novelraw Chapter 69 : Invitation to Join
Chapter 69 : Invitation to Join
The brown-haired youth stood up and walked toward the girl.
Many gazes followed him, and then expressions of amusement appeared on people’s faces.
——Without a doubt, this was the prelude to a pickup attempt.
For adventurers, what sounded like frivolous flirting was as natural as eating and drinking. In Flemont, out of the hundreds of establishments, more than a quarter were inns of various styles, built specifically for adventurers who, after spending ten days or half a month cooped up in the labyrinth, were bursting with pent-up energy.
Some inns even earned fame in the community because their beds were sturdy enough.
Under the gaze of many, the brown-haired youth walked to the girl’s side, raised his hand, and reached toward her shoulder.
Just as his hand was about to fall—
The girl seemed to sense something, turned her head slightly, and looked at him.
The youth’s hand froze in midair.
What kind of eyes were those?
Still bearing a trace of childishness, yet carrying an intense sense of distance. It was like the gaze between a human and a monkey...
Eyes that didn’t even regard the other as the same kind.
“Do you need something?” the girl’s calm voice asked.
“Ah, uh...”
The hand frozen midair trembled slightly, and the lines he had prepared for striking up conversation suddenly became unspeakable.
He scratched his head awkwardly and forced a laugh.
“No, no, nothing. I just saw you sitting here alone, looking kind of lonely, so I was a little curious. Also, just now...”
“Just now?”
The girl tilted her head.
“Was it when I was eating earlier? Did my expression slip because I got too into it?”
She said casually, “It’s nothing. It’s just that I haven’t eaten food like this in such a long time. Finally having the chance now... I just got a little emotional. You don’t need to mind it.”
“Haven’t eaten... in a long time?”
The youth lowered his gaze to the food on the girl’s table.
There was quite a bit, but it was all ordinary, everyday fare.
And she hadn’t been able to eat even this for a long time...?
What kind of life has this child been living...?
——Around them, the onlookers suddenly felt sympathetic. In their minds, they painted a tragic drama: a runaway daughter of a wealthy family, penniless, forced to live frugally and toil for wages, often cheated by greedy employers, and only after much hardship finally able to afford a decent meal—only to be harassed by some frivolous man.
“Is there anything else?”
The girl’s voice, crisp like wind chimes, snapped the youth’s thoughts back to reality.
“If not, please leave. I want to continue eating,” she said.
“Uh... no, wait! I just remembered something!”
The youth quickly shifted his words.
“Actually, I’m currently recruiting teammates to explore the labyrinth. How about it? Want to join?”
“Huh?”
The girl’s mind filled with question marks.
The surrounding people, upon hearing this, also reacted with mixed expressions.
“If I’m not mistaken, that guy’s a B-rank adventurer...”
“The gap’s way too big. She won’t be able to keep up.”
“If it’s just grunt work, maybe it’s fine...”
“Wasn’t he trying to flirt? How did this turn into recruitment?”
The crowd buzzed with discussion.
The youth ignored them. He extended his hand seriously toward the girl.
“Join my party. Even if you can’t fight, it doesn’t matter. My team’s short on logistics!”
His face was solemn.
“We’re only a B-rank party for now, but it’s only been two years since we formed. Given time, we’ll definitely rise to A-rank... no, S-rank!”
“B-rank, huh?”
Russell wasn’t interested.
Not only Russell, but Rozelite wasn’t either.
After all, becoming adventurers was just a convenient way to make money and live a comfortable life. That goal was already mostly achieved.
“Sorry, I’m not interested,” Russell replied bluntly.
“I–I see...”
Perhaps because Russell’s response was so cold, the youth looked a little embarrassed.
He withdrew his outstretched hand and said helplessly, “Alright. If you ever change your mind, you can come find me. My name’s Cairen...”
“Mm-hm, okay.” Russell casually brushed him off.
The youth turned and left.
But the eyes of the crowd did not leave them.
Russell tugged his hat brim lower and sighed lightly.
When they had handled materials at the Adventurer’s Guild earlier, he had been careless. It seemed quite a few people had noticed them. Although their true appearance hadn’t been revealed, Rozelite’s figure alone was eye-catching.
And the way they had handled the materials had been a bit too high-profile.
Now rumors were already spreading—about an E-rank adventurer who had solo-cleared a C-rank labyrinth.
Though, to be fair... that was the truth.
Still, Russell hadn’t lost his sense of caution.
Back in Ato City, they had escaped pursuit, but according to Rozelite, they were still in Alexander territory. The man leading the pursuit, Clayman, was also a member of the Alexander family.
In other words, Rozelite’s bounty had likely already spread.
Russell wasn’t afraid of battle.
And he believed Rozelite wasn’t either.
But both of them wanted to avoid it as much as possible.
Rozelite’s kidnapping still hadn’t been clarified. For all they knew, Clayman might just have been a pawn, kept in the dark. Whether his words were the truth or lies spun by the mastermind remained unknown.
Who is friend? Who is enemy?
That was the most important question.
If they couldn’t uncover the truth, Rozelite would never be able to overcome the knot in her heart.
And to find the truth, they would have to return to the capital—to see it with their own eyes.
Russell’s intuition told him...
The truth was likely more complicated than they imagined.
“Before going back to the inn, let’s stop by the Adventurer’s Guild,” Russell said.
Flemont didn’t have a lord in the strict sense. The closest thing to authority was the Adventurer’s Guild. If Rozelite’s bounty had reached here, they might hear whispers there.
Depending on what they learned, they would decide their next move.
“You’re not finishing the rest of your food?”
Rozelite asked curiously.
“I’ll eat.”
Russell dropped his earlier slow chewing and began wolfing it down.
He grabbed the plate directly and shoveled it into his mouth.
In no time, the food on the table was gone.
“Let’s go.”
Russell tossed down the meal payment and a tip he had prepared in advance, then stood and left the tavern.
The Adventurer’s Guild was right across the street.
They had barely stepped outside when—
From inside the Guild erupted an earth-shaking commotion.
“It’s appeared again!!”
“That gigantic S-rank labyrinth!!”
“Unbelievable—this time it’s on a scale never seen before!!”