Arlo City is a special city with its own government and is not officially tied to any kingdom. The Sword and Sorcery Academy, which had been around for hundreds of years, made Arlo City relatively safer than other cities. So, when it's come to safety, the city guards were not as numerous as those in other cities.
The problem was, at festival times, when people of the four races came and gathered in one place, ordinary city guards were not enough to ensure everyone could enjoy festival time safely. Adventurer guild members had a role to play at that time. Wherever one went, besides the city guards, they could see adventurer guild members wandering around while ensuring safety in the city.
"Thank you very much, Big Brother!"
"Thank you very much, Sir."
Elijah was just one of the many adventurers sent to help the people who had come to enjoy the festival in Arlo City. And his duties from earlier mostly revolved around helping children who were separated from their parents or helping to secure parents from the rush of people that filled the main street. Elijah had never been one to talk easily since the death of his parents. What should have been an easy task was difficult for him. Only with the motivation that he would earn a lot of money after this, Elijah finally continued to do his duty even though he didn't say much and put on a flat face all the time.
"Thank you for your hard work, Young Man. It may not be much, but you can eat this food during your duty."
In Elijah's right hand, there were now sweets skewered like skewers given to him by the old lady he helped to return to her own home. Elijah had tried to refuse anyone's gifts before. However, the old lady was much more stubborn than him, so Elijah had no choice but to take and eat the sweets along the way.
Elijah hated getting lost in a world that wasn't real. But when he saw the happiness displayed on the faces of the people around him, Elijah subconsciously felt that the festival wasn't so bad after all. The place might be crowded and noisy, something Elijah didn't like after his parents' death. But the food was good, and Elijah liked how people seemed genuinely happy to be there.
They say that no matter where they are when the environment they're standing in exudes a positive vibe, the people there will inevitably feel happy too. Elijah may not have been able to smile and enjoy the festival like everyone else. However, without realizing it, Elijah no longer resisted the idea of taking a look around while he was in the middle of a big festival.
"Hey! I didn't expect to meet you in a place like this."
Elijah had not expected that someone would call out to him in the middle of a crowd. Thus, Elijah continued his patrol even as someone spoke to him. Elijah's gaze swept over the crowd on the main street. As long as he was still on a patrol mission, helping others and catching criminals was his primary duty.
"Hello! I called you earlier, Elijah!"
Only when someone tapped Elijah on the shoulder did the teenager finally react by immediately distancing himself from the person who had approached him. At first, Elijah looked wary of whoever had tapped him on the shoulder. However, when Elijah saw a familiar figure, the frown on his forehead slowly disappeared on its own.
"Long time no see, Elijah!"
Standing in front of Elijah was Heidi, the cat girl who introduced him to the adventurer's guild a few months ago. Heidi looked up at Elijah with a wide smile. Although their meeting was just a senior and student candidate at the time, Elijah, who came on foot and managed to win against a talented elven prince, seemed to have left a strong impression on the girl's mind.
"Are you here to enjoy the festival?"
Elijah shook his head. "I'm here as a guild member, working on a mission to patrol around Arlo City," he informed.
When Heidi heard that Elijah was on the same mission as her, the girl's eyes brightened in an instant. Heidi smiled widely as if she had just won the jackpot by meeting Elijah.
"What a coincidence, I'm on the same mission! Although it sucks not being able to directly participate in the festival, the pay for patrolling on the day of the festival is amazing, right?"
Elijah nodded silently, seemingly reluctant to talk too much with others. Heidi sensed that Elijah would be leaving soon. So, before Elijah could make excuses for her, Heidi quickly spoke to the point so that Elijah could hear her.
"Elijah, this may sound a little sudden to you. However, since you happen to be here, how about you help me catch a criminal who's been terrorizing the dance competition winners for the past few years?"
Elijah raised his eyebrows, clearly not understanding why Heidi had to ask him for help from all people. Not to mention, Elijah had never heard of such a criminal before. Elijah was just about to refuse when Heidi pulled out a piece of paper from one of her pockets.
"This is his bounty sheet. There have been many people chasing him for the past two years. But until now, none of them have managed to catch this heinous criminal."
Elijah took the bounty sheet from Heidi and was surprised to see 1000 gold coins in the reward column offered for anyone who could catch him. Such a large reward could be used to buy several middle-class magic books at once. It would be a lie if Elijah didn't feel tempted by the prize. However, before he could say anything, System had first given him a mission notification which was a sign that Elijah should participate in the mission.
DING!
[Side mission: The Forgotten Dance
1. Participate in a dance competition at a festival event.]
Elijah wanted the prize money offered if he managed to catch the criminal. However, asking him to dance in front of many people was too much for Elijah. Elijah felt his head suddenly throbbing violently. It felt like he had gotten the bad luck of meeting Heidi and triggering the system to give him a ridiculous task.
'System, once in a while, I can refuse a mission arranged by you, right?'
In his mind, Elijah started talking to System. Even if the reward was tempting, Elijah didn't want to throw away his pride to catch the criminal.
[Refusing a mission given by System is not possible. System assigns missions to User while considering the benefits that User will feel afterward. To keep the world peaceful before the Demon King rises, System expects User to work hard to increase his level and popularity as a hero.]
'What benefit will I get by dancing in front of everyone?' Elijah said dissatisfiedly. System talked big by saying that every task was arranged for Elijah's own good. Even so, Elijah didn't feel that this mission would be beneficial to his development.
[User's name should be better known in Arlo City after this mission was successfully completed. Then, most importantly, User will get enough money to survive for a few months from the mission reward.]
'You just want me to do whatever you guys arrange for me, don't you?'
Elijah felt System wanted to tell him he had to do the mission for the money rather than the first reason he gave it. Since the System was asking him to become a hero, Elijah wondered if it would be okay for him to become a hero who moved for money like this.
[Exactly. For the sake of perfect success, System expects User to work harder than NPCs living in this world.]