Chapter 29

First of all, the girl that you brought back is Shayna Lonbaltear, from the city-state of Hanza .

Loren didnt know about anything Jack just said .

When he looked at Lapis for more information, she immediately provided him with the information he needed .

The city-state of Hanza is a small state centered around the city of Hanza, which is a three-day trip by carriage to the south of Kauffa . I have never heard of the name Shayna but the house of Lonbaltear is the head of the state .

You really know your stuff, huh?

HeheheYou can praise me more, you know?

Loren ignored Lapis, who was puffing out her chest proudly, and asked Jack to continue . Jack decided to ignore Lapis as well and continued, looking straight at Loren .

Shayna is the head of the states only daughter . Her status isnt too surprisingly high, but that doesnt mean we can treat her crudely either .

Loren agreed that even though the state was small, the daughter of the person who was at the top wasnt someone they could treat roughly .

But helping a small city-state didnt seem like something the guild would benefit from .

He couldnt help but feel like the whole thing seemed strange, and asked something that was on his mind .

I cant understand why we had restrictions put on us, when the only thing we did was bring her here .

Thats easy . They didnt want you telling people . Think about it . A lady from a high-status family was left in the woods all alone . People will gossip and spread rumors all over the place .

Loren wasnt sure how that worked, but decided to agree with what Jack said .

n . o . bles and royalty would often do things that would seem meaningless to the common folk .

Loren believed that it was smarter not to question anything, because if he kept on questioning everything, the conversation would be at a standstill .

Usually when you help a person, theres some amount of rewards that you would receive, but there are two reasons why you guys didnt receive anything . One, no one requested for the search . Two, they werent able to confirm whether the girl is actually Shayna herself .

Its been two days, but they still havent been able to find out?

Jack shrugged at Lapis exasperated tone .

Dont ask me . The guild says that shes most likely who she says she is, but the messenger they sent to Hanza hasnt come back .

Loren thought that something was definitely strange .

Loren and Lapis brought the girl two days ago, and even if the guild sent a messenger to Hanza right after, he would still be on the way to Hanza .

As Loren was wondering why the guild would proclaim that the messenger wasnt coming back, Lapis answered his question .

Its not limited to the adventurers guild, but messengers from large organizations carry a magic item that periodically sends a signal that indicates their location . Its most likely that the signals have disappeared .

Heres what the adventurers guild would think . Its not something they want to prioritize, but they dont want to anger the state either . So, they call out to the iron rank adventurers and have a few parties accompany the girl to the city . It means that a quest for taking her back to Hanza is out .

Jack then added that it wasnt something silver ranks would do, as he took a gulp of his drink .

The girl was high status, but the state didnt have much of a relationship with the guild .

It meant that the rewards werent going to be that good, but they would still have to be considerate of the person they were guarding .

Even if it meant getting a connection to the city-state of Hanza, it wasnt a good quest for high ranked adventurers either way .

Its not as top secret as I thought .

Thats true, but its still about a quest and usually, I wouldnt talk about it . The reason why the guild didnt tell you, is because this isnt something for copper ranks to worry about .

What should we do to b . u . t . t our heads in it then?

As soon as Lapis said those words, Loren and Jack looked at each other .

Jack was exasperated at Lapis and turned towards Loren, and Loren looked towards Jack, knowing that Lapis would say something like that .

Is there a specific reason to why she wants to?

No . Its probably because of curiosity .

Of course, it is . A well-kept girl from a n . o . ble family was left lying alone in the woods, three days away from her city . I cant help but want to know more .

Although Lapis emphasized the fact that it couldnt be helped, Loren had no idea what part of it made it that way .

But there was one thing that he did know, and he told it to Lapis .

They wouldnt bother with us, were just copper ranks .

I was hoping there would be a loophole somewhere .

Theres no way

There is one, you know?

Seriously?

Loren replied weakly to Jack .

Its a special case, though . If you get recommended by a silver rank adventurer, a copper rank can get treated as an iron rank .

Even if that did happen, we didnt receive the quest itself .

But we did .

Loren narrowed his eyes and looked at Jack .

Jack, while trying to figure out what was behind that glare, continued his explanation .

The quest came around to Ritz . If Ritz allowed it, you can squeeze in there with our recommendation .

That sounds wonderful . Id love it if you could

Lorens hand covered Lapis mouth, preventing her from trying to accept the offer .

Though Lapis was about to complain, Loren silenced her with a look, and turned to Jack .

Although Jack had brought it up, Loren understood that recommending someone was easier said than done .

If the ones recommended failed or didnt live up to the expectation in any way, it meant that the reputation of the ones who recommended them would fall as well .

I dont think it would be a problem . Ritz would probably say the same thing .

But still

I wont force you . You can decide if you want to take the quest or not, Im just saying its possible to . But

Jack stopped talking and gazed over Lorens body .

Loren didnt understand what he was trying to say, so Jack told him apologetically .

But you know, Id prefer it if youd get a weapon first .

Jack was there when Lorens weapon broke .

Thats why he knew that Loren didnt have one, and although he had faith in Lorens strength and skill, he was hesitant about recommending someone without a weapon .

Loren then realized that if he couldnt secure one, he might not have to take part in this quest .

He was about to say that he didnt have the money to buy a new weapon, but faltered as he saw Lapis staring at him with half-open eyes .

Uh, butthisis

Come on Lapis . You know what kind of situation Im in, right?

Hey, Jack . Ill do something about my equipment by tomorrow . Can you go ahead and give us the recommendation?

In the end, Loren lost to the pressure of Lapis silence .

Man, youve got nothing on her . Shes walking all over you .

Shut up, I dont need you to remind me .

Well, its you were talking about, so Im sure youll have something ready by tomorrow . Ill go talk to Ritz about this . Well, theres not going to be any silver ranks going on that quest, so youll get in no problem with our recommendation .

Thanks, man . So Lapis .

Hmm?

Since the conversation was going the way she wanted it to, the pressure that Lapis was emitting just a moment ago had vanished without a trace . Loren willed his mind to say the words that he really didnt want to say .

Lend me some money .

Increasing his debt wasnt good at all .

But if he couldnt prepare equipment, he wouldnt be able to take better quests and would have to use his fists to fight instead .

So, he decided to take this opportunity to borrow what money he could to buy equipment .

Equipment? Youre going to buy some?

If I dont, Ill be causing trouble for Jack .

Hmmm

Lapis started thinking for a while and then asked Jack a question .

About the quest . What will the departure time be?

Im not sure about the details, but they have to make sure Shayna is healthy enough to move, so they said in three days at the earliest .

After Lapis heard Jacks reply, she started counting her fingers, seemed to come to a conclusion, then faced Loren .

Im sorry Loren . I can lend you the money no problem, but is it possible that you can wait one day?

WellIm the one borrowing, so if you want me to wait, Ill wait .

Since its equipment, that means you want to buy a weapon like a greatsword, right? If thats the case, I feel like the money that I have right now isnt going to be enough, so Ill go get more money .

Lorens feelings darkened slightly, as he knew that he wouldnt be able to get a weapon like the one he had before to have right away .

It was hard to believe that a weapon of that size and weight would be sold at an ordinary store .

He was planning on finding something similar, but that was going to be difficult as well, so he was going to have to compromise .

Well then, Ive got things to do, so Ill be on my way .

She slowly and smoothly stood up, and quickly walked out of the bar .

After watching her go, Loren decided to leave as well, but Jack stopped him as he was about to stand up, so he sat back down .

Youre not in a hurry, right? Join me for a bit .

Well, I dont mind

Even if he wanted to go look at some equipment, he wasnt sure how much Lapis was going to be able to lend him .

He decided that he had some free time to spend with Jack, and took a gulp from his cup, but almost spewed it all over at Jacks next words .

Weve both got it pretty rough, having fallen in love with odd girls .

How did we get to this topic again?

It was so sudden that Loren couldnt put any emotion into his comment, while Jack was nodding like he understood how Loren felt .

I know I know . I understand . Im getting walked all over by Nim as well, but I guess this is what the weakness called love brings us .

Loren, as he wiped the ale from his mouth, had already guessed their relationship during the first time they were together, but it was kind of awkward coming from Jacks own lips .

But you know, Im starting to think that getting sat on by that thin b . u . t . t of hers isnt that bad .

Hey, if she hears that youll become a beehive on the spot .

Conversations like these were bound to go around one way or another .

He was giving a warning as well as some advice, but the alcohol had already worked up to Jacks head and didnt reach him .

Her touchiness is also part of her charm .

You drunkand youre talking fondly of the girl you love at the same time . What am I supposed to do about this .

Loren decided that he was going to need more alcohol to deal with Jacks drunk behavior, hugging himself and squirming as he kept talking about Nim, and ordered another cup from a pa . s . sing waitress .