"You can remind me if I've chewed my food less, as I often get lost in thought while eating and swallow without chewing. I have nearly choked to death several times."
"You can also remind me if I forget to sleep at night, as I often forget to sleep when reading books and end up dozing off the next day."
"You guys, it's still daylight. Don't start daydreaming right now." Pannis turned, a twitch at the corner of his mouth as he looked at the two beautiful faces, dropped a sentence, and walked away.
"Although, according to Mr. Pannis, there's no difference between day and night in the cave and we can enter at any time, considering our lifestyle, shall we rest at the camp tonight and start the mission at our best state tomorrow morning? Any objections?" Outside the tavern of the Crying Cave campsite, four people occupied a table, and Catherine began to seek everyone's opinions. However, it was clear that the other three people did not care at all and continued reading, daydreaming, and pouring a large mug of ale into their bellies.
Seeing Pannis downing ale one after another, Catherine frowned slightly, "Mr. Pannis, I suggest you don't drink too much during the mission."
"Is that an order?" Pannis stopped what he was doing.
"No, it's just a suggestion." Catherine muttered in a low voice that everyone could hear, "After all, once you enter the cave, you won't be able to drink any more."
Pannis gave a bitter smile, swaying his mug, "Actually, you don't need to worry, the effect of ale on my body is very small now, and I can't get drunk. Or to say, alcohol itself has little effect on me unless I drink continuously for days and nights, otherwise, it's hard for me to get drunk."
"If you don't get drunk, why do you still want to drink?" Looking at the surprised expressions of Catherine and Pannis, Lina gave Catherine a mysterious and triumphant smile first and then waved the book in her hand to Pannis, "Knight Chronicles, page two hundred and thirty, chapter fifty-eight, as said by Onys."
"Maybe, it will have some effect, right?" Pannis said uncertainly, his eyes scattered in distraction as if he was focusing on the mug, or maybe, looking at the dim sky reflected in the ale. For a while, everyone fell silent.
There were slightly more adventurers in the cave camp than usual tonight, and the ten or so tables were nearly full. A majority of the wanderers here are lower-rank adventurers who don't know the secret of the lower layer of the Crying Cave and can only hunt magical beasts for materials or complete missions in the upper layer. Among these lower-rank novices, occasionally, there would be an upper-rank adventure team of Silver Rank or above. Clearly, these upper-rank adventurers are headed for the lower layer of the cave; while their attire doesn't differ from their ordinary lower-rank counterparts, their demeanor, behavior, and habits stand out among the other upper-rank adventurers like lions hidden amongst sheep.
"Are the four of you also going 'down there'?" The accentuated 'down there' made those who knew the inside story understand the implicit meaning in his words. The four turned their heads towards the source of the voice and saw a female ranger walking slowly from not far away. As she approached, she was about to speak when she recognized Pannis, "Pannis? That's great."
"Do you know me?" Pannis asked in confusion.
"Yes," said the woman, slightly excited, "seven months ago, when our team infiltrated the Mountain Wolf Thieves Camp in Carnes Hills to rescue Baron Stone's successor, we hired you as our archer. I have a vivid memory of your archery."
"Eh," Pannis lowered his head to recall, "I forgot. I never remember unrelated things."
The woman laughed awkwardly, "I'm here today to seek help. Please help me, it is a matter of life and death for my teammates."
"I never help people," said Pannis, his voice as indifferent as ever, "and your teammate's life or death has nothing to do with me."
"Madam," Catherine said smiling, a calming reassurance in her smile, "please take a seat and tell us about the situation."
"I'm Lisa from the Moonlight Adventure Group." The woman casually pulled up a chair and sat down, "And you would be?"
"The Nellie Adventure Team." Catherine responded, "I'm Catherine."
"Are you also a Silver Rank team?" Lisa's eyes brightened and she nervously clenched her fists in anticipation, "The priest and I just managed to escape from the cave this afternoon. We are lucky to have bumped into you or else it would have been hopeless. We entered the cave seven days ago, however, the day before yesterday, we came across a massive upheaval amongst the cave dwellers. After exhausting ourselves to escape them, we were ambushed by two mages. At that point, I had already lost an arm and broken three ribs. Our priest was also out of mana from healing me. Our team leader had no choice but to hold them off alongside our mage, giving the priest and me a chance to escape. We are hoping to hire and entrust you with the rescue mission of our team leader. We are willing to pay two thousand gold coins for the job."
"Perhaps they've already been killed." Pannis said, devoid of sympathy, "Even if they escaped, they won't last long in a place like the second floor of the cave without an explorer. You are the team's explorer, aren't you? Then they definitely are not. Hence, your request is pointless."
"That won't happen." Despite Pannis's ominous words, Lisa urgently explained, "During the ambush, they mentioned they prefer their targets alive. The team leader will certainly be spared."
"Adventurers attacking each other is severely punished by the Guild when discovered, so they are likely not adventurerers. Do you have any clues about them? What is their strength?" Catherine asked meticulously, "Were there only two? Or were there others?"
"I have no idea who the enemy is. The situation was very chaotic when we were attacked and all we know is they were incredibly powerful, possibly Gold Rank. As for accomplices, we did not see any around, so probably not."
Catherine frowned, pondering for a while before replying, "Alright, I agree. But, I can't promise anything; we can only try to search. Moreover, if we do manage to rescue your peers, you'll need to re-issue the mission from the Adventurer Guild."
"No problem at all." Lisa breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you so much. I didn't know what to do without you."
Catherine smiled, accepting Lisa's gratitude. She then said, "Write down the specific characteristics of your team leader, the mage, and the two attackers for us later. Don't worry about going back in there. You have broken your arm and at least three ribs and won't be able to exert force for at least five days. Your priest has also just been through intense combat and needs to rest. You should stay here and recuperate."
"Fine, I will bring the information to you later." Lisa knew when to take the cue and promptly left the room.
"You are too indifferent, Mr. Pannis." Catherine sternly said, "Helping those in need is a knight's virtue. We should not turn a blind eye to others' sufferings. It's against the spirit of a knight."
"I am no knight." Pannis shrugged, "I see no need to help them."
"But I am a knight." Catherine stressed, "And I am also the employer."
Defeated, Pannis lowered his head and quietly grumbled, "As always, you are correct, madam employer."
Catherine chuckled, then further explained, "I, too, have thought it over. But this mission doesn't conflict with ours. Additionally, those two attackers pose a significant threat to us. That's why I've made this decision. We neither need nor have the ability to seek out enemies proactively. However, if the enemy comes to us, we won't shy away from a fight."
Pannis looked at Catherine for a few seconds, then nodded, "Very well, your wish is my command, my lady."