Back to the present, little Lani let out an adorable sleepy whine, rolled over, and stubbornly refused to wake up. I sighed and gave up for the moment, heading to brush my teeth and wash my face. After that, I returned to my room and changed into my clothes for today.
To be honest, I slept in Karen's room every night. Sooner or later it would become our room anyway. I could always move my clothes in after Karen came back.
Just as I finished getting dressed, Lani shuffled into the room. Her red hair was a mess from sleep, and she rubbed her eyes as she took tiny, wobbly steps toward me.
"Big sis… why didn't you wake me?"
"I did. You're the one who refused to get up. What do you want to wear today?"
I opened the closet and let her look. Lani stared seriously at the clothes, as if making a life-changing decision.
"It's your fault. Your petting felt too nice… That one, and that one."
She pointed at a blue striped shirt and a pair of brown shorts. I took them down.
"Thanks for the compliment. Arms up."
Lani still couldn't dress herself, so I helped her. Afterward I took her to wash her face and fixed her hair. Once that was done, I finished the morning chores. We ate breakfast together, and then I brought Lani with me to work at the Adventurers' Guild.
The first thing I did when we arrived was entrust Lani to the guild master.
"Good morning, Guild Master."
"Good morning."
"Lina, Lanivia, good morning."
The guild master had been shocked at first when Lani turned human, but instead of rejecting it, he became wildly curious. He peppered me with questions and even pulled out a notebook to record everything.
My female coworkers were even worse. They crowded around Lani asking to hold her, completely charmed. Several of them sniffed her and sighed in bliss. Sally later explained that it was baby scent—a smell unique to infants.
Even though Lani was intelligent, she was only five months old. That's why her human form was a baby.
After leaving her with the guild master, I changed into my uniform in the women's locker room and headed to my station: counter No. 2.
Whenever there were no adventurers needing service, I chatted with my coworkers. But happy moments always pass absurdly fast. We hadn't even talked for five minutes before someone came to my counter.
Once my shift truly started, it never stopped. Adventurers lined up endlessly. I knew I worked fast, but couldn't the line take a break for even a second? The only time I could rest was during my official break.
And of course, there were always people who came just to waste everyone's time.
"Ms. Lina, go out with me."
"No."
"Then go out with me."
"No."
"Marry me!"
"Absolutely not."
I shot down all three of them. I honestly didn't understand why they kept trying. Everyone knew Karen and I lived together. Why did they think they had a chance?
According to someone's explanation, they believed I'd only become a Starry-Rank adventurer because of Karen. They thought I'd just been dragging him down during the hunt down of Samidorid, and that Karen was the only one with real ability.
And because of what happened with that playboy before, everyone knew not to provoke Karen. But now that Karen wasn't in the capital, they assumed they had nothing to fear.
Someone even called it the Karen Effect. Everyone agreed. I didn't. I was perfectly capable of fighting back—I just hadn't had the chance to show it.
Then a drunk adventurer staggered up to my counter, reeking of alcohol.
"Hey girl, go on a date with me. I'm amazing at night. You'll have a great time."
Another one. Every single day. The stress kept piling up inside me. I wanted to explode—but I couldn't cause trouble for others. I forced a smile and quietly switched on my recording pen.
"I refuse. If you have no other business, please let the next person through."
"Such a feisty temper. I like women like you. Come on, let's go to my place. I'll show you something good."
"Please stop this behavior. Don't waste everyone's time."
"You better stop refusing. Karen's not in the capital right now. Nobody's going to help you."
So that was it. He only dared say this because Karen wasn't here.
I dropped the smile. I wanted to smash my fist into his disgusting face.
Suddenly the drunk man jerked upward—someone had lifted him by the collar.
"Who said that? Looks like the one with no help is you."
It was Mr. Brett. Right after him, Sally's voice cut in coldly.
"You want to be blacklisted? No problem. I'll make it happen."
Sally had abandoned her work to help me. I was grateful. During the hunt down of Samidorid, only Mr. Brett and Sally had believed we would succeed.
"Mr. Brett… Sally…"
"Let me go, Brett!"
The drunk thrashed wildly. Brett slapped him once to shut him up.
"Lina, I'll drag him out and teach him a lesson."
"The guild doesn't need trash adventurers," Sally added.
I was truly thankful—but I had to refuse.
If this ended here, I'd still be the girl who needed Karen to protect her. The dead weight. The helpless one.
Not this time.
I stood up and bowed slightly.
"Thank you, Mr. Brett. Sally. Please put him down."
"Huh?!"
They both stared at me in confusion. I raised my voice so the entire hall could hear.
"I know many of you think I'm only a Star-tier adventurer because of Karen. I'm going to prove my strength right now. I never dragged him down."
I stepped out from behind the counter, keeping distance from the drunk because of the smell, and pointed at him.
"Beating you is easy. I don't need Karen's help."
"You've got a big mouth! You think a woman can beat a man like me?!"
I shook my head.
"You're insulting the word 'man.' You're just a drunk pervert."
"You—! Brett, let go! I'll teach this bitch a lesson!"
"Mr. Brett, please release him. I'll punch him until he questions his life choices."
"...Alright."
The moment Brett let go, the drunk charged, fist raised.
"Go die!"
"Wait."
I lifted a hand.
"What, scared now?"
"No. I just want to say something first. Don't claim you held back because I'm a woman when you lose. That's the kind of excuse only losers make."
That did it.
He roared and swung.
My jab landed square on his face.
"Agh—!"
Another insult, another punch. My straight hit his nose. Blood splattered across my hand.
I'd watched a boxing movie yesterday. Combined with years of training since childhood, I wasn't easy prey.
I unleashed a full combo. His face swelled purple and blue. He begged for mercy. I ignored him.
"P-please… I'm sorry…"
"What? I can't understand you."
He collapsed unconscious, face ruined. I stood there unharmed, barely sweating.
I looked around. Everyone stared in shock—but not disbelief. He'd been drunk. Losing wasn't that strange.
Beating just him wasn't enough.
I raised my voice again.
"Anyone else think they can beat me? Step forward. I'll make you question your life too."
Silence fell over the guild hall.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Then three men stepped out.
"I'll fight you!"
"Me too!"
"And me!"
The same three idiots from earlier. Perfect.
I tied my hair back and raised my fists.
One versus three.
It wasn't even close.
They hit the floor bruised, battered, and humiliated. They'd tried to grope me mid-fight—disgusting. I punished them harder for it.
Somewhere behind me, Sally shouted:
"So Karen was hiding Lina's brilliance this whole time! Lina, you're amazing! Finish them!"
With her cheering me on, I made sure all three paid for their desires. I ignored their pleas and crushed them completely.
When it was over, the room was silent.
The way people looked at me had changed. Shock had turned into fear. Like they were staring at a monster.
…Well.
I probably couldn't keep working here anymore.