Chapter 37: Hidden Quest? (1/2)

Marni Wilf was standing before his convoy. His face was contorted in complete anguish as he gazed upon the starter village.

“Damn it. If I hadn’t received that warning from Silver Chimes to report in, no way I’m going back so early!”

Then, when Marni saw the young lord Angora leading Edward and the other Players to see him off, his expression became somber at once.

He shook Angora’s hand and kept holding on to it, ignoring the latter’s efforts to free himself while saying seriously, “Be rest assured, my lord, I shall submit my resignation on this trip to the guild. I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

“Is, Is that so….”

Angora, who had just recently had his coming-of-age ceremony and would still be a child by Earth standards was aware that he must stay stoic as a superior in any given moment thanks to his noble birth. Still, being clutched by a well-rounded uncle left him very uncomfortable, and he could just flash a smile that did not reach his eyes. “I’ll be waiting.”

On the other hand, the other Players were quite willing in parting, even raising a ruckus behind them, shouting out things like ‘Marni, you just want to play the dungeon!’, ‘Take your time, let us have a shot too!’ or ‘Marni, did you get trashed by a skeleton again?’ and leaving Marni’s eyes twitching.

“Shut up, you lot and your goblin moms! Don’t forget that you’re escorts I hired! One more word and I’ll have you return with me!”

He spat back fiercely, and the Players who were formerly his escort at once pretended to be looking away and jeered no more.

With the presence of the gods in this world, every contract would usually be signed in holy sites such as temples or churches where the divine beings were watching. Therefore, in a certain manner of speaking, this world was better than Earth when it comes to the contractual spirit.

In other words, if Marni insisted on having them continue their jobs as his escorts, they would have to go along no matter how reluctant they were.

After all, Edward’s party had just accomplished the first phase of the ‘Outskirts—Valley of the Tragic Dead’ quest. Having gained a role model, the other Players could not wait to enter the valley as well to have an adventure, earn XP and game coins. Why would they be willing to waste time and escort Marni back to the Silver Chimes guild headquarters?

And Marni himself did not hope that the other Players would return with him.

If it was just him, he would get to hog all XP and loot dropped from any monster or enemy he encountered in his journey. He would have to share if the others came with him, and in the least cost-effective manner… the return trip was already dull in his mind, and it would not do to not have something that he could be entertained with.

Either way, he would be revived in the unnamed town even if he died. Having gotten very used to dropping dead, Marni thought that he had nothing more to fear!

Now, having seen that the other Players could not retort with a single line from him, Marni freed Angora’s hand and prepared to leave town stylishly.

Edward and the others had only intended to see him off. Being comrades who have fought alongside each other for some time, they did share some comradeship.

Then, they saw Marni suddenly pause, his eyes staring into thin air while he mumbled, “Wow! There’s a hidden quest!”

“What’d you say?! Hidden quest?!”

Aside from Angora who had a different System, the other Players were at once excited.

“Wh-wh-what hidden quest? I… ahem, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Marni played dumb as he recovered from his surprise.