Chapter 13: Avoiding Unnecessary Trouble, Meeting Nfirea Bale Again
The brown-haired girl seemed to notice Tang Zheng's hesitation, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly as she suggested, "If you register as an adventurer, questions like that are free."
The brown-haired girl looked over with expectant eyes.
Tang Zheng's eyebrow twitched. "Can one person register as an adventurer?"
"Being an adventurer is a dangerous profession. Anyone can register, and there's no explicit rule on the number of people, but for safety, a minimum of two is required."
"Of course, there is no *explicit* rule," the brown-haired girl added softly, lowering her voice as she finished.
"How much does it cost to register as an adventurer?" Tang Zheng asked, his face expressionless.
"One silver coin!" The brown-haired girl raised a finger and wiggled it.
Tang Zheng reached into his pocket as a pretense, took out a silver coin from his toolbox, and placed it on the counter.
The brown-haired girl's eyes lit up. "I'll process it for you right away," she said quickly.
"No, it's for the question that costs five copper coins," Tang Zheng said, pressing his hand on the silver coin, his expression unchanged.
He only had two gold, six silver, and three copper coins left. He would inevitably need to spend more money upon arriving at the border city of E-Rantel, so he wouldn't waste extra money registering as an adventurer.
He didn't have time to take on quests from the Adventurer's Guild.
The brown-haired girl's expression fell. She pointed disinterestedly toward the nearby wall where various quests were posted and grumbled with a hint of implication, "There's an escort quest to E-Rantel over there. It's such a long distance, yet it only offers the lowest reward for a Gold-rank quest. So stingy."
"It's probably going to be taken by that Silver-rank adventurer team."
"Seeing as you don't know anything, let me give you a reminder: if you want to join them, you'll need the approval of not only the client but also the adventurer team that accepts the quest."
Hearing this, Tang Zheng followed the girl's finger and saw a four-person adventurer team. A flicker of realization crossed his eyes.
It was the same group he had overheard earlier; they were apparently planning to become a Gold-rank adventurer team.
Tang Zheng released his hand from the silver coin and pushed it toward the brown-haired girl.
The brown-haired girl picked up the silver coin, rubbing it lightly with her finger before dropping it into a box beneath the counter. She then fished out eight copper coins and set them on the table.
"Thank you."
Tang Zheng nodded, put the copper coins in his pocket, and turned to leave.
"Th-Thank you?"
The brown-haired girl froze, watching Tang Zheng's retreating back with a complex and strange expression.
Ever since she started working at the Adventurer's Guild, she had never heard anyone thank her. After all, most people who became adventurers were rough types.
Especially a lowly receptionist like herself!
"He seems poor... well, plain, yet he's surprisingly polite," the brown-haired girl murmured to herself.
Now that she thought about it, he was quite handsome. Most importantly, his black hair and dark brown eyes were a rare combination.
Was he an outsider... or from another country?
The brown-haired girl's cheeks flushed slightly.
Tang Zheng walked to a corner of the hall, leaned against the wall, and sighed.
This was more troublesome than he had imagined. Or rather, he had been too naive.
Requiring both parties' consent made it basically impossible.
Since the client had entrusted an adventurer team with their protection, they wouldn't want an outsider joining. And the adventurer team certainly wouldn't want to bring trouble upon themselves.
But traveling to the border city of E-Rantel was necessary.
Whether it was the Touv Great Forest to the north or the Katze Plains to the south, both were good places for leveling. After all, this Otherworld wasn't a Game; Monsters wouldn't just respawn.
If Tang Zheng wanted to raise his level, he had to go where there were large numbers of monsters!
Furthermore, as the border between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire, E-Rantel would be a more convenient place to handle certain matters.
If it was just about safety, the dangers within the Re-Estize Kingdom wouldn't be that high.
Most importantly, Tang Zheng was unfamiliar with the Kingdom's situation. The presence of an adventurer team could help him avoid unnecessary trouble.
Tang Zheng had a lot of information about the Otherworld, but this information was too high-level, leaving him with very little knowledge of the world's basics.
If his power was greater, it would be a different story. But with his current low level, he had to be extra careful to avoid such problems.
Tang Zheng lowered his head in thought.
According to the brown-haired girl, the long journey from the Royal Capital to E-Rantel was considered a Gold-rank quest.
With the money he had, he couldn't afford to hire an adventurer team.
However, there might be a compromise.
E-Rantel was located on the easternmost border of the Kingdom, and between it and the Royal Capital lay a large city, E-Rantel, which was the territory of Marquis Raeven, one of the Kingdom's six most powerful nobles.
If he were to first travel to E-Rantel, and then proceed to E-Rantel, the quest price should be significantly lower.
But this detour would likely waste time, and time was what Tang Zheng lacked most right now!
Suddenly...
"Miss Daya, has anyone taken the quest I posted yesterday?" A familiar voice, tinged with nervousness, came from the reception desk.
"Oh, it's you."
"You've come at just the right time. Your quest was just accepted by a Silver-rank adventurer team. Are you satisfied? If not, we can find another for you," the brown-haired girl's calm voice rang out.
"No need, no need."
"We don't have any special requirements for this," the slightly nervous, familiar voice quickly replied.
Tang Zheng looked up, a little surprised, his gaze turning toward the source of that familiar voice.
Nfirea Bale?
Tang Zheng was startled, not expecting to run into an acquaintance here.
Was the quest to E-Rantel posted by Nfirea Bale?
His grandmother was a magic caster capable of using third-tier magic. Did they still need to hire an adventurer team?
While he was lost in thought, Nfirea Bale had already made contact with the Silver-rank adventurer team. It seemed the quest had been officially accepted.
Seeing this, Tang Zheng considered for a moment, then stood up and walked toward Nfirea Bale.
Meanwhile...
"Then, we'll be in your care for the journey ahead. It might be a bit arduous," Nfirea Bale said softly to the four adventurers before him.
One of the four, who appeared to be the captain, slapped the chest of his black lightweight armor and replied with exceptional cheerfulness, "Rest assured! We've handled quests like this several times. We can absolutely guarantee your safety."
Being naturally introverted, Nfirea Bale's cheeks colored with faint embarrassment. He looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue.
That wasn't what he meant.
"Hello."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
(end of chapter)