*VOL.5 CH.279 THE UNEXPECTED SURPRISE ISH

The worried knight who bursted into the Inn was Sir Doyle. He was clean cut and wearing armor that had a Major House's insignia over his heart. It was a far cry from his adventuring days with wearing beating up leather and shaggy unkept hair. Jensen hadn't seen him in over seven years since he was hired by a Major Noble House to become their knight after discovering he had a high-level Mana Vein.

"Out of my...Jensen?" Doyle said with surprise.

"Doyle!? What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story, but My Lord decided to leave me in the dust to come here... Luckily, when we arrived, a kind female adventurer wearing white leather armor pointed me in this direction. I heard some moaning and thought that my lord was in trouble."

Jensen gave Doyle a deadpan stare before sighing.

"Even after getting five wives, don't you still recognize the wailing sounds of passion?"

Doyle grimaced before he started walking inside the Inn, "You think that my life is so easy after House Dule paid my debts and trained me to become a knight? Listen, Jensen, having five devoted wives that need my attention twenty-four-seven has not been easy. And they aren't always happy with each other. Sometimes they have to wait before I can satisfy them all, or there are times when I have to choose who's food tastes better, but they all are great cooks."

Jensen frowned at Doyle, "My Goddess, the horror... I don't know how you ever could survive such a terrible state of life... It's much worse than fighting a horde of monsters or being trapped in a forest full of goblins." He said sarcastically.

Doyle paused his steps and glared at Jensen, "I wanted one wife, Jensen. Not five, and after I came too from my Mana Rush and saw how my now five wives looked at me... I had no choice, Jensen."

"Oh, please... You have five beautiful wives. How many kids do you have?"

Doyle hesitated to answer momentarily, "I have eleven children, with two more on the way... And another two will be conceived..." He answered bewildered, as his two wives, Emily and Celia, didn't want to be left behind in the children's department.

Jensen laughed at the sight of Doyle's face.

"Oh, what a terrible fate, indeed... I'll make sure to tell Elliot and James the bad news."

"Oh, shut up... I'm telling you that one partner is best... And if you are crazy enough to have multiple wives, then don't go past three or four. Trust me. You'll never want to sleep again."

Doyle's voice is full of exhaustion and regret, but Jensen's only grinning at the thought of multiple partners.

"Really?... So which ones of your wives do you want to—"

"NONE OF THEM! I love my wives and every one of my children! It's sucks that there are so many beautiful women in this world." Doyle interrupted Jensen.

Jensen burst into a fit of laughter as they neared the reception area.

"Goddess... I forgot how noble you were, Doyle, and it seems like the past couple of years haven't changed you one bit."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a monster killer, ladies layer, and a Knight," Doyle mumbled.

"A knight who has a harem and has had sex with hundreds of women."

"FIVE WOMEN!... I had sex with only five women... That's not a harem. I was trying to save myself for the love of my life, and then I was inflicted with Mana Rush! So now I have five women in my life! No more, no less!"

Jensen's laughing too hard to hear him, and Doyle's just shaking his head as they enter the Reception area of the Inn.

All the Adventurers sitting around were getting more annoyed when they heard this former adventurer-turned-knight complaining about what sounded like a blessing from the Gods.

"Tsk!... He never listens... That's his problem, but I've been sidetracked long enough. I need to find, My Lord, before someone realizes who he is," Doyle muttered under his breath.

As Doyle walks up to the counter, the woman receptionist looked a little flustered from all the activities that were happening upstairs. Luckily it sounded like those two have finally calmed after multiple hours of love making.

Doyle stopped by the desk and noticed that this woman was lost in thought and wasn't paying attention to him. He waited a few moments, then tapped on the counter.

This caused the female receptionist to look at him and blush, while also realizing she was supposed to be doing something.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir... How can I help you?"

"Well... First of all... Did you see which room a finely dressed man with light brown hair entered? He might have been with a woman with darker brown hair and hazel eyes?" Sir Doyle asked while trying to keep the identities of Johan and Tayna a secret.

The knight feared that once someone knew that one of the weakest known nobles from a Major House had shown up, was with his wife, and only had two knights to protect him; it would put Johan in danger.

The receptionist looked at the knight like he was stupid, "You're taking about a tall handsome man that had a silver necklace with House Dule's insignia on it. And he was with a woman who had hazel eyes and was wearing a skimpy Adventurer's outfit. Am I correct, Sir Knight?"

Sir Doyle looked at her with a puzzled look.

'Lady Tayna was wearing an Adventurer's outfit!? Gah! That's not important! What is important is that Lady Tayna and Young Lord Johan are safe!'

"Yes, you are correct... What room are those two staying—"

*Boom. Boom! BOOM!*

The rhythmic beating of the headboard hitting the wall, mixed with the sound of Tayna and Johan moaning loudly, could be heard downstairs.

The female receptionist's face got even redder when she heard them, but the sound of the headboard hitting the wall seemed to be louder, and the chandelier was starting to rattle.

"OH, JOHAN! MY STALLION!" Tayna's muffled screams were barely audible through the ceiling, "HARDER, MY LOVE! DON'T STOP! AHN~"

Doyle turned his head and he stared up at the ceiling. He had a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

'Goddess be damned!... Is Lady Tayna trying to get her husband targeted!... Wait a second... S-She's letting him have sex with her?!'

"OHHHHH!... YESSSSSS! JOHANNNN!"

*BANG. BANG! BANG!*

"OHH, GODDDDEEESSSSS!"

Doyle couldn't believe his ears. He was surprised to see Lady Tayna and Johan warming up to each other when he arrived in the Capital City over a week ago, but he thought that Tayna despised being married to Johan. And now she's acting like she's in love with him?!

"Ugh... S-So they are upstairs..." Doyle said out loud to himself.

"I... I'm not sure that's going to stop anytime soon," the female receptionist muttered as she turned and looked away. She tried to do any busy work so she could ignore the couple upstairs.

Doyle was still in disbelief about the situation he walked in on. But he knew that he couldn't interrupt their intimate time together.

"I wonder why she is letting him have his way with her?..." Doyle wondered out loud while still watching the chandelier shaking above.

Jensen stopped laughing and looked at his old acquaintance with a serious look.

"You really don't know what's going on here?" Jensen questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Doyle gave him an annoyed look and was about to argue with him when he noticed fifteen other adventurers sitting or standing around the reception area. The knight looked around and saw how most of them had dark, melancholy moods or were showing annoyance every time Tayna's moans could be heard. They all seemed like they were waiting for something to happen.

"I seem to be out of the loop on something..."

Jensen laughed and smiled. "Yeah. You are, and it's annoying beyond all measure... I'm over now, but it pisses me off too."

Doyle gave Jensen a curious look.

Jensen looked at the Knight with a smirk and then pointed up towards the ceiling.

"So that noblewoman upstairs came to town today and ruffled the feathers of most of the adventurers. She and her bodyguard come into town with fancy new armor and weapons that made them stick out as wannabe adventurers that were in over their heads."

"So, what?... That happened a lot, but most of us didn't care about nobles hiding their identities and coming here to learn a lesson," Doyle chimed in.

"Well, most of those nobles don't buy out an entire floor at an Inn... Anyway, a few groups took exception to this and tried to confront her, but her bodyguard was tougher than most of them thought and beat the crap out of them in an arm wrestling match... It seems that the Prince was in town for a minute?... I'm getting off track... Oh, yeah! It turns out that this noblewoman has a high-level Mana Vein, and she brought in the biggest monster haul I've seen in years. It would be equivalent to my group slaying monsters for a month... Like a good month..."

"Damn," Doyle cursed out in shock.

"Yeah... So, she was going through what you did when you slayed those ogres back in Dorn," Jensen chuckled.

Doyle's eyes opened wide in shock.

'Lady Tayna has a Grand Master Vein... Or higher!? This means she can save the Dule bloodline if Johan can only—'

"OH, JOHAN! THAT'S IT!... RIGHT THERE... AH... I'M CUMMING!..." Tayna screamed from her room, and the chandelier shook more violently.

A delighted smile formed on the knight's face. The young Lord had done the impossible, and Doyle couldn't wait to deliver the news to the Baron.

"He did it... He finally did it," Doyle whispered to himself and smiled widely.

"Yeah, that lucky bastard did... By the way. Which noble was it that you are guarding? He's too young to be Baron Dule," Jensen asked curiously.

Doyle's smile faded when he realized his mistake. He quickly came up with a lie.

"Yeah, I'm still working with House Dule, and the noble I'm protecting is a nephew to the Baron... His wife seems to have a bit of an adventurous side to her; that was a surprise to us all," Doyle replied with a straight face.

"Hmmm... I knew it was to good to be true... Well, I offer you a drink and the tavern across the street, but I'm assuming that you're busy are now?" Jensen replied as he gestured with his head toward the tavern across the street.

"Yes, I'm very busy... I don't want to answer to the Baron why his nephew is alone... Maybe later when there's more help than just me and Sir Keys," Doyle replied with an apologetic smile.

Jensen chuckled and nodded. "Okay, well, if those two ever decide to stop, then I'll bring the crew over to the tavern. And you can join us for a few drinks," Jensen said.

Doyle's eyes were glowing from his excitement, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind... But I doubt they'll stop anytime soon... I think I lasted about ten hours before I passed out... I've a long day ahead of me," Doyle said while give Jensen a weary smile.

"Good luck," Jensen chuckled.

Doyle waved goodbye. The knight watched as Jensen exited the Red Carpet Inn and walked toward the tavern across the street.

"What an unexpected surprise, seeing you here, Jensen," Doyle muttered as he leaned against the wall inside the inn. He had to wait for Keys before he would go upstairs. And so the afternoon turned into twilight as the two lovebirds continued to make love.

***

(Two hours before Sir Doyle and Sir Keys arrived at Mangst.)

The two guards from the northern gate of Mangst were running down the streets of the town, trying to find that unregistered monster that the noble came riding on.

They followed where all the civilians were running from or looking at.

"Come on, Grif! We can't let the Major know that we couldn't stop the monster from entering the town!"

"I'm running as fast as I can, Dean! I like to see how fast you can run with this shield strapped to your back," Grif snapped.

"You didn't have to bring your tower shield with you, you moron! Why would you bring a 200-pound shield when you could've brought a 30-pound kite shield? You're a moron, Grif!"

"Insult me all you want, Dean, but I'm still faster than you!"

Dean rolled his eyes as he ran ahead his partner, Grif. Once he rounded the corner he saw the strange earth horse standing by a stunning woman, wearing Adventurer's gear.

'Damnit! Where's the noble!? Oh, no! That woman doesn't notice that monster! I'll protect her!'

Dean's eyes widened in fear. His face went white when the Speed Steed looked right at him.

"Crap! I need to protect her! She doesn't see the monster!" Dean yelled back to Grif, who was 15 feet behind him.

"Right! I'm coming up the rear! Go forward, Dean! Don't let her die!"

Dean smiled and charged at the woman.

"Watch out!"

Dean jumped onto the woman, trying to cover her, but when he ran into her, it felt like he had jumped into a statue.

"Oof!?" Grunted as the wind was knocked out of him.

Rya was busy watching Johan while carrying Tayna, trying to find the Red Carpet Inn, to notice the Guard bearing down on her.

When Dean jumped at her, her face turned, and she looked puzzled when she felt someone jumping into her. He bounced off of her; his momentum was too much, and he ended up rolling in the dirt.

"Huh?... I was wondering why I heard footsteps. What is wrong with you—"

Rya was interrupted when Grif came charging in with his spear in hand.

"I got you now, foul beast! HIYAH!" Grif Roared as he jumped into the air and pointed the tip of his spear at the Speed Steed.

The earth horse didn't respond at all as the attack came closing in. Grif couldn't believe his luck as the head of the spear embedded itself into the side of the horse. But then his weapon was stuck, and his momentum carried on as both his hands slid up the shaft of the spear.

"WHOA!" *SMASH!* "OOF! UGH!"

Grif felt his body slam against the earth horse, and the monster didn't move an inch. Grif landed hard on his tailbone, and his butt hit the ground. His Tower shield added the weight to the fall.

"OUCH! FUCKING HELL!... Huh!?"

Grif looked up and saw his weapon still embedded into the creature.

"Wait? Did I kill it?" Dean said in surprise.

"Uh, I don't think so," Grif stated as he rubbed his back.

Rya wanted to laugh at them, but she couldn't understand why these two city guards might have mistook her Speed Steed for a monster.

"That's my Golem," Rya said, causing the guards to look at her.

"A-A golem?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah... It's earth magic... I designed this guy to be really fast so I can transport someone across the Kingdom in hours instead of days... But my knowledge of horse anatomy isn't perfect yet.

Some day, I'll make it so no one can tell the difference between the real thing and my golem."

"Wait!? You're an earth mage?" Dean asked, looking shocked.

"Well, not just Earth magic. I'm an all-rounded mage... but my golems are my best creations."

Dean and Grif's jaws dropped. They were used to mages acting more like the academic types or the snooty better than everyone. Not some hot, sexy warrior mage that wears scantily clad armor.

"Wait? So this thing isn't a monster?" Grif asked while taking a closer look at his spear that was embedded into the golem's body.

"Nope... I'll unsummon it," Rya said as she walked up to it and rubbed its head. "Alright SS1... You did a great job today... I'll wake you up later."

Rya then pulled the spear from the horse, and it snorted once before turning back into dirt and merging into the ground.

The two guards were flabbergasted as the steed vanished before their eyes. A few of the town's folk also stopped and looked in amazement.

"Wow! How'd you do that!?" Grif asked.

"Like I said. Earth Magic." Rya replied while handing Grif his spear back.

"But I thought earth maged could only make the ground shift and raise rock walls from the ground?" Dean asked.

"Haha... There is much more to Earth Magic than just moving the earth. But it would take too long to explain while you two are still on duty."

"Damnit! No one is watching the gate! We better get going, Grif! Um, Nice to meet you, miss, and sorry for the misunderstanding!" Dean said, nodding to her.

"Same here. Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to scare you," Rya said as the two city guards headed back to the town's northern gate.

Dak, Gib, and Issy witnessed the whole exchange, and they couldn't believe that the woman they had challenged earlier to an arm wrestling contest was a mage.

"W-We challenged a fucking mage!?... We could have been killed! Why did you convince us to confront her, Issy!?" Dak asked.

"I... I didn't know! How was I supposed to know she was a mage!? A-And you could have told me no! You idiot! I wasn't forcing you into it!" Issy snapped back.

"What are we going to tell the guild? I'm sure our reputation will drop even further after what just happened!" Gib said in a panic.

"Good idea! Let's head over there right—"

"Hey!? You three, I have a question," Rya called out to the three adventurers.

They all tensed up and froze at the sound of her voice. They were terrified of her more than ever.

"H-Hello! W-what is it, Ma'am?" Gib asked nervously.

"Do you know where the best place to go to sell all the monster parts my friend slayed?" Rya asked while pointing to the Horse-Drawn wagon with the large pile of monster parts and corpses.

The three adventurers looked at the wagon, with the old man sitting in the driver's seat, waiting for his client to tell him where to go. They could see the numerous types of monster corpses. They gulped.

"U-Um... T-There is a monster guild office, but you need to be registered with a guild before you can sell the parts. And a hunter's license is required if you wish to sell the monster parts," Gib said, explaining the laws of the land.

"Hm... Okay. Is there any third-party business where I can sell my wares? Like an auction house?" Rya asked.

"Um, there's a few... McNally's and O'Neills are the two most well-known merchants who will give you a fair price for the monster parts. They'll buy the parts if the merchant can confirm the authenticity of the parts. If not, then they can't guarantee the value of the goods." Gib explained.

"Hm... Alright, that's all I need to know. Thank you." Rya said as she turned on her heels and hopped in the wagon. She told the old man to go to the closest merchant of the two, and he took off.

"Y-You're welcome!" Gib called out as Rya smiled back at them.

When she was out of sight, the three Adventurers exhaled in unison.

"Phew, that was a close one," Issy said.

"That was so scary," Dak said, finally letting out the breath he was holding.

"Y-yeah... I'm never going to question a pretty woman in adventurer's gear ever again," Gib said.

"Yeah, let's sell our monster parts before the market value drops," Issy said.

The two men nodded their heads in agreement as they hurried to The Adventure's Guild.

After a half hour, Rya came walking back to the Red Carpet Inn with a heavy bag of gold and silver. She could hear Johan and Tayna really going at it in their room. She was happy for her friend. And she's happy that Johan can keep up with the young lady.

'Well... They will be occupied for some time... Alright, D3... I'm returning control to you. Make sure to protect Johan and Tayna while I'm gone,' Rya told her golem body before her subconscious left the golem in Mangst.

The slight glow in the golem's eyes faded a bit as D3's face became stoic. She leaned against the outside wall of the Inn and observed her surroundings while Johan and Tayna continued to make passionate love.