"This place is way poorer than I thought," Kase muttered under his breath.
"Keep your voice down. We're counting on them for our reward," Colin said, nudging the big oaf beside him with his elbow.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the blinds, splashing across the rough wooden floor.
The bare oak floor was reasonably clean. The entire administration office was sparse, containing little more than a desk, a chair, and a bookshelf. The only thing that really caught the eye was the mounted deer head on the wall.
When they entered, the village chief was still sitting behind his desk, looking over some documents.
This village chief wasn't the stereotypical pot-bellied middle-aged man, but a rather shrewd-looking young man. He wore a woolen coat and was dressed quite respectably.
The Guard Captain stepped forward and reported, "Sir, they've killed the wolf."
Hearing this, the village chief quickly approached them. "Do you have proof?"
Kase took the cue and threw the pelt from his back onto the floor. The heavy, raw hide hit the floorboards with a solid THUD, making the village chief jump.
The Guard Captain beside them cleared his throat twice, breaking the awkward silence.
The village chief knelt down and stroked the snow-white fur. After a long moment, he nodded and stood up.
"Gentlemen, thank you for your contribution. That damned beast has been threatening the trade route for eight or nine days. You've been a great help."
After a moment's hesitation, Colin spoke up. "But I never heard anything about this wolf before we came here."
The village chief was slightly taken aback by his words.
Then, he gave a bitter smile. "Flint Village relies on exporting minerals to trade for food. Thousand Masts City's recent refugee settlement policy has made things difficult for us. Public order, food... the problems seem to be endless.
"If the trade route were to be disrupted now, the villagers would starve. In the ensuing chaos, the village's security could deteriorate even further. To be honest, we can't handle any more."
Colin sighed.
'As a modern man who's been through the baptism of short-form videos, I could have figured that much out,' Colin thought. 'I just wanted an explanation.'
The village chief rubbed his hands together nervously. "How about this? You leave the pelt here, and I'll have a tanner make it into a taxidermy mount. We'll put your names on it and display it in the hall."
Kase bellowed, "What about the money? Are you trying to take it for free?"
"As I just said, we're currently a bit..." The village chief coughed twice. "As compensation, you can go to the armory and pick out two sets of Armor. I believe those might be more useful to you than money."
"Cut the crap, you..."
Colin quickly nudged Kase's arm and whispered, "A single piece of Leather Armor is worth over ten Gold Coins!"
"...you're a pretty good guy after all," Kase said. "Can we go pick them out now?"
"Right now, the armory only has a few pieces of Leather Armor and Cotton Armor left. If you're willing to take those, that would be wonderful," the village chief said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"No problem," Colin nodded.
The Guard Captain at the side immediately left the room, calling for a few Guards to come and carry away the raw hide.
Just as the two were about to leave, the village chief spoke again. "You two must be experts at dealing with wild beasts. According to recent sightings, a giant white bear has arrived in the area..."
Kase cut in, "White Frost?"
"Yes, I believe that is its name," the village chief continued. "Recently, a few Adventurers who went west to gather herbs found refugees who had been eaten by the bear. It's a huge problem for us."
Colin froze at his words. The Winter Wolf attacked by a giant bear, the goblins searching for herbs, and the attacked villagers...
'Could that bear have been prowling around when Kase and I went to gather herbs a few days ago?' he thought. 'If so, we really had a brush with the Death Deity.'
Colin said, "We can't handle that."
"But..."
Colin added, "Also, we found a cave to the west that seemed to have been inhabited by a northern Druid. This wolf appears to have been raised by them. You should be careful."
The string of bad news made the village chief's smile stiffen.
He let out a deep sigh, then said with a smile, "Let me write you a letter of recommendation. You can take it to the Divine Hall in Thousand Masts City and find a Priest to heal your wounds."
"Okay," Colin nodded.
The arrow wound on his back was still aching faintly.
'If I'm injured, I won't be able to work for a while. It would be a huge plus if I could get it healed.'
'Besides, asking a Priest at the Divine Hall to use Divine Power to heal a wound costs a few Gold Coins. This will save us some money.'
After they finished their business, a Guard came to the door and led them downstairs to an armory with a sturdy-looking main door.
The Guard took out a key and opened the door.
Just as the village chief had said, there wasn't any particularly good equipment in the armory. You could tell from the empty weapon and armor racks that most of the good gear had already been taken out for use.
But for Colin and Kase, two guys who had set out on an adventure wearing nothing but linen clothes, any equipment was useful because they had none to begin with.
"Go on in and take a look. Just let me know which ones you want," the Guard said, waiting by the door for their decision.
Kase walked in as if he owned the place.
Colin quickly followed, sizing up the Armor in the armory.
Constantly facing threats from various monsters in the wild, the villages in this world were actually quite martial. Flint Village, at least, used to be goblin territory; now the goblins were confined to the mountains.
However, due to limited resources, they couldn't get their hands on many good weapons.
So, the Armor in the armory consisted mostly of Cotton Armor and Leather Armor. There was almost no iron armor to be seen, or rather, all the iron armor was already being worn by the soldiers.
'It's not like we can go strip a Guard naked right now.'
Colin simply picked out a piece of Armor of Ordinary Level quality from among a few shoddy pieces of leather.
[Leather Armor/Ordinary]
[Defense: 2]
Bringing the Armor to the Guard, he said, "I'll take this one."
"That's not enough," the Guard said, striding into the armory.
Just as Colin was wondering if the guy was going to go back on his word, he returned and handed over a piece of Cotton Armor.
[Cotton Armor/Ordinary]
[Defense: 1]
"You have to wear Cotton Armor under this type of Armor, or it'll chafe your skin. Besides, the Cotton Armor itself offers some protection."
'There are so many rules to this?'
Listening to the Guard, Colin blankly hugged the two pieces of Armor.
'In most games, you just equip a piece of Armor and that's it,' he thought. 'I never considered this kind of issue before.'
'And these two together are worth twenty Gold Coins!'
Kase, seeing this, followed his lead and also took a piece of Cotton Armor and a piece of Leather Armor.
Once the Guard had registered the items and helped them bundle the Armor, the two left the hall.
Outside the door, a crowd of onlookers was still gathered.
Kase bared his teeth at them, drawing a chorus of gasps. The Half-Orc went back to enjoying the adoring gazes of the crowd.
Colin raised a hand, calling out "excuse me" as he made his way toward the tavern.
Fortunately, most of the onlookers were townspeople. After thanking and cheering for the pair for a while, they dispersed, leaving only a dozen or so idlers trailing behind.
As he walked, Colin scanned the crowd.
He was looking for the middle-aged man who had given them the Weak Antidote before they set out. The man had basically saved his life, and he wanted to at least thank him.
But he didn't spot the man by the time he reached the tavern.
The tavern where the caravan was staying was now packed with people eager to see the commotion. It was standing room only, and most of them were caravan guards and the like.
The moment the two entered, the tavern erupted in a deafening cheer.
"Thanks for taking care of that beast!"
"What'd I tell you? There had to be a reason the chief didn't post a bounty."
"Get outta here! The ones you should be thanking are these two heroes!"
The tavern was a cacophony of noise.
As soon as they came in, Bob and the tavern owner came to greet them. A few caravan guards voluntarily gave up their seats.
"What would you like to eat this time, gentlemen?"
The tavern owner was beaming; these two were a living advertisement for his establishment!
Colin plopped down onto a chair, his aching body finally getting some relief.
"The same as last time. The Treasure Stew."
"And lots of beer! We want the coldest from the cellar!" Kase said, pulling out the Winter Wolf meat from his bag. "And while you're at it, roast this meat for us."
"Are you sure binge eating and drinking is good for us?" Colin asked.
"If you don't eat a lot, how are your wounds supposed to scar over?!" Kase retorted, slapping the table in dissatisfaction.
Colin said helplessly, "Fine, get me a mug too."
"Where did you hear that nonsense?" Kase said. "Listen up. Food and beer are miracle cures for helping wounds recover. You ever seen a house being built? The food is the material for building up your body.
"And the drink makes the pain go away and helps you sleep. Every injured Warrior absolutely deserves a mug, because they've earned it..."
Colin strongly suppressed the urge to give him a lesson on modern science and silently waited for the food.
The Treasure Stew that arrived was similar to the one from a few days ago, maybe even a slightly larger portion. The beer, served in horn mugs, was beyond reproach, with an appealing head of white foam.
Kase grabbed his mug and GULP GULP GULP, chugged a large mouthful.
Colin watched him and copied him, taking a big gulp himself.
The beer went down, and a cool sensation immediately washed over him.
It was only then that Colin felt he was truly safe, that he realized the goblins, Wild Wolves, and the Druid were far away and could no longer threaten him.
He let out a long breath. "I finally get why you have a drink after an adventure."
"Don't be in such a hurry. The night is young," Kase chuckled.
Slowly, the atmosphere in the tavern grew heated.
An unknown voice was singing somewhere nearby, and the smell of sausage and stew drifted past his nose. Under the influence of alcohol, everything before his eyes was a mess... or maybe it had been a mess to begin with.
Kase was loudly recounting the last two days' events to the people around them.
While eating, Colin would occasionally chime in to add a few details.
He took a couple of bites of the Winter Wolf meat. It tasted like gamy beef. Even though it was hot, after a few chews, the tip of his tongue began to feel cool. It was nowhere near as good as the tavern's Treasure Stew.
A long time passed in a dizzy, chaotic haze.
When he came to his senses again, Colin found himself sprawled on the tabletop.
He lifted his head and saw a mess of dirty plates and empty mugs.
"Are you the hero I've been hearing about?"
A voice reached his ears, but Colin was so groggy he couldn't tell where it was coming from.
'Probably a drunk... wait, aren't I also a drunk right now? This voice is probably just my imagination.'
"I'm just... an Adventurer trying to make a living."
"Then what do you want?"
Colin mumbled, "To make money, and to live."
"And after you've made enough money?"
"Hmm?" Finding it a struggle to lift his head, Colin remained on the table. "Then I'll go see the corners of this world. See the mountains, *hic*... see the seas, see Hell, go see all the craziest things..."
"Why?"
"*Hic*... Because they're there?" Colin waved his hand dismissively. "S-since I'm alive in a world like this, I have to see it, right? Magic and all that..."
After that, he fell into a deep sleep.