Chapter 163

163 Caution with the hot springs temperature, please! part “Can we get an all season pass for the hot springs?”

“I was about to ask the same thing!”

Sera and Risa said in a hurry to get the answer they were looking for, but pretty much everyone had their hands up in the air and they stated what they wanted in a disorderly manner.

“Could we get, like, a lot of money?”

“I want to be a mage”

“I want to live in here!”

The party asked for the possible rewards without even waiting to hear a reply, it was just a constant muttering that resounded in the room.

“About the mission?”

All hands fell and disappointment was the mood of the whole room. The party, because they wanted to know what were the possible rewards and Hana, because she wanted reliable people and now she doubted they would be able to solve the problem.

.....

“Alright folks, let’s get going then”

An excited Risa, eager to start the quest, commanded and started walking, but the rest remained in their positions. It was only after Luke gave the go that everyone, except for Ryu, went outside.

“Miss Hana, I have a question. Why didn’t you go investigate youselves? If you’re as resourceful as you say you are, you must have capable people within your ranks”

“That’s true, we have strong people, but we can’t venture that far into the mountains. Being as wealthy as we are, we can’t simply leave the place alone or we could be raided. So far we’ve never encountered something like this and we weren’t prepared for this situation”

“What do you mean?”

“The kingdom withdrew most of the soldiers from town just a little bit after our hot springs became too hot, maybe the nobles thought that since this place wasn’t useful anymore it wasn’t worth protecting it either”

While Hana kept the same arrogant attitude as before, she looked really sad and frain in Ryu’s eyes. He felt the urge to comfort her somehow but found himself unable to do so, the only thing he could do was to find a solution.

“Alright guys, let’s check our gear!”

Luke shouted with a smile on his face and everyone proceeded to place their gear in front of them. Ryu, who had been living with the goblins and then by himself for so long, wasn’t used to this but he thought it was a great idea so he did as Luke commanded.

Hana remained by the entrance door looking at them with disbelief, and it wasn’t without reason. The same adventurers she deemed unworthy of the task at hand turned out to be better equipped than she initially thought.

Risa had her huge sword in front of her, the red leather cape, knives and a short sword. Since her fighting style depended heavily on speed, wearing armor or carrying too many extra weapons would do nothing but hinder her in battle which is why she only carried small spare weapons strapped into leather strips in her thighs and arms.

Bob had his warhammer and a machete, despite being strong enough to carry as many warhammers as he wanted, it was really bulky and he couldn’t carry many weapons on him, but the machete was an excellent tool to make way through the dense vegetation they sometimes had to cross.

Luke placed his short sword in the ground, some knifes and two daggers he just bought at quarrydew. They were nothing but plain daggers with a comfortable hilt, however, they allowed him to fight using a dual wielding style most fit for a thief like himself.

Anne carried a bow with a quiver and a spear, making it obvious for anyone with a brain that she was an archer and a very skilled at that. Her bow was a regular sized plain bow that looked ordinary, but Hana was able to tell how difficult it would be to draw it. It meant that Anne wasn’t only a dextrous person but a very strong one too.

Sera carried all sorts of spare weapons hanging on a leather backpack and strapped in her body, she was strong enough to carry them but her damage output would be too low which is why she took a supporting role.

Hana was taken aback by the amount, quality and usefulness of the variety of weapons the party showcased in front of her, but when Ryu placed his weapons in front of him she was left dumbfounded.

Most of Ryu’s weapons were crafted with beast parts, there was a short made with a claw, some knives carved out of bone or fangs and an obsidian knife. If it wasn’t for the bastard sword he always carried on its scabbard she would have thought that Ryu was some sort of primitive human that came from a tribe instead of a town.

Everyone oiled their weapons and then, only after checking every piece of weapon, armor, climbing equipment and supply they stood up to set off.

“Wait a second, I’ll come with you”

Hanna said hurriedly.

“Are you sure miss? this isn’t going to be a stroll through town”

Luke sneered.

“I’m a capable adventurer just like yourself, but contrary to you I’m very familiar with this place and I know what kind of beast can be expected to attack”

“That may be so but it’s too dangerous, if something was to happen to you we wouldn’t get our reward”

Risa shrugged, her mind set on getting a free membership to the hot springs.

“Listen, the very fate of our business depends solely on your success. We fed you, provided lodging and even offered to guard your prisoner until you come back, this is the least you can do in return”

The look that everyone directed at Ryu for confirmation was mistaken by Hana, who thought they were worried about not being able to protect two people.

“Don’t be worried, I know for sure I’m stronger than that guy so I’ll be able to take care of myself”

She said as she showed a beautiful zhanmadao with a red and green hilt, it’s beautiful blade reflected the sunlight just like a mirror would proving both its quality and the proper maintenance provided to the blade.

“Fine, but as long as you’re in our party you’ll be in the lowest rank, you’ll have to follow any and every command. Got it?”

Luke asked in all seriousness, but Hana simply nodded as if it was something obvious. Of course she would have to respect the party leader’s commands. She was raised in a wealthy environment, but she had the best teachers and trainers for as long as she could remember. When she became an adventurer, only for show because she had never completed a quest, she was placed immediately at the D rank and she was told that they she would have become a C rank adventurer if she took just a few missions.

Before leaving Ryu inspected the hotsprings with his analyze skill, but there was nothing unusual, they just were at a dangerous temperature and the system didn’t provide any sort of information about the cause.

It was only after half an hour of walking aimlessly throughout the terrain surrounding the hot springs that they realized they had no idea what they were looking for. None of them was an expert on hot springs and they didn’t even know what to expect. Risa, as a C rank instructor, should have been able to help in some way, but she was just an airhead with a particular strong sense of battle.

Still, nothing prevented them to enjoy the beautiful scenery in front of them. The place was somewhat green and there was a healthy amount of trees around, but once every few minutes they came across a spot with unobstructed view that allowed them to see far away into the land.

Cities looked so small it would be easy to miss them and the rivers and lakes looked like glimmering treasures in the distance thanks to the angle of the sun. Up above, the snowy peak rested on the distance, appearing to be closer than it actually was.

Flowers, bushes and ferns of all colors and sizes kept Ryu distracted, but contrary to what others may have thought, he was actually looking for any clue he could find about the reason behind the hot springs decay.

“Don’t you guys think this would be a nice place to rest and grab something to eat?”

Luke asked in what looked like a command in Hana’s eyes. Everyone nodded and both Ryu and Sera started preparing a fireplace to cook something.

Hana, completely accustomed to being served, saw nothing wrong in this arrangement. It was obvious that the weak should be the supports to help the proper adventurers keep their strength. Of course it had nothing to do with that, and more with Ryu’s extraordinary cooking skill and inventive to make new dishes out of whatever he found in the wilderness.

Sera was the only one that knew exactly how to help him without being a nuissance and she was glad to be of any help to him. But after their kiss last night she was feeling awkward around him. She knew she had feelings for him and that kiss was the crystalization of everything she had dreamt about, but now that it became true she was so nervous around him she couldn’t keep herself from shaking.

just when she was peeling a potato, her hand slipped clumsily causing her a deep cut on her thumb.

“Ouch!”