Shameless Paladin
To celebrate our second encounter, I made the beer Dontas was drinking ice cold.
You could say it was a way to easily gain favor with someone you met for the first time.
“By the way, I heard there are a lot of dangerous fellows out there these days, are you going to be alright?”
It was a question that arose from pure curiosity.
I was curious.
I mean, I’m not bad at fighting, so I can go around taking on requests like this, but I didn’t know how skilled Dontas was.
Because I was the one who wiped them out last time.
“Why, worry about such things? The reason I'm intentionally not going up to Gold Plate Rank is because my skills aren’t at that level.”
“...Is there a difference if you go to Gold Plate Rank?”
To be honest, I don't know much about adventurers.
I've only read the adventurer's guide that someone wrote last time.
No matter how smart I am, I don't know much about things I haven't learned.
That's why I'm asking Dontas now.
"Hmm? You don't know that either? If you go up to Gold Plate Rank, you have to forcibly invest 10% of your earnings in the Adventurers' Guild."
“...Is that allowed?”
“It's kind of a custom. Still, we get dividends from time to time. The problem is that it's so small.”
I could understand as soon as I heard Dontas' words.
“It's like a commission.”
“That’s right.”
A commission, huh?
I was curious if other places had the same custom, so I decided to ask.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Do adventurers guild really take a 10% cut when one reaches Gold rank?]
[Content: No, but I just found out while talking to a dwarf dude that they really take 10% when you become Gold Plate Rank? Do other places do that too?]
I was a little annoyed at the thought of the Adventurers' Guild taking the money I worked so hard for.
I understand if they take 10% as a commission.
But to cunningly take 10% under the name of 'investment'?
It was utterly outrageous.
“By the way, when is the other one coming?”
“Speaking of which, he should be here soon.”
As we were talking like that.
Kwaang-!
“Haha! Greetings!”
A young man, fully equipped in armor that screamed ‘Look at me, I’m a paladin!’, appeared.
The man walked briskly towards us, who were gathered together, and soon stood in front of us and began to speak.
“I am Dionysia Hearts. Just call me Hearts!”
“Ah, okay.”
“...Alright.”
His energy was incredibly high.
You could say it was an energy level I couldn't handle.
The last party was good because the energy was just right.
This party already felt tiring.
I don't know about anything else, but I hate this kind of high energy.
As I was thinking that, Hearts started talking nonstop.
“By the way, Dwarf, what's your name? I hope you don’t mind me asking!”
“It's quite rude, but it's Dontas.”
“Ooh, DONGas. What a cool name.”
“...Thank you.”
I was thinking of asking Dontas to ask him to lower his energy a bit, but when he complimented his name, Dontas made an embarrassed expression.
So I couldn’t ask.
And besides–
‘No, objectively speaking, it's not that cool.’
His name wasn’t really that cool.
It was just alright.
It seemed like he knew how to get on people's good side very well.
As I was thinking that, Hearts approached me and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Mage! What's your name, if you don’t mind me asking!”
“It’s Eugene.”
“Eugene... That's a nice name!”
Huh?
Didn't he say Dontas’ name was cool?
Why is only mine nice?
Is it just me?
As I was wondering if something was strange, Hearts began to speak.
“I am Hearts, a paladin of the Schurk Paladin Order. I have come to wipe out all the evil monsters at the behest of the Goddess.”
“Oh, that's amazing.”
“Haha, it’s nothing. It is the virtue of a paladin to do whatever the Goddess asks!”
“Still, it's amazing.”
As I was complimenting him like that, Hearts let out a pleased laugh and ordered a beer.
“Why don’t we all have a beer! I'll buy us a round!”
Hmm.
A round of beer for three.
You could say he was a very generous friend.
To think he would buy us three whole beers.
As I was thinking that, the beer arrived before I knew it.
And at that moment.
Dontas spoke up.
“By the way, is it okay for a paladin to drink alcohol? I heard it’s against the doctrine.”
“Haha! The Goddess doesn’t mind such things!”
Hearts said that and was about to drink his beer.
“Hold on a second.”
But I couldn't let him drink lukewarm beer.
Since we were going to work together with a paladin, it would be better to get on his good side.
“...What is it?”
Hearts' eyes turned cold as I stopped him from drinking his beer.
You could say his eyes looked like an animal that had its food taken away.
So I explained.
“Ah, I was going to make you some ice-cold beer.”
“...Is that possible..?”
When I said that, Hearts' eyes returned to their normal state.
[Freeze]
Crackle-
The surface of the beer began to freeze, and ice crystals started to form.
And just like that, the beer became ice cold.
“Thank you for the drink!”
Hearts said that and drank the beer in one gulp.
Then he closed his mouth for a moment–
“Ah… That’s really good.”
And soon, he calmly evaluated the taste.
He was a very... strange person.
Are all paladins like this?
As I was thinking that, I checked the comments on the post I had uploaded earlier.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Do adventurers guild really take a 10% cut when one reaches Gold rank?]
[Content: No, but I just found out while talking to a dwarf dude that they really take 10% when you become Gold Plate Rank? Do other places do that too?]
L: Yeah, surprisingly, they do lol
ㄴ: I was surprised at first, but now I’m used to it
ㄴ: It's really annoying
L: Lukphelton takes 20%, not 10% lol
ㄴ: There aren't many adventurers there anyway
ㄴ: That's why they take so much
ㄴ: Shouldn't they take less if there are fewer adventurers?
ㄴ: Idk
L: Koruntum takes 5% though
ㄴ: There are so many adventurers there that they only need to take that much lol
ㄴFerus: I heard a lot of adventurers have been coming lately, so it seems like they've been taking a lot of investment money.
This was something I didn't know.
Lukphelton takes 20%, and Koruntum takes 5%.
You could say it was an unexpected fact.
I lived in Lukphelton for a year, but there weren't many adventurers in Lukphelton to begin with, and it was a place with many mages and knights.
So there weren't many places to get information about adventurers.
This kind of trivial information didn't circulate much on the forums either.
As I was thinking that, Hearts and Dontas, who were in front of me, had already become friendly and started talking.
“By the way, DONGas, how much iron can you lift at once?”
“...It’s Dontas, not DONGas.”
“Haha, my bad! Your name is so similar.”
“I've never lifted iron before, so I'm not sure. Maybe I should try it sometime.”
“Hmm, I see. Thanks for answering!”
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like he was treating Dontas like a pet.
Dontas didn't seem to notice.
So I felt a little sorry for him, but now was not the time to be worrying about that.
“Anyway, shouldn't we be going soon! I even bought us beers!”
“You’re right, let's go!”
Dontas was starting to copy Hearts' way of speaking.
It was strangely addictive.
Addictive enough that I might start copying it myself.
With that thought in mind, we all went to buy supplies for exploring the sewers.
“Ugh, this jerky tastes terrible.”
“...It doesn’t taste good?”
“...Eugene, I think you have no sense of taste.”
“I agree.”
Everyone suddenly criticized me.
It was unfair.
It was delicious,That’s why I said it tasted good.
How could they say that?
It was absurd.
As we were chatting like that, we bought this and that.
We bought a special container to store the slime byproducts, and we also stocked up on torches.
It would be a disaster if we didn’t have any fire in the sewers.
“Alright, let's go in!”
And so, with Hearts in the lead, we entered the sewers.
Screech- Screech-
The sound of rats could be heard throughout the sewers.
Maybe that’s why.
It felt a little eerie.
Don’t they always add the sound of rats in horror movies to create a dangerous atmosphere?
Thinking about it like that made it feel a little less scary.
But at that moment.
Splat-
“What the-!”
Hearts, who had been swearing profusely, suddenly struck down a rat that had fallen from the ceiling.
It seemed like he was startled.
“I took care of the rat in front! Let's keep moving.”
Even the shameless Hearts seemed a little embarrassed by what had just happened, as he gave an awkward smile.
So we decided to pretend we didn’t see anything and started exploring the sewers, relying on our torches.
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