【 STATUS 】

Name: Camella      Race: Elf      Title: Dragon Slayer

INT: 5,000    STR: 59    AGI: 58    VIT: 49     DEF: 300 《 Skills 》 < Appraisal > < Fast Thinking> < Eternal Youth> < Elemental Spiritism >

“?!....”

“.......”

“....So I was caught the moment I walked in here….” 

Hiroki said with a rather defeated, fake smile on his face. He knew that this woman had a skill similar to his that allowed her to see his own status. And her INT was much higher than his, allowing her to see everything as if he was peering through hers.

“Indeed, but please don't think too much about this because I still want to welcome you to my guild with my full support.” The woman gave a welcome, peaceful smile as she said so.

“I understand. But that doesn't seem to be the whole story, does it? You plan on using me in order to bring back the reputation of this guild to how it used to be.” Hiroki questioned the cunning mind of the elf in front of him.

“Seems like you are as smart as you look. I'm pleased that we can understand one another.” The blonde elf smiled back at the understanding agreement both of them had.

Aya, who wasn't sure what the two of them were talking about, remained silent until Hiroki decided what to do next.

“Then will this be all?” Hiroki pondered before pulling his cloak over his head to conceal his white hair.

“Hold on, before you leave.” The blonde woman said this as she opened her desk drawer, revealing a small greenish emblem. “Take this.”

Hiroki, without a second thought, levitated the emblem with his ‘Mind’s force’ and took a closer look at it. The emblem had a similar figure in it, which was very similar to the symbol this guild had.

“This is?” he asked.

“Consider it as part of our friendship.” The blonde woman smiled as she stated that. “If you ever get into trouble about your hair, that badge will vouch for you. I think this will become a great asset to you.”

Hiroki then showed a small smile on his face before turning around to leave. Aya also put on her dark cloak to hide her white hair before following Hiroki.

The woman was now alone once again as she watched the duo leave her office before the same receptionist who brought them here entered the room.

“Miss Camella, how did it go? Do you think he was cheating on his exam?” The receptionist asked after seeing the quiet and stern look of the guildmaster. 

The guildmaster was staring at her own desk with both of her fingers together in thought.

“I gave him our guild’s special badge.” She answered in a low, stern tone.

The receptionist's eyes widened at what the guildmaster said in response. She had a lot of questions, and she didn't seem to understand what her boss was thinking.

“Our guild’s badge? Aren't those badges usually reserved for people of high status?"

“Indeed…. We have had many problems in the past with greedy merchants who abused that sort of rank. However, I have a feeling that this one might be different…” She softly responded.

“....If the guildmaster says so…. Okay…. Is there anything else you want me to do?” The woman concernedly said, accepting the guildmaster’s decision.

“Yes, can you fill out and sign the documents he filled out?” The blonde elf said.

“Cerently!” 

The receptionist responded before getting the documents filled out by Hiroki before heading out of the office, leaving the guildmaster on her own once again.

And now that she saw that no one was there, she let out a long sigh as she relaxed her back on her own chair, her eyes staring at the nothingness of the ceiling as if she could see through it.

‘....How could someone like him…….’ 

She thought to herself as she recalled what she saw through Hiroki’s status….

‘......have that title?’ 

* * *

Almost two weeks later, Hiroki had managed to start his own business through the new kind of energy drink that he had created in this world. 

While many people would consider that a potion, he actually offered this kind of new drink at a price that even commoners in this world would be able to afford.

However, the first day he tried to introduce this kind of drink, many of the traders who spent hours outside trying to sell their products refused to buy it due to not understanding what it was. 

A new kind of potion that would sell this cheap? They definitely thought that it was some sort of scam, which is why barely anyone even offered to sell it to their own tents or shops.

But knowing himself, Hiroki knew very well how to spread this unknown drink to the ignorant people of this world. And that was after finding several shop owners who were on the verge of bankruptcy. 

He gave them several free energy drinks to test whether the product would sell or not, leaving the traders with new free products that they wouldn't lose money on if they didn't sell. 

Even if they found this new free drink suspicious, those traders had nothing else to lose.

The first few days of this new type of drink were difficult to notice because there were so many other shops selling expensive potions for adventurers. 

However, one day, several adventurers that needed the cheapest kinds of drinks came across this new drink, and they found it rather sketchy. But, due to their poor financial situation, they had no choice but to try this new strange potion.

It wasn't much at first, but those same adventurers began spreading the word about this energy drink that boosted your muscles and energy. It was almost the topic of most adventurers' conversations at this point since they had never heard about a potion being this effective and cheap.

One normal morning, after Hiroki had spent all of his free time preparing more energy drinks in the abandoned house, he was ready to head back to his shops where he would usually supply his drinks. And right now, he was only waiting for Aya to get ready and come along with her.

Aya seemed rather excited as well since Hiroki was beginning to rely on her a lot more, even though he was just asking her to store his energy drinks on her dimensional storage. That way, not only wouldn't they get suspicious of who created these drinks, but they'd also have a way to stay stealthy while storing hundreds of potions.

“Did you store everything?” 

“Yes, everything is in my pocket's storage.” Aya gave an excited smile as she responded.

“Great, then let's go.”

After ensuring that everything was safely stored in the dimensional storage, Hiroki and Aya proceeded to the town's main district, where many traders would try to sell their fruits, vegetables, accessories, and other items. 

It was a busy place where a newcomer wouldn't even know what to see first. 

Hiroki, on the other hand, already knew where he wanted to go, so he walked past the busy area until he arrived in front of a certain shop, which was much busier than usual.

“It seems that this shop is getting a lot more customers than usual….” 

Aya commented as she saw the least obvious shop hidden in a corner of a pathway filled with so many adventurers. 

"How did you know this shop would do well with our potions?"

“A coincidence, maybe?” 

Hiroki slightly smiled as he responded to the curious girl by his side. His mind, however, was somewhere else, thinking of what his next move was going to be.

While approaching the crowded shop, a younger looking girl with long brown twintails, who appeared to be around ten years old, gasped when she noticed the duo wearing black cloaks standing near the crowd waiting to enter the shop.

“Ah! It's big sister!” 

Her face immediately lit up with excitement and happiness the moment she noticed Aya. 

And, without a second thought, she dashed towards her, wrapping her small and docile arms around Aya's waist. If someone would compare their heights, then the child’s head would barely reach Aya’s breasts.

“How have you been, Emily?” 

Aya also gave a smile back at the love she received from the young girl. It was a rare moment that Aya felt like a responsible adult, where she had to act all knowing and protective. But despite that, she still felt incredibly happy about this.

“I’ve been doing amazing! Papa’s shop is filled with this many people!” 

She raised both of her arms in the air to represent the number of people that were in the shop. There were a lot. However, to Emily’s eyes, her wide open arms were enough to reveal the massive amount of customers.

“That's great to hear.” Aya chuckled while rubbing the girl’s hair. “Can you show us your way to your father’s shop? We have more potions that he could buy.”

“Umu!” Emily happily nodded.

And, while holding Aya's hand, Emily led both Hiroki and Aya to the back door of the shop, where they encountered an unusually fat bald man with muscular arms. 

The shop was busy, but thanks to a few members of his family, this shop was able to serve customers even when the owner was not present. 

“Oh, Sir Hiroki! Just the one I was expecting to see.” The man showed an excited smile as he saw the familiar duo in dark cloaks.

After seeing that there was no one else beside them behind the shop’s clear view, both Hiroki and Aya pulled down their cloaks and revealed their white hair. 

However, compared to a normal human who would either freak out or simply become confused, both this bald man and the young girl didn’t show any sort of negative expression. Both kept their smile as they looked at the duo in black and white.

“How have you been Ragnar?” Hiroki asked, noticing the positive vibes of his seller. “Seems like your shop’s been doing great as well recently.”

“Hahahaha. Cerently, it has been doing as you stated!” 

The man laughed in joy, uncaring about the white hairs of the duo. 

“I'm still surprised to this day when you first came to my shop and stated that this potion would be life changing. Hey, tell me. How did you do it?”

“Luck I guess?” Hiroki gave a blank smile as he responded.

“I see. I see.” Ragnar nodded twice as he gave a short thought to himself. “So those adventurers suddenly came out of nowhere to my shop, and somehow, the next day, my shop was popular….. Indeed, it is great luck, I suppose.”

While Aya was occupying Emily with her small stories of how the shop has been doing, Hiroki continued to listen to Ragnar. However, after a short period of time, Hiroki looked at Aya, giving her the signal of what she was supposed to do next.

“Where can we put the next supply of our potions?” 

Hiroki asked as Aya was waiting for the place where she could unload. 

The shop owner gave a small sigh before opening the door at the back of his shop. 

“Right this way.”

It was also the location where all of the other drinks' leather equipment was kept safe. While the quality of the equipment wasn't that great, they still did a great job for those adventurers who couldn't afford to buy those expensive and fancy armors that stood out from the rest. 

After analyzing the whole room in order to spot the right open place where she could unload, Aya put her hands on her pocket, before a glowing white circle appeared on her jacket, gently pushing all of the potions in containers out in the storage.

“No matter how many times I see this, it still amazes me that such a thing actually exists.” 

The shop owner commented as he watched, with raised eyebrows the white-haired girl use her cloak to store a lot of stuff without breaking or scratching any of the products.

“That's because big sister is amazing!” Emily also added her comment while watching all of this occur.

“Lil Mily, go and help your mother. I'm sure that they need a pair of cute hands in their disposition.” Ragnar said with a small smile after seeing his daughter slack off.

“Muu!! I told you not to call me that in front of other people, papa!” 

Emily pouted before going to the other room, where she would assist her mother and brothers with all of the customers that were waiting to buy this new energy drink.

The shop owner gave a small sigh. “To think she would grow this much to hate on her papa... She loved being called all different sorts of nicknames when she was younger…”

While Aya could be seen chuckling at the adorable way this small girl treated her father, Hiroki only remained silent as he seemed to be counting all of the potions within a few seconds.

“Alright, a total of three hundred and five potions.” Hiroki stated, surprising both Aya and the shop owner with his fast-paced calculations.

They knew Hiroki was intelligent, but even at this point, he continued to astound them with his various skills and methods of fabrication.

“.....A-anyway, I have to ask you this question. Why do you only supply my shop?” 

The shop owner pondered, trying to understand a few reasons why Hiroki was only selling these incredible potions to him. He didn't mind if the reasons were good or bad because, in the end, his shop was actually blooming with customers. 

“You could’ve had much more success with the other shops.”

Even Aya, who was watching the two, seemed a little curious about Hiroki’s choices. She trusted him and all of his judgments. However, she pondered the reasons for it in her mind.

“Before I answer your question, let me ask you something first.” Hiroki’s face remained emotionless as he looked at the curious shop owner. “Why do you think that many small shops like yours have been failing this much recently?”

“I’ve been wondering about that as well.” Ragnar wondered as he rubbed his own chin. “It's not like my leather armor is badly made. In my opinion, it's quite good, and I'm quite proud of it. Maybe it's because many new adventurers would rather get fancier and more sturdier armor compared to this? But I don't really blame them, because all of these new lads would rather get something to show off than something to protect them themselves.”

“You’re half correct.” 

Hiroki quickly responded, explaining to the two other people what the other half of the reason was. 

“However, there is something else going on in this town. Or, to be more exact, many of those fancy-looking shops you're looking at.”

“What are you trying to say……?” The bald man confusingly questioned.

“Haven’t you noticed? Many new or veteran merchants are retiring from their jobs almost every day.” Hiroki stated with a small smirk.

“So…..” The shop owner’s eyes widened as something finally clicked inside his head. “....how come there are still so many shops still open?”

Even Aya seemed surprised to finally see the truth behind such behavior in this town. 

She has been living in this town for quite awhile, and she never noticed such a thing. This also explained why the merchant guild seemed so empty and how they seemed very interested in Hiroki’s entrance. 

But the real question still remained in the open. What was the reason for this... or, more precisely, who was the cause of this?

* * *

One night before, at a certain mansion in a fancy garden of the town, one guy with one-sided long hair seemed to be in a rush while trying to reach a certain part of the mansion. He continued rushing upstairs until he finally reached a fancy looking door, then knocked on it.

“You may enter.” 

The moment he heard the small, faint voice of a boy, this brown-haired guy entered the room with a letter in his hand.

“Excuse me, boss. I’ve got the information you asked for.” The long-haired guy said while holding a piece of warped paper.

In the center of the room sat a young, blond boy of around 14 who was hunched over a pile of papers and scribbling at a constant pace. His concentration was so intense that he barely registered the arrival of a brown-haired visitor, glancing up for only a moment before returning to his task.

“Leave it on the desk.” He casually responded.

“A-alright.”

And, as the blonde kid demanded, the brown-haired man did as he was told before bowing and exiting the office-like room. 

After this young boy was done writing on his papers, he let out a small sigh before opening the letter and reading everything that was in it. His eyes smoothly went by each paragraph at a quick pace before a mischievous smile formed on his face.

“Found you.” he murmured to himself with a sense of satisfaction, before crumpling up the paper and tossing it aside. 

Despite his young age, his eyes betrayed a cunning intelligence that many adults would have envied, full of plans and schemes that set him apart from his peers.

* * *

Once Hiroki confirmed the whole payment of the drinks that he had sold to this shop, they left before the sun reached its highest point in the sky. 

They walked back on the same path where many people were wandering in each of those fancy shops. Aya also took a look at each of them, finally seeing the situation in each of those shops from a different angle. 

Even though the merchant's guild should have been thriving with new and inspiring merchants, it was actually declining, nearly bankrupting them as an official guild in this town.

‘Just what is going on…..’ Aya thought in her head. ‘And what does Hiroki know about this….?’

Hiroki, on the other hand, seemed rather relaxed, as his eyes were fixed right in front of him. 

Unconcerned about the situation surrounding the shops that should never have been open in the first place. Even though he showed no sort of emotions or concern, that actually troubled Aya for a bit. 

‘How is it that he is always this calm, no matter what situation we’re in?’ She questioned in her head. 

As Aya was looking at him, Hiroki suddenly turned to his side, meeting the girl’s gaze again.

“Is something wrong?” Hiroki asked after sensing the gazes from the girl on his side.

“Ah, no….” She shifted her gaze as she realized that she was staring at him.

After seeing the success of his new kind of potions, Hiroki began to gather his thoughts on how to expand this drink not only to this whole town, but also to the entire kingdom. 

This wasn't to get attention from other royals and powerful knights, but to actually test out one of his theories about not being the only one who was summoned to this world. 

If he had a system where it stated that he had to level up and defeat the demon king, Hiroki immediately thought about how there must’ve been others like him that were dragged to this world. 

Hiroki wasn't pissed or happy about being summoned to this world as a ghost. However, this kind of emotion will be decided the moment he finds out who summoned him here. Even if he found this entity with no clues, he wasn't the type of guy who would give up easily.

After using their incredible speed to rush to the wild forest, they reached within an hour their destination. The same desolate location where they obtained the ingredients for an energy drink. 

Aya already knew the procedure, which is why, without questioning, she began using her daggers to take chunks from the trees, similar to Hiroki. However, Hiroki’s airblades seem more effective and quick.

They managed to get almost six hundred kilograms of tree materials before they stored everything in Aya’s dimensional pocket. There still didn't seem to be a limit on the cloak's storage, which is why Hiroki continued testing its limits by adding more and more stuff inside it. 

Once they were done gathering what they needed, Aya prepared a bag with a few chunks of Funky Trees as a way to make her less suspicious when going back to the town. 

It would be very suspicious if Aya went into the wild and returned with nothing on her, which is why Hiroki and Aya had already discussed how to solve this minor problem.

On the way back, Aya and Hiroki hadn't said a word to one another for quite some time. And Aya began thinking to herself about how she could get out of this silent situation. 

She knew that this wasn't the first time that they had stayed without talking to one another other than asking for things, but she still felt the need to talk about some other topics with him.

“Hiroki…” Aya faintly called out.

“Hm?” Hiroki meekly responded without bothering to look at the girl on his side.

“I’ve always wondered about this. But where are you from? You know — before you ended up in this kind of form?” Aya asked after thinking for a bit.

Hiroki seemed to be thinking something to himself as the curious girl on his side was waiting for some kind of response. She wasn't sure what to expect from him, because she wouldn't want to touch subjects that could bother her benefactor. But she couldn't lie to herself and deny that her curiosity was starting to reach its edge.

“I'm sorry if I’ve asked this so suddenly. I don't mean anything by it…” Aya wryly smiled as she apologized.

While the girl to his side was looking straight ahead and not anticipating a response from him, Hiroki turned to his side. 

“I'm not offended, nor do I have anything to hide. What you're asking is something basic in which many relationships wish to know about one another. To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't ask sooner." Hiroki casually responded.

“No, I simply—” Aya looked back, not expecting Hiroki to be so casual about this.

“Didn't want to make me uncomfortable?” Hirok immediately responded before she could finish her sentence. 

Aya seemed a bit surprised by how predictable she was. However, she didn't want to deny her benefactor's true words, which described what Aya thought in those moments. She felt obliged to know about her benefactor, so she gave a stern nod that expected to have an answer from him.

“If you really want to know, then I don't mind. But I'm not really sure if you will believe me.” 

“I will believe you!” Aya immediately responded with a stern expression. “You were the one who saved me. Protected me. Helped me grow stronger. If I don't believe what you're saying, I don't deserve any of this… So please tell me.”

Hiroki, seemingly satisfied by the girl's thoughts about him, let out a small fake sigh. Aya kept looking at him, expecting to know some sort of truth about his origins. 

Where was he from? How did he end up with white hair? Why can no one touch him? Why can he possess other living beings? What does he plan on doing further into the future? 

Those were the primary thoughts on Aya’s mind. If she wanted to get closer to Hiroki and help him during his darkest times, she needed to know about him as much as she could.

"I'm from a far-off advanced civilization where there are no monsters or special abilities. I don't think anyone in this kingdom or others is aware of it because it's essentially a hidden whole world that no one can enter or leave at will." 

However, what came out from Hiroki’s mouth, made Aya speechless. This statement was something that she never expected at all. But at the same time, it also made a bit of sense.

“Advanced civilization…..? No monsters….?” 

She repeated this to herself, unsure of how to express her disbelief about this sort of place. She had never heard of anything like this before, which led her to believe that this location was unknown to the general public.

“You don't really need to force yourself to believe this, as it is my own business to deal with.” Hiroki looked straight ahead, uninterested in continuing this half-true story.

“Ah, No!” Aya suddenly turned back to Hiroki with a stern face. “I believe you! And if you want to find a way back, that's my problem as well. I want to help you!”

Hiroki remained silent for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face, away from the sight of the girl on his side. 

“Very well.”

It didn't take long before both Hiroki and Aya finally arrived back at the town. 

The sun was beginning to set, and they knew that they had barely arrived on time before the night. They had no trouble dealing with night-time monsters. However, they still preferred efficiency to dealing with monsters who would simply waste their stamina and spiritual energy.

Currently, they were still living in the abandoned house that Aya had found while she was still in debt with the slave merchant. 

Hiroki didn't bother at first about their base due to the fact that this house was an abandoned place. However, after reaching a conclusion about his new drink, he planned on expanding his business, which would require a bigger and cleaner place than the basement of this dusty and broken house.

Aya was beginning to get tired due to running several kilometers back and forth, but she didn't want to show this to Hiroki due to not wanting to be a drag. However, she couldn't wait to reach the abandoned house so she could finally take a rest. 

The house was only a few meters away from the current path they were on. But suddenly, Hiroki stopped before turning towards Aya.

“Let's head over there.” Hiroki spoke as he directed his eyesight towards a certain empty back hallway that was on the back of the abandoned house.

“...huh?” 

Aya was a bit startled by this as she still was waiting for that moment of relaxation in her bed. But once Hiroki ordered that, she simply followed him without saying any more. 

Just what could’ve happened that made Hiroki this serious and quiet? 

This is what Aya found confusing at first, but after hearing a cracking noise from the back, she immediately picked up the reason why, causing her to grab her daggers with a stern look on her face.

“Well, well, well. So the rumors were true after all?” A certain voice was heard.

While Aya immediately stared at who had followed them, Hiroki remained silent without bothering to turn around. 

A knight with a white robe, green hair, one yellow and one green eye, a long one-sided sword, and a rope around his waist used to bind criminals had followed them. His eyes were sharply narrowed, however, his expression was that of a villain filled with pleasure who liked watching his enemies crumble at his mercy.

“White hair? Check! Barely any armor? Check! And a valuable bag of goodies?.......check.”

As he confirmed this with himself, the green-haired knight smirked. 

“That certainly is not a great sight. But I'm going to have you hand over that bag and turn yourself in. Not that you have any choice in this.”