Ch.87The Road to the Crusis Mountains (3)

We sat at an empty table in the cafeteria, and Lucia, seated across from me, excitedly explained their goal to me in a loud voice.

“Our goal is to make a pilgrimage to the 52 Wonders of the World! So far, we’ve been to Faerus Vale, Shahelm, and um… and…”

“Fernheim…”

“Oh right… Fernheim. But it seems like it’s a bit too much for just the two of us.”

As she spoke, she showed me her tunic with signs of repair.

Judging by the long tear, it looked like she had been struck by a spear or sword. Either way, seeing her alive and well meant it hadn’t been a fatal wound.

“I can imagine…”

It was only natural.

Unless you had 20 archers, two archers alone would inevitably struggle.

Even I, with my arrogance from having killed several people, nearly died when I entered that cheese warehouse and faced just three bandits.

I took a sip of my drink and asked them.

“Let’s start with the basics… Our party doesn’t just focus on pilgrimages. Our motto is to accept quests and enjoy adventures along the way. We might take detours or make wasted trips.”

“That’s fine with us! If we just make pilgrimages, it’s no different from tourism! We want to go on ‘adventures’!”

“That’s a good attitude.”

I nodded.

Our views on adventure probably aligned.

Among adventurers who split up for all sorts of reasons, sharing the same values was a significant plus.

“Tell me your rank and class.”

“We’re both Charcoal rank Rangers. Archers, you know.”

“Rangers…”

“Oh, but we can also set and disarm traps. We’ve been in and out of ruins since we were young.”

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t just Scoundrels who could detect and disarm traps.

This wasn’t a board game after all. Skills could be learned by anyone. There were Battlers who wore medium armor and fired crossbows, Rangers who wielded dual blades, and Spell Casters who cast enhancement spells on themselves and crushed enemies’ heads with two-handed maces.

However, they were ultimately outliers, and most people specialized in the skills required by their class.

“…How old are you now?”

“I’m 87! Casia is 63!”

Upon hearing their ages, I let out a small sigh.

No wonder their energy seemed unusually high…

87+63=150, so they were 50 years younger than Seriya.

Elves were immortal beings, so their concept of age differed from humans, and naturally, their standards for adulthood were different too.

Usually, elves like Seriya became adults around 200 years old, were considered in their 30s or 40s at around 1,000 years, and only after exceeding 10,000 years were they treated as elderly. So these two elves, not even 100 years old yet, were equivalent to humans younger than me… about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Young elves (relatively speaking) getting excited easily wasn’t anything new, but dealing with this kind of manic energy already felt exhausting.

“Let me make this clear: I’m the party leader. Quest approvals depend on me, and I decide where we go, how we act, what we buy and sell. Understood?”

“Yes!”

“…”

This really doesn’t seem right…

Well, I’ll travel with them for now, and if it doesn’t work out, I can just expel them… No big deal.

“Alright. Lucia. And Casia. Welcome to the Iron Worker party!”

“Yay!”

“I… I look forward to working with you.”

And thus, a high-damage party consisting of two Battlers, two Rangers, and one Sage was formed.

We’ll make do with potions for healing and evasion for tanking, so no objections!

*

“Hehehe… So we’re exploring an ancient tomb…”

“Let’s check your equipment first. Do you have anything besides longbows?”

“Um… A multipurpose dagger each?”

“…That’s too risky. Follow me.”

If nothing else, I couldn’t tolerate failing an adventure due to inadequate equipment.

I led the party outside to purchase gear for the elf sisters, and after walking for a few minutes, we came across an equipment shop where adventurers emerged gleaming in new gear.

*Clank!*

“Welcome!”

“Four machetes. And two sets of leather armor suitable for these two elves… Also, one chain mail for this ‘curvy’ woman and one cloth armor for the mage. Plus one one-handed mace and one one-handed axe.”

After rattling off my requirements to the shopkeeper, I pulled out one gold coin. The shopkeeper quickly pocketed it and went inside.

“Oh my, I’ve found a big spender today! Get up, you lazy bum!”

“Ugh! What now?!”

“Hurry and bring two sets of leather armor and one cloth armor! I’ll check if we have chain mail in the right size!”

For several minutes, we heard what seemed to be his son getting up, running around, and rummaging through storage, while nearby adventurers gazed enviously at me for casually tossing a gold coin.

Soon, the burly son brought two sets of women’s leather armor to me, and I tossed them to the two elves.

I chose leather armor for the elves because they were accustomed to leather products from living in forests and tending to wild animals. Chain mail for Raisha because her voluptuous figure made plate armor impractical. And cloth armor for Simon since he rarely needed to engage in close combat.

Additionally, I gave each elf two machetes for close combat and as multipurpose tools, an axe for Raisha as an alternative to her halberd, and a mace for Simon who wasn’t familiar with bladed weapons.

For a full ten minutes, they brought out the equipment I requested, and my party members marveled at my generosity as they embraced the gear I handed them.

“Hehe… Is there anything else you need?”

“Large quivers. Two that can hold over 100 arrows each. And if possible, with additional storage compartments for bolts and darts. Fill them with arrows, bolts, and darts, of course.”

“Th-that would…”

“Don’t try to overcharge me. I know all this can be had for one gold coin.”

“O-of course! I’ll bring them right away! Hey! Don’t lie back down! Prepare arrows, bolts, and darts!”

Darts were short projectiles shot using bolts as guide rails.

They were harder to aim than arrows but could deliver more powerful impacts at higher speeds.

About three minutes later, quivers filled with arrows, bolts, and darts were placed in my arms, and I passed them to the two elves.

“What are you waiting for? Go change.”

*

“Wow! I feel like a legendary hero! Captain, you must be rich!”

“Th-thank you. I was saving up to buy equipment like this…”

“I can tolerate many things, but not inadequate equipment. I didn’t give these to you to show off, but so you can fight well. I expect great performance from now on.”

“Leave it to us! We’ll go pew-pew and slash-slash to take them down!”

“Sister… please…”

While the two elves bickered, pulling at each other’s cheeks, Raisha and Simon approached me after changing and arming themselves.

Simon kept fidgeting with the collar of his unfamiliar armor, while Raisha wore her jingling chain mail with an axe strapped to her left hip.

Simon also wore his mace, but disliking it against his legs, he had strapped it horizontally behind his waist.

“My goodness… Even cloth armor is so confining… How do you Battlers manage to run around in even more uncomfortable gear?”

“You get used to anything. Come here, Raisha.”

Raisha fell into my embrace, and I checked the defensive capabilities of her chain mail while touching her soft, curved parts.

Under the chain mail, which gave way under pressure, she wore the cloth armor she already had, and together they would easily withstand arrows or wild slashes.

“This level of armament is sufficient. Now let’s head to the dungeon. It’s only 2 PM, so with luck, we might clear the ancient tomb by the end of today.”

“Um… but we don’t have horses…”

“Raisha’s horse can carry two of you. Raisha can ride with me on my horse.”

Raisha, still in my arms, let out a squeal of delight.

I lifted her with both arms, and she blushed, burying her face in the crook of my neck.

“Ah! Human displays of affection! Always so bold, I love it!”

And behind me, I heard Lucia’s giggling, Casia’s sighing, and the sound of Simon’s mace jingling as he walked toward us.