(MC POV)

I teleported us back to the Guild's entrance without incident, the sky already dark at this point of time.

??

The dragon and spider carcass were already safely stored away inside my storage ring, ready for the Guild to inspect should they require it.

The three followed behind me like meek puppies, their attitudes the complete opposite of what they were just earlier today.

Stepping in to the Guild building, I was greeted with the sight and sounds of several dozens of Adventurers clamouring within.

Since Elaria and Odriana had parted ways with me at the front of the Guild, I have yet to see how the interior of this place looks like, much less how everything operated here.

A few of the Adventurers inside glanced at us when we entered, all of them resuming what they were doing almost immediately upon sight of us.

"Guessing you guys aren't that famous, huh?" I commented to the trio, since they were basically ignored by everyone else.

Lance grimaced, "We're visiting Adventurers… Our names are only more known in other towns and cities."

I shrugged at his excuse, gesturing towards the interior of the Guild, "Well, 'leader'... Go report the Request completion, why don't you?"

He twiddled his fingers together, "I… I think it's better if you do it instead, we didn't do anything after all…"

Oh? How humble of him.

"If you insist."

I looked for the acting receptionist of the Guild, spotting the standard cute girl in Guild uniform standing there with a delicate smile on her face.

To match the rest of the town's 'An Ney May' theme, her hair was dyed blonde and braided to rest on her right shoulder. Some kind of metallic headplate was also tied around her forehead with a weird inscription etched on it.

I made a beeline towards her, tiptoeing to reach above the counter and slide our Request slip to her.

"Hi miss, our party just finished this Request."

She moved her sight to the piece of paper before looking back at me with a smile, "I have confirmed receipt of the scouting Request, young master Lindulf. Could I trouble you to show the proof of completion?"

"Wait… Lindulf? Isn't that the ruling House in this town?" I heard Lance whisper behind me.

"Oh no… Weren't we quite rude to him?" Azra whispered back.

"Guys… Imma head out first," Henry muttered.

Ignoring their whispering, I continued, "There's another thing. We had cleared out a monster nest and the scouting target had ambushed us. So we had no choice but to subjugate the dragon immediately, So there's no need for a follow-up subjugation Request."

If my report surprised the Guild receptionist, she did a very good job in hiding it.

"I see," She nodded. "In that case, could I have any proof of completion?"

"I got the dragon's head in my storage ring if that works?"

"Good enough, could you follow me to the back room then?" She gestured towards one of the doors behind her.

I nodded my assent before turning back to inform the other three about the plan, only to find an empty space staring back at me.

Huh? Where did they go?

"Is something the matter?" The receptionist asked.

"Er… Yeah… Where did my party go?"

She looked at me with genuine confusion clear on her face, "Party sir? Are you talking about the three tra-- Ermm… Three people behind you? They left a moment ago."

I raised an eyebrow at her but shrugged.

She probably inferred our party's situation from what they were saying and realised we weren't on good terms. Besides, judging by how my sister had came here 'for some business' before, the Guild's likely to be under her thumb too, meaning these people are likely to be her lackies.

That probably explains why she recognised me right away without any introductions.

"Young master Lindulf? If you would follow me, please?" The receptionist repeated.

I decided that since those three decided to run off, I'll just claim everything for myself then. I have to get back to my disciples soon, after all.

(Lance POV)

I awoke when a cold, stinging sensation assaulted my face.

I cough and spluttered as I tried to clear my air way of the water that was splashed on me.

My muscle memory kicked in and I tried to reach for my waist where my estocs should be, pausing when I found my hands bound to my back and secured to the chair I was sitting on.

My eyes shot open as I looked around me frantically, trying to figure out what happened to me.

Last I remembered, I was standing behind Henry inside the Adventurer's Guild. We had just found out about the little kid's identity when something hit me from behind.

Just as I came to the realisation that I was kidnapped, I heard the sound of someone walking towards me.

"Lance Ferngon, active Adventurer from Jin City who arrived here about a week ago with his buddy, Henry Radford."

I looked up to see a really attractive girl with golden hair staring down at me, reading off some sort of folder grasped in her hand.

I tried to call out to her but there was a ball of cloth stuffed into my mouth.

Ignoring my struggles, she continued, "Officially a B-rank Adventurer quite respected within the city's guild, completing various miscellaneous quests with his two-man party while coaching lower ranked Adventurers."

I wondered how she managed to get a hold of this information? If she knows that much, does that mean…

She snapped the folder shut, "But we all know your true intentions here right? You only 'coach' females just so that you can have your way with them later when they are incapacitated. They don't dare to raise any complaints against you because of your standing and lack of evidence."

I struggled to speak again but she just ignored me.

"Now you can deny all you want, but we already looked through your memories. Had you been devoid of any malice towards our honorable Master, we would've just let you go with a slight slap on the wrist because of the insults, but…"

She took out a knife from her sleeve and stabbed me in the leg without hesitation.

My scream of pain was barely muffled by the cloth in my mouth.

She leaned towards me with a crazed look in her eyes, "AHAHAHA! Painful isn't it?! You damn worthless piece of trash! You dare, DARE, harbour such thoughts huh?!"

She twisted the blade left and right, intensifying my agony.

She slapped me across the face, hard enough for the cloth in my mouth to come flying out.

"Damn it! I'm sorry ok?! I'm sorry for all those girls I raped! I won't do it again!" I pleaded mercy.

She stopped, taking a step back to look at me.

"Huh? Who cares about those nobodies?" She asked me with genuine confusion. "If they were related to Master, I might have given a little bit of a damn, but they aren't."

I grimaced, the knife was still embedded in my thigh, "Then… Then why are you doing this?"

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me to face her, ignoring my yelp of pain.

"Your stupid disgrace of a trash Henry, that's what. You allowed someone as filthy as him to get close to our pure Master. NOt to mention all the ignorant things you dared to voice out and taint our Master's pure soul with."

Henry? Master?

Are they supposed to be the little kid's bodyguards?

But what did Henry do?

She pulled out the knife from my thigh and stabbed it into my other thigh.

"You don't know what he actually does behind your back, do you?" She sneered. "But that's no excuse for you to bring him within Master's vicinity."

"Wha… What does he do?" I breathed, trying to stall for time. I'm so close to slipping my hand out of the bindings now, I just need a few more seconds!

She pulled out the knife and ran the blade across my cheek, smearing it with my blood while she looked at me with what could have been a mix of pity and disgust.

"No need to worry your little head over it. You won't leave here alive after--"

Now!

The right hand I freed immediately sailed towards her head in a haymaker, only for a sharp pain to travel up from my wrist.

"Still struggling I see..." She scoffed, pushing my hand away with the knife that she had used to impale my wrist with. "Such idiocy… As expected of someone like you, I suppose."

My left hand went up to make a grab for her throat but was stopped by her other hand grabbing my wrist.

She immediately twisted her hand, snapping my wrist with an audible crack and forcing me to tumble onto the ground to writhe in agony.

"Ahahaha! You think I was that easy, did you? Did you think I was like those weak little girls you took advantage of?"

She slammed her foot down on my head, silencing my cries of pain.

"I admit, I was like them once… But Master had given me new life and I have been reborn! With this power that Master had bestowed upon me, I am powerless no more to pieces of trash like you!"

She kicked me in the chest, sending me skidding all the way to the other side of the room.

I felt a few of my ribs crack from the impact alone, she was definitely not an ordinary human.

"Your death is all but assured... " She stated as a matter of factly. "But I think I'll take my time with when that will actually come to pass."

A single golden flame lit up on the tip of her index finger.

Despite the heat that it was emanating, a cold shiver went down my spine.

"What… What do you intend to do with me?" I asked.

"Hmm? Did I already not mention it?" She smiled ominously at me. "You are going to die painfully for me."

She advanced on me with slow deliberate steps, her smile still on her face.