“Hey, hey, look at that.”
“Is that a Silvermoon Wolf magic core tainted by Abyssal energy? Did she really wipe out the whole Silvermoon Wolf pack on her own? And even ones that have been corrupted by the Abyss?”
“Isn’t she just at Silver rank?”
“My god, it’s one thing to survive an encounter with the Abyss, but she actually slaughtered the entire Silvermoon Wolf pack.”
The moment Yuuri took out the magic core, a new round of chatter erupted throughout the guild.
Honestly, aside from that time when her identity as a Cursed One was exposed in the street, this was the first time Yuuri had become the center of everyone’s attention.
It didn’t feel bad, but Yuuri didn’t like it.
She just wanted to collect her reward and leave as soon as possible, without attracting too much attention.
The receptionist at the counter seemed stunned as she stared at the magic core lying on the counter, not responding at all. Yuuri had no choice but to wave her hand in front of the young woman’s face.
“Excuse me, I’m here to submit a request.”
She also pulled out the completed registration form from her cloth bag and handed it over. Only then did the receptionist snap out of her daze as if waking from a dream.
“Ah… this is the Silvermoon Wolf King subjugation quest, right?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, let me confirm one more time.”
Glancing over the request form, the receptionist picked up the magic core Yuuri had placed on the table. No matter how she looked at it, there was no mistake—this was a Silvermoon Wolf’s magic core, and one tainted by Abyssal energy at that.
But the girl in front of her was clearly just a Silver-ranked adventurer. Forget a corrupted Silvermoon Wolf King—an ordinary Silvermoon Wolf King would be too much for someone of her level, not to mention there was an Abyss Nest in that area.
Just how did she take down the whole Silvermoon Wolf pack and make it out alive?
“Um, Miss Yuuri, may I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“You probably didn’t know when you set out, but there was an Abyss Nest discovered in the area where the Silvermoon Wolf pack was active…”
As expected, that was the question. After all, she was only a Silver-ranked adventurer. Just surviving in such a situation would be impressive enough—who would believe she actually wiped out the entire Silvermoon Wolf pack?
“Abyss Nest? Didn’t see it.”
Yuuri tilted her head and put on a puzzled expression.
“Eh?”
“Strange thing is, when I found the Silvermoon Wolf pack, they seemed to have gotten into a fight among themselves—some kind of infighting, and by the time I arrived, the Silvermoon Wolf King was barely alive. I just finished it off.”
The moment her words fell, the whole guild went silent, then exploded into even louder discussion.
“What ridiculous luck.”
“Damn it, why doesn’t that ever happen to me?”
“I told you, how could a Silver rank do it otherwise?”
Listening to the chatter, Yuuri let out a small sigh of relief.
After all, rather than believing a Silver-ranked adventurer had defeated an Abyss-tainted Silvermoon Wolf pack, people preferred to think she just got lucky.
“I… see.”
The receptionist’s expression relaxed somewhat, the initial shock fading.
“But, because the Silvermoon Wolf King was corrupted by the Abyss, all that’s left after killing it is the magic core.”
The request details mentioned that, in addition to the magic core, the skull and other materials from the body were also required. Now, with only the magic core left, surely they wouldn’t count this as a failed quest?
“As for that, Miss Yuuri, you don’t need to worry. Since it was a special situation, you’ll still get paid, though the reward will be a bit less.”
A reduced reward was fine, as long as it didn’t count as a failed quest.
“And about the other Silvermoon Wolf magic cores—though they’re tainted by Abyssal energy, the guild will still buy them, right?”
“That’s nothing to worry about either. We’ll purchase them as well. Was there anything else you brought back?”
“No.”
“Alright, I’ll tally everything for you now.”
The receptionist gathered all the magic cores from the counter and passed them to the guild appraiser. After the appraisal was done, she returned to the counter and handed Yuuri a money pouch.
“In total, that’s four gold coins, thirty-two silver coins, and sixteen copper coins. Please check and keep them safe.”
Opening the pouch, Yuuri glanced inside. The amount was exactly as stated.
Though it was a bit less than she’d expected, it was still a small fortune to Yuuri. She couldn’t wait to improve her diet and enjoy a proper meal for once.
Next, she needed to upgrade her grappling device. After the field test last night, it clearly still needed work to reduce the burden on her arms.
Stowing away the money pouch, Yuuri turned to leave the guild. After sleeping all day, her stomach was rumbling, and she decided to go fill it up.
But she’d barely stepped outside when Iris floated over to her, eyes sparkling, a cheerful grin on her face.
A sense of foreboding welled up in Yuuri’s heart. Whenever this white-haired fluffball smiled like that, nothing good ever came of it—who knew what kind of trouble she was plotting now.
“Hey, Yuuri-chan, I saw it! You’ve got a whole bunch of shiny gold coins now!”
What kind of mischief was this little evil god up to this time?
“Yeah, I do.”
“Perfect! Since you’ve got money now, that means you can go buy some new dresses and change your look!”
As she spoke, the little evil god circled Yuuri, giving her a thorough once-over from head to toe.
“Just look at what you’re wearing now. There’s nothing girlish about it at all.”
“It’s true I’ve got money now, but I need to use it where it’s needed most. I should save some too, just in case.”
“Huh?” Their eyes met, and Iris puffed out her cheeks, clearly annoyed.
“Yuuri-chan, that’s where you’re wrong. Why do we make money? To spend it!
If you don’t spend your money, why go through all that risk and effort earning these shiny, sparkly little cuties? Are you going to use them as pillows and sleep on them? Their whole purpose is to be spent, you know!”
“I get that, but there are still more important things I need to spend on right now…”
“I don’t believe it! With all that money, you can’t spare a little to buy a dress?”
At that moment, Iris covered her mouth and put on a look of sudden realization.
“I get it now, hmm~ So Yuuri-chan is just shy! You can’t face it, so you’re running away instead.”
“I’m not, I just…”
“Still denying it, hmm~”
With that, Iris snapped her fingers crisply, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips. “In that case, I really do need to take control of you for a bit.”
What’s going on?
The moment Iris finished speaking, Yuuri found herself moving without control, walking straight toward the shopping district.
There were several clothing shops there. Last time, when Yuuri passed by with Iris, she’d floated in and looked around for ages. It seemed she’d made up her mind back then to get Yuuri inside one day.
“Hmph hmph~ Yuuri-chan, did you forget our deal? I can control part of your body for a little while now! Since you’re so shy and won’t do it yourself, I guess I’ll just have to take control!”
“Wait… stop.”
“Hmph hmph~ Yuuri-chan~ I suggest you just give in. You wouldn’t want me to use your body for something weird, right?”
“Wait…”
Her legs moved as if they no longer belonged to her, no sensation at all. If only she could break Iris’s control, maybe she could stop this—but Iris was just a projection. She couldn’t touch her, let alone interfere.
The moment Yuuri realized she really couldn’t stop Iris, she gave in.
“Fine, I’ll go in myself.”
“Hmph hmph~ That’s better.”
Seeing Yuuri’s helpless expression, Iris snorted in satisfaction, clearly in high spirits.
And so, regaining control of her own body, Yuuri could only enter a women’s clothing shop. The rows upon rows of dresses left her head spinning.
T-this… it’s true she was a girl now, but did she really have to put on one of those light, fluttery dresses?
Just imagining it made her head heat up and go fuzzy.
Watching Yuuri’s flustered state, Iris let out a soft laugh. Even when facing an unstoppable gargoyle, Yuuri had never panicked—but now, just a few dresses had her red-faced and embarrassed.
“So cute, Yuuri-chan~”
Let’s see, which one should I pick out for her first?
Hmm… it’s a shame I can’t help her change by hand. With a bit more power unlocked, since I’m occupying part of Yuuri’s body… maybe I should look for some suitable materials and make myself a temporary body?