Chapter 108 - 106: Tacit Understanding

Chapter 108: Chapter 106: Tacit Understanding

SPLASH—SPLASH—!

Ten minutes later.

Outside the cave, the downpour showed no signs of stopping, and the puddles pooling between the rocks grew deeper.

Inside the cave, Lu Wei was utterly bewildered.

Three minutes ago, he was still worried that if the rain didn’t stop, the cave might flood.

But now, Bai Ya had just brought him even more explosive news.

"Seriously? Have you two got nothing better to do?"

"Fine, let’s say you protect them while they gather the Moon Grass. What then?"

"They still have to go back, right? If they run into monsters on the way, won’t they be finished?"

"We thought about that. They can go to the Dome Pillar first..."

Bai Ya shrank back slightly, arguing in a small voice, "With Uncle Theodore and the others there, it’s still very safe."

"Then, whenever Uncle Theodore needs to return to town to transport materials, they can just go back with him."

"..."

’Wow, they even planned for that?’

Lu Wei froze for a moment, thinking he shouldn’t have agreed to let Bai Ya share the soup with those two men in the first place.

Seeing his silence, Bai Ya thought she had a chance and immediately promised:

"We’ll be back soon!"

"We can’t travel in this rain anyway. Instead of just waiting in the cave, there’s no harm in doing a good deed on the side."

"With Furen here, we’ll definitely be fine."

"Besides, I’ve learned Jump Slash now. I can protect myself!"

Tugging on the corner of Lu Wei’s clothes, Bai Ya spoke quickly, her pitiful gaze seeming to say—

’Please! Those two poor fathers can’t be allowed to die in the forest!’

"I give up."

He met her gaze, his face a mask of frustration. Her persistence was wearing him down.

Thinking rationally, it wasn’t like he would actually lose anything from this.

Just as Bai Ya said, they couldn’t leave right now anyway, so it didn’t seem to matter if they helped out while they were idle.

The round trip was less than four miles. Even in the rain, they’d be back in two hours at most.

And even if they were unlucky enough to run into monsters, it would most likely just be some goblins. Furen and Bai Ya should indeed be able to handle them... it could even serve as "combat practice."

There was also the most important point.

If he refused, Bai Ya and Furen might not say anything, but they would definitely be upset.

And that would make the team harder to lead.

’Sigh, being the captain is such a pain.’

’Maybe I should just make Mirana the captain later.’

’Bai Ya and Furen already don’t like her much anyway, and she isn’t afraid of offending people...’

"I’ll go back and talk to them first."

After a moment of thought, Lu Wei sighed under Bai Ya’s excited gaze.

"Sigh... If there are no issues, and you really want to help, then go ahead and help."

...

...

"I see. I think I understand the situation now."

Another ten-odd minutes later, Lu Wei stood before the two men and nodded silently.

He had just finished asking them a few more questions.

Their answers were fine. The logic checked out, and there were no obvious holes in their story.

As for other details, like whether there had actually been a storm at sea recently, he had no way of verifying that.

At least, judging from their expressions and appearance, they really did seem to be just Ordinary dock workers.

"Sorry for all the questions. We have to consider our own safety as well."

After interrogating them like criminals for so long, Lu Wei shook his head apologetically. "I hope you can understand."

"Oh, it’s no problem."

The two men quickly waved their hands, thanking him profusely. "We should be the ones thanking you for being willing to help."

"Mm... Then go."

Lu Wei turned to the eagerly waiting Furen and Bai Ya, reminding them with a resigned tone, "Be careful. If you run into anything you can’t handle, run back here immediately."

"Okay!"

Furen was already bursting with impatience. The moment he heard those two words, he immediately started putting on his Cloak.

Because this scenario perfectly matched his fantasies about adventuring—

Rescuing oppressed slaves, helping the exploited poor, finding a collapsed Elf, saving a city beset by disaster.

In short, classic Heroic deeds.

Although this was just a small matter, it was a huge step on the "path of a Hero," and he couldn’t help but be excited.

Bai Ya felt much the same, though her motives were a bit simpler than his.

Bai Ya had no grand ambition to become a Hero; she simply wanted to help these two pitiful men and prevent their children from losing their fathers.

And it was precisely this that made Lu Wei feel so helpless against her pleas.

After all, he could be an asshole, but he couldn’t demand that everyone else be one too.

Since he had transmigrated to the Northern River Valley, a place that believed in the God of Justice, and enjoyed a smooth start thanks to the simple and honest locals, he now had to endure the trouble caused by having "teammates who are too kind."

He wanted his customers to be kind and gullible, yet he wanted his teammates to be selfish and treacherous.

’Maybe I really am asking for too much.’

Shaking his head, Lu Wei said no more, silently watching Furen and Bai Ya put on their Cloaks.

Meanwhile, the two men also finished their preparations to leave—

Two rusty One-handed Swords that a blacksmith probably wouldn’t even buy, plus a backpack for the Moon Grass.

It was indeed a pathetic sight.

"You two..."

Seeing that Lu Wei and Mirana were still sitting down, the two men paused, asking in confusion, "Aren’t you coming?"

"...Oh, the two of them are enough."

Lu Wei’s reply was a little slow, and Furen jumped in to answer for him the next second.

"That’s right, sirs! You can rest assured! A small matter like this doesn’t require our captain’s involvement!"

He puffed out his chest and said confidently, "With the two of us here, there won’t be any problem, even if we do run into monsters!"

"Ah, alright then..."

The two men exchanged a glance and scratched their heads sheepishly. "Then we’ll..."

Furen waved his hand grandly. "Let’s go! We’re off! We’ll lead the way in front, you two follow closely!"

"Okay, okay..."

"..."

Soon, under Lu Wei’s watchful gaze, the four of them left the cave in single file.

At first, he could still hear Furen’s bold proclamations, but after a few seconds, his voice was swallowed by the sound of the downpour.

"You believe them?"

The campfire crackled. Across from him, Mirana, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke.

"There are some minor inconsistencies, but nothing I can definitively say is a problem."

Lu Wei glanced at her. "What about you? What do you think?"

"Same as you."

Mirana shook her head. "But if it were me, I wouldn’t have let them go."

"Then why didn’t you say so earlier?"

"Because you’re the captain now."

"Sigh. If only those two had that kind of awareness."

Lu Wei sighed, asking resignedly, "So, are you going or am I?"

"Either is fine."

Mirana thought for a moment. "But I’d recommend you go. You’re stronger than me. If there really is danger, you’ll have a better handle on it."

"Fine. You stay here and watch our things."

With a purse of his lips, Lu Wei stood up, casually threw on his Cloak, and left the cave without a backward glance.

Throughout the entire process, although he looked reluctant, he never once hesitated or wavered.

It was the same for Mirana.

When she heard Lu Wei ask, "Are you going or am I?" she didn’t show the slightest hint of surprise, as if it was already a given that one of them would follow just in case.

An outsider might have thought they had planned it all out beforehand through Mind Communication.

But in reality, Lu Wei and Mirana hadn’t exchanged a single word the entire time.

From this perspective, compared to Furen and Bai Ya, the more recently arrived Mirana seemed to be the same type of person as him.

Most of the time, their own interests had to come first.

But occasionally, they would make an exception.

In short—

They had a conscience, but not a big one.