Chapter 274 – Back Home and I Got a Daughter #2

Arriving at last in Joensuu, I returned to Mr. Brown’s inn and was able to rest in peace for the first time in a long time.
As usual, I separated from the others and went back to the inn alone with Rebecca.

“The inn is quite crowded? Business seems to be going well.”
“Luke, isn’t it because of the magic show you did? A lot of people gathered in the front yard of the inn back then.”

Returning after two months, the Tabard Inn was bustling with numerous guests.
It should be said that it has changed 180 degrees from the ruined inn where only flies flew in the past.
As Rebecca said, it seems that the magic performance I did for a while helped my business.

“Oh, who is this! Aren’t you the lucky wizard of our store? It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face.”
“It’s been a while, Mr. Brown.”

The bald owner, with his shiny hair, was sitting at the store counter today, doing his business. Bald Brown greeted me with a wide smile as soon as he saw me. To be honest, I’m happy too. When I see that bald man, my heart calms down for some reason. It feels like returning to the hometown of the heart.

“Miss Rebecca welcomes you back. I’ve missed you all these two months. I need you at my inn, too.”
“Mr. Bald, me and Luke are hungry. Give me some food.”
“Heh heh, bald head…? You’re still bad-mouthed! I see. I’ll prepare dinner right away.”

Brown, who was chattering a lot, quickly made dinner for Rebecca’s request for food.
Seeing how he laughs at the word bald, it seems that he missed us that much.
Or maybe he was just used to Rebecca’s nasty talk.

“What are you going to do after eating?”
“I need to rest. For the time being, I don’t want to look at things like quests.”
“It deserves it. How about going on a date downtown tomorrow? I saw earlier that a new theater company was promoting at the Central Theater.”
“Good.”

From the day I returned to the inn, I rested for about a week.
Rebecca, Kate, and Bella took their time to date each other, spent the whole day lying on the bed and trying to sleep, taught Wendy spiritism, and did small magic research.

It was time to soothe the weary soul.
I realized that it is not warm soup that warms the soul, but sufficient rest.

Then, when I felt better enough, I decided to go to the adventurer’s guild.
You can keep playing without working, but that’s not possible for an adventurer like me.

Why can’t I play?
Adventurers are freelancers after all.

Freelance Special.
I get anxious if I don’t have a job.
I need to do something small to calm my mind.

That’s why I visited the adventurer’s guild to see if I could be introduced to some light quest.
I can see Wendy’s face as well.

By the time I arrived at the spacious guild lobby, Wendy’s voice rang in my ears.

“Luke-nim? Why did you go to work at the guild?
“I’m trying to find some quests that can be completed in a day’s work.
“That’s true, but… Fufu, anyway, you’re a sincere person.”

Wendy, who was sitting at her reception desk, looked at me and let out her sweet smile. Her smile was full of love, unlike the commercial smile she gives when dealing with other adventurers. To the point where the adventurers who were hanging around looked at me with strange eyes.

“You know what? I prefer a sincere man.”
“That’s right. It’s in good taste.”
“Whoops.”

It was Wendy, staring at me as she secretly brought up the story of her taste.
Wendy’s appearance as she brushes the back of her hair as if she’s shy is fascinating.
The white nape of her neck, which suddenly appeared, caught her attention, albeit for a moment.

I heard about this on an old TV show.

‘When a woman is conscious of a man, she often flips her hair back to show off her neckline.’

At that time, I, who was Ada, thought the story was bullshit, but what is this?
It seems that the knowledge of the program was correct.

‘Because it was Adah, he might not know.’

Wendy and I looked at each other in silence for a while.
It was an atmosphere that would develop into a romantic relationship if someone revealed their inner feelings, but the day of confession has not yet come for us.
In the end, no matter how certain you are, confessing is an act that requires courage.

Soon, when the two of us are together, won’t the words come naturally?
I was just thinking that way now.

“Ah, look at my spirit. I forgot to introduce you to the quests. I’ll find some quests that Luke-nim can finish in one day.”
“I look forward to.”

Wendy rummaged through her files like a veteran receptionist, and she quickly assigned a suitable quest.

“Here. It’s a quest called ‘Eradication of the Biting Mushroom’. It seems that mushroom monsters have appeared on the road outside the west gate. If it’s Luke-sama, you can get rid of them and come back soon.”
“If you’re a biting mushroom, you’re pathetic. How much do you pay?”
“It’s 50 silver.”

If it was 50 silver, it was a reasonable reward for a one-day quest. If I were to go to the west gate for a short walk, it wouldn’t feel like I was working at all. ‘Bite-biting mushroom’ was a low-level monster that, at my current level, would fall out in one shot.

“That quest, I will accept it.”

If you go quickly, you can finish the quest tonight.
It was time to pack up the wooden shield, which is a sign of completing the quest, and leave the adventurer’s guild.
Suddenly, Wendy grabbed me.

“Wait a minute Luke. Do you have time tomorrow?”
“What’s going on.”
“I want to treat you to a meal at my house. I want to repay you for teaching me spiritism.”

It’s a reward for teaching me spiritism.
Is that really the only intention… ?

Somehow, Wendy’s words sounded like ‘Do you want to go eat ramen?’ To me.
A strange thought popped into her head, and her face blushed for no reason.

“Cho, thank you for inviting me. You have plenty of time. When can I visit you?”
“Come over tonight.”
“Hut.”

You want to have dinner together?
Was it really ‘Do you want to eat ramen?’?
There was also a subtle blush on Wendy’s cheeks as she invited her to eat.

I’m really looking forward to this.
Never thought I’d be invited to Bright’s mother and daughter’s dinner.

“I will definitely go. Please wait for me.”
“Whoops. I’ll make you a hearty dinner. Made with only healthy ingredients.”

I made an appointment with Wendy for a meal in an unexpected place.
I left the Adventurer’s Guild, trying to cool off my burning face.

*

That evening.
On the road near the west gate, mushrooms with sharp teeth were roaming in groups.
These are the ‘biting mushrooms’ that were pointed out as wanted monsters in the quest.
I cast my magic at those who were savagely baring their teeth.

[Snowstorm]

An ancient magic that creates a frost storm in front of you.
The mushroom monsters that were directly hit by the storm disintegrated into pieces. It was because the wind pressure was so strong that the body of a low-level monster could not withstand it.

――Kieeeee
――Eeeee

Monsters scattering body fluids on the road while screaming.
It didn’t take long to defeat the 30 mushroom monsters. It would have taken more time to find them.

‘They’re lame guys. I don’t like the smell of spores.’

I didn’t forget to take the proof that I finished the quest by capturing the mushroom corpse.
As it got dark, I crossed the gate and returned to the city.

But what’s going on.
Dozens of adventurers gathered in the streets near the castle gate. Judging from the fact that they are holding weapons with the horn mark on them, they are adventurers belonging to Galarhorn like me.

“If you want to participate in the Subjugation Quest, show your sincerity! That’s the will of Kruger, the Subjugation Captain!”
“Thunder-naked bastards. Who do you think will put you on the quest? Be polite to the wizard.”

A robed wizard stood in the middle of the group of adventurers. Around it, young adventurers who looked like colleagues were talking loudly.

I don’t know what the hell is going on.

Subjugation quest?
Show sincerity?
Why is that wizard keeping his mouth shut with an arrogant expression on his face?

I needed someone to explain.
As an adventurer belonging to the same Galarhorn, I couldn’t help but be curious.

Just then, someone appeared on the street talking to me.

“Wait a minute. Are you sure you’re Luke?”
“Yes?”

It’s a voice I’ve heard somewhere.
When I turned my head, a halfling standing in the dark night street came into my field of vision. He’s so short that you have to lower your head to see his face properly.

“Mr. Ethan? Is that Mr. Ethan there?”
“That’s right. The rumors that you’ve returned to Yoensuu must have been true. I never expected to see you here.”

Halfling Ethan.
It was an adventurer who had once done a quest together during the rookie adventurer days. Whether it was the herb gathering quest where I met Rebecca for the first time, or the quest going up to the nearby city.

Because he worked in the Adventurers Guild for a long time, he is a person who is much more knowledgeable about the industry than I am. It’s nice to be a well-informed person.
Being a geek, I don’t want to be that close.

“Are you still doing sympathy training against monsters?”
“Of course! Who am I? I’m Edan, a monster behavior expert. Recently, I’ve been able to communicate very basicly with goblins. Of course, I’ve only heard words like ‘I’ll eat you’.”

Ethan has an unusual goal of having a spiritual connection with a monster. He bases it on the theory that any monster can communicate its meaning if it understands its behavior. Because his enthusiasm was so excessive, adventurers tended to treat Ethan as an eccentric.

“Ethan-san is also very stubborn. Her younger sister cursed at Ethan-san for doing useless things.”
“Only a girl knows my great intentions. And siblings are designed to curse each other from birth. Ally bitch.”
“Your sister would be very happy to hear about it.”

Even after exchanging greetings, the group of adventurers gathered on the street still did not disperse. Since this happened, I decided to ask Ethan what I was curious about.

“But why are the adventurers over there gathering?
“Ah, it’s them. The adventurer party entrusted with the subjugation quest is recruiting subjugation members. Those who put in support have no choice but to flock. That adventurer party’s subjugation leader is an extraordinary person.”
“Who are you?”

If it’s the subjugation leader, is it the wizard standing alone over there?
It’s the first time I see your face
I am the one who prides myself on knowing the faces of most mages who work as adventurers for Yoensu. But I had never seen that wizard before.
It’s a pretty arrogant pose for a new face.

“The name of the subjugation leader is Kruger. Originally, he was a well-known adventurer in the capital of the Northern Kingdom. As you know, a skilled wizard is bound to be welcomed by anyone in the adventure industry. Kruger is a second-class wizard. For adventurers, it’s God himself.”

Skilled mages are the gods of the adventurer industry.
There was nothing wrong with Ethan’s words. Because the power of the subjugation team greatly increases with the presence of a mage.
Being a second-class wizard, it was possible to carry a fairly large number of subjugation quests alone.

“Now, Kruger is recruiting party members before he goes on a new subjugation quest. Isn’t it a coveted opportunity for adventurers?
“Now I understand. But why doesn’t Mr. Ethan apply? It’s a chance to eat him raw.”
“There are a lot of bad rumors about Kruger. He said he molested a female adventurer, and even if he didn’t like it even a little bit, he would verbally abuse party members. I don’t know if the rumors are true, but he definitely looks like a bad person. I don’t want to belong to the same punitive force. .”
“Hmm…”

In short, does it mean that he will become a bad-tempered wizard?
Feeling like an unlucky elite who lives on his self-importance.

“Luke, when you left Yoensu, that man named Kruger moved here. It’s already been a month. You don’t know Kruger.”
“Why did you bother to come to Yoensuu without leaving the capital?”
“Isn’t it true that you came to Yoensuu because the capital is a good place to live?
“I guess so.”

All curiosity is satisfied.
It’s just that the wizard is gathering the punitive forces. It has nothing to do with me whether or not there are bad rumors going around.

I don’t think I’ll ever mix words with that guy named Kruger.
Unless you’re talking to me on purpose.

“Listen, aren’t you a wizard on the same level as Kruger? If you are, you might be able to form an equal relationship with that arrogant Kruger.”
“A wizard of the same class? Me?”
“Yes. According to my information, you are also a second-class wizard, right? Most of the adventurers in the guild know that.”

I think you’re misunderstanding something.
After leaving Yoensu, he returned as a first-class wizard.
In the meantime, I didn’t go to work at the guild, so people probably didn’t know about me.

“No.”
“Yes?”
“This year, as a mage, I have come to an important realization. I have become a first-class mage.”

At my answer, Ethan widened his eyes.
He seemed quite shocked, unable to keep his mouth shut.

“This, a first-class wizard?! You, Luke, are a first-class wizard? At that point, aren’t you a high-ranking wizard enough to work in the court! How on earth are you growing so fast!”
“Somehow it happened. I even got a chance.”
“If other adventurers find out, there will be a riot. Your ransom will increase even more.”

Unintentionally, because of Edan, my news came to be heard by other adventurers.
Edan, who served as the guild’s source of information, quickly spread the news.

It doesn’t matter if it’s delivered or not.
You can’t hide that you’ve become a first-class wizard anyway.

“If you need to gather people for a quest, please take care of me. I’m Edan, a monster behavior expert. I promise to roll around like a dog at your party.”
“If you have a chance, let’s do it together again, Quest.”
“Heh heh heh.”

I shook hands and parted with Ethan.

Tomorrow is the day we promised to have dinner at the Bright family.

Didn’t Wendy say she’d cook you a hot dinner?
I can’t help but wonder what it is.
I wish tomorrow would come soon.