Chapter 67: CH. 67 | Lanar Village and Yuraja Mine

Theo walked away from Lizzy’s magic shop. His goal was simple enough: head to the city center, check the kingdom map on the information bulletin board there, and figure out exactly where he needed to go.

Once he arrived, his steps paused for a moment as he stood in front of the fountain statue monument of the Saint Mage.

People often gathered there, tossing coins into the pool for good luck, each one hoping for something from the Saint Mage.

At first, Theo had rejected the whole idea, insisting that a statue couldn’t guarantee anything.

But now, everything felt different. The statue in front of him wasn’t some random figure, it was a likeness of his own mother.

Asking a statue for blessings wasn’t necessarily meaningful, but asking his own mother? Maybe Theo’s prayer would actually be answered a lot faster this time.

Theo pulled out a copper coin and tossed it in, letting it sink into the pool alongside everyone else’s. He tilted his head up, gazing at his mother’s statue face.

I don’t know whether you’re still alive or not, Mother. But I’m asking for your blessing.

I’m about to take on the hardest mission of my life right now. I’m asking for your prayers and protection.

I hope we get to meet again someday, not in the past, but here in the present.

Nothing happened. Theo took a long breath and walked away from the fountain pool. He arrived and stood in front of the city’s information bulletin board.

Looking over the kingdom map posted there, Theo spotted the location of Yuraja Mine. It sat to the west, near the mountains and the sand dune region.

That means I need to head west. Maybe one of the carriage drivers out there knows something about that place.

Once he’d confirmed the location, Theo hurried off alone toward the west to catch a passenger carriage.

From a distance, carriages kept coming and going that afternoon, though quite a few sat idle, waiting to fill up with passengers.

Theo approached one of the carriage drivers and asked about the fare to that location. The man told Theo it would cost around forty copper one way.

"You’re heading to that mine? Come with me. There’s an adventurer party heading there too," another man called out from somewhere else.

"Can you guarantee you’ll be leaving soon?" Theo asked.

"Of course. My carriage is nearly full already, that’s more than enough."

Theo decided to go with him, paying the same fare. He climbed aboard and spotted another group of adventurers already there, sitting together with their party.

The carriage driver kept his word. He spurred his horses forward, leaving the city behind, their final destination Lanar Village, a settlement close to Yuraja Mine.

"Hey, you heading there too?" one of the men asked.

Theo turned and gave a short nod. The man smiled and introduced himself. His name was Zay, a Knight.

He was traveling with four companions, a priest, a mage, an archer, and an assassin. A fully rounded party.

"What material are you after?" one of the women, the mage, asked.

"Claukgard."

"Claukgard? I think I saw that mission posted at the guild. If I remember right, that one’s C-Rank, isn’t it?" the assassin asked.

Theo nodded in confirmation. They looked both surprised and impressed. Zay told Theo that he and his party were only heading there to collect Xiliant material, which didn’t require going into the mine itself, just the surrounding area.

That was exactly why their mission was only rated D-Rank, unlike Theo’s. According to the mage woman’s explanation, in order to get Claukgard, Theo would need to go deep into the mine’s dungeon and search for it there.

Theo thanked them for pointing him in the right direction. All he could do was wish them the best of luck. Zay and his friends did the same for him in return.

They settled in to wait out the rest of the journey. Passengers dropped off one by one at their respective stops, until the carriage finally pulled into Lanar Village.

Zay and his party members stepped out first, with Theo getting off last.

"If you’re heading back, the carriage will come by early in the morning," the carriage driver said.

Theo and Zay’s party both nodded in acknowledgement. They watched the carriage head back east, returning to Aluric City to pick up more passengers.

"What are you going to do, Theo?" Zay asked.

"Not sure," Theo said. "Probably ask the villagers about the mine."

Zay turned and looked at his party members. He and the others parted ways with Theo, needing to get started right away searching for the material they needed. Theo wished them well as they left.

Once they’d walked off some distance, Theo asked Avara to fly ahead and scout the mine’s condition from above. He asked her to keep watch over the area and report back anything she found.

Avara listened without any objection and flew off, leaving Theo behind. Theo walked into the village alone, running into a few villagers along the way, who greeted him warmly.

He decided to stop at a tavern and strike up a conversation there. Once inside, he was surprised to find the place fairly lively, with plenty of villagers relaxing and chatting away.

Theo sat down at the bar counter, ordering a cola, which the bartender set in front of him right away.

"You look like an adventurer."

"I am one, actually," Theo answered. "Do you know anything about Yuraja Mine?"

"Just an old abandoned mine from way back, now it’s turned into a den for goblins and kobolds," the bartender answered.

"Do they ever wander into the village?" Theo asked.

"Sometimes. That’s exactly why we’ve got so many men around here, we need them to fight off those goblins."

"Let me guess, you’re looking for Claukgard, aren’t you?" the bartender asked.

Theo cleared his throat in confirmation. The bartender told him something else, unrelated to Claukgard entirely. Theo listened closely.

"A few girls got kidnapped by them. We can’t go into the mine ourselves, not with our limited numbers," the bartender said. "Try talking to our village chief and ask him about it. I hear they’re offering a reward to any adventurer who can rescue them."

Rescuing kidnapped girls? That’s certainly a noble thing to do, but I’m worried it could end up complicating things for me later.

I should probably just hear out what the village chief has to say first. Maybe he’s got a tempting enough reward on the table for me.

Theo turned to the man and finished off the cola in his glass, setting five copper coins down on the table. "Sure. I’ll go speak with him."