Yoru Machi: I Want to Test My Skills Against a "High-Level Adventurer"

Yoru Machi stressed the words "entire fortune" heavily, and noticing this, Rex and his two companions now wore expressions of extreme awkwardness.

As seasoned adventurers, even at their most down-and-out, Rex and his crew naturally couldn't have only that pouch of Copper Coins as their total wealth. They'd said that earlier purely to take advantage of Yoru Machi and his ilk as country bumpkins who didn't know the ropes.

They just hadn't expected the world to be this small. They'd thought they'd never cross paths again, but who knew they'd run into each other the very same afternoon—and that the guy was the brother of the goddess they were chasing?

"Rex, I didn't realize you had a knack for helping others. But I don't want to owe you too much. How much did you give Yoru Machi? I'll pay you back for him."

Hearing the goddess's question, Rex grew even more embarrassed. He'd been trying to boost his favorability, but if the truth came out, wouldn't the goddess be forever out of his reach?

"Ha... ha, it's nothing. I've always enjoyed helping people. Say, Miss Sonya, is this brother of yours really a rookie adventurer?"

To avoid disappointing his goddess, Rex could only brazen it out like this. Fortunately, Yoru Machi just stood by with a playful smirk, making no move to expose him.

"He really did register as an adventurer just today. He claims he has some strength and wants to take on tasks above E-rank, but I'm a bit worried.

That's why I thought maybe you could take him along to gain some experience."

In Sonya's view, Rex and his team might not be the strongest adventurers in town, but they were mid-tier, more than enough to guide a "newbie" like Yoru Machi.

But upon hearing Sonya's request, Rex and his two companions instantly wore faces like they were constipated. In fact, Rex's two teammates didn't even hesitate to make up excuses and bolt.

"Rex, I suddenly feel a bit unwell today, so... I'm heading out."

"Me too. I just remembered my partner asked me to go shopping today—I've been putting it off for ages, so... sorry about that."

Hearing his companions' flimsy excuses, Rex was screaming inside. Before they came here, the guy claiming to be sick had been flexing his muscles the whole way.

And the other one was even worse. They'd been teaming up for so long—since when did Rex know he had a partner? Shopping together? With his left hand and right hand?

"Miss Sonya, you saw it yourself. My two companions both had sudden emergencies. Looks like we can't head out on the commission today. How about we take your brother out for an adventurer experience another time?"

Rex completely understood why his companions had bolted. If not for the goddess being right there, he'd be making a run for it too.

In Rex and his crew's eyes, Sonya's "rookie adventurer" brother was a super big shot disguised as a newbie!

Have the three of them take him out for an adventurer experience? This was a guy who could effortlessly slaughter all three of them bare-handed.

And on top of that, they'd ditched him earlier. Going out into the wilds with him now? The odds of ending up dead in some ditch weren't exactly low.

"Sister Sonya, I really am strong. If you don't believe me, how about letting me spar with this Mr. Rex here?

If I can beat him, then assign me a higher-difficulty task. If I lose, I'll follow your arrangements step by step and take tasks matching my adventurer rank. Deal?"

Yoru Machi and Sonya weren't actually siblings, but since Sonya had introduced him that way to Rex, he wouldn't embarrass her by denying it.

"Sorry, I just remembered I have something important to do today too. I'll be going now!"

Before Sonya could even agree to Yoru Machi's proposal, Rex, upon hearing what Yoru Machi said, decided to flee without a second thought.

Spar with Yoru Machi? What a joke. What was that if not pure masochism? The three of them together, bare-handed, couldn't last a minute against him. Now he was supposed to go one-on-one? He'd be a five-second man!

Running away in front of his goddess might be shameful, but it was still better than getting one-shot during the spar—that would be even more humiliating.

"Alright, if you can beat Rex, I'll make an exception and give you a high-rank adventurer task."

Rex had barely taken a step when Yoru Machi's hand clamped down on his shoulder, a grin spreading across his face. "Then I look forward to your guidance, Mr. Always-Happy-to-Help Rex."

The world never lacks for onlookers, especially in a place like the Adventurer's Guild, where bored-to-death adventurers always gather.

Seeing a show to watch, plenty of adventurers grabbed their mugs of ale and crowded around, even setting up betting pools.

And right now, Rex's face was a picture of constipation. He and Yoru Machi were surrounded by gawking adventurers. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place—if he made another excuse to run, he'd be a laughingstock in the adventurer circle forever.

Sure enough, lust was a blade that scraped bones. If he hadn't been drooling over Sonya's looks, how would he have ended up in this mess?

Seeing no way out, Rex drew his sword and faced Yoru Machi with a grim, serious expression.

"No way, no way. Look at Rex's face—he's dead serious.

And his opponent's just a rookie who registered today. Why the big show?"

"Looks like my bet's a loss. I was hoping for an upset, since Rex's been into Miss Sonya for a while.

I figured he'd go easy on the newbie to save face for her, but turns out Rex is a real man after all."

Yoru Machi had registered as an adventurer just today—many in the guild had seen it firsthand.

And while Rex's skills were average, crushing a clueless newbie was a sure thing. So none of the adventurers present thought Yoru Machi stood a chance.

But unlike the gawking crowd, only Rex, the one actually fighting, knew that the white-haired man before him was no newbie at all!