“Well, since I’ve had it easy this time, I’ll treat you here.”
“Even if it’s cheap booze, though.”
“You’re saying that after drinking so much?”
“Excuse me, another beer, please!”
The First Prince of Avalon glared at the spiky-haired blonde who was loudly raising his large mug for a refill with a sidelong glance.
However, it was true that it was this party member and close friend, Kai Est Galblaze, who had been active in repelling the Orc army on the highway.
Furthermore, the endurance shown during the friendly fire and super sadistic play from the female duo, Shal and Safi, was commendable.
In truth, the real reason Nero felt uneasy was that he did not want to get involved in that.
In any case, he had no objections to paying for tonight’s drinks, even if Kai ended up throwing up, getting hammered, or passed out in the bathroom; he was determined to let him drink as much as he wanted.
However, he had no intention of helping with the various issues that would arise from excessive drunkenness.
Thinking this, Nero took a sip of the bitter drink that was unnecessarily carbonated.
“By the way, what about that Blue Rose from the Grand Library? What happened with her?”
After a brief pause, Nero shot a sidelong glance at his partner again.
“Nothing happened, rather, that Safi girl interfered and fueled things unnecessarily.”
“Isn’t it great that you got rejected? I mean, it’s the first time I’ve heard about it.”
It was unusual for Kai, who usually only thought about battles and swords, to bring up a topic about women.
After rescuing the slaves from the Slave Merchant, there had been enthusiastic approaches from the beautiful girls of Fahren nobility to the Prince Charming coming in like a hero, but he observed it with only a passing interest, thinking “Just another day.”
That’s why it was so rare for Nero to be brushed off by a woman; Kai’s blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Since they were currently drinking, and it wasn’t exactly a trauma-level breakup, it was merely a matter of having a cold reaction to him.
It wouldn’t be bad to share the story as a conversation starter.
“I met her before the name ‘Blue Rose’ became such a big deal—no, I suppose it wasn’t exaggerated either; anyway, it was before she became the talk of the town. I guided her in the Grand Library, so that was probably our first meeting.”
“Oh, you guided her!”
“Well, yeah.”
But he couldn’t tell Kai that he had recklessly entered the sealed section of forbidden books.
Although he trusted and believed in Kai in battles, he worried about his stupidity and was greatly concerned about keeping secrets.
“Seems like the Blue Rose completely ignores other guys when they approach her, though.”
“She seemed to want a guide when I met her; I just happened to be lucky.”
Receiving a look that seemed to say, “Really?” Nero continued speaking.
“That was definitely a look that showed no interest in men.”
“Is she a lesbian then?”
“I’m surprised you know that term.”
“I heard it from Safi.”
“Seriously… maybe it’s time for her to do something about that…”
“Nel probably knows too.”
“Okay, I’ll have a good word with her tomorrow.”
Nero steeled himself for the reckoning of party members who had a negative influence on his innocent sister.
“By the way, isn’t it kind of noisy since a while ago?”
At the moment the first loud voice that caused this noise rose, Nero only took a quick glance and chose to ignore it on purpose.
However, the shouting from the man only intensified and began to echo through the noisy guild, making it impossible to ignore.
“Should I go and shut him up?”
Kai suggested with a mischievous grin, clearly delighted to find a convenient reason to start a fight.
“I’d like to say please, but…”
Nero gazed once more at the man arguing with the guild staff about drinks.
With the combination of his build, equipment, demeanor, and magical presence detectable through his sixth sense, he assessed the man’s strength in an instant.
“Not a chance; if you go, that guy will die.”
Kai always put in maximum effort but in a different way from his sister Nel. If he swung his fist with that superhuman power, a mere human would be no match.
“Should have brought Shal; that would have worked out.”
Spada’s third princess had a knack for dealing with troublesome matters, or rather, she would rush in full force to meddle.
Unlike Kai, she was much better at holding back, so there was little worry about her killing the opponent.
Though there was no guarantee the opponent wouldn’t be seriously injured or socially ruined.
Regardless, it was too late to regret now.
After all, it was only the males who would engage in such a foolish act as sneaking away from the camp to drink.
Unless they had ulterior motives, there was no way to invite the female members to this event.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I guess I have to go myself.”
“Alright, good luck!”
With a huge sigh and an expression that clearly conveyed how troublesome this was, Nero stood up while Kai waved his beer in a cheerful spectator mode to see off his friend.
“Hey, old man, be quiet! The booze’s gonna taste bad.”
From that line and expression, it was clear to anyone that Nero Julius Elroad, the First Prince of Avalon, was in a foul mood.
Half of his displeasure stemmed from the fact that he had to step in, but no one would notice that, least of all the source of the disturbance.
“Ugh, y-you’re not… Nero Julius Elroad… are you?”
Nero would never introduce himself like some prince that heralds “I am the First Prince of Avalon!”
It would be fine if the other party recognized him at a glance; that would make conversations faster.
“I don’t know who’s coming, but if you can’t drink quietly, then get out of here, okay?”
It was not a suggestion but an order; no need for unnecessary preambles.
With his title, strength, and a subtle hint of intimidation in his crimson eyes, the loud little fat man had no choice but to nod in agreement.
As if to say “Problem solved,” just as Nero turned with the intention of returning to his seat.
“GAH HA HA! I’m interrupting!!”
With a bellowing open door that seemed ready to blow off the guild’s sturdy front doors, a massive red figure emerged.
From the top of the bald head down to the tips of his toes, he had skin that gleamed like polished bronze.
With a stature larger than two meters, he was covered in thick muscle like a burning castle wall, causing those in front to gaze up in awe.
And what they would see above was a devilishly fearsome visage that would send even the demons of hell fleeing and a horn sticking out from his forehead, thicker and prouder than a unicorn’s.
If encountered in a dungeon, this terrifying red Orc would have even seasoned adventurers choosing to flee without hesitation, but fortunately, he was an adventurer himself.
His lightly armored attire, adorned with the white fur of some monster, looked filthy and well-used, as if he’d just returned from a quest.
Above all, he clutching a mace so thick it resembled a human torso in size—a club, really.
“Oh, what’s up? It’s gotten quiet like a funeral, what’s going on?”
“The troublemaker from your crew is causing a ruckus, perhaps it’s about time you apologized for your poor upbringing, Gustave of the Iron Demon Corps.”
In front of the overwhelmingly muscled, imposing red Orc who led the Rank 5 party “Iron Demon Corps,” Nero said it all with a completely unfazed expression.
“Oh, what’s this, kid? You got something to say about my men?”
“A kid, huh?”
One could almost hear the snapping sound as Nero’s eyebrows twitched.
“I didn’t think an introduction was necessary.”
“Haha, sorry, kid, I can’t make out the tiny letters on that guild card.”
Not meant as a taunt or mockery, Gustave laughed, genuinely uninterested in something as trivial as a name.
Hearing that response, Nero let out a small sigh before returning to his previous languid expression.
“Fine, I don’t care about my name. So, are you going to apologize for the old man’s misconduct or not?”
“Hey, what’s going on Nakim? You said you’d prepare drinks.”
The serving boy called Nakim promptly responded to that query.
“I’m sorry, boss! I tried to arrange enough to make you happy, but the guild wouldn’t cooperate, so I got a bit hot-headed in negotiations… and then this adventurer here shouted at me.”
With an expression that screamed “I’m the real victim here,” Nakim reported to Gustave, who was the boss, and Nero nearly drew his beloved sword in response.
However, as a royal tasked with ruling the people, he kept his composure and merely twitched his fingers.
“What now? Looks like it was the kid who made the first move; don’t you think you should be the one to apologize?”
His expression conveyed a forgiving attitude that suggested “A simple ‘sorry’ would clear it up.”
Nero took another small, deep breath before saying, “I see, understood—”
While saying that, he unsheathed his beloved sword from his waist and tossed it behind him without looking back.
“Hey Nero! You’re cheating—”
Confirming that his best friend had caught the sword perfectly as if by luck.
“—It seems we’ll have to sort out whose side is correct by the adventurer’s way.”
“Haha, you can’t take back what you spat out, kid.”
Nero grinned defiantly, and Gustave looked delighted, as if he had been waiting for this line.
“Right now, I’m not meeting my target, that ‘whatever Chin’ guy and regular monsters aren’t showing up either, so I can’t guarantee I’ll hold back.”
With a thud, he lowered the end of the mace he had been carrying on his shoulder.
Just that act demonstrated that his club was as heavy as it looked, and that Gustave possessed incredible strength to hold such a weapon with just one arm.
“Don’t worry; I’m not that great at holding back either.”
“Haha! That’s the spirit, kid!!”
Seeing that Nero showed no signs of being intimidated, Gustave seemed to get serious.
“Here, hold this for a second,” he said, leaning the mace against Nakim, and stepped forward.
The cries of the helper, who was being crushed by the incredible weight, wouldn’t reach the ears of the Orc filled with fighting spirit.
At the same time, the excited voices of adventurers, who couldn’t help but look forward to what would happen next, also went unheard.
What Nero had proposed, “to decide by the ways of the adventurer,” meant—
“Then, let’s go.”
“Bring it on.”
It was a fight.
“Uraaaaa!!”
With a shout that could make the weak-hearted faint, Gustave’s rock-like fist lunged toward Nero.
It was common knowledge that methods existed to overcome differences in strength and size through magic, but it was also common knowledge that it wasn’t that simple.
How much magical power would it take for the slender Nero to deal with an Orc’s straightforward punch coming at him head-on?
Perhaps his seemingly nonchalant attitude was merely an act, and he would really end up getting knocked away as is.
Such thoughts flashed momentarily through the minds of the adventurers turning into onlookers in the guild.
However, it was a completely misguided assumption; only two people knew that Nero didn’t need any magical power at all—the man who was about to demonstrate and his best friend Kai.
“First Form: Flowing—”
Facing the punch from Gustave, which had enough force to shatter skulls, Nero remained calm, as though he were about to practice a technique, and merely muttered.
“Whoa!?”
And in the next moment, Gustave’s massive body was launched into the air.
Like he had chosen to jump himself, Gustave’s body flew through the air in a parabolic arc.
Of course, it didn’t take even a second before that aerial ride came to an end.
Gustave’s horned head crashed into a table piled with bottles and food, resulting in a spectacular body landing.
A resounding crash echoed throughout the guild, and thereafter, no one could utter a word as silence fell over the scene.
But perhaps that was to be expected. Everyone had witnessed an unbelievable scene where Nero tossed Gustave with just one hand, something they had never anticipated.
“…You sure use some interesting old school jujutsu, don’t you?”
Breaking the silence was none other than Gustave himself, who had a hand in causing it all.
Standing up with a casual motion as if he had simply tripped, he correctly identified the technique Nero had used.
“Surprisingly knowledgeable, huh?”
Perhaps it wasn’t for nothing that he bore the Rank 5 title.
Nero found genuine admiration, as Gustave had identified the technique with just that single throw—though, it was more about deflecting the opponent’s strength than a proper throw.
Old School Jujutsu, as the name suggests, is a historically rich martial art that has persisted since ancient times.
It is said that the ancient Demon King Mia Elroad also practiced it, and despite its fame, its techniques are accurately passed down to only a very select few, like the royalty of Avalon.
So, being able to identify such a majorly niche technique at a glance showed that Gustave was undoubtedly a sharp type when it came to fighting matters.
Still, given he said it with an utterly unfazed expression, it was uncertain whether his admiration was accurately conveyed.
“Ah, my bad, my bad; honestly, I underestimated you. I couldn’t tell whether that guild card was silver or holy silver—”
Now standing taller than before, Gustave’s imposing stature further amplified his intimidation.
That was no mere figment of the imagination but rather, in reality, an expression of Gustave’s fighting spirit.
“Is it a mithril plate then?”
“Alright, then come at me without holding back this time.”
That was not said sarcastically; Nero knew from the start that Gustave had pulled his punches quite a bit.
Despite appearances, this Orc displayed skill and kindness in knowing how to hold back against his opponent.
“Haha, to think I’d meet a fun kid like you, luck’s finally coming my way at the end!”
“For now, my name’s Nero; make sure you remember it—”
And so, without holding back this time, the clash of power and skill between the Rank 5 fighters began.