New Party Member: The Golden Peddler

Walking.

Excited. To discern the air of this world.

The City of Barberella didn’t have a walled fortress or even a wooden palisade. But it had the duke’s castle and the hill on one side as the fortress. And on the other side, there was a port. So anybody on the hill could have a nice sight when there was sunset. And Barberella was known for its strong naval and powerful duchy. Thus, it already had a fortress of soldiers.

Kousuke and Arabella walked down to the city. As a commercial hub with international banking and hundreds of foreign artisans and merchants, some people didn’t recognize Arabella or what her father did for the citizens of Barberella. Thus some people bowed, and the rest didn’t.

They walked on one of the major paved roads there. There were two major roads that crossed at the center of the city and made a cross if one looked at it from the hill. It was Barberella’s influence. “Barberella” was also the name of the previous Saintess of Sail, and she had influenced the city for centuries.

Therefore, it wasn’t strange there was one glistening church and a prison for heretics near the coast. The church was grandeur because people believed that the Saintess would give her blessing in proportion to how people honored her.

“What are we going to do again?” Kousuke asked in the midst of dung, vendors’ cries, and farm animals just like in a typical medieval city or town. However, in Astarthe Online, there were also cat people sleeping over the houses illegally. And even dragons that flew over some regions.

“Registering for an adventuring license,” Arabella replied, while she avoided dung like a professional. “Do you want to be treated as a slave outside this kingdom? No? Then we need that metal license since we are not mercenaries either.”

“Crap!” Kousuke stepped on dung.

Finally, they arrived at a two-stories guild hall. Entering the lobby, Kousuke saw a bunch of people on the right side who scanned job opportunities on a wide wooden board. And a bunch of people who drank on the left side and sat on stools. Kousuke also realized someone wore breast armor, which seemed useless.

On the other end, there was a row of long tables, which separated the area for the guild officers and the adventurers. The guild officers were busy guiding the adventurers, and one officer caught Kousuke’s eyes.

Felis Laurier, the sharp-tongued guild chief. One beta tester was crying because of her remark and staying in his bedroom for days, although she was only an NPC, not a real person.

Just in case, let me prepare my mental and do advance censorship.

Felis wore a small green top hat, a green naval uniform, and rectangular eyeglasses. On top of that, her hair was black, straight, and long, so she looked like those serious and cold anime characters. For some reason, she had so much NSFW fan art probably because many players were pissed off and wanted to do something to her. But alas, she was just 2D.

“Good morning. We want to register as an adventurer,” Arabella said when she arrived in front of Felis.

Felis was still writing something, and she said, “State your name and profession.”

“Arabella Dekever. A mage.”

Felis halted her quill pen. She raised her chin and looked at Arabella. After she recognized who was talking to her, she stood up, bowed, and raised her voice, but not hastily. “Felis Laurier greets the daughter of the esteemed Lord Dekever, Arabella Dekever.”

The other guild officers also stood up and greeted Arabella. Some adventurers smiled and raised their cups as their greeting. Those adventurers were drunk, looked rowdy and muscular, but still gave their respect too.

Arabella waved her hand. Yes, she was a refined person, but some citizens thought she was arrogant. But for Kousuke, who had been a weeb, she was hot that way, so it didn’t matter.

Felis sat and wrote Arabella’s information on a parchment. Then she stared at Kousuke who still wore his strange, dirty ghillie suit. Thus, she formed an assumption that Kousuke was a beggar. “Name. And profession.”

“Durant Deroulade. A sniper,” Kousuke replied.

Felis furrowed her brow. “Sniper?”

Kousuke imitated guns with his thumbs and index fingers. And directed them at Felis. “Pew! Pew!” he said.

“Pew Pew?”

“Yes! Pew! Pew!”

Felis looked at her parchment and wrote Kousuke’s profession as “Dumbass”.

“Hey! Lady Felis. I’m not a dumbass!”

Felis halted her pen again, raised her chin, and glared at Kousuke. “We, the adventurer guilds, have centuries of experience in dungeons and monster annihilations. We noted, and tested, what kind of profession can save people and what kind of training those professions need.

And we share those common and acceptable practices here. We welcome new professions and what it takes to be good in those professions. However, you @#$%^. @#$%^. @#$%^ die.”

Oof! Oof! OOF!

SAVAGE!

I’m glad I already turned on the censorship!

“Don’t worry. Whatever we do to him, it won’t threaten him,” Arabella said. It seemed she tried to lessen the pain in Kousuke’s fragile heart. But at the same time, she didn’t want to be hostile toward Felis because Felis was right. “[Air Cut].”

“Guaaagh!!” Kousuke was pushed away, and he hit the wall. The bump was so loud.

Felis stood up and bent her body to peek at Kousuke and saw there was no blood. “[Javelin Thrust],” Felis said and directed her hand at Kousuke. A blinding spear was formed in the air. Then that spear thrust Kousuke and bent his body. But it couldn’t pierce him or make him bleed.

“I see what you mean, my lady,” Felis said and calmly observed Kousuke.

“And he is indeed a dumbass,” Arabella added. Then Arabella and Felis looked at each other and smiled.

Kousuke then looked at his surroundings and noticed that some adventures smiled at him, cracked their knuckles, and walked toward him.

Wait... wait, WAIT!

He realized that he made the ENTIRE guild members offended by his antic. And one adventurer straightened his pants (but why??) and also walked toward Kousuke. Kousuke knew what was going to happen, and thus he hugged himself and spoke in Japanese but with a weird accent to give a certain impression:

“Yamete!”

He became a punchbag, a lab rat.

After some minutes, Kousuke and Arabella walked on the paved road again.

“Isn’t it nice, now you are called the Saint of Immunity?” Arabella smiled and asked. To cheer up Kousuke.

“Hah... a sniper is such a cool profession in Japan!” Kousuke replied.

“But we don’t know about that, my fiance.”

“Yeah, I understand,” his eyes darted to a vendor. “Oh, right, let me buy something. It’s very crucial for my fragile weapon, that weapon which I held when I met you for the first time. It’s called a rifle.”

There was a crimson-haired woman with a braided ponytail who slept over her big and round brown bag. Yes, her body made a curve, and she also made that big anime mucus with her nose when anime characters slept.

“Wake up, peddler. I need to buy something,” Kousuke said and shook that woman’s body.

“Huh?” That woman jolted and wiped her nose. “Sorry, Sir Buyer! I was sleep-deprived!”

“You are Adelina Gerhard, right?” Kousuke asked.

“Huh? Am I famous?” Adelina said.

In the future. Yes. You appeared randomly for a limited time and sold overpowered items. Players went crazy for you!

“Yeah, I heard about you and your super rare items.”

Adelina rubbed the back of her head and laughed, “Ehehehe... thanks. So, what do you want to buy, Sir Buyer?”

Kousuke made a circle with his left thumb and index finger, and he was about to pierce that circle with his right index finger.

Smack!

Arabella hit the back of Kousuke’s head. “Aw! WHY,” Kousuke protested.

“Don’t be horny,” Arabella said.

“What? No! The item doesn’t have a name yet, but it works like that. I’m sure she gets it!”

“Yes, my lady! I understand what item he is looking for!” Adelina stuck her arm into her big bag and took a golden bracelet.

“Oh my. Is that my dower?” Arabella commented. “I’m glad you prepare something other than grass.”

“Nah, that’s for my rifle,” Kousuke answered.

Smack!

“WHY?!” he got hit again.

“Don’t mind me,” Arabella said.

“Send that bracelet to the Duchy, Adelina, this person is Arabella Dekever, the duke’s daughter.”

Adelina panicked and stood up to bow. “Excuse my rudeness, my lady!”

“It’s okay. That was this dumbass’ fault,” Arabella responded and glanced at Kousuke.

“Oh, by the way. Would you like to join us? We are going to go to that floating island,” Kousuke offered. “Who knows we find some good, rare items for you. We also need that infinite bag of yours.”

Adelina jolted. She was about to cry. But then she made a bright face and said, “Really?”