CHAPTER 447: BITTER

Thwack!

"Ow! Coco? What’s wrong with you—"

Neo stopped hissing in pain and rubbing his foot when he looked up, his eyes widening when he saw Coco’s horrified face again.

This is the second time in the week that he had seen that look on her.

However, unlike the first time it happened, this time, they were inside the guild and were lounging around in one of the break rooms on the first floor.

Unfortunately, this break room that they have chosen was also currently occupied by one group of new licensed hunters— the group was the same group that was disrespectful towards Coco and her team at the start of the third stage.

Neo quickly picked up the bag of coins off the floor and looked over to the hunter he’s serving, only to see her glaring at one of the hunters inside the room.

"Coco?" Neo called as quietly as he could. "Hey, I know that they had an issue, but now is not the time, okay?"

Neo tried to diffuse the situation before it could start, but his effort was in vain when the leader of the group stood up from his seat and made his way over to their spot.

"What are you glaring at, woman?!" The man growled, his eyes squinted into a glare.

Just then, Neo realized that Coco wasn’t glaring at anyone in particular— she snapped out of her glaring session against wherever and shifted her attention on the man that stood before her, making it obvious for Neo and the man that she wasn’t glaring at anyone.

The man felt a sense of embarrassment creep into his face and ultimately, this situation is a humiliation.

"You’re picking a fight, huh?" The man hissed and grabbed Coco by the collar of her shirt, making her spring up from her seat and tug her forwards to him. "Is that it? Just because you passed the examinations by sucking everyone’s dick?"

His statements caused a roar of laughter to erupt from his friends which boosted his ego.

Coco, on the other hand, felt confused as to what was happening because she was sure that she was staring at the quest scroll that appeared in her face that told her that she had finished Heiren’s quest.

She didn’t even do anything!

Coco could care less about her situation, but with her heart already being squeezed by unknown heaviness after reading Quizen’s completed quest— it was now doubled after reading Heiren’s.

She felt the corner of her eyes sting as her eyesight grew blurry, the painful beating of her heart causing her throat to constrict letting oxygen in.

I thought Heiren would not look for someone so soon.. I thought he’ll stay until I have to divorce them.. Coco thought, her heart breaking into smaller pieces as she let the man drag her across the room.

"You’re the strongest in the guild? You can’t even lift a finger against me!" The man howled with laughter and three her on the corner.

Coco’s breath hitched as she crashed on the wall, igniting another roar of laughter from the group.

"Mrs. Hughes!" Neo called, his voice shaking with panic.

"Shut your mouth, big guy! You saw how she picked a fight against all of us first." One member of the group said, standing up from his seat and pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"What? She wasn’t—" Neo tried to talk, but he was stopped when a chair came flying his way.

He barely dodged the chair by swinging to the side, his own body crashing on the floor in an attempt to not get hit, but made a mess in the process.

"What do you mean she wasn’t?! She was clearly glaring at me and was looking down at me!" The man who grabbed Coco yelled, his voice booming across the room like he owns the place.

"She wasn’t, you fool!" Neo growled and scrambled to get up, but another member walked and aimed a chair on him.

Neo instantly got quiet, his eyes going wide in fear.

Coco could only stare at them, her mind blank as she let the pain seeping in her heart spread across her body— the feeling creeping through her veins felt like lethal poison that would probably end her from how painful it was.

She tried to shift in her spot, but she felt no strength to do so, causing her to just lean on the wall where she was thrown to.

Is it normal for people to react this way upon completing a quest? Coco wondered, her eyes darting to the scroll that was still floating by the left side of her vision where the letters congratulated her.

She didn’t read the rest of the letter and just focused on the fact that she finished Heiren’s quest even though she hasn’t done anything.

Why am I feeling this way..? Shouldn’t I be happy that they found someone..? Shouldn’t I be happy that they didn’t make the quest hard for me? Coco thought, but the words felt like they were burning by how scorching it felt just by merely thinking of Zaque and the others leaving her for another woman.

It was a strange thought.

After all, she doesn’t love them that way, right? She doesn’t harbor the same feeling as Zaque or Alhai— so she doesn’t have to feel this way towards her finished quests, no?

Yeah.. Why would I feel this way if I don’t even like them? Coco mused as she let out a bitter laugh, the sound coming out a little louder than intended which caught the attention of others.

"Huh?" The man who was standing by Neo turned and glared at Coco. "Is there something funny? What are you laughing at?"

Coco looked up and they saw that there was a smile on her face— such a strange sight that was accompanied with tears.

"Have you gone crazy?" One of the men asked, slightly shaking at the sight of her smile.