Goblin Slayer Party!?

Malenia went back to the lobby and sat at one of the vacant tables.

She gazed around, admiring how different people looked in this world compared to Earth.

Even though she couldn't see their power ranks, most of them looked to be at least rank 7 or 8.

Most were with their own group or adventurer party; only a few sat alone, like Malenia.

The lobby was very spacious, with enough tables for everyone.

Malenia also noticed that everyone had a card with their information attached to their clothes—probably the ID card she was waiting for.

While Malenia was waiting, many people were looking at her, wanting to approach her but not daring to because of how luxurious her clothes were.

Wealth and power were everything in this world, so most thought of her as someone of high caliber.

But that wasn't the case with a certain group, which consisted of three males and one female.

Their group leader had overheard Malenia when she was giving her information to the receptionist.

The leader knew that she wasn't any noble and came from a very remote village. He concluded that she got those clothes by chance, so he wasn't worried about her status and approached her with his party.

As the group approached Malenia's table, their leader flashed a confident smile and stopped just in front of her.

"Hey there," he said, his tone friendly but with a slight edge. "Mind if we join you?"

Malenia looked up, observing each of them briefly before giving a small nod and gesturing to the empty seats. "Go ahead."

They took their seats, each settling in as if they owned the place. The leader leaned forward, his eyes flickering from Malenia's assets to her face. "So, what brings someone from a remote village all the way to the capital's guild? You don't look like a normal adventurer."

Malenia kept her expression calm, silently wondering what this guy was trying to achieve. If he had already heard about her being from a remote village, he must know she came here to become an adventurer.

Regardless, she replied, not wanting to make any enemies in this new place. "I came to register and take on a few quests."

One of the men beside the leader chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "With clothes like that? You wanna be an adventurer or enter a beauty contest? Hahaha!"

The female member of the group gave him a light nudge, feigning a scold. "Be nice," she said, smiling sweetly at Malenia. "He didn't mean anything by it. It's just unusual to see someone like you here alone."

The leader looked at her with a thoughtful gaze. "You know, starting out alone as a female can be tough. If you'd like, we'd be happy to welcome you into our party."

Malenia smiled slightly, sensing something off. There was no way they were just going to take someone like her into their party. This world didn't work that way; no one helped anyone without expecting something in return.

She figured they probably had some ulterior motives. But with a female in their group, at least she guessed their invitation wasn't purely driven by lust.

She wondered what other reasons could be behind it. She really wanted to join an adventurer party to get some connections and help in navigating through the forest.

Even though she had high favorability with goblins, that didn't help with other monsters. Getting help from them would be beneficial.

Malenia looked around again, trying to find other parties with female members, but she couldn't spot any. Female adventurers were rare, and there wasn't another group with a woman in the lobby.

Concluding that it would be better to join this party rather than one full of men, she nodded. "Thanks for considering that. Yes, I'd be happy to join, as I'm not familiar with this place yet."

"Yay! Welcome to our party, it's called Goblin slayer." The female member cheered, welcoming Malenia into their party, named 'goblin slayer'.

"My name is Mallorie Rodak! Nice to meet you, what's your name?" The female, Mallorie asked.

Malenia felt Mallorie was a little too happy, but maybe it was just because she was the only female in their group before.

Smiling, Malenia replied, "My name's Malenia. Nice to meet you too."

Afterwards, the other members of the party introduced themselves as well. The leader's name was Reltih, and the other two men were Nicole and Diaton.

They chatted for some time; Malenia mostly listened and asked about the monsters that were common in forests. There were various kinds of monsters that roamed the forests: Goblins, Oni, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Minotaurs, Ogres, Gnolls, Kobolds, Trolls, Golems, and Centaurs.

Some of these monsters were quite intelligent and lived together, making it hard for the kingdom's forces to acquire their land.

There were also nymphs, known for their extraordinary abilities due to their connection to nature: Dryads were linked to forests, Naiads to rivers, and Oreads to soil. Even though many races had come to this continent to "steal" land from monsters, they never dared to take any land from the nymphs.

Nymphs were deeply connected to nature and far stronger than most other beings, making them formidable opponents. No race wanted to risk a fight against them, always trying to befriend them instead.

Malenia kept in mind to try to befriend them too; if she succeeded, she might not need to worry about either of her plans. Just having a Dryad near her dungeon would be enough for others to avoid that path…

While they chatted, Reltih, Nicole, and Diaton's eyes were constantly shifting to Malenia's chest, as it was hard for them to ignore.

Malenia was aware of her abnormal charm and how easily men became distracted, so she didn't mind anymore. She knew it was unavoidable unless she became much stronger, so they would think twice before even looking at her.

"Malenia, if you don't mind, can you tell us the reason you chose to become an adventurer?" Mallorie asked.

The other members also perked up, curious to know why a beautiful woman like her would walk a dangerous path instead of just living a carefree life.

Listening to Mallorie, Malenia thought deeply. What if she married a rich guy here and lived carefree...? But could she really do that? Living her life in someone else's hands and suffering again, just like she had with her husband on Earth?

Moreover, she had to protect the dungeon core. Most humans hated dungeon masters, so she couldn't even think of a new husband helping her defend her dungeon.

She didn't really have a choice except to become stronger.

"I have my circumstances," Malenia simply answered, as she wasn't obligated to reveal personal information.

They nodded, not wanting to make Malenia uncomfortable.

After some time, the receptionist with the dog returned, holding a card in her hands.

"Here's your adventurer card. Welcome to the Dawg Guild," she said, passing the card to Malenia.

"Now you can choose quests, and after completing enough, you'll be able to upgrade your adventurer rank," the receptionist added before returning back to her desk.