Cassian sat cross-legged on Hiro’s bed, observing the group gathered in the room. Hiro was leaning against the wall near the window, Lena seated on a chair she’d dragged from the corner, and Lucia perched gracefully on the single desk.
“Congratulations!” Lucia clapped cheerfully. “You’re officially an adventurer now!”
“And a member of the group,” Lena added with a rare smile. “Welcome officially.”
Hiro pulled a plaque from the ring on his finger—oval, slightly elongated vertically, the size of a palm. The matte gray alloy gleamed faintly under the lantern light.
“Your adventurer badge.” He handed it to Cassian. “The basic information is engraved on it.”
Cassian took it, running her thumb over the engravings.
Officially tied now.
Hiro gently took it back and stored it in the storage ring. “We’ll keep it safe. Now that we’re all together, we can head out for our next quest.”
“Just a few more missions,” Lena said enthusiastically, “and we can advance to B-rank.”
Cassian frowned. “Wait. Do all members of a group have to be the same rank?”
“No.” Lena shook her head. “In a group, everyone’s rank is individual. The Guild just looks at the missions the group can accomplish, regardless of individual rank.”
She leaned forward, gesturing. “For example, if a bunch of F-rank adventurers can complete S-rank quests together, then their group is S-rank. Even if technically, individually, they’re worthless.”
Lucia giggled. “Lena, you’re exaggerating the comparisons. But it’d be funny to see.”
Interesting, Cassian thought. So the group rank isn’t an average. It’s based on collective performance.
Then another thought hit her. Why does Hiro want to rank up so badly?
Isekai protagonists all dream of a normal, mundane life, far from danger. But danger always finds them.
Hiro’s different. He actively SEEKS quests. He pushes the group to progress.
She observed him discreetly. He checks boxes for several isekai protagonist types. Not just one.
The vengeful hero? The glory seeker? The guy hiding a deeper goal?
I don’t fully understand yet.
She shook her head mentally. Until I have all the pieces, there’s no point wasting time thinking. Thinking takes too much energy.
“I already took our next quest,” Hiro announced, pulling out a parchment.
“Without consulting us?” Lena raised an eyebrow.
“It was the quietest one on the list.” He unrolled the parchment. “An information quest. A remote village hasn’t given any signs of life for years. The Guild’s worried. We just need to see what’s going on there and report back.”
“Just look and leave?” Lucia seemed relieved. “Sounds easy.”
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“However,” Hiro continued, “the road to the village is hostile. Dangerous. It’s a remote place—not really any roads connecting it to a nearby town or village.”
Lena sighed. “Why do you always take remote quests?”
Hiro shrugged. “It was really the quietest on the list. The others involved guaranteed fights.”
Cassian stood up, stretching widely. Arms overhead, her back cracking satisfyingly. “I got the gist. I’m going to sleep.”
“Already?” Lucia blinked. “It’s not even eight o’clock.”
“Evenings, there’s nothing to do but talk.” Cassian headed for the door. Without internet, it’s hard to fill free time. Might as well skip the boring night by sleeping.
She left, closing the door behind her.
Silence.
“She really sleeps early a lot,” Lena remarked.
“Yeah.” Hiro nodded. “I’ve noticed.”
Lucia smiled softly. “Sometimes in the morning, I go into her room to wake her.” She clasped her hands together. “She’s so adorable when she sleeps. Her hair spread everywhere. Her face so peaceful.”
“I found her cute too,” Hiro admitted absentmindedly. “When I stopped by once to see if she was awake.”
Silence fell again.
Then Lena turned sharply to Hiro, eyes wide. “Wait. You watch Cassian sleep?”
“What? No!” Hiro waved his hands frantically. “I just wanted to see if she was awake! I didn’t stay!”
“But you watched her sleep long enough to find her cute,” Lena insisted, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
“It was just a quick observation! Like two seconds!”
Lucia interjected, her voice soft but with a slight edge. “Hiro, you shouldn’t enter girls’ rooms without permission. It’s… inappropriate.”
“I didn’t enter! I just opened the door!”
“Opening a sleeping girl’s door,” Lena said, “is still crossing a line.”
“I…” Hiro desperately searched for a subject change. “Hey, we should check our supplies for the quest!”
“We checked yesterday,” Lucia replied flatly.
“Then… uh… our weapons?”
“Also checked.”
A tense silence settled.
Then Lucia turned to Lena, smiling politely. “Lena, you should maybe check your gear. Your last sword broke, didn’t it?”
“It’s repaired.” Lena smiled back, just as politely. “Not like some whose healing spells fail sometimes.”
“Exactly. Sometimes.”
“The guy still bled for ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes is manageable.”
“For him, maybe. But if it was Hiro?”
Lucia stiffened slightly. “I’d never let Hiro bleed for ten minutes.”
“Oh, so you admit you play favorites.”
“I never said that.”
The two girls subtly moved closer to Hiro—Lena standing from her chair, Lucia sliding off the desk. They sat on either side of him on the bed.
Hiro was suddenly sandwiched between two bodies.
“Uh… girls? What are you doing?”
“Just chatting,” Lucia said innocently, her arm brushing “accidentally” against Hiro’s.
“Yeah,” Lena added, leaning slightly against his shoulder. “We’re just getting comfortable.”
“It’s… a bit tight.”
“You complaining?” Lucia asked, tilting her head.
“No! Well… not really… but…”
Lena turned to Lucia over Hiro. “You know, Lucia, I was wondering. How long does it take you to prepare your healing spells?”
“About five seconds. Why?”
“Just curious.” Lena smiled. “It seems… long. My physical attacks are instant.”
“Yes, but can they save lives?”
“They can protect lives by eliminating threats.”
“Protecting isn’t the same as healing.”
“No, but it’s more… direct.”
Hiro looked back and forth between them, completely lost. Are they arguing? Why? About what?
The door suddenly opened.
A young man entered—about twenty, two swords crossed on his back. He paid no attention to the group, heading straight for the closet and starting to rummage.
“Uh…” Hiro blinked. “Excuse me?”
The young man ignored him completely, opening drawers.
Hiro quickly pulled his adventurer badge from the ring, holding it up. “Adventurer. C-rank.”
The young man turned, saw the badge, and stopped immediately.
“Oh.” He bowed quickly. “Sorry. Didn’t know you were adventurers too.”
He hurried out of the room, entering the one next door.
Silence.
“It’s a common issue,” Lucia said calmly. “Adventurers have the right to enter any house or room to take what they want.”
“It doesn’t bother me,” Lena said with a shrug. “It’s one of the perks of being C-rank and above. After all, we risk our lives.”
“And adventurers can’t do it to each other,” Lucia added. “So showing your badge usually suffices.”
“YOU BASTARD!”
The shout came from the hallway.
They all rushed out.
Cassian was pummeling the adventurer with punches—which he dodged easily, backing down the hall.
“STAY STILL SO I CAN HIT YOU!”
“Stop!” The adventurer grabbed both of Cassian’s wrists, immobilizing her. “What are you doing?”
“LET GO!”
The neighbor—an middle-aged man—opened his door, grumbling. “WHAT THE HELL? SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!”
“Cassian!” Hiro approached quickly. “She’s part of the group.”
The adventurer saw Hiro, recognized the badge he still held. “Ah. She’s with you?”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry.” He released Cassian immediately. “I really didn’t know.”
He rushed toward the stairs before Cassian could hit him.
Cassian turned to Hiro, her blue eyes blazing with rage. “EXPLANATION. NOW.”
Hiro, Lena, and Lucia exchanged looks.
“We should have told her,” Lucia murmured.
“Obviously she didn’t know,” Lena added.
Hiro sighed. “Okay. Explanations. Let’s go back to a room.”
“Your room,” Cassian growled. “And someone better give me a good reason why that person was rummaging through my room.”
---
Ten minutes later, after Hiro explained the privileges of C-rank adventurers and above, Cassian stared at them in disbelief.
“So.” Her voice was dangerously calm. “You’re telling me. That any C-rank adventurer can just… enter my room. Rummage through my stuff. Take what they want.”
“Technically, yeah,” Lena admitted. “But if you show your badge…”
“My badge that’s in HIRO’s storage ring.”
Silence.
“It’s really not that bad,” Hiro tried. “Once you’re C-rank, you can too…”
“I DON’T WANT to rummage through people’s stuff!” She stood up abruptly. “I…”
She stopped.
Thought.
“…Wait. I can rummage through people’s stuff?”
“Uh… yeah?”
A slow smile spread across Cassian’s face. A smile that made everyone shiver.
“Interesting. Very interesting.”
