I Reject Quests

Rewen turned back and saw a beautiful figure. "Oh, I was just speaking nonsense."

"No, you must explain yourself." Ayame's face was firm. Her clenched hands showed that she is having difficulty not running up to him and beat him up.

"If you really want to know… then tell me, what is the purpose of the competition?"

Ayame frowned. She hadn't expected to be asked such a childish question. "To groom the future generations."

"Good answer. Then, are people here to fight and compete with each other?"

"Naturally."

"So what exactly did I do that deserves 'punishment'?"

"Are you trying to tell me that it wasn't you left Reza in such a sorry state?" Ayame's face was cold. 'Is he lying?'

"Of course, it's me. I left Reza or whatever her name is, in that pitiful state. My question is, does that warrant punishment? As far as I'm concerned, I only fought back to protect myself and even if I did go out of my way to fight her, does that warrant 'punishment'? I only did what I'm supposed to do at the competition."

"Who said I'm here to punish you?" Ayame figured out his argument and immediately changed her words to save her face.

"Your subordinates did… however…" A sly smile appeared on his dirty face. "Are you here for revenge?"

Everyone's face changed.

It has to be known that revenge was extremely frowned upon in this world. That obviously doesn't mean that people don't take revenge but do so in secrecy. Now, if someone from the reputed royal family proclaimed that she was seeking revenge, it would leave a bad name.

"B*stard! We are just here to beat you up!"

"Yes, we just happened to see you here."

Among numerous clamors, Ayame remained quiet. 

Even Mari was quiet. She knew that the situation had turned very bad. 'This guy… his mouth can't be left alive.' However, when she thought deeper about what he said made a lot of sense. 

"Even so, did you really need to beat up a child!? Is 'playing by the rules' your only justification!?" She couldn't help but cry out.

"A child who is strong enough to beat up four of me."

"Nonsense!" Mari didn't believe him. Which sane person would? 'He doesn't come off as some strong but he surely isn't that weak.'

"Nonsense? Alright, tell me. How long is this arrow? Would you believe me if I said that this is my limit?"

Mari's face showed disbelief. "No. You are lying! You are pretending to be this weak to catch us off-guard, right!?"

Before Rewen could answer, Ayame raised her right hand. "Enough chit-chat. Just go after him." After all this time, only now did she figure out that it's useless to continue arguing back-and-forth.

"Princess, what about her?" Some were hesitant because of the captive.

"Don't mind her. He isn't that brave enough to kill a person."

Rewen smiled and let the unconscious girl fall on the ground, then turned to Ayame "You guessed it right. You can do whatever you want with me but remember that the Miscellaneous Alliance exists!"

With that, he jumped off an edge.

Everyone: "..."

Ayame frowned and was to command the others to chase after him when a group suddenly appeared.

There were five men.

"Was that Ida?"

"Yes, I'm confident that it was Ida."

"Very well, quickly notify the Prince about this matter."

One of the guys ran off.

The conversation between the group was not heard by the others. However, seeing a group appear, Ayame suddenly felt a headache. "May I ask who the four of you are?"

A tall guy stepped forward. "It's my honor to meet the Princess, the gem of the Nation. We are from the River Alliance."

"River? What business does the River have with us?"

"Business? That doesn't sound right. We just happen to meet you guys here."

"So you have no problem if we were to chase that guy?" Ayame pointed to the area where Rewen jumped off.

The tall guy's eyes twitched but he calmly answered. "Why would I have any problems? Your Highness should do as she likes."

"Very well then." Ayame smiled, then turned to Mari. "Chase him."

"Your Highness, I'm afraid you are making things difficult for us." The tall guy finally realized that there's no use in bluffing.

"I don't understand your words."

"Let's not play dumb and resolve the matter like an adult."

"What could you possibly mean?" Ayame smiled.

"Don't chase after Ida and we'll return to our respective bases."

"Ida? Is he your alliance member?" 

"He is a member of our alliance."

"What if I refuse to comply?"

"We'll have to use force in that case." The tall guy said in an intimidating voice.

Ayame seemed unfettered. "Do as you wish but do you understand the concept of numbers? There are a total of thirty-seven of us and there are just four of you. Do you seriously think that the four of you could possibly fight against thirty-seven of us for even a minute?"

The tall guy didn't answer and looked straight at her.

The next second, a laughter came from the back of the tall guy.

"Hahaha, Dear Sister, I hope you have been well." It was Seiji along with dozens of men behind him.

Ayame's smile went stiff. "So it's Eldest Brother. Could it be that you are planning to go all-out right now?"

Seiji laughed again. "Of course, it wasn't my plan to do so. With that being said, if you continue to act stubborn, I will have to use force."

"For a single subordinate? Is it worth it?"

"Well, I will lose my prestige as a Leader if I can't protect my subordinates." Seiji wasn't a saint but he has his own values. Since he took so many people under his banner, he had to be responsible for them. Not only because it would give him more trust from his subordinates but also because he believed it was his duty.

"Princess, what should we do?" Mari was tense.

Ayame looked around and calculated if she had a chance to win. 'It's less than twenty percent. No, now's not the perfect time to fight.' She breathed in and breathed out.

Eventually, she arrived at her conclusion. Looking straight at her Eldest Brother, she said. "We will meet again. Mari, let's go."

Seiji chuckled and was about to leave when a subordinate of his yelled. "Sir! Ida is here!"

"What?"

"What?"

Both the siblings were confused.

The subordinate carried an almost-naked person on his arms and walked to Seiji. "Sir, this is Ida. The other one was the imposter."

"Huh?" 

There wasn't a single person who could hold their expressions.

Two seconds later, both Seiji and Ayame had grim faces.

"Everyone, initiate a search!"

"Mari, tell them to search for the b*stard."

"No need to thank me! I'm here." All of a sudden, a dirty man appeared from the place he jumped off and looked at the two sides with a cool expression.

The others, even Seiji and Ayame, couldn't speak for a while.

"Rather! Let me thank all of you for letting me see such an awesome show."

*Clap*

*Clap*

*Clap*

"What are you all standing there for? Aren't you going to attack me?"