The Five Black Stars' hideout was now just an empty lot.

Ryu, who had teleported outside, was safe, but someone approached him.

It was Zone, the Silver Wolf.

Zone: "Ah, completely wiped out... You went all out. Some of the Five Black Stars' men had no other choice but to join them. I wish you could have spared those guys..."

Ryu: "I didn't blow up the place. It was the Five Black Stars' leader. He blew himself up, taking the hideout with him."

Zone: "Gaeta, huh. I heard a rumor that he had a self-destruction skill. He takes out his opponent, even if it means dying himself... But it seems it didn't work on you."

The truth was that Ryu had stopped the blood flow to the carotid arteries of all the men, so even if Gaeta hadn't blown himself up, they would have all died. But Ryu didn't mention that.

Ryu: "Speaking of which, where was that Rondy guy?"

Zone: "Rondy ran away. He's cunning, but not particularly evil. We can leave him alone."

Ryu: "Well, he was the only one who could understand a little bit, unlike the others. But now, you're the only one left, right?"

Zone: "Will you take me out too?"

Zone said with a sly smile.

Ryu: "No, I'm not interested in the power struggles in the slums as long as it doesn't concern me. And… you don't seem like such a bad guy."

Zone: "Well, I don't know about that. But the slums attract those who have nowhere else to go. As long as that continues to happen, no matter how much you clean up, it will eventually become the same again."

Ryu: "So, you should just take charge and keep them in line."

With that, Ryu raised his hand and disappeared by teleportation.

Zone: "Hmm... I feel like I've been put in charge..."

Zone shrugged, imagining the cleanup and reorganization of the slums ahead.

— — — — — — — — — —

While Ryujeen was destroying the criminal organizations in the slums, a commotion was brewing at the Adventurer's Guild.

An unbelievable person had come to take the newcomer training.

It was Sophie Da Galiza, the seventh princess of the Galiza Kingdom, to which the city of Mirmul belonged.

Sophie was born the seventh child of King Galiza. Since all the other children were boys, she was doted on by her father.

It was a good thing for the king to have so many sons, as he wouldn't lack an heir. But Sophie, the only daughter in her family, was showered with affection not only by her father, but also by her older brothers.

Before Sophie was born, the king actually had another daughter. But Sophie's older sister died of illness when she was young. As a result of losing their first "daughter" and "sister" to illness, the king and princes became overly protective of Sophie.

Fortunately, Sophie grew up healthy and never got sick, but she was so spoiled that she got whatever she wanted. When she said she wanted to become an adventurer, her father and brothers couldn't stop her, even though it was absolutely unacceptable for a princess of the royal family to be an adventurer.

Sophie actually had a close relationship with an old viscount in her childhood. The viscount had been an adventurer in his youth, and Sophie loved hearing his stories about his adventures.

In a world with little entertainment, the stories that the old man told captivated young Sophie's heart. Sophie repeatedly called the viscount to the palace and begged him for stories, and the viscount looked forward to sharing his stories with her.

His stories, told with humor and excitement, sometimes thrilling, sometimes dynamic, were very interesting, even for adults. But the old viscount eventually passed away, and now it was unclear whether his tales of adventure were true. Looking back, some of them sounded absurd, and it was possible that some (or most) of them were made up.

But those stories left a strong impression on Sophie. She had grown to admire adventurers.

Finally, when Sophie turned 16, she declared that she wanted to be an adventurer.

Her father and brothers, though knowing she admired adventurers, were surprised that she was serious about becoming one. But Sophie, who would never back down from a challenge, pushed through their opposition and registered as an adventurer at the Adventurer's Guild in the capital.

Immediately after registering, Sophie accepted a monster subjugation quest. But she was a princess. Out of concern for her safety, she was assigned a large number of escorting knights. Of course, the knights took down all the monsters, leaving nothing for the princess to do.

In the first place, newly registered beginners shouldn't accept monster subjugation requests so easily. But Sophie was given special treatment because she was royalty. Sophie learned about this later and became very frustrated.

She had dreamed of following in the footsteps of the young viscount and experiencing adventures from scratch, hiding her identity as a noble (royalty), and becoming an adventurer.

But even if Sophie demanded to go on adventures without an escort, it was acceptable for a commoner like the viscount's third son, but it was impossible for a princess to be granted such permission. Sophie was well-educated and a skilled swordsman, but it was unthinkable for those around her to let her go on adventures alone.

She was the king's beloved daughter. It would be a disaster if anything happened to her. The Adventurer's Guild in the capital could not allow the princess to "adventure."

It was then that Sophie heard a rumor about Mirmul, where a school for novice adventurers had opened. She decided to go there and, in a way, forced her way out of the capital.

But no matter how beginner-friendly it was, letting a princess go into a dungeon was absolutely forbidden. Normally, the king would intervene and forcibly stop her.

However, the Mirmul dungeon had recently become a managed dungeon, tuned for beginners, which the palace intelligence agency had already learned.

More importantly, Sophie would never back down from a challenge. If she was forcefully stopped, she might run away from home. So the king reluctantly allowed it.

Of course, the Adventurer's Guild in Mirmul received a strict order from the palace to make sure the princess did not get hurt.

Moreover, the Guild Headquarters, out of consideration for the king, and the Lord of Mirmul, fearing he would be held accountable if something happened to the princess, also issued strict orders to the Mirmul Adventurer's Guild. The Guild Master, Catherine, was overwhelmed.

The princess came to the city with a grand escorting knightly army, but she strictly ordered that she would not be accompanied by knights during her adventurer activities. In fact, the knights were even forbidden from entering the Adventurer's Guild. Being away from the capital in Mirmul, she was free from the king, princes, and even the prime minister, and the knights had no choice but to obey her orders.

However, even though it was the princess's wish, they couldn't really leave her completely unguarded. A compromise was reached, with three of the princess's maids accompanying her, which she reluctantly agreed to. Her adventurer training would be conducted with the princess and three maids.

The three maids accompanying the princess were, while maids, daughters of noble families of knightly descent, who were, of course, trained as escorts. They had originally served the princess as escorting maids.

First, they had to go through the newcomer training from scratch. The princess herself had requested this. She wanted to be treated as a regular beginner adventurer.

After completing the classroom training—which actually turned out to be longer and more thorough than usual — it was finally time for practical training.

Normally, practical training would involve immediately entering a dungeon, but they decided to have the princess and her maids take on a herb-picking quest first. (All adventurers start with this, and the princess agreed).

And so, Ryujeen was chosen as a herb-picking specialist and escort.

The maids were unhappy to hear that their party member would be a man. Sophie didn't seem to care, but it was usually forbidden for a princess to be in the company of a man other than her family or servants.

But there was nothing they could do, as it was the princess's own order to treat her as a normal adventurer.

— — — — — — —

Ryujeen appeared at the Adventurer's Guild, summoned for a meeting.

Receptionist Layla: "Oh, Ryujeen-san, the Guild Master has a request for you, so please go to the office… You are Ryujeen?"

A girl interrupted Layla.

Sophie: "I'm Sophie. Nice to meet you. I hear you're an F-rank adventurer. Don't hold me back, alright?"

Ryu: "...Nice to meet you."

Sophie: "Well, I'm also F-rank, you know. Let's work hard together and aim for a higher rank."

Sophie laughed cheerfully. It seemed she was excited to finally be able to do something that resembled a proper adventurer's life.

Ryu: "Oh… right, nice to meet you…????"

Ryu was taken aback, as he hadn't heard any of this, and responded hesitantly. But Sophie's party members (Sophie's escorts and maids) became furious.

Maid A: "You insolent wretch, you're being disrespectful to the princess. Get on your knees!"

Ryu: "The princess?!"

— — — — — — — — — —

To be continued

Ryujeen is ridiculed by a noble maid!

Don't miss the next episode!