Chapter 28: Return

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Return

Old Henry was the town’s hunter, an old bachelor in his early forties. He loved nothing more than spending his afternoons drinking a glass of ale at the tavern before going home to catch up on his sleep in bliss.

Today was, of course, no exception.

With his legs crossed, he leaned back in his chair. He pinched a piece of cheese and popped it into his mouth. After chewing, he washed it down with a gulp of ale.

"Oh... that hits the spot," he breathed out.

"You guys have no idea! With one strike of my sword! SLASH! That goblin was dead!"

Old Henry turned to look.

It was a young man with a flushed, drunken face. Holding a wine glass in one hand and slamming the table hard with the other, he bragged to a few peers beside him.

"All of its companions ran away! Not a single one stayed behind! I chased them for half a mile and cut down three of them! Three!

"Do you know how fast a goblin can run? SWISH! Just like that!"

"Pfft."

Old Henry chuckled disdainfully. A goblin? He could beat two of them with a pitchfork when he was eight! What was there to brag about?

"What do you mean! Are you mocking me, old man?" The young man heard his laughter and stood up in a fit of anger.

Young people these days were truly outrageous. Old Henry narrowed his eyes, preparing to teach him a lesson.

Right at that moment—

BANG!

The tavern doors were forcefully pushed open, and two people walked in.

Leading the way was a tall young man. His short black hair was slightly messed up by the wind, and his face bore the singed marks of Flame. A bit of frost clung to his eyebrows, making him look entirely travel-worn. He carried a tattered backpack and hauled a massive bundle over his shoulder. With two swords fastened at his waist, he swayed as he walked.

Following behind him was a... Dwarf? He looked exceptionally burly, with a Long-Handled Warhammer strapped horizontally across his backpack, bundled together with two Short Spears.

Both of their clothes were thoroughly shredded and gave off a faint, strange stench.

"Hahahaha! What are you two doing here, fleeing from a disaster?" the drunk young man pointed at them and laughed.

Old Henry pursed his lips and lowered his head, cursing inwardly, "What a fool."

In his forty-odd years of life, he had only seen this kind of getup on one type of person: Adventurers. And they had to be Veteran Adventurers with Professional Levels to reap such a massive haul from a single mission. Couldn’t that idiot use his brain and think? How could an ordinary person carry so much stuff!

He only hoped he wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.

BAM!

Another crisp thud made Old Henry shudder in fright.

The Adventurer from the doorway had instantly appeared in front of the young man, slamming his head firmly onto the tabletop.

"Don’t seek death," he said coldly.

"I’m... I’m sorry, my lord... I didn’t mean to... offend you, please..." The young man was so scared he wet his pants.

"A... a Caster?!" Old Henry thought, burying his head into his ale glass.

"Hahaha! Lorin, why are you scaring the little kid!" Hiv walked out of the kitchen carrying a pan of grilled fish and laughed.

Lorin released his grip and said softly, "Get lost."

Without even checking on his companions, the young man scrambled out of the tavern as fast as he could.

"Huh, how did you get your face messed up like this?" Hiv finally noticed the scorch marks on Lorin’s face.

Lorin touched his face. He had cast Light Injury Treatment twice consecutively on his previous wounds, and they were pretty much fully healed by now.

"It’s nothing, just sustained some injuries in battle. Mr. Hiv, you’ve really screwed us over this time!"

He dropped his heavy bundle onto the floor, carefully unbuckled his backpack, and placed it on the bar counter. "Take a look for yourself," he said.

Hiv put down the grilled fish and walked over in total confusion, rummaging through the backpack.

"What is this stuff? So secretive." He looked down. "Holy shit!?"

What was this?! A Kobold egg?

Weren’t they supposed to wipe out a scouting party? Did they follow them and wipe out their entire home?! That wasn’t right either. There was no way the two of them could defeat an entire Kobold tribe.

Could it be...

"It was a Kobold expeditionary outpost, not a scouting party." Lorin plopped himself down at the bar counter and poured a glass of ale for himself and Pip.

"Ah... phew..."

"Do you know what we saw after we went inside?" he said, glancing at Hiv.

Hiv asked cautiously, "What did you see...?"

"A Dragon Shield Guard, and a Scale Mage."

Hiv nearly dropped the backpack onto the table. "What!? Good thing you guys ran fast. It seems I’ll have to request backup. I won’t be able to handle them alone," he said with a headache. He seemingly assumed that the two of them had cleared the perimeter, stolen an egg, and fled.

The patrons in the tavern reacted even more intensely. Some threw down money for their drinks and scurried away, while others began to whisper amongst themselves.

"We are willing to help you, Mr. Hiv!"

The companions of the young man from earlier couldn’t sit still anymore. A young girl stepped forward, seemingly wanting to prove herself.

Lorin glanced at her. The Leather Armor beneath her coat was worn crookedly. Her body was so frail that she probably couldn’t even swing a One-Handed Sword. In all likelihood, she was just some local kid who had sneaked out of her home.

He waved his hand and said, "There’s no need."

The girl’s face instantly flushed red. She said angrily, "Are you looking down on us? Although we aren’t a match for those two, if it’s just holding off some Kobolds..."

"That’s not what I meant," Lorin sighed softly. "Pip, take them out and show them."

"Heh heh, alright."

Pip hopped down from his chair. After rummaging through his backpack for a moment, he pulled out two spherical objects tightly wrapped in sackcloth. As he unwrapped them, a foul stench immediately filled the air. Inside were the severed heads of two Kobolds.

"BLEGH—"

The girl covered her mouth and ran outside.

Hiv stepped forward to take a look and immediately froze in place. Stunned, he said, "T-Th-This... you two took care of all of them?!"

"Yeah, there should be a bounty for these, right?" Lorin nodded, signaling Pip to bring out the remaining ten tail tips.

"An ordinary Kobold is two Silver Coins, the bounty for a Dragon Shield Guard is ten Gold Coins, and a Dogman Scale Sorcerer is fifteen." Hiv choked on his words, his thoughts somewhat disjointed. "But, do you know what this means?!" he said excitedly.

Lorin scratched his head and answered without a second thought, "Uh... it means 26 Gold Coins?"

"It means you’ve saved Shallow Beach Town! You are the great heroes of Shallow Beach Town!" Hiv exclaimed in excitement.

"Huh?"

"Oh! Young man, you have no idea what you’ve done," Hiv sighed emotionally. "So many merchants pass through Shallow Beach Town every day. They transport goods from here and Frost Valley City to various cities, bringing in countless supplies and rations.

"If that expeditionary outpost wasn’t eliminated in time, this place would have faced an endless onslaught of Kobolds."

He smiled bitterly and continued, "This concerned the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people!"

Lorin was shocked beyond measure upon hearing this. He asked, "Such an important place, and you’re the only Official Professional here?!"