Volume 3, Chapter 15 – Clementine

“Guild Leader, what are you doing here?”

Very excitedly, Ainos walked over to Clementine, who was still holding his cheek. Judging from his tone, he completely worshipped Clementine.

Unfazed by Camilla’s slap, Clementine acted as if nothing had happened. With one hand on his hip, he laughed loudly and patted Ainos on the shoulder.

“I was just thinking that you’ve been on a mission for many days without returning, so I came out to see if you were still alive. As soon as I got to the city gate, I saw that the wall was in chaos. Plus, I caught the scent of a cute girl in danger, so I immediately rushed out.”

At this point, Clementine pinched his chin and looked at Camilla, his amber eyes sizing her up.

“A beautiful girl with blonde hair and red eyes, hmm? Although her face lacks a maiden’s vitality, combined with her determined eyes and well-proportioned figure, she’s quite a rare beauty. A pity she’s already over fifteen and outside of my protection range.”

“Guild Leader, you’re saying things that could be misunderstood in public again,” Ainos explained with a wry smile from the side. “Um, Miss Camilla, the Guild Leader doesn’t mean any harm. He just… likes underage girls.”

He’s definitely a criminal.

Having finished vomiting, Yisi wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and turned around.

“A pedophile… the dregs of society.”

Yisi had expected Clementine to become angry out of embarrassment, but instead, he patted his chest quite seriously, his gentle face full of confidence, reminding Yisi of a president before giving an inaugural speech.

“No, no, no, that’s not it, this lovely young lady. Young girls are flowers that need to be carefully nurtured. Any little danger could cause them to perish prematurely, and my duty is to protect them from being harassed by filth. This feeling is neither familial love, friendship, nor romantic love, nor is it something inferior to these three emotions. In short, my purpose for existing in this world is to bring happiness to all young girls—limited to before they become adults!”

Someone, please lock him in prison quickly.

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Yisi subconsciously wanted to get away from Clementine.

“Master!”

“Yisi.”

Mary and Tiffany, who had been following Camilla, also rushed to Yisi’s side. The former circled Yisi, checking her up and down as if inspecting for injuries, while the latter tightly held onto the corner of Yisi’s clothes.

Yisi patted Mary’s and Tiffany’s heads in turn.

“Don’t worry, I’m not hurt.”

“Ooooh!!! What a beautiful scene! A scene of many cute girls loving each other. The frank little sister and the quiet little sister caring for their older sister, and the older sister, in turn, comforting them after the battle. Oh! Ainos! I was born for this moment!”

Without a trace of acting, Clementine, with his gray hair tied back, threw his arms around Ainos next to him and began to rub his tear-streaked face against him. “Sob, Ainos, do you know how happy I am? At this moment, even if you asked me to fight a Swamp Python, I would die with no regrets.”

“No, Guild Leader, please don’t wipe your snot on my armor.”

Mary, whose attention was drawn by the exaggerated movements, tugged on Yisi’s sleeve.

“Master, who is that gray-haired big brother over there?”

“He’s a criminal-in-training. Pay him no mind.”

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“Wait! I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that!” Clementine, who had just been hugging Ainos, suddenly zipped in front of Mary. He clasped his hands on one side of his face and revealed an approachable smile. “Little half-elf sister over here, what did you call me just now? Please, by all means, say it again. This bag of gold coins—no, this sword is yours.”

“B-Big… bro… ther?”

“Excellent! This sword is yours!”

Clementine, without the slightest hesitation, drew his fiery red greatsword and presented it to Mary with both hands.

Then, Ainos, who had been watching from the side, grabbed Clementine from behind.

“Guild Leader! Isn’t that the Dragon Rock Sword you spent fifty gold coins on, nearly bankrupting the guild?! Calm down!”

“I am calm, Ainos! I was born for this moment!”

Struggling to shake off Ainos, Clementine twisted in a way that didn’t match his gentle appearance. Ainos, having a hard time, quickly shouted to the adventurers in the group.

“Lala, Kuro, don’t just stand there watching, come and stop the Guild Leader!”

Very reluctantly, Lala and Kuro emerged from the crowd. The man named Kuro took out a rope and began to tie up the squirming Clementine with Ainos. Lala, with an expression of utter shame, came before Yisi and bowed a full 180 degrees, as if she wanted to bury her head in the ground.

“We are terribly sorry, Miss Yisi, Miss Camilla. Our Guild Leader has been rude.”

“No… I think I can understand how you feel, Lala.” Leaving Clementine and Ainos aside, Yisi walked towards the city gate with her companions and Lala. “Having a guild leader like that must be a headache.”

“It’s wonderful that you think so. Besides being abnormal when he sees cute girls, the Guild Leader is a reliable and understanding person the rest of the time. Please don’t think of him as a strange person.”

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“That will depend on his own performance.”

Yisi shrugged. Clementine hadn’t looked at her with a leering gaze before. Maybe it was really as he said, that he just wanted to protect cute girls. After understanding that, she could somewhat accept it. But if Clementine were to lay a hand on her or her companions, she would punch him in the face without hesitation.

She would have to keep a close eye on Mary and Tiffany from now on.

Creeeeak—

The hinges made a piercing sound as the tightly shut city gates were slowly opened. With them came two columns of soldiers dressed as guards.

“Those outside can come in now! Do not touch the monster corpses!”

“Tch, so stingy.”

“They don’t help during the fight, but come out to claim the magic cores and monster materials after it’s over. This generation’s Count Hermion is really greedy.”

“I heard that the Flame Giant and this Calamity are also the result of Count Hermion’s inaction.”

The passersby began to gossip. Yisi captured useful information from their conversations while having her companions—especially Tiffany—get into the carriage.

A person who looked like a soldier shouted again.

“You must be inspected before entering the city! Not a single person will be let through!”

The travelers and adventurers quickly formed a line. As the soldiers were busy cleaning up the battlefield, the inspection process was much simpler than usual, and the line moved much faster. Yisi’s group and the Flame Conquerors behind them soon arrived in front of the appraisal stele.

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The so-called appraisal stele wasn’t strictly a stone tablet, but a square blue crystal that had been artificially cut. The crystal plate, about the height of an adult man, was engraved with magic characters. From Yisi’s observation, as long as one placed a hand on the appraisal stele, it would display their personal information.

The first to pass was Camilla. The soldier in charge of observing shouted to the soldier holding a pen and paper.

“Camilla, Level 8, Human Race.”

“Huh? Level 8? She looks like she just came of age.”

The soldier in charge of recording looked up, his eyes full of surprise. Yisi could see that Camilla’s name was being recorded in a separate notebook, one that was only used to record individuals of higher strength.

“Next!”

Is it my turn?

Yisi clenched and unclenched her hand. It had been almost five months since she came to this world, but she had never touched anything like an appraisal stele.

I should adjust my level for now.

In her ‘Second Form Awakening’ state, she could freely change the data in her personal information panel. Not just her name, but even her level and race could be altered.

I just don’t know if the appraisal stele will detect it. It would be embarrassing if this alteration was just for my own peace of mind.

With a blank expression, Yisi placed her hand on the same spot where Camilla had placed hers.