Chapter 116: You’re the Rascal

“Hurry up and get dressed! What do you think you’re doing?” Turning around, her face red and her heartbeat accelerating, Alice couldn’t sense any movement from Rod behind her, so she cursed again.
“Who’s the rascal now? It’s you, right, Miss Alice, the noble magician? Don’t forget—this is my room. I’m here to rest. What, am I not allowed to take off my clothes while resting? It seems like you’re the one who broke into my room. Now you’re even accusing me first? Or maybe you’ve been coveting my good looks all along, waiting for an opportunity? Was that on purpose just now? No, did you do something inappropriate during the days I was injured? Did you take advantage of me while I was unconscious…?”
“You wretched woman! How dare you accuse me!” Rod retorted, smiling mockingly as he stared at Alice, who was facing away from him.
“You… you rascal, scoundrel! You’re hopeless!” Turning around, gasping for breath with her shoulders shaking, Alice’s small chest rose and fell beneath her mage robe. Her face was red as she glared fiercely at Rod, her eyes seemingly spewing murderous flames.
“You… are you still looking? Did I hit the nail on the head? Look at your red face—do you even know what shyness is?” Rod continued to tease her nonchalantly.
Perhaps in this era such a scene would seem awkward or inappropriate, but in the world where he came from, it was all too common. Even back when he lived in school, the boys’ dormitory was right across from the girls’ dormitory, separated only by a small playground. In the summer, groups of boys would stand in front of the faucets in their dorms, taking cold showers in their underwear. The girls across the way weren’t embarrassed at all—they would sometimes scream and throw flirtatious glances at the well-built boys, even laughing mischievously. When the boys’ dorm was searched, countless telescopes were found there!
“You… you…” Gasping for breath, furious, Alice couldn’t say a word this time. She stared at Rod, her eyes filling with tears, looking like she might cry at any moment.

“Cough cough cough… Never mind, it’s pointless. I’m not joking with you. Don’t make any noise, or if Kiro and the others find out, hehe… I don’t care about that, but as for you, even if you had a thousand mouths, you couldn’t explain yourself!” Seeing Alice getting extremely angry and about to cast a spell, Rod quickly recalled his earlier joke and warned her.
“Hmph, Knight Rod, wait and see! I’m not done with you!” Rod’s words made Alice stop forming the magic symbols in her hands and halt her spell. She glared at him viciously, then turned and left with a murderous look in her eyes.
“Hehe, you little brat, wanting to play with me? I said I’d spank you that time but didn’t do it. You think it’s that easy to just let it go!” Watching Alice walk away, Rod smirked and muttered to himself.
Alice paused, stomped her foot angrily, and sped away from there. It seemed Rod’s words had reached her ears.
“Damn you, you jerk, you scoundrel! Hmph, a dog bites Lu Dongbin without recognizing kindness. I even brought you medicine out of kindness, and you… Hmph, how come you didn’t die that day…” Back in her room, furious, Alice sat down on a chair and complained loudly. She threw the medicine bottle on the ground angrily, cursing with a hint of crying in her voice. That thug had bullied her like that—she would definitely get revenge if she got the chance.
Her previously changed opinion of Rod was overturned once again, and she returned to seeing him as that rogue scoundrel.
…
“Have you recovered again? Hehe, as expected, you’re quite good. It’s a shame I can’t fight alongside you these next few days!” Once the room was completely quiet, Rod looked at his intact armor in his pack and sighed bitterly to himself.
It must have been those people who fixed this armor for him after he was injured that day. Thankfully it wasn’t lost; otherwise, it would have been a huge loss. That armor had been in terrible condition when facing the Earth Bear, so Rod was naturally happy to see it restored. It also showed once again the power of restoring metal.
Thinking about the news he received that night, he fell into silence, frowning slightly as he lay in bed, deep in thought.
After much deliberation, considering his physical condition, Rod reluctantly gave up on his ideas and inner temptations. With a sigh, he returned to bed to continue training. Other than training, he didn’t know what else to do.
…

When he opened his eyes again, it was already dawn on the second day. After brushing himself off casually, he stepped onto the streets and watched the small town, which had already become bustling in the early morning. It was pleasant to enjoy the sunlight.

Strolling leisurely through the town, observing various things and the hurried mercenaries, Rod sighed inwardly. Many people were heading in groups toward Collins Forest—undoubtedly to trouble that fire dragon. But what the exact situation was or what the outcome would be remained unknown; likely nothing good would happen!

Although he couldn’t go himself, after thinking it through, Rod wasn’t in a hurry. That fire dragon could have lasted a year, so it must be quite strong. Even if it was injured or giving birth, what did that matter? After all, it had holy-level power, making it not so easy for others to deal with it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have survived until now.

Since it wasn’t laying eggs today, he had no rush, which meant he still had a good chance. He could use these few days to recover properly and get himself in top shape. Then, he could take advantage of the chaos to reap benefits—if possible, or at least observe the situation.

It would be good experience for him too. If he couldn’t defeat it, could he not escape? He didn’t think he was that weak.

He spent almost the entire morning exploring Iron Bar Town. Finally, just as he was about to turn back, he found the mercenary association in the town.

It was a simple place, yet it exuded an imposing aura, giving off a rough and rugged feel. Inside, it was extremely busy, packed with mercenaries. Rod wasn’t surprised by this scene at all; it would be strange if there were few people here.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward, using all his strength to push his way in as if fighting his way through a crowd.

After much effort, he finally reached the counter. He took out the Wind Leopard Essence Core and the Unicorn Rhinoceros horn he had prepared, along with his Magic Crystal Card, and handed them to the cute girl in front of him. “Return the mission!”

After those three simple words, the woman took the card and items and quickly started working. “Congratulations, esteemed Natrod! You have completed this time your D-rank mission—hunting the Wind Leopard and obtaining the unicorn rhinoceros’s horn—as well as the F-rank task of gathering herbs in Collins Forest. You can now receive 150 honor points. Meanwhile, your Wind Mercenaries Squad will receive 210 contribution points. As for your commission plus the 100 gold coins as a deposit, they have been deposited into your Magic Crystal Card. You can check it now!”

A moment later, the woman handed over the magic crystal card and smiled at Rod, saying, “Thank you!” Taking the magic crystal card, Rod felt relieved. His first solo mercenary mission was finally over—his efforts hadn’t been in vain. Due to his physical condition, Rod didn’t choose to take on any new tasks. Since there was no blacklist in the Mercenary Association, he didn’t bother checking other news either. He turned and headed back to the hotel.

Upon returning to the hotel and seeing the somewhat empty lobby, Rod sighed inwardly. It seemed most people had gone into Collins Forest. He wondered if Kiro and the others had gone as well. As he headed toward his room, he was stopped by a voice behind him.

“Huh… Natrod, you kid… Seriously, where did you run off to so early in the morning? We thought you really went to Collins Forest! If you don’t come back soon, we’ll go look for you! Damn you, you’re really such a worry!” came Kiro’s complaints.

“Hmph, him? I don’t think he has the guts to go to a place like that!” Alice retorted sharply.

“Ahem… Sorry, hehe, I forgot. I went to the Mercenary Association to hand in my mission. I’m truly sorry!” Rod said apologetically with a wry smile. Of course, he ignored Alice’s words. How could he not know that this little girl was still upset about last night’s incident?

“Well, it’s good you’re back. Luckily you didn’t go today. You don’t know—those who went back before noon were in a terrible state. It seems the fire dragon went berserk. Out of the hundreds who went, less than a hundred returned, and the other two hundred were left there! We thought you kid…”

Kiro’s words filled Rod with warmth, but also shock. With a saint-level expert leading them, over three hundred people—although they might not have cooperated—were reduced to such a miserable state in such a short time? The terrifying power required was unimaginable. Truly worthy of being a member of the Dragon Clan. Rod smiled sheepishly inwardly. To be honest, if his health had allowed, he would have gone today too.

“By the way, weren’t you going to Flaming City? We’ll set off together in five days. I happen to have some business there, so we can go together!” Kiro said with a smile, thinking of the news he had received that day.

“Hmm, okay!” After a moment of thought, Rod agreed readily. It didn’t matter; going together wouldn’t cause any problems, and having an extra person would make it less lonely.