Chapter 17
Berin?"
A man's voice called out from behind.
Berin, who had been sitting in front of Aunt May's clothing shop, glanced back briefly.
The moment she saw who it was, her expression immediately turned flat.
"Oh."
"You."
After that, she turned her face away again as if she had no interest in continuing the conversation.
The young man smiled awkwardly.
His dark brown hair was slightly messy from traveling.
"Hey..."
"It's been three weeks since we last met, right?"
Berin remained silent.
Rey scratched his cheek.
"Is this really how you greet your friend after not seeing him for so long?"
Still no answer.
Berin did not even look at him.
Rey let out a long sigh.
"Eh..."
"Are you still angry about that?"
Silence.
There was no response.
Yet that very silence made Rey even more uncomfortable.
A few seconds later, Berin finally opened her mouth.
"You think I care?"
Her voice sounded cold.
Rey froze.
"We stopped being friends from that day onward."
Berin stared at him sharply.
"So don't come near me."
"Understood?"
Rey's head immediately lowered.
"Sorry..."
But Berin turned her face away again.
As if she did not want to hear another word.
Rey could only smile bitterly.
Deep down, he truly regretted it.
The mistake he had made had destroyed their friendship.
And now, no matter what he said, nothing would change.
Eventually, he changed the topic.
"Is Aunt May inside?"
Berin did not answer.
She did not even glance at Rey.
Seeing that, Rey could only sigh.
Then he walked into the shop.
Meanwhile...
Inside the fitting room.
Izumi was still with Aunt May.
The middle-aged woman was busy organizing rolls of fabric, sewing tools, and various items Izumi had just created.
Meanwhile, Izumi looked extremely excited.
"I can't wait to see that uniform finished."
"It feels like it's been such a long time since I last wore it."
Because she was so excited, Izumi completely forgot one important thing.
At the moment, she was only wearing the underwear she had just tried on.
Nothing else.
At the same time, Rey, who was searching for Aunt May, walked toward the fitting room.
He assumed his aunt was there.
Without thinking much, he pulled open the curtain.
Sreeet.
And then...
He froze.
Standing before him was a girl with long black hair.
Her red eyes stood out vividly.
She was around one hundred sixty-five centimeters tall.
Her figure was slender and well-proportioned.
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And at that moment...
She was wearing only her underwear.
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence instantly filled the room.
Izumi blinked.
"Hah?"
"Who are you?"
"Why did you suddenly come in?"
Rey immediately panicked.
"W-Wah!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Please forgive me!"
His face turned red in an instant.
"My name is Rey!"
"I'm Aunt May's nephew!"
"I thought you were Aunt May!"
"I really didn't do it on purpose!"
Izumi's reaction was surprisingly calm.
"Oh."
Rey blinked.
Eh?
She's not angry?
Izumi pointed behind him.
"Aunt May is organizing some things."
"Ooh..."
Rey nodded quickly.
"Then excuse me."
He immediately prepared to close the curtain.
But before he could do so, Izumi spoke again.
"I heard you're an adventurer?"
Rey looked back.
"Eh?"
"Y-Yes."
Izumi seemed to be thinking.
"Hm..."
"Why?"
Izumi answered honestly.
"I recently became an adventurer too."
"But I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
Hearing that, Rey relaxed a little.
The topic of adventurers was much easier to discuss.
"Oh."
"That's simple."
"What type are you?"
Izumi tilted her head.
"Type?"
"What do you mean?"
Rey immediately thought to himself.
Is she really a girl...?
Why does she talk like an old man?
"Adventurer type."
"For example, Mage, Tank, Priest, Assassin."
Izumi shrugged.
"No idea."
"Eh?"
Then Izumi bent down.
Seeing that, Rey's face turned red again.
She searched through the pile of clothes she had taken off earlier.
A few seconds later, she found her adventurer card.
"Ah."
"Here."
She handed the card to Rey.
At first, Rey accepted it casually.
But a moment later, his eyes widened.
"..."
"..."
"Class A?"
"And..."
"All Class?!"
Rey stared at Izumi as if he had just encountered a rare monster.
"Are you serious?"
He immediately pulled out his own adventurer card.
The two cards touched.
A few seconds later, a notification appeared.
They had successfully registered as friends.
Which meant the card was genuine.
And all the information on it was true.
Rey looked at Izumi again.
"Rumi..."
"Yeah?"
"No..."
"It's just..."
"That's a beautiful name."
Izumi froze.
Once again, she forgot that she was now a girl.
She had never received compliments like that during her life as a soldier.
Her face instantly turned red.
"..."
Rey looked confused.
"What's wrong?"
Izumi turned her face away.
"How long are you going to keep looking at me like this?"
Only then did Rey realize.
His face immediately turned pale.
"AAAAH!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Please forgive me!"
He hurriedly shut the curtain.
Sreeet!
Then fled from the room.
A few minutes later.
Izumi finally put on normal clothes.
She stepped out of the fitting room.
In the main area, Rey was sitting while drinking tea.
The moment he saw Izumi, guilt immediately appeared on his face again.
"Hey..."
"About earlier—"
"It wasn't your fault."
Izumi cut him off before he could finish.
Rey fell silent.
Aunt May, who was arranging fabrics, looked confused.
"Hm?"
"What happened?"
"It's nothing."
Izumi quickly changed the subject.
"Oh right."
She turned toward Rey.
"You."
"Me?"
"About the adventurer thing."
"So?"
Rey immediately understood.
"Oh, that."
"Since you're All Class, you have a lot of options."
"Especially if you want to enter dungeons."
Izumi blinked.
"Dungeons?"
"What's that?"
Rey stared at her.
"You don't know?"
Before Rey could continue, Aunt May interrupted.
"Rey."
"She's a village girl."
"Oh."
Rey nodded.
"Wait... Eh... That's pretty rare..."
Then he began explaining.
"A dungeon is a place where people hunt monsters."
"Dungeons are created directly by the System."
"You need an adventurer card to enter."
"There are many floors inside."
"The deeper you go, the stronger the monsters become."
Izumi nodded.
Although in reality...
She understood only half of that explanation.
"If you die inside a dungeon, you also die in the real world."
"Hah?"
"So dungeons are another world?"
"More or less."
Izumi nodded again as if she understood.
"Oh right."
"Are dungeon monsters the same as the monsters in this world?"
Rey thought for a moment.
"Similar."
"The difference is that monsters in the real world can drop loot."
"Loot?"
"Rewards."
"Items."
"Materials."
"Sometimes weapons."
"It also depends on luck."
"The higher the item's class, the lower the chance it appears."
Izumi nodded again.
Even though her head was filling with more and more question marks.
"Oh yeah, Aunt May."
Izumi touched the area around her chest.
"I'm going to wear this right away."
"Since I wasn't wearing anything before."
Aunt May nodded casually.
"Ah, yes."
Meanwhile, Rey...
"..."
His eyes widened.
Not wearing underwear...?
Seriously...?
But before his thoughts could wander further, Izumi asked,
"How much is it?"
Aunt May smiled warmly.
"Free."
"For you."
Izumi's eyes widened.
"Eh?"
"Really?"
"Of course."
A huge smile immediately appeared on Izumi's face.
"Then thank you."
"I'll come back when my clothes are finished."
Aunt May nodded.
"Six days from now."
"I'll have everything ready."
Izumi nodded in satisfaction.
Then she walked out of the shop.
Her steps felt much lighter than before.
After the shop door closed.
Rey turned toward his aunt.
"Aunt..."
May immediately knew what her nephew was thinking.
"Yes."
"She's a girl who's perfect for you."
Rey almost choked.
"Aunt!"
May laughed softly.
"If Berin keeps rejecting you."
Rey sighed.
Then he opened his adventurer card.
A transparent window appeared.
[Friend List]
Zask [Assassin] [C]
Julia [Priest] [C]
Gihan [Tank] [C]
Berin [Unactivated]
Maiya [Priest] [D]
Rumi [All Class] [A]
Rey stared at the last name for quite a while.
"Rumi..."
May smiled faintly.
"Don't try anything funny."
"She's much stronger than you."
Rey laughed bitterly.
"Yeah."
"I can see that."
Outside the shop.
Izumi approached Berin.
"Berin."
"I'm done."
Berin immediately stood up.
"What took so long?"
Izumi looked extremely happy.
"A lot of the sizes didn't fit."
"So I kept trying different ones until I found the right size."
She smiled.
"And I finally found it."
"It's really comfortable."
Berin smiled as well.
"See? I told you."
"Yeah."
"Aah..."
"So this is what wearing underwear feels like."
Berin could only sigh inwardly.
So she really had never worn underwear before...
But at least Izumi looked much happier now.
That alone was enough to make her feel relieved.
"So?"
"Guild?"
Izumi nodded.
"Sure."
"Then let's go."
The two of them began walking toward the Guild.
However, in the middle of the journey...
Izumi suddenly stopped.
Her eyes narrowed.
Her gaze locked onto four people walking in the distance.
A young nobleman.
And his three bodyguards.
Their faces...
Were extremely familiar.
Instantly.
Izumi's heart began beating faster.
Pain appeared in her chest.
Not physical pain.
But anger.
The anger that had been sleeping all this time.
The smile on her face slowly disappeared.
Berin immediately noticed and asked,
"Rumi?"
"What's wrong?"
Izumi stared at the group without blinking.
Then she answered in a cold voice.
"...I found four rats."
Berin blinked in confusion.
"Rats?"
"What do you mean?"
Izumi did not answer.
Deep inside her heart, killing intent slowly emerged.
She truly wanted to kill them right there and then.
But she restrained herself.
If she moved now...
Berin would see everything.
And that was not something she wanted.
Fine.
I'll let you live this time.
Just this once.
Her gaze grew colder.
But the next time we meet...
I'll make sure you disappear from this world.
"Rumi...?"
Berin's voice sounded soft.