I’m Being Pressed by S-Ranks Volume 1 Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2 – Strange Occurrences 1

“Hey, Ryou! Are you okay?”

“Mmm…”

My shoulders were shaken, and I came to my senses.

When I opened my eyes, a face that looked like a cracked rock appeared in front of me.

“Uwaaa!?”

“Uwaaa, you scared me!”

I jumped up in a panic.

It was the Guildmaster, and he was looking me straight in the face.

“What is it, Guildmaster? And don’t scare me like that.”

“I’m the one who should be surprised. Are you all right? You were on the floor just now.”

I was on the floor?

Oh yes! That happened!

I was wrapped in the glow of the magic circle that Oriondhiel or whatever it was had activated… Shit, I can’t remember where it went from there. Was I out cold the whole time?

“Wait. Where’s the vial? Where is the fairy?”

“Vial? Fairy? What are you talking about?”

“It’s today’s appraisals, sir! Oh, I’m sorry, Guildmaster. I accidentally broke a vial – one of the magical items for the appraisal! But then a sealed fairy came out of the vial, and…”

“…Ryou. What do you mean by magic items for appraisal?”

“Huh?”

“Are you sure you’re okay? I’m sure we didn’t get any magic items for appraisal today. Are you still half asleep?”

“What?”

I looked around the room.

But there is not a single broken vial, not even the appearance of a small fairy.

“Then what was that? That’s strange. But I’m sure…”

“Ryou, are you really sure you’re okay? If you want to leave early, I’ll allow it.”

“Sorry, I must have been sleepwalking. I’m fine now.”

“If you feel sick, just let me know, okay? You can always leave early.”

The Guildmaster was always kind, despite his appearance.

To be honest, I still feel sick. Do I look that bad?

Anyway, I got up, left the assessment room, and returned to the guild’s quest mediation section.

I took my seat and got back to work.

“Hey, Ryou. Why are you sitting there?”

 “Yes?”

I’m sitting at my desk.

“You’re the receptionist. You’re the only male employee in the guild besides me, remember?”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you sure you’re all right, boy? Don’t you think you should go home?”

No, I’m the one who should be asking if you’re all right.

What is the Guildmaster talking about? A man like me sitting in the reception area is not going to make the adventurers happy.

But no matter how crazy the Guildmaster’s orders were, I, a lowly office worker, had no choice but to obey them.

Reluctantly, I left the office and went to the reception desk, where I was utterly mortified.

It was full of women, women, women, women, women, women―― women.

Until a few minutes ago, the Adventurers’ Guild had been filled with swarthy men and the stench of male sweat.

But now, the place is overflowing with women.

What is this?

Are we going to have a surprise birthday party today? And with whom?

I was so excited that I looked around with my mouth hanging open.

Then, at that moment, there was another group of people who had just opened the door to the Adventurers’ Guild.

It was the same S-ranked group, the ‘Rosenkreuzers’, who had visited earlier.

What is it this time?

Why have these girls come back? Didn’t they just come in a while ago?

Did they forget something?

I was completely shaken… that’s when I heard the whispering voices of the female adventurers around me.

“Isn’t that the Rosenkreuzers, the S-rank party active in the royal capital?”

“Ah, you know, the party famous for being S-rank spinsters?”

Huh?

What are they talking about, these female adventurers?

Have they gone mad with envy?

“With their looks, I doubt they’ll ever find a job other than being an adventurer.”

“If we say they have the looks of a fighter, then maybe they do.”

The female adventurers, except for me, who was annoyed, gave Rosenkreuzer unintelligible evaluations.

Where were the voices of praise before?

Now I can hardly hear them singing anything positive.

On the contrary, the guild was filled with giggles and laughter as if to mock them.

Even more surprising was the reaction of the Rosenkreuzers when they heard the voices of those around them.

They turned their faces down as if embarrassed – ashamed of their appearance.

I was dumbfounded, so dumbfounded that I didn’t notice one of the members of the Rosenkreuzers, who quickly walked to the reception desk.

When I came to be, she was already about to sit at the reception desk, and barely managing to get her words out.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Well… we are a party known as the ‘Rosenkreuzers’.”

As before, the warrior sat at the reception desk as a representative and began to speak.

I don’t think it’s wrong, but why introduce yourself now?

We did the registration before, so I know the names of the parties and everything, but…

“We usually work around the capital. Today, we successfully escorted the Melda Chamber of Commerce to this city as part of an escort mission for their goods. However, they said they didn’t need an escort on the way back, so we decided to challenge the Dungeon of the Hungry Wolf before returning to the royal capital.”

The female warrior begins to give the same explanation as before.

Seriously, what the hell is going on here?

Did she repeat the same explanation because I seemed to be having trouble remembering things?

Hmmm, sadly, I can’t rule out that possibility.

What worries me, though, is that the warrior’s demeanor is completely different from before.

She was so confident and unafraid, but now she is as shy as a virgin who has just had her first conversation with a member of the opposite sex.

“I see. Since there are no high-ranking parties in this city, we would be very grateful if the renowned ‘Rosenkreuzer’ could personally explore the dungeon for us.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I started with a sales-oriented smile.

Seeing me like that, the warrior looked surprised for some reason. What is it, I wonder?

“O-oh, thank you. I came to get a copy of the dungeon map. C-can we have it?”

“Of course. Here you go.”

For some reason, the female warrior asked for the dungeon map again.

It was strange, but I guess it’s for backup.

So I gave her extra copies of the map, corresponding to the number of people in the party.

“So this is the map of the dungeon…. Ah, if there are any monsters or treasures that we have defeated, I will make sure to bring them back to you.”

“Yes. I look forward to it. But most of all, please be careful not to get hurt.”

“–!! Oh! Thank you!”

The warrior mumbles something at my words, but she ends up smiling brightly.

She really is beautiful when she smiles.

But she hadn’t even smiled at me before, which makes me wonder… what kind of change of heart has she had in the last ten minutes or so?

Well, I’ve got to see a beautiful woman smile, so I guess I shouldn’t worry about the details.

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