Liam and Tatiana continued walking side by side through the lively streets of the town, and before long Liam began noticing something strange. It wasn’t just one or two people glancing at them anymore. Everywhere they passed, heads turned almost instinctively. Shopkeepers paused while arranging their goods, women whispered behind their sleeves, children openly stared, and even elderly men sitting outside their homes lifted their eyes to watch the pair walk by. It wasn’t the kind of attention that came from hostility either. It was pure curiosity mixed with admiration.

It wasn’t difficult to understand why.

Liam himself looked completely different from everyone else around him. His newly grown snow-white hair fell naturally over his forehead, contrasting against his handsome face and sharp features. Even though he was still recovering, there was an indescribable elegance about him that made him seem more like a noble than an ordinary traveler. His posture remained relaxed despite his weakened body, and his blue eyes calmly observed everything around him with quiet confidence.

Tatiana wasn’t helping the situation either.

The fitted leather corset wrapped around her waist and rose beneath her chest, accentuating her naturally full breasts without looking vulgar, while the long flowing skirt moved gracefully with every step she took. Her long crimson hair shimmered beneath the afternoon sunlight like silk, and together with her flawless face and bright green eyes, she looked less like someone who belonged in a remote town and more like a goddess who had accidentally wandered into it.

Naturally...

People talked.

"Do you think they’re royalty?"

"I’ve never seen clothes or faces like that before."

"Maybe they’re siblings?"

An older woman immediately smacked the man beside her on the shoulder.

"Idiot."

"Do they look anything like siblings?"

"I’d say they’re lovers."

"Probably a prince traveling with the woman he loves."

"They’re too beautiful to be ordinary people."

Liam couldn’t understand a single word.

To him it all sounded like unfamiliar noises flowing together into one strange language, but judging from how everyone kept looking in their direction, he knew they were undoubtedly the topic of discussion.

He slowly turned toward Tatiana.

Her ears...

Were turning bright red.

Liam blinked.

"What are they saying?"

Tatiana nearly jumped.

"H-Huh?"

"What are they saying?" Liam repeated.

Tatiana quickly looked away.

"T-They think..."

"They think we’re royalty from one of the bigger cities."

Liam studied her face carefully.

"Is that all?"

"Y-Yes."

He leaned a little closer.

"That’s really all?"

Tatiana refused to meet his eyes.

"Y-Yes..."

Liam looked back toward the people whispering among themselves before his gaze drifted around the street once more.

Then...

A small smile slowly appeared on his face.

"They’re looking at me..."

"...like I’m some prince."

His eyes shifted toward her.

"And you..."

"...like you’re my lover."

Tatiana almost tripped over her own feet.

She hurriedly caught her balance before staring at Liam with wide eyes.

How...

How did he know?

He couldn’t even understand the language.

Liam’s smile widened slightly.

"See?"

"I was right."

Tatiana simply stared at him in disbelief.

She was absolutely certain he hadn’t understood a single sentence.

Not one.

Then how...

How had he guessed the entire conversation?

Liam chuckled weakly.

"Don’t look at me like that."

"You gave it away yourself."

Tatiana pointed at herself.

"...Huh?"

"Your face."

"It started turning red while everyone was talking."

He shrugged casually.

"If they were only calling us nobles, you wouldn’t react like that."

"So..."

"They were saying something involving both of us."

Tatiana’s face somehow became even redder.

She opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

"..."

Before she could think of another excuse...

Liam suddenly pointed ahead.

"Oh."

"We’re here already."

He casually walked forward, leaving Tatiana frozen in place.

She watched his back with her cheeks burning.

"...He’s impossible."

She mumbled under her breath before quickly hurrying after him.

The building before them looked completely different from every other structure in town.

A large wooden sign hung above its entrance with symbols Liam naturally couldn’t read. The building itself was wider than the surrounding shops, its doors constantly opening and closing as heavily armed men entered and exited throughout the day.

The moment Liam pushed the doors open...

A completely different atmosphere swallowed him.

The scent hit first.

Strong wine.

Roasted meat.

Old wood.

Sweat.

Laughter echoed throughout the spacious hall while mugs slammed loudly against thick wooden tables. Conversations overlapped one another until the entire building became one giant wall of noise.

Liam slowly looked around.

Interesting...

He could feel it.

Tiny traces of magical energy drifted through the room.

Not everyone possessed it...

But enough people did for him to notice.

Most of the people inside were enormous men carrying swords, axes or weapons Liam had never seen before. Some wore heavy leather armor while others had chainmail hanging loosely over broad shoulders. Compared to them...

Liam actually looked rather small.

Not weak.

Just... considerably leaner.

Tatiana quickly entered behind him.

The instant she stepped through the doorway...

The room noticeably quieted.

Heads turned.

One...

Then another.

Then nearly an entire side of the tavern looked over.

"Damn..."

"Look at the redhead."

"I’ve never seen a woman that beautiful."

A bearded man grinned shamelessly.

"Nice figure you’ve got there."

Another laughed loudly while raising his mug.

"Those are some full breasts you’ve been blessed with."

A third whistled.

"Hey beautiful!"

"Come have a drink with us!"

"We don’t bite."

Someone from another table laughed.

"Speak for yourself!"

More laughter erupted throughout the hall.

Tatiana’s expression immediately hardened.

Her fingers twitched slightly at her sides.

She very seriously considered introducing one of those men to the nearest wall.

Meanwhile...

Liam simply looked around the guild with genuine curiosity.

He had absolutely no idea everyone was commenting on Tatiana.

To him...

It was still nothing more than a room filled with unfamiliar sounds spoken in a language he couldn’t understand.

He slowly turned toward Tatiana, his mouth already opening to ask what everyone in the guild had been saying, but the moment his eyes landed on her face, he stopped himself.

He didn’t need to understand the language to read expressions, and Tatiana had never been good at hiding hers. Her brows were drawn together in annoyance, her lips were pressed into a thin line, and she was very deliberately avoiding looking toward the tables where all those men sat drinking.

Liam followed her line of sight for a second before glancing back at the adventurers themselves. Their eyes practically shined every time they looked at her, some grinning shamelessly while others nudged one another with knowing smiles. He didn’t need a translator to understand what that look meant. It was the same in every world. Men were men.

His jaw tightened slightly as irritation bubbled inside him. If he were at full strength, he honestly doubted anybody inside this hall would still be sitting comfortably within the next minute. Unfortunately, today wasn’t the day for unnecessary trouble. His body still felt heavy, his strength hadn’t completely returned, and most importantly, he had come here for a reason.

He let out a slow breath before gently patting Tatiana’s shoulder. "Ignore them," he said calmly, his voice carrying far more confidence than his weakened body suggested.

"I’ll deal with them later. I promise." The words weren’t loud, nor were they threatening, but Tatiana somehow believed every single syllable. The irritation on her face slowly melted away, replaced by the faintest smile as she nodded obediently. For reasons she couldn’t explain, hearing Liam say those few words immediately made the whole room feel less bothersome. She instinctively stepped a little closer until they were walking almost shoulder to shoulder, completely ignoring the disappointed expressions from several of the men who had hoped to get her attention.

Liam’s eyes shifted away from the tables and toward the enormous wooden board hanging behind the reception counter. It was filled from top to bottom with neatly pinned sheets containing sketches, descriptions and numbers that obviously represented different missions. Although he couldn’t understand a single written word, he immediately recognized the layout. Rewards. Difficulty. Objectives. It wasn’t much different from the guilds he’d seen in games back on Earth. His eyes calmly wandered across the dozens of requests.

Then...

Tatiana suddenly froze.

"...Liam."

"Hm?"

She quietly raised a finger and pointed toward one particular request hanging almost in the middle of the board.

Liam followed her finger.

The drawing immediately made his expression darken.

It was the spider.

The very same oversized nightmare that had wrapped him inside its web the moment they arrived in this world. Whoever had painted it deserved praise because the sketch looked disturbingly lifelike. The beast’s countless eyes almost seemed to move whenever someone stared at them too long, and the glossy black fangs looked as though venom would drip from the parchment itself.

Liam frowned.

"...That..."

He looked back toward Tatiana.

"That was the thing that almost killed me?"

Tatiana nodded once.

"Yes."

Liam stared at the drawing for another second before clicking his tongue.

"...Ugly bastard."

Tatiana couldn’t help smiling a little.

Her attention then shifted toward the bottom of the mission sheet where the reward was written.

Three silver coins.

She blinked.

Then blinked again.

Her brows slowly knitted together.

"...Three silver coins?"

Liam noticed her expression.

"What?"

Tatiana pointed toward the reward.

"When we sold the beast crystal..."

"...they only gave us one silver coin."

She looked back at the spider mission.

"But if we’d accepted this request before killing it..."

"...they would’ve paid three."

Liam looked at her before looking back toward the board.

"...We got scammed?"

Tatiana slowly nodded.

"...Looks like it."

Without wasting another second, she walked toward the large woman standing behind the reception counter. The woman possessed an impressive figure, broad shoulders and a generous bust hidden beneath the guild uniform, making her look more than capable of throwing troublesome customers out by herself if necessary.

Tatiana politely bowed.

"I’d like to ask something."

The receptionist smiled professionally.

"Go ahead."

Tatiana pointed toward the spider request.

"This mission..."

"...who completed it?"

The woman looked toward the request before slowly shaking her head.

"No one."

Tatiana frowned.

"No one?"

The receptionist folded her arms.

"Nobody has come to claim the reward."

She shrugged casually.

"My guess is that some powerful cultivator happened to pass through the forest, killed it while traveling, and simply didn’t care enough about three silver coins to report back."

Tatiana nodded thoughtfully.

That sounded possible.

Meanwhile...

Liam suddenly felt something appear before his eyes.

A familiar translucent blue screen floated into existence.

[New Mission Updated!]

His brows lifted slightly.

The previous mission instantly disappeared before another line slowly wrote itself across the screen.

[Accept the hardest mission in the guild.]

Liam stared silently.

"..."

Then sighed.

"This damn system..."

"It can never just be straightforward."

"It always has to take the longest possible route."

Almost immediately another line appeared beneath it.

[Hey.]

[I can hear your thoughts.]

Liam’s eyelid twitched.

The next sentence slowly formed.

[Stop bitching and go accept the strongest mission.]

Silence.

Liam stared at the floating screen.

"..."

"...You’re getting really mouthy."

[You’re welcome.]

Without another word, Liam mentally reached toward the tiny conscious fragment that had somehow become active while he was unconscious.

Click.

The voice disappeared.

Peace.

Finally.

He honestly preferred when the system simply gave notifications and kept its opinions to itself.

Much better.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose before turning toward Tatiana.

"Help me."

Tatiana tilted her head.

"With what?"

Liam looked back toward the enormous mission board one final time.

"I need you..."

"...to help me accept the hardest mission they’ve got."