“He… won.”
“Of course he did♪ That’s Dear Fei for you♪”
“Hey, earlier… you called me a ‘duck.’ What’d that mean? Related to him winning?”
“Ah, yes♪ That monkey behind you was peeking at your hand and signaling the mustache guy which card to play. Exactly the kind of cheap trick a bug like him’d use. But Dear Fei saw right through it—as expected♪ Anyone who loses to that is below a monkey♪”
“B-Below a monkey…? Me? Wait, but… even if he figured out the cheating, he couldn’t guarantee a win, right? The opponent’s plays were random…”
“That’s what makes Dear Fei amazing♪ He attracts luck. Ah, truly, nobility yields splendid results♪”
“He caught the cheating… yet went all-in on pure gambling at the end? He could’ve just exposed it and won outright.”
“He’s insane♪ Betting everything—even his soul-bound swords… What was he planning if he lost? Well, I suppose he’d just dive into the dungeon barehanded… Ah, Dear Fei is magnificent♪ Someone who stakes his life daily is leagues above bugs like you♪”
They chatted while trailing Fei—Alicia slightly deflated, Mordred buzzing with excitement.
“Sigh… I’m exhausted today… Isn’t it almost dinner? I’m starving.”
“What are you saying? The sun’s barely past noon.”
“Huh…?”
Alicia looked up. The sun still shone brightly overhead.
(…The day’s been so packed, I thought it was over… It’s still only lunchtime?)
Then her stomach growled loudly. Flustered, she clutched her belly and looked down. Peeking at Fei and Mordred, she was sure they’d heard.
“Dear Fei, might I join you for lunch?”
“…No.”
“Fufu, then I’ll just tag along♪”
(Huh? Am I… invisible? Was Mordred right? Is Fei making me fade away?)
No reaction to her stomach’s cry. Not even a glance. She felt herself turning into air.
Fei headed to a food stall, scanning the area as he walked. Alicia followed—until a voice called out.
“You’re… from yesterday—”
“…?”
“And Alicia, too…?”
It was Rhine. Staring at Mordred in shock, he sighed in relief seeing Alicia unharmed.
“Um… who are you?”
“It’s me… Rhine.”
“Rhine…”
(Who was that again…? I can’t even talk—I feel like I’ve seen him…)
“O-Oh! Rhine! Long time no see…?”
“We met yesterday…”
“Right! Yesterday!”
(Gah, they’re leaving!)
“W-Well, see you!”
“Y-Yeah.”
Originally, Rhine was en route to an Alicia event—but Fei sped ahead on the bullet train, erasing it. So they met on the roadside instead.
Alicia left.
Later, since she was broke, Fei treated her to lunch.
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Mordred split off, citing “people to find.” Fei and Alicia were alone again, heading to the dungeon.
“Thanks… for lunch. I’ll pay you back someday.”
“Don’t. That’s more trouble than it’s worth.”
Fei’s reply was curt. Alicia stole glances at him as they walked. At the next turn, the path would lead straight to the dungeon
Just as the two were about to turn the corner, someone came running and collided with Alicia.
“Owwww!!”
“S-sorry! A-are you okay?”
“How rude! Watch where you’re going!”
Clutching her forehead, Alicia glared at the offender. There stood a boy with red hair and red eyes, slightly shorter than Fei, with a cute and somewhat androgynous face, bowing deeply in apology.
“I’m so sorry!”
“…Well, you don’t need to apologize that much.”
“Thank you! I’m really sorry!”
“I said it’s fine already! Weren’t you in a hurry anyway?”
“A-ah, right! Sorry, excuse me!”
The boy hurried off in a fluster. Fei gave him just a brief glance before resuming his walk toward the dungeon.
“Hey, wait up!”
“……”
“That kid was really clumsy, wasn’t he?”
“……”
“You could at least respond sometimes, you know?”
“…You’re right.”
“He had a crossbow on his back… maybe an adventurer?”
“Probably.”
Upon entering the guild, Marine spots the two and greets them. These are the only two people Marine bothers to greet.
“Well, well, look who’s here! We’ve got some good quests for you!”
“…Quests, huh.”
“Wanna take one?”
“I’m a little curious.”
“Hmph.”
Fei steps closer to Marine. She hands him a sheet of paper as if she’d been waiting for this moment. On it is a drawing of a goblin—normally green, but this one is colored red.
“This here’s a newly discovered subspecies of goblin in the dungeon! There are quite a few of them, and adventurers are already out hunting them. Oh, and the magic stones from these goblins fetch a really high price, so I highly recommend this one!”
“…I’ll take it.”
“Great! Accepted! Your mission is to slay fifty of them and retrieve all their magic stones. The quest completion is judged by the stones, so don’t lose any, okay?”
“Yeah…”
As Fei and Alicia are accepting the quest, someone rushes into the guild in a panic.
“S-Sorry to keep you waiting!!!”
It’s the red-haired boy from earlier. Noticing Alicia’s questioning look, Marine, who seems to recognize him, explains.
“Oh, him.”
“You know that guy?”
“Yeah, he’s an adventurer —well, more like an outcast like me. People call him ‘Sewer Rat.’ Poor kid.”
“…Why?”
“His name’s Tork. He’s incredibly timid, clumsy, and has zero confidence. His demeanor is so far from what an adventurer should be that someone started calling him a ‘bottom-feeding rat,’ and it stuck.”
“…I see.”
“Yeah. But weirdly enough, he still won’t quit being an adventurer. He doesn’t look for other paths, but since he’s too scared to fight, he just takes low-paying support roles as a non-combatant.”
“…Doesn’t he join parties?”
“Nope. Well, today he was supposed to join one as support, but… he forgot his crossbow bolts and ran back to get them. While he was gone, the party just left for the dungeon without him.”
“Well, yeah. Who’d trust a clumsy kid like that to watch their back? No matter how hard he tries…”
(Of course… Not everyone can be like Fei. Honestly, seeing someone even more hopeless than me is weirdly comforting.)
Her gaze lands on Tork, standing alone after yet another blunder. Marine, pitying him, makes a suggestion to Fei and Alicia.
“If you don’t mind… could you let him join your party? He’s actually pretty knowledgeable, despite being a klutz.”
“A clumsy coward, huh… Teaming up with that… Well, I can party with anyone—I’m that talented! If Fei says it’s fine, I’ll allow it.”
“Since when were we a party?”
“Huh? W-Well… Let’s just call it a temporary party. So, what about him?”
“…I’ve always been solo. You’re just tagging along. So, it doesn’t matter who else joins.”
“Then it’s settled. Hey, you! Scrawny redhead! Get over here! We’re letting you join!”
At Alicia’s call, Tork’s eyes light up as he hurries over, bowing deeply.
“Th-Thank you! I’m Tork! Nice to meet you! I-I’ll do my best, even if I’m… like this!”
“Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you. No need to be so formal. I’m Alicia, the pinnacle of talent in this world. And this guy here with the demonic glare is Fei.”
“Alicia and Fei! Got it!”
“Alright, let’s get moving. I’ll explain more as we go.”
“Y-Yes!”
Fei barely spares Tork a glance before silently heading toward the dungeon. Alicia couldn’t escape the world’s events forever. After recovering her gambling losses from Rhine, she was mentally drained but pushed forward, heading into the dungeon alone to grow stronger.
There, she collided with Tork—the male counterpart of a heroine—at a corner, marking their first encounter. Later, at the guild, she meets him again after he’s abandoned for forgetting his bolts. Seeing his loneliness mirror her own, she decides to keep him close as a kind of emotional stabilizer and invites him into her party.
This event marks the birth of Tork—a yandere-dependent pretty boy who would later become popular in certain circles in the Fei’s past life.
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