Chapter 6: The Adventurer’s Burden: A Feminine Twist

Under the scorching summer sun, within the Adventurers’ Guild of a moderately sized town, Ellis and Larry were perusing the adventure mission menu in a private room.

Ultimately, Ellis couldn’t bear to push her good friend into a pit of fire. Moreover, in her current appearance, those harems wouldn’t believe her; in fact, given their thought processes, they might even mistake Ellis for a romantic rival.

Ellis was a homophone for her original name, Alice. There was simply no helping it; having a feminized name made things much easier for her activities.

What’s more, Ellis had no desire to expose her true identity. If an acquaintance were to spot her, they would surely die of laughter upon discovering the reason!

Given that the Adventurers’ Guild was not particularly large, the menu seemingly offered only E-rank to D-rank missions. Ellis flipped through the mission menu repeatedly, almost wearing it out, yet she still couldn’t find any higher-ranked tasks.

She slumped onto the table, stating weakly, “Larry, what should we do? These low-level missions give me no motivation at all.”

Larry responded, exasperated, “Could you please remember our objective? We’re here to take missions and earn travel expenses right now.”

Ellis remained utterly unmotivated. “Hmph, you go for it.”

“Hey, hey! I said, shouldn’t *we* both be going for it?”

Ellis slowly lifted her head from where it was buried in her arms, then said lazily and charmingly, “What are you talking about, esteemed S-rank adventurer Sir Larry? I am merely an ordinary, delicate, easily-toppled young woman, Ellis. I can’t even pass the adventurer’s badge certification, so how could I possibly handle such adventurous tasks?”

An adventurer’s badge served as an adventurer’s identity card, akin to a membership card in her previous life. Only those possessing a badge could accept missions from the Adventurers’ Guild and collect their rewards.

Furthermore, the adventurer’s badge stored the adventurer’s identity information, accessible only by the adventurer themselves via fingerprint. However, Ellis was now, well, Ellis; her body had changed, rendering fingerprints useless, and the information on any adventurer’s badge would be completely irrelevant.

Logically, she shouldn’t even qualify to enter the Adventurers’ Guild. But this was a small, rural town, and Larry, an S-rank adventurer, commanded considerable respect. They even arranged a private room for the two of them, though before leaving, the staff member offered a meaningful ‘The soundproofing in this room is excellent.’ Both seasoned individuals naturally understood the implication.

Ellis’s face instantly darkened, while Larry, heartlessly, burst into laughter. Ellis nearly punched him.

Larry retorted, “Hey, hey, hey! Are you already referring to yourself as a ‘young woman’? Has this feminization spread from your body to your mind?! My dear friend, snap out of it! Wait, ‘easily-toppled’? Heh, have you finally decided to let your brother enjoy some blessings?”

Ellis waved her hand dismissively. “Sigh, you can handle it easily, can’t you? Just find a C-rank mission, finish it quickly, and we’ll take the money and leave. Young man, this is a mission of atonement. Now go.”

“You are truly too lazy. You just suffered a loss from being careless. C-rank missions also carry a certain degree of danger, you know. For example, this one: ‘Numerous bandit groups have appeared in the Northern Wastelands, requiring the heads of the bandits.’ The pay is substantial, and bandits usually have their own silver stashes, which don’t need to be turned in. While I’m strong, it’s hard for two fists to fight four hands. Of course, the most crucial part is that it’d be incredibly boring without you.”

Ellis:

“Are you so cautious that you’d use a powerful ultimate skill against a fluffy rabbit? Let me see. Hmm, the leader’s strength is probably around that of a C-rank adventurer, with 50 subordinates. You could just sweep through them with your sword energy.”

(Otherworld Creature Encyclopedia: Fluffy Rabbit, similar to monsters found right outside the beginner village.)

Ellis flipped through the information, saying, “You know it’s boring, so dragging me along makes it less boring, right?”

“As the saying goes, when men and women work together, the work isn’t tiring.”

“I’m truly sorry for tiring you out before, then.”

Larry, mimicking Ellis, rested his head on his arms and quietly gazed at her. Suddenly, he realized Ellis was indeed ‘beautiful,’ actually giving him the feeling of appreciating a stunning woman.

It wasn’t that Larry hadn’t seen beautiful women before; in fact, the demonesses were all exceptionally gorgeous, possessing various captivating attributes. However, this purely physical beauty no longer captured Larry’s attention. A quick glance was enough to acknowledge their attractiveness.

Ellis, however, was different. Beyond her unique two-dimensional aesthetic, their almost perfectly aligned minds made Larry utterly captivated.

“Hey, why are you staring at me so disgustingly?”

Ellis, noticing Larry’s intense gaze, asked in puzzlement.

Larry gave Ellis a thumbs-up. “Honestly, your transformed appearance is fantastic. It’s a shame this isn’t our previous world; otherwise, I could try out all those cosplay outfits on you.”

Ellis’s mouth twitched, and she scoffed, “Dream on. Even if we returned to our previous world, I would never wear women’s clothing.”

“Your words carry no conviction whatsoever.”

Larry rose and walked over to Ellis, scrutinizing her from head to toe. He teased, “Don’t even get me started, there’s truly a wild beauty to a female adventurer.”

Ellis was no longer wearing her previous male attire. Instead, she was clad in the initial adventurer’s outfit for women, specially prepared by the Adventurers’ Guild receptionist. Though simple, its structure allowed for great freedom of movement, with no unnecessary bulk. The fabric was durable and easy to clean, specifically designed for adventure. The trade-off for such high cost-effectiveness, however, was a significant lack of aesthetic appeal, making it despised by many female adventurers who typically wouldn’t wear it.

Yet, on Ellis, it exuded a radiant, wild beauty, and the form-fitting clothes accentuated her lovely figure, making her appear quite alluring.

Larry, however, felt a pang of regret. If such simple attire could possess this much charm, then the meticulously prepared outfits from his previous life would undoubtedly break through dimensional barriers.

Ellis felt no regret at all; in fact, for the first time, she found this starter gear perfect. It didn’t overly feminize her and allowed for easy movement.

“Do you think I want to wear this if not for these two mounds of flesh on my chest?!”

Ellis slammed her hand on the table, declaring emphatically, “Anyway, I’m just stating a fact: even if you were in our previous world, you could never force me into those shamefully revealing outfits.”

“Heh heh.”

Larry revealed a sinister smile. “In our previous world, do you think you’d have the right to resist? I’d drive a van, bring a group of bodyguards, stuff you in a sack, and throw you into my villa’s basement. The more you refused, the more I’d insist…”

Ellis felt a shiver run down her spine, every hair standing on end. This guy had to be joking.

‘No, I need to change back quickly. The clothing industry in this world is quite developed. What if this guy really has someone make those outfits and forces me to wear them?! I can’t beat this cheater in front of me!’

The thought of being locked in a basement and experimented on with various women’s clothes by this pervert made Ellis dizzy. This beast was courteous to others but had never been polite to her.

Fortunately, Larry hadn’t fully realized in his heart that Ellis was now a complete girl. He was merely engaging in crude banter between friends and quickly refocused on the matter at hand.

“While our strength is sufficient to deal with these bandits, the key is how to find them, and ideally, their main base. That way, we can not only wipe them out completely but also acquire more wealth.”

Ellis looked at the bandit leader’s information, specifically at the keyword ‘lustful,’ and fell into thought. Then, she slowly spoke, “How about we use a honey trap at the spots where these guys frequently appear?”

“Hmm?!”