Volume 1 Chapter 15 Quest： Prince Of The Sky I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Ten in the morning──.
After cleaning up the remnants of his encounter with Esther, Kian quickly took care of his body maintenance and started his final check of his equipment.
”Painkiller, hemostatic ointment, bark from the hippo tree to grow a fire starter, homemade spice bomb.”
’What a sad little stash for a newbie adventurer. What’s with that spice bomb? No potions or poisons or anything?’
”I think I could buy some materials from Ms. Aliona, but they’re way too pricey for me. I’d end up in the red. Plus, a lot of them take forever to mix.”
He decided to keep the nagging glasses in his chest pocket.
Finally, today, the memories weren’t fading away, but remembering what he did when he was in glasses mode made him want to avoid using them as much as possible.
(But honestly, I’m way more capable when I’m in glasses mode.)
He was better at seizing opportunities, using tools, channeling power, and making judgments about situations.
He had guts too, totally different from his usual timid self.
But even his alter ego had its weaknesses.
He had a knack for stirring up discord without a care in the world.
It was a good thing Esther and Aliona were nice people, but he probably earned some serious grudges from that ‘Falcon Brigade’──the cat-haired handsome swordsman Funnelwing and the delinquent priest Rosen Pitt were definitely not fans.
Especially Funnelwing; he was the type to never forget a humiliation.
Like what happened yesterday with guild, it would’ve been smarter to avoid embarrassing anyone in front of the group.
’After taking that much humiliation, I think it was good to give him a taste of his own medicine, though.’
”Well, Funnelwing’s just a Rank 9 adventurer. He probably doesn’t have time to mess with me. He’s gotta be itching to rack up achievements and climb the ranks. The 4th party member we’ve got now looks pretty strong, no doubt about it.”
’That Wolfmen… what was her name? Serena or something?’
”Ah… alright, no forgetting stuff today. Just gotta remember to tell the old landlord I’m moving out when I head back.”
Usually, you can’t just up and cancel a room like that, but if he explain to them that he can’t pay, the landlord will kick him out without a second thought.
The laws around here in this poor neighborhood? They’re pretty loose, so it’s not really a big deal.
”──Oh, Mr. Kian!”
As he stepped out and started down the stairs, Esther popped her head out from the kitchen.
She had her hair neatly tied back and was wearing a clean serving outfit.
There was no trace left of the messy stuff from just a few hours ago.
With a bright smile, she said, “Just wait a sec!” and disappeared back into the kitchen, only to come out with a wrapped bundle of bread and wine.
”This is your lunch. Sorry it’s just something simple.”
”I can’t take this.”
”I made it for you, so please don’t hold back. Honestly, I’d be worried if you turned it down.”
”Well, if that’s the case… I’ll gladly accept it. Thanks a lot.”
”No problem! Good luck with your work!”
She said that while looking Kian up and down, taking in his ragged armor.
”Is something wrong?”
”Nope! Just do your best!”
’Doesn’t she worry about how Kian looks?’
(I might need to get a nicer set of armor if I want to stick around this place…)
”So, you’re collecting travel money, huh?”
Esther reached out to brush off the dirt on Kian’s leather armor.
”Better not touch that. Especially if you’re prepping food. It’s got blood and mud from my hunts all over it.”
”Oh…”
”To answer your question, yeah, I’m heading to meet the guild to make some cash. I’ll pick up some better clothes while I’m at it.”
”Really? You’ll definitely make a lot! Mr. Kian, you’re a pretty skilled healer, right?”
”Huh? Why do you think that?”
”Well, because this morning… you healed my… um, you know. It was super gentle, and I didn’t feel any pain or anything weird.”
”Oh, right…”
He felt a bit flustered.
The girl in front of him, without a doubt, made love to him.
”Well, I guess I can use healing magic too.”
”Adventurers who come here often say this: there’s a chronic shortage of healers. They say it’s because the Western Church doesn’t send many adventurers. Well, considering how dangerous the job is, I suppose it makes sense.”
”That’s true… By the way, is it okay for you to be chatting with me like this? Won’t your dad get mad?”
As he asked this while tucking the cloth bundle into his backpack, Esther gave a bright smile.
”My father is out on an errand today, so I’m the only one preparing things right now. The others (our staff) should be arriving soon.”
”I see.”
(So that’s why she was able to bring out my lunch. I did think she seemed unusually free.)
”Mr. Kian, um… you’ll be coming back here today, right?”
Esther asked this while looking at Kian with pleading eyes. Slightly flustered, Kian nodded.
”Yeah… I’ll be staying here for a while.”
Using stolen money to pay for lodging felt terribly wrong.
But he didn’t have any other options for now.
If he earned some silver coins and found it possible to stay in guild, he was thinking about looking for a cheaper place.
As “glasses-mode Kian,” he had even entertained the idea of charming Esther and freeloading off her.
”I see! Well then, take care, Mr. Kian!”
Esther said with a smile, waving her hand. Her innocent, dazzling smile made Kian feel a pang of guilt as he left the tavern, *The Boar’s Trot Inn*.
* * *
For Kian to rise from the lowest rank to a lower-rank adventurer, he needed to increase his rank to Rank 8.
Ranks 8 and 7 fall into the category of “lower-rank adventurers.”
To do that, he had to earn contribution points in guild—but…
(…Did glasses-mode me plan to tackle Rank 7 quests and earn points all at once?)
Kian sighed as he looked at the notebook where he had written down the quests he had accepted.
He had taken on five quests.
All of them were non-combat-focused quests.
Specifically, they included escort missions and treasure-hunting quests.
However, the odds of actually completing these quests without encountering a single battle were slim.
Did glasses-mode him think he could play some kind of “hide-and-seek game” to avoid all the monsters?
”Which one will you start with?”
As Kian walked toward the western gate of the town, the glasses asked. Kian frowned.
”Many of them are dangerous or difficult tasks, but… for now, I have to head to the escort mission with a specified time. If I don’t reach the meeting point on time, the contract will be void, and the mission will fail.”
’An escort mission, hmm.’
”This one.”
The client was Robert Pigfoot, apparently the owner of a tavern.
He seemed to be heading into the forest on the western outskirts of East End to gather rare ingredients and wanted someone to handle escorting and carrying goods during the trip.
’The Eastern Forest has a lot of monsters, but the western side is relatively civilized. There’s also a garrison of the Margrave”s knights nearby.’
”Yeah, it seems relatively easy… but can I really handle an escort mission alone? Usually, you’d need about three people for this sort of thing. It’s the client’s fault for not setting a limit on the number of participants, though.”
When Kian finally arrived, it was inevitable that Robert and the others to be escorted would look at him and think, “Seriously? Just one novice adventurer?” If Kian were Robert, he’d definitely have the same reaction.
’Well, let’s hope nothing happens.’
”Being near the garrison means there’s a chance of encountering packs of stray dogs. Wolves and dogs once trained by humans. If we run into them, it’ll be a big problem.”
It wouldn’t be an issue if they didn’t encounter any, but the thought was still worrying.
Glasses-mode Kian must have thought it was an easy quest when he took it, but guild’s Rank 7 evaluation was accurate.
For Kian to handle it alone, it was undeniably a challenging task.
”…I see them. That group over there.”
At the west gate of East End, 3 guys were standing around a cart.
Two of them were skinny, but one was a big dude, built like a bear, with a massive axe slung over his back.
It was clear that guy wasn’t just some regular Joe.
His arms were covered in scars.
(Hold on, I feel like I’ve seen that big guy somewhere before.)
”Hey, you must be Kian, the one doing the escort, right?”
The big guy, noticing Kian approaching, crossed his arms and let out a low grunt.
”Hey, I’m Kian, a Rank 9 adventurer. Nice to meet you today.”
”Uh-huh.”
The big guy just glared down at Kian and said that.
Instead, one of his goons frowned.
”Hey, Robert, this guy’s the ‘garbage scavenger’ Kian.”
”This dude’s our bodyguard…? More like a pack mule, right?”
”Honestly, I don’t care what rank adventurer shows up. Rules say we can take on Rank 9 as long as they’re 2 ranks lower than us.”
The big guy shrugged.
”Besides, having a bodyguard doesn’t really change anything. If something pops up, I’ve taken care of it all so far.”
”Yeah, that’s true.”
”Hey, Rank 9 adventurer. You’re lucky. Just carrying stuff around and you’ll get silver coins.”
”Ha! Just trailing behind and hauling bags won’t get you an S rating from me. If you want a reward, you better work hard. But hey, as long as you don’t slack off, I won’t kick you back to town.”
The big guy said this with another shrug.
It was kind of funny seeing a bear of a man act like that, but if anyone dared to laugh, they’d probably get a fist to the face.
As Kian forced a smile, a sharp scent of spices suddenly hit his nose.
”Hm…? What’s this…?”
(Is that the smell of chili sauce?)
”Oh? Someone’s coming from over there, boss.”
One of Robert’s guys piped up.
Looking toward town, Kian saw people in guild uniforms running toward them.
Their eyes were locked on this way.
Robert squinted his tough gaze.
”Looks like the guild crew. What’s going on?”
Kian and the others waited for the staff to arrive.
While waiting, Kian couldn’t shake off a nagging feeling of unease.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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