In Toriko With A Chat Group

"Eh, why hasn't that guy come back yet?"

The nun sat in the inn, feeling incredibly bored as she spun the cup on the table. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and her spirits lifted.

"Could it be that he ran away because he was afraid of losing to me? Hahaha, that must be it!"

The nun laughed proudly. Even though she had no evidence, she didn't need any. If she believed it was true, then it was true.

"Sister, it's still morning. Everyone's working, so even if he returns, it'll definitely be in the evening."

"You won't get anything from just waiting here all day."

The inn's waitress, who was cleaning, kindly pointed out.

"Ah!"

The nun froze in place, then showed a very dejected expression. "You're right. He's probably working after all."

"Hehehe, how could it be that he ran away because he was scared of losing to me, a mere defeated opponent? I'm such a shameless woman."

The nun's entire presence seemed to radiate a gloomy aura.

"Sister! We found him!"

"Where?!"

The nun immediately recovered her energy and grabbed the person who rushed in by the collar. She asked urgently, "Hurry up and tell me where he is!"

"A-at the Adventurer's Guild!"

"The Adventurer's Guild, huh? You stay right here, I'm going to get my revenge! This time, I'll definitely make him surrender obediently!"

The nun dashed out at full speed the moment she heard where Hata Kei was.

"Hey! Sister, I wasn't done talking! That guy completed an extremely difficult quest!"

"He's submitting it right now."

The person mumbled to himself as he watched the nun rush off, then quickly chased after her.

...

"It's a griffon!"

"He completed that extremely dangerous quest so quickly!"

"What a powerful guy!"

A crowd gathered in front of the Adventurer's Guild, staring at the griffon's severed head lying on the ground and talking among themselves.

"Check it out. If everything's good, I'll submit the quest."

Hata Kei stood beside the griffon's head and spoke to Leona.

"R-right."

Leona still hadn't fully recovered from her shock. As she examined the griffon's head, her astonishment only grew.

"The cut is incredibly clean, the fur on the head isn't even stained with blood, and the griffon's expression isn't one of pain!"

"This must mean that the griffon's head was severed so fast that it didn't even realize it had been killed!"

"Excuse me, but where's the rest of the griffon's body?"

Leona's admiration for Kei's strength increased, and her tone became more serious and respectful.

"The body was too big to bring back, so I just roasted and ate it. Can't you confirm the kill with just the head?"

Kei licked his lips. The griffon meat tasted pretty good—firm, without any strange odor, and the aroma when roasting was mouth-watering.

"Y-yes, that's fine. It's just that griffon parts are valuable materials that could sell for a nice profit."

"Please show me your Adventurer Card so I can register the completion."

Leona took the card from Kei and, seeing the title 'Sword Saint' written on it, her expression turned to one of understanding.

"A Sword Saint! No wonder you were able to sever the griffon's head with a single strike."

Leona returned to the guild, registered the quest, and handed the reward over to Kei.

"Please confirm whether the payment is correct."

"No problem."

Kei glanced at the money and then put it away. "By the way, about what we discussed before... If I successfully came back, would you open a little back door for me and let me take on multiple quests next time?"

"Um, I never actually agreed to that. But I have something to ask you. Are you really the legendary adventurer known as the Task King?"

Leona asked curiously. During this time, she had been gathering information about the Task King, and all of it sounded completely made up.

After all, completing over a hundred quests in three days, defeating several of the Demon King's officers—who could believe such nonsense?

"Task King seems to be what people call me, but I'm not sure about this 'legendary adventurer' title."

Kei knew that people at the Axel Guild called him Task King, but he had no idea how the 'legendary adventurer' title came about.

"Th-then is it true you completed over a hundred quests in three days?"

"True. I went without sleep for three days and nights. But the most important part was that Luna, the receptionist at the Axel Guild, is an amazing person."

"If it weren't for her assistance, I wouldn't have been able to pull it off."

While answering her question, Kei didn't forget to give Leona some advice.

"And what about defeating the Demon King's officers?"

"That part's just exaggerated rumors. While passing through the wilderness, I did encounter many monsters, demons, and undead, but there were no Demon King officers."

"Still, that's incredible! The wilderness at night is incredibly dangerous, and the fact that you managed to escort a caravan through it is already legendary!"

Leona's eyes sparkled with admiration. Even though she was just a receptionist, she once dreamed of being an adventurer—slaying powerful monsters, conquering dangerous places.

But the harshness of reality forced her to give up on her dream.

"Uh, Mr. Kei... Can I call you that?"

"You can."

Leona glanced around, noticing the crowd of people watching. Then she leaned closer to Kei's ear and whispered, "I'll agree to your request."

"But you absolutely can't tell anyone. This is a special privilege just for you."

"Got it. Don't worry, it's our little secret. I won't tell a soul."

Kei praised himself internally. No matter how difficult the situation, he always managed to find a way through. This was the purpose of all his training!

After receiving a few more quests, Kei immediately went outside to complete them.

He discovered that the rewards for quests completed here were much higher than those in Axel. Probably because of the higher level of difficulty.

Either way, his motivation for completing quests was even stronger than it had been back in Axel. He was determined to clear out all the quests here!

Shortly after Kei left, the discussions in the Adventurer's Guild continued.

"I heard the Task King is a Sword Saint!"

"You're way behind! I heard he once severed a dragon's head with a single slash, and his sword aura pierced the heavens!"

"You're both wrong! I heard he once challenged the Demon King himself but lost by just a single move!"

The rumors spread more wildly with each retelling, but Kei's reputation was definitely growing.

Everyone now knew that there was a legendary adventurer called the Task King, a Sword Saint of immense strength, at the City of Water and Hot Springs!

At that moment, the nun pushed her way through the crowd and entered the Adventurer's Guild.

"Where is he?! I've come to the Adventurer's Guild, but he's not even here!"

The nun shouted.

(End of Chapter)

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