Chapter 120: Jokes Can Be Adapted, But Not Made Up Carelessly
“Young master, the Beast Tamer Association has sent a messenger. They hope to invite you to Mr. Kate’s dinner banquet.”
Inside a pure white training room, the servant stood at the door and looked at Ron, who was choosing a weapon beside a wooden rack.
“What kind of person dares to invite me?” Ron said with a bit of arrogance. He picked a thin rapier and casually swung it a few times. It felt quite good in his hand.
“Young master, it’s William from the Beast Tamer Association. He once met your father and is considered an important person.”
“An important person… how troublesome. Fine, I’ll go meet him. Anything else?”
The servant paused for a moment. “Master also asked me to prepare clothes for you. At the upcoming Adventurers’ Guild celebration, you will need to attend and accompany him while he gives a speech about your experience fighting monsters.”
“Huh?” A vein popped on Ron’s forehead as he became annoyed. “Why do I have to go to every event? I’m not going, not going.”
“But young master, this is the family head’s order. Also, there will be a banquet in the evening. Someone you know might be there.”
“A banquet, huh… then that’s worth paying attention to.”
At the mention of a banquet, Ron’s attitude clearly changed. At first, he thought his father just wanted to show him off at social events, but with a banquet involved, it became more interesting.
“Alright, young master. I’ll go prepare your clothes and won’t disturb you anymore…”
“Wait. Buy me some nice jewelry, something for a woman. Do it quickly, preferably before the banquet. It doesn’t need to be too expensive. Just pick something decent.”
Ron gave a simple order. The name Anna flashed through his mind, and he felt a bit uneasy. His father would probably try to match the two families again, and if he went, he would likely have to pretend.
“Young master, is that all?”
The maid didn’t leave immediately. It wasn’t the first time he changed his mind suddenly.
“Hmm… remember, the jewelry shouldn’t feel too intimate. It should be something she can accept as a normal gift.”
The maid nodded and quietly noted it down. After listening to Ron ramble a bit more, she finally left the hall.
Meanwhile…
“President Maya, do you have any empty storage rooms? The Red Tiger I brought back can’t stay in the carriage forever.”
Peiya sat on the sofa in the office and pointed at the carriage downstairs.
After leaving Elise’s house, she came straight to the Adventurers’ Guild. She was still worried about the Red Tiger.
She had put in a lot of effort to bring it back. When passing the guards, she said it was a trophy from battle.
In principle, monsters are not allowed inside the city. Special permission is needed to keep them.
This rule exists because some noble ladies like to keep harmless and cute monsters, such as cat-like creatures, especially popular among rich young ladies.
“Yes, we do,” President Maya said, pointing outside the window. “In the northeast corner of the guild, there’s an old storage room. If you need it urgently, you can use it for now. There’s almost nothing inside.”
“Just be careful, the furniture is old and worn. Don’t get hurt.”
“Thank you so much. Once I figure out the mystery behind it, I’ll tell you as soon as possible.”
Peiya stood up from her chair.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
“Maya, it’s Nara.”
“Come in.”
“Alright.”
Nara pushed the door open and met Peiya face to face.
“Oh, you’re here too, Miss Peiya. Good afternoon. I’ve already heard several versions of your story in the guild. I didn’t expect that you managed to defeat the Ice Bear King, that’s an incredible achievement!”
“My story?”
Peiya looked completely confused. “Why is there news about me?”
Nara smiled and took out a printed newspaper. After opening it, the title “Guild Weekly” was clearly shown, along with a big headline on the front page—
[Legendary adventurer Elise makes a strong return, joins forces with a new teammate to successfully conquer the S-rank dungeon Ice Bear King.]
???
Where did this battlefield reporter come from? They even got photos?
Peiya took the newspaper in surprise. After reading the exaggerated and over-dramatic description of their battle, she felt extremely embarrassed.
Fake news. This is definitely fake news.
You can joke around, but you can’t make things up. You can adapt, but not distort the truth.
Is this supposed to be a news report, or a novel? When was it ever this dramatic?
“Nara, this is way too exaggerated.”
“R-Really?” Nara rubbed her eyes.
“Yes. And Elise contributed a lot too. Why does it only focus on me? If possible, ask them to correct it. I don’t need to rely on Elise’s fame to boost my reputation. This kind of promotion could also harm her image.”
In Peiya’s view, this kind of report felt more like hidden mockery. It praises you on the surface, but secretly adds a bit of sarcasm to make you uncomfortable.
She remembered Elise once told her that some people in the Adventurers’ Guild didn’t like her. Even if they feared her status openly, they still liked to mock her behind her back.
There was no good way to respond to this. Arguing with them would only lower her own position and make things worse.
Sometimes, when there are too many problems, you just stop caring about them.
After hearing Peiya’s explanation, Nara couldn’t help but laugh.
“So that’s how you see it? No wonder Miss Elise likes you. To be honest, the group that publishes this newspaper doesn’t get along well with our guild at all.”
“The way they report about you is probably because they’re afraid of our guild’s strength. They want to disturb your peace. Back when Elise joined the Dikert Guild, she already shocked the other guilds.”
“Now you’ve appeared too. They’re probably working overtime to dig up information about you. Miss Peiya, you should be prepared. If needed, let the president step in to stop those gossipers.”
“It’s fine, I won’t be affected,” Peiya said. “By the way, Nara, are you free now? I want to check the warehouse. Can you take me there?”
Peiya handed her the key.
“This is the key to the old storage room. Leading the way is no problem, I’m not busy. Next time, just say it directly like this. Come on, I’ll take you there.”
Nara put the key in her pocket and led Peiya downstairs. On the way, they passed many adventurers, and almost all of them were holding the same newspaper Nara had just shown.
Just as they were wondering about it, the lame boy from before ran over with a stack of newspapers.
“Misses, do you want a newspaper? Fresh news today! It’s about the very popular Ice Bear King. Limited copies, once they’re gone, they’re gone!”
Nara smiled helplessly and was about to say something, but Peiya raised her hand to stop her.
“Hey, kid. I’ll buy your newspapers. But I need you to tell me, who gave these to you today? I remember you didn’t sell this kind of paper before.”