheath. He charged, screaming.
I sighed, hand settling on my own hilt. Steel met steel above my head—
"Be quiet!"
A girl's voice rang out, clear and crystalline, freezing every blade mid-swing.