The group of seven rode along the dirt road, their horses moving at a steady pace. The cool morning air brushed against them, the scent of the wilderness fresh and crisp. They had just finished a mission, and despite so minor difficulties, it had been a success. More importantly— they were lucky to have horses, making their journey back to town far easier than walking.
However— there was still one thing weighing on their minds. Or rather—one person.
"I still can’t believe that bastard stole our at," the crossbow-wielding girl muttered, her fingers twitching as if she were imagining Hazuki’s neck between them.
"Forget the at! He called a cutting board!" the mage girl snapped, her face red with frustration.
The other three girls— summoned heroes from another world— sighed at their complaints. One of them, a blonde paladin, looked over with mild amusent.
"Seriously? We just cleared a dangerous mission, and you’re still angry about a guy stealing our food?"
The crossbow girl glared.
"Of course I’m still angry! That was OUR AT!"
The mage girl clenched her fists.
"AND HE CALLED A CUTTING BOARD!"
The paladin sighed.
anwhile, the last four mbers of the group— exchanged confused glances. One was a burly, armored tank, and the other a calm, Berserker.Along with the saint and sword hero.Neither of them had been present when Hazuki ruined the group’s al and ran off laughing.
The berserker raised an eyebrow.
"What exactly happened?"
The paladin sighed.
"So idiot snuck into our camp, stole our food, and ran off."
The tank snorted.
"Sounds like you let your guard down."
"HE WAS FAST, OKAY?!" the crossbow girl snapped.
The mage girl gripped her staff tightly.
"And he dodged my fireballs... and laughed while doing it..."
The berserker blinked.
"Wait. He dodged magic?"
The crossbow girl huffed.
"Yeah! He was like, ’HAHAHA, GOBLINS ARE FASTER THAN YOU!’"
The tank chuckled.
"So, you got humiliated by a random guy?"
"SHUT UP!" the crossbow girl and mage girl yelled in unison.
The berserker, however, narrowed his eyes. A random guy capable of evading fireballs? Soone fast enough to steal food and escape a team of trained adventurers? That... didn’t sound so simple.
"Did you at least get his na?" he asked.
The crossbow girl crossed her arms.
"No. But he had black hair."
Silence. The berserker expression hardened. The tank noticed the change and frowned.
"Sothing wrong?"
The berserker looked ahead, deep in thought.
"...Black hair is rare among humans. If he’s strong enough to dodge spells, he might not be just so random thief."
The mage girl scoffed.
"Oh, please. He’s just an annoying bastard. If I see him again, I swear I’m going to turn him into ash!"
The paladin laughed.
"Well, if we do find him again, at least we’ll have our revenge, right?"
Cyprian, the Berserker , let out a low chuckle, resting his heavy axe against his shoulder.
"Don’t worry about it, girls." His deep voice carried confidence, a sharp contrast to the bickering.
"I’m sure we can find him easily later."
Leoric, the Tank, nodded in agreent.
"Yeah. If he’s that flashy, he won’t stay hidden for long."
Olivia, the Paladin, sighed.
"Well, I suppose there’s no point in chasing a thief without a real reason. Let’s just focus on our mission for now."
Zenny, the Crossbow user, pouted.
"Hmph. If we run into him, I’m shooting first."
Mira, the Mage, grumbled,
"And I’m setting him on fire."
Emma, the Saint, laughed nervously.
"Now, now, violence isn’t always the answer..."
Luna, the Sword Hero, simply smirked, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Well, if we do find him... I won’t mind testing his skills myself."
As the group rode onward, Luna turned toward Mira, her expression skeptical.
"Are you sure he dodged your magic?"
Mira huffed, crossing her arms.
"Yes! Can you believe it?!"
Luna raised an eyebrow.
"Actually? No, I can’t."
Emma, the Saint, chid in with a gentle smile.
"Maybe you three were just tired and hallucinating?"
Mira glared at her.
"No way! Do you think I’d imagine a bastard laughing while dodging my fireballs?!"
Zenny, the Crossbow user, leaned forward, gripping the reins of her horse tighter.
"Exactly! If only you two were there at that ti! That guy—he was so damn smug about it!"
Luna and Emma exchanged glances.
Leoric, the Tank, chuckled from the back.
"So what you’re saying is... a random human outran your spells, stole your food, and humiliated you all at the sa ti?"
Cyprian, the Berserker, let out a laugh.
"Sounds like you got played."
Mira turned red, but whether it was from frustration or embarrassnt was unclear.
"He won’t get away next ti!"
Zenny nodded fiercely.
"That bastard is gonna pay."
Luna just smirked, amused by their anger.
"Well, if he’s that impressive... I’d like to see him in action myself."
anwhile, while the group continued mumbling about how the man had easily stolen their at.
"Ohhh!!! I bet there’s a town over there!"
Hazuki’s eyes sparkled as he spotted the faint outline of buildings in the distance. His pace quickened, his steps light and carefree as he skipped down the dirt road, a wide grin on his face.
"Lalala~!" He humd to himself, swinging his arms as if life was finally going his way.
"Can’t wait to go to the Adventurer’s Guild... withdraw so of my savings... and EAT!"
His stomach growled at the thought, already imagining a feast.
"Oh! And maybe buy so new clothes." He looked down at himself, grimacing.
"These clothes need a wash... actually, no, they need an exorcism." He shuddered, shaking his head. "Yep. Definitely getting new ones."
Hazuki happily strolled down the dirt road, eagerly anticipating Lucia Town. He finally arrived. But... the town didn’t look like a human town. For one, the people were tiny. The buildings were shorter, the marketplace crowded with small figures, and even the guards at the gate barely reached his chest.
Hazuki blinked.
"Huh...?"
The town guards stepped forward, blocking his path.
"Halt! Identify yourself!"
Hazuki looked down at them.
"Oh, small~," he muttered without thinking.
The guards’ ears twitched in annoyance.
"IDENTITY CARD!"
"Ah, right, right! Here." Hazuki handed over his Adventurer Card. One of the guards squinted at it, mumbling as he read.
"Hmm... Hazekaya Hazuki?"
His eyebrows suddenly twitched.
"Newbie adventurer!?"
Hazuki tilted his head.
"Yeah?"
The guards exchanged glances. Then—
"You never ranked up?"
Hazuki blinked.
"Huh?"
The guard pointed at his card again.
"Despite being level 20 now, you’re still a newbie-ranked adventurer?!"
The guard sighed, rubbing his forehead when he saw Hazuki just standing there, frozen.
"Anyway, welco to Hazlin Town."
The other halfling guards chuckled, nudging his companion.
"Looks like this guy is really shocked."
The other guard smirked, waving a hand.
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, human—err... Hazuki? Don’t be too surprised about your adventurer rank."
But Hazuki wasn’t even listening.
"This isn’t Lucia Town!? The human town?!"
The guards blinked.
"Huh?"
One of them tilted his head.
"This is Hazlin Town, the border town between the Beastkin Kingdom and the Halfling Kingdom."
The words hit Hazuki like a brick. His eye twitched.
"Lucia Town is far, far away from here."
Silence fell. Then—
"SERIOUSLY!?!?!?"
His voice echoed through the town, making halflings in the marketplace turn their heads in confusion. The guards just chuckled again.
"Yep. Looks like you got lost, buddy."
Hazuki grabbed his head, groaning.
"HOW THE HELL DID I END UP THIS FAR AWAY!?!?"
The guards exchanged glances before one casually muttered,
"Bad sense of direction?"
Hazuki fell to his knees.
"DAMN IT! I KNEW I SHOULD’VE FOLLOWED A ROAD SIGN!"
The halflings just laughed, shaking their heads.
( End of Chapter )
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