Erika: My Friend Is Obsessed with Me
Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Erica — When a Friend Becomes Obsessed with Me
“Are you always this nice to just anyone?”
“What?”
“Why don’t you ever speak gently to me?”
“What are you even talking about?”
Irritated by Chaud picking a fight for no reason, Erica frowned.
A few steps later, someone else called out to her.
“Oh, Erica!”
“Hello!”
“Who’s that next to you? A new face?”
“Just someone passing by!”
“……?”
Good grief. Not even ‘just a friend,’ but ‘just someone passing by.’
Chaud wondered if there was another woman in the world who could leave him so utterly flabbergasted.
“Erica……. Seriously, why are you doing this to me? We agreed to be friends back at the tavern in Lygis.”
“That agreement is void.”
“What? Since when?”
“A while ago.”
“Why?”
“Hmph, because I said so.”
“Even if we aren’t a fixed pair, wasn’t our friendship still valid?”
“Nope.”
“…….”
Chaud watched her in silence, then opened his mouth to argue back—
“Let’s have a proper talk—”
“Ack, Erica! It’s Erica!”
“……?”
“Ericaaaaaaaah!!!”
He was cut off by a man sprinting toward them at terrifying speed.
Chaud scowled deeply, thinking the shrieking was far too hysterical to be a simple greeting.
“Who is that now?”
“A friend from the Merchant Guild. A bit frantic, but a good kid.”
Clearly quite close, Erica waved her arm to greet the friend running toward them.
“Hey!”
“Erica, what took you so long! Hurry, run! Hurry, hurry, hurry!”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Guild headquarters was attacked!”
“What? Again? I thought the Merchant Guild’s inheritance dispute was settled? Your guild gets pushed around like a total pushover, always getting—”
“No, not our guild!”
“Huh?”
“Yours! The Mercenary Guild headquarters!”
Erica blinked.
A moment later, her jaw dropped.
“Whaaaat?!”
Erica had harbored quiet expectations over the past few days.
Even while riding in the carriage over the long journey after finishing the Lygis request, the thought had lingered in her mind.
When she returned to the guild headquarters, Pechenik would be back, right?
‘I’ll finally get to see Master after so long.’
She had taken it for granted.
To see her master’s face after quite a while, to share interesting stories of what had happened in the meantime, and to listen to his.
She had held onto that hope.
“He’s still not back? Seriously, that old man!”
Pechenik had not returned.
Just where was he, and what was he doing that there wasn’t a single word from him yet!
Even Pechenik probably hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
“Erica.”
Whisper, whisper.
“I’m really curious.”
Chaud bent down and murmured into Erica’s ear.
“Is overthrowing the guild every once in a while like some kind of recurring event here in the south?”
“…….”
“In the Eastern Guild where I was, the guildmaster’s mercenary group kept such a tight grip on things that no one could even dream of a coup. Wow, I get to see something so entertaining the moment I arrive.”
“…….”
She sorely wanted to smack the mouth right off Chaud’s face as he sarcastically delivered his commentary beside her, but now was not the time, so she held back.
The area in front of the guild headquarters building was already in an uproar.
“Wait, why would they……!”
Erica’s face contorted in anger as she stepped past the torn-off front doors.
The doors were completely pulverized. Why break these? Were they insane?
Her vision went dark at the thought of repairing them. They had gone through so much trouble to transport that premium ironwood! Would she have to take on another maritime commission?
“……Look over there, it’s Erica.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“Holy shit, this is getting good. Erica’s here.”
“Who’s that next to her? Have you seen that face before?”
“No idea. Caron and Jeremy are nowhere to be seen.”
“What was the name of that guy with the double-headed axe? Looks like he’s not here either.”
“Anyway, it’s just Erica. Looks like only one of them came back.”
The noisy chatter filling the first floor grew louder and louder.
Erica furrowed her brow at the voices filtering into her ears.
As expected, no one from the Pechenik Mercenary Group seemed to be around. They had probably all left for their commissions without a second thought.
If Caron, Jeremy, or even Horizon had remained behind, no one would have dared touch the guild.
“Out of the way.”
Naturally, all the hired clerks seemed to have fled.
“Ah, move aside!”
The lobby on the first floor was packed, as if every adventurer in Dangtus had gathered.
She cut through the crowd.
Beyond the counter, half the hall had turned into a drinking party.
Normally, this was a sight seen only after sunset.
It was impossible to tell whether they were the ones who had seized the guild or simply mercenaries sitting back with drinks to watch the show.
Erica bypassed the counter and headed toward the stairs.
Step—
One of the men guarding the staircase blocked her path.
He wore a tight shirt that showed off his bursting muscles.
Grinning, he looked down at Erica.
“You’re Erica? You’re smaller than I thought.”
“I’m standard height for a woman, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Erica replied nonchalantly, but her mind was racing.
At least among those affiliated with the Southern Mercenary Guild, there was no one who didn’t recognize her.
“I heard you were crazy strong, so I figured you’d be built like a man.”
Judging by his sarcastic tone, he had clearly heard about her from someone else.
‘……They brought in an outside mercenary group.’
There was no telling how many of them were upstairs.
If they had come prepared, they were likely all skilled fighters, with at least a few A-rank mercenaries among them.
“I heard you were pretty, but I didn’t expect you to be this gorgeous.”
Here we go again.
Erica wondered just how long she would have to live listening to these endless appraisals of her looks, contemplating whether she should start smearing mud on her face.
“Whew—why’s a girl like this doing dirty mercenary work?”
“Heheh, were there no oppas around to teach you how to make easy money?”
Footsteps approached from behind as several more men closed in.
“Haa~ if a girl like this were in the pleasure district, I would’ve—”
Whoosh—
A lightning-fast spin kick slammed his head straight into the floor.
Thud!
“Gah, ack—!”
Grinding her heel down on his head, Erica bent down and whispered into his ear.
Shh.
“I just saved your life. There’s a psychopath behind me right now.”
Whisper, whisper.
It would be a disaster if Chaud drew his sword like he had during the bandit sweep in the Hiders Mountains.
If a slaughter akin to a massacre broke out inside the guild headquarters!
The Dangtus municipal office would launch an investigation!
Do you have any idea how tedious that is?
A harsh press of her heel, and blood trickled from the man’s ear.
She hadn’t intended to draw blood, but for a muscular guy, his skin was terribly fragile. Erica clicked her tongue.
Smack, thwack!
“Argh—!”
Crack!
“Guh, ack!”
Thud!
She swiftly subdued three more men rushing her from the sides.
Without a word, Erica tied her hair up high.
“Guh……. Report to the Commander……!”
“F-Fuck……!”
Patter, patter!
Watching the man frantically scramble up the stairs, Erica followed right behind him.
She had let one get away intentionally so she could easily track down which floor the ringleader was on.
Step, step!
She passed the second floor.
Patter, patter!
She shot right past the third floor as well.
Reaching the fourth floor after sprinting up the stairs, she dashed toward the end of the corridor.
“O-One of the Pechenik Mercenary Group’s wenches is back! Commander, Commander!”
The destination of the man shouting at the top of his lungs down the hallway was obvious.
There was only one reception room at the end of the fourth-floor corridor.
Thwack!
Closing the distance in an instant, Erica leaped into the air and kicked the back of his neck.
Thud. She kicked aside the man who collapsed forward and continued on.
Behind her, Chaud trailed along like a large dog.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he sauntered along, taking in the guild’s interior decor without doing a single thing—practically a keychain at this point.
Slam!
She threw open the door to the fourth-floor reception room.
“You stubborn little bitch!”
Slap—!
A burly man had a woman by the hair, violently striking her across the face.
Thrown to the floor, the woman’s hair fell in a disheveled mess, revealing her bright red, swollen cheek.
“You worthless little pest, can’t you read the situation?”
“You worthless piece of trash, don’t you know your place?”
Erica’s eyes narrowed sharply, then squeezed shut in a contorted grimace.
A headache tore through her skull like a stabbing blade.
A ringing sound, like an auditory hallucination, echoed in her ears. A dizzying illusion washed over her, disorienting her as though she were drunk.
