"Ma’am Arnar, you can leave, but he cannot."
A professional Hunter with a cleanly shaven head, dressed in robes and wearing rings on nearly every finger, said, pointing at me as soon as we arrived at the corridor outside the Owner’s Private Lounge.
Behind him stood Julian with his patched-up face and his group of gorgeous friends. That bastard looked handsome even with bandages covering his nose. I envy his genetics: ’No, I didn’t knee his face hoping to disfigure him’
My current self was tall, but had average looks compared to my past-self or Julian. Maybe with little prep every morning, I could look more like my past-self.
"Yo, you’re sober and back for another round of whoop-ass," I said, waving at Julian from behind Arnar. Even with her back to me, I could sense her growing irritation. Anyone would be annoyed if they were being used as a shield to poke the already enraged beast.
My words immediately provoked Julian. He began yelling, "You sucker-punched me! I would never lose to a loser who stands behind a woman like a coward. Step out from behind her if you dare!"
"Yeah!"
"Step forward!"
Julian’s friends, who had completely lost their tongues earlier, magically found their voices again standing behind Julian’s glorified nanny, who was here to seek justice on behalf of his young master.
Considering he actually dared to stand up to Arnar, he had to be a Spawn Summoner too. That meant Julian wasn’t just some random descendant of the Reinfield family. He was way up in the hierarchy. Honestly, I should have guessed it the second I heard Arnar and Mille calling the brat by his first name.
"I couldn’t be bothered to waste my time on some guy who fucks slime on his family’s dime," I blatantly mocked Julian, with no intention of de-escalating the situation.
"Psst... Hahaha!"
Arnar broke into loud laughter, unable to hold it back. I guess she wouldn’t hold it against me for using her as a shield.
"What did you just say to me?" Julian asked, looking genuinely shocked, even though everyone present knew he’d heard me perfectly well.
"I called you a slimefucker, you slimefucker."
I didn’t mince my words. I said it plainly enough for Julian to understand me this time.
"Higgins, hold her back. I’ll kill him today!" Julian shouted at his bodyguard.
His eye glowed red as a magic circle suddenly manifested in midair. A moment later, it pulsed with blue light, and a nearly six-foot-tall humanoid figure emerged from it, its entire body composed of translucent azure liquid. Right where its core should have been, a ball of beating flesh throbbed like a heart with a slit, crimson eye resting right at its center.
It was a Slime Nymph, a C-rank monster with the potential to become an S-rank monster with the right set of skills.
"Good God, man. When I called you a slimefucker, I didn’t know you actually were one. I apologize. It’s not my place to judge you."
I gave him a deeply repulsed look and took a step back, as if I needed to put some distance between myself and whatever the hell he’d just summoned.
Even the women in his friend group looked visibly disgusted, their expressions twisting as they stared at the Slime Nymph.
Julian’s face immediately turned beet red.
"Shut up! Shut up, you beggar!" he shouted, practically spitting the words.
"Tsk, tsk." I clicked my tongue and shook my head. "I don’t know if I should feel bad for your lacking profane vocabulary or for your profane needs."
"Hahaha, stop it, you’re killing me!"
Arnar laughed so loudly that she doubled over, clutching her stomach.
Higgins, unlike Julian, seemed to have no desire to fight Arnar. Even though he was a Spawn Summoner, he was merely a bodyguard, whereas Arnar was a guild leader and the Hero of Skyonee Island.
The more Arnar laughed, the sterner Higgins’s face became. He subtly stepped in front of Julian’s Slime Nymph, ready to stop it if his young master was stupid enough to order it to attack me.
Considering Julian had already been foolish enough to summon it in the first place, Higgins was right to take precautions.
"What’s going on here?"
A loud voice suddenly interrupted Arnar’s laughter and drew our attention. The club’s management and guards had finally arrived.
Seeing Arnar, the older man in an expensive black suit who was leading the guards, several of whom appeared to be professional Hunters, greeted her.
"Ma’am Arnar, what seems to be the problem here?"
"Wadsworth, when did your chairman sell the club to the Reinfields? Had I known earlier, I would have held my guild’s board meeting at our own headquarters instead of splurging money here."
Arnar said it sarcastically, glancing toward Julian and his Spawn.
"Ma’am Arnar, our chairman did no such thing. Please, forgive me for the poor hospitality, young master Arthur is still inexperienced. Let me look into it—"
"No, I won’t, until I kill that fucker!"
Wadsworth’s words were cut short by Julian’s sudden outburst. Higgins had apparently told him to recall his Spawn, but Julian was in no mood to listen.
Wadsworth sternly glanced at Julian, holding his gaze as he warned, "Please retrieve your Spawn, or we will have to take action according to the club’s protocol, regardless of who is in the wrong."
Julian was already enraged beyond reason, and Wadsworth’s warning broke the camel’s back.
"I’m going to kill that bastard! I dare you to stop me... Ahh!"
Julian stopped mid-sentence and screamed in pain as Higgins used one of his rings to forcibly seal the Slime Nymph away.
Supporting the now-weakened Julian, Higgins apologized, "I’m sorry, young master."
He then turned toward Wadsworth, his expression darkening.
"That man assaulted my young master in your club. If you fail to provide a proper explanation, don’t blame the Reinfields for doing what we must."