Luckily, I wasn't short on cash. I could still stay in a cozy inn tonight. Ever since the mission to capture Pei Lingna, I hadn't slept for a full day and night. No matter how high my level was, drowsiness caught up with me. I simply collapsed onto the soft bed and passed out.

It must be early morning. I could feel sunlight spilling onto the bed from the window and hear birds chirping in the trees. But why did I feel so cold? Suddenly, I realized someone was standing by my bed. If I wasn't mistaken...

"How did you get in here?!" I shouted, sitting up immediately.

"I'm good friends with the innkeeper auntie~ I just had to ask, and she let me in," Aerin said, standing by the bed with my quilt in her hands.

"What are you doing here so early?" I quickly pulled the quilt over myself.

"Well, you have a history of being late. So I came specially to wake up you pervert."

"You're still calling me a pervert! The one who barges into my room and yanks off my quilt is the real pervert!!"

"You should feel lucky! This is usually for childhood friends!! Enough talk—get up and prepare for the guild. Don't keep Tia waiting," Aerin said, plopping onto the stool by the bed.

"Why don't you go out?" I glanced sideways at her.

"If I leave, you'll just fall asleep again," Aerin replied, arms crossed, looking utterly reasonable.

"Are you planning to watch me change?" I said, stripping off my clothes.

"Pervert!!!" Aerin screamed, covering her eyes and bolting out.

"I really can't understand this woman's logic," I thought, changing quickly. As an adventurer now, I refused to wear Mr. Dao's hand-me-down coat. I pulled a brown fur-lined leather jacket from my wardrobe slot and slipped it on.

"Truly, clothes make the man~" I murmured, smoothing my hair in the mirror.

"Done yet?!" Aerin yelled from outside.

"Coming!!" I pushed the door open and stepped out.

"............" Aerin froze, staring at me.

"What's wrong??" Was this outfit weird?

"Nothing! You just look surprisingly good dressed up," Aerin said, her face flushing slightly.

"Haha~~ Complimenting me??" Of course I was still handsome.

"Not at all!!! Let's go!" Aerin spun and marched downstairs.

I followed Aerin out of the inn. We bought tasty waffles on the way—I paid this time—and munched them as we walked to the guild entrance.

"My husband is finally here?" Tia seemed to have waited ages at the guild doors.

"If I hadn't dragged him out, you'd be waiting till noon," Aerin declared proudly, standing tall.

"What's proud about your perverted antics!" I muttered under my breath.

"I've already picked tasks for my husband. Take a look," Tia said, handing me a stack of papers.

"Just call me Pupil. Stop with 'husband'," I said, scanning the papers.

"Yes, husband." "....................." Why did this meme feel so familiar?

Ignoring Tia, I focused on the tasks she'd chosen.

[E-rank task: Escort a mobility-impaired grandma from the suburbs to buy groceries.] Is this even a task? No way. Leave it to rookies.

[E-rank task: Help a vegetable vendor collect child support from Uncle Wang.] What the hell! Why Uncle Wang? Absolutely not!!

[E-rank task: Deliver Uncle Wang's child support to the fish market auntie.] Seriously!! Is Uncle Wang cheating on two women??

[E-rank task: Confirm the slum kid is Uncle Wang's illegitimate child.] Who the hell is Uncle Wang?? I kept reading.

[E-rank task: Rescue Uncle Wang hiding in a wardrobe.] Which wardrobe is he in now!?!?

Finally, a D-rank task appeared.

[D-rank task: Replace the mobility-impaired grandma to exterminate Uncle Wang.] "What the hell is this?!" I yelled, slamming the papers to the ground.

"Huh? Not satisfied?" Tia looked puzzled.

"This isn't a task—it's neighborhood drama! No, it's catching a cheater!" I jabbed at the scattered papers.

"Bronze adventurers do this. With low combat power, they can't go solo. Even with me and Aerin, I wanted you to understand the profession," Tia explained earnestly.

"I refuse!! Refuse!! I know this job better than anyone! Find normal tasks!" I didn't come to another world for petty squabbles.

"What's 'normal'? These are normal," Aerin said, picking up the papers.

"You reached Silver doing these??" I stared at her.

"Mostly~~ Sometimes outdoor tasks!" "Exactly!! That kind! Take me now." It had to be combat—goblins or man-eaters.

"Sure? It's terrifying and nasty," Aerin suddenly wore a grim face.

"Yes!! I'll do it!!" That expression meant a task scary enough to skip ranks. Silver, then Gold—fame, fortune, my epic adventure begins.

"Tia will have to wait then," Aerin said, striding into the guild.

"Fine. Whatever my husband wants," Tia replied. "Let's go!! I'll give it my all!" My spirit surged.

==================================================================================================================

Aerin, Tia, and I walked toward the fields outside Landton City.

"Seriously, you hit Silver with tasks like this???" My voice squeaked from cotton stuffed in my nose.

"Yep~~ Low combat power means rare combat tasks," Aerin squeaked back, cotton in her nose too.

"Don't underestimate this. Enemy attacks could happen," Tia warned, cotton in her nose, Magic Staff ready.

"Are you kidding!!! Who raids a manure cart!!!! And why is hauling crap a task!!!" I yelled, pointing at the barrels behind me.

"Manpower shortage. The road's dangerous—civilians can't handle it," Aerin squeaked.

"They just won't haul manure!! I'm a mage—why manual labor??" I fumed.

"A lady shouldn't pull it! It's good exercise—you're not even straining," Aerin shot back confidently.

"So reasonable!!" I grumbled, turning back to drag the cart.

"Watch out! Something ahead!!" Tia snapped to alert.

"Bandits!?" Aerin raised her spear.

"Bandits won't steal manure!" What logic was that?

"Not bandits!! Dung-stealing bugs!" Tia raised her Magic Staff, chanting.

"Dung-stealing bugs!!!???" I looked up—a swarm of giant flying dung beetles darkened the sky.

"Flying dung beetles!!! What the hell!?" "Husband!! Just charge forward! I'll protect the manure!" Tia chanted fiercely.

"What awful lines!!!! What do they even do?" As I asked, beetles dove into my barrels, each grabbing a lump of feces and flying off.

"O Flame God, grant me fire! Flame Jet!" Tia finished chanting. A roaring blaze shot from her Magic Staff's crystal, incinerating the beetles mid-flight.

Aerin leaped onto the cart, spear driving off beetles to guard the manure. Tia jumped up too, blasting fire at stragglers outside.

"So scary!!!!!!!!!" I screamed, dragging the cart and teammates in a frantic sprint.

With my speed and Tia's flames, we finally delivered the fertilizer manure to the nearby village.