Ch.86The Road to the Crusis Mountains (2)

“That must be Waterfall. I think I can already see the mist from the falls.”

“Hooo…”

Waterfall was a small mid-sized city with a population of 200,000.

Of course, calling it a “mid-sized city” might be considered rude, and they’d probably prefer the term “small but mighty city,” but that wasn’t my concern.

“I can see the Adventurers’ Guild and taverns. Looks like they have everything we need.”

“That’s good news for us. Let’s find a decent inn and stop by the guild.”

After three straight days of riding, we desperately needed soft beds.

No matter how good the quality of our tent was, it couldn’t beat the warmth of a house made of wood, brick, iron, and copper.

“Do you think they have giant rats there too…?”

“I imagine they do. Those filthy creatures are everywhere…”

Giant rats were, as she said, harmful vermin found everywhere.

These fat rats, created through mutation after mutation, were extremely filthy and disgusting. Their endless appetite didn’t stop at gnawing through grain sacks—they even targeted humans as food. They were truly a revolting plague for the urban poor.

“But we don’t need to worry about giant rats anymore, do we? We’re not straw-rank anymore. We’d be dealing with goblins or orcs instead.”

“True enough. That’s right.”

The fortunate thing was that hunting giant rats in Waterfall was the job of adventurers weaker than us.

We were now veteran adventurers with skills and equipment, and once Raisha and I awakened our aura, we could raise our rank to metal-grade.

“Come on! Let’s go! We should have lunch in Waterfall today!”

“Lead the way, party leader!”

“Heeyah!”

*

We arrived at Waterfall, and inside its tall, sharp palisades, we could see wide streets, glass greenhouses, and numerous people coming and going from taverns and the Adventurers’ Guild.

“A lively city. I like it.”

Saying that, I searched for a suitable inn with my companions and soon entered a spacious inn with an attached stable.

Inside the stable, more than ten blacksmiths and servants were filing horseshoes and feeding the horses. One of them noticed us arriving on horseback and approached, wiping his dirty face.

“Welcome! How may I help you?”

“Three horses and three people. Do you have room?”

“Of course we do!”

“Good. Let’s all dismount.”

At my words, Raisha and Simon got off their horses, and the servants quickly came to take the reins.

“How much for stabling and feed?”

“For three horses… six silver coins total, please!”

“Hmm.”

I gave six silver coins to the young servant, then opened the door to the inn and went inside.

Inside, there were roughly over 50 people chattering noisily. We found a suitable round table and greeted the approaching staff.

“How may I help you?”

“Lunch menu for three. And we’d like to stay the night.”

“Then how would you like the rooms…?”

“Me and one woman, and one elderly man. So two rooms.”

“Understood. Lunch for three and two rooms… That’ll be 90 copper coins total.”

I handed over one silver coin.

“Keep the change as a tip.”

“Thank you! Your food will be out shortly, please wait!”

The staff member left with a bright smile and the silver coin. Soon after, three cold lagers arrived first to wet our throats.

After downing the lagers, we began discussing our plans.

“Personally, I’d like to earn at least one gold coin here.”

“Isn’t one gold coin going to take too long?”

“No… we don’t know what might happen in the Crusis Mountains, so we need plenty of money. What if there’s a landslide and we need rescue? How would we pay the rescue fee?”

When I said that, Simon’s eyes narrowed.

The Crusis Mountains were one of the world’s 52 scenic wonders, but they were equally dangerous.

“If you say so, I’ll follow your lead.”

I turned to Raisha.

“I’ll follow your decision.”

As she said this, she lifted my arm and pressed her lips to the back of my hand.

“Good. Then it’s decided. We’ll stay in Waterfall for a while and complete some quests.”

When I said that, everyone nodded.

Soon, delicious food began to fill the table, and we tacitly agreed to head to the Adventurers’ Guild after eating.

*

Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling~

I always thought this jingling sound seemed like the trademark of the Adventurers’ Guild.

“…So what do you think about that quest?”

“Seems good. Let’s leave once we finish maintaining our swords.”

“Alright.”

In the distance, adventurers were drinking beverages in the cafeteria while discussing quests, and as in any guild, party leaders were carefully selecting quests in front of the request board.

I seated my companions in nearby chairs, then approached the request board. Just as I was about to check the posted quests, staff members appeared and began pinning parchments to the board.

“Excuse me! Time for quest updates!”

“Please make way! Quest updates!”

Strong male staff members blocked the board crowded with party leaders, while female staff members scurried behind them to fill the sparse board with new quests.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Soon the abundant parchments were arranged in rows, and the staff quickly cleared the area once their work was done.

“Lucky me.”

I muttered as I approached the board along with other party leaders and carefully examined the densely packed quests.

Rip! Rip!

Other party leaders quickly snatched up promising quests, and I tore off one that caught my eye.

“Hmm.”

The reward was a whopping 2 gold coins.

That amount alone would be enough to avoid lingering in Waterfall any longer.

But the price of 2 gold coins wasn’t set arbitrarily—the quest involved clearing an ancient tomb.

When people hear “ancient tomb,” they might think of tombs built during the Nariakiran Empire period, but those have tremendous technological and historical value, so regardless of the danger, they’d send in the army first and then invite archaeologists for excavation.

While the Nariakiran Empire lasted an incredibly long time, the “ancient” tomb in this quest referred to the period of the 13 Kingdoms… that is, before the empire’s establishment, when the sun and moon did not rise.

Naturally, it would be extremely dangerous, with darkness monsters thriving in the dark underground and armies of corpses possessed by evil spirits blocking our way.

But I took this quest because of what was written in the last line:

[This tomb has been cleared by the Waterfall city government once 5 years ago and once 2 years ago.]

That’s right.

Most dangerous creatures had already been swept away by the army hired by the city government, and after being thoroughly cleared twice, the remaining threats in the tomb weren’t darkness monsters but more common monsters.

Mutated giant rats, massive spiders that could snap humans like taffy.

Monsters like goblins or orcs that often hide in ruins.

“We can definitely handle this.”

Although our small number of members was slightly concerning, it wasn’t much different from a typical dungeon exploration, and since it wasn’t a magical space, escape would be easy, making it safer.

I put the quest document in my pocket and turned back to my companions…

“Huh?”

At that moment, I noticed two elves talking to Raisha and Simon.

Both had longbows on their backs, suggesting they were rangers, and judging by their protruding chests and hips, they appeared to be women.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, you’re here. Yes, this is the party leader of our Iron Walker party.”

Simon pointed at me as he spoke, and the two female elves looked at me.

Their defiant gazes seemed to say, ‘A little runt like you is the party leader? I can’t accept that!’ and I instinctively reached for my dagger.

“You’re the leader of the Iron Walker party?”

“That’s right.”

The first to speak was an elf with a blue hairpin, and she glared at me while flapping her elongated ears up and down.

“I’m Lucia, and this is my sister Casia.”

“I see.”

“We want to join your party, so hurry up and approve it.”

“…”

I quietly observed them.

The typical elven features—pale skin with light-colored hair and irises.

“High elves…”

“First time seeing elves?”

“No.”

While I wasn’t particularly hiding my emotions, I wasn’t this aggressive either.

I suggested we move to another location, and they agreed. We sat in the guild’s cafeteria, and I began to listen to their story.