"Definitely a hunk."
Kazuma Satou snapped back to reality with a start.
He couldn't help but suck in several sharp breaths, his heart pounding with shock, his face filled with horror.
Damn it, his heart had been racing just now—he'd almost been attracted to a man! That was beyond ridiculous!
"But it's got nothing to do with us. Let's just collect our reward and check into an inn. Sleeping in stables every night is freezing... Hey, what are you guys doing?"
He glared coldly at the three beside him.
The blue-haired priestess quickly wiped the tears from her face, looked around for a tissue but couldn't find one, then wiped her nose with her hand before casually trying to smear it on Kazuma's tracksuit. He smacked her hand away in disgust.
The loli mage from the Crimson Demon Clan had somehow removed the eyepatch covering her right eye and was now wearing a gentle, ladylike smile.
The masochistic crusader frantically patted down her gauntlets, looking at her armor with such nervousness it was as if she were regretting wearing it here.
"Aqua, Megumin, Darkness—why are you suddenly so concerned about appearances?"
"Ufufu, Kazuma-kun, you're so funny. Since when have we ever cared about appearances?"
Aqua covered her mouth lightly with one hand, letting out a delicate, affectionate laugh.
She was a priestess with long, water-blue hair, her face as exquisite as a goddess's, appearing around sixteen or seventeen years old with a perfectly proportioned figure—neither too plump nor too slim.
"We've always been this elegant. You just misunderstood us."
Megumin also chimed in, her demeanor far more well-behaved than usual.
Unlike Aqua, she was a loli who looked no older than twelve or thirteen, with shoulder-length black hair and rare crimson eyes. Her delicate features resembled a porcelain doll's, and her petite frame was adorable. She wore a black cloak, robe, boots, and pointed hat—the quintessential mage outfit.
"Hey, Aqua, Megumin... should I go back and change into a dress first?"
In contrast, Darkness was visibly flustered, fidgeting as she touched her full suit of armor.
Unlike Aqua and Megumin, she stood at least 170 cm tall—even taller than Kazuma. Her golden hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and though she appeared only eighteen or nineteen, her body was astonishingly developed: large chest, slender waist, long legs—the epitome of sexiness.
"Damn it, these women are all bewitched by his face!"
Kazuma's cheek twitched violently.
Screw that hunk!
Huh?
Wait a minute.
Wasn't this actually a good thing?
Kazuma suddenly snapped out of it, narrowing his eyes.
If he could ditch these deadweight teammates, wouldn't he finally be able to start a normal isekai life?
Nice!
Go for it, hunk!
Take them all away!
Kazuma stared fervently at the man who stood like the center of attention, cheering him on internally.
Eiji wasn't the least bit surprised by the stares the moment he entered the guild. His heart remained utterly unmoved.
As for this kind of treatment, he indicated he'd long grown accustomed to it.
Meeting the gazes head-on, Eiji walked into the hall and, with everyone making way for him, arrived before the notice board.
"Mr. Nangou, are you here to take on a quest today?"
Luna approached with a familiar smile, looking quite pleased with herself as she struck up a conversation with Eiji under the weight of numerous murderous stares.
"Yeah, I want to level up a bit."
Eiji replied while scanning the quests posted on the board.
Just like in games, adventurers in this world gained not only a skill point with each level-up but also a significant boost to their base stats. Thus, all adventurers sought to level up.
Eiji was currently Level 1. Though he didn't know how much stronger leveling up would make him, even the smallest advantage shouldn't be overlooked—especially when skill points were also up for grabs. Two birds with one stone.
"Subjugate the white wolf pack attacking the ranch. Reward: 1 million eris."
"Drive out or slay the One-Hit Bears inhabiting the deep forest. Expulsion reward: 500,000 eris. Subjugation reward: 2 million eris."
The notice board was plastered with request sheets written in this world's script.
However, none of these particularly appealed to Eiji.
"Actually, there haven't been many simple quests lately."
Seeing Eiji hesitate, Luna spoke up after a brief pause.
"Recently, there have been rumors of a Demon King Army executive appearing near the outskirts of Axel. All the weaker monsters have been scared off, leaving only the strong ones behind. That's why the only available quests now are for subjugating powerful monsters!"
Ah, that explained it.
But.
"Can these really be called powerful monsters?"
Eiji pointed at the chibi-style white wolves and One-Hit Bears illustrated on the request sheets, his expression calm as he asked.
"Of course! White wolves usually move in packs and are extremely aggressive. Even veteran adventurers around Level 20 need to form parties to handle them. As for One-Hit Bears, needless to say, they're terrifying monsters that even adventurers above Level 30 wouldn't dare face alone!"
Seeing his indifferent reaction, Luna earnestly explained.
In this world, adventurers were naturally tiered.
Those below Level 10 were all novices. Only by reaching the teens could adventurers hold their own in beginner towns like Axel. At Level 20, they barely qualified as veterans.
Adventurers who reached Level 30 usually left Axel long ago to make their mark across the kingdom. Such individuals were considered first-rate nationwide, forming the backbone of the kingdom's forces.
Those who surpassed Level 40 were undoubtedly the pillars of the Belzerg Kingdom—super-elite adventurers even the royal family relied upon!
Level 50 and above was practically beyond consideration, as the short human lifespan made reaching such heights through adventuring nearly impossible.
"Aren't there any quests for stronger monsters?"
Eiji asked, sounding slightly dissatisfied.
Monsters that didn't seem particularly strong wouldn't give him much experience.
"Well, there are some..."
Luna blinked in surprise.
"There's a quest to subjugate a griffin and a manticore. They appeared near Axel two years ago and have been battling fiercely on the nearby hills ever since, drenching the land in blood daily. Many lives have been affected as a result."
Seeing Eiji's pensive expression, she grew anxious and hurriedly added more details.
"However, griffins and manticores are extremely powerful monsters, with some individuals even capable of rivaling dragon species! Axel once sent an extermination squad before, but they were no match at all and nearly got wiped out!"
"This is the one!"
Eiji quickly scanned the bulletin board and found the griffin and manticore extermination quest at the very top.
At a glance, the reward was a staggering fifty million, clearly demonstrating the value of this mission!
He immediately tore off the request form and left the guild with the witch without looking back.