First Job in Beim
The village we spanned five days in Porter to reach, was one surrounded by wood and stone.
It had forests and mountains around, and those were likely the source of the timber. The village that’s defenses were built off its terrain seemed somehow burlier than those I had come to know.
Dismounting from Porter, I headed to the gate with the necessary forms in hand.
The one on lookout, a youth from the village, had a bow strapped over his back.
After confirming we were dispatched from the Adventurers’ Guild, he immediately let us through, Porter and all.
Clara looked around, a little surprised.
“The lookout was one thing, but seeing just how much effort they’ve put to defense… makes me question whether we’re really needed here.”
They were quite candor impressions, but I thought the same.
The one who came to greet us was a man who named himself as the chief.
His body was large, and his stomach stuck out a little, but the muscle of his arms was quite something. Looking over us, he made a bit of a doubtful face, before immediately bursting into a smile.
“Welcome. Thanks for coming all the way out to the sticks. Now won’t you hand over the guild documents?”
I handed them over in an envelope, and he looked through them, nodding a couple of times.
As the individual who had put up the request himself, he looked at us and awkwardly scratched his head.
“An experienced party, is it? But you’ve got some tools I’ve never seen before in my life. Is that what’s in these days? And why do you even have a housekeeper with you?”
“Maid.”
“Eh?”
“Maid.”
“R-right.”
After glancing at Porter, he had turned his eyes to Monica’s uniform.
He pulled back a little at Monica’s insistence that she was not, in fact, a housekeeper. Perhaps writing her off as a girl with a screw loose here or there, he immediately changed gears, and turned to me- the party’s leader.
“I doubt you can relax standing in the middle of nowhere. We don’t have an inn, but there’s a building you can use for lodging. It’s maintained, so I’ll bet it’ll be a relatively pleasant stay.”
Following the man’s lead, I moved Porter along, as we walked through the village.
Just from what I could see, there were even villagers with weapons in their hand.
Noticing my expression, the chief gave a bitter smile.
“It may put you off, but please deal with it. It’s just some brats acting tough by carrying weapons in hand. And they can’t help but be wary when adventurers come.”
While looking at his back, I…
“Chief, were you an adventurer too?”
“… You can tell? Well then I’m thankful to the guild for sending a competent one.”
Walking on with a smile, he gave off the impression of a veteran with an impressive record behind him.
(If it’s just Gray Wolves, then wouldn’t this man be able to handle it alone?)
If I just concentrated a little on my surroundings, I could discover former-adventurers scattered all over the place.
They were wary of us, and among them were even some sending antagonistic sentiment our way.
From the Jewel, the Third let his voice.
『There’re all sorts of adventurers out there. I mean, there’re some that’ll start a ruckus if the reward is insufficient, and even some fools who’ll try to threaten their requesters. Many don’t differ much from the average bandit, so that’s why they’re so wary.』
The adventurer-hating Seventh agreed.
『You can never trust an adventurer. But I’m not sure what to think of those sending hostility towards Lyle. If he had to mind, he could very well wipe the village off the map.』
I could understand why they were so wary. They were probably anxious because they didn’t know what sort of adventurers we’d turn out to me.
Of course, that sort of thing wasn’t something they’d try to pick a fight over.
And after a while, the building used for lodging by travelers, merchants, adventurers and the like came into view.
The chief pointed out the building which was quite spread out, length-wise, and had at least three whole entrances to it.
“Use that one however you will. Of course, break it and there’ll be trouble. And you, blue haired bro over there, you’ll be coming with me.”
He likely had some explanations to give regarding the Gray Wolves. I sent a glance at my comrades, and they nodded, so I accompanied the chief.
–
–
–
At the chief’s house was a young and pretty wife, set apart ten to twenty years from the man.
The large house had two children, both of which hid and stared at me from the corners of the hallway.
Made of sturdy wood, perhaps it had been made quite recently, as the chief’s house was quite tidy.
The young and pretty wife brought out some tea, so we sipped it as we discussed.
“The atmosphere’s tense, right? Is it the first tim you’ve been in a situation like this?”
I had taken up a personal request to eliminate a Gryphon before. It didn’t get put on the records, but I fought a defensive battle at that village.
“It’s not my first, but that’s not to say I’m used to it.”
He smiled.
“I’ll bet. Your eyes were darting about, so I thought that was the case. Well, there was some risk on our side when you took it up, so please bear with it.”
After I nodded, the chief went into the Gray Wolves.
“Now then, about the request… a pack of Gray Wolves has been sighted in the nearby forest. We enter those trees for hunting and firewood, but it’s gotten dangerous so I’d like you to deal with them. And that’s about it.”
After staring at the chief a while, I looked at the weapons hanging on his wall.
Appropriate to his build, it looks like he was a vanguard warrior who swung a battle axe.
“Do you find it strange I don’t go out and kill them?”
“I do think there has to be a reason to it.”
“And sure enough, there is one. But it’s something like a custom or trend from a while back. And I’ve no intent to change it.”
The former adventurer chief sipped his tea, and began talking as if he had gotten a grasp of my character.
“You guys fought a bit on the way here, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I get the feeling it was a bit much, but we fought monsters a number of times.”
Hearing that, the chief looked delighted.
“That’s exactly it. Adventurers do plenty of hunting around Beim’s circumference, but they never venture out as far as here. The reason we call adventurers is to have them defeat the monsters on the way. Otherwise, the traders and travelers that stop by would be troubled.”
I was satisfied with that explanation. Sure, the chief alone could probably take care of the monsters around.
But then the ones inhabiting the road here would be left unchecked. In that case, anyone would hesitate to bring their feet to this village.
“So your goal was calling adventurers in itself?”
“That’s how it is. And to us, the peddlers are important. The adventurers get some hands on some money, and we essentially pay for safer travel for the traders and travelers. If you keep that on your mind, I think you’ll benefit when taking up requests.”
It appears there’s a benefit to it.
The chief offered up some more information.
“The pack’s in a nearby forest, but do you need me to guide you?”
The eyes he shot me were ones as if to test me. I shook my head.
With the Fifth and Sixth’s Skills, locating enemies was a simple matter.
“I see. Then go out whenever you’re ready. And once you’re done, just call over to me. I have to confirm it, after all.”
Finishing up my confirmations, I stood and remembered something.
“Come to think of it…”
“What?”
“About the real reason you won’t go out and do it yourself. Is there not at least one more?”
Making a tired expression, he…
“Now just try and tell those village folks that I could handle it myself. Those guys are way too frugal, and they’ll push me out to do it the moment they hear those words. I mean, even if they’re simple folk, they’ve got their strength, and clever ones are clever. But you can find idiots wherever you go. We’re not so troubled with money to have to send a retired and weakened body into the midst of danger.”
I felt those were his true thoughts, so I nodded with a smile.
A young wife, and two kids. It was a happiness too dear to needlessly risk losing.
With his retired body, the million-to-one chance he would lose his life existed. An irreversible mistake.
The Third let his voice out from the Jewel.
『Well, even if he explained his reasons to the village as a whole, there’ll still be folks who won’t understand it. And I’ll bet they have some dissatisfaction with a former adventurer chief come in from some other land.』
Hearing his voice, I asked the chief another question.
“Another thing.”
“You need something more?”
“Why are you serving as chief here?”
On my question, the man breathed out a sigh.
“It’s not like I want to do it either, but around these, parts, having a connection to the guild is something convenient. Like being acquainted with nobles and lords in other lands, perhaps? That sort of thing. The fact they accept requests like these is also due to my connections. If played poorly some other villages are refused under the reasoning of, ‘no adventurer’d ever accept that request.’”
The guild must be quite frantically allotting work on their side. But adventurers had their circumstances as well. And all it goes to show is that requestors have just as much going on.
“And you see, there’s strength and all, but in Beim, it’s those that understand how adventuring works that are the reliable ones. I’m quite reluctant here, but when the previous chief resigned, he pushed the post onto me.”
The Fourth spoke up.
『It’s because he understood the circumstances behind it that he shoved the work onto this man. Well, I doubt any retired adventurer trying to take it easy would ever want the position.』
The Fifth.
『But on the other hand, they wouldn’t have that many aspirations for it, so they’d just do the work with minimal intervention. He may look like a minimalistic one, but when it comes down to it, the villagers here had enough money to arm themselves, at least.』
So it’s just how things go in Beim.
In other places, people would fight over the chief position for personal interest. But here, it seems the tax was quite low, and the villagers themselves lived and prospered.
The Third spoke.
『To add onto that, this person’s most likely your examiner. He’s sure to report all the particulars. I mean, he even said he has connections to the guild. He’s got more on his hands than I thought.』
His tone was as aloof as always, but he seemed a little happy having seen through it.
–
–
–
While returning from the chief’s house to the lodging building, I found the surrounding villagers to be concealing themselves.
(What? Why there of all places…)
From a certain location, they seemed to be observing me.
But it was strange no matter how you looked at it.
I headed for the place I was being watched from: the back of the building.
The lodging building had been equipped with bathing facilities, and those weren’t closed off to the outside air.
Getting more information from the Skills of the villagers, I found that all of them were men.
When I sent them a glare, a few of them locked eyes from the platform they had purposefully made to hide.
And through my discovery of them, they frantically scattered…
“But it looks like the water’s already been used.”
There, Aria called out to me, a towel hung around her neck.
“Already finished on your end, pervert?”
The grinning girl likely had Clara prepare the water for her. She had wiped down both her body and hair.
Having just washed herself off, she’d get cold out there, so she should just come in already, I thought. But being called a pervert irritated me a bit.
By trying to kiss the quilin, I had been registered as a pervert in Aria’s head.
From within the Jewel, the Fifth let out a rare emotional sentiment.
『… Seriously, why is that perverted? I can’t accept it.』
He was angry about something strange.
(And you should look to things besides animals once in a while)
To her smile, I returned my own, and pointed at the place the villagers had been.
“What?”
“You got naked here, didn’t you?”
“And so? Isn’t it fine? I mean, I didn’t get to wash myself properly while we were on the move. If possible I’d even like to take a full bath.”
“You were being peeped on.”
“… Eh?”
Looking where I was pointing, she seemed to have noticed what was visible of the platform.
From its angle and whatnot, it was definitely made for the bathing area.
And if it was made to actually keep tabs on us, then I wouldn’t really mind, but that one was clearly a crime.
I thought she would turn bashful here, but…
“What of it?”
“…?”
I’m pretty sure I made quite an idiotic face there.
The Sixth also let his voice from the Jewel.
『… It’s no good. This girl doesn’t understand this and that.』
The Fourth too.
『She’s an adventurer after all. Perhaps she’s just fine with being seen naked at this point. In contrast, she does act strangely embarrassed before Lyle, but… Lyle, just get stabbed in an alleyway already.』
The Third.
『As I thought, the end of a harem bastard’s gotta go like that.』
Before my eyes, Aria put her hand to her mouth, and smiled.
“What? You irritated they got to see? Oh right~ Lyle’s never seen a woman’s naked body after all. Of course you’d be jealous.”
I meant to tease her, but got teased in return.
But…
“What are you on about? You remember that time you fell asleep on the coach in your undergarments. They were coming loose, and I’m the one who draped the blanket over you, you know?”
Aria’s face suddenly turned red, and she threw the towel in her hands at me.
“The hell are you looking at!?”
The soaked towel held quite a sense of weight as it hit against my face, and at the same time, it was quite painful.
Picking it up, I threw it back.
“You’re the one who showed it off! It was getting embarrassing for me, so I went and covered it. Why not be a little thankful for that consideration!?”
“What do you mean embarrassed!? Even like this, I’ve got a bit of confidence in my body!”
Aria threw the towel again, so I caught it and returned it.
“As if I care!”
She caught it in midair, but as she had grabbed its edge, the main part made a slapping sound as it hit her face.
When I pointed and smiled, she glared at me for real.
“… Forget it! Forget my baren form!”
“Didn’t you just say, ‘what of it?’ or something like that!? Don’t worry about it, I can barely remember as it is!”
“You pervert!”
“If you don’t want to be seen, then fix that sloppy attitude of yours!”
And after a few more passes of the towel, the Seventh spoke from the Jewel.
『… You two sure get along.』
I couldn’t really agree with that one.
⊂⊃ (⌒⌒)
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thanks for chapter
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thanks a lot
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Aria is so cute!! lol
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Aria for best waifu
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I second that
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Ok, it has been almost 3 years but, no, she is almost a man in this point.
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Fitting end for harem bastard getting stab in alley… lol good comment gramps…😂😂
Thanks for the chapter.
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Aria hilarious
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If he dies from that, there is a possibility that he will reincarnate into a goblin and build a new harem.
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Or a bird lover
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:v Re:Monster ftw
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huehehehe they sure get along
ty for the chapter
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Aria is so much fun to tease
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Some typos in here. Like “…you can sue for lodging” and locating enemies was a s eimple matter”.
I’m not too sure if this one is a typo but it seems weird to me “…the end of a harem bastard’s gotta go like that.”
And also “Forget it! Forget my baren form!”
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Oh. Looks like someone else already got to it. Nevermind.
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Thanks 4 the chapter!
Aria is only embarassed if Lyle saw her naked? Yeah, saw something like that before when a friend of mine look at his girlfriend in a swimsuit she was blushing, but when he wasn’t there she didn’t seem to care if me and the other guys look at her.
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she doesnt see you or other male as man,too bad
I guess thats how Aria is
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Even though I knew, getting told directly that a girl didn’t see me as a man…
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I can’t help but think that Aria suits him the most. The chemistry between them is the best one so far, aside from Lyle and Monica’s.
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lol! this is a first! I have never read such a fight like this before. Sure there were similar but not exact like that before.
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Aria got peeped by those bastards?!?!
Kill.Them.Now.
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Yeah, that would be the Best, but for her not to mind it? It really is a Problem in my perspective, *Sigh, in the story of any novels, lightnovel or some sort of anything….. It is only a Some kind of joke, but if it is in reality……. I will never take that kind of woman, I Mean it!!! Those woman who don’t value or have some pride in her purity is the worst I tell you
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She just doesn’t give a fuck about them though, only person that is important in that way is Lyle, and all the other men are not even in her eyes. I think it is like that… I hope
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I really like this Adventurer Guild system, there’s a lot of ideas being crammed into the concept.
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this is harry potter, right?
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Take a hint already dude…
Thanks for the chapter
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Still, she’s the Aria heals Lyle’s heart later.
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Right~ I got the testing, and the not wanting to do myself motives, but not the clearing road one. Thought this land would get plenty of mercs and adventurers wander and clear them off…
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The town isn’t that close, and adventurers quest more than they do hunting of their own accord
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Thanks yorai sama
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Thats a pretty smart thing the village has going for them, getting adventurers to travel and clear the road while eliminating monsters in their area, two birds with one stone. Its stuff like this that makes the world of the series feel alive and real.
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Agreed. The exchange between Lyle and Aria are also nice.
Like you said, their personality and interactions really feel alive and real.
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If it truly doesn’t end in a harem scenario I really want Aria to be the one coming out on top.
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Miranda FTW
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man can’t believe I missed that they were using people for free road clearing that devious guild
Also I don’t care who the girl is any woman who shows herself naked to other guys and doesn’t care about is not someone you want to date for more than a couple weeks or never depending on what your looking for
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Some perverts peeped on her while she bathed, bummer that she didn’t notice. That doesn’t mean she’s okay with being ogled, just that there’s no point in screaming “b-baka” and punching people over it by that point. She only feels conscious about it when it’s someone she likes watching her, otherwise she seems to keep a cool head about her physique.
I think that’s a good quality to have for a woman. She’s like a cute bro.
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lol in this world there is something called nudism
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not saying aria is a nudist, just that there are many people who don’t mind being seen.
i don’t think it is so terrible
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It’s like she thinks of it not as indecent or anything to a major degree but she takes it as a slight compliment/self pride that people find her attractive? (but mostly indifferent and aloof?)
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yeah something like that. and is it really that terrible? i don’t think so…
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Thanks for the chapter :D
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Aria reaction to the peeping makes my heart ache. She has changed so much, and not all in a good way.
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Rye again. The pjone comment isnt to good. :-\
But i never got to finisg my message as my gma collapsed and i had to race of to see her in the hospital.
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As I was saying.
Aria’s reaction is a little too tame, not going berserk is good but at the very least they should warn the others then go complain to he chief instead of just standing around having a towel fight. At most they should have torn down the platform then when the the chief came to ask whats going on turn around and ask the same thing back then point out that they (the party) had been had been nice and respectful since coming to the village and it would be nice if the villagers could show them atleast half that respect.
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Feminist at its finest
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Thanks for the chapter!
…Lyle, go get stabbed in an alleyway already…
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Thanks for the chapter.
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Thanks for the chapter.
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Thanks for the chapter
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thank for the update
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Thanks for the chapter. As other people have noted the chemistry between Lyle and Aria is so good, Lyle you need to be rid of that denseness child.
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I don’t get why everyone sees him as someone “dense”, cause I don’t and exactly why he has already noticed that most of the girls have feelings for him but the only one he has in his mind is Novem, though, he doesn’t wants to part with any of them cause he likes having them around, as friends and company. It’s just that he doesn’t feel like he can return their feelings the same way feel.
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Thanks for the chapter!
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I really want Lyle to embrace his dark side and impress the village chief. Like telling him how he saw that the request was a fake one. So he used a skill to become undetectable and they didn’t kill any monster on the way and they will only do the easy task for the good money and then complain about him trying to take advantage of adventurers. I wonder how he would have reacted.
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The request wasn’t a fake one to begin with. Its reward was too low for its value. That’s why he didn’t use the carriage, but there really isn’t a point in him not fighting the monsters, is there? The guild knew full well what the request was, and it’s a system in place. Lyle isn’t actually mad or anything, he just thinks it a learning experience.
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As someone who’s an exhibitionist pervert does Eris–I mean, Aria had any right to call Lyle a pervert? Lol
Aria has some screws loose after her fall frpm noblehood.
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Pfff, thanks for the chapter!
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Seriously, am I the only one who is bothered that she got peeped? And MC reacted like it is completely fine and shit. This is why wuxia’s MCs are much better
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Right, were both the Same Puri!!!!!
For some reasons, this part really spoiled my Perspective on this novel…… Does this mean that most of his harem “will” be or something like that?
I’d rather not have a harem if my women is insensitive of her “value”, or even never marry if all women become like that one!!! That’s already a sigh to NTR I tell you!!!
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No, now you’re going too far. It’d be one thing if she flirted with someone or she was actually molested, but calling her not minding being peeped at an omen of NTR is too much. Some guys peeped on her; big deal. It’s not a desireable outcome, nor is her reaction to it, but whatever. At least she has composure. It’s not like she’s exposing herself. She just chose not to make a big deal out of something that couldn’t be taken back anyway.
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Well it is upsetting, but if you think about how she is only fine with him not seeing her, doens’t that just mean that she doesn’t give a single fuck about other men and only care about Lyle? Like, she doesn’t care at all about those trash, something like that.
Well, I still don’t think she should just let them peep on her, that is upsetting for me
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Thanks for the chapter !!
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Aria’s antics always are interesting.
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Lol the comments are so divided.
I, for one, don’t like that Aria was peeped on. I would’ve whooped their asses if I were Lyle, and I’m not the biggest fan of her lack of reaction, but on the other hand, it really wasn’t a big deal. She can’t even do anything about it now that it’s happened anyway, so why flip out?
I do miss her modesty a little bit, mind you, but her manlier sides aren’t a turn off. She’s a great heroine.
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eh? what? what happened to the sixth’s memory? it just got cut off like that, BUT WHY
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This is surely disappointing , like wut? You don’t care even if others see you? Then I’m probably sure you’d not mind you NTR mc either
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“(And you should look to things besides animals once in a while)”
Yeah, like lying to your comrades you like making out with horses in order to hide secrets that is the crux of their party’s capability.
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I think I would get a little bit upset… I would not want my Aria-chan to be seen by other men.
If he said so then she would be pleased though, but in a gloating way…
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