Chapter 19: The S-Rank’s Dilemma: Border Crossing and Brawls

Larry’s timely pragmatism secured a lifeline for his stomach, and Meixia’s intuition proved correct: Ellis had indeed mastered the way to his heart through his stomach.

Over two decades of companionship, Ellis had meticulously learned Larry’s culinary preferences and his precise control over seasonings, a skill she maintained across both their current world and the one they had left behind.

Minor incidents along their journey had not impeded their progress. By just past seven in the evening, they successfully reached the border of Danga City. However, their caravan’s advance was abruptly halted at the border checkpoint.

For reasons unknown, the Danga Kingdom’s border had been suddenly sealed. No foreign personnel were permitted entry, nor was anyone allowed to leave.

Only after a hefty bribe was the caravan leader granted passage, and even then, it was just him and a selection of goods. Ellis and her companions were left with no choice but to find an alternative route, pay an equally exorbitant sum like the leader, or have Larry present his S-rank adventurer proof.

High-ranking adventurers enjoyed significant privileges in all nations. Even with a border lockdown, an S-rank adventurer could typically pass through, unless there was something the authorities specifically wished to keep hidden from the Adventurers’ Guild.

Such an obstruction would only ignite the adventurers’ curiosity, prompting those lawless, thrill-seeking, and highly skilled individuals to disregard all regulations. They would find unimaginable ways to infiltrate the country, leaving it in utter disarray.

Never underestimate a high-ranking adventurer; under dire circumstances, they might even declare war on an entire nation.

The Adventurers’ Guild issued guidelines and regulations to adventurers, but these were only strictly binding for ranks below B. For A-ranks, they were marginally enforceable depending on the situation. By S-rank, the ‘guidelines’ truly became mere suggestions, serving as advice or a reference for those with formidable, lawless abilities before they acted, completely devoid of mandatory power.

The Guild endeavored to steer these potentially destructive individuals onto the right path by assigning them tasks.

As an S-rank adventurer, Larry revealing his identity should have been sufficient for passage.

“I refuse!”

However, the answer Ellis received was far from satisfactory.

Larry’s face was a mask of defiance as he declared, “Wouldn’t that be equivalent to telling Danga Kingdom’s higher-ups that I’ve arrived?”

“Isn’t that perfect? Just have Daisy hand over my black card directly!”

“Perfect, my foot! Isn’t that walking straight into a trap?!”

“You already have me as your fiancée, what are you still worrying about?”

Ellis placed her hands on her hips. “Just tell her you’re ready to come home and get married, make her hand over the black card, and then wait at home for the wedding invitation!”

Larry:

“That’s it?”

Ellis stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “That’s it. What, isn’t that enough? Look, Meixia has been blessing us the whole way.”

“Of course not enough!”

Larry shouted, “What makes you think Daisy and Meixia have the same intel… level of awareness?!”

“Then we’ll coerce her by force.”

Ellis drew her elemental staff, Mitchell, and spoke with a sinister glint in her eyes, “Show her your S-rank adventurer’s might. If she doesn’t comply, you’ll obliterate the country!”

“Be a decent human being! Just yesterday we were comrades sharing life and death, and now you want to destroy her country? Besides, that’s far too vulgar, isn’t it?”

“Bitches are just dramatic.”

Larry ‘argued vehemently’, yelling, “A truly shameless person is invincible! You don’t understand how much integrity I’ve sacrificed just to protect you!”

“Enough to buy a head of cabbage?”

“Enough to buy a fiancée is fine!”

Flames ignited fiercely behind Ellis, and she glared directly at Larry. “Are you saying I’m not even worth the price of a cabbage?”

Larry instinctively widened the distance between himself and Ellis. “Don’t exaggerate. I never said that. Don’t add drama where there is none!”

“How exactly are we going to enter the country then? Do we pay?”

Meixia, watching the bickering couple, asked with a bead of cold sweat trickling down her face.

Larry and Ellis simultaneously looked at Meixia, saying in unison, “Absolutely not!”

Ultimately, the trio decided to sneak in. It turned out that for an S-rank adventurer, Danga Kingdom’s border was little more than an illusory wall; they simply walked right through.

“We’ve entered illegally, haven’t we?”

Meixia mused, looking back at the border line.

Ellis, completely devoid of any guilt typical of a stowaway, calmly replied, “Relax. Are there really so few illegal immigrants these days? They all sneak in, and don’t they still settle down and live happily in other countries? Most countries these days haven’t widely adopted resident ID cards, and population censuses are mostly for show. As long as we don’t buy property or start businesses here, they won’t discover us.”

“But doesn’t this somewhat violate the Adventurer’s Guidelines?”

Ellis looked at Larry with expectant eyes. “In such matters, my tall, handsome, and responsible fiancé, Larry, will surely explain it to the Guild for us, won’t he?”

Larry’s mouth twitched. Right, this burden would still fall upon him. While he wouldn’t suffer any actual loss, his reputation points would decrease.

Reputation points were a crucial personal metric for the Adventurers’ Guild. If one’s reputation was low, fewer people would be willing to entrust them with missions.

Although the Adventurers’ Guild posted public missions on bulletin boards, available to anyone, the most lucrative ones were private tasks entrusted directly by clients, never appearing on public announcements.

Typically, such clients would choose individuals with high reputation points to carry out these missions.

Larry pondered the situation. While his reputation might dip, it wouldn’t truly matter. His S-rank adventurer reputation was absolutely stellar, making other S-rank adventurers incomparable. Some truly had to thank the system for setting the minimum reputation score at zero, otherwise, they might well have plunged into negative figures.

Having slipped into the country, Ellis immediately summoned her flying contraption. Though it was a tight squeeze for three, they only needed to reach the nearest border town.

Larry sat at the very front, Ellis was sandwiched in the middle, and Meixia sat behind. In this formation, they soared forward.

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

Meixia, behind them, was clearly experiencing such a portable flying device for the first time. Her jubilant cheers made Ellis feel a pang of guilt, wondering if she should have been kinder to the girl in the past.

“Ellis, this is great! Look how high up we are!”

It seemed Meixia didn’t have acrophobia, a charming trait. Of course, Ellis had no desire for that particular trait; flying with someone terrified of heights would be agony.

However, from the way Meixia clung tightly to her hand, it was clear she still felt a slight tremor of fear.

At such close proximity, Meixia’s soft curves were indeed quite ample.

Ellis wore a contented smile, subconsciously glancing at her own chest. Hmm, there was still some disparity, but hers was just right, not straining her shoulders.

Then, abruptly, a spoilsport appeared. Her oblivious fiancé leaned his head directly against her! The crucial spot was precisely her chest, and he even nuzzled it unconsciously, sending a tingling sensation through Ellis.

Her body was sensitive, after all!

Ellis: (▼ヘ▼#)

While Meixia’s view was obstructed, Ellis placed one hand on Larry’s waist, covered his mouth with the other, and twisted!

“Ooooh!”

Larry’s faint wails were perfectly masked by the rushing wind. A mask of agony had already settled upon his face, but his restless squirming body remained a problem.

So, Ellis kindly leaned in and whispered into Larry’s ear, “Be good, don’t move around. Otherwise, falling off could easily turn you into meat paste.”

Of course, even if Larry fell, his strength meant he wouldn’t suffer such a gruesome fate, though it wouldn’t be pleasant either.

Larry patted Ellis’s ‘offending’ hand, signaling her to release him.

Ellis then loosened her grip, instead pushing Larry’s head forward.

“Don’t even think about taking advantage of me. Even if I turn into a girl, only I get to benefit from it.”

“I was just saying the wind upfront was too strong. Look, it’s like knives up here. It wouldn’t be good if it hurt you two delicate ‘girls’.”

Larry deliberately emphasized the words ‘girls’, leaving no doubt that he had absolutely intended to take advantage of Ellis just then.

A wave of shame spread through Ellis’s body, and she didn’t know why. She could only grit her teeth and say, “If the flying contraption didn’t have a built-in wind barrier, I might have believed you.”

“Why don’t you just delude yourself? Honestly, I was quite comfortable just now.”

Larry, by some twist of fate, uttered words he hadn’t even intended to say.

“Goodbye, Larry. I’ll see you in the town ahead. Run wild in the wind!”

With a laugh, Ellis then tossed Larry off the flying broom.

Larry’s wails echoed in the air, a sound Ellis found particularly melodious.

“Ellis! Larry fell!”

Meixia, unaware of the situation, exclaimed in surprise. Ellis turned her head and said kindly, “It’s fine. Larry felt too uncomfortable sitting on the broom and wanted to stretch his limbs. He just told me he’d meet us in the town ahead.”

“But—”

Meixia was about to say that Larry’s scream didn’t sound like he went down willingly, but upon seeing Ellis’s expression, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

“Oh, I see. Well, alright then~”

Meixia decided it was best to trust Ellis.