Chapter 123: Idiot

Chapter 123 -122: Idiot

The late autumn chill was growing more pronounced. Compared to his last visit, Copper Nail Lane was much quieter.

After the small incident at the Pulsating Goblin Head, Hesia left much earlier than expected.

First, he returned to Feipu Lane to enjoy a steaming hot lunch. Afterward, he fetched Zoya and Bruce, and they slowly made their way to Copper Nail Lane.

Even so, he was still much earlier than the appointed time.

To his surprise, however, as he approached Rocknock Stone House, he spotted two familiar Land Birds and a tall figure in the distance.

The contrast was stark.

It couldn’t help but remind him of his two encounters with Belte. That guy had been late both times, without fail.

“Captain.”

“WOOF!”

“Galen, Zoya, and Bruce.” Hulk turned, a faint smile on his face. “You’re here so early?”

“So are you.”

Hulk chuckled. “No, I was planning on taking a walk around the area first. But then I remembered my appointment wasn’t with Belte this time, and I didn’t want to keep you waiting, so I rushed over.”

‘It seems Belte’s reputation for being unreliable was already deeply ingrained in the team.’

After taking the bag of Rubies from the Land Bird’s back, the group stepped into the shop.

Unlike his last visit, the shop was empty.

The Dwarf shopkeeper, Locknock, was on his custom-made high stool, his full attention on carving a Gemstone with a set of precision, gear-operated tools.

He was so absorbed that it took him a while to notice Hesia and his companions, and when he did, he jumped with a start.

“Glittering gold! Next time, I’m definitely putting a screaming wind chime on the door!”

“Locknock, long time no see,” Hulk said in his deep voice.

Locknock’s monocled eye hadn’t yet readjusted from the close-up work. He blinked several times before the figures in front of him came into focus.

“Oh! Hulk, it really has been a while.” He then glanced at Hesia. “And the one behind you… ah, I remember now. He sold me a Crystal Core once. So he’s a friend of yours. That explains how he found this place.”

Hulk, however, clapped Galen on the shoulder with a touch of pride. “Haha, young Galen found this place on his own.”

“That’s quite the coincidence then,” Locknock mumbled, rubbing his hands together. He quickly moved on to business. “So, what fine stones have you brought me this time?”

Hulk placed the Rubies from the cloth bag one by one onto the wooden tray lined with dark velvet.

“So many Rubies?” Locknock whistled. “Looks like you cleaned out some poor sod’s nest.”

As he spoke, he picked up a magnifying glass and began inspecting them one by one. “Hmm… thirteen in total. Two are of good quality, beyond the ‘lesser’ category. They’ll fetch a good price after being cut and polished. How about this,” he said, looking up. “I’ll give you twenty Golden Shields each for these two. With the rest included, I can give you sixty Golden Shields total for the lot.”

“Deal.”

…

After selling the Gemstones and finding a random shop to offload the rusty Longsword they’d captured, Hulk weighed the heavy Money Bag in his hand. “With the mission reward, the extra loot from the goblin nest, and what I got out of that gourmand… it comes to 68 Golden Shields and 4 Silver Scales.”

He separated out the shares belonging to Hesia and Zoya and handed them over.

“Captain,” Hesia asked, accepting the Money Bag, “are you going to see Belte and the others now?”

“Let’s go have a look together.”

Hulk then smiled knowingly. “You figured it out?”

“It seemed like it. But my guess is, Belte himself didn’t know about it beforehand.”

“That kid…” Hulk shook his head, his tone a mixture of exasperation and a barely perceptible amusement. “Alright, let’s head over together.”

“WOOF! What are you two talking about? What’s wrong with that henpecked guy now?” Bruce asked, confused.

Hesia patted its head. “You’ll see in a bit.”

Zoya also blinked in confusion, clearly not following their train of thought.

Belte and Laila’s place wasn’t far, and the group soon arrived at their destination.

The man, usually all smiles, was currently squatting alone by the side of the road outside his door, a miserable look on his face.

Hesia walked up to him. “What are you moping about? Get into a fight with Laila?”

“Galen, my friend… what are you all doing here?” Belte raised his head and spoke listlessly. “How did you know that I…”

“Is Laila in the house? We’re going in to see her.”

“Sigh… you guys go on in. I’ll just stay out here for a bit.”

Hesia walked into the room and saw Laila lying in bed. Her complexion looked much better than yesterday, but her expression wasn’t great.

Seeing Hulk and the others enter, she was clearly startled, then sighed helplessly. “That idiot.”

Hulk placed two bags of money on the bedside table. “No one can be an Adventurer forever,” he said in his deep voice. “It’s a good thing to settle down.”

“It seems you figured it out long ago, Captain,” Laila said with a wry smile.

Hulk nodded. “You didn’t tell Belte before you left?”

“I only noticed it myself not long before we set out. We’d already accepted the commission, and I didn’t think it would be a big deal.” Laila’s voice trailed off. “If I had told him, he would have done anything to stop me from going.”

She glanced in the direction of the outdoors. “He pays lip service to listening to me, but look at him now…”

Hesia asked, “So will you two still be staying in Rose Town?”

Laila subconsciously touched her flat stomach, her gaze softening. “Probably not. Maybe we’ll think about it after he—or she—is all grown up.”

Bruce couldn’t see Laila’s gesture, but he heard every word of the conversation, and he was utterly dumbfounded.

“What ‘grown up’?”

Zoya looked even more confused.

Laila looked at them in confusion. “You mean you didn’t all know?”

After a brief explanation…

“WOOF! A little… a little Belte! That usele— that guy is going to be a dad!?”

Zoya, meanwhile, was staring intently at Laila’s stomach, lost in thought.

Bruce’s quick-witted brain rapidly put the pieces together. “So he’s angry now because you didn’t tell him ahead of time?”

“Pay him no mind,” Laila said, preparing to sit up. “I’ve got some good food here…”

But Bruce had already shot out of the room like a gust of wind.

His panicked shouts were heard from outside: “Belte! This is bad! Laila’s stomach hurts!”

Following a frantic patter of footsteps, Belte rushed into the room. “Laila! How are you? Did I upset you? I-I was wrong, I won’t sulk anymore…”

Laila burst out laughing with a “pfft.” She reached out and poked his forehead. “Idiot. I’m fine.”

Belte didn’t seem to process her words at all, still rambling incoherently. “Goddess preserve us… no, it’s probably too cold, I have to go get a thicker fur hide… no, first I need to reinforce the doors and windows, and then the food, we need to prepare nutritious food…”