Chapter 34: If Youd Said You Were Short on Money, Id Have Given You This Gift!
Chapter 34: If You’d Said You Were Short on Money, I’d Have Given You This Gift!
“By the way, where did Iresha run off to so early this morning?”
Aurens Town Inn.
Surveying the empty tables and chairs around him, the Hero Oshu scratched his head and voiced his question as he took a seat.
Golden morning sunlight poured through the window, bathing the table in a warm, radiant glow. With the dawn shining in, even the air felt lighter, the mood more pleasant.
Rayne—the party’s warrior and scout—answered with his mouth full, barely pausing in his hearty breakfast. “Maybe she went out for a walk? Eileen, did you see Iresha?”
“Nope~ She hasn’t spoken to me since yesterday, you know,” replied Eileen, the elven archer. She smiled as she set out breakfast for the Hero, her slender form wrapped in supple leather armor, her movements as graceful as ever.
Oshu regarded Eileen for a moment, then let the matter drop. “Forget it. It’s not important. Once we finish eating, I’ll help you with your archery again… Iresha really has been acting out lately.”
He’d known Iresha for more than a decade. Ever since the demon horde overran the Northern Countries—forcing them to flee, losing both home and family before returning to the Empire—she had changed.
She used to be gentle. Now, her personality had taken a sharp turn: impulsive, extreme, more willful than ever. At first, he’d tried to be patient, thinking it was just the pain of losing her home. But lately, her noblewoman’s temper was wearing even on his patience.
She knew full well he was helping Eileen improve her archery, yet she kept insisting on dragging him off to dungeon runs… and not even the lucrative ones!
Sure, a good portion of the party’s funds came from Iresha’s family’s sponsorship. But there was a limit to how much he could indulge her whims.
“And she was acting weird after we got back yesterday.”
Remembering how distracted Iresha had seemed all night, Oshu couldn’t help but feel a pang of curiosity.
Based on what he knew, Iresha should have come back and resumed her usual willful ways. Instead, she’d been quiet—unsettlingly so.
Could something have happened in the dungeon?
But no matter what, Iresha was still a genius mage. The dungeons around here weren’t nearly dangerous enough to threaten her.
Maybe she’d finally realized that storming off in a huff on her own accomplished nothing, and was starting to reflect on her recent behavior.
If that was the case, it might actually be a good thing.
“I know where Iresha is...”
Just then, a familiar, timid voice piped up. A small hand emerged from the folds of a robe, placing a newspaper on the table.
It was the latest adventurer’s bulletin, fresh from the Adventurer’s Guild, full of the morning’s news. But as Oshu’s eyes landed on the front-page headline, his thoughts about Iresha’s self-reflection screeched to a halt.
[Lotai Daily: Goblin Disaster in Pascal Dungeon Resolved Thanks to Mage Iresha and a Passing Adventurer—Interview Scheduled for Today…]
“Iresha was caught up in a goblin disaster!?”
Oshu’s eyes went wide, stunned into silence.
◇
“Miss Iresha of the Hero’s Party, you truly live up to your reputation! How did you come up with the idea to use the Evil God to handle the goblin outbreak?”
“Is it true you slew hundreds of goblins single-handed? Why wasn’t Hero Oshu with you at the time…?”
“Please look this way, Miss Iresha! Our Imperial Capital Daily will make sure your achievements are known across the world!”
Wow… people in this city sure know how to make a scene.
The Adventurer’s Guild hall was packed to bursting, a sea of people jostling for a glimpse of the spectacle. The crowd was so dense it was nearly impossible to move.
At the center, Iresha—flustered and overwhelmed by the barrage of questions—kept casting desperate, pleading glances for help.
From a quiet corner, Lin Wei gave her an encouraging thumbs-up before returning to his tea, lost in thought. Beside him sat the special reward from the Adventurer’s Guild:
A hefty pouch containing five thousand gold coins.
Not a bad haul. That was about what he’d make from five separate dungeon mapping commissions.
Granted, to avoid drawing attention, he’d deliberately shifted most of the credit for resolving the goblin incident onto Iresha. But did the Guild really take him for just some random adventurer?
This wasn’t the sort of reward a key assistant ought to receive—it was more like a consolation prize for “the bystander caught up in the disaster.”
And judging by the lack of anyone coming over to ask if he wanted anything special, it was clear the Guild had no intention of treating him as a major contributor.
“Tch. What a blunder.”
“And where’s the Holy Church? You’d think the Holy See would at least make an appearance.”
Given the goblin outbreak and the involvement of demonic magic, the Holy Church’s indifference seemed rather excessive.
“Hey, country boy, how was my interview performance just now?”
Just then, Iresha approached, a faint trace of perfume trailing behind her. Her tone was almost playful.
“Not bad. Would’ve been perfect if you hadn’t kept signaling me for help,” Lin Wei replied, utterly unfazed.
Granted, he had been the one she’d kept glancing at for support, but having it called out so openly was a little embarrassing.
“Ahem… Well, it can’t be helped. Whenever our party had to face the press before, Oshu and the others always handled it,” Iresha said, twirling a lock of hair around her finger, a little sheepish.
“Besides, I know you’ve been trying your best to stay out of the spotlight, so you pushed all the credit onto me,” Iresha added, settling into the seat beside him. “But making up all those details to satisfy the reporters was actually pretty tough… By the way, is that your reward?”
She eyed the not-so-large pouch with curiosity, clearly puzzled.
“Is that money in there?”
“Yeah. A full five thousand gold coins!” Lin Wei replied, almost grinding his teeth. If it weren’t for the fact that Lotai had been the center of two major incidents lately, drawing too much attention, he’d have snuck into the Guild at night and shown them what happens when you underestimate a ‘nobody’ adventurer.
“That’s it?”
Even though she’d tried to avoid mentioning Lin Wei during the interview, she’d made sure to highlight his importance when reporting to the Guild. Yet, in the end, they’d given him just five thousand gold coins. Iresha’s eyes widened in disbelief—calling this a reward was an insult!
“After all, I’m just a background adventurer,” Lin Wei said with a helpless shrug. “Even with you vouching for me, they probably thought you were just trying to polish my reputation.”
“But it’s not a big deal. Five thousand gold is still something… If I save up enough, I can head deeper into the Empire someday, maybe even buy a decent fief.”
“A fief? You’re planning to buy land!?”
It was the first time Iresha had heard Lin Wei talk about his own ambitions. Moments ago, she’d been ready to storm off and demand justice for him, but now her eyes lit up, curiosity sparkling.
She sat back down, her earlier agitation melting away, as if a long-standing mystery had finally been solved. So this is what he really wants?
“Yeah. I never planned on staying out here in the borderlands forever—just stuck around because the resident vetting period isn’t over yet, so I have to remain in Lotai for now,” Lin Wei explained. “Once I’m a full imperial citizen in a couple of years, I’ll probably look into buying a fief and managing it properly… Of course, that’s only if I can save up enough.”
Land in the Empire’s heartlands was anything but cheap. Even a tiny patch of countryside would cost at least several hundred thousand gold coins.
And there was no inheritance right, either. To secure a lasting noble title, you had to pay even more on top—no small sum by any measure.
“You should have told me about this dream sooner,” Iresha suddenly said, her voice soft with relief as she toyed with a lock of hair, her expression half-chiding, half-amused.
“I was always worried you’d be offended if I tried to repay you with money. But since you want to buy a fief and you haven’t saved enough yet…”
As she spoke, she rummaged through her pockets, then, with a crisp snap, placed something down on the table.
“Then… let me give you these.”
TL Note:
- Holy City: The place where the Pope is located.
- Holy See: The governing body or administration of the Holy City.
- Holy Church: The name of the faction.