Chapter 20 – Paladin Reinhardt

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According to the simple map, the distance between Foxtail and the mountain village didn’t seem too far. Of course, it only seemed that way.

Even after running all day, Isolin and I couldn’t reach the mountain village. The tragedy of short legs.

Hoot hoot—!

The night was deep, and as Isolin and I walked side by side, the sound of owls echoed around us. By this time, it would have been wise to set up camp.

If we kept walking like this, a giant monster owl might swoop down unnoticed, snatch us by the shoulders, and carry us off into the sky. In fact, at night, you could often see owls around Foxtail carrying off people or foxes.

(tl: short ppl fear :3)

“Let’s set up camp soon.”

“Okay!”

Isolin and I found a flat spot where monsters wouldn’t spawn and began preparing for the night. We gathered scattered stones and branches to set up a campfire.

Setting up a campfire was straightforward. Using the system integrated into this world, we designated a space with stones and wood. After a while, a campfire would poof into existence.

Lighting the fire was, of course, Isolin’s job. She breathed fire onto the campfire.

Whoosh—!

Camping in this world was relatively safe. Since monsters didn’t stray beyond certain areas, as long as you chose a safe spot, you didn’t have to worry about sudden attacks.

So, camping preparations were just the campfire and sleeping bags.

Meal prep didn’t require assigning roles either. By calling up the cooking system in front of the campfire and selecting a recipe, you could instantly create delicious food.

Of course, the downside was that you had to cook anything not registered in the system manually.

Isolin and I made “grilled bear meat” and enjoyed it together.

After dinner, we lay in our sleeping bags and looked up at the night sky. The clear sky was filled with thousands of dazzling stars. The sight of so many stars, more than I could take in, made my heart race.

This world sometimes showed me scenes I could never see in reality. How could I resent such a beautiful world? I truly loved this place.

“Hey, Supreme. Are you… asleep?”

At Isolin’s voice, I turned my head slightly. The girl with her long pink hair let down was propping her chin on her hand, looking at me.

“Not yet.”

“I have something I’m curious about. Can I ask?”

What could she be so curious about? I mirrored her pose, lying on my side with my chin propped up, and raised the corner of my mouth.

“What are you so curious about?”

“Do you have any plans to start a guild?”

A guild. I had thought about it before. But the cost of founding a guild was prohibitively high, so I hadn’t brought it up yet.

The conditions for founding a guild were as follows:

Be a level 20 player.

And pay 1,000,000 gold.

I didn’t have the gold, and my level wasn’t high enough. Founding a guild was still a distant dream for me.

“I’ve thought about it… but I’m not high enough level, and I don’t have enough gold. It’s not feasible right now.”

“But you’ve thought about it, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let me know when you’re ready to start one. I’ll chip in the gold”

Isolin spoke with a confident expression, as if she had it all figured out. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her.

Isolin and I always hunted together. Since we hunted the same monsters at the same time, our income didn’t differ much.

Isolin probably had around 30,000 gold at most. Excited, she flailed in her sleeping bag and asked me:

“Have you thought of a name for the guild?”

“Hmm…”

Guild names naturally brought to mind things like Requiem, Battle, War, Myth, Legend… common but weighty names. But I didn’t voice this list. Isolin would probably tease me, saying it smelled like ginseng candy.

“Not really. I haven’t thought about it yet.”

“Then how about this?”

It seemed Isolin had a good idea. I nodded and asked:

“What is it?”

“Organic!”

“No.”

Rejected.

We arrived at the mountain village the next morning. The village, home to about 20 households, looked peaceful.

“It’s a nice place.”

“Yeah.”

The cozy log cabins and the large stacks of firewood nearby suggested that the village’s livelihood depended on selling firewood. In fact, you could often see NPCs coming to Foxtail to sell firewood.

“Are you adventurers?”

A boy shorter than the fence greeted us.

“Yeah. We’re adventurers.”

NPCs in this world recognized players as adventurers. Adventurers could travel anywhere, so they were free to enter villages and cities. Of course, causing trouble could get you exiled or thrown in jail.

“Welcome! Did you come to buy our village’s honey wine?”

The boy NPC also accepted Isolin and me without hesitation.

“Honey wine… sounds delicious. Can you tell us where to buy it?”

“You can buy honey wine at Hans’ apiary over there.”

The boy was quite polite. I nodded head and explained our real purpose.

“Hey, kid. Is there an outsider named Reinhardt come to this village recently?”

“Ah, are you talking about the paladin?”

A paladin. Since he was sent by the temple, it must be him. I nodded.

“Yeah. Do you know where he is?”

“He probably went into the forest to catch the honey thief.”

He went to catch a honey thief?

Isolin and I exchanged glances. Searching for someone in an unfamiliar place was a surefire way to get lost. It would be better to wait for Reinhardt to return.

“Thanks for letting us know.”

“Hehe…”

The villagers were generally friendly. They answered our questions and occasionally shared food like berries or steamed potatoes with us.

Paladin Reinhardt returned that evening. Dressed in shining full plate armor and wielding a radiant holy sword, he looked like a hero straight out of a fairy tale.

[Level 80]

[Reinhardt]

Level 80. He was stronger than anything I had encountered so far. I swallowed hard and handed him the bag.

“Hello! I’m Supreme, a trainee priest! I came to deliver something from Alfred!”

“Ah, I was wondering what to do about this. Thank you.”

Reinhardt nodded as he checked the contents of the bag. I looked up at him and asked:

“Um, I heard you borrowed a book from Alfred. Could I have it?”

“Ah, the book with the prayers… Sigh.”

Reinhardt let out a small, troubled sigh. There seemed to be a problem.

“Is something wrong?”

“It was stolen.”

“What? Stolen? Your belongings? By whom?”

Who would dare steal from a paladin? I jumped up and glared at the villagers around us. Their earlier kindness must have been a facade. Maybe the entire village was plotting to steal from Isolin and me.

“Calm down. The thief isn’t a person—it’s a bear.”

“Ah…”

“I was reading the book near the apiary while eating honey. When I stepped away for a moment, the book disappeared along with the honey.”

“How do you know it was a bear?”

“There were footprints and gray fur left behind.”

A bear. A terrifyingly strong monster for its level, but with an 80-level paladin by our side, it shouldn’t be too dangerous.

I had made my decision.

I nodded and said to Reinhardt:

“We’ll help you!”

“Ah, thank you. I was struggling to search this vast forest alone.”

As Reinhardt finished speaking, a message appeared before my eyes.

[Alfred’s Request 1]

Find the honey thief with Reinhardt 0/1

Reward: The Goddess’s Blessing, 3 bottles of delicious honey

The quest had updated, and the rewards had improved.

“It’s late, so we should start the search tomorrow. If you don’t have a place to stay, go see the village chief. He’ll gladly provide lodging.”

With that, Reinhardt headed toward the goddess statue in the center of the village, carrying the bag. He must have been planning to place the medium beneath it.

I crossed my arms and looked at Isolin. She seemed to have something to say too, as she was looking at me.

“Supreme. I want to try that honey wine.”

“Same here.”

We were on the same page. Isolin and I dashed toward the apiary the boy had mentioned.

(tl: those who don’t know, apiary is a place where people keep bees)

Clatter—

Vrslop_translator