"Mr. Banxia, you won't look down on me, will you~?"

...

The sun was high in the sky by the time Banxia finally left the bed. That afternoon.

Normally, brothels closed in the morning once services wrapped up. But after Banxia produced a gold coin, the Forest Elves were more than happy to stay open until noon.

Money. What a wonderful thing.

"What's going on?"

Fully dressed, Banxia pushed open the door and found a stream of adventurers and nobles rushing out of the red-light district, moving like they'd miss something catastrophic if they fell a step behind.

"Word is the kingdom's Three Heroes are in town and rounding up mages to go subjugate that Great Demon everyone's been whispering about." The Forest Elf manager flapped her small wings and settled onto his shoulder, legs crossed, tone light. "Nothing to do with you, little Banxia."

"I'm not little."

"Ohoho." That peculiar giggle. The manager couldn't help thinking back on last night, quite the mouthful. "True enough on that count. But I was talking about your age."

The Forest Elf race was said to be the offspring born from a love affair between the First Hero and a sacred tree.

Mages later disproved the romantic version. They were not a naturally reproducing species at all, but purely magical constructs blending human traits with those of trees.

Their lifespans far exceeded ordinary humans, comparable to dwarves, three hundred years without much effort, and their appearance never changed until the day they died.

The flexibility and plasticity of their bodies were something no ordinary creature could match.

Which meant that judging a Forest Elf's true age from looks alone was essentially impossible.

"So should I call you granny?"

"Mr. Banxia really does love his jokes. I only just came of age, you know."

"...You also just turned eighteen?"

"Mhm-mhm."

"A granny is a granny. Acting cute won't help. Besides, it's not like I care about age anyway — as long as the appearance—"

A sensation of mortal danger stopped him cold. Banxia decided not to pursue that line of thought.

"Right, this Great Demon the Three Heroes are going after, it wouldn't happen to be the one they call the King of the Undead, would it?"

"That's the one." The Forest Elf tilted her head. "Word is the last subjugation failed, so this time the Three Heroes are joining forces with the Adventurers Guild and the high-ranking mages from the nobility. They're mustering more than half of Alterna's strength."

"Sounds like they mean it this time." Banxia nodded. He had never actually encountered a Great Demon before, this might be worth a look. Then something else caught his attention.

"The last time?"

"Mr. Banxia didn't know?" A puzzled look, then a flash of realization. "Ah, right. Your batch of heroes was only summoned this past month. The last subjugation was thirty years ago."

"Back then, both Alterna and Damuro pooled their forces — massive mobilization. Still lost, though."

"I see." Banxia nodded.

The Forest Elf didn't elaborate on what losing had cost them. The manager didn't need to. Damuro, once the kingdom's second-largest city, was now goblin territory.

Thirty years ago had clearly been an experience nobody forgot.

"Oh? Is Mr. Banxia thinking of going?" The Forest Elf glanced at him with a teasing smile. "What they need are noble mages. Not a warrior who's been training for a month."

"I'll be honest, I actually know a little magic myself." Banxia held the manager in one palm and raised the index finger of his free hand. Mana stirred at the tip, and a small flame blinked into existence.

Wrath of Finality, ultimate weakened edition.

"Ohoho..." That signature laugh again, shoulders trembling. "With that much firepower, it's perfect for flirting at night."

The manager leaned in a little closer. The flame's glow danced in those emerald eyes.

"Subjugating a Great Demon, though? Forget it. Leave the dangerous work to the nobles and the great heroes. That's what they're there for."

The smile faded. An expression Banxia hadn't seen before settled over the manager's face, genuinely serious.

"I don't want little brother Banxia dying in an unfamiliar land while he's still this young."

"I think you just don't want to lose a customer with more money than sense."

"Well~ that too, ohoho..." An unabashed laugh, then a tilt of the head. "But the concern is real, you know."

"...Fair enough." Banxia rested his chin in his hand for a moment, then set the manager back on the large tree at the front desk, turned, and walked away.

"Thanks for the warning."

"Words of thanks are the most useless thing," came the smiling voice at his back. "If you really want to show gratitude, come back and do business with us tonight~"

Banxia didn't turn around. He just raised a hand and gave a lazy wave.

"I will."

...

Outer city. Front of the Adventurers Guild.

A long queue had formed, every person in it hoping to join the expedition.

Prominent faces were scattered throughout, a mysterious dwarven warrior with a greatsword across his back, an elderly mage who had lived through the last war, and a cluster of adventurers with gold badges pinned to their chests, huddled in low conversation.

The kingdom's strongest Three Heroes had personally taken the stage to speak. The inner-city nobility had thrown everything into drumming up support. Morale across all of Alterna had been pushed to its peak.

Every face was full of confidence. The feeling in the air was unmistakable: this time, they would finish it. Eradicate the Great Demon. Take back everything lost thirty years ago.

"Mages below Iron-rank, and adventurers of any other class below Gold-rank, please see yourselves out."

The receptionist had just turned away yet another adventurer who couldn't quite hide his frustration. Finally, she called it out to the whole line.

This subjugation was a matter of the wealthy paying and the capable fighting. Wealthy merchants in the inner city had thrown out generous bounties, just securing a place in the expedition meant a commission worth talking about.

And beyond the money, this was the kind of deed that ended up in history books. Maybe, if things went well, your name would be in there too.

Plenty of people were thinking exactly that.

Add to that the Three Heroes personally leading the charge, which made the whole venture look rock solid, and the odds of riding along for an easy share of the glory seemed pretty reasonable.

The result was a line of applicants that stretched from the guild hall all the way across the street to the shopfronts opposite.

Unfortunately, the city lord and the Three Heroes had agreed on minimum requirements long before the quest went up.

The bar was slightly lower for ranged mages. Around Iron-rank, enough to handle corpse soldiers from the back line.

For every other class, Gold-rank was the floor. Anything less, and you weren't showing up to fight. You were showing up to become another body for the enemy's army.

"Hey, kid, you're a Gold-rank adventurer too? Which party are you with? Never seen you before."

Near the front of the line, Banxia turned his head.

An elderly mage with grizzled hair and beard, giving him a slow once-over.

Out of courtesy, Banxia answered.

"You've got the wrong idea, old man. I'm a mage. Just promoted to Iron-rank recently."

"...Hm?" The old mage narrowed his eyes. His gaze moved back and forth, several times, between Banxia's broad, solid frame and the two-handed greatsword on his back, the kind that looked like it could flatten a person without much effort. His expression went complicated.

"Mages are built like this now?"

"Apparently." Banxia gave a noncommittal shrug.

Not his preference. He'd only just finished his Bronze-rank promotion quest, which was how he'd ended up an Iron-rank adventurer in the first place.

He'd thought about dragging Roxy along, but when he swung by her place, no one was home.

So here he was, on his own.

"Next!"

The receptionist's voice cut through the noise.

Banxia looked up. Somehow, while he hadn't been paying attention, the space in front of him had cleared entirely.

Moving faster than he'd expected. He had figured on waiting half the day.

"Iron-rank mage, Banxia." He slid his adventurer tag across the counter.

The receptionist picked it up, looked at it, looked at him, then let her gaze settle on the greatsword for a few solid seconds before finally asking the same question as the old mage.

"...Um. Are you sure you're not a warrior? If the test comes back showing you can't use magic, your tag gets confiscated for quite a while."

"The sword's just for decoration." Banxia waved it off, reaching back to spin the greatsword casually between two fingers, as if it really were a prop.

He set it down, turned his right hand over, and a small flame rose obediently from his palm.

"See?"

"I see... Alright. You pass."

Far simpler than he'd expected.

He had assumed there would be some rigorous screening process. Turns out, lighting a flame was enough.

...

➤ Next: Eve of the Subjugation

Chapter 44 - Eve of the Subjugation

Alterna, the Inner City.

On the central plaza, dozens of spirited warhorses carrying monster blood pawed restlessly at the heavy flagstones, kicking up clouds of dust with every step.

These animals were a full size larger than ordinary horses. Just standing there was enough to make regular people back away.

At a single command, the knights dismounted in unison.

Their polished silver armor caught the midday sun and merged into one dazzling ribbon of light. Movements crisp, clean, not a single unnecessary sound.

They looked toward the middle-aged man walking over from not far off.

The newcomer was the lord of Alterna, the noble who had governed this city for generations, the head of the Thorn Family.

"May the Goddess bless you, warriors who have always protected Alterna!"

Lord Thorn came to a halt and looked proudly at the formation before him.

This was the peak combat strength Alterna had built over thirty years, and the prized reserves held by Lord Thorn and the other high nobles.

Nearly a hundred knights and magicians, almost all of them at Gold-rank adventurer strength.

A force like this could flatten any monster-infested den.

His gaze moved across each resolute face. He nodded in satisfaction.

"After this expedition, all of your names will be engraved upon the Hero's Monument for future generations to revere..."

The speech ran on for a while longer.

When the impassioned words finally came to an end, Lord Thorn turned slightly and shot a glance at the butler and his son standing nearby, waving them both aside.

The young master wore a confused look. "Father, is something the matter?"

"Remember this." Lord Thorn's voice dropped. The fire from the speech had drained from his face completely, leaving only a calm so cold it bordered on ruthless.

"When the time comes, leave everything to the Three Heroes. You two stay hidden in the back. If support is needed, send the adventurers first."

"But Father, I want to fight too." The youth clenched his fists, eager to prove himself. "All my training over these years—"

"Foolish!"

Lord Thorn barked low, then caught himself immediately. He raised a hand and ruffled his son's hair. His tone came down, but left absolutely no room for argument.

Beside them, the old butler bowed with quiet composure.

"My Lord, I understand. I will keep a close eye on the young master."

"Good." Lord Thorn nodded. With the old companion handling it, he never had to worry.

He paused, then shifted to a different subject, voice dropping even lower. "By the way — the matter we discussed with the guild. How did that go?"

"They want seventy percent."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Lord Thorn blurted out, then caught the volume, coughed once, and steadied himself.

"Tell that bastard thirty percent is the most we'll give. The one before him came a lot cheaper."

"Understood, my Lord. I'll relay the message on the road."

...

The Outer City. The Adventurers Guild.

Nothing like the knighthood's orderly formation, the adventurers confirmed for the subjugation were scattered around the guild in loose clusters of two and three.

Some leaned against walls cleaning their weapons. Others crouched on the steps, yawning. A chaotic mess.

"Guildmaster, when are we actually moving out?" someone in the crowd hollered.

The guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild, a middle-aged man with a pair of dog ears, glanced back in the direction of the shout and said two words:

"Shortly."

He turned back around and looked at the elderly beastfolk woman standing before him. His voice went quiet.

"Mother, I'm heading out."

A quarter of his blood was beastfolk.

His mother was a hybrid born of a dog-headed beastfolk and a human woman. His father had been a pure human.

That lineage gave him a sense of smell several times sharper than any ordinary person, and explosive power far beyond a typical adventurer's.

"May Lord Hero protect you."

After the farewell, the guildmaster turned and looked out over the massive force gathered behind him.

Nearly every high-tier fighter the Alterna Adventurers Guild had to offer was assembled right here.

Over thirty years, he had watched many of these adventurers grow step by step. He would have said confidently that above Gold-rank, there wasn't a single one he didn't know.

"Hm? A warrior I don't recognize."

His gaze had snagged on an unusual man.

Unlike the jostling crowds elsewhere, a noticeable open ring had formed around that particular spot.

The people nearby weren't deliberately keeping distance. Their bodies were simply pulling back on their own.

It was a pressure released without any conscious effort, the kind that reached straight down to the most primal layer of a living creature's fear.

The acute perception that came with beastfolk blood let the guildmaster feel it far more intensely than anyone else around him.

His throat moved involuntarily.

"What intense pressure... That strength might even surpass Kilian Black's?"

Kilian Black was the vanguard among the Three Heroes, the warrior the king had personally named the Kingdom's Strongest Champion.

Still, there had always been powerful figures in this world who kept to the shadows and wanted no part of fame.

In his years as guildmaster, he had met quite a few.

None of them came close to the young man standing there now. But that kind of thing was hardly unheard of.

And whatever else, they were all companions about to march out together against a Great Demon.

The guildmaster didn't linger on it. He pulled his gaze away and raised his voice to the entire assembly:

"Regarding the intelligence on the Great Demon known as the King of the Undead — I imagine most of you already know plenty. But I'm saying it again!"

"That creature is a Great Demon capable of controlling any corpse, and a top-tier warrior in its own right. Don't be fooled by its casting motions. I don't need to spell out what happens if it gets close."

"That said, most of you won't be facing it directly. Our job is to cut a path for the Three Heroes and eliminate every corpse soldier in our way."

He paused and let his eyes move across the faces in front of him. His voice eased slightly.

"From now until we depart, you have time to find suitable teammates and form parties..."

The announcement didn't produce much movement.

Hardly a surprise. A Gold-rank adventurer fighting solo was practically unheard of, most of them already had partners at a comparable level. The guildmaster's words simply washed over them.

The only ones looking lost were a handful of magicians who had shown up as filler, now glancing around with blank expressions, hoping a stronger party might take them in.

Banxia was among that handful.

He had no intention of joining anyone else's party, though.

"Mr. Banxia, I finally found you!"

A familiar voice. Banxia turned.

A petite figure came jogging over, her blue waist-length twin tails swaying with each step, white over-the-knee boots clicking crisply against the flagstones, a brown coat draped over her shoulders.

She looked adorable.

The staff in her hand told a different story, she was no helpless bystander, but a genuine magician.

"Miss Roxy, were you looking for me?"

"I had some free time this morning, so I went through the quest board at the guild and spotted a decent subjugation quest." Roxy jogged to his side, catching her breath, her chest rising and falling. "I was going to invite you along. We're companions, after all. But I couldn't find you anywhere."

"I see." Banxia nodded, thinking back. "I actually stopped by your place earlier too. Knocked, but nobody answered. I was planning to ask if you wanted to join the subjugation quest."

"We just missed each other..." Roxy blinked, the timing of it clearly not computing. She had never imagined they would pass each other so cleanly in opposite directions.

But hearing that, knowing he hadn't been deliberately avoiding her, she quietly let out a breath of relief.

"I had a feeling you might be interested in this subjugation quest, Mr. Banxia. I just didn't expect you to sign up so fast."

"Yeah. Aren't you going?"

"I am!"

...

➤ Next: Banxia: I'm Not a Lolicon (Two-in-One)