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“I’m afraid I must refuse.”

“Huh…? I haven’t even told you what the request is yet!”

“Still, I’m refusing.”

What is a designated request, anyway?

I’ve explained this before, but let me clarify once more.

I desperately need that guy! It must be him, or else I can’t go on!

I want to gift him a big fat load of trouble! I want to see him suffer by taking on a request that can’t be easily solved, just because I designated him!

That’s the gist of it.

I haven’t heard who nominated me yet, but honestly, how many people could I possibly know in this world?

Technically, aside from Adela and Isaac, with whom I had a request a while back, there isn’t a single soul.

Does that mean Isaac designated me?

How long has it been since I helped him with his request? It’s no surprise something’s gone wrong again.

If events occur that frequently in the territory, it’d be better to just blow the place up and call it a day.

So what’s left is the latter case.

Someone must have nominated me for a designated request in order to serve me a big fat load of trouble.

I don’t know who it is.

But still, they must know me to nominate me.

Do they really think I’ll just comply?

Besides, since I have the right to refuse a designated request, it wouldn’t be a problem at all if I said no.

“Well… Luke, why don’t you at least hear it out…?”

“Oh dear… Yui, that’s exactly why you can’t get anywhere. Do you honestly believe that anyone would want to go through with whatever trouble that guy has in mind?”

Just think about what kind of person would make that request.

They’d definitely believe they’re the boss and I’m the subordinate, trying to see what they can pull off.

I get the most satisfaction out of telling those who think they’re important “NO.”

The expressions of those who think they’re above me when they get caught off guard are priceless.

I swear, just thinking about it makes me grin from ear to ear.

“Anyway, I’m not taking on a designated request. I’m going to rest today because it’s a hassle.”

I conveyed my decision to Adela.

I had just come back after finishing a request.

There’s no way I’d dive right back into work the moment I return.

I barely slept last night, so today will be a sleep-in-and-lounge-around kind of day.

I may have called Yui a useless shut-in earlier, but truth be told, I’m no better.

With the reward I got today, I could lounge around for a whole week.

“Is that so… that’s a pity. Designated requests don’t come in that often, you know.”

“What designated request? Let’s just call it a minefield.”

“Still, having a designated request means your name is getting recognized!”

It’s like how celebrities have anti-fans; having recognition isn’t always a good thing.

“Anyway, we’re off to rest now.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure to refuse the designated request.”

After that, we quickly ate a light breakfast and headed straight to the inn to shake off any remaining fatigue.

*

The day I returned was all about leisure, and the next day, wondering if anything was up, I headed to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Now that I’d promoted to King Slime, I figured a few more might bump me up to B-Rank.

“Welcome!”

Once again, I began the day with Adela’s greeting.

“Oh, right, Luke! About that designated request from last time…”

“I told you I’m not doing it.”

“Yeah, you said no, and I relayed that, but they raised the reward and tried again.”

“What?”

Am I the only adventurer available?

If they needed a C-Rank adventurer, they could grab anyone; why this obsession?

Did some noble lady hear my heroic tale and demand her dad to make a request?

“Will you refuse again this time?”

“Of course.”

Who on earth would willingly walk into a minefield?

“I understand. I’ll refuse again.”

At first, I thought if I brushed it off casually, they’d give up on their own.

But this guy didn’t know the meaning of ‘enough.’

The next day:

“Luke, there’s a designated request again.”

“Not happening.”

The day after that:

“Um… Luke? Today there’s… um…”

“I’m not buying.”

And yet again the following day:

“Luke━━.”

“STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

What kind of pathetic obsession is this?

The reward has been increasing day by day.

It started with 50 silver coins and now surpassed 1 gold coin.

Then the next day.

Waft.

When I got into the Adventurer’s Guild that morning, Adela handed me a request form.

I guess words aren’t even needed anymore, huh?

“Excuse me, Adela. Is that person perhaps a little… unhinged?”

“Ah, I don’t think so…?”

If Adela seems flustered, then it’s practically proven how obsessive this has gotten.

“It’s weird… the requester appears to be a noble…”

If they’re a noble, wouldn’t that make them even crazier?

Nobles are usually the strange ones.

People like me, who are very sound, intellectual, and educational, are a rarity among nobles.

“I’ve heard that these days nobles lock themselves away in their rooms and only read newspapers?”

What are they, some kind of military messenger?

There are plenty of adventurers in the world; why annoy me like this?

“Still, wouldn’t it be alright to at least see what the request is about?”

“Adela, come on. Be honest, it’s a hassle, isn’t it?”

“Um… n-no?”

If you’re going to deny it, then don’t flinch your shoulders.

Writing refusals and sending them isn’t exactly a walk in the park.

Honestly, I’d bet it annoys Adela more than it does me.

For me, all I need to do is say I’m not interested, but she has to process the papers and send out the rejections.

Yet every morning, new requests keep showing up.

“Adela, should I go and take care of it for you?”

“Please, don’t do that…”

I know I joked about them trying to mess with me, but this has already succeeded halfway.

“If they spent that time on self-development, they could probably handle it themselves.”

This is why I keep saying that people in this world aren’t all that bright.

“Well, let’s at least listen in.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

She sure looks pleased for someone who claimed it wasn’t a bother.

So it was indeed a hassle after all.

“The requester is Crown Rodian, the head of the Marquis House. The request involves clearing out monsters that have been increasing near the Marquis Territory.”

“What kind of monsters?”

“That detail isn’t specified. The only specifics noted in the request form are that you’re being nominated and the reward of 2 gold coins.”

It clearly started at 50 silver coins.

And now it has jumped to a whopping 2 gold coins.

Maybe I should have gotten into investments.

Not having dabbled in stocks or crypto in my previous life is my eternal regret.

“What do you think, Luna?”

“It does seem a bit strange. The request details lack clarity, and their obsession with you is rather unusual.”

“And you, Yui?”

“I think it sounds great! Even if there’s a trap, I don’t think Luke would fall for it, and 2 gold coins is more than enough to coast on for a month!”

Classic former shut-in thinking.

It feels like they think it’s fine as long as you make do.

Yet, I think the same way.

“Then let’s give it a shot.”

*

Somewhere underground.

The dark, vast room was eerily empty.

The only thing present was an exceptionally large round table.

In the center of the table, a large candle was lit, barely illuminating the surroundings.

People, cloaked in robes, sat around it.

“Borg is dead.”

A heavy, low voice echoed through the room.

It felt so oppressive that the temperature in the room seemed to drop slightly.

“Heh heh. That pathetic fool? He didn’t know his place and got what he deserved, huh?”

This time it was a contrasting voice.

A man’s voice, reminiscent of a psychotic individual.

“That loser was always meant to die. With such weakness, he never stood a chance in a fight, right?”

“Watch your words. Even if Borg was weak among us, he was still a demon. No mere common thugs could take him down.”

Demons are disasters.

Ordinary people can’t do a thing, and even a weak demon wouldn’t die without a fight.

The unknowing man thought that way.

“Speaking of which, Kurga is also missing?”

Vacancies.

Already two spots were empty at the round table.

One was the exiled Borg.

And the other was Kurga, who recently received an assassination mission at the Academy.

“Kurga also died during his recent mission.”

“Pah. Weaklings always run with each other, so it was only a matter of time until they got picked off.”

“Either way, it’s clear our strength has diminished.”

Even if they were weak, two demons had already fallen.

It was not something to be taken lightly.

“Strength? Those two together couldn’t even match me; how is that strength? They were too cocky, thinking they could get away with it.”

“And recently, a vampire who was preparing for an invasion of territories has also met their end.”

He had prepared that vampire beforehand.

They aimed to decrease the Empire’s strength by invading territories far from the Empire.

But now, that plan had failed.

“Heh… So a vampire fell too? How did those sneaky bloodsuckers get caught?”

This voice belonged to a woman, sweet enough that you could almost guess her appearance just by hearing it.

“Upon personal investigation, it was all the work of one party.”

“Was it an A-Rank adventurer party that moved?”

“No, that investigation has already been concluded.”

“Fast as always.”

“Come in.”

-Click.

As the man spoke, the only entrance to the room opened, and one person entered.

Unlike the other demons, this one wasn’t cloaked.

“What’s the situation?”

“Um, that’s… I’ve attempted to lure him multiple times already, but each time I got shut down…”

“You handle that. If you fail, you’ll be the first to die.”

“Y-Yes! I will definitely lure him!”

With a flick of the man’s arm, he summoned a spell to dismiss the newcomer, who quickly closed the door behind him.

“So what now?”

“I plan to lure him to the territory of the just-entered individual. You’ll handle him, Lilith.”

“Finally, it’s my turn? I was about to lose my mind waiting~”

“Don’t let your guard down and take care of him.

“Yep, got it~”

And that ended the conversation.

The robed demons surrounding the round table faded into black mist and vanished.

 

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