## Chapter 263 – (14)
“Do I really have to go?”
“Of course! Didn’t you hear? It’s a jackpot tip!”
“Sigh… How many times have you been fooled by this so-called informant…?”
“But they’re right 4 out of 10 times! It’s about time for another hit!”
Nella, a beastkin adventurer, puffed out her chest as she spoke.
Her somewhat revealing outfit accentuated her figure.
The porter averted his eyes.
“Sigh…”
Beastkin were somewhat lacking in modesty in this regard.
They didn’t care about other people’s gazes.
Even if he succumbed to temptation and sent her longing looks.
Nella was only looking at the towering tower.
Looking at Nella like that, the desires that had been bubbling up subsided again.
“Anyway…”
Nella was a woman who loved treasure more than men.
“Treasure, wait for me!”
Her large eyes had pupils that were sharply elongated, like diamonds.
They resembled the eyes of feline predators.
Her appearance wasn’t much different from humans, but her perky, large ears and slowly swaying long tail told everyone she was a beastkin.
Grrr.
Anticipation rumbled in her throat.
***
There was a beast in class.
To be precise, a half-beast.
“Huff, huff!”
“…Baran, is he okay?”
“Look away, don’t make eye contact.”
I whispered to Camille, who was worried about Baran.
Baran’s condition was strange.
He was always strange, but now he was even stranger.
His magic must have gone berserk, causing fur to grow uncontrollably, turning him into a half-human, half-beast.
Transforming during class.
How excited could he be?
The reason Baran was acting like this was obvious.
The magic tower’s guest who was supposed to visit today.
He was excited about the visit of the adventurer Nella.
“Is this Nella person that famous?”
When I asked Camille and Kai, they stared at me blankly.
Their expressions were as if they had seen.
A dragon, a legendary creature.
No, wait.
There might actually be dragons in this world.
Anyway, they were looking at me like I was some kind of strange creature.
“She’s a famous adventurer, nicknamed the Treasure Hunter.”
“Ooh… Treasure Hunter…”
Cool.
Some called her Nella, while others called her the Treasure Hunter.
It somehow felt very romantic.
I wanted a nickname too.
“Huh? You have one, don’t you?”
“I do?”
Did I?
“Was it ‘Bad Word Generator’? Oh! There’s also ‘Ice Golem’.”
“Sigh…”
I made a disappointed face.
Ice Golem was slightly better, but still.
I didn’t really like it.
Why did my nicknames have to be like that?
…I brought it on myself.
Anyway, she must be quite famous, considering she had such an awesome nickname like Treasure Hunter.
Whether it was a dangerous dungeon or a treacherous mountain.
She would explore it as long as there was treasure.
The fact that Nella was coming to the magic tower meant.
“Is there treasure hidden here?”
“I wonder…?”
Camille also tilted her head.
A place in the magic tower where treasure might be hidden.
Maybe Eva’s room?
Still, she was the magic tower master, so she probably had a treasure or two.
“Hoo-oong!”
I could feel his rough breathing from here.
Baran was now breathing with animalistic growls mixed in.
I looked to the side and saw that he even had horns growing.
“Sigh… It’s impossible to continue the class in this atmosphere.”
Rebecca frowned, seeing Baran on the verge of transformation and me and Camille whispering.
I felt sorry for some reason.
“…It’s fine, I guess. The rest is in the realm of application. Ask me if you get stuck.”
The benevolent Rebecca decided to end the class early.
She knew that there was no point in teaching students who couldn’t concentrate.
Rebecca knew that well.
Just before leaving, Rebecca turned to look at us.
Her gaze seemed to linger on me in particular.
[Favorability: +60, +90]
Her favorability fluctuated up and down.
She must be feeling complicated.
“…Ahem, I’m only saying this just in case, but Lady Nella is a guest. Be polite and courteous.”
When she said that, her gaze was directed towards Baran.
Baran shook his head violently.
Whoosh.
Some fur scattered.
“Let’s go watch later too.”
“…Is that okay?”
I was worried if it was right to treat a guest like that.
Rushing over to watch just to gawk.
But I was curious, so I decided to go see.
Class was over.
As soon as I opened the door and stepped out of the classroom, I saw a group of people rushing past.
“Where is she?”
“Training floor, training floor!”
The group running past told us Nella’s location.
The problem was—
“Wow…”
“The line’s too long.”
The stone slab.
The line in front of this magic tower’s unique elevator was long.
It was impossible to stand in this line.
“Should we just not go?”
“No way!”
Camille shook her head when I asked.
Did she want to see her that badly?
“Hehe, my sister dreamed of being an adventurer when she was young.”
“Shh, shush!”
“Hehe! It’s not like it’s something to hide, is it?”
An adventurer.
It was a romantic profession.
I nodded because I didn’t think it was a dream to hide.
So that’s why Camille wanted to see Nella in person.
Camille’s cheeks turned red.
“L-Let’s go by the stairs…”
Following Camille’s words, we climbed the tower by the stairs.
Both of them had good stamina for mages, so they kept up well.
With each step we took, the cheers grew louder.
What were they doing on the training floor?
When we reached the top of the stairs, we saw mages packed tightly from the entrance.
“Wow…”
We had no choice but to join the crowd.
I wondered if we really had to see Nella this badly.
But Camille looked happy.
“There! She’s over there!”
“Mm.”
When I looked in the direction Camille was pointing, I saw a beastkin with animal ears.
Nella was a beastkin with an appearance close to that of a human.
Large ears and a long tail.
If it weren’t for the occasional flexible movements, she was no different from a human.
There were two people next to Nella.
A male porter with a large backpack on his back, and Eva.
Eva sighed as she looked at the mages filling the training floor.
“They never train like this usually.”
Hoo.
Eva sighed deeply.
The mages smiled awkwardly.
They had expressions that said their conscience was pricked.
“Oh, come on, Eva.”
Nella smiled and calmed Eva down.
The two seemed to be friends.
They called each other by name and talked comfortably.
“Lady Nella~”
When Nella heard the students gathered here call her name.
She smoothly struck a pose.
“Ooh…!”
“Pretty…”
“Lady Nella!”
“Woo-ooh!”
The audience cheered as they watched her.
It was a simple pose, but who took it was important.
Nella was enjoying the attention of the mages.
She even did fan service-like gestures.
As expected, a professional adventurer was different.
The porter next to her chuckled.
He had an expression that said he couldn’t stop her.
Seeing that expression, I had a hunch.
Wasn’t that porter in love with Nella?
‘As expected.’
[Wall: Beastkin, Nella]
Reading the porter’s wall, I smiled.
There was a reason why they were traveling together.
But it didn’t seem like the man’s unrequited love would be easily fulfilled.
[Wall: Treasure, Strong Man]
“Heung~”
That was Nella’s wall, who was enjoying the attention.
It was a harsh condition for the porter to meet.
“…So, why did you come?”
“I heard there’s treasure here.”
“Treasure?”
Eva’s eyes widened.
She looked genuinely clueless.
“There’s no such thing.”
Pfft.
Eva raised the corner of her lips.
Eva, the master of the magic tower, knew best what was and wasn’t in the magic tower, so she spoke with conviction.
“I came here after hearing some pretty reliable information.”
“Should we hear it?”
“A book that elevates one’s magical realm, and a potion that permanently increases mana.”
As soon as she heard those words, Eva’s expression changed.
She looked up at the ceiling and frowned.
She put her finger to her chin and pondered.
Rumors were distorted, exaggerated, and changed in the process.
What if Nella’s information was like that too?
“I know what that book is, but it won’t mean anything.”
“What? Why?!”
“It’s true that I raised my magical realm with that book, but that book was just about the habitats and habits of monsters.”
The book itself didn’t help to raise her realm.
Eva said that she read the book and went to find the monsters.
Then she defeated them.
She said that she gradually became stronger by fighting stronger monsters.
It was a training method that was hard to believe for a mage.
It was closer to the training of a knight.
That was what made Eva.
The magic tower master of the west.
“It’s a precious book that has saved my life many times, but it’s not a special book that can be called a treasure. I bought it at a small bookstore in the empire.”
“Aww…”
Nella’s expression turned gloomy at the fact that it wasn’t a treasure.
But there was still one more thing left.
“Then what about the potion that permanently increases mana?”
“A potion that permanently increases mana.”
Eva’s eyes slowly scanned the mages.
It wasn’t just Eva.
The students who had recently heard rumors about my massage all started to avert their eyes at once.
They were looking for something.
And as if they had made a promise.
When they made eye contact with me, they all stopped looking.
Ah, could it be—
The culprit behind the distorted rumor.
“Over there.”
“Are you talking about that big student over there?”
“Yes, I don’t know where the rumor about the potion came from, but his special massage… magic permanently enhances mana.”
Eva’s explanation continued.
Nella’s eyes curved like crescent moons.
I felt a chill.
They were the eyes of a predator looking at its prey.
