Chapter 43

A month has passed since the attempted human trafficking incident.

The city, having chewed over the incident to the point of exhaustion, discarded it like a piece of gum with no flavor left and went in search of new gossip.

In other words, it finally meant that the time for Amon to act had come.

“Shall we go to the dungeon to catch some skeletons~”

Humming, Amon headed towards the Explorer’s Guild for the first time in a while.

Beside him, Cash swayed her black hair to the rhythm.

Originally, Amon was supposed to gain enough dungeon experience before she joined, but due to a streak of bad luck, it had already been two months.

At this rate, it seemed like she might never get to see a dungeon in her lifetime, so she just joined in.

The two opened the door to the Explorer’s Guild and entered.

The adventurers inside, already familiar with Amon, paid him no attention.

Instead, they were interested in Cash, who had followed him.

However, their interest in her was slightly different from what they had shown towards Amon.

Amon, who wore a helmet during his adventurer activities, received more attention for his equipment than his appearance, but Cash was different.

The men’s gazes first went to her perky chest.

Following the sway of her chest as she walked, their eyes moved down to her slim waist and then to her healthy, wide hips.

After admiring her thick thighs that came with her wide hips, they finally paid attention to her face.

Their gazes were fixed on the black-haired, red-eyed beauty.

“Oh.”

Someone let out a gasp.

There was no need to ask why.

She was aware of the gazes directed at her.

But she didn’t really care.

It was a gaze she often felt at the Mercenary Agency.

There was no reason to feel intimidated.

She confidently followed Amon to the reception desk.

Upon arriving at the reception desk, Amon immediately started looking for a party for Cash as well.

“Party matching request… huh?”

Amon, who was about to request a match as usual, had to stop mid-sentence.

The receptionist’s face looked familiar.

Wondering if he was mistaken, Amon tilted his head to check her name tag.

Reina.

She was the Elf Mage who had played the role of the Queen Bee in the trash party last time.

Why was she working as a receptionist here?

As if reading Amon’s thoughts from his expression, the Elf gave a bitter smile and spoke.

“You’re alive.”

“You too.”

“You’re wondering why I’m here, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I quit being a mercenary.”

“…Why?”

“Because of Paul.”

“Ah…”

With that short word, Amon understood most of the situation.

In this city, the Paul incident was nothing more than entertainment, but for those who were in that party, it was different.

The fact that there was a human trafficker in their party could easily lead to PTSD.

Moreover, with the news that the party leader Humph and his brother had already been wiped out, the shock was doubled.

Someone like Amon, who had a clear dream, wouldn’t be shaken by this level of shock, but for someone who was just doing mercenary work to make a living, it was unbearable.

“I thought about it, and no matter how much I thought, I realized that mercenary work just wasn’t for me.”

So she quit being a mercenary.

Fortunately, she had a knack for being a receptionist.

She had a decent face and the kind of conversational skills that could charm men in a party, so becoming a receptionist wasn’t difficult.

As a result, she had been sitting at the reception desk every day since two weeks before Amon returned to the Explorer’s Guild.

Hearing her story, Amon naturally became curious about the other party members.

“Ktal? Kter? What about him?”

“Keital.”

“Ah, right, him.”

He was the Orc Tanker of the trash party.

A trash tanker who didn’t even protect the rear and charged into enemy lines.

Instead of answering, the Elf Mage pointed to a corner of the tavern.

The Orc was diligently assisting the chef.

“Unexpected.”

He thought the guy wouldn’t even be shocked after this incident, still talking about men and all, but surprisingly, he retired cleanly.

“Contrary to what he said, he was quite a sensitive guy.”

The Elf Mage also nodded in agreement.

At the same time, she subtly showed Amon the ring on her left ring finger.

The Orc Tanker in the kitchen was also wearing the same ring.

“Ah, I see. Congratulations.”

Erasing a fanfiction that naturally came to mind, Amon sincerely congratulated her.

At the same time, he sighed in relief at the news of the Elf Mage and Orc Tanker.

‘At least they didn’t die.’

It was true that they were trash, and they were frustrating enough to want to kill, but that didn’t mean they deserved to die.

It was unfortunate about Humph and his brother, but at least it was a relief that these two were safe.

Amon sincerely congratulated the Elf Mage on her new life and finally brought up the main topic.

“People behind us are waiting, so let’s keep the story short.”

“Ah, right. You need a party match, right? With the lady behind you?”

“Got it in one.”

“Of course. You’re obviously the Frontline Attacker… what about the lady behind you?”

The Elf Mage… no, now Elf Receptionist Reina tilted her head and made eye contact with Cash.

Cash took out the spear she was carrying on her back and said,

“Frontline Attacker. Spear Master.”

“Ah…”

The Elf Receptionist made a somewhat awkward expression upon hearing Cash’s words.

“It might be harder to match than I thought.”

Hearing the Elf Receptionist’s words, Amon asked,

“Why?”

“There are two Frontline Attackers. Will there be a party willing to take that?”

“Is there a problem? Is there a reason why two Frontline Attackers can’t be in a party?”

“It’s not absolutely impossible. It’s just a matter of efficiency.”

The ideal formation in the dungeon Amon was heading to was Tanker, Warrior, Rifle Gunner, Machine Gunner, and Mage.

That made five.

As long as these five positions were filled, it didn’t matter how many people there were.

The problem was distribution.

If what five people had to distribute became six, then the share would inevitably decrease.

So usually, only one person per position was taken.

“Parties going deep into the dungeon sometimes take multiple people for the same position if needed, but you’re probably just starting out, right?”

“Right.”

“Starting out is sensitive to distribution. There probably won’t be many people willing to take you.”

Amon was caught in an unexpected and awkward situation.

“What do we do…”

A few ideas came to mind.

Taking only one share between her and Amon.

But that couldn’t go on forever, so it was dismissed.

The most realistic method was for Amon to act as the Tanker and her as the Attacker.

But this method also had its problems.

‘Too unstable.’

Reality isn’t a game.

Putting a Warrior in the Tanker position would make it too aggressive, like a glass cannon.

It would be like walking a tightrope with their lives on the line.

So Amon was a bit hesitant about this method as well.

In this situation, the Elf Receptionist offered him a new alternative.

“How about gathering people who can’t find a party like you and forming a party? Most of them are people who were rejected, so even if there are six, they’ll accept.”

Hearing this, Amon’s expression twisted.

Because it was the same suggestion the receptionist he met last time had made.

At the time, he naturally thought that people rejected by parties must have problems, so he refused.

But soon, his face relaxed.

‘Thinking about it, the place I ended up joining was the trash party.’

Thinking about it, there was no guarantee that even if he found a party the normal way, it wouldn’t be a trash party.

‘Besides, assuming that everyone who was rejected has problems might be a stretch.’

Here was a perfectly fine example of someone who was rejected: himself.

Maybe the people who couldn’t find a party were actually decent people.

Amon quickly made a decision.

“Then do that.”

After all, Amon had already experienced the worst trash party.

He didn’t think he would face anything worse than that.

The Elf Receptionist nodded and started forming the party.

Soon, a six-person party was formed.

One Tanker, one Rifle Gunner, one Machine Gunner, and one Mage.

And two Warriors: Amon and Cash, making it a very aggressive party.

The members introduced themselves.

“I’m Torso. As you can see, I’m a Water Buffalo Beastman.”

[Is this the kind of atmosphere where we have to mention our race? I’m just a regular human, Bens. I’ve had these kinds of surgeries.]

“Vox! I’m an Ogre! Sorry for the weird way of talking! I’m good with a machine gun!”

“Hen. Like Bens, I’m human. I can do both attack and support magic.”

The introductions went smoothly.

Afterwards, Amon and Cash also introduced themselves, and it was soon time to choose the party leader.

“Now, let’s choose the party leader…”

Before Amon could finish, the group’s gazes turned to him.

It was unanimous, except for Amon.

Without needing a vote, he became the party leader.

With the introductions done, it was time to head to the dungeon.

‘This is too smooth.’

Amon’s numerous experiences told him.

Usually, the world seems to flow smoothly like this, only to suddenly hit you hard from behind.

Whether there was a problem with the party itself, or something would happen later, or an external problem would arise.

Somehow, it felt like something was going to happen.

Moreover…

– ‘Surely it can’t be worse than the trash party.’

He had also set up a huge flag.

With that thought, Amon’s vigilance reached its peak.

From the moment they headed to the dungeon entrance with the party, he heightened his tension.

He speculated about all possible situations that could occur during this exploration.

Would it be a backstab like Paul this time, or would Scavengers appear?

Maybe they would be teleported by a trap at the dungeon entrance, or encounter an ultra-rare wandering mid-boss that hadn’t been discovered yet.

A Ninja could appear and massacre them.

The possibilities were endless.

Amon explored the dungeon, prepared for all these situations.

Even when they encountered the first group of monsters,

Even when they defeated the monsters with excellent teamwork despite it being their first time,

Even when they smoothly defeated the subsequent monsters, Amon remained constantly suspicious.

The suspicion continued until the exploration was over.

Meanwhile, Cash made a suggestion.

“Our teamwork was great today, so how about we just make this a fixed party?”

Everyone agreed to her suggestion.

Amon agreed with Cash’s words but remained constantly suspicious.

Even when the party distributed today’s share of the reward, he was suspicious, and he was still suspicious on the way home, and even when he opened the door to his house.

His suspicion continued until the next day.

But even after waking up, nothing happened.

Even after sending Sonia to school, nothing happened.

Only then did Amon mutter to himself in the empty house.

“Seriously. Why did I win!?”

Surprisingly, his party this time was a jackpot.

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