Rei and Elena stepped forward, utterly indifferent to the man who had just been sent flying from the entrance of the dining hall they were about to enter.
Rei moved to the left and Elena to the right, creating a gap between them. The man sailed through the opening, bounced across the pavement several times, and collapsed onto the ground.
Rei cast a brief, sidelong glance at the fallen figure. The man, roughly a 180cm tall man, lay sprawled in a brown breastplate. A sheathed sword had rolled away nearby, likely torn from his belt by the force of the impact.
"Goodness... it really is never boring when I’m with you, Rei."
"No, no. I should say it's never boring when I'm with you, Elena."
They spoke the same sentiment at the exact same moment, both looking equally dissatisfied with the other's assessment.
"The rough business is usually your department, isn't it? You're always attracting trouble."
"You shouldn't talk, Elena. You're just as much a magnet for conflict as I am."
"That is..."
The two of them continued their light bickering—or rather, their playful banter—as they stepped into the establishment.
"Guruuu."
"Kyu!"
Set and Iero watched them with expressions that could only be described as exasperated, their eyes following the pair with clear disbelief.
"Whoops!"
Just as Rei reached for the door, he sensed another object flying toward them from within. Looking annoyed by the repetition, he reached out and caught the projectile mid-air.
"Eh? O-Oh. You saved m—"
"Move."
Rei ignored the man he had just caught and, before the fellow could even finish his thanks, dropped him unceremoniously onto the ground.
"Gah! Hey... that hurt!"
"Is there a problem?"
The man, having slammed his tailbone against the floor, started to complain, but the cold glare Rei directed his way choked the words right back down his throat.
The intimidation in that gaze was one thing, but the man was also acutely aware that Rei had caught his flying body with a single hand. He realized instantly that he was dealing with someone of monstrous physical strength.
"……N-No. Nothing at all."
"Good. Personally, I think you should be more grateful that I caught you in the first place. But whatever."
Leaving the man where he sat, Rei and Elena finally stepped inside.
Elena cast a slightly pitying look at the man on the ground, but she said nothing, simply following in Rei's wake.
The moment Rei stepped into the room, he was greeted by the sight of an blatant brawl.
Contrary to his expectations, the side under attack was a single woman, while the aggressors were about 5 men. However, a single look was enough to tell that the woman held the overwhelming advantage.
Three men were already unconscious on the floor. The remaining two, armed with a spear and a sword, were trying to pincer the woman from both sides.
The woman herself was the most striking part of the scene. She wore an outfit that looked like it belonged to a tavern dancer—the fabric was so thin it was nearly transparent, leaving little to the imagination except for the areas covering her ample curves and her lower half. In stark contrast to her seductive attire, she was equipped with gauntlets with five extending claws—each nearly 50cm long—and greaves with a blade on the heel.
The woman, an odd mismatch of dancer and warrior, wore a provocative smile as she beckoned the men forward with her clawed fingers.
"What's wrong? You're the ones who asked me for a dance, aren't you? To think you'd become so useless so quickly... If this is all you can handle, your performance in the bedroom must be just as pathetic. Why don't you try learning a thing or two from the person who just walked in?"
She flashed a bewitching smile toward Rei and Elena.
Unlike Elena’s dignified aura, this woman’s smile was intoxicating—she looked drunk on the thrill of battle.
You look like a worthy partner for me, don't you? Rei felt himself momentarily mesmerized by the message she conveyed without words.
Part of it was her sheer beauty, which rivaled Elena’s, combined with an outfit designed to flaunt every curve of her body. However, the real reason Rei couldn't take his eyes off her was her expression. There was something undeniably beautiful, alluring, and cruel about the way she looked in the heat of the slaughter. She was like a goddess of death.
"Don't screw with us, you bitch!"
The moment Rei and the woman’s eyes locked and they acknowledged each other’s presence, the two men saw an opening. Refusing to let even a momentary distraction go to waste, they charged her simultaneously from the front and back.
The woman didn't even look at them. Keeping her eyes on Rei and maintaining that alluring smile, she simply moved.
A sword swung in a diagonal slash was met by a single sweep of her right gauntlet; the claws severed the blade mid-swing. In the same motion, she spun her body with fluid grace, dodging the spear thrust from behind. Using the momentum of the spin, she delivered a high kick, the blade of her greaves shattering the man's jaw.
A single drop of blood sprayed from the spearman's mouth, landing like a splash of crimson against the woman’s pale, voluptuous thigh.
Exuding a raw magnetism that made the surrounding patrons shiver, she landed back on the floor and immediately crouched down. The sudden deceleration caused her large twin mounds to sway violently, drawing the hungry gazes of the crowd.
...No, considering she was still looking up at Rei with a smoldering gaze, the gesture was almost certainly intentional—a private service meant for him alone.
As she crouched, a man's fist whistled through the space where her head had been a second before.
It was the final, desperate struggle of the man whose sword had been cut, but...
"Oh, how disappointing. If you want to share your passion with me, you’ll need to come back once you’ve grown a bit stronger."
She whispered the words and then sprang upward. As she passed the man, she grazed the tip of his chin with a palm strike. The impact rattled his brain, knocking him unconscious instantly.
She leaped nearly two meters into the air, landing with the supple grace of a feline predator before giving a graceful bow to the room.
"Waaaaaaaaah!"
The dining hall erupted in cheers and applause, as if the patrons had just finished watching a theatrical masterpiece.
"Those gauntlets and greaves... they're likely magic items."
"……So it seems."
Elena agreed a beat late.
Rei tilted his head and looked at her, only to realize she was glaring with clear loathing at the woman in the dancer-warrior attire.
"Elena? What is it?"
"Nothing."
"If you say so... Well, what should we do? I was planning on eating here, but... Heh."
Rei’s voice trailed off into a sound of genuine admiration. He watched as the woman picked up the fallen men one by one with a single hand, as if they were nothing more than light parcels, and carried them to the corner of the room.
The men weren't wearing armor, but they were well-built adventurers. They likely weighed nearly 100kg each. The fact that she could lift them effortlessly with one hand proved she was far more than she appeared to be.
Furthermore, the sharp claws on her gauntlets had retracted, leaving them looking like ordinary armor. The blades on the heels of her greaves had vanished as well.
(I see. So extending the claws and blades is an ability of the magic items. If that’s all they do, they might not be that rare, but...)
As Rei was musing, he sharpened his focus. The woman, having finished literally stacking the men in the corner, was now walking straight toward him.
The fight had lasted only seconds, but her movements were among the most refined Rei had ever seen—top-class, without a doubt.
"Hey there, you. ……No, the both of you."
The woman stopped and stared at Rei and Elena.
Up close, Rei could finally see her clearly.
She had reddish-purple hair that cascaded down to the middle of her back in elegant waves. Her eyes were a striking gold, a color Rei had never seen before. Her beauty was easily among the top three he had encountered. She was tall—nearly 180cm—standing a full head taller than Rei, and appeared to be in her early twenties, making her slightly older than Elena.
Beside him was the dignified beauty of Elena; back in Gilm was the seductive charm of Marina the Dark Elf. Until now, they had been the two pillars of beauty in Rei's life, but this woman undoubtedly stood on that same peak.
Her beauty, however, was aggressive. Aside from the martial arts-type gauntlets and greaves, she wore nothing but layers of see-through silk that left her white thighs, midriff, and shoulders enticingly exposed. Though her breasts and groin were technically covered, she looked more like a seductress than someone capable of such violence.
If Rei hadn't just witnessed her in action, he might have taken her for a tavern dancer or a high-end prostitute. She was that provocative.
Rei found himself unable to look away from such a striking presence. It was a natural reaction for a young man, but whether Elena would tolerate it was another matter entirely.
"Ow!"
Elena, wearing her own Sleipnir's Shoes, stomped firmly on Rei's foot, which was also clad in Sleipnir's Shoes.
Rei let out a pained cry, but Elena ignored him. She stepped forward to block the woman's view and spoke coldly.
"Do you have business with us?"
"Yes. You two... you’re strong, aren't you? Extremely so. Quite different from those boys over there who look like they’d be useless in bed."
She cast a contemptuous glance at the pile of men in the corner before looking back for an answer.
"Strong... I suppose we have a fair amount of confidence in our abilities. What of it?"
"What about you, boy? You're strong too, right?"
The woman completely bypassed Elena and addressed Rei directly.
"I’d say I have a reasonable amount of confidence."
"I see. In that case, it's sudden, but why don't you try fighting me?"
"……Huh?"
Rei and Elena’s voices overlapped in shock. The request was entirely unexpected.
The woman, however, turned her attention back to Elena.
"The weapon at your waist... that’s a masterpiece, isn't it? I can tell it’s a powerful magic item just by looking at it. And the boy there... I can tell he's incredibly skilled, but he doesn't seem to carry a weapon. Are you a martial arts-type warrior like me? Or do you fight bare-handed?"
"Wait a moment. We came here to eat, not to look for a fight. Besides, we've just returned from the dungeon. We have no interest in unnecessary combat."
At Elena's firm refusal, the woman's face fell into an expression of profound disappointment. Her features were so perfect that the look of sadness actually stirred a flicker of guilt in Elena.
"Then what about you? Won't you play with me for a bit?"
The woman's interest swung back toward Rei.
(Good grief... to think I'd find such exquisite prey in a dining hall... and two of them! I can't let this chance go.)
Her internal excitement leaked onto her face. For a fleeting second, a crazed light flashed in her eyes—the look of a beast starving for blood.
Feeling the weight of that gaze, Rei reached inside his Dragon Robe and gripped the hilt of the Mithril Knife at his waist.
Ideally, he would have drawn his Death Scythe, but the cramped interior of the dining hall made it impractical. This was the better option for close quarters.
Before he could act, Elena stepped forward again.
"As I said, we only stopped here for a meal. We aren't here for a brawl."
"That's just your opinion. The boy back there doesn't seem to agree."
The woman shot a provocative look at Rei.
Rei met her gaze with a challenging smirk of his own.
"Even if I did fight you, I stand to gain nothing. I’d much rather have my dinner."
His hand remained on the Mithril Knife inside his robe, ready to draw it at any moment. But the woman’s next words took him completely by surprise.
"Something to gain, you say? Then... how about this? If you beat me, I'll give you a night you'll never forget. How does that sound? I’m quite confident in my body, you know. Honestly, the whole reason those useless idiots were bothering me was because they wanted a piece of me."
At her seductive offer, the patrons who were eavesdropping nearby collectively swallowed hard.
She was truly beautiful—more alluring than even the most elite courtesans. There were likely hundreds of men who would happily bankrupt themselves just for a single hour in her company.
"And you might be getting the wrong idea from the way I'm dressed, but I'll have you know I'm actually inexperienced. I’ve never known a man. ...Well? If you win, you get to have your way with me. I think that's a more than attractive prize for a boy like you."
Despite her claim of being inexperienced, her gestures were masterfully tuned to drive a man wild.
Just as Rei opened his mouth to reply...
"Heh, so you're the Mad Beast I’ve been hearing about. In that case, before you play with the brat, you’re going to have to deal with me. I’ve got a debt to settle for my little brother... right?"
A rough voice boomed through the dining hall, cutting through the tension.