Volume 4 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Once my business in the guild was over, I headed towards the restaurant. The moment I entered the room, Luna shook her head as they had been waiting for me before starting dinner.

[Even though I asked you guys to start dinner without me.] (Yuuya)

[It tastes better when Yuuya’s here with us!] (Luna)

[Uhn uhn. What she said.] (Til)

I felt happy after listening to Luna and TIl’s words.

[Hou. Even though they were shaking back and forth constantly crying “I’m hungry!’ for a long while, they behave well in front of you.] (Phil)

[Ugh.. This is this and that is that! They are unrelated!] (Luna)

[Onee-chan, it’s mean of you to expose us like that!] (TIl)

It was unusual for Phil to be poking fun at them as Til would often tease right back. Meanwhile, Selene was looking at the three of them with a warm smile. I went to my seat and ordered quickly before clearing my throat as I planned to talk about the matters in the guild before our food arrived.

[Girls, there are two important matters that I’ll have to report. Firstly, I mentioned earlier that we would be taking the caravan tomorrow to leave the town, however, that plan has been canceled.] (Yuuya)

[If we aren’t riding the caravan setting off tomorrow, does that mean that we’ll be waiting for the next caravan to arrive?] (Selene)

I shook my head

[No, I bought a carriage earlier at the guild. Thanks to the raptor carriage, we’ll be able to leave anytime without relying on the timings of the caravans.] (Yuuya)

[Ahh so you bought a raptor carriage. With this we’ll have plenty of freedom when it comes to traveling.] (Phil)

Phil who had ridden on a raptor carriage in the past had a pleasant expression as it was essential equipment to have when we become expert adventurers. Most higher leveled adventurers didn’t settle for the monsters in dungeons belonging to a single town, but rather memorised the respawning date for specific dungeons and rotating between each dungeon throughout the week. Since every dungeon respawned at different timing, it was much more efficient to travel between towns and hunt in multiple dungeons.

[The second matter is related to the carriage. I decided to accept a special quest as it was an important quest which could potentially damage Flaregard’s economy if left uncompleted. The quest is to retrieve the gem of the Primal Flame. If the gem wasn’t retrieved once every decade, the Primal Flame in Flaregard will die out, making it more difficult for adventurers to acquire powerful equipment while damaging Flaregard’s business.

Phil and Selene who understood the situation gasped at the severity of the quest.

[If that’s the case, then I understand why Yuuya-ojisama decided to accept the quest.] (Selene)

The Primal Flame was a flame which hadn’t stopped burning since it came into existence. If it were to be extinguished, then magical metals which can only be processed here couldn’t be processed. Furthermore, the flame was the reason why the hot springs here had its special properties. Once the flame dies out, Flaregard wouldn’t survive for long. Another important reason was only known to me from the game, which was why I couldn’t afford to let the flame die out. This was the true reason why this quest was an event quest during the game.

[However, the difficulty of this quest is quite steep as the Primal Flame can only be found in a dungeon with a difficulty level of 40. The Temple of the Primal Flame was a dungeon recommended for adventurers level 40 and above and once the door is open, only one party can enter at any point in time. Once entered, we’ll have to retrieve the gem at the very back of the dungeon.] (Yuuya)

This was an important condition as we wouldn’t be able to enter and complete the quest if there were adventurers unable to complete the quest, getting themselves stuck in the dungeon in the progress. It was also troublesome that there would only be one Primal Flame burning inside the dungeon. If the gem were to fall in the wrong hands, the person might demand a higher reward as compared to the quest since the Primal Flame was Flaregard’s lifeline. Once the flame dies out, Flaregard would lose a large amount of its income hence only nominated adventurers recognized by the guild are allowed to attempt the dungeon.

In this situation, we hadn’t accumulated enough achievements to get the guild’s recognition, until we defeated the Coronoa Dragon. The receptionist must have vouched for my character while the guild recognized our feat of defeating the boss without any flame resistant equipment. The guild was most likely searching for another party to clear the dungeon since we would most likely fail considering the dungeon’s difficulty, and if we were to succeed then it would relieve their burden of searching for another party.

[Uhn. It’s a difficult quest. We’ll burn them all!] (Luna)

[We’re close to the level of a first-class adventurer party. We can clear any quest in our way.] (Til)

The two young girls displayed their confidence as I let out a slight smile.

[Now then, enough of work. We have already depleted all our mana, mental and physical strengths, and items during the boss battles. Let’s forget about tomorrow and rest for tonight. It’s a celebration! And tomorrow, we’ll challenge the difficult dungeon!] (Yuuya)

[Uhn.] (Luna)

[Okay.] (Til)

[Understood.] (Phil)

[I’ll do my best.] (Selene)

We held up our drinks for a toast as the celebration began. Although I told them to rest easy tonight, that isn’t the case for me as I’ll have to come up with our measures and tactics for the Temple of the Primal Flame otherwise I wouldn’t be able to properly advise the girls tomorrow. It’s a difficult quest but the rewards are just as rewarding. Monsters that can’t be found anywhere else and items which would be perfect for Luna. This is a perfect chance to get everything I need and I have to seize this opportunity.

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In the middle of the night, we were inside the guest room within the guild premises to avoid exposing ourselves.

Til and Luna were hugging each other in their sleep with a blissful face in contrast to Selene who was sleeping quietly in a composed posture. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of these beautiful girls sleeping peacefully.

I began my preparation for our trip to the Temple of the Primal Flame tomorrow as it was a dungeon recommended for adventurers in their upper level 40s. As compared to the level 30 dungeons we were used to, the monsters and cunningness of the monsters will be turned up a notch. This is why I had to come up with safety measures to ensure their safety.

[Yuuya, you’re putting too much weight on yourself.] (Phil)

Phil walked over with a cup of hot tea.

[That’s how it is. I’m a little afraid to bring those girls to the dungeon tomorrow. I’m starting to regret my decision.] (Yuuya)

[This is unexpected. I didn’t think you were this conscious about tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ll be protecting the girls with my full power as well and with the two of us, nothing bad will happen.] (Phil)

[You’re right. I’m not alone anymore. It was conceited of me to try and do everything alone.] (Yuuya)