Vol. 2 Chapter 5: Consequences

***The OyasumiSe7en dormitory...***

Once she was alone, Alice would occasionally check her phone and browse online...

"..."

There was a bunch of unread notifications showing on her screen, though she ignored those and continued scrolling. She already set her notification settings to never bother her, but the messages still got through. It only meant that those were sent to her personal inbox.

'We heard that you are in Manila, Klubnika? Are you trying to apply to Lady Henrietta's party? Why don't you just hang out with us? I know a good place if you're horny enough.'

'I saw you last time walking with a newbie? Is it a new target? How much is he paying you? Can I hook up with you tonight?'

'Slut! You should be ashamed of yourself for even touching Lady Henrietta's shadow!'

The brawler could only sigh in exasperation. And to think, these people once looked up to her...

How did it come to this?

Alice wanted to cry, though she couldn't shed a tear. Her family, a prominent but close-knit Russian family of mages that excelled in earth-based spells, taught her not to cry in front of problems. Instead, with her abilities and skills, she should press forward—like a tank—until a solution was reached.

So, she adopted their 'direct' approach to any situation, which inadvertently led to problems as well...

"We don't want to party with you!"

"Your skills are good, no, excellent! You also got a pretty face. But Alice, no one needs your opinion. Maybe you should fix that mouth of yours before considering joining any group."

"You're quite rude for a green adventurer."

The brawler's memories of when she started as an adventurer flashed through her mind, as if she was watching a movie. Back then, no one wanted to take her because many of those adventurers—though they hid their names—were also the kids she grew up with in her elementary school in suburban Moscow. They knew of her flaws, the biggest of which was her 'rude' mouth.

Since no one partied with her, Alice was forced to limit her questing options to raiding dungeons meant for green adventurers. The weeks and months she spent clearing those dungeons gave her the experience and skills to move up, however, she had to remain a green rank because requirements say at least two people were needed enter higher dungeon levels. After months of being stuck, Alice considered quitting.

However, one day...

"Is there anyone who wants to party up with Earth's one and only goddess?"

The awkward silence around the recruiting office of Moscow's Adventurers' Agency was deafening. On one of the tables stood a blonde girl with a huge, confident smile on her face, wearing an elegant Victorian-style dress, and spoke Russian with an obvious French accent. Beside her, standing on the floor, was a dark-haired Asian boy who was a bit older, and obviously embarrassed at his companion's antics.

"Come on! I got huge respect for Russian bravery! And my fledgling party needs brave people! Join me, and we will conquer the Seven Dangerous Dungeons within months!"

That statement of hers was met with laughter.

"I know that cute French chick's crazy, but to claim she'll clear those dungeons within months? Man, she's nuts!"

"Westerners like her are really quite arrogant and naïve."

"Heh, that poor Asian guy with her looks like he wants to die on the spot!"

Alice was bewildered at that girl's antics, though she was fascinated at the same time. The foreigner didn't care if she was labeled as 'crazy'; she would say and do as she please.

"Damn it!" the girl muttered as an employee of the agency pulled her down. "These Russians are so grim and serious!"

"Come on, Tenma," the Asian boy took his hand. "We should look in other branches!"

"W-Wait!"

The adventurers stopped and looked at Alice. It was the blonde girl who took an interest in her. "Are you the Russian who's going to join us?"

"Eh? Uh..." Alice was surprised at the direct question. Nervous, she just nodded; she worried that she might stammer.

"Ah! See, Yukie? Not all hope is lost!" the blonde girl gleefully teased her Asian companion before turning back to her. "Yeah, we'll take you. I also like your strawberry-colored hair, so that's a plus."

When she realized what just happened, Alice told them, "Are you sure? B-But, I have a rude personality!"

"If you're rude, then what do you call me?" the French laughed.

The boy finally talked to her. "It's fine. The fact that you're telling us that aspect of yours is already a good sign we're going to get along. Just...don't mind Tenma. She's our team leader and keeps on pestering me to recruit a Russian to our party."

"I just want to form my personal security council, just like the UN!" Tenma countered.

-----

Now that she realized it, OyasumiSe7en was the only party where she got along with its members, no matter how severe their bickering got, and led to that infamous fight in the Antarctic and subsequent disbanding. They all had their quirks and flaws, yet not even once they were afraid to show it. Everyone just understood and adapted to it. And Alice had a good time during her stint...

The next ones were just...hell.

After Oyasumi went separate ways, she tried joining other parties, which always started well. After all, minding her mouth, Alice was careful not to let her 'rude' personality out.

"I'm Klubnika, platinum rank. Nice to meet everyone!"

"Oh! So we got a platinum rank? This is cool! Now we can advance our ranks by learning from her!"

With the same enthusiasm she displayed while in Oyasumi, and a new purpose to help her fellow adventurers, Alice used her experiences and mastery of magic made her new party lead in local agency rankings. Her teammates also benefitted from her expertise, which contributed greatly to their rank promotions.

But not everything was rosy...

"That's a stupid tactic! Don't be an idiot; destroy your enemies from afar! What is the use of your gun?"

"I said you will defend this point of the dungeon. Whatever is in your head is certainly not a brain! God, can't anyone just follow the fucking instructions I gave? We'll all die with your ideas!"

"If you can't take my opinions, fine! I'm quitting this party of morons, effective immediately."

Looking back, Alice admitted to herself she had been rude, though she tried to push her new teammates to excel. After all, dungeon dives could be unforgiving; one mistake, and everyone dies. Temaire, Yuuki, and her other Oyasumi teammates were so accepting that she forgot to 'adapt' to other people. Nevertheless, with her frequent change of parties and bad nature of separation, the damage had unknowingly been done...

"Klubnika? No! Fuck, not her! She's a slut! She keeps on changing parties because no one can satisfy her!"

"Oh yeah, about that, the other party says she tried seducing their leader because many of their members don't want her in their party."

"Oi, have you heard? The party Klubnika recently joined suddenly disbanded! The slut spells disaster wherever she goes!"

At first, Alice tried to fight against the rumors, to no avail. Perhaps she made lots of hidden enemies that they kept making stories about her. Unable to take the treatment, she switched to Asia, where few adventurers knew her reputation...save for her days in Oyasumi.

And it was in China that she was reunited with Rico...

-----

Alice thought she could escape the reputation of Klubnika but going to the Philippines, but again, it was all in vain. Now, more than her own, she was worried about her friends in Oyasumi. They needed new members, and if everyone learned that Klubnika was one of the members, what would the rest think of her teammates?

She never wanted Temaire to do that Moscow stunt again, though she gets on her nerves at times. Alice still sees the rotten croissant as her close friend.

"Don't worry, the feeling is mutual."

"!!!" The brawler nearly screamed as she heard Temaire's voice behind her.

"You're saying your thoughts out loud," the team leader pointed out. "What, you think you're still alone?"

Alice paused for a few seconds, then said to her, "I...I'm sorry for earlier."

"No, I should be the one to apologize," Temaire insisted. "And no, Yuuki didn't force me to do this; I've been insensitive. So please, I take back what I said. Don't leave us."

"I won't." The brawler smiled and reached out to her team leader. Temaire said nothing, though she took the handshake.

Then Alice looked at the clock...

"Aren't you guys returning to training? We scheduled one 'till 4 p.m., right?"

"Yeah, but I have to call Maman immediately. I need help about my husband."

"Huh? Yuuki? What happened to him?"

"He beat up some rude idiots in the elevator," Temaire revealed with a nasty smirk on her lips. "I mean, if I was him, I might've murdered them as well. I don't like anyone saying bad things about my friends."

"Eh?"

"You just gotta love him! My husband won't let anyone sully the honor of his loved ones...and that includes his Russian lover, you."

-----

**Yuuki**

The incident at the elevator spread around the Adventurers' Agency like wildfire. What was worse was that, while the CCTV camera recorded everything that happened, there was no audio to fully reveal our conversation inside the elevator. As such, the platinum adventurers involved were able to obtain a copy of the footage and spread it online to make it appear I was the aggressive guy. It didn't do my side any good that they were also members of the all-boys adventurer party, ChasseursAlpins.

Yeah, I did hear of them before. They are famous adventurers from Europe, though I never cared much about them since I thought I was already retired.

Lady Yanari shook her head as the recording finished playing. They've been investigating this incident for days now, and as a standard operating procedure, I was suspended while waiting for the verdict. What I did was a major violation of one of the rules of the agency, and I faced possible 'dismissal' should I lose this.

Seated across me inside the secretary's office were my 'victims,' call sign 'Steve' and call sign 'Tenda.' It was easy to remember them both; the former had black hair, a chiseled jawline, and blue eyes that made him attract fans in the adventuring world. The latter had a blond hair, soft features akin to a 'gentle bishounen,' and was a bit taller than Steve. Both had AWS roles in their previous party, and the sons from prominent mage families. It came as no surprise to me that they used all their 'daddy and mommy' powers just to demand a 'duel' against me—an ordinaria porter, seeking vengeance for the humiliation they suffered.

But the elf lady was having none of it.

"It is written in the policies of the Adventurers' Agency that no adventurer shall lift a finger against his/her fellow adventurers, even if the purpose is to duel," she reiterated, never taking her eyes off me. "It also applies to your conduct, Mister Yuuki."

"I understand, and I claim responsibility for what happened." In the background, however, Lady Yanari and Lady Menea already knew the true circumstances that led to the incident. They were wind elves, and could read anyone's thoughts, aside from me narrating my side. And it was a good call we had Temaire kept away from her office. These two bastards would be red mists by now had they faced my childhood friend's wrath. Still, though I got my own 'powerful backer,' I'd like to solve this problem I created myself, so I'd trust the process.

"We demand that this adventurer publicly apologize to us and pay our medical bills!"

"I can and I will pay your expenses," I declared. "But a public apology—hell, even a private one—is a tall order. You are rude to my companion, you suffer humiliation!"

"Mister Steve and Mister Tenda," Lady Yanari intervened. "Maybe we can agree at least on the medical bills. Again, our policies state that no one will attack another adventurer; you insulted Miss Klubnika, Mister Yuuki attacks you. I think both parties are on the erring side."

"You don't understand the severity of the injuries we suffered, milady!" Tenda pointed to his 'pretty' face, where a large blue patch on his cheek was clearly visible. "My father is fuming when he saw this! He is a member of the House of Peers in the U.K.; we will make sure to raise this issue with the director of the Asian region of the Adventurers' Agency, should you allow that violent ordinaria a light punishment!"

"Again, I appeal that we do not escalate—"

"It's either a duel, or this insolent fool quits," Steve stepped in to back his friend. "He won't apologize, and we can't force him to. So, we give him these options."

Can't force me, huh? So, this is not yet 'forcing?'

The elf lady fell silent. Trapped in the maze of bureaucracy and patronage politics, Lady Yanari could not bail me out of the pinch, which was the ideal result for her, and also for my companions. However, to me, it was fine. I got a better idea in mind.

"Well then, milady, since we have come to this..." I took out a folded paper from my uniform and put it on the elf lady's table. "Here's my resignation letter, effective immediately."

The two idiots triumphantly smiled. I mean, they already planned something, and I played directly into their trap. Again, policies said no fighting between adventurers; it didn't include fighting between adventurers and civilians.

My resignation just removed all those clauses that protects me...

"So, you just signed your death warrant," Steve declared. "Okay then, Mister Yuuki, since you're no longer an adventurer, I challenge you to a duel in the training room."

"Ever better," I kept my composure, though inside I was already raging with excitement. "I demand that every adventurer in this building watch, stream, or record this fight!"

The two morons balked at my suggestion and quickly looked at Lady Yanari for her opinion. But, as she had already 'lost' control with the escalation, the elf lady silently approved of my demand. Of course, I didn't miss the opportunity to goad them into agreeing...

"What? Chickening out? You're afraid that an ordinaria will beat your magic ass so hard for everyone to see?"

That surely ticked them. Slamming their hands on the table, Steve shouted, "Ooh, come on then! Let's do this, green boy!"

-----

Our history lessons back in high school taught us that in old times, there only was one type of human, that was, the humans that couldn't use magic; the so-called 'ordinaria' today. There was the concept of magic, yet, but in reality, those were just 'sleights' of hand, or hallucinations from people exposed to substances, or they got involved in an accident.

Nevertheless, everything changed during the 16th century. Back in those days in the Kingdom of England, John Dee, a famous court astronomer and advisor to the queen, Elizabeth I, accidentally opened a portal into the land of the elves, Alfheim. A bloody war ravaged that world, forcing mass migrations of elves to various part their land. And seeking to escape death and destruction, they eventually 'crossed' into Earth. With the appearance of elves, they also brought with them what humans called 'true magic,' or nowadays, simply 'magic.'

Seeing the possible benefits of learning true magic, England granted asylum to the fleeing elves, settling them all over the country. By the time the English Civil War erupted, there were at least hundreds of 'isolated' elvish communities all over the kingdom. The elves kept to themselves at first, being loyal subjects of the king because they see the royalty as their saviors. But the Puritan persecutions eventually forced them to 'open up' and migrate to other places, first to France, and then scattering all over Europe and the entire world. Humans intermarried with them, with the unions producing children who could use magic, thus, the emergence of the first mages into the pages of history.

From these first mages came the exclusive magic houses—families and clans that dedicated their entire existence to the mastery of at least one of the five magic types, resulting in one of the most abusive and stupid systems in existence, the Society of Mages.

"..."

Any case, the news that a former green band adventurer accepting a duel against a pair of platinum bands was a big curiosity, and it certainly hyped the crowd. The excitement was made worse by the fact that I was an ordinaria, and my enemies were mages from prominent magic houses in Europe (they didn't even bother to hide it). Everyone just couldn't believe that a bloke like me would survive a fight against these idiots, but they were in attendance just to see how I would run once magic spells began raining on me.

The bet choices aren't about me and my mage enemies, it is more on how many minutes will I last in the fight...

"..."

Yeah, they really expected I won't win...

Among the crowd watching us were my former Oyasumi teammates, especially Alice. Hidden in the technician's room, Rico helped me prepare for the fight, while the brawler pleaded for me to stop. By then, she didn't care if she was seen around by the others; Alice just wanted to 'support' me, at the very least, though she did continue on persuading. She even offered her resignation in return, but no...this had become personal for me.

"They insulted you," I told her when she pitched her idea once again. "I can't let it pass."

"Temaire," she pleaded to my childhood friend when she couldn't convince me. "Please help me dissuade him!"

My childhood friend turned her back; if anything, she was the most adamant in letting me participate in this duel. But I did explain to her my motivations...she couldn't do anything to change my mind. "Yuuki's already old enough to know the consequences of his actions." Nevertheless, I could see the handle of her wand peeking through her sleeves, ready to pull it out anytime. Rico also had her hand on her pistol...

Maybe I should ask them to keep distance for the meantime.

On the other side, Steve and Tenda were joined by their former teammates, including their leader, Eodvig24. Behind them were their own set of fans, swooning over their idols and sending curses to me. While the moronic pair were on edge, excited to murder me with their magic, Eodvig actually went to my side and extended his hand once he saw me enter the simulation area...

"Mister Yuuki?"

"Mister Eodvig," I took his handshake.

"I heard what happened, and let me be clear, they are our teammates, but I do not condone what they did to you and Miss Klubnika."

"It's fine, you're good in my books." I mean, it was pretty impressive of him to see my reason instead of blindly believing his friends.

"Let me also tell you that I admire your courage to stand for what is right, even though you're only a green adventurer. You're more of a knight that I am!"

Yeah, I think I'll like this guy.

Nevertheless, I knew Eodvig could do nothing to stop this duel, no matter how rosy his words were. The brats already invoked their parents' influences, and even if Eodvig was the son of an elf king, or a member of human royal families, once a member of the 'magic houses' threw a tantrum, satisfying their demands was the only thing that could stop them.

Yeah, fucking retards acting like we still are in the Middle Ages...