system do you want to check the quest?

    yes

    no

    i nodded quickly as soon as the system window flashed.

    quest for some reason, adrian bernhard is roaming the back alleys. find him in a dangerous situation before the royal family does.

    reward for success: ‘adrian von bernhard’ secret route opens, charm 30, morality 30, ‘adrian von bernhard’ likeability 20

    penalty for failure: ‘adrian von bernhard’ secret route closes, morality -50

    ‘what kind of quest is it that if you fail, your morality would decrease this much?’

    -50? edith abina wasn’t a character with high morals in the first place, but a decline that ate up all the basic morality in her seemed too much.

    ‘but i don’t have to worry about her morality, do i?’

    i don’t know about extreme job, but in experience! life, you didn’t have to pay attention to the moral index unless you wanted a specific ending. if it falls below a certain level, it was impossible to get curtis, who valued morality, but i wasn’t trying to target curtis right now.

    on the other hand, the reward was good compared to the penalty, so i accepted the quest without thinking much. then, an arrow the size of my face appeared from thin air to point where adrian bernhard was.

    “old lady, are you crazy?”

    as i turned around the arrow, the child who was glaring at me began to murmur.

    “today doesn’t look quite good. i met a crazy old lady…”

    hearing his disgruntled murmur with one ear, i began to follow the arrows that seemed to be leading somewhere.

    the arrows grew bigger or smaller as i turned and walked.

    ‘the arrows grow bigger when i get closer to adrian!’

    as i hit my palm with my fist, the child walked away as if concluding that i was indeed crazy. i didn’t pay attention and followed the arrow instead.

    there was definitely a quest like this in experience! life.

    ‘at that time, it was a quest to find hidden items, and not a target character.’

    i followed the arrow to a dark alley facing the red-light district, deeper and more secluded than the back alley of alms. my body shivered as i entered the entrance, signaling that there was danger all over.

    “i don’t think i should go carelessly…”

    but adrian was in this alley.

    ‘i can’t help it. let’s just take a weapon then.’

    swallowing dry saliva, i entered the alley holding in my left hand a paper knife i used when i was still a maid. as i passed by several buildings without seeing red glass windows in front, i heard the sound of someone being beaten from the back of the building where the fishy smell was coming from.

    puck, puck!

    “i’m sorry, i’m sorry.”

    “you moron! i told you to treat him properly because he’s an important guest!”

    puck, puck!

    “well, i was wrong, i’m sorry, i’m sorry!”

    it wasn’t two people fighting, but a violent one-sided beating of a guy. entering the alley as i followed the arrow by taking a few steps, i could see a figure lying flat on his stomach near the dirty sewer, and another man sighing heavily with a bottle of liquor in his hand.

    “fuck! i bought you after seeing your face, but you can’t even stand properly in front of customers, damn it!”

    the shaggy-bearded man roughly kicked the figure on the ground in the stomach, and struck him down on the head with the bottle in his hand.

    clink!

    the sharp rupture of the bottle made me grimace. a puddle of red blood spread near the head of the man who could only groan in pain.

    ‘i’m going to die like that.’

    even if the fallen man wasn’t adrian, it was a sight that couldn’t be overlooked.

    “i bought this at an expensive price, but he’s a completely defective guy! the bastard who sold slaves went underwater, and now i’m the only one suffering!” the man muttered as he smoothed his pants.

    “dude, this guy is properly drilled, right? that way, i can sell it to customers who have different tastes.”

    i stepped forward, frightened by the sound of a man who looked like a slave trader loosening his belt.

    oh, no! i had to protect adrian – or whoever it was knocked out on the ground.