I had just finished dealing with Okabuz's little provocation when Brett walked over to me and said,
"Hey, Karen. Good thing Lina stopped you earlier, or things could've gotten a lot worse."
There might not have been anything serious, but there was still a problem.
I didn't kill Okabuz… but I did humiliate him. Which meant I had humiliated his father, Marquis Brantara, as well. They would probably come looking for me soon.
"I know. I'll handle it. Thanks for worrying about me. We're going to look for a quest."
With that, Lina and I headed toward the quest board, leaving Brett behind still looking worried.
We walked up to the Rainbow-Rank quest board and looked at the single request posted there.
(Slay the ancient dragon, BlackflameDragon, Samidoride. No fixed habitat. Reward: 10 white gold coins and one wish granted by the nation.)
One glance was enough to know I didn't want this job. "No fixed habitat" basically meant the dragon flew wherever it pleased. You'd have to search the entire world just to find it. Might as well wait for it to come to you.
Just then, Sally rushed over holding our ID cards.
"Lina, your titles have been added to your IDs."
"Thank you, Sally."
Lina took the cards, and Sally immediately started chatting with us.
"No problem! Karen, you were so cool earlier—making that bully pee himself! It was hilarious! Hahaha!"
She was still laughing when Dex appeared behind her with a very irritated expression and smacked her on the head.
"Sally. Stop laughing."
"Oww! Da— I mean, guild master!"
She spun around, rubbing her head. Her smile vanished instantly when she saw her father.
"Get back to work. I need to speak with them."
"Okay…"
Head down, Sally walked away. Dex pointed at the lone Rainbow-rank quest.
"Are you planning to take that request?"
I rejected the idea immediately.
"No. It takes too much time. Better to wait for it to come."
"You're not even considering whether you can beat it… your confidence really is something."
Dex sighed, but I didn't feel like arguing.
"Whatever. How much is a white gold coin worth?"
"One white gold coin equals 100 gold coins. But it's extremely rare. Even with 1,000 gold coins you might not be able to buy one. Some nobles have never even seen one."
Even 1,000 gold coins couldn't exchange for a single white gold coin? And this quest offered ten. Just how strong was this dragon?
"How powerful is this ancient dragon?"
"The Blackflame Dragon,Samidoride is an elder dragon that has lived since before the Fatelis Year. It should be over 3,000 years old."
3,000 years!? That thing could probably destroy a whole continent! Why would anyone even try to hunt something like that?!
"What's the reason for the hunt down?"
"Dragons usually won't attack humans. But Samidoride is an exception. It despises humans, and nothing survives wherever it passes."
What a troublesome dragon. Hopefully I'd never run into it. But was that the only reason Dex had come?
"I get it. Guild master, what did you originally come to talk to us about?"
"…Ah, right. I wanted to ask why Okabuz is cleaning the floor."
That was all? Such a tiny issue.
"Because he made a mess."
"That's not what I mean. Why is he cleaning the floor?"
"Because he made it dirty."
"No, no—what I mean is why is he the one doing it?!"
"I just told you. He made a mess, so of course he should clean it."
Repeating myself was getting annoying. What part of this didn't he understand? If you dirty something, you clean it. What's the problem?
Wait… Okabuz is a noble. Nobles scrubbing the guild floor is a problem. Oh.
"Oh! I get what you mean now. But I don't know why."
"?!"
Lina stared at me in shock, and everyone nearby did the same. What? Did I say something strange? I really didn't know why a noble like Okabuz would obediently scrub the floor.
"Karen, did you forget? You told him to do it."
"I remember that. I just don't know why a noble would actually listen."
"Oh… yeah, that's true. Why did he?"
"Who knows. Doesn't matter."
Dex looked like he was about to explode.
"No, no, no! A noble cleaning the Adventurer's Guild—I'm supposed to explain that how!?"
"Just tell them, "Okabuz is now a responsible adult who cleans up after himself." Problem solved. Anyway, we're leaving."
"That explanation won't work!!"
I ignored Dex's shouting and walked away. Time to spend the rest of this day strolling around the capital with Lina.
After several days with no nobles coming to trouble me, the time finally came to visit Kaiden's forge.
I looked at my new sword. Just like before, it had a black sheath and blade—but now the hilt was inlaid with a magic stone. It fit perfectly in my hand, almost as if it had been made for me alone.
Lina's staff had also become even more beautiful, and its handling felt much improved. She was effortlessly spinning it around with one hand, looking quite skilled. As for Kaiden…
"…Um, Mr. Karen… the magic core…"
Kaiden had returned to how he was when we first met—hiding behind the door, only his head sticking out as he spoke to us.
"Is there something wrong with the magic core?" I asked.
"Um… due to my lack of skill… well… the magic core can only use the power of 300 years… Ah! B-but the protective layer will still last 2,000 years."
Only 300 years of usable power. If I use ancient magic with that… wouldn't that mean I could defeat Samidoride?
"It's fine. 300 years is more than enough. Thank you. How much is it in total?"
"11 gold… 40 silver coins."
After paying, I could only say one thing in my heart:
(So damn expensive.)
One gold coin is enough to make me feel pain—let alone eleven.
We hadn't entered the dungeon these past few days, and now that our new weapons were ready, it was time to explore again.
"Lina, let's go."
"Mm."