Role Reversal on a Another World

Chapter 12: The Slaver of Marriage Lucrezia! At last,Adventurer’s Guild! Commotion in the Kingdom!

"So, what's it going to be pretty boy? giving up yet or do you want to continue?" asked a tall woman, red flowing hair with a satisfied smirk on her face. she spoke in a slightly husky tone but not enough to be confused with the voice of a man, standing at about 175cm tall Lucrezia gazed sternly at a male who was curled up into a ball at her presence and despite her efforts to engage with the young man, her victim was unresponsive and trembling with terror, back on Earth she would have been regarded as a tall woman but being above average back in the US where the average height for a woman was 162 cm means nothing to someone who doesn't know any other worlds to compare herself to and regardless of how impressive that would be she then, she now found herself working a profession that not once in her life she had considered for herself as desirable but things didn't go sweetly for women like her as this world. this society had different standards for the height acceptable for women not just overall but in certain professions it's even more strict, so strict that Lucrezia's life now transited in another road she had no choice but to take such as road in her mind.

As such, things like discussions about Lucrezia's height was a sour topic to cross with her and all those that would attempt to breach this topic had nothing but terrible fate's awaiting them. she had deep rubylike eyes as if gemstones were on her eye sockets with a scarlet long red hair always in a ponytail, such style of hair and given her very doll like characteristics had given rise to her fame where she had grown up and where she had attended school at such that her scarlet ponytail alone had made her famous across multiple Kingdom's as the fierce scarlet tailed swordswoman. It wasn't all bad since the beginning, with men being so few and far between, many kingdoms, Mainly the Nosfalt Kingdom gave priority to women who had good genes to bestow upon a husband as a reward for their service should they performed any tasks in behalf of their nation and once upon a time, the kingdom at large had recognized her for her skill with the sword and prowess with martial arts enough that to an extent her height seemed like a trivial matter overall, and although there were shorter women than her all over the kingdom things weren't going to go smoothly for Lucrezia as she was held to a different standard since the position she sought was the elite of the elite and to be able to become a special kind of elite knight which is what she desired, such as an a imperial knight, a woman had to be at the very least 182 cm tall to be allowed to serve her majesty the queen directly as it meant projecting strength towards all nations be it friendly or unfriendly that the women who are at the beck and call of the Royal family were the best pocked from the kingdom, such women were at the very top for top warriors in this female dominated world and prioritized by both the crown and the nobility alike.

height and physique were all that mattered for a woman in the circumstances much more than men back on earth as she had chosen for herself a very demanding career and when you include high society into the mix, you find out that not only are they less forgiving but merciless and brutal to those who they'd think would besmirch the reputation of their Kingdom. her unparalleled skill with the sword that had all but convinced everyone around her that such criteria could mean nothing to her, had fallen flat and turned into a solid wall of steel that stood unflinchingly at her efforts to be recognized by the very people she worshipped.

"Answer me boy!" snarled Lucrezia at the young man perhaps maybe nineteen years old with a delicate disposition and shiny silver hair who was now curled up into a ball, he'd assumed that position since Lucrezia had gone into his room where he was held until someone with enough money purchased him. Lucrezia had been in the business for the better part of eleven years since that fateful day, ...that day that set her path down the road of a marriage saint by her fans and the slaver of men by those who held her in disgust at what she did or rather how she acquired the men.

The sight of the man at her feet brought up a range of mixed emotions for Lucrezia as despite her current predicament as the tormentor of a young man as the visuals currently show, Lucrezia didn't feel any sort of elation at the treatment she handed towards the man who now shielded himself, trembling in terror at her mere presence inside the room with him. As someone who sought the rank of Imperial Knight, her original disposition and her dream was to swear her life to the Kingdom and profess the safety of those who were much weaker than herself...that future had long since derailed and dashed away from course and now the irony that she in a lot of ways had become what she had been raised to fight off and that wasn't lost in her as a bad joke life itself had played on her.

"I haven't even laid a hand on you...yet you behave in this manner with me!" Lucrezia spat out with frustration. She indeed hadn't done much to the young man on her possession but her fame as the capturer, slaver and seller of young men now trailed her throughout many kingdoms as there wasn't a place that on her wake didn't either tremble with joy at the thought of the purchase of a husband or terror from the families whose young men would be taken away and sold like livestock to the highest bidder.

The man now at Lucrezia's feet was such a young man who was taken from his family who had for all intents and purposes raised as woman to avoid detection, but a villager had sold him out. Lucrezia had made sure to a least pay some compensation towards the immediate family of the young man but that didn't exactly help her case with the fact that his family had no choice but to sell him off now. now that it was know there was a man with no links to anyone of importance, who also lives on a rural area would wake a stampede of all sorts of people who would do thing escalating the problem all the way towards murder to get their way.

Lucrezia had sworn to his family that she would ensure he landed with a good prospect that would help them out of poverty, had any man and in particular Richard heard this, he would have quipped at the subhuman way men were being handled despite the protections they enjoyed in the Kingdom proper royal cities, but out on the wild. Men were fair game for adventurers of all walks of life and scoundrels who had no scruples at erasing entire families in the hopes of getting a child and then pawning off the man to some noble in a faraway kingdom.

As Lucrezia looked on at the pathetic sight of her captive who shook uncontrollably waiting for her to leave his quarters, she thought back to her olden days when things could have been different, back in her heyday she had hoped to overcome the negative outlook that was culturally reserved for women in military roles as in this society, there was a particular hierarchy set in stone that must be followed. this hierarchy existed for a reason as women who took part in the military were to be seen as the best of the best for the sake of their nation sometimes superseding the need for skill, so long as their height and physique matched the criteria, that was it! image of power was far more sought after than actual power in high society.

The women's society was very much partial to appearances after all. merit was good and all but, the image of strength was thought to even prevent the thought of assailing whatever grounds these proud women stood the ground upon. this is not to say that the women who fit the criteria are incompetent, women in this world are generally taller than women back on Earth and several times more powerful physically too with the aid of magic innately available to them that naturally allows them to perform feats they otherwise shouldn't be able to. due to this average, the fulfillment of requirements generally never stood in the way of any individual who sought success both militarily and in romance as the men here favored taller women as their protectors. this preference played heavily into the psyche of the general population and large swaths of applicants came for the chance to realize the dream they couldn't fulfill back in their homes be it villages or foreign lands.

Royalty and Nobility at large normally made arrangements to provide such individuals, the best mates of the best available to make sure such individuals created children that didn't need the aid of a magical inception to create a baby. another reason and perhaps the most prominent reason was that physical traits played a bigger role with natural birth than when born with the aid of magic so men were similarly sought after as matching husbands that would complement their wives. In their campaigns, men were found and rounded up from any villages that protected them, as how men came to be in those regions is said that they were hidden through generations and had large families all in hiding from the nobles of various nations.

This means that the men that were captured were caught by more than questionable means so that the prestige accompanied with birthing a child through marriage would exalt the position of their families in comparison to other nations where even Royalty had to settle for magic made children with other women through offshoots of the sacred tree found all over the world. the problem was the high society often didn't know or even care of what happened to the shielding families that didn't want to let their son or brother go with the people who were paid to procure them, creating a legalized human trafficking marked in dark blood.

Women with great physical prowess, born naturally had magical aptitudes almost reaching the realms of the elves all while retaining the physical prowess of the mother. children bore through magic on the other hand didn't obey natural genealogy and the offspring of two women were weaker and had very little access to magic, although it was still substantially larger than the males of this world.

Royals with no males in their domains often picked private branches of the sacred tree in which they could separate themselves from your average commoner but the result was largely the same as there would be no births to boys in that union and so, The Nosfalt Kingdom looked down on other Kingdoms for this very reason, at least in their continent The Nosfalt Kingdom was the only nation that held a larger population of males not found anywhere else they knew about, if another place arose then the Imperial Knights would be sent over and ask to see the men in such a place and bring them back to the Kingdom.

And so the best men were hunted down in all in all the land the kingdom could get their hands on either diplomatically or by force and seize upon any resources which included men, then turned around and served them up as prizes to high standing individuals that made the cut in the kingdom and that's precisely a privilege that couldn't go unnoticed tor the average woman who had no chance at love or marriage normally but had to settle for another woman as partner and procreate through magic as a decided fate. this was the main draw for the women from all over the nation and some of which came from foreign lands and migrated to the Nosfalt Kingdom to prove themselves to the nobility, the imperial knights and any other positions that could be earned, such a tittle to become a noble within the kingdom if such an individual was great enough, such a woman would too be considered for a marriage with a man specifically picked, groomed and trained for these women's desires.

as such, the women in the military had a certain list of requirements that they had to fulfill to be allowed the privilege of marriage and the chance to birth a boy which wasn't possible through magic made the standing of the Noble house that birthed him a chance to intertwine their blood with Royalty and even be considered for a house promotion, Lucrezia was known throughout the kingdom as a child prodigy in her earlier years. she had never lost a duel, even if it wasn't actual combat as a soldier, her talents were undeniable, such that her teachers had very high expectations for her and wondered if such a village girl would soon become high nobility at such a young age.

The public didn't wonder if she would make the cut but rather how high of a position she would reach and in how long a time she would shatter any standing records held by the Kingdom.

"Things didn't need to be this way your highness" Lucrezia murmured as she momentarily made a face of anguish letting out a grunt "Ugh...Please leave me alone. I want to go back to my village please!" sobbed the man in pitiful cries that brought back Lucrezia from her momentary lapse in memory lane, looking down at the sobbing young man she could see an androgynous boy from fantasy in her view, his silver hair shining under the streak of the moonlight made it look like he was a figment of a tale of some fantasy book that came through its pages, the light which came from the very few windows his room had, allowed such optical illusions to appear real to Lucrezia which had rendered her spellbound for just a moment before she got a hold of herself and looked back at him.

"Shut up! You're being fed and you're on a very comfortable room, whoever buys you would guarantee you a life of luxury, stop whining and get up and get yourself cleaned. tomorrow you'll have a visitor, and with enough luck you'll be married by the end of the week" answered Lucrezia in a apparent rebuke to the young man who wanted his freedom and to be able to see his family again. If this had been the past her, she would be attending to this man and worried for his wellbeing, but now she saw men as the power reserve behind the actions of the very nation she once idolized.

She had grown meaner with age, as if she hated what she had become but also had developed a certain disdain for men for being the linchpin of what held the Kingdom together and what ultimately decided her fate.

The slaver of marriage they called her and was known throughout the Kingdom was a name she both abhorred and took subtle pride in as she was now in a position that could give the common woman a chance at marriage and she could also make a good living, Lucrezia now regarded in high regard as the fairy of marriage to the women who sought a male partner in various Kingdoms throughout the human occupied lands jumped with joy and clattered their earning's at her feet for a chance to be happy with a man.

but how had Lucrezia come across what seemed to be a steady supply of young men when they were so highly sought after in the kingdom, only those who didn't make the cut for high society were relegated and sent to brothels so they could be the company of the common woman not only from within the Kingdom of Nosfalt where they had the highest possibility of getting pregnant if she was lucky enough but women from other nations also came for such a thing since many nations didn't have any men even for Nobility or Royalty, one thing such women didn't know was that they didn't know it but the masters of the male prostitutes had the means to decide when would someone be impregnated or not and they made damn sure it didn't happen all too often just so that they could reap a steady income off the dreams of the many women who made their way to the nation so that they could have a chance at pregnancy too.

even with such services available in the Kingdom of Nosfalt, the possibility of a woman birthing a boy was incredibly low such that brothels themselves were rarely notified that a boy had been born very few times a year. The Nosfalt Kingdom of course kept the best-looking men they could and used such men as bargaining chips to create ties to other Kingdoms and grow in power the same way women were married off to create familial ties with other houses back on earth.

the young men were generally raised for this purpose and the men offered to such kingdoms had to be acquired young enough to be molded into the values of the Nobility of the Nosfalt Kingdom to instill loyalty in such men to marry them off for the benefit of The Nosfalt Kingdom.

Lucrezia couldn't leave such a system be, she had vowed to destroy the very Kingdom that had denied her future and career, she didn't have a perfect plan yet but hitting the nobility where it hurt was something she knew she had to do, knowing this and with firm resolution she had gone out of her way and found of way to acquire men that Nosfalt Kingdom couldn't get their hands on and by doing so devalue the political power and mystique the Kingdom of Nosfalt possessed.

Lucrezia had gone and done it, she had taken from the Nosfalt Kingdom and by providing the common woman with the means of marriage, she had introduced a disruption that cheapened the reward meant for the elite of the Kingdom, but such things are of no matter to her now.

The sobbing man at her feet made her feel miserable but she hated him because in some deranged level, that man vulnerability reminded her of herself in her weakest moments. yes, she the once called future sword saint wasn't as strong mentally as she now was when her future had fallen apart, she would never forget the look of disdain the captain of the Imperial Knights had given her in mockery of her physique.

"...Ugh" such a noise escaped her mouth, and she realized the man at her feet had fallen silent and fallen unconscious, his clothes although elegant, they were somewhat ripped as the young man had tried ripping them apart in frustration, but his strength wasn't enough.

Lucrezia had decided she had tormented the young man enough although she hadn't laid a hand on him and decided to leave but she did so curse under her breath in a rather low murmur "Hilda...for the humiliation you put me through, I'll see that your end isn't' a happy one" she murmured in a distant look facing the opponent she would seek revenge against.

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-Richard's POV

"Good morning, Lady Paula, had a good night I, see?" A cheery voice perfect for customer service which would fleece men out their money and a very bright smile greeted our group early in the morning as I look from behind Laura still covered from head to toe, and I see that the receptionist is rather friendly to our fearless team leader Paula. The receptionist is a blonde bombshell with rounded glasses, possibly in her late twenties with a rather obscene disposition as she gestures to Paula with a rather lewd look about her probable activities last night. I don't need to be told anything about what their relationship is to know that these two are buddies and probably frequent the same establishments as our fearless leader does.

"Shuuush!" Rebuffed Paula in a panic in a effort to shut up the receptionist while our very own Elf Olga eyed the whole ordeal with amusement on her eyes even mocking her. "Ara? What's this? I thought your escapades were your pride leader!" she said in a tone veiled dripping with sarcasm to which Paula merely jumped and ignored her and related the new info to the receptionist with other stuff I couldn't hear.

"Not so proud now, are we? I wonder if I should tell Richard about your escapades" Olga eyed me with amusement as she said this a Paula stiffened but continued ignoring her all the same. I couldn't do the same though, I wasn't particularly interested in any of the party so who they slept with was of no concern to me, but I am getting the feeling that's only a me thing as Laura was keenly and discreetly eyeing me alongside Monica to see what my disposition would be to lewd remarks. I didn't feel like doing anything and so I decided to ignore the whole thing happened and pretended not to hear Olga's provocative statements by solely looking at my feet, the whole hood did wonders to pretend this was none of my business.

Moving on looking at the receptionist, I say our group was greeted but I've yet to be allowed officially into the party and I'm currently covered from head to toe in dark robes courtesy of the proprietress of the inn, I'm wearing much more than just a hood. Stella had heard some of what I had to say about earth, but I didn't mention technologies just in case so that I don't get kidnapped by a third party seeking to pry information out of me, when I say "they" I could mean shadow organizations of any sort including entire nations but sometimes even the people you grow to trust can toss you to the wolves should the profit margins be substantial enough. If I were to foolishly reveal a technology then the consequences could be dire for me and those around me, However I do want to leave a mark in this world so I got to come up with a plausible cause for inspiration for a couple of things I could make a quick buck on I thought trying to plan ahead ignoring the fact I was considering plagiarizing but this is another world.

Stella had suggested for us to come earlier to the Adventure's Guild than your average adventurers usually gather in their respective local guilds, contrary to what it's seen in anime or depicted in Light Novels, expeditions are planned at night of the previous day and the most highly important quests aren't so readily available in the mornings, only postings being rather crude tasks like guarding or collecting stuff ranging from herbs or other items that do not require much intel as higher tier quests do, so that I'm not seen. As it stands, I'm a rather odd sight not only because I'm a man but because my sense of fashion and my appearance is at odds with the males of this world consider normal that in turn makes me feel weird in a way I can't explain.

"Oh so that's it huh?" murmured the receptionist in the background as Paula excitedly told her something but I wasn't of sharp hearing enough that I could figure out what was being said, that aside both of them were sporting lecherous grins on their faces. I'll never grow accustomed to seeing women that way, Olga has a look of utter disgust and Laura is just standing guard in front of me. Monica is glued to my side and for some reason has entwined her left hand with my right arm like you'd see in lovers back on earth, I didn't mind it but can't say I see myself dating Monica.

that aside the way men were here really gave me shivers in the same way as nails in a chalkboard. I'm no tough guy or anything but if Wolves were as intelligent as we humans are, and they saw their genetical relatives such as dogs I can't help but feel these feeling I'm feeling would be shared with them. I'm certain this is what they'd feel when they encountered a chihuahua or some wiener dog out in the open. they'd probably think "My god what happened". That's kind of what I'm feeling, I see their looks, conflicting looks from Paula, Laura and Monica because they're stuck between how they've been told to treat males and the way I act, and look throws them out their game, but I can't pretend to be the same as those men I've seen.

just thinking of acting the same way makes me want to hurl. even now the way Harlowe looked and acted gives me the creeps and I can't help that, Can I? It just isn't natural for a grown man to look like that and dress that way I shook my head repeatedly.

"What's wrong?" Monica asked in a concerned tone but I just shook my head and told her not to worry about it.

You'd think my behavior would throw off all women but the innkeeper seems now totally into me somehow and no, I'm not imagining things either, she has taken an overly protective role for me cautioning Paula, Laura, Olga and Monica in how to deal with my identity and improve my safety which is weird given that not even my own mother ever fussed this much but I shouldn't be surprised given how that Harlowe fella was treated like a belonging with no will, it gives me goosebumps enough that I miss the crazy lot back in the forest.

Rhea and Shima wouldn't have batted an eyelid throwing their blades at my neck like they did back in my short training, the fact that I prefer that makes me fear for my mental stability I thought as the bizarre idea crossed my mind.

[Ahem!]

Paula cleared her throat after she finished giving the juicy details to the receptionist and spoke as if to enter business mode "Good morning, Claire! I'd like to add a new member to our party" Paula cheerfully and loudly proclaimed, she seems to have openly ignored the obscene gestures that blonde bombshell was sending her way even now. by my estimation, Claire it's about 183cm tall which would make her taller than me by a little bit, silver rounded glasses and curls as her preferred style for the hair. Guild employees all seem to prefer cream-colored uniforms, and she had the vestments of kind of a medieval office lady if such a thing ever existed by on Earth.

She has the aura of a librarian; she doesn't look like any sort of athlete but is rather well endowed I thought looking at her twin peaks and it seems she's just spotted me.

"Ah, you've got a new member?" Claire straightened out and grabbed a form from the pile at her counter and handed it to Paula to fill it out since she was the team leader, "Have her fill this out for me and when she's done, we'll test her abilities to properly gauge her rank okay?" she said with a prim and proper smile that was quite friendly, but I could see endless curiosity bubbling from her eyes and the way she looked at Paula as if to get her to nod at understanding that she would ask for the details in their private time. It seems that the secret talking they were having wasn't enough, just what the hell were they talking about then?

somethings just don't change even in other worlds about women do they, I thought as I mindlessly reached out my hand towards the forms in Paula's hand so I could fill out the paperwork but then I remembered something. Can I even fill those out? I questioned.

"Are you able to fill these out?" As if reading my mind, Paula surprised evident on her face asked, faced me looking straight at me and I froze a bit, not because I hadn't considered the fact that've never written anything of this world, I knew I could read things, but I don't know if my transfer here only allowed me to read but not write. However, this isn't' what confused me, Even the large Laura was looking at me and Monica too, despite always keeping her emotions in check eyed me with curiosity which normally I would have disregarded but even Olga was looking quite surprised at me, and I couldn't figure it out why.

"Why wouldn't she?" the receptionist cut in looking oddly at them and then turned to me realizing I had yet to show my face or speak at all. "Ah no, our new member isn't from around here and I or rather we aren't sure if-" Olga was trying her hardest to explain and I just cut her off.

"It's fine!" I replied and I took my hood down and revealed my face which Laura attempted to cover in a panic but I stopped her. Olga was surprised since the plan had been for me to be mysterious since identity verification was only important at the higher levels, lower level adventurers weren't as important to waste resources on Stella had mentioned.

Stella had warned it was better for me to remain unknown, but I just couldn't do it that way, I was heading to the top after all. this world was my oyster now and I really doubt the kingdom would go out of its way for a single guy after there are so many sold right under their noses by that slave trader Rainaire mentioned before when she explained her and Matilda's situation with Harlowe. neither the Queen nor the Nobles seem to care much for them so showing up out of the nowhere wouldn't make a difference. If this had been the other kingdoms like Stella told me about then it would have been straight up impossible to talk to them and talk them out of capturing me.

However, If I become a big-time adventurer then things change, even visiting other nations the risk of me being abducted goes down since I'll be a celebrity by then I thought formulating my thoughts. there is that and the fact that if I want to find ways to go back to my world, I can't do that if I'm a unknown shadow adventurer.

but do I even want to go back? I thought as I took off the bandages that covered my face after I took down my hood then finally my face was exposed.

my team all knew I was a guy but even now they blushed at the sight of me, can't say I get tired of that since that wouldn't happen in a million years back on earth. Olga had a stern look on her face and slightly shook her head, that makes sense since she was the one that most opposed to me even becoming an adventurer in the first place and Laura had a look of disapproval as well.

In all this, It was the receptionist Claire who had the biggest impact she went deep red like a lobster and her eyes reflected confusion since I didn't quite fit the mold of the men of this world yet she had to know I was one and that is probably what shook her the most I thought.

"Erm, uh...So how much was he Paula? Is Lucrezia in town? Answer me damn it! are all her men like this?" Claire had lost her damn mind. that's what she was thinking about? How much was I? not the other thing? Is she an idiot?

"Claire listen, I didn't-" Paula had gotten a hold of Claire's shoulders and attempted to explain I hadn't been bought from anyone, but Claire wasn't listening. "Whatever you paid, I give you twice as much! Tell me is he a virgin or did you already take it eh?" If you did then you got to give me a small discount, right? Can I coup a feel and check him out?" Claire spoke incoherently and fir the first time I could sincerely say that this woman was being overrun by lustful desire.

She looked at me te same was a hungry lion eyed a large chunk of fresh meat and I didn't know whether to feel endangered or horny since she had good looks but she was creeping me out.

"Enough of this nonsense! Milord wasn't purchased and he is not for sale!" tired of Claire's shenanigans Laura spoke up firm but she was wrathful and so was Monica as she looked to be minutes away from pulling her brass knuckles like objects to which I had to hold her down.

"Calm down Monica" I hugged her, and Claire didn't take the cue and decided on going further "No! Don't tell me her highness granted him to you! You had said you weren't interested in being a Imperial Knight and didn't want a man handed to you!" Claire further protested as she now looked at the group with absolute envy in her eyes and she was kind of creeping me out.

I had no idea such a pretty lady could look so fearsome just like that, I for the first time felt a fear I hadn't felt even when Shima had mounted my torso at all, I don't know why but her stare was downright terrifying. She was having the conversation with Laura but would momentarily lick her lips and lock my way with carnal desire not even hookers back home had for all the drugs they took throughout the day.

Could I really settle down with this kind of women? I asked myself in reflection.

"Why would I call someone handed to me milord you absolute idiot!" Laura screamed at the top of her lungs in loud rebuke.

"Crap! perhaps I shouldn't have revealed my face " I murmured getting dragged back to reality by Laura's shout. "You think?" Olga quickly rebuffed her toned full of sarcasm but nevertheless she had placed herself in front of me to shield me from Claire's lewd gaze she was sending my way and for the first time I felt what some women feel when I guy do the same and I felt complicated about it, that said, I had forgotten how good elven ears are! I cursed under my breath. this is going to take a while, and the adventurers could come in at any moment I eyed the door with a fear I didn't know I had.

Could I really make it as an Adventurer?

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_Sometime later--

"I'm so very sorry!" Claire apologized loudly to me right in front at a secluded room where perhaps the guild conferences and maybe other details were hammered out. Claire had gone ahead and closed the guild momentarily and taken us towards the back of the guild where interviews were conducted based on the fact that it had the air of a conference room.

The room wasn't that big, perhaps it was as big a twenty foot at all sides, with just enough chairs for the five of us to sit at. there was no casting couch of course! but despite being another world you can kind of tell when a location is used to hold talks and conferences. the room wasn't as modern as back on earth, the smell of wood was quite strong here due to how much things were mostly out of wood than plaster or even metal. the chairs were perfectly symmetrical and had an air of individuality usually reserved for hand crafted items. you could tell that this place hadn't really taken off with it's own industrial revolution the way it had happened back on earth, and I honestly didn't know if that day would come either since unlike humanity back home who'd bicker with themselves and the weather. this world was chuck full of creatures that could end your life at any moment.

"I don't think I've ever been here" Monica muttered as she looked all around the room with curiosity as Claire apologizing to us wasn't that big of a deal to her. "I have a couple of times for special missions debriefing" confessed Paula with a grin as if to impress me. "That solely isn't just a you think leader" Chided Olga with a bored look at Paula's attempts to woo me.

given how close they were all to be and that I was flanked in both sides by chattering women I couldn't make out what Claire was saying, she was giving a speech of some sort with apologies mixed in here and there but most of the time she spoke with her eyes closed which was kind of weird to see. it's almost as if she can't handle crowds and she closes her eyes to cope with the situation which made me wonder why was she a receptionist but then again, her perverseness aside the energy she gave in front and her sociability were all top notch, so it was kind of conflicting qualities to have mixed together.

maybe it wasn't crowds that were the problem but me? I thought as I saw her talk without taking much of a breath between sentences sometimes as if she talked with the mission of running out of air first before taking a breath.

That aside, based on what Stella had told me, Monsters in this world seemingly spawned out of nowhere if you gave it enough time. most countries had found a loophole or workaround by deforesting a certain number of trees that stopped monsters' spawns but there was a limit to that recourse as from certain points, some trees were indestructible and scholars in the field tried to figure out why were some trees so permanent while other could be cut down.

"I truly didn't mean to offend you Sir!" continued Claire apologizing profusely as she seemed to be just about finished with her performance, I had seen Olga drag the receptionist out of sight for a couple of minutes to then return with a shaky receptionist with a pale complexion. I wonder what kind of nonsense Olga had said to her but when I tried looking her way, she'd just stuck out her tongue and ignored my gaze altogether. Isn't this woman all too comfortable with me now? I thought.

I then turned towards Monica and the other, but they had flushed cheeks and refused to look my way. weird.

"Let's put that aside for now Claire. Do you think you could add Richard to our party now?" Olga pushed along disregarding the apologies that Claire was currently performing and got straight to the point.

"Of course! That will be of no issue" Claire stood upright with a business smile on her face but then it immediately gave in with doubt. "Or at least that's what I'd like to say but can Richard here perform well in manual labor and/or combat related positions though? Will he be alright?" expanded Claire with a slight bit of concern in her voice. She looked at me unsure if she was doing the right thing, it had nothing to do whether she could do something or not but hinged on whether she should altogether.

To think this pervert has some semblance of a moral compass I thought. that however was instantly shattered the next moment after what Laura and the others said on my behalf.

"Milord can do very well in combat! Believe it or not we wouldn't be standing before you right now if he hadn't decided to save our lives back in that cursed forest added Laura heartedly. the other soon joined and described that I wasn't an ordinary man by the world's standards that that I should be allowed to join as an Adventurer. they detailed all they could about me with Laura singing me praises to the high heavens with Monica as a chorus nodding and making agreeable noises to back up her claims.

This earned a shocked face from the receptionist who looked at me as if searching for a clue onto what Laura had confessed. however, she didn't quite believe it either, even when Monica, Paula, Olga and Laura all vouched for my good job back there in the forest.

"I can see that this boy is truly different from the other I've seen, and he doesn't look as delicate as they are, are you certain Richard here is Male? I mean his physique is far sturdier than I've ever seen Have you checked there already?" The Receptionist blushed at her own suggestion and signaled with a heated gaze towards my crotch which made me flexibly cover it up protectively at the moment they as in the entire room joined to look at that spot at the receptionist signal towards my nether regions.

I had always thought the little general would be up to the task when confronted with a crowd of thirsty women, but reality wasn't so kind, I could feel the twins shrink in fright and going into the body as if fearful of the women here which is a experience I'd never thought I'd feel.

"I'm clearly a guy and I'm not showing you people anything!" I shouted defensively trying to get the women to move their gaze away from there which got Monica to stand up as if on cue and place herself defensibly Infront of me as if to shield me with her body which actually ended up convincing Claire since Monica was very much anti-social but shared some of the chivalrous ideals Laura also possessed which is why she hadn't tried to stop little Monica either and nodded approvingly of her actions.

that said, the fact that Monica had needed to stand up at all and protect me didn't sit well with Claire despite the all too visible disappointed look on her face when she realizes she wasn't going to get to see me naked. coming back to her senses Claire cleared her throat and spoke "Very well! I got an idea then" followed Claire as she went towards the door before stopping right in front and gestured at us to get up from our seats and have us follow her, "If this man is as good and different from the other males as you claim him to be then he should be able to pass the ability test we have at out guild here isn't that right Sir?" Claire looked at me expectantly and with challenging eyes.

She then lost all expression in her face and said, "Laura you of all should know how sensitive the Kingdom is in regard to men being hurt and all, I can't risk a man joining and then dying under my watch", saying so she opened the door and had us follow her towards the back of the Guild.

We followed her through the halls of the guild till we made till the end of a hallway facing towards a door that opened up to a plain open field filled all sorts of equipment I've never seen before, there stood a group of women with different physiques, and they were chattering having a merry good time till they didn't.

At first they looked at the four women at my side with challenging gazes thinking perhaps it was some sort of ranking up test but that all changed when I appeared from behind our resident giant Laura that had walked in front of me for quite a while till, I overtook her. the group of women were taken aback and strained their eyes with a lot of effort to make sure they were all accurately looking at what they thought they were to which they proceeded to get agitated.

some were hurling obscenities towards Claire enraged while other had obscene looks in their eyes, objectively speaking they were all bigger than me which made me feel inadequate, If this how short men feel all the time I wondered.

as I thought this a big woman probably the size of Laura headed our way, she was dressed in a full set of armor and despite her size none of her feminine features had faded and been replaced by masculine ones as it happens sometimes with women back on earth. the woman had her hair on a Ponytail, golden locks in front and a look of duty on her eyes and she was furious, so furious she yelled on her way over and couldn't wait till she got at talking distance with Claire "What's the meaning of this Claire! Explain yourself now, are you trying to set us up or something?" the woman rages, her face completely red.

"Are women here this angry all the time" I pondered out loud which earned me a sour look from Laura and the others as if it was better if they kept their mouth shut.

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In the castle at the same time...

"Say that again for me Carol?" boomed a woman's voice in a lavish throne room. currently the audience was completely empty. In the throne sat a woman in her forties that despite the passage of time retained much of her youth, anyone that looked at her would have assumed that she was in her early twenties if not younger.

The Queen had no plans for work today and had been happily spent time with her daughter and husband back in the palace. Queen Vitoria the current head of the Nosfalt Kingdom was the two hundred and fiftieth monarch. unlike other Kingdoms, the Nosfalt Kingdom was young, most monarchies in the continent traced back their history upwards of two thousand years so Nosfalt Kingdom despite their prowess and influence at the continental stage tried to prove themselves against older nations in just about everything due to their short history.

Queen Victoria had always been a workaholic and often neglected her family, that had been common sense for people in important positions like leadership, countries didn't run themselves after all. that had been the case for all long reigning Monarchs up until now that Victoria had changed almost twenty years ago when she had lost her only beloved son.

She had gotten pregnant and birthed a boy, but the midwife had taken off with her son, she was absolutely sure of it. when she woke up from fainting shortly after giving birth, she had been told her son had been born dead and mysteriously the people involved in helping her birth had all gone missing, Victoria had flown into a rabid rage and turned the entire Kingdom upside down looking for her son.

She had dozens of officials, and their families executed. she had found most of those officials had ties to other kingdoms where men were scarce, far more than the prosperous Nosfalt Kingdom. she hadn't put it past other nations trafficking her son. someone had dared to steal her son from right under her nose and gotten away with it. the worse part was that the officials that she'd executed all had tied to different Kingdoms all over the place, she couldn't call upon any alliance to wage war since every nation was her possible enemy.

Victoria was a mother, but she was also a Queen, she couldn't just declare war on the continent all by herself. the queen had decided to rest that matter and had countless professionals solely focused on investigation and had them infiltrate multiple nations and even underground organizations to seek the truth, just like those eighteen years had passed her by and she hadn't made any headway with her search.

That said, as of now no Organization was dirty enough for her in the search of her boy, It didn't matter to her who joined the search so long as her son was found.

As the search dragged on she birthed a second child and named her Felicia, now she had a daughter two years after the whole incident with her shy husband who let everything on her hands or rather that was the way it was in this world and his task was taking care of the home and children, the daughter was now sixteen years old and ever since her birth, the queen didn't miss a opportunity to spend time with her daughter as if making up the lost time with her missing son. her daughter Felicia was very strong and very well educated, she had promise as a possible leader of the Imperial Knights and despite being younger, she stood at a height of 184cm tall.

Her talent with the sword was unmatched, her physique perfect and her disposition as a warrior was perfect although things hadn't always been easy for her though. the Nosfalt Royal Family was special in the sense that in the country's long history, it didn't matter the genes of the partner the sovereign wed. the offspring was always born with jet black hair and purple like gemstones eyes, it was a given that Nosfalt Royalty had to possess such qualities by default, yet Felicia had been born with auburn red hair and her eyes were mixed, one eye was purple like her family and the other one was an amber yellow like her fathers.

Hadn't it been for that single eye, the merit of young Felicia being Royalty would have come under question as no on in the entre Kingdom in Nosfalt nor the other ones in the continent had Amethyst Purple eyes, that single eye had saved the Royal Family from further disgrace after it was publicly known that Victoria's son had been born dead. that had to be the story, had the people known that the child had been taken from right under the Royal Family the insult wouldn't have stood, and the public would have demanded justice and retaliation for the disrespect.

Such a Queen had to leave the sword tournament her only daughter had decided to participate in because her head intelligence officer Carol had sent her an encrypted message with urgency. the queen had lost all composure once she read that message and abruptly left leaving only a message for her daughter behind and she ran towards the castle as if she was running from the Devil himself, she wanted to hear it from Carol herself.

"I believe we might have found a clue in regard to his highness Aubrey your majesty" Carol's voice reverberated back at the queen. Carol was different to your standard woman and/or official in the Kingdom, standing at the height of 152cm tall, a brunette with s rather small build which stood in contrast to the imperial knights known for their physique, she was perhaps the shortest at the service of the Queen but personally that didn't matter to the queen who had not given up on her son, but her work ethic and her courage were the real deal and for that she had the trust of the Royal Family.

Carol answered to no one but the queen herself and that was why no one dare belittle her for her physique like they did to applicants for the Knight Order.

The Queen's expression froze, and her knuckles turned white as snow as she gripped the throne with all her might, making even stone under pressure crack slightly and popping sounds reverberated in the throne room.

"Are you certain Carol?" The queen leaned in with the look of a predator that had finally sighted her prey, her expression and body betrayed no time for jokes, she was deadly serious as the hall that had her generals froze at the bloodlust their queen was giving off her pores. that said, they had belligerent smiles on their faces too, as their loyalty to the crown was absolute and would move to turn the continent itself upside down if it meant giving the queen back her son.

"Is Aubrey truly alive?" the queen couldn't contain herself and her enthusiasm couldn't be contained any longer.

"Yes!" Carol still kneeling looked at her queen in the eyes head on and continued "A demi human that constantly chats with travelling merchants through the Village of Heim let slip to one of our operatives that she had tended to and befriended a Male human with purple eyes. She didn't know we also employ beast people at our service and this breakthrough is the result.

"Shall we seize her?" Carol asked as she waited with bated breath for her queen's order.

"Yes! but do not harm her and bring her to me. I must know everything she knows, should she not cooperate I will erase that village of hers on the spot" The queen retorted. "What's this woman's name? If she leads me to my son, then her rewards will be fitting" Continued Victoria.

"Her name is _"

"Mother!" A shout reverberated across the royal halls leading up to the throne room. so startling was the shout that Carol forgot herself despite her professionalism and awaited the young princess to arrive.

"Mother!"

[SLAM]

The Palace doors slammed open and beautiful woman measuring a whopping 184 cm tall with a Trophy on her grip walked in without regard to the place she just intruded upon, a auburn red hair a little disheveled due to the exercise she just went through, mismatched eyes that gave a faint glow , blood stains all over her battle gear some still dripping into the carpet without regard to what she was currently wearing was not appropriate to the place she was in, she was unhurt, but her breath was ragged and erratic, bloodshot eyes and willpower that left a presence wherever she went, the blood stains where on her gear, her hands and even some of it was on her trophy but none of it appeared to be hers. "I've heard the news, and I shall bring my brother back and I will punish those who took him away from us" Felicia declared.

Princess Felicia has stormed in and somehow gotten a hold of information that only Carol's entourage was supposed to know yet the Princess cared little for such a big deal and demanded she ve allowed to exact retribution of those who had hurt her mother and by extension her family and nation.