Chapter 38: That Should Have Been Me!
"We’re still heading for the Bantaro Farm, right?" Lumien asked softly, his gaze fixed on Azalea’s back. She was now draped in a rough, ragged cloak—an unusual sight for someone who typically wore the elegant, noble attire befitting her status.
She had bought the cloak on their way after realizing her appearance was far too eye-catching and caught a lot of unnecessary attention. Not wanting the situation to turn for worse and end up disrupting their peaceful ride, she had stopped by a street vendor and purchased two sets—one for herself and one for Lumien.
Now that they had resumed their journey, he noticed something odd—Azalea wasn’t heading toward the city’s exit gate. Instead, she seemed to be taking a different route.
"That’s right," she confirmed.
"Then why does it feel like we’re heading deeper into the city instead? Did you, by any chance, lose your way? I once heard that women are terrible with directio—"
He abruptly cut himself off, realizing he was about to step into a dangerous zone.
Azalea’s head turned slightly, her crimson eyes narrowing as she flashed him a smile that wasn’t quite a smile at the same time. A chill ran down Lumien’s spine despite the scorching sun overhead.
"Lumien," she said sweetly, "I see getting healthier has made you a bit bolder and such a talker. I’m not sure whether that’s a good change or not."
Lumien gulped, wisely deciding to keep his mouth shut and praying she wouldn’t push the matter further.
Thankfully, after a brief yet dreadful silence, Azalea continued as if nothing had happened. "Anyway, I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone. Since we’re heading to Bantaro Farm to test your abilities on living targets, why not take on a quest while we’re at it? That’s why we’re stopping by the Adventurer’s Guild first—to see if there are any quests available near the farm’s outskirts."
Lumien heaved a sigh of relief and blinked in surprise. "Wait... you’re an adventurer?"
"Yes, surprising, isn’t it? Please, keep this a secret. Even Mother and Father don’t know about it. For your information, I joined the Adventurer’s Guild not long after I awakened as an Ascendant, so, that would be around less two years ago. Then, about six months ago, I officially became a Silver-Rank Adventurer after completing a number of quests. Pretty amazing, right?"
Her tone carried a hint of pride and self-satisfaction as if expecting some praises.
But Lumien’s focus wasn’t on that. Instead, his mind caught onto something else. "Silver Rank? That means you’ve completed a lot of quests. Were they dangerous? Did anything ever happen to you?"
Azalea let out a light scoff, trying to sound nonchalant, though her lips curved into a pleasant smile. "Do I look like someone who’s struggled or looks like troubled these past two years? I’ve been perfectly fine the whole time, haven’t I?"
Lumien hesitated before muttering, "Still... that doesn’t mean you weren’t in danger before."
"Well, thank you for your concern, Little Brother. But really, I’m fine. Bronze-Rank quests aren’t that dangerous—at least from my experience. Of course, there are casualties among Bronze-Rank adventurers, but mostly because they’re reckless fools who overestimate themselves, thinking they can handle more than they actually can."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "For example, there was a five-member party back in our hometown that nearly got wiped out. Out of five people, only two survived."
Lumien’s brows furrowed. "What happened?"
"They were overconfident and took on a quest meant for Silver-Rank adventurers and above. I heard their deaths were... gruesome. According to the report, they attempted to clear a goblin cave, but their warrior—who wielded a greatsword—couldn’t even swing properly in the narrow tunnels. He was the first to fall. Then, the party’s female mage was brutally rap..."
Azalea spent the next stretch of their journey recounting the full story, to which in between storytelling, Lumien had to stop her in order for his mind to recover from what he just listened to and digested.
"Thankfully, a Gold-Rank adventurer happened to be nearby," she continued. "Apparently, he has an obsession with slaying goblins and always takes on quests related to them. Though he arrived late, he managed to rescue the last two survivors."
She sighed. "From what I heard, one of them ended up being admitted to the Church of Grace and Blessings for recovery—her condition can only be described as severe. The other, luckily only suffered some mild depression, later recovered, and eventually formed a party with the Gold-Rank adventurer who saved her."
"In the beginning, the Guild wanted to suppress the details of the incident. But after some discussion, they decided to make the report public, probably for a reminder or warning, specifically for all rookie adventurers. The message was: recklessness and arrogance often lead to meaningless deaths." she explained.
Before Lumien could dwell further on the story, Azalea’s voice pulled him back to reality.
"Anyway, we’ve arrived."
He instinctively looked up and saw a two-story large building. A large wooden sign was crafted above the entrance, bold letters carved into the grain:
"Adventurer Guild."
His gaze then shifted toward the entrance, where people streamed in and out constantly. Unlike the city residents he had seen so far, every single person here was armed—equipped with weapons or armor as if ready for battle.
Some wore heavy plate armor, swords sheathed at their waists. Others were dressed in flowing robes, complete with pointed hats, and wands. A few carried bows strapped to their backs.
The sheer variety of appearances, weapons, and gear made Lumien feel as though he had stepped into an entirely different world.
Then, a realization dawned upon him. Compared to these people, he and Azalea, dressed in their plain, ragged cloak, looked utterly out of place.
Are we seriously walking in there looking like this?
His mouth twitched slightly, but before he could dwell on it, Azalea’s voice drifted to his ears.
"I’ll help you down," she said, gracefully leaping off the horse.
As she landed, her hood slipped off, revealing her long, dark hair, tied into a neat ponytail. It swayed gently in the breeze, gleaming like the midnight sky under the sunlight.
Her delicate, exquisite face was now fully visible, her striking crimson eyes sweeping over the crowd. Many men felt a jolt of excitement under her brief gaze, only for it to fade as she turned her attention to the boy beside her.
For some reason, the previously bustling and noisy atmosphere around them had quieted to an unnatural degree. The sound of lively chatter, footsteps, and clanking metal dulled, leaving only the distant squawk of birds piercing the silence.
Acting as though completely unaware of the commotion she had just caused, Azalea extended her hand to him. When Lumien hesitated, she took the initiative, reaching for his arm and firmly clasping his palm in hers before smoothly guiding him down from the horse.
The moment his fingers wrapped around hers, he became painfully aware of the countless piercing gazes drilling into him from every direction.
Even though his hearing wasn’t magically enhanced, he could practically feel the curses muttered under the breaths of envious men.
He didn’t need to hear them to know what they were thinking.
"That should have been me!"
A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, one he had read in countless novels before:
"A beauty capable of bringing disaster upon a nation."
Is this what the authors meant by that phrase?
He felt as if he had suddenly become a public enemy—despite having done absolutely nothing wrong in the first place.
"Sister, I think next time, you should buy a mask too," Lumien sighed.
"Why?" Azalea blinked innocently, tilting her head as if completely oblivious.
Had he not known her for over ten years, he might have been fooled by that innocent act. But knowing her mischievous side all too well, he was certain she was enjoying the attention, likely treating it as payback for his earlier jab about women being terrible with directions.
Azalea was the type to hold grudges—even over the pettiest things.
"You know exactly why," Lumien sighed again.
At that, Azalea dropped her act, smirking playfully before changing the subject. "Let’s settle Kuro first before heading inside."
Following her lead, Lumien watched as Azalea guided Kuro toward the Guild’s stable. After paying the keeper a fee of five silver coins, they made their way back to the entrance—only to find themselves once again the center of attention.
"Are you nervous?" Azalea whispered softly beside his ear.
Feeling ticklish from her warm breath, Lumien instinctively rubbed his reddening ears and scoffed. "Why would I be? I’m handsome, tall, an Awakened, a genius that can do chantless mag-"
"Hmph! I just asked you a simple question, and here you are trying to show off!" Azalea huffed, cutting him off as she gently pinched his waist.
"And who are you trying to fool, calling yourself tall? Your head barely reaches my shoulder," Azalea teased.
"Time will tell," Lumien replied confidently.
"We’ll see about that."
As they continued their playful banter, they remained unaware of the looming big shadow creeping up behind them.
Just as they were about to step into the building, a loud, rough voice cut through the air.
"Hey, lady! You’re wasting your time partying with that little runt. Why not ditch him and join my party instead?"
