====[ Advance note ]====
I had time and I felt like writing so here we go~
====[ Advance note end ]====
The journey home went relatively smoothly after the <
Finally, after a couple of days walking through the wilderness while fighting off insects and the occasional monsters, we arrived at a paved soil path which indicated that we were close to Vansborough. Our walking speed increased since we were treading on a proper flat road.
" Aah! Finally! Civilization! ". Marcello cried out.
The density of the trees and foliage of the magic forest began to decrease, and we were able to see the tall and sturdy steel clad walls of Vansborough. The day is now afternoon but there's still plenty of time before the sky changes color.
" So, what are you going to do once you arrive, Evan? ". Alexandra asked me.
" We will head over to the guild first to confirm the completion of our quest and sell any loot that we have, then we would probably part ways, we are not a permanent party after all. ".
" I see, then we will accompany you all the way to the guild. ".
" That would be appreciated, thanks. ".
Thanks to the guild's Forest Security Team accompanying us, we were able to pass the gates quicker than usual, our group then made a beeline towards the adventurer's guild, the guild is crowded with adventurers as always. Once inside, we parted ways with Alexandra and her team.
" Well, we're here. This will be goodbye for now, I hope we can meet again. Then, good luck on your journey, adventurers! ". Alexandra said to us.
" Thank you Alexandra! ". Melania answered.
Alexandra and her team waved at us as they went around to the back.
" Well, all that's left now for us to do is to wrap this up. ". I said.
" Yeah, let's hurry and get this over with, I'm tired. ". Luke commented.
We went to the receptionist counters, the line was long as always. But, there's one counter that has no queue waiting, thats Mike's counter. We headed over to Mike.
" Mike! I'm back! ".
" Hmm? Oh, it's ye, Evan. Welcome back. ". He said briefly.
" Yeah, we managed to complete the request safely. ".
" Yea tha's good, tha's good. So, ye wanna confirm yer completion of tha quest? ".
" Yes, please! ". I said with a smile.
Luke, Melania and I handed our guild cards over to Mike who took them and held it one by one on some sort of plate which caused the cards to glow just like when Alexandra did it.
" Right, there aint no problems with errything so take this paper upstairs to claim yer reward, ye can also get yer cards back upstairs. ".
" Oh, can we also sell materials and loot here? ". Melania asked.
" 'Course ye can, it's also on tha second floor. ".
" Okay, got it~. ".
We received the paper handed over to us and headed upstairs. The second floor is not as crowded as the first but there's still quite a lot of people here. Over to the left side upon reaching the floor after climbing up the stairs there's counters labeled "Request Rewards", that's where you go to when you want to claim your rewards, to the right side there's counters labeled "Materials and Loot Deposit", that's where you go to when you want to sell or buy monster materials and loot at a reasonable price. We went to the left side first and queued up.
Once it was our turn, we handed the paper that we got from Mike over to the guild official behind the counter, the official then double checked our quest with us.
" Okay, a party of three E ranked adventurers on a ruin exploration and subjugation quest, yes? ".
" That's right. ". Luke confirmed.
" Please wait for a moment while we process the payment. ".
The guild official then went to the back of her counter, after a few moments, she came back with a big cloth bag in her hands. It looks to be filled with money. Uwah, it looks like we got a lot.
" This is the rewards for the quest, and here are your adventurer's cards, thank you for your hard work and good luck on your journeys, adventurer! ". The guild official said before beckoning the next person in line to come up.
It seems that the money from the reward itself is more than we anticipated. Which is welcome news, obviously. After we were done gawking at the amount of money we gained, we headed over to the right side to sell materials and stuff that we got from our quest, the right side is not as crowded as the left side, so we found a vacant counter immediately.
" Hi there, would you like to sell or buy? ". A guild official asked.
" We'd like to sell, please. ". I answered.
" Alright, then put the materials you want to sell over there. ". The official pointed towards an empty area of the counter he was manning.
I unloaded the materials from my << Pocket Dimension >> on to the area he pointed at, the official was visibly perplexed at the amount of stuff I pulled out of nowhere. Well, it couldn't be helped since that skill is quite unusual.
" Please wait a moment while we inspect these. ". The guild official said while asking his colleagues for help with bringing our materials to the back of his counter where it would all be appraised and valued.
After around ten minutes, the guild official walked out of the back portion of the counter with an even bigger cloth bag full of money in his hands compared to what we got from the reward. We hit the jackpot with this quest.
" Here's the total amount we are willing to pay for those materials, they are all of excellent quality, I'm sure you guys will rank up in no time! ". The official said with a smile on his face.
" Really? Ahahaha, you flatter us. ". Luke said.
" I'm not joking, we're glad that the guild has young promising talents such as you guys, well then, good luck on your journeys, adventurer! ". The official said while giving the bag of money to us, it seems that "good luck on your journeys, adventurer" is something the guild officials often say to adventurers. Although I'm sure that they mean well by that and I am certainly touched, it does make them sound like NPCs. Also, Nitidus has been quiet up until now, I wonder what Nitidus is doing.
The total combined amount of money we received from this quest is 66 gold coins and 27 big silver coins, a satisfactory amount. We decided that sharing it between the three of us equally is the best course of action so we did just that. Working as an adventurer certainly is worth the risks.
Luke and Melania decided that we should eat a late lunch together at a nearby reastaurant before heading our separate ways, so we went there in a merry mood. Even though I couldn't taste the food and drinks, I still felt happy. In the middle of the meal, I excused myself to go to the bathroom but actually I went outside to inform someone that Luke is home, after that, I went back inside. After lunch was over, it is time to say our goodbyes.
" Well guys, it has been fun having my first quest as a proper adventurer with you guys, I hope we could meet again sometime. ". Melania said.
" It has been fun for me too, Mel. I also hope we can meet up again. ". Luke answered, since when did he call Melania as Mel??
" Wait, you're saying this as if we're gonna be away from each other for a long time, why? ". I asked
" It's because I'll go travelling again soon, I still want to explore the world more. ".
" I see, well in that case then be safe. ".
" Yeah, you and Luke too, be safe. ".
We parted ways, Melania headed towards the inn she stays at, while me and Luke went towards the Draculesti estate.
" Wasn't that fun? ". I asked Luke.
" It was, even though I got shot, it was still a lot of fun. We also got a good amount of money. ". Luke answered.
" About you getting shot, could you please keep quiet about it to Maxim? I'm scared of what would happen if he knew. ".
" What? Why are you scared? Maxim is a nice man. ".
" You don't know the real Maxim. ".
" Who doesn't know the real me? ". A familiar voice suddenly asked from behind. I immediately broke into a cold sweat.
" Hmm? Ah, Maxim! I'm back home! ". Luke said.
OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod it's Maxim.
I slowly turned my body around to face the demon- I mean, Maxim.
" Ah... Ah... I... We're... Back... Maxim... ".
" Yes, welcome back, young master, Evan. ". Maxim said with his usual smile, although his eyes absolutely weren't smiling whatsoever. I'm gonna die in this man's hand.
" Young master, what was that about you getting shot? ".
" Hmm? Oh, that, it was because I was careless and ended up getting myself injured on my thigh, I couldn't walk because of that, but a passing forest security team healed my thigh so it's all good, it doesn't even have a scar. ". Luke explained. Does he want me dead? He wants me dead.
" I see, I'm glad everything turned out okay, young master. Please, board the carriage, I'm sure you are very exhausted. ". Maxim said, pointing towards the carriage that came to pick us up.
" Ok~ay. ". Luke said cheerfully.
" And as for you... ". Maxim then turned his attention towards me. I let out a small "eep" at the pressure he emitted.
" We will have a private meeting once we arrived at the estate to discuss... Everything the young master has been through. ".
And with those words, my fate was sealed. I am a dead man.
I performed my tasks even more dutifully the next day.
====[ Author's Note ]====
poor Evan, lol.
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