When Jōsuke Shima spoke, the elven girl clearly grew anxious. What she meant to express was obviously not what he had understood. But this beastman didn't seem very bright and completely misinterpreted her intentions.
She wasn't too bothered by Jōsuke's misunderstanding—after all, she didn't know him well. What really worried her was the possibility that Yecheng might also misinterpret her words, so she looked at him nervously.
"Jōsuke, that's not exactly what she meant..." Hearing Yecheng say this, the elven girl visibly relaxed. Thank goodness he wasn't like the beastman and hadn't misunderstood her.
However, just as she thought that, the second half of Yecheng's sentence nearly made her explode with anger.
"That's not what she meant, but still—she's the one paying us, and it's normal for wealthy clients to be a bit eccentric.
As long as she pays, I don't care how she treats me."
The elven girl had already expressed her gratitude for being saved from the Venom Dragon, or at least she thought she had. It might not have been a direct thank-you due to her personality, but it should've been obvious enough.
Yet the two in front of her clearly didn't think like normal people—one was completely obsessed with money, and the other was nodding along, analyzing seriously.
"I see, so this is a special mission with monetary rewards, meaning we can completely ignore character interactions as long as we get the prize?
That makes sense—just a fleeting encounter, and if we get the reward, the rest doesn't matter."
Hearing Jōsuke's serious analysis, the elven girl was utterly speechless. "Seriously? I'm right here! Saying this stuff in front of me—are you for real?"
"My name is Sucuiluchirazegalunelruleyaagranzelga Elga. As you can see, I'm an elf.
Nan Yecheng, remember this name well. We will meet again."
She had originally wanted to learn more about Yecheng, but with this beastman around, it felt impossible to hold a normal conversation.
So after stating her full name, she turned to leave.
However, upon hearing her name, both Yecheng and Jōsuke were left dumbfounded.
They had never heard a name that ridiculously long in their lives. For her to expect Yecheng to remember it? That was just cruel.
"Wait, wait—could you say that again? I didn't quite catch it."
"Sucuiluchirazegalunelruleyaagranzelga Elga. Got it this time?"
Yecheng: "(￣￣)... Jōsuke, did you get it?"
Jōsuke: "(_;）Was she casting a magic spell or something just now?"
Even though she repeated it twice, Yecheng still couldn't remember the name.
But really, it wasn't his fault. Kido incantations aren't exactly short, but at least they're coherent sentences. Her name, on the other hand, was just a mess of disconnected syllables mashed together—like some kind of spiritual scripture. Who could memorize that?
And having to recite that entire name every time he wanted to address her? Yecheng was worried someone with weak lungs might pass out before finishing it—or even bite their tongue in the process.
Imagine someone on their deathbed trying to leave final words—just saying that name twice would use up all the time they had left.
"I see, so your name is Cui. That's a lovely name."
Elven girl: "(_;) It's not Cui! It's Sucuiluchirazegalunelruleyaagranzelga Elga!"
Yecheng: "Got it, Cui."
"Are you doing this on purpose? I said it's not Cui, it's Sucuiluchirazegalunelruleyaagranze—"
"Cui, do you know what 'Cui' means? It means jade—just like the beauty of your eyes.
And where I'm from, we give each other nicknames only when there's mutual trust between friends. You can call me Yecheng too, alright, Cui?"
The elven girl wanted to correct him again, but Yecheng's words cut her off. Once she understood what he meant, her face—no, Cui's face—turned bright red.
"Well... if that's the case, I guess there's no helping it. It's not like I asked you to give me a nickname, you just insisted on it yourself."
Leaving those words behind, the elven girl—Cui—turned and left. In her haste, she even stumbled a bit, though it was unclear whether it was from embarrassment or magical exhaustion.
Regardless, the two straight-laced dudes left behind didn't seem too concerned.
To them, her original name was just way too inconvenient. Calling her Cui was much better.
"Yecheng, it's been about ten days, and you're still as strong as ever. Did you take out the Venom Dragon that lives here?"
Jōsuke had come to this area to hunt the Venom Dragon too—but not through a guild request. He just heard about it, figured it was a boss, and came to level up and loot.
"Yeah, that corpse over there—that's it. Weird thing is, even though it's definitely dead, the poison fog it released is still lingering.
If we don't find a way to disperse it, the villagers who put out the request might try to get out of paying us."
Looking at the thick purple fog around them, Yecheng regretted not stopping Cui from leaving earlier. None of his Kido spells had purifying properties, and now he was stuck wondering how to clean it up.
"If it's about clearing the fog, I can handle that. Wind Magic—Gale Transport!"
Under Yecheng's surprised gaze, Jōsuke recited an extremely long incantation. Soon, strong winds began to blow around them.
But this wasn't random wind—it came from all directions and pushed the poison mist toward the center.
Poison gas, being a gas, naturally moved with the wind. The controlled gusts quickly compressed the fog into a ball, which Jōsuke then sealed inside a glass bottle.
He mentioned that it might come in handy in future battles.