A strange image surfaced in Kurose Akira's mind—
A vampire whose entire body radiated light, its colors flashing like neon, dazzling and multicolored…
…Yeah.He should probably think that through very, very carefully.
"By the way, there's something I think you should know."
Lucia suddenly spoke up.
"What is it?"
"While we were carrying out the mission, we encountered a young girl who is also a guild master like you," Lucia said as she spoke, turning her gaze toward Loserine. "She asked us for help, hoping we could assist her in hunting a high-level magical beast. Loserine agreed—and successfully helped her kill it."
Akira shifted his gaze to Loserine. He knew very well that a knight overflowing with a sense of justice like her would absolutely do something like that.
"Mm."
Loserine nodded, then took a pearl earring out of her pocket.
"This is the reward she gave us as thanks."
Akira's eyes fell on the pearl earring.
[Pearl Earring (Elite): An accessory that slightly enhances perception. Agility +20.]
"How strong was the magical beast you killed?" Akira asked immediately.
"Quite strong," Loserine replied calmly. "It took me two sword strikes to kill it."
"..."
Akira raised an eyebrow slightly. He really wished Loserine wouldn't say things that sounded so effortlessly smug with such a straight face.
Still—if it took Loserine two strikes to kill it, then that magical beast had to be at least level 50 or higher.
"And how strong was the other guild?" Akira continued.
"Weak. Very weak," Lucia answered softly.
"Yes," Loserine nodded in agreement. "Their guild only had one female elf. Her strength was probably about the same as Roxia's."
Those answers made Akira frown slightly.
If the target was a magical beast above level 50, then the commission difficulty was at least D-rank—possibly even D+.
Yet based on the strength of that guild's members, they were probably only E-rank at best.
That reminded Akira of a player he had once seen posting on the forums—someone who constantly received commissions far beyond her actual strength.
…Could it be her?
Akira still remembered how many B-rank guilds had gone to "help out" back then, only to suffer heavy losses.
In the end, it was said that a B+ rank player had stepped in to resolve the crisis. After that, no one was willing to help that girl ever again.
"I see."Akira nodded lightly, committing the matter to memory.
Lucia, meanwhile, had been quietly observing the changes in his expression. She noticed the brief flicker of surprise when he heard the story—followed quickly by calm composure.
From this, she concluded that not all guild masters received bizarre, mismatched commissions. That kind of situation was an exception.
Which also explained why the Golden Tree's leaf had appeared in that girl's possession.
Night soon fell, enveloping the entire sky.
One by one, Lucia and the others left the guild, bringing the day's adventure to a close.
Akira was just about to log out of the game and return to reality to wash up—before he ended up stinking to high heaven—
when Marei Rhein walked up to him.
"Human," she asked bluntly, "where am I supposed to sleep?"
"You…"
Akira fell silent for a moment. There were empty rooms in the guild, but none of them were furnished with beds yet.
And more importantly—did dragons even sleep on beds?
While Akira was still thinking, Marei Rhein had already walked straight into his room.
Immediately after, she muttered with clear displeasure,"Human, your room reeks of a strange smell. Like… hawthorn flowers."
"..."
"That's my room," Akira immediately reminded her.
"It is now," Marei Rhein replied flatly.
She gave a light hop and landed squarely on Akira's small bed.
The instant her feet touched it—
BOOM!
A deafening crash echoed as the entire bed collapsed on the spot.
"!?"
Akira stood there, dumbfounded.
His poor little bed had borne a weight it was never meant to endure at its age!
But that made no sense!
This wooden bed had survived his disciplinary thrusts against the little succubus just fine—so why did it collapse the moment Marei Rhein stepped on it?
Could it be that even in her human form… her weight was still equivalent to her dragon form?
"Such poor craftsmanship,"Marei Rhein sighed, glancing at the wreckage.
Then, the scales covering her body vanished one after another. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a red-haired少女 with flowing crimson hair.
Only a few dragon scales covered her private areas—but she showed not the slightest concern about Akira's gaze.
"Close the door. I'm going to sleep."
Marei Rhein lay down atop the collapsed bed, hugging her dragon tail tightly as a pillow, already preparing to drift off.
Akira frowned.
That's my bed.
But before he could say anything, he realized—
She was already asleep.
"This woman…"
Akira shook his head helplessly and walked closer, his gaze falling on that crimson dragon tail.
Since Nata was a soul entity, this was actually the first time Akira had ever seen a real dragonfolk tail up close.
The red scales along the tail were layered with vivid depth. Each individual scale was engraved with intricate runes, faintly shimmering in the dim light.
As Marei Rhein breathed steadily, the scales seemed almost alive, subtly opening and closing.
The sight sparked Akira's curiosity.
He slowly extended a finger and lightly touched one of the scales.
That uniquely silky sensation was impossible to describe with words.
Under his touch, the scale seemed to respond to him, parting slightly—revealing a glimpse of soft, pink dragon flesh beneath.
"How interesting."
Akira smiled with satisfaction. Whether in human form or dragon form, Marei Rhein possessed a uniquely alluring charm.
Just as he was about to touch it again—
Suddenly!
The scales on Marei Rhein's tail bristled like a cat's fur, radiating hostility. At the same time, a pair of furious crimson eyes snapped open, glaring at him as if she were about to tear him apart.
She's awake!?
Faced with this situation, Akira merely said casually,
"Go take a bath before sleeping. Don't dirty my bed."
"…A bath?"
Marei Rhein was clearly confused by his words, unable to understand what he meant.
Ridiculous!
Did dragons really need to bathe?
"What, you haven't bathed in nearly ten thousand years? That must be disgusting," Akira teased.
"Ignorant human," Marei Rhein said disdainfully, hands on her hips."Empowered by the force of destruction itself, how could I possibly emit any foul odor?"
"So you haven't bathed, then," Akira replied flatly.
Not wanting to waste any more words, he grabbed Marei Rhein's hand.
"Come on. I'll take you to wash up."
"Wait! Let go of me! I'm not bathing!"
"AHHH—!!!"