The Deeds Of An Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat - Chapter 41: Misunderstood Friends

On that day, Luke became a B-rank adventurer.

Even Guild Master Dolce knew that he had the potential to be even higher-ranked, but A-rank and above required “achievements”.

It was a rule that Dolce could only bow his head to, repeatedly. He had no choice but to somehow convince Luke about it.

However, surprisingly, Luke accepted it easily.

For Luke, becoming an adventurer was merely a means to go to the empire, and ranks didn’t matter to him anyway. And above all, Luke was in a good mood at the time.

He finally obtained a real sword, the “Sword Saint Festival” held in the empire, and adventurer activities as a pastime.

Luke was freed from the various troubles he experienced while he was in school, and to put it briefly, he was elated.

In the end, after Luke registered as an adventurer, he reunited with Zach’s companions at the inn and returned to the mansion to talk to his father, Claude, about their future plans.

At that time, the Godwin family, including Eleonora, was no longer there.

Luke was slightly curious, but he understood that his father was probably doing something related to the Aslan Magic Academy incident, so he didn’t pursue the issue further.

Also, although Zach wanted to escape, he was too mentally exhausted from everything that had happened. Therefore, he was able to convince his companions with a completely blank mind.

However, after that, Claude warned Zach, “If something happens to Luke, you’ll know what will happen, won’t you?” and Zach was trembling with fear.

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The Great Forest of Isprit.

It was a forest that spread around the outskirts of the city of Gilbadia, also known as the “Forest of Spirits”.

It was a very rich and bountiful forest and served as a treasure trove of important resources. However, because of this, many monsters lived there, and it was not uncommon for threatening monsters to appear from the forest.

There were small villages and roads on the outskirts of the forest, so hunting down these monsters was the main job of adventurers based in Gilbadia.

“Gyurugaahhhhhh!!!”

“We’ve pushed it over here!! Please, Luke-sama!!”

“We’re counting on you!!”

“──Yeah.”

Zach and other members of the “Claws of the Grey Wolf” raised their voices, and Luke responded softly.

It was a plain that spread between the Isprit Forest and the city of Gilbadia, where huge monsters called “Giant Lizards” ran fiercely.

(… It’s always so huge.)

The monster approaching Luke was so huge that it could most likely easily swallow a human.

However, he was used to it. In fact, this “Giant Lizard” was a familiar monster for adventurers in Gilbadia, and so Luke had already hunted it down several times.

Nevertheless, it was a B-rank difficulty monster and was still a considerable threat.

Sword or magic, which one to use.

Luke didn’t hesitate to grab the handle of his sword. It wasn’t because a sword would be more effective.

It was simply because he preferred it that way, without any trace of rational thought.

“GugaaAAA!!!”

“Kuku… still as noisy as ever.”

Luke kicked off the ground and leapt towards the neck of the Giant Lizard. He drew his sword and swung it in a flash.

By the time he passed by, the creature had no head.

It was a rather anticlimactic ending.

“Well done, Luke-sama!”

“…It always charges straight at us. I’m getting bored of it.”

“Haha… but this huge body charging at you is still a significant threat, you know?”

“Dahaha! Luke-sama is truly amazing!”

“Excellent job!”

“…Indeed.”

Two weeks had passed since Luke temporarily joined the “Claws of the Grey Wolf” and started his career as an adventurer.

He had already achieved an unusual A-rank promotion, and had grown fairly close with the party members other than Zach.

At first, Zach was too considerate and exhausted himself, but after spending just three days with Luke, he couldn’t help but notice the benefits. Luke’s addition drastically increased the efficiency of completing a quest, leading to a significant increase in income.

Zach had been worried that their coordination might falter, but strangely enough, it never did.

He still had to be mindful of things even now, but he decided to take a positive outlook with the attitude of “We’re getting a ton of money, so who cares!” He had that kind of positivity about him.

“Let’s see, we need to dismantle and dispose of it…”

“Of course we will.”

“Understood. Jippel, Luke-sama, and I will handle the dismantling. Kigon, Sufusasa, we’ll leave the watch to you.”

“Got it!”

“Understood.”

“… Roger.”

As he took out his knife for dismantling, Zach couldn’t help but wonder.

(Why does Luke-sama do such a troublesome thing like this?)

Processing of corpses after defeating monsters. This is done to prove that the monster was killed, to secure materials, and to prevent infectious diseases, but few adventurers actually like to do this. The reason is simple: it’s a hassle.

Some monsters require delicate work, which is also one of the reasons it’s disliked.

Therefore, while it may cost money, many adventurers rely on the guild to handle it and dispose of the monsters they’ve hunted at a later time.

The reason why Luke performs the dismantling work is partly due to his arrogance that there’s nothing he can’t do himself. However, more than that, everything about his life as an adventurer was fresh and fun to him.

Without any attachments, just hunting monsters and earning money. The simplicity of it all was pleasant to him.

“… Hey, Zach.”

“Y-yes!”

Suddenly spoken to, Zach was so surprised that he replied in a slightly faltering voice. Despite getting used to it, he still felt intimidated by Luke.

“This is just out of curiosity, but does the name ‘Claws of the Grey Wolf‘ have any origin?”

“Ah…”

It was just Luke’s whimsy. There was no deep reason behind it, he was just curious.

“Do you know about the monster called ‘Gray Wolf’?”

“Of course. It’s a monster with a difficulty rating of D, nothing special.”

“Well, back when we were just starting out, we were almost killed by that Gray Wolf… Hahaha.”

“What?”

“Dahaha! We were on the brink of death! Those were the days.”

The huge man named Jippel laughed heartily.

“We were inexperienced and overconfident without any basis. We almost got wiped out due to a small mistake. See this?”

“…”

With that, Zach showed the scar on his arm. It was a large claw mark.

“That’s why we call ourselves ‘Claws of the Grey Wolf‘ as a warning. So we won’t forget our humble beginnings. Adventurers can easily die from just a moment’s carelessness.”

“I see, I like it even more now.”

“…Eh?”

Luke already recognized Zach as a top-notch adventurer. For better or worse, this story only increased Luke’s admiration for him.

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After finishing dealing with the Giant Lizard, Luke and his group returned to the city of Gilbadia.

“Hey, if there’s another good request, we’ll take it after a little break, right?”

“Of course.”

“Roger that.”

It had become commonplace for Zach and his team to complete multiple requests in a single day. But first, they needed to exchange the items they received from their completed requests for money. As they replenished their supplies along the way, they headed towards the guild.

There were still many locals who looked at Luke with fear and awe, but they were starting to get used to him.

“Hey, Zach, come over here!”

“What are you talking about, old man? It’s still daytime, you know!”

Many people called out to Zach and his companions as they walked by, which showed how well-liked they were by the locals. They continued walking and arrived at the front of the guild. Luke reached for the door handle, but…

“I’m just asking where Luke is! That’s all, right?”

“…”

As soon as he heard the high-pitched woman’s voice, Luke had a terrible feeling.

“Zach, listen carefully.”

“What is it…?”

“I have a feeling that something troublesome is going to happen from now on.”

“…I’ll handle it.”

“You know what to do, right?”

“Yeah… But to do that again…”

When they heard the voice, both Zach and Luke had a bad feeling. And their intuition was usually spot on.

Luke made up his mind and slowly opened the door.

“Hey, Lily, calm down— ah! Luke!”

“…”

Standing there was Abel. Luke was at a loss for words, and a whirlwind of question marks swirled in his mind.

“S-sorry for coming out of the blue. I just wanted to see how Luke was doing, so I thought I’d drop by!”

“Long time no see, Luke.”

Luke couldn’t understand what Abel was saying at all.

“Came to see me…?”

He frantically mulled over the meaning of the word.

“Yeah! I was surprised to hear you became an adventurer! Actually, Lily and I became adventurers too! It’s such a coincidence, isn’t it?”

The event was beyond Luke’s comprehension, but he understood one thing.

(Does he think of me as a friend?)

He felt an intense dizziness.

“Zach… I’m tired. I’m going to rest for the day.”

“…Eh?”

“Are you okay, Luke!”

Abel rushed over to Luke, genuinely concerned.