"Hello, I'm here to submit a quest."
The Sword Maiden stood before the counter, smiling politely at the receptionist behind it.
"Alright, I remember you—you're the priestess who became an adventurer today, correct? May I ask where your three teammates are?"
Although the Sword Maiden's attire had undergone a drastic change, her exquisite face left such a deep impression that the receptionist immediately recognized her.
Upon hearing the question, the Sword Maiden's smile dimmed slightly.
"One of our teammates was killed by a goblin's blade. As for the other two…"
Just as the Sword Maiden was wondering how to explain the situation regarding the young mage and the young swordswoman, two familiar voices suddenly came from behind her.
"We're right here."
The Sword Maiden turned around upon hearing the voices. From the corner of the guild, the young mage and the young swordswoman approached and stood behind her.
"You've returned!" The Sword Maiden looked at the two girls with clear joy.
However, the young mage and the young swordswoman both seemed hesitant, as though they had something they wanted to say but decided against it for now, knowing the timing wasn't right.
At that moment, the receptionist's voice sounded again.
"I see… That's truly unfortunate. Could you tell me what happened during your quest?"
This world didn't have a system to record quest progress. Typically, adventurers would describe the mission's events upon completion, and the receptionist would then determine whether the quest was considered fulfilled.
"Alright."
The Sword Maiden briefly described everything that had happened in the goblin nest.
However, when she mentioned the one who had saved them—Eriri—she deliberately avoided revealing her identity, referring to her only as a mysterious powerful figure.
When she described the appearances of the Goblin Shaman, and Goblin Champion, the receptionist's face showed utter shock.
Not only the receptionist—even the nearby adventurers who overheard her words gasped in disbelief.
After all, a goblin nest containing a Goblin Champion was far beyond the capability of a beginner porcelain-ranked adventurer team to handle. A single Goblin Champion alone was already stronger than most silver-ranked adventurers.
"This quest's difficulty was far beyond the initial assessment. You're truly fortunate to have made it back alive," the receptionist said with a sigh.
In her years of service, she had seen countless rookie adventurer parties annihilated after underestimating goblins. This was the first time she had ever seen beginners return alive from such a perilous nest—let alone complete the quest.
"It's all thanks to that mysterious figure's help. Without them, we would've perished inside that nest long ago," the Sword Maiden said, letting out a soft sigh before continuing, "Also, we rescued seventeen captive women from the goblin nest."
"I understand. You've done excellently. Here's your reward."
The receptionist nodded, then took out the quest payment from the counter and placed it before the Sword Maiden—twenty copper coins in total.
Because quest rewards were fixed, even if the difficulty increased severalfold, the payment would remain unchanged.
The Sword Maiden nodded without complaint and silently collected the twenty copper coins from the counter.
Without further conversation, she turned and led the young mage and the young swordswoman to an empty table in the guild's corner, where the three of them sat down.
No sooner had they seated themselves than the young swordswoman spoke eagerly.
"Seraphina, didn't Lady Eriri come to the city with you?"
As she spoke, her eyes shone with hope.
The young mage beside her remained silent but shared the same expectant gaze.
"No. After giving me a new mission, Lady Eriri departed."
The Sword Maiden shook her head, a trace of melancholy flashing across her face. However, she quickly regained her composure, her eyes filling once more with determination.
Upon hearing her words, the hopeful expressions on the young swordswoman and the young mage's faces instantly fell.
The only reason they had remained at the Adventurers' Guild was in hopes of meeting Eriri again.
Previously, Eriri hadn't teleported them to the outside of the goblin nest, but directly into the city itself. Otherwise, they would have certainly waited by the nest's entrance for her to emerge.
After a few minutes of silence, the young mage suddenly lifted her head and looked at the Sword Maiden.
"Can you tell us what mission Lady Eriri gave you?"
"Of course."
The Sword Maiden didn't hesitate—she straightforwardly explained the mission: to slay the Demon King and invade the Divine Realm.
It wasn't something that needed to be kept secret anyway.
"That's it," she concluded. "Will you two come with me to complete this mission? Only by finishing it will we be able to see Lady Eriri again."
The Sword Maiden looked at the two girls with hopeful eyes. Though they had only met earlier that day, after everything they had been through together, she already trusted them deeply.
She sincerely hoped they would stay with her as teammates.
Upon hearing the invitation, the young swordswoman and the young mage—who had been stunned by the enormity of the mission—fell into deep conflict.
They both regretted their decision back in the goblin nest.
In their hearts, they believed that by giving up their adventurer status, they had lost the right to serve by Eriri's side.
If given another chance, they would undoubtedly choose to continue as adventurers—if only to remain near her.
But now, being asked to fight the Demon King and even challenge the gods themselves, their newfound resolve quickly wavered.
Seeing their struggle, the Sword Maiden didn't rush them. She simply waited quietly.
Several minutes passed before fear finally outweighed resolve. Both the young swordswoman and the young mage lowered their heads in shame.
"We're sorry…"
The Sword Maiden's expression showed disappointment, but she didn't press the matter further. After all, it was their choice—she had no right to force them.
Instead, a gentle smile appeared on her face as she comforted them softly.
"These are the quest rewards. You two can split them."
She placed the twenty copper coins on the table before them.
Seeing this, both girls waved their hands in refusal.
"No, we can't take these. We hardly did anything in this quest."
"There's no need to refuse," the Sword Maiden said kindly. "It's only twenty copper coins. My strength has changed greatly—earning money now is simple for me."
Without giving them a chance to protest, she divided the twenty copper coins into two piles and gently pushed ten coins into each of their hands.
"This…"
The two girls exchanged a glance, then finally nodded and accepted the coins.
"Alright… then I'll accept. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
...
A week quickly passed.
During this time, Frelia and the High Elf Archer sisters spent their days thoroughly enjoying themselves in the Saekano world.
Frelia was fairly composed—after her initial curiosity about this modern world faded, she grew accustomed to it.
The High Elf Archer, however, completely lost herself in the fun. Amusement parks, karaoke, anime conventions—she went everywhere. Naturally, she also dove deep into video games, including Sword Art Online, and even went out racing with Irisviel from time to time.
In just seven days, she had mastered impressive driving skills and even managed to charm Eriri into giving her a specially modified high-performance sports car.
If it weren't for the fact that she remembered someone waiting for her in another world to complete their mission together, she would have happily stayed in this exhilarating world forever.
Because of her week-long spree of fun, the High Elf Archer hadn't spent even a single moment using her points to improve her strength. As a result, her power level remained at Level 1, Stage 3, and the tens of millions of points her sister had given her remained untouched.
"Eriri, we'll be heading back now," Frelia said with a gentle smile as she stood before the World Gate leading to the Goblin Slayer world.
"There's really no need to say goodbye," Eriri said with a small laugh. "It's just one door away—you can come visit anytime."
She stepped forward and hugged Frelia tightly, resting her cheek against Frelia's soft, full chest.
Without hesitation, Frelia wrapped her arms around Eriri, returning the embrace warmly.
Standing beside her sister, the High Elf Archer's eyes gleamed with anticipation as she looked at the two hugging.
"Eriri, don't just hug my sister—come hug me too!" she said, stretching her arms out expectantly.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming."
Eriri replied indulgently, letting go of Frelia and stepping into the High Elf Archer's open arms.
Compared to Frelia's embrace, the High Elf Archer's was far less impressive—especially in terms of softness. The difference was enormous.
But that was fine. No matter how small a girl's chest might be… it was still soft!
After a while, Eriri finally pulled away from her embrace, while the High Elf Archer looked up with a faintly dissatisfied pout.
"Ahh, I can't believe I have to go back already. I haven't played enough! Once I finish that mission, I'm definitely coming back here to play for a few decades!"
"Then you'd better work hard on improving your strength. Seraphina's power has already surpassed yours—you wouldn't want to drag her down," Eriri said with a smile, ruffling the High Elf Archer's green hair until it turned into a messy tangle.
"Hmph, don't underestimate me! With several tens of millions of points at my disposal, surpassing Seraphina will be a piece of cake!"
The High Elf Archer puffed out her chest proudly, her cute, confident face practically glowing with self-assurance. Seeing that expression, Eriri couldn't resist cupping her cheeks with both hands and rubbing them.
"Stop rubbing my face~" the High Elf Archer protested with a pout, but she made no effort to escape.
Eriri, on the other hand, didn't stop—in fact, she rubbed even harder.
"I'll rub it as much as I want!"
"Hmph! If you're going to rub my face, then I'll rub yours too!"
Saying that, the High Elf Archer lunged forward and placed her hands on Eriri's cheeks in retaliation.
...
After their playful tussle, Frelia and the High Elf Archer finally stepped through the World Gate, leaving the Saekano world and returning to the Goblin Slayer world.
"Sis, you can head home on your own. I'm going to find Seraphina in the human city~" the High Elf Archer said casually, lounging on the villa's sofa.
Her declaration was immediately rejected by Frelia.
"No. Your strength is still too low. At the very least, you need to reach Level 3 before going anywhere."
"Eh? But that'll take too long! I can always strengthen myself after meeting up with Seraphina, right?"
"No means no," Frelia said firmly. "With your current strength, you wouldn't even handle a pack of goblins, let alone the stronger monsters you might encounter on the road to a human city."
Her tone left no room for argument.
But the High Elf Archer just grinned confidently. "You're forgetting something, sis. Eriri gave me a car, remember? As long as I stay inside it, no one in this world can hurt me!"
Despite her playful personality, she wasn't reckless with her life. Her plan had always been to drive her beloved car to the human city to reunite with the Sword Maiden.
And she was very aware of what that car—enhanced by Eriri—was capable of.
Its defense alone was enough to let her run rampant across the entire universe.
Hearing her words, Frelia's stern expression softened instantly.
After a brief moment of thought, she finally nodded in concession.
"Alright then, I won't stop you. Just remember to stay safe. If you encounter any danger, contact me in the group immediately."
"Mm-hmm, I know, I know. You're such a worrywart, sis!" the High Elf Archer said with a cheeky smile.
—
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