Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 284 Nihon Genes

"...I'm a tourist."

Rhys knew there was no saving this situation, and so he just blurted out the first thing that popped out of his mind — but of course, that made everyone just highly suspicious of him as they all squinted their eyes at him… or perhaps they weren't, it was hard quite hard to tell.

"Rhys Wilder…? He really was a Lowborn!? I thought that was another one of the Amerkan's propaganda."

"Let me see, let me see him!"

And as soon as he was recognized, all the guild members got out of their vehicles and started approaching Rhys, looking at him from head to toe as if he were some sort of rare animal in the zoo… which he probably is.

"What the—why is he so good-looking? He looks like that one actor who did the perfume commercial."

"That was him, you stupid."

"Are all Amerkans this handsome?"

"Rhys… Rhys Wilder, sir. Can I get your autograph!?"

"Enough!"

And before Rhys could actually get mobbed by the guild, all the members just quickly scattered away and bowed their heads as soon as a deep and almost grunting voice roared in the air. Judging by how everyone was making way for him, the man wearing a long black coat was their guildmaster, he was also the only one who had some sort of rose pinned to his chest.

His long blue hair, waved and bounced with each step. His hair was silky, almost comparable to Arachnea's hair.

Rhys could really only hide his sigh as the man approached him; the man's eyes, glaring at Rhys from head to toe — but unlike the other guild members who held a certain curiosity and awe in their gaze, there seemed to be nothing but contempt in the man's eyes.

"My name is Kirijo Junpei," the man, Junpei, also bowed as he introduced himself to Rhys, "Guildmaster of the Herculean Rose."

"I am Rhys Wilder," and of course, Rhys returned the courtesy by also bowing. Junpei's name all but confirmed that they were, in fact, in Nihon territory.

"I am aware of who you are, Mr. Wilder," Junpei squinted his eyes, almost closing them as he did so — Junpei's was quite feminine, but still quite extremely handsome. Perhaps the reason why almost all the guild members who stepped out of the truck with him were also somewhat good-looking women—no.

Now that Rhys was looking at everyone clearly, there were perhaps only 4 other men, "What I want to know is what you're doing here, in Nihon? You're also suspiciously fluent in the language, which makes you suspicious entirely."

"The truth is…" Rhys could really only just sigh while shaking his head, "...I was attacked by a roc and ended up being brought here — I didn't really want to kill it since they're important to the Underworld's ecosystem."

"H…how noble of you, Mr. Wilder," one of the women standing behind Junpei whispered out; her face, somewhat turning red as she also looked at Rhys from head to toe. Since Rhys was only wearing thin clothes he received from the gorgons, the lines of his muscular body were quite obvious… as well as the bulge between his legs. The woman was about to say something else, but Junpei glared at her.

"A Roc…? When was this?" Junpei's eyebrows began to lower, "Our sensors would have detected something that big."

"A few days ago, I'm not sure," Rhys shrugged, "I've been trying to find people or at least a hole, and then I heard some sort of explosion and ended up finding this Dig — and then you guys came."

"Did you hear that, Junpei!? Let's bring him along with us!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Wilder. We'll take you home — you can ride with me on the back of my bike. Or… or if you want, you can drive it and I'll just ride you—I mean, I'll ride behind you."

"Enough! Hitomi, scan the surrounding area for monsters," Junpei raised his voice to stop the women from ogling Rhys. He looked at one of the women behind him who was holding a large tablet, "Mr. Wilder here said that there might be a monster, and since it was digging a Hole, our guild is obligated to deal with it."

"But… if it was the one responsible for that thunder… I don't think we're equipped to deal with it? The highest level Explorer we have is Ozawa, and she's like only Level 5."

"Levels are useless," Junpei flicked his long silky hair to the side, "They are just indicators of how long and how vast we've explored the Underworld."

"We don't have to worry, Mr. Wilder is with us!" One of the women behind Junpei stepped forward and rushed toward Rhys, tilting her head to the side as he stared at his face, "I'm Marie Ozawa, I've lived in Amerka for a few years. It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Wilder."

"It's… very nice to meet you too," Rhys could really only lean away from Marie as she leaned closer to him. From the way her eyes were a little bigger than most, she was probably mixed.

"...You don't know who I am?" Marie pouted, "I'm on Shudder — our live streams were actually quite close in views from when you were still active in streaming."

If Marie's views were close to Rhys's, then that would mean she was a famous streamer since Rhys had hundreds of thousands of active viewers during that time. And from what her other guild members said, her license had the highest level amongst the guild.

"Stop bothering Mr. Wilder!"

"Don't mind her, Mr. Wilder. She's just a slut!"

"Enough!" Junpei once again raised his voice as the women started gathering around Rhys again; his eyes, glaring at him while slightly clicking his tongue, "Hitomi, are our sensors detecting anything?"

"Yes…" Hitomi adjusted her glasses as she showed the readings to Junpei, "...But it's saying here that there are more than 5 of them, and they're quite small too."

"This… they're near."

And as Junpei turned to look in the direction where Malenia and the others ran to hide, Rhys could not help but let out a small grunt while closing his eyes.

"I lied, I'm the one who created the Hole."

And before anyone could think of checking or even taking a step to where Malenia and the others were hiding, Rhys let out a loud sigh and raised both his palms in the air, "The truth is, I just wanted to go to the Surface as soon as possible — I was going to plug it back in, I swear."

"Mr. Wilder…" Marie covered her mouth as she tried her best to laugh, "...What are you doing? I didn't know you were so impatient."

And as Marie just casually pleased her hand on Rhys's chest, Junpei's eyes started to twitch as he once again raised his voice.

"Just what exactly are you trying to play at here, Mr. Wilder!?" Junpei finally lost all the friendliness in his voice, if it indeed ever had one, as he pushed away Marie and stood right in front of Rhys, "...Don't tell me you're here as a spy?"

"If I was, I wouldn't be in the Underworld."

"Pft."

"You…" Junpei's eyes once again twitched as he heard the women of her guild slightly giggle at Rhys's words, "...You're trying to illegally enter the country, aren't you? Everyone knows what you are, Mr. Wilder — it's in the news. You're an assassin of Nobles…

…don't tell me you're here to assassinate Hanamichi Rukawa?"

"W—"

"Someone check what our sensors are reading…" Junpei then gestured to some of his guild members, "...I have a feeling they're not monsters at all. You have someone with you. A team of assassins, perhaps? You're in the Secret Service, right?"

"No, I'm—"

"What the fuck is that!?"

And before Rhys could say anything, all the guild members started backing away. Rhys did not even need to look back to know that Malenia decided to reveal herself, the only thing he could do was just once again sigh while still having his palms up.

"Why don't we all calm down and relax?" Rhys smiled, "You're right, you're right. I'm here on a mission — but not to assassinate."

"Stop lying! Everyone, get ready to—"

"If I were you, I'd stop here." And soon, it was Rhys's time to lose all the friendliness he had in his voice, "I'm here on a secret mission — you've discovered me, and now I am asking you to just leave."

"You're… with monsters."

"They're not monsters, they are gorgons," Rhys sighed while shaking his head, "You've seen me in the news… so, you know that I can talk to the other species. I'm here on a diplomatic mission, and we just happened to be stranded here."

"Lies, all lies!" Junpei then stretched his arm to the side, and as he did so, a long whip filled with thorns materialized in his hand. And although filled with hesitation, Marie stepped back as her face started to morph and grow fur, and the others followed suit as they all put up their guard.

"I am asking you one last time, Sir," Rhys slowly lowered his hands,

"Just leave."

"Oh, no, no…

…that's not happening."

"Then…" Rhys shook his head,

"...You're already dead."