Casper was incredibly nauseous. The group had teleported into a deserted alley where the tall buildings that surrounded them provided a relaxing shade. While Kayden and Morgan were still standing strong as if nothing was wrong, he was dry heaving on all fours.
Coughing and spluttering, he stood up and wiped the corners of his mouth. He felt so dizzy that it was as if he could see stars circling his head.
"Huff… This is… Huff… the worst feeling I've ever had in my entire life!"
Kayden gave him a look of sympathy.
Kayden remembered that his first-time teleporting had also reduced him to a similar state, however, after multiple unsettling spatial hops, he slowly but surely got used to the sensation. Now, he merely felt a bit disoriented after each teleportation. When he was younger, his master had told him that there was a difference in dizziness between the person casting the spell and the person coming along for the ride.
"This nausea that you are feeling…" She held her chin as if in deep thought. "it's maybe ten times worse?" She had given him a mischievous smile back then, much like the one she's giving now.
She looked down at the gnome. "You know, normally, people only experience a slight disorienting feeling. Your reaction was way too exaggerated…"
The face of the old gnome's paled while Kayden looked away, trying his best to hold in his laughter. From his time spent with the old gnome, he had discovered that the gnome was incredibly snarky and prideful, anything that would make the gnome look bad would anger him. Thinking of how the gnome was getting his just desserts for beating him in chess earlier, he couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Pfffttt…He-he" A snicker managed to escape from his lips.
"What was that?"
Kayden's face became a mask devoid of any other emotion but calm.
"A sneeze."
He started walking out of the alley to flee the awkward situation, and the other two followed him as they stepped out of the alley and into the light. A busy street unfolded before them with various vendors and stalls set up by the road, attracting customers with a plethora of enticing goods. The sun had largely calmed down by now and the people were no longer sweating like pigs. Looking around, Kayden could spot about a dozen armed individuals, each walking with the confidence unique to adventurers.
Kayden instantly recognized this street and turned northward. Thanks to his height, he was able to casually glance over the crowd and sure enough, the Adventurer's Guild was simply a few blocks away.
"Old man, it seems that this is where we part ways."
Casper looked over to see Kayden staring right back at him. The young man's face had a melancholic expression as if he couldn't bear seeing him go. Kayden intended to get rid of the old gnome before he got any idea of asking for his help with rescuing his daughter. After all, he wasn't keen on revisiting anything related to his past life.
"Both of us have our own lives to go back to. Although it pains me for us to have met for only a short time, I wish you luck in whatever endeavors you take for the rest of your life." He flashed a sad smile and waved his hand as if shooing his away.
"What are you talking about? You promised me that you'll help find my daughter!"
His smile froze. "What? No… no, I didn't."
"WHAT? I can literally replay that scene back for you with my magic!"
"But you rejected my help! Honestly, old man, you can't even pay for my master getting you out! Why should I even help you?" shouted Kayden, his voice a hint of desperation.
"Isn't it natural to help out a fellow in need?"
"Fellow? Since when?"
"Okay, shaddup for a second! We can talk later in the guildhall!" Morgan had to step in between the two before a fight broke out. Seeing that the passersby were giving them weird looks around them, both Kayden and Casper gave a terse nod and began making their way to the guildhall.
***
The trio had managed to get a table to seat at despite the jam-packed interior of the guildhall. It may have sounded like they got lucky, but it didn't have anything to do with luck at all.
"Isn't that an A-ranked adventurer? Wow! I've never seen one before."
"Ah~ She's so beautiful! If only I was half as beautiful as her!"
"Idiot! That's the Raging Alcoholic! Get out of her way!"
"What? Uh, ma'am? Would you like to take our table? We were just about to leave." A man who was sitting at an empty table stood up and offered his place.
Casper was not very familiar with the Adventurer's Guild as the Verdant Throne did not have a branch built there. His limited experience with adventurers was only through stories and hearsays, and there was a mixed reputation of them among the gnomes. Seeing the fear, awe, and respect of the boy's master on so many people's faces forced him to re-evaluate her entirely.
'Someone who can generate this much attention is definitely a big shot around here.'
Kayden was already used to their reactions, although it was noisier than normal. He supposed it was due to the new influx of adventurers that came when the new dungeon was discovered.
As the previous occupant packed up their things and left, they sat down to begin their negotiations.
"Oh wait! Excuse me, may I have a roasted chicken meal and a cup of coke?" Kayden grabbed a waiter that had just passed by. He looked over at his master and the gnome. "Any one of you want anything?"
"Get me some beers…"
"What's a 'coke'?"
"You don't know? It's a traditional sweet drink that dates back to ancient times and originated from this kingdom, I think."
"Then, I'll have the same as you, then."
After finishing their orders, now they could begin their discussion.
Casper began his pitch first.
"I really, really need your help in rescuing my daughter. Boy, you have some information regarding the mark, so that makes you the best clue. And you," He pointed at Morgan. "Girl! You can teleport which should make the job incredibly easy."
Morgan giggled with an unfocused look in her eyes while Kayden frowned.
"Hehe… It's nice to be called a girl again."
Kayden put up his arms. "Now hold up, let me explain some things to you. Firstly, my master can't teleport to places she didn't mark. Secondly, the price to get an A-ranked adventurer to take action is not something you can easily afford."
The old gnome scoffed. "I might be completely broke right now, but I do have money back home. I'm sure I'll be able to scrape enough gold to pay you at the end."
"That's not how it works. The Adventurer's Guild has a law where you have to deposit the quest reward to them before issuing a quest. This is so quest-givers can't scam adventurers into doing things for free."
"You guys can't make it an unofficial deal?"
"No," Kayden immediately shut down that idea. "Besides, a request to rescue slaves usually costs quite a lot, especially since how slavery is legal in many areas. It's hard to differentiate between the illegally kidnapped ones and the ones sold into slavery. Rescuing the ones that were sold is considered stealing, no matter how noble the intentions, you know?"
"Damned humans… In that case, how much would it be?"
"About… no less than 500 gold?"
"What!" Casper jumped out of his seat. "No way!" He turned to Morgan and saw her greedily accepting bottles of beer from the waiter that had just arrived. She noticed the gaze and simply commented,
"What he said."
When the waiter left, the table now held two plates, two sets of cutlery, and a whole bunch of bottles of beer. Casper, who was now depressed at the lack of an easy solution to his problems, took a gulp of the 'coke'.
The cool liquid slid down his throat and quickly burned his tongue. Not in a spicy or hot way, but it still tingled.
"How was it? Apparently, the original recipe was supposed to give you a satisfying burp at the end. Truly a shame that it was lost to time."
"It's fine. A little bit too sweet for my taste, though."
The two began digging into their food. A few minutes into their meal, Casper, who was unwilling to give up, spoke up.
"Boy, would it be cheaper if I hired you instead?"
"Sure! But whether I'll accept it is another question." Kayden liked what he was hearing. Now they were getting somewhere.
"Then, I'll make you an offer you cannot refuse." He sat straight on his chair and spread out his arms like some kind of salesman. "In addition to some gold, I can teach you some illusion magic! I noticed how subpar it was back in the cell, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you!"
"That insult did not help your case but go on."
"I'll get Titania to make a custom outfit for you made out of Silkweed. It's a very comfortable material that is almost as tough as steel and it would serve you well both in and out of combat. I'll have you know, Titania is one of the best weavers in the whole village!"
"I'm listening." Kayden motioned the old gnome to continue.
Casper slammed his small fist onto the table. "Bastard! That still wasn't enough for you?"
"Look, do you want my help or not?"
Casper couldn't find any words to articulate. He was now well aware that the quest he was issuing wasn't an easy one. However, he still found Kayden's lack of shame appalling. After taking several breaths, he gave his final offer.
"Fine… Once my daughter comes of age, I'll… I'll give you her hand in marriage."
"...Never mind, I don't need that. The previous deal was fine."
Casper was speechless once more as Morgan began to howl in laughter.
***
"So, the deal's made?"
They had now finished their late lunch and the table was already cleared out, except for the beer bottles. Casper was now finalizing the deal with Kayden.
"Yup. All's good."
"Great! It's time to go!"
"What?" Kayden let out a gasp of surprise. "Now?"
"If not now, then when? Every second we spend here is another second my daughter's a slave!"
"Calm down!" Kayden attempted to pacify the old gnome. He motioned for the old gnome to sit. "Firstly, do you even have any idea where your daughter is?"
"…No. But the most recent information I obtained was that she was brought here. I was unfortunately captured immediately when I tried to enter the basement of the slave market, so I never got to confirm whether or not she was in there."
"In that case, I think it's better to investigate first before diving deeper. Even before that though," Kayden pointed at his various injuries. They were no longer bleeding but it still stung whenever they came into physical contact. "Give me some time to recover."
Morgan had only just noticed the injuries when Kayden pointed it out. "Oh, Kayden! What happened to you? You still haven't told me how you ended up in the Serpent Dungeons!" Her voice was tinged with concern.
Kayden signaled for her to quiet down with his eyes. He faced the gnome with the most apologetic smile that he could muster.
"How long do you need to recover?" Casper asked with a worried tone, not for the boy's injuries, but for the time he would have to wait before resuming his search for his daughter.
"I don't know. A week?"
"WHA—"
"I'll get Gustav to dig up any info on your daughter." Morgan came up with a suggestion before the gnome blew up again. "Don 'worry... He's a competent knowledge broker. And I can help Kayden recover in a shorter time."
"O-oh. Let's go with that then."
Feeling relieved that the deal was finally going his way, Casper stood up from his seat.
"Goodbye to you people. I need to find my daughter's whereabouts as soon as possible. I assume I would be able to find you here after you've recovered?"
"Yup! See you next time, old man! Don't get caught again!" Kayden waved the old gnome goodbye and finally relaxed into his seat when the gnome left the guildhall.
"Nice save, Master. I wanted some time to go raid the new dungeon. If I were to go later, all the treasures would probably be swept up."
"I figured that's what that was since you don't seem to have any severe injuries. You could probably heal all of that in less than a day with potions."
Morgan then faced Kayden with a mysterious smile.
"Anyway, it's good you're eager to earn money! Normally, I would forbid you from dungeon exploration when you are just recovering from your wounds. Buuut...since you now owe me a large amount of gold, I'll let this one slide."
Kayden had a look of confusion. "What do you mean? Since when did I owe you anything?"
Morgan's smile widened. "Did you think that breaking you out was so easy? I had to spend some money on materials to perform the ritual... That jail had an anti-magic barrier that prevents me from directly teleporting in. Had no choice but to perform a ritual that would help with that."
She poked his forehead with her finger with a little too much force. "Do you know just how much those materials cost?"
"Uh, how much?" Beads of sweat were beginning to roll down the sides of his face.
The smile on her face curved up so much it became a crescent moon. Her bright yellow eyes glittered like gold.
"No less than 500 gold!"