With the decision made, the three headed to the counter to register as an official group, but before they could leave, they heard someone calling out to them.
–Hey, brat.
Aiko turned toward the entrance. Three men were approaching her. The one in the middle stood out; he had a scar over his left eye, black hair, and brown eyes. He wore armor that covered from his shoulders down to his palms, with metal gauntlets and a brown shirt underneath. His chest was protected by more metal, and he wore boots that fully covered his legs along with black pants. A long sword hung at his waist.
To his left was a simpler-looking man with brown hair and black eyes. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt, brown pants held by a belt, and black boots. A traveler's cape hung over his shoulders. Finally, the third man, on the right, had black hair and dark eyes. He wore black pants, brown boots, and a long-sleeved gray shirt, with gloves reaching up to his forearms. A short sword rested at his waist.
The scarred man stopped in front of Aiko with an arrogant smile.
–Would you be so kind as to give me that task?
Aiko stepped back, uncomfortable, and replied with a nervous smile:
–Ah… sorry, but we were already going to take that task.
The man raised an eyebrow mockingly.
–But if I heard right, that task is for a group, isn't it?
–Yes, it is.
The man's smile grew wider.
–And from what I can see, you don't have a group.
Aiko stood her ground, trying not to show fear.
–You're wrong. I just formed a group.
The man's smile faded.
–Really? And where is this so-called group?
Before Aiko could answer, Kira stepped in, placing a hand on her hip.
–That would be us.
The man turned toward Kira and, after looking her over for a moment, burst out laughing.
–You seriously plan to take on such a tough job with these two cowards?
Kira and Jotaro frowned. Kira asked Jotaro quietly:
–Do I hit him?
Jotaro sighed.
–You'd kill him in one blow. Better not.
Jotaro stepped up to Aiko and spoke in a calm tone:
–Aiko, let's go register.
–Yes, Jotaro – she replied, relieved.
As Aiko and Jotaro began walking toward the counter, the armored man grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
–Where do you think you're going? We're not done talking.
–Let me go! – Aiko demanded, struggling to free herself.
Before the man could do anything else, Jotaro grabbed his arm firmly.
–She said to let her go.
The man glared at him.
–And who do you think you are to interfere?
Jotaro faced him without flinching.
–I'm interfering because she's part of our group and also our friend. Could you let her go, please?
The man hesitated for a moment and began to release Aiko. However, just as Jotaro loosened his grip, the man suddenly pulled her back forcefully, covering her mouth with one hand and grabbing her abdomen with the other.
–Now! – shouted the armored man.
Everything happened quickly. One of the men appeared behind Jotaro, trying to stab him with his short sword. But Jotaro reacted in time, ducking and spinning to punch him in the stomach. The impact was so strong that the man was sent flying into the wall.
–I think I overdid it… well, whatever – Jotaro muttered as he turned to face the next opponent.
The second man tried to hit him, but Jotaro dodged and shoved him to the ground with a quick move. Before he could react, the first man charged again, sword in hand.
–Damn you! – the man shouted as he tried to stab Jotaro.
Jotaro dodged with a leap and, mid-air, kicked the man in the face, sending him crashing into the group of adventurers watching.
When Jotaro turned his attention to the armored man, the latter looked at him in disbelief.
–How did you defeat them if you're just a weak little runt?!
Jotaro thought, irritated:
–That really offended me.
He crossed his arms.
–Your friends weren't that strong. I don't see why you're surprised.
The armored man shouted angrily:
–Not strong? What the hell are you talking about? They're rank A adventurers!
Jotaro thought, surprised:
–Those guys were rank A? I don't believe it; they were way too weak.
He asked, puzzled:
–Are they really rank A?
–I told you they were! – the armored man barked.
–Then that means you're just like them, right? – Jotaro replied.
–What do you mean? – the man asked.
–I mean, if they're weak even as rank A, then you're weak too, aren't you?
–You bastard! – the armored man roared.
He furiously threw Aiko to the ground and drew his sword.
–I'll show you who's weak here!
He lunged at Jotaro, but the latter easily dodged. Before the man could react, Jotaro struck him hard in the nose, knocking him to the ground with blood dripping from his face.
Suddenly, the adventurers watching began to applaud at the sight of Jotaro defeating the man.
–What's going on? Why are they clapping? – Jotaro asked, confused.
Before he could get an answer, Aiko suddenly threw herself at Jotaro, hugging him tightly and knocking him to the ground. With tears in her eyes, she rested her head on his chest.
–Jotaro! – she said between sobs – Thank you for saving me.
Jotaro, surprised by her reaction, smiled.
–It was nothing. I just did it because you're our friend.
Suddenly, the man Jotaro had punched in the nose tried to get up, muttering:
–Damn…
Before he could fully stand, Kira appeared in front of him and, with a smile, stomped on his head.
–Not so fast. Where do you think you're going?
–Kira? – Jotaro called when he saw her.
Hearing his voice, Kira walked toward him, still stepping on the man without remorse.
–Why didn't you dodge him? – Jotaro asked, confused.
–Because he deserves it for making Aiko cry – Kira replied coldly.
–I get it, but that's no reason to step on him.
–Didn't you see what he did to Aiko? All over that stupid task… – she said bitterly.
–Of course I saw it. Besides, I already gave him what he deserved, so that's enough. And if it bothered you so much, why didn't you jump in to help me when I was fighting?
With a nervous smile, Kira replied:
–I knew you were going to beat them all.
–And what if I couldn't? Did you think about that? – Jotaro said, a bit annoyed.
–Oh… I didn't think of that – she admitted, scratching her head.
Jotaro sighed again.
–Next time, think about it, okay?
–Yeah.
Aiko stepped back from Jotaro, and he asked:
–What's wrong, Aiko? Feeling better?
–Yes… I feel better now – she replied, wiping her tears.
–That's good.
Curious, Aiko asked:
–By the way, Jotaro, how do you know how to fight?
–Ah, my father taught me when I was young.
–He taught you to fight? Don't you use magic?
–Yes – Jotaro said, confused.
–But if I remember right, when they measured your magic power, the sphere broke, didn't it? That's why I thought you were a mage.
–Well, it's just that my father thought it was better to know how to fight than to rely on magic, because if for some reason I couldn't use magic in a fight, at least I could defend myself physically.
He thought:
–Actually, my father did want to teach me magic, but he couldn't teach me much because he was always helping the villagers. In the end, my mother ended up teaching me a little magic.
–Well, I think your father did the right thing teaching you to fight. If he hadn't, you wouldn't have been able to save me from that man – Aiko said.
She glanced at the unconscious man lying on the ground.
–Hey, Jotaro, you had it all planned out, didn't you? – Kira asked.
–Huh? What do you mean?
–Don't play dumb. When you insulted that man's friends, you noticed he was starting to let go of Aiko little by little. You took advantage of his rising anger to provoke him into wanting to attack you. In a fit of rage, he'd let go of Aiko to go after you.
–Is that true? – Aiko asked.
–Well, yes… but I didn't plan for him to attack me so suddenly – Jotaro admitted.
Suddenly, Jotaro heard someone speak.
–Excuse me.
Jotaro, Kira, and Aiko turned to see who it was. Two adventurers stood there. One of them spoke:
–Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Hayato.
–And I'm Ren. Nice to meet you.
Jotaro stood up with Aiko. Looking at the two adventurers, he asked:
–Hello, I'm Jotaro. Can I help you with something?
Hayato shook his head.
–We don't need your help. We just came to thank you for defeating those adventurers.
Both Hayato and Ren bowed in gratitude.
–No need to thank me, I was just helping my friend – Jotaro said, a bit surprised.
–Even so, let us thank you. If you hadn't defeated those three, they would have kept committing more atrocities – Hayato insisted.
–What did those adventurers do? – Jotaro asked, intrigued.
Hayato's expression darkened.
–Some time ago, those three recruited a new female adventurer for their group. At first, we thought they were being kind by accepting a rookie, but a few days later, they came back to the guild alone, trying to recruit another girl.
Ren continued:
–The second girl also agreed, but soon after, they returned alone again, without either of the two women.
Hayato clenched his fists.
–We started to suspect something when we noticed they only recruited young women, never men.
Ren looked down.
–Just a few days ago, an adventurer told us he saw those three abuse their last female companion and then kill her, throwing her into the river.
–That's why, when we saw that man grab your friend's arm, we wanted to step in to stop them from doing the same to her. But before we could, you stepped forward – Hayato said.
–We were surprised to see you face a rank A despite being a lower rank. We thought you were crazy, but seeing you defeat them so easily taught us that rank doesn't determine a person's strength – Ren added.
They bowed again.
–We wanted to thank you for defeating those three and for teaching us not to underestimate lower-ranked adventurers – Hayato said sincerely.
–Alright, I accept your gratitude, but stand up – Jotaro replied seriously.
They stood.
–Well, we'll be going now. We don't want to take up more of your time – Hayato said before turning away with Ren.
Kira frowned.
–I can't believe what they did. And to think they might have done the same to Aiko… just thinking about it makes me furious.
Jotaro placed a hand on her shoulder.
–Don't be mad, it's all over now.
Then he looked at Aiko.
–Come on, Aiko, let's register as a group to take that task.
Aiko smiled again.
–Yes!
The three walked toward the guild counter. On the way, Kira noticed the armored adventurer still lying on the ground. Without hesitation, she kicked him hard in the groin, making him cry out in pain.
Hearing the scream, Jotaro turned.
–Kira, get over here!
–I'm coming! – she replied casually.
Soon after, the trio registered as a group and headed into the forest, ready to face the ogre. As they walked, Kira exclaimed excitedly:
–I can't wait to fight that monster!
–Why are you so excited to face something that could kill us? – Jotaro asked, puzzled.
–Because I want to test my strength.
–Says the person who thought taking this job was crazy earlier – Jotaro sighed.
And with that, the group set off on their next adventure, ready to face any challenge that came their way.