A Bug In Fate

It was just another ordinary morning in Umbersoul.

Alden had just finished his workout. Sweat ran all over his body. He had already reached the Spark Realm, so his physique had grown much stronger. One could only imagine what kind of training he had gone through to end up sweating like that.

After taking a shower, he stepped out of his room.

As he walked down the stairs, he spotted Mary doing her usual morning work.

"Hey, good morning."

Alden greeted her as he made his way downstairs.

"Good morning, Alden. I hope you had a good sleep."

Mary replied with a mischievous smile, as if she were hinting at something.

"Can I get a cup of black tea, please?"

Alden quickly changed the topic and asked for his usual tea. It had already become part of his daily routine. He had given all the Moonleaf Tea leaves he received from the old man to Mary, since carrying them around in his pocket wasn’t exactly convenient.

"Ah, before that, you have some guests."

Mary pointed toward a table in the corner of the inn.

A young man and a young woman were sitting there. The moment they noticed Alden looking at them, they stood up and walked over.

"Guests?"

Alden looked at Mary in confusion. He didn’t recognize either of them.

"So you’re Alden... the one who reached Silver Rank within a week?"

Before Mary could answer, a young man’s voice came from behind.

He had black hair and brown eyes, with a spear resting casually in his hand.

Standing beside him was a young woman with yellow hair and brown eyes. A double-edged sword hung at her waist.

Both of them were in the Rupture Realm.

"And who might you be?"

Alden asked in a calm tone.

Beside him, Mary returned to the kitchen, probably to prepare his tea.

"My name is Liam, and this is Mina. We’re also representing the Ashcroft Family in the upcoming tournament between the five cities."

Liam introduced both himself and Mina, who simply stood there quietly.

So these two are the other representatives.

Alden thought to himself, though his expression didn’t change.

"So?"

"Huh?"

A confused sound escaped Liam’s mouth. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Alden to react like that.

"You didn’t come here just to introduce yourselves, did you?"

Alden asked, looking at them curiously.

"Ah, no, of course not."

Liam smiled awkwardly.

"We don’t know what the tournament rules will be, so we thought it would be better if we built some teamwork beforehand."

"That’s true."

Alden nodded. Liam’s reasoning made sense.

"It was his idea."

Mina, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly spoke just to correct Liam.

"Haha, don’t mind her."

Liam scratched the back of his head.

"So, we’re here to ask you to join us on a guild mission. What’s a better way to build teamwork than completing a mission together?"

"What rank is the mission?"

"Gold Rank."

Liam smiled confidently.

"Don’t worry. We’re both Gold-rank adventurers."

"No problem."

Alden nodded.

"That’ll be twenty gold coins."

Just then, Mary returned and placed a cup of black tea on the counter in front of him.

"What?"

Liam stared at him in confusion.

"It’ll be twenty gold coins for a Gold-rank mission."

"Bullshit. That’s ridiculous."

Mina said angrily. She was clearly doing everything she could to hold herself back.

"Seriously?"

Liam looked completely bewildered.

He couldn’t believe someone had the nerve to say something like that with a straight face.

"I’m serious."

Alden replied with a smile.

He picked up his cup of black tea and took a calm sip, completely ignoring Mina, who looked like she was only a few words away from losing her temper.

"Why do we have to pay you when you’re only in the Spark Realm?"

Mina asked angrily.

Liam quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"Are we friends?"

Suddenly, Alden put down his cup and asked in a relaxed tone.

"No."

Mina frowned.

"Who would want to be your friend?"

"Are we acquaintances?"

"No."

"Did we know each other before today?"

"No."

Mina answered, sounding slightly confused.

Beside her, Liam had no idea where this conversation was going.

"Are we strangers?"

Alden asked, his smile widening.

"...Yes."

"Do we trust each other?"

"No."

"Am I related to your family?"

"No."

"So..."

"We’re strangers who just met and have no connection with each other."

"Right?"

"...Yes."

"Did you come to ask for my help, or was I the one asking to join you?"

"...We did."

"Then doesn’t it make sense to pay a stranger you’ve just met when you’re asking for his help?"

"That way, you won’t owe me any favors."

"Huh?"

Mina blinked.

"Am I wrong?"

Alden asked, looking genuinely confused.

"...No."

Mina answered almost subconsciously.

When she thought about it, she couldn’t find anything wrong with what Alden had said. In fact, it made perfect sense. She didn’t want to owe a stranger a favor either.

Alden smiled.

"Then..."

"Where are my twenty gold coins?"

He stretched out his hand toward her.

Silence settled over the entire inn.

No one seemed able to process what they had just witnessed.

Liam stood there with a stunned expression.

The few customers sitting nearby were just as speechless.

"...Pfft."

Suddenly, the silence broke.

Mary, who had been watching everything from behind the counter, couldn’t hold it in anymore.

"Hehahaha!"

She burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

Before long, the entire first floor echoed with laughter.

Even some of the customers were holding their stomachs as they laughed at the ridiculous exchange.

Liam could only shake his head with a helpless smile.

Mina froze for a moment, but it didn’t take her long to realize that Alden had completely played her.

"You..."

She pointed a finger at him before glancing around the inn.

The moment the other customers noticed her gaze, they immediately looked away.

Some suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.

"What’s wrong?"

Alden asked with an innocent expression, as if he had done nothing.

"...You."

Mina gritted her teeth.

"...Nothing."

She took out twenty gold coins and placed them on the counter.

Even though she knew she had been tricked, she didn’t want to owe Alden anything. Besides, who knew what kind of favor he might ask for in the future?

"So, what’s the mission?"

While Mina was busy convincing herself that paying him had been the right decision, Alden turned to Liam with a grin.

"Here."

Liam took a folded parchment out of his pocket and handed it over.

Alden opened it.

The mission details came into view.

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