There was nothing wrong with wanting to leave quickly.
However, Adam had underestimated his fa as both a lord and the leader of the "Hero" Party. As they walked, people kept pointing and staring at him and Yunyun.
"Um... Mr. Adam?"
Adam, who had been walking with his head down, heard Yunyun’s soft call from behind. She sounded so embarrassed she might cry — and when he looked back, he saw that was exactly the case.
"Um... could you... maybe let go of my hand..."
"Ah, sorry." Adam released her hand and quietly apologized, "I didn’t an to — I just worried that old man might misunderstand even more, so..."
"Yes, I know. I don’t mind." Yunyun hugged the Winter Shogun plushie tightly against her ample chest.
If it weren’t inanimate, Adam suspected it might suffocate.
"Um... Mr. Adam."
"Don’t need the prefix, just call by my na — that’s what everyone else in the squad does." Adam corrected her form of address, trying to help her relax, "Well then, Yunyun, I’ll leave you be."
"Eh? Ah... um...!"
"What is it?" Adam knew his presence would only make her more nervous.
With girls like Yunyun, it was best not to be too pushy, so he politely suggested leaving to give her so space.
But when he saw her instinctively reach out as if wanting to stop him...
Yet, not wanting to trouble him, her outstretched hand withdrew halfway and returned to clutching the Winter Shogun plushie against her chest.
This ti with even more force than before.
Got it. Adam imdiately understood her feelings and made an invitation.
"Yunyun, you only recently ca to Axel, right?"
"Y-yes."
"In that case... how about letting this lord show you around and introduce you to the local culture?"
"Yes! I’d love to!" A sweet smile spread across Yunyun’s face.
This shy girl always had trouble expressing her true feelings clearly, so Adam had to take the initiative, treating it as his duty as a host.
Though he had originally planned to have gumin and the others accompany Yunyun, today he would be her escort.
The two walked side by side down the bustling street, where passersby warmly greeted Adam as they ca and went.
His fa and status proved quite useful, preventing them from falling into an awkward silence.
Hoping to make their walk more interesting, Adam spoke up to improve the atmosphere between them.
"Yunyun, did you know? This street we’re walking on is a famous amusent district in Axel."
"Oh—really?"
"Ah! And did you know that most people who co to this street are couples?"
Adam gestured toward the young n and won walking in pairs, their intimate manner proving his point.
Yunyun was utterly shocked.
"Eh, EH—?!!!"
"Hehehe, well, don’t worry." Adam reassured the startled girl, "Actually, quite a few people aren’t couples — so are just close friends who co here too."
"Oh, I see..." Yunyun let out a small sigh, patting her chest in relief.
This playful conversation helped ease the atmosphere between them.
As Adam brought up more interesting topics, Yunyun beca more talkative, and the distance between them gradually decreased.
This was good. Yunyun was shy by nature, and in the party, she only knew gumin, who had rejected her childhood friend. Soone like her could easily develop self-loathing.
Although others in the party were good at managing the atmosphere and got along well, it was best to address potential issues early.
"Alright! Who’s next to challenge?!"
As they chatted and laughed, a proud voice suddenly called out nearby.
They turned to find a crowd gathering.
"Is there another challenger—?!"
The booming voice rang out again, catching both Adam and Yunyun’s attention. Her eyes lit up with curiosity.
"Shall we go together?"
"Yes!"
They made their way to the crowd, where they discovered a challenge ga in progress. Several well-built n stood shirtless despite the winter chill, their bulging muscles seemingly immune to the cold. They were all attempting to tackle a single object — a piece of adamantite ore.
Adamantite ore.
Known throughout the Parallel World as the hardest mineral in existence, it now served as the centerpiece of this challenge.
"Let try!" A massive middle-aged man shouldered his way through the crowd into the circle of onlookers.
With that build... Was he a knight or shield warrior class?
He gripped the hamr provided by the stall owner, lifted it high, and took aim at the ore resting on the stone platform.
"HAAAAAAH—"
With a mighty roar and powerful swing, the hamr struck the mineral!
Ting!
A sharp, clear sound rang out at the point of impact, accompanied by a shower of sparks. The strike looked devastating.
However... The adamantite ore remained pristine, not even a scratch marring its surface.
"Tch, damn! Even that didn’t work?" The middle-aged man cursed softly, put down the hamr, and handed ξ10,000 to the stall owner.
The ga had a challenge fee — pay to attempt, win prizes if successful, lose your fee if you fail. It was a typical setup for the amusent district.
"Right—! This brother didn’t succeed, so the prize money has accumulated to 120,000 eris! Challenge fee is 10,000! Each failure adds 5,000 to the pool! No upper limit!" The stall owner called out with practiced flair, "Anyone confident in their strength? Magic is allowed too! Co test your might!"
You had to admire his eloquence and business sense.
The math was clever: a ξ10,000 entry fee, but only ξ5,000 added to the prize pool for each failure. Even with the initial prize money, the owner was surely profiting — after all, adamantite ore wasn’t sothing just anyone could destroy.
"Anyone else? Anyone?" After defeating three challengers, the stall owner continued his pitch, "This adamantite ore! Break this, and you can call yourself a first-class adventurer! Who wants to prove their strength?"
His voice carried strong persuasive power.
Yet no one stepped forward. Success ant money and fa, but failure ant public humiliation.
Besides, this was the hardest adamantite ore — in Axel, nobody dared claim they could destroy it with strength or magic alone.
"Yunyun, don’t you want to try?" Adam asked the crimson demon beauty beside him, "You can use Advanced Magic — don’t you want to prove yourself?"
"No, I can’t do it." Yunyun shook her head with a bitter smile, "It’s true I can use Advanced Magic, but this is adamantite ore. You’d need ultimate-level Explosion Magic to destroy it... and unfortunately, I don’t know that spell."
Her expression turned sowhat dejected.
✧✧✧
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