NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26: First Quest.
(Celia’s POV)
Faith: “Hey, don’t seduce this one, Celia.” She said with a stern tone.
Celia: “I haven’t even met her yet!?” I exclaim.
Faith: “You have far too many wives, so don’t even be nice to her. Otherwise… she’ll fall.” She continued.
Celia: “She sounds pretty young, you know… I prefer women, not girls, Faith.” I reply with a scoff.
Faith: “Uh huh, let’s hope that is the case.” She replied with a knowing tone.
Look, I didn’t take on this quest to seduce a woman! Let alone a young one… Not to mention, but without my domain, I doubt that I will have that high of seductive power at the moment…
Thinking about it, I am so damn good! Though I was talking to Faith in my head, there weren’t any facial expressions shown on my face. This is a fantasy world, after all. I can’t just pretend that I am talking to someone through an earpiece.
Regardless, while chatting with Faith, I made my way through the city, with my destination being that of the person who put up that quest. I didn’t have any hate or disgust toward random groups, but I did hope that the alchemist won’t be too weird…
Knock!
Celia: “…”
Knock, Knock!
Celia: “…”
Faith: “She might be out right now… But try again, anyway.” She urged.
Knock, Knock, Knock!
Marin: “What!?” She exclaimed with a slightly angry tone after opening up the door.
Luckily, the request had the appearance of the requester on it, so I knew that this was Marin. It had her name, too. Anyway, this alchemist’s hair was short, and is a lively, light green color. With her eyes being a similar color.
Celia: “I’m here to help you with your little gathering quest, Miss Marin.” I reply with a smile.
Marin: “Huh?… Even with such a low reward?” She replied with a raised eyebrow.
Celia: “I am not in need of coin, but experience, Miss Marin.” I clarify.
Marin: “Experience, huh? Well, the reward is low, as I am actually broke currently. With the ingredients from the forest that we’ll gather, I will be able to make a lot of potions, which will easily make me a lot of coin. I’ll pay you back later, if you help me now.” She said with her arms crossed.
Celia: “As I said, I’m not in the need of coin. So you can just pay me the reward from the quest, and nothing more. I will not mind in the least.” I repeat with a smile.
Marin: “Really? Adventurers aren’t known to be charitable…” She said with a tone of disbelief.
Celia: “I am getting experience, so it isn’t charity.” I reply with a shrug.
Marin: “…”
The woman wasn’t certain that I was actually telling the truth, even not believing the guild badge that I showed her. I forgot to mention that the receptionist lady also gave me a badge, but it had no rank. Which meant that I wasn’t interested in it at all. Anyway, I had to take her to the guild to make Marin believe my words. Now, we had left the city, and we were on our way to that forest.
Marin: “Shit…” She swore, putting her foot up in the air.
Celia: “What’s wrong?” I ask with a concerned tone.
Marin: “Nothing…” She replied.
Celia: “…”
Marin: “Okay, look. I had tried to do this trip alone, but I was almost instantly chased by those green little rapists. While escaping, I had tripped and fell many times. My feet are still slightly injured…” She admitted with an embarrassed tone.
Celia: “…Marin, being strong isn’t hiding your problems and pain. Instead, it is expressing it to those that have a chance to care. Here, take this. It’ll fix your feet.” I reply with a sigh, taking out a health potion from my bag, and handing it to her.
Marin: “…”
She was cautious about drinking the potion, so I popped it open, and took a swig of it. After that, she finally drank it down in one go. Silly girl… She seems to have major trust issues.
Unfortunately, I have too many wives to accept another one… No, wait. Don’t I have room for another daughter? No… my current daughters will be upset, so I must resist. No, my decision on this matter wasn’t due to the women in my head screaming that I have too many daughters already…
Marin: “Thank you…” She said with a red face, handing me back the empty bottle.
Celia: “Don’t worry about it.” I reply.
You might ask why I am bothering with quests, rather than just hunting alone. There are a few reasons why I am doing this, mind you. For one, it is illegal to hunt most monsters, unless it is in self defense. On top of that, the guild has all the information on hunting spots that I need.
It is illegal, as a means to keep some silly people safe from themselves. Until my level is high enough, I will focus on these easy quests for a while. It keeps me safe, and I don’t have to worry about failing any quest. I don’t particularly care about my reputation in this dimension; you see.
Marin: “Ah…” She said with a long, happy sigh.
Celia: “Happy?” I ask.
Marin: “Very happy, indeed! I had to deal with this pain for two weeks, as I couldn’t afford a healer or even a health potion.” She answered with a smile.
Celia: “Well, I am glad that I could help.” I say with a smile of my own.
The forest isn’t that far away from the city, just about an hour’s walk. That is, if you’re slow. Currently, though I haven’t been to The Emerald Clove, we had been walking for about thirty minutes now. So we should be somewhat close to it by this point. At least, that is what my assumptions are telling me.
Marin: “While in the forest, please leave all the gathering to me.” She said, not stopping her walking.
Celia: “Okay.” I reply.
Marin: “…”
Celia: “What?”
Marin: “No, nothing.” She replied, shaking her head.
Celia: “That’s what you said last time…” I say with a sigh.
Marin: “…”
Red in the face once more, she started walking ahead of me. Cute girl… If only I wasn’t already married, and had so many daughters, and I would think about seducing or adopting Marin… Pushing such thoughts away, I caught up to the young alchemist girl, who was still in the process of being embarrassed. Cute!