"Ugh, seriously!! What's their problem?!"

  To sum up what happened afterward, a man named Ares made all sorts of excuses, and the discussion went nowhere.

  "He never apologized in the end, and he made it sound like we were the ones doing something reckless! He didn’t even believe we could handle the fight normally!"

  On top of that, Nel was furious because our leveling session got cut short.

  "Well, from an outsider’s perspective, I can see why they might’ve seen it that way."

  The argument ended in a stalemate, and when it looked like things might escate into violence, one of their calmer members stepped in and stopped Ares, shifting the mood.

  "What, Libertà, are you saying we were in the wrong?""Hmm, I’m just saying that’s one way to see it. Like I told him, adventurers operate on self-responsibility. If we were causing trouble for others, that’d be one thing, but expecting gratitude just because they jumped in to ‘save’ us from a danger we never asked for help with? I can’t fully accept that either."

  A brief silence fell.

  And in that moment, the words I directed at that man became the final blow.

  Everyone knows being an adventurer is a dangerous job.Being a kid or a girl changes nothing.If we take action without asking for help, the responsibility falls on us.

  That’s an unbreakable rule.

  "So, I said my piece, and in the end, they backed down—grudgingly.""They didn’t look the least bit remorseful, though.""I always thought adventurers were rougher, more ruthless people. Didn’t expect the meddling type.""People like that are what the world calls ‘aspiring heroes.’"

  The so-called "discussion"—more like a verbal brawl—ended in a draw. The other side refused to apologize, insisting the misunderstanding was our fault, then left.

  We didn’t feel like continuing our leveling after that, and the thought of getting tangled up with them again killed our mood. We just collected the drops, left, and teleported back using the Pendulum.

  Even though the fight should’ve left us satisfied, we returned feeling unsettled—and I couldn’t shake the frustration either.

  "Aspiring heroes? What’s that?""Wait, Libertà, you don’t know? It’s like… a disease specific to boys, I guess?""Though occasionally, women have it too.""Oh, that kind of thing."

  I tried convincing myself it was fine since it meant we didn’t have to think about the auction, but the lingering irritation from the fight just piled onto the auction stress, making everything worse.

  Ingrid even expined what kind of people those were—the type who shove their "good intentions" down your throat without listening.Not aspiring heroes, but chuunibyou sufferers.

  Well, in this world, chuunibyou delusions can become reality. If you gain power smoothly, it’s easy to start believing you’re special.

  "Dasse said the same thing, so it must be true.""Oh, right, him. ‘I’m the man who’ll become a hero’ and all that.""Some noblemen say simir things. My father called it a ‘phase’—something they grow out of. Though the duration varies.""Sounds like he was the long-term, hardcore type.""Indeed. Thankfully, the rest of his party was sensible."

  No wonder he turned into such a nuisance, forcing his "kindness" on others.

  "Was that guy some kind of noble? His party looked like they didn’t know how to handle him."

  What stuck with me about Ares’ group was the awkward dynamic—the temperature between them, so to speak.

  "Not that I recall.""Huh. Nel, Amina, do you know? Maybe a merchant’s son or from the royal capital?""No idea. Someone that rude would’ve been taught manners if he were from a merchant family.""Me neither."

  How to put it? At first, they seemed to get along, but then one guy suddenly turned into this tryhard, and the rest of the party clearly didn’t know what to do with him.

  Not that it’s something to dwell on, but I can’t shake this bad feeling.

  "Well, let’s just hope we never see them again.""Agreed. I’ll pray extra hard tonight.""What about filing a compint? My family can submit one anonymously.""Hmm, seems wasteful to owe a noble family a favor over something like this.""But guys like that only get worse if they face no consequences.""…Yeah, you’re right."

  I’d rather avoid any further involvement, but leaving things as they are risks future trouble.

  Better to crush the problem now than be stingy and regret it ter.

  "We still have some leftover scrolls from the swamp dragon, right?""Yes. Wait, you don’t mean—""Yep. Tossing them a Water Sphere scroll as a ‘gift’ should settle things, no?""If anything, that’s overcompensating.""It’s fine. Ingrid’s family won’t get greedy over something like this. Consider the excess a convenience fee.""Understood. I’ll have my father’s connections file a compint with the Adventurer’s Guild.""Thanks."

  To cut off future trouble, I parted with one of our spare scrolls.I’d pnned to sell it to the ducal house ter, but I always keep a few high-value items on hand for situations like this.

  If this works, we can consider the matter closed.

  But after talking it over with Nel and the others, I can’t help but wonder if I messed up somewhere too.

  "Ugh…"

  Ares was condescending, and his attitude toward men and women was btantly different, but if you just summarized his argument, he was technically correct.

  I’ll admit it—my common sense doesn’t always align with this world’s.I’ve been called out on it before and adjusted each time, but I’m not fully adapted yet.

  The basics from games don’t perfectly match this world’s norms, though there are simirities.

  This argument was a perfect example.

  From an outsider’s view, kids fighting orcs alone does look abnormal.So ethically, his "I was helping" excuse sounds reasonable.

  But from an adventurer’s perspective?

  Here, my knowledge is based on games, while Nel, Amina, and Ingrid only have secondhand experience.

  If only we knew someone with firsthand—

  "Libertà-sama, you have a guest.""A guest?""Yes, a man named Dent.""Bring him in, now!!"

  There he was.An active adventurer who actually knows the norms!!

  I had Ingrid guide him to the living room, and in walked Dent—someone I hadn’t seen in a while but was oddly nostalgic to see again, though he looked exhausted.

  "Hey, Libertà. Been a while. So you’ve got a house and a maid now? Rub it in, why don’t you? Meanwhile, I’m stuck in a rundown inn. When’d you even upgrade from the stables?"

  I could only smile wryly as he raised a hand in greeting.

  "Just… got lucky, I guess.""‘Lucky’? How? I’ve been busting my ass escorting merchant caravans, and I’m still broke!"

  I offered him a seat and asked Ingrid to prepare tea.He shot me a look asking if I had alcohol, but after gncing around, he sighed and nodded like he understood.

  "So, what brings you here?""Work. The jobs you tipped me off about dried up. Went to the guild to ask for leads, and Zinc said you’d moved. Told me where to find you. Seriously, how’d you pull this off?""I’ll hook you up with work, but in return, I need advice on something.""Sure. Owe you one, so as long as it’s not money, fire away."

  After prefacing it as confidential, I told him what happened today.There’s probably a lot I don’t know about adventurer etiquette.

  "First off, I won’t grill you for hunting orcs alone. But after hearing everything—"

  He skipped past the orc-hunting part and focused on the trouble with Ares from Twilight Bde, his brow furrowing as he listened. After finishing his tea, he finally spoke.

  "You screwed up by giving them an opening.""Hey!!""Quiet, girl. Libertà, as the party leader, this is on you."

  His expression was dead serious—the look of someone who’d lived the adventurer life and knew its rules.

  "First off, a party of just women and kids in an orc hunting ground? With no guild affiliation or guards nearby? Even if you were wrecking them, to outsiders, it’d look like you were being wrecked. Any decent person would jump in to ‘help,’ and in the end, you’d be bmed for being somewhere dangerous."

  He told me to think like a normal person.To remember I was still a kid.

  "Libertà, you’re sharp. I know you get this stuff. You’ve got the brains, guts, and drive—if you say you had a safe way to hunt orcs, I’d believe you. But ignoring how others see you? That’s just dumb. That wasn’t your territory. Even if you prepped perfectly and were confident, you can’t control how others interpret it. If kids are in danger, adults help. That’s our common sense. Adventurer or not, it’s about age, nothing else."

  His blunt words hit home, making me realize I’d forgotten something obvious.My knowledge had synced up so well, my successes had gone to my head.

  We took down the swamp dragon.Maybe that loosened my grip.

  "So we’re the ones in the wrong?""Don’t twist it. I’m not saying hunting orcs was bad. Adventuring’s about self-responsibility. Dumb kids biting off more than they can chew and never coming back? Happens all the time. What was bad was your handling of it."

  Seeing me stay silent and regretful, Nel grew uneasy and pressed Dent.

  "If you’d managed the situation better, this mess could’ve been avoided. Post a lookout, hire me as an escort—hell, something. I get you’ve got secrets, but put in the damn effort. That’s why I’m saying it’s your fault. Avoiding trouble is the job. That’s adventurer common sense."

  He was right.I’d approached the orcs with game logic.Not that it was wrong, but it didn’t align with this world’s norms.

  This world has its own rules.

  "Anyway, that’s where you messed up. Poor pnning, pin and simple. And for the record, I can’t stand Twilight Bde either.""…What do you mean?"

  Scratching his head, Dent dropped his serious tone and grumbled.

  "They’re not from this continent. Some bigshot imported them from the west. And they’ve been causing problems ever since. Stealing kills, hogging hunting grounds—and their excuses. ‘We took the hunt because the other party was in danger.’ ‘This area’s too risky, so we’re banning entry for safety.’""Sounds like you’re quoting them verbatim.""Because I’ve heard it all, damn it! And the worst part? ‘If you’re so weak you need traps, maybe you shouldn’t be adventuring.’ The nerve! Thanks to them, my pay got sshed. Can’t even afford drinks now!"

  What a mess.

  "I’ll find you some good jobs.""Please do! My inn fees depend on it!"

  As thanks for the wake-up call, I figured I’d hook Dent up with some decent quests.