The Blossom-Viewing Festival has passed for more than half a month.
The lively scenes of that day are still vivid in memory.
Everyone gathered to drink, admire the blossoms, perform, and play, making it lively even if not all members participated.
The most anticipated event was called the 'Bingo game', which was essentially a lottery draw.
The grand prize was two hospitality coupons at a famous resort in Fiore, while the consolation prize was just a small snack.
Unfortunately, Rhode's luck was mediocre. Even with Warm's help to sneak in an extra entry, he only won a small cake in the end.
And it was Warm who actually won it.
As for the grand prize... it was taken away by that guy Nabu, who even invited Bigda to go on vacation together.
It leaves one... unsure of what to say.
However, what Rhode remembers the most is undoubtedly the giant magical cherry blossom tree that transformed into rainbow colors at night.
Several dozen people who could entrust each other's backs in a battle gathered to appreciate the dreamy scenery, an experience Rhode had never had before.
At that moment, he felt immense peace and happiness.
That day, he didn't focus all his attention on Mira, but rather on the smiles and happiness of every companion.
After the celebration ended, whenever he recalled the rainbow-colored cherry blossom tree, he felt he could see everyone's figure within the dreamy colors.
And today, after more than half a month, while working in a team with Elfman, this memory made Rhode sigh:
"Why is Nabu's luck so good!"
Even though he was dressed like a chieftain, he drew the prize like a lucky king—was this reverse psychology?
Elfman looked at him: "You're still hung up on that, huh?"
"Of course, it's a three-day, two-night hospitality coupon to the Akane Resort, don't you want it?"
"Of course I want it, but a man can't control his luck." Elfman regretfully said, "I was going to give it to my sister if I won."
Rhode empathized with him: "Me too, sigh..."
"Sigh... Manly!" Elfman suddenly wanted to hit him again.
Rhode chose to change the topic: "Let's not dwell on it. Let me tell you the details. Do you remember the mission content?"
Elfman said: "Help a clan chief find their runaway children, right? And also protect their village for a while."
"To be precise, those siblings didn't run away; they acted on their own." Rhode carefully explained the task, "The village is called Monotropa, and it's a tribal community where the village chief is the clan chief."
"Fiore Kingdom's history mentions an ancient tribe, which has been influenced by external cultures in recent years but still retains numerous ancient customs."
"Monotropa has a treasure called 'Tear of Chris', made of gold and gems, passed down from ancient times to the present."
"However, the value of the treasure isn't in the gold and gems themselves, but in a legend—whoever possesses this treasure ensures the village has a good year annually."
"This tale is passed down from generation to generation, and the village holds a grand annual festival that resembles a harvest festival to ask for blessings from ancestors."
"But this year is a bit unusual; the treasure occasionally emits strange lights, and villagers have spotted suspicious characters nearby. So the village chief suspects someone has an eye on the 'Tear of Chris'."
Elfman, with his arms folded, speculated: "Could it be that those siblings went to investigate the suspicious individuals?"
Rhode nodded: "Probably, they likely felt responsible, as the chief's children, to protect the village's treasure, so they wanted to investigate quickly. If someone indeed has ill intentions, they'd capture them swiftly."
"Why is there always this kind of..." Elfman struggled to find the words.
It seemed he and Rhode frequently encountered impulsive offspring on their missions.
Though their intentions are good, their rash actions often cause trouble.
Rhode didn't answer, knowing they encountered this often because those missions were carefully selected by him and his sister.
Yet, these reckless young people indeed were numerous.
Clearly, hiring a Mage would make solving the problem easy, but the client's offspring typically complicate the tasks.
It was no exaggeration to say Rhode, with his cautious methods and decent skills, had saved several times from potential disasters since debuting.
Although such experiences were quite pride-worthy, Rhode still genuinely hoped they would be more thoughtful.
Elfman asked: "What kind of individuals are those siblings? They're not children again, are they?"
The client was likely overly concerned about their children's safety, so they provided detailed information. Rhode even pulled out two photos to show Elfman:
"This time, things are slightly better. The brother's name is Mar, 21 years old; the sister's name is Vina, 18 years old."
"Since their village values martial arts traditionally, the siblings have trained continually from a young age. Despite their youth, they are already the best warriors in the village; they wouldn't have any issues even facing tigers or rhinos."
"If there's any drawback, it's their stubbornly strong wills. The biggest problem might not be finding them, but bringing them back."
Elfman asked: "Since they're so strong, why are we asked to find them specifically?"
Rhode said: "Initially, we were just tasked with investigating who was targeting the Tear of Chris. But yesterday, villagers found bear and wild boar carcasses near the village.
Both were killed instantly, and it wasn't a method usually utilized by the tribespeople for combat. The chief suspected there might be a Mage involved, so they added the task of retrieving the siblings, along with increased rewards."
Elfman struck his right fist to his left palm: "I see, if a Mage wants to steal others' treasures, a man won't let them get away it!"
Rhode advised: "Don't be careless. The fact someone could kill large beasts like bears and boars in a single move means they are dangerous, and we're unclear of their numbers; it might be troublesome."
"Don't worry." Elfman nodded, acknowledging the enemy's danger, but he wasn't afraid, having experienced considerably perilous battles during his missions.
As for the opponents' numbers... wasn't Rhode's mastery of employing summoned beasts his forte?
Before enemies emerge, or even before they appear, Rhode's beasts would already surround them from the sky, ground, and underground.
Every time they teamed up for a battle, if not fast enough, they might not even get a chance to strike.
Though this makes achieving the goals easy, the manly Elfman desires victories that are not solely dependent on Rhode.