Bab 126: Don't quest with strangers, please! part 2
"Hey Ryu! I've been looking for you. Do you want to join our party?"
Shortie walked into Ryu just before he got to the counter to take a quest.
"Hi Shortie, not really, I've been trying to rank up but Ebi won't allow me to take any E rank quests"
"E rank quests? You could join us as support? We're going on a D rank quest!"
"Like someone would agree to party with me, everyone knows about my fight with a goblin. They're even calling me goblin slayer behind my back"
"Don't beat yourself up, everyone has a their ups and downs. Why don't you join us?"
"Who are you working with?"
"I- I'm working with Kinta and Thea, they said I can invite you and your friends"
Shortie fidgetted with his fingers.
"That guy hates my guts, I think I'd rather keep on gathering herbs, thanks"
Seeing Ryu turn back, Shortie quickly moved to cut his path. The contrast between their heights made it look as if a kid was talking to a grown up.
"Fena joined us too, I really think you should come. Come on, inviting you was my idea, it's the least I can do after you paid for my stuff back at the black market shop. Besides I really think you'll be of help"
"If you put it like that..."
As they headed outside Ryu was surprised to see the party leader was nowhere to be found, but Fena and Thea were already waiting for them.
"Shortie, where's Kinta?"
"Oh, he's waiting for us at the west gate"
"But we didn't sign up at the counter"
"Don't worry, Kinta's father works for the guild, he will sign us up. Kinta is excited because they allowed him to be the leader in a D rank quest"
"Mia, Sera, do you think it's a good idea to join them?"
"I don't know if I'll be of any help, but I don't mind going"
Mia replied shyly, Sera simply nodded.
"We probably shouldn't keep Kinta waiting any longer. Let's go!"
Thea said as she turned back to guide the group.
"Is it my idea or Thea is in a good mood?"
Ryu asked Shortie, intrigued by Mia's cheerful attitude. She's always been conceited towards everyone she considers below her, and that includes almost everyone.
"She's been getting really close with Kinta ever since the ant quest, if you know what I mean"
Ryu didn't think much of it and simply followed Thea to the west gate, Kinta was leaning on the wall but as soon as he saw them he walked towards them.
"Hey, why did you allow him to bring his stupid dog?"
The redheaded boy asked Shortie.
"Is that a problem?"
"Tsk! nevermind"
"If it's too much trouble to bring my pets, I think I'd rather stay in here"
"Don't be a jerk, you already said you were coming. This is a difficult quest and we need all the help we can get, even if it's you."
"So, what's the quest objective?"
"We just need to investigate the goblin village, it's a routine quest but I've never been there so I need someone to guide us and I've heard you have some... experience with goblins"
Kinta snickered. Embarrassed, Ryu remained silent most of the way and limited himself to walking in front to lead them through the same pathway they took with Lorenzo.
The rookies were carrying all sorts of gear on them, from spare weapons to cooking pots, as well as heavy bags presumably filled with supplies. With every step they took an annoying sound could be heard, but after a couple hours it became like a battle drum that helped them keep the rythm while walking.
Of all the adventurers in the party, only Ryu was supposed to have experience in the wilderness, but Fena too moved nimbly through the vegetation without leaving so much as a foot track behind her. This didn't go unnoticed by the rest, and it raised some questions about her. They didn't know much about her, she always kept to herself and was shy around people which made it difficult to talk to her. But at least she was always nice to everyone, especially to Ryu after he saved her when she was being cornered by ants.
Despite the fact that Ryu was leading the group, Kinta was the party leader and he called the shots. They rested when he said it was time to rest, and resumed walking whenever he said so. No one really had an issue with that, the only problem was that they were losing daylight and Kinta made too many stops.
Everytime they stopped he made sure to show his affection towards Thea in a very physical way. It got so bad that Sera was starting to lose her patience, she knew how far they were from the spot they camped the last time and if they didn't reach the cabin they made last time they would be forced to sleep in the open.
"Hey, do you think maybe you can stop moving your tongue and start moving your feet again?"
Sera interrupted the couple while they were kissing.
"Oh!? is that the way to speak to your superior? Could it be that maybe you want some of this too?"
He replied, still fondling Thea's chest.
"Fine, 'party leader' can you please focus on the quest?"
She made sure to make air quotes as she said the words 'party leader' which angered Kinta.
"You really don't know the first things about adventurers, do you? It's always a good Idea to remain friendly with the strongest member on your party, or else he may accidentally fail to cover for you when the hit gets real. It's not too late, you can still give me a kiss and I may consider saving your fine ass"
"You talk big game, but..."
"Sera, calm down please, he is the party leader and we should do as he says. He was kind enough to invite us and we should be grateful. perhaps we can take this chance to cook something"
"Yes, mister Ryu"
"See? he gets it. But there's no time for cooking, we lost too much time chatting, now it's time to get on the move again"
The more they walked, the denser the forest became until faint evening sunlight barely reached the grass. Realizing how easy it would be for them to lose their way Ryota started to worry and started blaming Ryu for walking too slow, but he was prepared for something like that and he simply soaked some rags in oil to make torches with sticks he grabbed as he passed by.
By the time they reached the makeshift cabin from last time it was already dark, everyone was tired after being forced to move hurriedly through the forest with dim light. They dropped their bags inside, while Ryu and Sera made a campfire.
"I've never been so tired in my life!"
Mia pouted as she sat on the ground next to her master.
"This is nothing, we had to walk more than a week to get here"
"Wow! really!?"
"Yes, Ironwoods is quite far"
Mia and Sera chatted in front of the fire, Mochi jumped down from the small pushcart and curled up on mia's lap.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but... did you say Ironwoods? Is that a town in the south?"
Fena inquired.
"Yes! have you been there?"
Sera asked in hopes of finding someone to talk about her beloved town, but she was quickly disappointed.
"Not really, but I heard of it. They had it rough. I heard there was an uprising, were you in there when it happened?"
"Of course! I was there along with mister Ryu"
"Why did you come to Celarent?"
"I followed mister Ryu, wherever he goes I'll go"
The crackling of the fire, the smell of cooking on the campfire and the darkness of the night, gave the homey feeling of a night in a country house.
When it was time to turn in for the night Kinta stopped Ryu in his tracks when he tried to get into the cabin.
"I'm sorry, but you got to keep watch tonight"
"Ok! who's turn is it next? I need to know who I should wake up after my shift ends"
"What turns? you'll be keeping watch all night, after all you won't be doing any fighting, at least be helpful in some way"
Kinta said as he pushed him outside with a smirk.
Hadiah
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Power 
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