Pushing open the dilapidated double doors and entering the guild, a multitude of eyes immediately focused on Rod and Rita, their stares unwelcoming.
“Tsk tsk, a blind kid, huh?”
“A rookie…?”
“Humph, just here to play, I bet.”
One man even had his legs propped up, whistling arrogantly, looking down at the two with blatant disdain.
“Hey, woman, you here for a laugh? You don’t think you can become strong just by wearing some weird clothes, do you?!”
“This ain’t no place for you to play pretend… get outta here!”
“Rita.”
Rod walked towards the counter, expressionless, completely ignoring the men.
“Too many clowns.”
The adventurers around him turned a shade of purple, as though they had been personally insulted, and roared in anger.
“What did you say, you little brat?!”
“Damn it, I was killing people before you were even born!”
One of them even overturned a table, drawing his sword.
“Damn it, it’s time to teach you some respect for your elders!”
Rita's crimson eyes blazed with chilling battle intent and killing intent. A cold smile curled her lips.
“As you command, my master~”
She gently raised her arm, as white as a lotus root.
Then, the elegant maid slightly tightened her grip.
A frost-blue sickle slowly materialized in her hand.
—The God-Seated Weapon 【Skathi of Eternal Frost】.
Forged from special soul steel in a superconductive state at extremely low temperatures, it resembled the divine weapon of the goddess of winter in mythology.
“Huh? A weapon just appeared out of thin air?!”
“Ssh… something’s not right.”
“Could they be tough?”
Some of the adventurers had already noticed something amiss, but they were too prideful to back down and encouraged everyone to attack together.
“Hahaha, pretending to be tough, using a farm tool as a weapon!”
“Don’t be scared, let’s go together, teach them a lesson!”
In his mind, even if they couldn’t defeat that strange woman, they could at least give her a taste of their might!
One of the thieves, his eyes glittering with malice, charged towards Rod, intending to seize the seemingly weakest child first.
The adventurers were used to bullying the seemingly harmless newcomers.
However, these ignorant fools could never imagine that they were provoking a demonic Asura who had once fought against the enemies of civilization.
Just as a certain individual raised his short blade to strike Rod's arm, the bodies of all the adventurers abruptly froze.
The particle dispersion system unique to 【Pale Knight, Moonsoul】 activated instantly.
The veil-like wings on the back of the Valkyrie armor unfolded, unleashing crescent-shaped particles that instantly filled the entire area!
These particles rapidly absorbed the heat from the environment, turning the surroundings into an icy prison.
The thrown knives, the falling cutlery, the splashing wine...
Everything in this world was frozen, as though someone had pressed the pause button.
All the fundamental particles in the world, including the aether itself, stopped in their tracks.
This world… was frozen!
The adventurers stared in terror.
“W-wait a minute… why can’t I move?!”
“It’s so cold! What’s going on?”
“My feet! My feet are frozen!”
“Damn it, that bitch is a mage?!”
“Quick, think of something to do!!!”
“I… I can’t breathe… “
Rod calmly brushed past the thief, who was being consumed by the deadly cold, and sat down on the chair in front of the counter.
He looked at the 看板娘, who had been deliberately spared, and played with the wine glass on the counter, smiling softly.
“A pure white world, no noise, quiet and beautiful, what do you think?”
The 看板娘, struggling to hold back her trembling body, bowed her head in awe and pleaded.
“Y-your Majesty… they don’t know your identity…”
The 看板娘 wanted to plead for the adventurers, but Rod interrupted her.
“You know, but you didn’t stop them, did you?”
Sweat beaded on the 看板娘's pale forehead, and her muscles trembled uncontrollably.
The countless reasons she had prepared for this moment were instantly forgotten when she was close to this young master who was rumored to be weak.
The intuition that had helped her escape death countless times screamed at her.
If she chose to change the subject or lie, she would lose her head the next moment!
That terrifying woman was even stronger than the water god she had seen!
Too busy trying to understand why such a strong individual had suddenly appeared in Arcadia, the 看板娘 knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down her face as she begged for forgiveness.
“…It’s… it’s my fault, please forgive Your Majesty, I’m willing to make amends!”
Rod scrutinized her attitude with his six eyes and, confirming that she had no ill intentions of revenge afterwards, pondered for a moment.
Her probing had annoyed him, but killing her would make it difficult to find another person connected to the Adventurer's Guild in the short term.
Moreover, even if no one had provoked him, he would have probably found a way to provoke Rita to demonstrate her shocking power, just to take the initiative in his upcoming plans.
Clang—
Rod casually tossed a large bag of gold coins onto the counter in front of her.
“I need you to help me. Post an announcement throughout the continent saying I’m recruiting swordsmanship, magic, gunnery, and cultural instructors. The salary will be double the market rate, and the more people the better.”
If he directly recruited talent, it might alert the major nations. Using the excuse of recruiting instructors and bribing the nobles with money, although a bit of a smoke screen, would ultimately be more successful.
The woman was intelligent. She was momentarily stunned, instantly understanding the hidden meaning behind Rod’s actions.
She struggled to think for a moment, then gritted her teeth and raised the bag of gold coins high.
“I will use my own channels to help Your Majesty, I only ask for Your Majesty’s forgiveness for my previous offense!”
Rod's eyebrows rose slightly, a playful expression spreading across his face.
Interesting, not only did she not back down, but she chose to gamble and throw her lot in with him.
Should he say she was bold, or that her judgment was good?
Rod waved his hand.
“Keep the money.”
The woman’s expression immediately turned downcast, thinking that Rod had rejected her.
“I… I understand…”
“I don’t need money, but I do need talented people.”
However, the words that Rod said next instantly lifted her spirits.
“I am willing to serve Your Majesty!”