I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

To be honest, I was more than just surprised - I was dumbfounded.

It felt like watching a documentary scene where a baby gazelle fearlessly charges at a lion, headbutting it with its tiny head.

No matter how high-ranking a noble might be, they couldn't openly insult the hero party, right? This guy was basically saying he didn't recognize our faces at all. We weren't playing heroes in secret to save people - we'd openly shown our faces at the temple, Magic Tower, royal palace, and even the empire.

At this point, it was beyond irritation or annoyance - it was almost admirable. Maybe this sleazy noble had face blindness and couldn't recognize people, or perhaps he looked normal but was actually cursed by black magic and being controlled.

Otherwise, how could he not recognize us on the 55th floor?

"Hey, who are those people...?" a nearby mercenary whispered.

"I don't fucking know. Maybe he's just crazy?" another replied.

"Did they come from the Empire? Even the Imperial folks knew who we were."

Even the mercenary groups buying supplies nearby were whispering and keeping their distance to avoid trouble. An interesting spectacle was unfolding - people were gathering to watch but maintaining distance from this long-haired man, creating a strange situation.

Despite the murmuring crowd forming a peculiar stage around us, the man seemed oblivious. Either he was incredibly dense or confident despite noticing the atmosphere.

Though his walk seemed casual, his center of gravity was stable, and his steps and breathing were rhythmic. He must have easily reached the high ranks to be hunting on the 55th floor. He didn't seem to be from the Kingdom - perhaps a foolish young noble from the Empire?

'Maybe he's a country bumpkin from the far north of the Empire who leveled up fighting monster waves but is clueless about Kingdom politics?'

If he was from the remote northern Empire, which took nearly a year to reach by carriage from the Kingdom, it might make sense that he didn't know the hero party's appearance. Perhaps he'd only faced monster waves in that barren corner of the north before coming straight to the tower to make big money.

As I pondered this, glancing around, the long-haired man's expression gradually soured. But rather than feeling annoyed or irritated, I found it rather refreshing.

I remembered a gif I'd seen online of a lion looking bewildered as a baby gazelle kept headbutting it. There was also one of a hawk startled by a pigeon entering its nest while it was resting on its eggs. Of course, in both cases, the ending was the same - the clueless baby gazelle and pigeon became delivered meals.

"What do you mean, adventurer?" the man asked.

"I'm saying it's troublesome to be hit on by a man in front of everyone like this," I replied.

"W-What?!"

I wasn't angry, but that didn't mean I wouldn't tease him a bit. As I threw out that blatant insinuation about his sexuality, his face instantly turned beet red. The adventurers watching us burst into stifled laughter.

They probably hadn't expected the holy sword's owner, a member of the hero party, to respond like this.

But what else could I do? This level of provocation was practically flirting in the mercenary world.

Beating up and chasing away someone for talking to your attractive companion would lead to troublesome rumors. Even though we're now recognized as heroes and wouldn't have trouble finding quest partners, old habits die hard.

It was also a pain to rough up a low-level who didn't even register as a threat. Besides, our companions were just watching him like zoo monkeys, without any particular reaction.

"How dare you insult me with such vulgar words-" he began.

"Captain, you fucking idiot!!!" a shrill voice interrupted.

The noble seemed ready to take off his glove and challenge me to a duel, and I was debating whether to just rough him up or completely crush him. Suddenly, someone came charging through the crowd.

A high-pitched male voice and small frame, but moving at wind-like speed, likely aided by mana.

Like a gust of wind brushing past rocks in a valley, a small figure smoothly parted the onlookers without a single collision. They leapt from the prairie soil, executing a picture-perfect dropkick. Dirt flying from their foothold, two feet precisely aimed, a powerful charge that would crack ribs.

"I sent you to buy some damn food, so what the hell are you doing?!" the newcomer shouted.

"Ugh, Vice-Captain! What insolence-" the long-haired man grunted.

"You're the insolent one, you idiot!" the small figure retorted.

The long-haired man, who for some inexplicable reason had been so confident, was sent rolling across the ground by the tiny figure that had flown at him. He bellowed in anger. Captain and Vice-Captain, huh? So they were from an Imperial knight order after all.

"...You know, this reminds me of something I've seen before," Han Se-ah mused. "It's like that stupid couple from that new dating sim game I got as homework last year. You know, the capable but idiotic student council president and the vice president who's always cleaning up his messes."

-Oh ㅋㅋ Now that you mention it, it does seem similar

-The moment the vice-captain full-power dropkicked the captain, it felt like the game genre suddenly changed ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-We were just talking about missing townspeople being dead or alive, and suddenly a rom-com starts?

-This must be BB Games' kind consideration, letting us taste something sweet after the bitterness ㅋ

-Sweet taste (a handsome NPC suddenly hitting on the player)?

As the surrounding mercenaries started cheering with shouts like "You go, miss!" and "Kick him between the legs!", and our companions gave cold stares to this incomprehensible moron, the viewers got weirdly excited. Amidst this bizarre situation, the comedy routine between the two continued.

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5★ 'Blue Wind Blade' Olek Sibedev and 5★ 'Snow Mirage' Alisa Friedrich - their names reeked of vodka, clearly marking them as nobles from the northern Empire. They were northern nobles who had come to the Kingdom on an expedition for more experience after facing monster waves.

Combat study abroad - now that's a truly fantasy-like situation.

Anyway, as detailed backstories flowed from their mouths about being childhood friends from neighboring domains with soldier fathers, or joining the same knight order to protect their lands together, not only the viewers but also our companions' eyes began to sparkle.

A dense man carelessly flirting with other women, and a woman who clearly likes him sticking close by while making her feelings obvious.

In a world without internet, it seems people find it entertaining to see such a relationship - the kind you'd usually only hear about in a bard's love songs - with their own eyes.

"So these people are the heroes chosen by the Goddess?" Olek asked incredulously.

"Yes, you idiot!" Alisa snapped.

"But I heard the holy sword's owner was a 3-meter giant who could shatter an ogre's leg with a single blow..."

"Why would you believe the ramblings of drunkards?"

To be honest, even to my internet-savvy eyes, these two's comedy routine was quite amusing. It reminded me of Japanese manzai comedy, with one person saying stupid things and the other retorting.

The reason they didn't recognize us as the hero party was apparently due to the wild rumors Olek had been hearing in the northern Empire. The news of us helping mercenaries fight an ogre had spread north, picking up some bizarre embellishments along the way.

"What kind of rumors spread exactly?" I asked.

"Ah, hero. Well... they weren't proper rumors. Just some drunkards misinterpreting a bard's tale and spreading nonsense," Alisa explained sheepishly.

According to the rumors, the holy sword's owner was a monstrous figure with incredible strength who could shatter an ogre's limbs, standing 3 meters tall with beast-like mane of hair and eyes that glowed like magic tools even in broad daylight.

The mage chosen by the Goddess was said to be a mysterious witch with jet-black hair that swirled around her like night mist. Supposedly, she was a great witch from a remote part of the Kingdom who converted to the faith after being chosen by the Goddess, and she used mysterious spells unknown even to Magic Tower mages.

As for the others, Grace was rumored to have arms reaching down to her shins, fist-sized eyes, and long ears due to archery-related gossip. Katie was described as some kind of yeti or snow woman who could freeze people to death with her breath or touch.

The only one without wild rumors was Irene, about who only stories of her beauty and kindness had spread, leaving no room for exaggeration. At this point, it sounded less like a hero party and more like a mixed-race group of monsters being led around by a saint.

"But logically speaking, that doesn't make sense..." I began.

"I'm so sorry about our captain's stupidity..." Alisa apologized.

Naturally, the educated classes didn't believe these tales at all. They were the kind of stories only uneducated commoners would spread. After all, nobles knew how amazing it was for superhumans who could handle mana to accomplish such feats in human bodies.

But for him to believe such rumors despite reaching the 5★ high rank himself - I wondered just how low his intelligence could be.

"To think all those rumors were false... And the holy sword's owner, wielding a massive blade, is actually about my height..." Olek muttered, dumbfounded.

"I'm really sorry. He's actually a good person, though," Alisa insisted.

"That's right. He's usually quite decent, it's just... he tends to act childishly in situations like this," another knight added.

Even the other Ice Cross Knights who had come because of the commotion were trying to defend him somehow, so he must be a good person overall, but-

[Help Olek Sibedev and advance to the 60th floor with the Ice Cross Knights 0/1]

What kind of quest is this, Goddess?

I looked up at the sky in protest, but of course, there was no answer. Only Alisa and the Ice Cross Knights blushed at my head movement, misinterpreting it as embarrassment.

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