I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince-Chapter 495: Insight (1)

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, Sister Lily!"

As soon as I heard from the church priest that Mirif had recovered, I went into the room and met her gaze as she lay on the bed.

She slowly sat up as I entered, but I gently placed my hands on her shoulders, easing her back onto the bed.

"Stay lying down. You're still recovering."

"Most of the recovery is done, thanks to you bringing me here on time, Sister Lily."

“...I’m glad to hear that.”

Knowing that Mirif was safe finally lifted a heavy weight from my chest.

In that narrow cave, facing the Goblin King, with our numbers down to two, the chance of both of us making it out alive was almost nonexistent.

If she’d left me behind to save herself, no one could have blamed her. But in the end, she came back.

And thanks to the moment of distraction she created, both of us survived.

It wasn’t as if she’d planned on me using a Mana Blast; she’d made a risky choice, and I felt more gratitude than I expected for her stubborn yet responsible decision.

"Thank you for rescuing me in the goblin cave, Sister Lily."

“...Rescuing? I only got you hurt because of me."

"No, before that. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for me, weren’t you? I know you wouldn’t have lasted until I returned from the guild."

"If it had been the other way around, I would have run without hesitation."

"That wouldn’t have been wrong either. Without you, I would’ve been in danger from the very start of the goblin nest."

"......."

"And it wasn’t your fault that I got hurt. When the Goblin King hit me, I was thrown clear just as your magic activated, so I wasn’t caught in that massive mana storm."

It stung.

Each word felt like a prick to my conscience.

Having lived selfishly for survival, I had no tolerance for someone so selflessly kind.

"And I haven’t told anyone else that you can use magic. I figured you had your reasons for hiding it...."

"...Thank you."

"It was surprising, but I’m glad you could use magic. If you hadn’t been able to, both that person and I would have never made it out of that cave."

...Yes, that’s true.

This event was something only "I" could clear.

In the game’s context, it was just another event that resulted in the meaningless deaths of NPCs unrelated to me.

'If I hadn’t been in Ironhold at this time, Mirif would’ve died at the hands of the Goblin King.'

Or maybe she would’ve been captured by the goblins and turned into their next host. Either way, it was a miserable outcome.

Even if we’d added another prospective adventurer, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against the Goblin King.

The adventurers’ guild likely wouldn’t have cared much about the deaths of low-ranking adventurers. They would’ve covered up the Goblin King’s existence and eventually sent a stronger party to deal with it.

-Crack.

...This made me furious.

In the end, the adventurers’ guild had sent Mirif and me to an unassessed, dangerous area under the guise of a promotion test.

Ironhold’s quiet assassin Lily was officially out of service, you bastards.

-Bang!

"Guild Master, come out here, you bastard!!!"

After confirming Mirif’s recovery and exchanging a few more words, I made a quick stop at the goblin cave before storming into the adventurers’ guild late in the evening, full of fury over being sent to our deaths.

"Huh?"

"What’s with Lily?"

"Can she even make a face like that?"

As I entered the guild with an angry expression, nearly everyone turned their eyes on me.

Normally, I would avoid causing a scene, but at least for now, I had to make myself heard.

...Besides, I had no intention of continuing my life as an adventurer here anyway.

"S-Sister Lily? Could you tell us what’s going on...?"

"You bastards! Who the hell sends people to take down a Goblin King for an E-rank promotion test?! I almost died out there, damn it!!"

"What? A Goblin King? That can’t be...."

Whether they were genuinely surprised or just pretending to be, the guild receptionist looked nervous, while the other adventurers watching seemed doubtful.

"A Goblin King?"

"She’s bluffing. Why would a Goblin King be here?"

"Heh. She probably just mistook a Goblin Lord for one."

Yeah. Normally, that would be the natural reaction.

But that’s fine. I’d come prepared for this.

-Thud!

"...What."

"What... is that...?"

"What do you think, idiots? It’s the ‘ear’ of a Goblin King, you morons."

"......."

Most of the upper body had been blown apart, but when I went back to the scene, I’d been able to retrieve the most identifiable piece.

Without it, I would have had to settle for something like a toe.

Seeing the nearly 30-centimeter-long ear caused the mouths of the other adventurers to snap shut.

"So? Who’s the idiot ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) who said Goblin Lord? Who was it?"

"......."

"I said, who was it? Want to put your head on the line and see if I’m bluffing?"

Apparently, they weren’t complete fools. As soon as I spoke harshly, they averted their eyes cautiously.

After all, killing a Goblin King wasn’t something an ordinary F-rank adventurer could do. Not to mention, my class was an assassin.

"Did you really take down a Goblin King...? But how...?"

"Doesn’t matter how I did it! Where’s the Guild Master?! Who the hell thought it was okay to make taking down a Goblin King part of an E-rank test?!"

"Eek, I-I’ll fetch him immediately!"

“...We sincerely apologize, adventurer. We’ve confirmed that the difficulty of this promotion test was not properly assessed, and we offer our deepest apologies, as well as a substantial reward for the kill...."

"Obviously, you should. But that’s it?"

"...Of course, we will also compensate for the oversight in assessing the test’s difficulty."

"...Specifically, how?"

"Considering your skill in defeating a Goblin King, despite the loss of a party member, we’ll proceed with E-rank promotion for both you and Mirif...."

"Are you kidding me?!"

What? E-rank? This was an insult.

Taking down a Goblin King almost single-handedly, and the best they could offer was E-rank? Plus, they were offering the promotion as if it were some grand gesture, with no real monetary compensation.

That fool may have deserved his fate, but Mirif and I barely escaped death. I was going to get proper compensation for that.

"Have you ever seen two E-rank adventurers take down a Goblin King, you idiot?! If so, go fetch them, damn it!"

"P-Please calm down, adventurer. That was merely one part of the reward package...."

"Even so, E-rank? Seriously?! Killing a Goblin King is practically a C-rank task! E-rank? Are you kidding me...?!"

"Y-Yes, I understand! Then, including your merit in defeating the Goblin King, we’ll proceed with your promotion to D-rank."

"No way. A Goblin King and you’re giving me D-rank...."

"I... I’m very sorry, but there’s nothing we can do. The guild requires a specific amount of achievements to be recorded for each rank, and even with the Goblin King kill, D-rank is the maximum...."

"......."

Fine. Even D-rank is something. Two promotions at once was good enough.

Once I had the D-rank badge, I’d leave for another town, so this was sufficient. No point getting worked up over something they couldn’t change.

Anyway, what mattered more than rank was the monetary compensation, so I’d listen to what they had to offer before raising hell.

...Still, knowing they could’ve given me D-rank from the start but tried to play coy was infuriating. We barely escaped with our lives, and they had the nerve to pull that.

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