Chapter 21 – Whispered Rot
Somewhere in Iridale – Present Day…
"Yo Max, you hear the news?"
Max glanced up lazily from his mug. "About the so-called Goblin King? Yeah. Country bumpkins exaggerate everything. It's probably just a bunch of goblins multiplying faster than rats. No king, no problem."
Alex snorted. "Heard they're using village girls to boost their numbers. Tch... what a waste."
Tone. A true scumbag — grinning with no shame.
"So, we going?"
Max leaned back in his chair, stretching with a smirk. "They're offering three gold coins for a damn hobgoblin. Hell yeah, we're going. Let's show those illiterate peasants what a real adventurer looks like."
Alex cracked his knuckles. "Let's call the girls. Once they see those grotesque goblins, the blood, the poor damsels… they'll cling to us like we're gods. That's when I make my move."
He licked his lips, eyes gleaming. "Liraen… mmm, what a body. Shame she's such a frigid bitch. Acts like she's above us — always quiet, serious. I've even caught her awake at night, watching us like she knows what we are."
Max chuckled. "She probably does. Not that I care. D-rank girl in a C-rank party? She's just eye candy, man. Dead weight, if we're being honest."
"Tch… what a waste."
Lirean's Perspective:
The training field lay quiet, tucked at the edge of Iridale's inner walls — far from the taverns, the chatter, and the eyes that always lingered too long.
Lirean stood alone beneath the dappled shade of a lone tree, bow in hand, arrows lined neatly beside her. The morning sun filtered through the swaying leaves, catching strands of her long, silver-blue hair and making them shimmer like falling starlight. Each strand moved with the wind, light and smooth — almost too perfect to be real.
The hue, dyed yet not garish, carried an ethereal grace, but it was never what drew the longest stares.
Her ears, rounded like any human's, twitched faintly as the wind shifted. Normal — until one stared too long. Until one realized the edges were too clean, the symmetry too exact. A gentle shimmer, barely perceptible, danced around them when the light struck at the wrong angle.
An illusion. Flawless. Maintained with precision.
Lirean exhaled slowly, the bowstring tightening between her fingers.
She wasn't here to be seen.
She was here to get stronger.
1— Swoosh!
The arrow pierced the center. Bullseye.
2— Swoosh!
Again — bullseye.
3— Thud.
The third arrow hit the target… but off-center.
"...Weak," she muttered, brows furrowing. "More power..."
4— Swoosh!
She fired again — her form sharper, fiercer.
5— "MORE!" she growled, loosing another shot.
6— "Haaah…"
Lirean exhaled sharply, lowering the bow.
Her fingers ached. Her shoulders burned.
But her heart — that was the loudest thing of all.
Why is it still so weak…? Why...
If only—if only…
No. Focus.
A voice called out behind her.
"Lirean, you should rest. You've been at it since morning — it's nearly noon."
Aina approached, sighing. "Tsk… no use telling you. What are you even working so hard for? It's not like you even have the talen—"
She paused, catching herself. "...No, never mind. Keep going."
Lirean didn't flinch. She just smiled faintly.
"No, Aina. You're right. I don't have any talent."
She tightened her grip on the bow, the fire in her eyes lighting up again.
"But I can't give up. I owe a debt... a very important one. And I will repay it."
Just then, heavy footsteps approached the training yard.
Max and Alex strolled in with their usual smug swagger, eyes lazily scanning the three girls. Lirean, still holding her bow, turned her gaze toward them—expression calm, but her grip subtly tightened.
"Ladies," Max said with a cocky grin, "pack up. We've got a job."
Alex flicked his thumb toward a rolled-up quest notice. "Goblin 'King' sighting near Velkarth village."
He chuckled like it was a joke. "More like some oversized hobgoblin scaring farmers. Bumpkins can't tell the difference between a goblin and a green dog."
"Three gold coins for one overgrown rat," Max added. "Since the idiots in town are too scared to take it, it's easy pickings. Good time to earn some coin."
Aina hesitated. "Wait, shouldn't we at least—"
"You're coming," Max interrupted. "Don't need your opinion, just your blades."
Alex leaned casually against the post near Lirean, looking her up and down. "Don't worry, you won't have to do much. Just stand there and look serious like you always do."
The third girl glanced at Lirean, unsure whether to speak or stay quiet.
Lirean said nothing.
But her eyes narrowed just slightly.
There was something wrong here. Something off. Not the job itself — no, that part was clear enough. It was the way Max rushed it, the way Alex smirked a little too hard. Like they knew something no one else did. Like they were hoping for something more than just gold.
Still, she said nothing.
Not yet.
Max continued, his tone casual but commanding.
"Oh, and one more thing — it'll take about a week to reach Velkarth village."
Alex chimed in, waving a slip of parchment. "A merchant's headed there too — some armament peddler. Asked us personally to escort him, said we're a 'famous party' or something." He chuckled at his own sarcasm.
"Fifty silver for the whole escort gig," Max added. "Ten for each member… though let's be real — some of you might not earn the full share."
His eyes flicked to Lirean with a smirk.
"Anyway. We leave tomorrow. Be ready by dawn — and don't be late."
Without waiting for responses, the two turned and began to walk off. Aina opened her mouth as if to speak, but Lirean gently raised her hand, stopping her. "Let them go."
As the boys moved out of sight, their voices drifted back — low, crass, unfiltered now that they thought they were unheard.
"—after that, let's swing by the brothel. I heard some new girls came in."
"Oh, hell yeah," Alex laughed. "Gotta blow off steam before the trip. Can't be dragging pent-up frustration into battle, right?...ah..by...way..."
Their snickers faded into the distance.
The girls stood in silence.
Lirean's gaze lingered on the path ahead.
Emotionless.
But the faint tension in her jaw — the slightest shift of her fingers curling into a fist — said more than words ever could.
The air hung heavy after the boys left.
The girls remained silent for a moment, the brothel talk still ringing faintly in their minds.
Aina sat down on a nearby stone, rubbing her temples. "Sometimes I seriously wonder how we ended up here."
The third girl — Maya — leaned against a post, arms crossed. "You know how. We didn't have much of a choice. And we still don't."
Lirean wiped down her bowstring and began checking the feathers on her arrows, calm but focused.
"They're reckless," Aina muttered. "Cocky, condescending, and only getting worse. But they're still C-ranked… just like us. Adventuring alone at that level is suicide. Forming a reliable party? Even harder."
She gave a bitter smile. "Fear of betrayal… fear of abandonment. You never know who's out for gold and who's out for blood."
Maya nodded. "When I saw those two were C-ranked and solo, I thought maybe they were like us. Wanted to survive. So I approached them to form a party. Stupid, right?"
"They took command the moment we agreed," Aina scoffed. "Didn't even pretend to treat us as equals. Now they just… linger. Parasites wearing rank as armor."
Lirean didn't respond. She simply finished inspecting her bow, stood, and slung it over her shoulder.
"We can't afford to waste time on what we can't control," she said quietly. "We focus. Survive. Grow stronger."
She glanced toward the road, her eyes sharp with something deeper — something burning. "This escort job, the goblin mission — doesn't matter. Every step forward counts. One way or another, we'll leave this mess behind."
Aina stared at her for a moment… then sighed, exasperated.
"Well," she muttered, "we don't exactly have a better option, do we?"
Her voice softened. "We're C-ranks trapped in a party led by idiots. And you're a D-rank, Lirean… but you're the only one I'd actually trust to watch my back."
Lirean didn't answer. But the faintest nod — almost imperceptible — said more than words ever could.
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A/N:
Big thanks to 'nghtwlkr' who voted with 3 power stones again!! Every single vote helps the novel grow.