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While waiting for Diana to finish her business at the counter, Iris Lune was looking at the quest requests posted nearby.

The request forms detailed the reward, the content of the job, the client, and an estimated difficulty of the quest based on adventurer rank.

Gathering herbs, exterminating giant rats that had taken residence in the sewers, eliminating a goblin settlement, collecting early bird feathers… all of them were aimed at low-ranked adventurers.

What about more difficult requests then… for example, when an ogre tribe, which was rare, settled nearby? Well, those are usually sent straight to larger branches in the surrounding area.

The “Dragon’s Throat” members, which Iris Lune belonged to, were considered mid-ranked as Fourth Class Guards, but even that was valuable in a town of this size. There wasn’t a system to handle requests estimated at Fifth Class Adept or higher. And keeping requests that couldn’t be handled only hurt the clients.

That was the reason why the request board looked so lackluster. But in the first place, the number of requests in a branch of this size was small, so it was rare for requests for mid to high-ranked adventurers to even come up.

Nothing in particular caught Iris Lune’s attention, but as she scanned the posted requests one by one, she noticed that further down, they weren’t requests at all.

There were illustrations of fierce monsters, brandishing fangs and claws. Their records and characteristics were listed, along with ominous monikers like “Bloodied Fang” and “Mad Beast.”

They were likely prints that had been transcribed using magic. They looked like wanted posters for bounty heads.

Just as there were all kinds of people, from commoners to heroes, there were also individual differences among monsters.

And when individuals with extraordinary prowess, or those with abilities far exceeding the average for their species appeared, the Adventurers Guild would assign them a moniker to warn people.

This was the ‘Named Monster’ system.

Named Monsters were a source of fear, not only for ordinary people, but even for adventurers. However, in a way, they were also part of the romance of adventuring.

Even a non-battle-crazed adventurer would feel a thrill at the thought of dueling a dragon. In the same way, there was a heroic yearning attached to the battles with Named Monsters.

And most Named Monsters had bounties placed on them by the country or surrounding residents, allowing adventurers who defeated them to gain wealth (whether it was actually a substantial amount or not depended on the situation) and fame.

Looking at the Named Monsters whose threats were listed as “Destroyed a village” or “Wiped out a Third Class Explorer party,” all of which were menacing, but ultimately rather petty, Iris Lune found one illustration that stood out.

The wanted poster depicted a beautiful young woman exuding a captivating aura.

She held her severed head in her hands. She had her eyes closed and looked as if she were silently praying, making her appear almost divine. She wore a beautiful, frilly dress. On the left front side of her skirt, roses were painted as if the clothing was stained with her own blood.

It was a far cry from the menacing illustrations of the other Named Monsters, which all screamed ‘wanted poster’.

The letters written like a painting’s title read…

“‘The Rose Princess or Hellrage’?”

“Ah, that one. That’s the mess that happened in the capital the other day, that one.”

“So it’s the story of the decapitated princess who became a Dullahan, huh?”

The Branch Manager and Diana reacted to Iris Lune’s inadvertent mutterings.

—…That’s me, right?! This is me, isn’t it!

Iris Lune desperately tried to keep her face from twisting.

“It’s a pretty elaborate drawing.”

“The artist who draws the wanted posters always has to draw monsters. He doesn’t get to draw girls often, so I guess he got carried away. On top of that, this one has a story to go with it.”

“The Knights even lodged a protest with the Guild, telling them not to call her a princess… But who cares? The Adventurer’s Guild will call even a female orc a princess. If she was of royal blood in her former life, there’s no reason not to call her a princess.”

“Named Monster monikers are often pretty simplistic.”

—Huh. It doesn’t look like me, but who is she? I can’t believe there was another princess who got her head cut off and became a Dullahan like me.

Even trying to escape reality wouldn’t change anything.

It was extremely rare for a monster that had already been defeated to be designated as Named after the fact. And they certainly wouldn’t post wanted posters like this.

That meant that the Guild still considered “The Rose Princess or Hellrage” to be a target for extermination.

“But, weren’t they saying that this monster was defeated by the captain of the knights?”

“That’s what I heard too, but it seems that’s not true. The country didn’t actually request the Named designation, but they did issue a request for cooperation in gathering information. The Guild figured that meant something was up, so they issued a domestic Named designation.”

—So, at least the country still thinks I’m alive… well, I’m undead, so I guess not alive. They still think I haven’t been defeated!

Wait… With how I was defeated, they’d think I was done for at first sight. Why did they figure out I escaped?

Iris Lune was acting composed, but internally, she was quite shaken.

During her fight with Lawrence in the royal capital, Iris Lune knew she couldn’t win, so she abandoned her physical body and escaped with her core. If they had assumed she was defeated and let their guard down, she thought she would be able to move freely for a while…

—Was it a bad idea to put blood on the magic sword?

That was the only possible cause she could think of.

The cursed magic, <<Bad Blood of Resentment>>. A magic that imbues blood with curses, cursing enemies and equipment that come in contact with it. She had used it as a last resort, but maybe her presence was tracked, or something else might have happened.

—I should move carefully, so they don’t notice where I am…

They hadn’t figured out her current location since they were asking the Guild for information, but it was likely that the kingdom didn’t think that Renée was defeated and had no intention of letting her go. That meant she needed to be even more cautious.

While on alert, Iris Lune felt a little pleased after seeing the wanted poster.

Named Monster, “The Rose Princess or Hellrage.”

Not bad, thought Iris Lune. It wasn’t bad at all to have her name become infamous, becoming a synonym for terror that even exceeded that of a demon lord.

If Hilbert was cowering in the depths of the royal castle right now, afraid of her very existence… that was a pleasant thought.

—Hmm… that’s a form of revenge, too. Come to think of it, killing them is just a moment of suffering. It might be good to build up my notoriety, have them fear and tremble, and then finally invade and kill them. I’ll make them die in despair… Once this matter is over, I’ll consider self-branding as a mid-to-long-term strategy.

“But… they do terrible things to young girls.”

Diana’s bitter words made Iris Lune flinch in a different sense.

The fact that there was someone who was pitying her, despite the fact that her heart should already have been shattered into pieces, seemed to warm it up ever so slightly.

“The members of the Royal Brother’s faction don’t say anything, but I’ve heard stories about how they tortured her to no end before killing her. When she was on the execution platform, her face was so bruised you couldn’t even tell if she was a man or a woman. It’s no wonder she would come back to haunt them.”

T/N: The Royal Brother’s Faction refers to the faction of the King’s brother, who was involved in the coup that resulted in Renée’s death. They were also responsible for her torture and execution referred to in chapter 11.

The Branch Manager said with a sigh.

It was likely that the rumors were exaggerated, but it was true that she had been through terrible things.

The life that was stolen. Her mother that was stolen. The meaningless torments. The usurper Hilbert, who was the cause of it all. Lawrence, the Knight Captain who betrayed the king and destroyed everything that Renée held dear…

—That’s right. I will definitely avenge this resentment.

“…Iris?”

Diana’s voice brought Iris Lune back to reality. She had been staring at the wanted poster with almost a glare.

“Your face looks scary.”

“Ah, well, it’s horrible…”

“I see.”

Diana looked at Iris Lune with pity.

“I don’t know much about politics, you know. But I can’t help but think that those who make little kids have that kind of expression aren’t right in the head.”

Iris Lune was silent. She knew better than anyone that they weren’t right in the head. Although, now, Iris Lune herself didn’t know if she was right in the head or not.

“It’s poison for your body and soul to be angry, Iris. Try to keep it in moderation.”

“It’s fine to be angry, isn’t it? Should we just laugh and forgive everything that happens?”

She wondered if she was being a little unnatural, but Iris Lune still had to retort. There was no way she could laugh and forgive them.

Then, Diana shook her head, as if to say that wasn’t what she meant.

“Someone has to be angry at injustice. But you know, being angry doesn’t make you happy. That’s why I don’t want you or any other children to have that kind of expression. I want you to smile. Leave the dirty work to the adults.”

“Smile…”

“Yeah, that’s right. A girl’s smile is like magic.”

“I don’t think of myself as a child, though.”

“You brat, don’t get cocky till your pubes grow in!”

T/N: This is a common way in Japanese to tell someone they are still wet behind the ears.

“Ouch!”

Diana lightly flicked Iris Lune’s forehead.

Iris Lune read Diana’s emotions.

As she said, her heart was filled with warm affection.

Iris Lune wondered if she would say the same thing if she saw Renée in her original form. In any case, she wouldn’t be saved by her words. If there was such a thing as a ‘function to become happy’ in the human heart, Iris Lune’s was already broken.

—What I should be doing isn’t smiling and becoming happy. That’s right, for example…

Iris Lune feigned an indifferent expression and focused her mind, expanding her sense as a spirit out into the surroundings.

Earlier, when she had been reading Diana’s emotions, she had picked up a concerning reaction.

With Iris Lune at the center of the Adventurer’s Guild branch, her range of perception expanded.

Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, confusion, desire, the sincere prayers of the clergy…

She could sense the various emotions of the people living in the town.

And among them, there was “hostility.” Not anger or resentment, but a cold, sharp hostility.

Usually, when people are hostile towards others, it is the result of anger or resentment.

To feel hostility without that process… perhaps assassins who are tasked to kill someone would feel that way.

—Something is, coming.

She didn’t know who that emotion was directed at, nor if it was related to the Night Python. But at the very least, it seemed worth investigating.

—Right now, I’m a bodyguard and a decoy. I’m forced to be passive.

But if the opportunity to jump in from their side presented itself, she couldn’t let it pass. She must capture them!

And she didn’t want Diana to see this. If she had any more concerns, she might end up canceling the request and leaving.

“Diana, I think I’m going home early. I’ll pick up some dried fruit from ‘Mizudori’ on the way, so I might be a little late.”

“Is that so? Be careful on your way back.”

“Okay.”

Unfortunately, she was heading towards danger herself, but of course, she didn’t say that out loud.

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