Returning to the bar, we went inside, and the staff guided us to a staircase leading downstairs. The decor here was much simpler than upstairs, and there were small rooms separated from each other with fairly thick walls.
Could it be so the sound doesn't leak?
When we opened the door to a private room where the team was waiting for us, Petris greeted us in an enthusiastic tone.
"Oh, you have everything ready so quickly, Liria?"
"Yes! I'm still amazed at Isuke's instinct, she didn't hesitate for a second to pick out a super rare book that I didn't even know was in my family's book collection!"
"What? That's wonderful!"
Petris and Liria started talking in a rather excited tone that sounded as if they had won the lottery. I for my part… I still couldn't process everything that was happening today.
What the hell is a rich girl like her doing in a team like this? I don't think she's short of money…
The house he had gone to with Liria was ridiculously large. It could certainly compete with the house of the mayor of this town or that of a nobleman of regular status. They had several servants and a private bookstore.
The book I chose was a blue one with the title: 'I modified the water and the earth to your liking. The ice wizards will hate it' For some reason it was lying at the back of a bookstore, and I was able to take it with me without any problem.
I decided to sit with David and Lya while Petris continued speaking with Liria. The room, though small, still provided space to have various conversations at once.
"Are you nervous?"
David asked me direct while his sister hid behind him. I remained silent for several seconds until I answered in a rather calm tone:
"No. I was just thinking about the best way to decipher this book". I averted my gaze and kept a neutral tone as I leaned back in my chair. "Are you afraid? What exactly is this mission about? Liria wouldn't tell me anything until we were all gathered".
David let out a big laugh.
"Of course I'm scared, Isuke! My blood is boiling! If I had to categorize it, challenged… I couldn't. It's crazy!"
"Why?"
"Have you ever read in those books you book masters keep reading about the sudden appearance of an entire forest? Come on! It entirely changed the appearance and route linking the Farm Kingdom to Astarock".
My mouth dropped open at David's comment. Did a forest appear out of nowhere?
"Does that mean that our mission is to explore it?"
"Yes…" Lya raised her voice a little and joined the conversation. "Several reports made by other scouts indicate that there are monsters and… as my brother is weak… I will protect him".
"Sister, don't you see my muscles? I've been training non-stop to last longer on missions. Don't be like that…"
Lya let out a derisive chuckle at her brother's statement.
"When you can use aura or can block a thousand arrows at once, I will think about it".
"Sister! Don't be like that…"
"Order!" Banging on the table, Petris and Liria had a serious face as they sat down together to start the meeting. "I'll restart everything from the beginning because Isuke is still unaware of our mission. Is everyone in agreement?".
All members nodded in agreement.
"We have to explore and report everything related to the forest that suddenly appeared on the trade route linking the Kingdom of Astarock and the Kingdom of Farm. We don't know if there are monsters, so we have to be careful. Liria told me that her parents received a letter a few hours ago with an update on this matter. So, please…"
Petris stretched out his hand and Liria handed him the letter.
"Isuke".
"Yes?"
"Could you do the honor?"
Wouldn't it have been better to pass the letter directly to me if you were going to do that?
I thought, but nodded so as not to spoil the mood.
Once in my hands, I noticed that it had a golden seal. I decided not to pay much attention to that detail and opened it to check the contents. Then I began to read it, but someone tapped my right shoulder several times.
"Isuke! Say it out loud. Don't leave us in suspense".
David's sister nodded angrily at her brother's statement.
"Oh, right". Clearing my throat, I prepared to read the letter. "Important update. There are monsters, too many of them. Please scout, don't take this message lightly and take several healing potions with you. Don't take the gold, don't grab that damn gold, it's a trap. They have all died, and possibly, I will soon be with them too… for the next scouts, don't be greedy and investigate everything that is going on in this dreadful place. Jeremy out".
Instinctively, I turned the page to see if there were more contents. The way the letter had been written, I could tell from the handwriting that it was written with a great deal of nervousness. Fixing my gaze, on the back of the page were scattered words in which I could make out the following message:
"Visit my wife Maria's bar. In front of the fountain of the Kingdom of…"
There was only one 'A', but it did not fit because of the position in which it was next to the text that the explorer had written.
"He probably meant to write Astarock. I'll make a note of that bar to visit after we finish the mission".
Liria took a small book out of her pocket and began to write down. The way she did all that reminded me a lot of Alexia. Lya intervened by asking her a question.
"But… How are you going to find that bar? There are too many water fountains all over the Kingdom of Astarock. It will be hours before you can find it…"
"It doesn't matter". Liria replied rather indifferently. "So, will we be second or third round? Today's vote will be to decide that".
When it comes to exploring a new site, one to three rounds of exploration are carried out to determine the difficulty of the explored area. Thereafter, groups of knights or mercenaries are responsible for eliminating threats and exploiting the resources of the new area.
Apparently, the letter I read was from that first exploration group. So, after thinking about it for several seconds, a doubt came to my mind.
Why is the explorer classification of the hazard nowhere to be found?
In these cases, a level of difficulty is always noted in the reports written by the explorers, ranging from X to F. If I had to remember all the levels they would be: X, S, A, B, C, D, E and F. Besides that the position of that text and the letter 'A' doesn't quite convince me.
"Hey, Alexia…"
"Did I hear you correctly? You said… Alexia?" Liria furrowed her eyebrows at my words. "Could you repeat that?"
I knew this would happen at some point. The appearance of Liria and Alexia, is fucking similar. They both have waist-length black hair. And while Liria has light blue eyes, while Alexia's are a dark shade of green…
They both have the same skin tone! They look like twins, even if only by a few centimeters… Alexia is taller! Oh, true, there's also the factor with one having cat ears and a cat tail, but, still… Their faces are very similar! Are they really not twins?
Debating in my head how similar the two looked, Petris threw me a lifeline.
"Liria! Even we get sometimes confused, you know? You and Alexia… let's say, you seem to be very close relatives".
David and Lya nodded several times at their leader's words with a rather serious face.
"Oh? Really? And why do I look like her, and she doesn't look like me? Can you explain that to me?"
David and Lya looked away discreetly. I, for one, tried to return the favor Petris did for me earlier, but he responded with a big smile.
"It's just that you're more of a dwarf".