A few hours after the incident…
Shaun and Idalia took the eggs to the guild for safekeeping before it gets transported to the Alchemy Guild tomorrow.
Nova and Lucia went to the tavern before them. It wasn't just any tavern that low-class adventurers and peasants frequent. It's the kind of place where even A and S-rank adventurers go to when they're in need of pleasure, rest or a meal. The tavern has a full bar, enough seats to fit 100 people, has its own bathhouse where servant girls can offer a double service to customers, special menus with rare meals, etc…
Point is: Idalia and Shaun would never be able to come to a place like this alone. But since they were tagging along with Nova and Lucia, both high-class adventurers, they could enjoy the luxuries the place has to offer.
Apparently, the two wanted to bring Shaun and Idalia here as a sort of treat since they were able to succeed in completing their quest.
Most adventurers don't do this for the lower ranking members of their party. In fact, they would be annoyed that greenhorns think they deserve to sit at the same table, in the same restaurant no less, as them. The two of them were very much aware that Nova isn't like your typical S-ranker.
That was pretty much an acceptable answer to them as to why he's being so nice to them.
Idalia and Shaun stepped into the tavern that looked more like a luxury hotel for the rich—but filled with adventurers with ludicrously shiny and fancy gear.
The moment they did, they could feel several eyes on them. The two didn't have time to change so their poor equipment stood out to everyone here.
Reproaching turned to hostility. Though no words were exchanged, Idalia as a warrior-in-training, could sense that change.
If they stood in the spotlight any longer, things might get physical. Idalia knows how most of the high-class adventurers treat lower rankers.
"Yoohoo~" Lucia appeared deeper in the tavern from around a corner. She waved at the two to follow her.
Seeing that the two are joining a well-known A-rank adventurer to dinner, the hostility vanished.
"Come on, you two~ Nova is waiting." Lucia pushed them towards the table where Nova was idly reading through a mysterious book with a red cover. He didn't acknowledge them and just concentrated on what he was reading.
Strangely, even though Idalia was able to get a peek over his shoulder as they went to sit, she couldn't make out what the hell she saw despite being confident in her eyesight.
It's like the book moving in fast motion but standing still at the same time, if that makes sense.
Maybe Idalia was just a bit dizzy from all the stress that fight put them through.
In any case, the three sat down at the table, still dressed in their adventurer gear.
You could think wearing your sweaty gear in a fancy tavern like this wouldn't be allowed but the truth is adventurers made this establishment what it is so the owner doesn't mind them coming here straight after doing a quest. It's not like ordinary rich folk dine here unless in the company of an adventurer to discuss business.
Whispers came from all around and the people didn't even hide the fact that they were staring at this table.
It seems Nova's face is known everywhere around here. With Lucia, a famed magician joining him, interest spiked even higher.
Lucia clicked her tongue, "Can't even have a lovey-dovey double date in peace because everyone knows your handsome face and my goddess-like visage."
"This isn't a double date, Miss Lucia." He said without looking up from his book.
"Muu, so mean…"
"What did you order?"
"Well~ I figured we ought to treat our brave juniors to the best cuisine this city has to offer. The name is hard to pronounce but I think it's beef mutton given the meat of the animal they're putting in it."
"…And who is paying for that? I don't have a lot of coin on hand right now."
"Ah, don't worry! The owner will send the bill to the guildhouse. I hear he's very eager to do business with our guild so he wants to even offer a discount!"
"What's the catch?"
"…We probably have to catch something no ordinary adventurer could hope to catch."
"Haa, more things to add to the list of priorities. Is that why you were in the kitchen for so long? To strike up a deal so that you can keep coming back?"
"When big businesses make offers, you don't just ignore it! It can benefit your guildhouse even! Listen to this," Lucia leaned closely and whispered, "They're collaborating with the Magician Guild and testing super food that can heal, buff, allow you to breathe underwater upon consumption, among other crazy things! Imagine if we had potions in the form of meals that can heal you and fill you up! And the owner wants us, Misteltein Guild, to be a part of this. Isn't it convenient how it's right before our big quest?"
'Since when has Miss Lucia acknowledged she's part of the guild? I thought she's just going from party to party as she always has.'
From what Shaun told Idalia about his aunt, after Lucia's old party broke up, she hadn't joined a party yet, only went on quests with different parties each time, not staying for longer than a few weeks. Everyone knows Lucia and how capable she is as a magician so they never refuse her offers. Well, there are some parties motivated by something other than her abilities as an adventurer…
Nova rubbed his chin in thought.
"In the past, when potion vials were more brittle than they are now, adventurers used to throw the contents onto dry bread or anything edible they have on them for long expeditions. Not only does this ruin any type of food they tried, the potions lose their effectiveness when mixed together with food."
"Correction~ Only a healing potion's effects work when thrown in food. It's like mixing medicine in your food basically." Lucia corrected.
"Right, and if they're testing this super food, it means they're trying to make something other than healing potions from working the same way." Nova sounded convinced by the offer, "I'll have Josephine hear if the owner has some time for a meeting. I want to hear the full details of this experiment they're conducting."
"Great to hear, hehehe."
While Lucia was salivating at the other food on the menu she was reading through, Idalia noticed that Shaun was looking at the book Nova had left open on the table. He had a visibly confused expression on his face and kept turning his head from side to side to see what was in the book.
Nova noticed this, of course.
"This is a book for advanced martial artists so it won't be of any help to you." A blatant rejection before he could even ask to see it.
Shaun's shoulders slumped.
"What a mean guild master." Remarked Lucia, "You just called my little nephew a weakling. Not that I disagree by the way."
"You're not helping!" Shaun blurted out with a blush.
"Why are you interested in it? Do you think the book is the reason why he's so strong?" asked Lucia.
"Well… It's not that I haven't thought about it…"
"Skills don't make you strong. They're just tools." Nova picked up the book and held it out to Shaun, "But the knowledge in the book can be a stepping stone for humanity to reach Equilibrium. Or that's how I perceive the wisdom written in this book. I'm not lending it to you but you can read through it while we're in each other's company."
With shaky hands, Shaun took it. Idalia curiously peeked at it. As if preparing for the worst, he closed his eyes and breathed in and out.
Then he opened the book from the middle, not caring about the front page or "table of contents". Or that's what he—alongside Idalia—thought.
In reality, the book opened on the first page.
"Huh? That can't be right…" he then began to furiously skip pages.
As if her mind was playing games on both of them, Shaun landed back at the first page.
"Wha? I could've sworn I just turned these pages!" Shaun frowned and tried again, "It did it again!"
"Have you been secretly drinking something strong? Share it with me too!" Lucia butted in.
"No! My head is as clear as the sky! It's just… this book…!"
"It's a special trick the creator came up with to force anyone who owns the book to learn everything." Nova answered, "A very sophisticated form of mind control that doesn't attack one's mind."
"But why!? I don't care about learning about this descension pill or whatever the hell."
"Like I said, the old master who created it wanted his work to be cherished by the youth, not used in a record to determine who read everything the fastest."
Shaun gave the book back to Nova.
"Uhm, how far are you?"
"Twenty pages. That's about four skills studied. I intend to reread for when I intend to master the skills and apply it to my fighting style."
"Ugh, so much work…" Shaun laid his head on the table, "Why can't those old scholar farts just condense the most important bits into a few pages…"
Idalia smiled wryly when Nova glanced at her.
Shaun isn't exactly the kind of person who likes to study…
"I'll go see what's taking our food so long to get here." Lucia said with a frown and pulled back her chair and headed toward the bar.
"I hear you handle the spear quite well. Did you have a teacher when you first started out?" Nova spoke to Shaun.
Why is he so interested in his juniors? Their lives can't be more interesting than his…
"I had one, yeah. But he only gave me lessons for 6 months because my parents thought I would be happy with just learning the basics. The didn't want me actually fighting and instead take over the fief."
"Is that why you ran away?"
"…I hate being told what to do by people who don't understand what I want. We weren't dirt poor but we weren't ultra rich either. My parents thought we could survive on the farms we own, alone. None of my forefathers were fighters. My father didn't intend for that to change for my generation or for my children either. We were lucky our farms weren't raided once by the soldiers that pillaged the towns and villages near our fief. If that happened, we would've lost everything." He clenched his fists, "Something like a farm can be taken away in one night but my skill with the spear cannot so I can work anywhere I want, and for whoever I want."
"What you're worried about is stability, huh?"
"…There's nothing wrong with wanting that, is there?"
"No. Though, I never had that worry so I can't sympathize."
"That's not a surprise to me at all…"
"What about you?" Nova looked at Idalia.
Honestly, she had very simply goals. All she wants is to support Shaun, become S-rank and make a lot of money. That's what every adventurer wants.
Of course, she knows the two can't do it alone so she also wanted to make friends who they can rely on. If she were to end up pregnant, Shaun would have to go out by himself and face the danger alone, danger the two promised that they would face together back when they decided to become adventurers.
"I've been wanting to become an adventurer since I was a child so all I really want is to maintain this life with Shaun. I didn't see a future in my old life."
"Did you two hate your ordinary lives that much that you would rather risk losing everything you ever had for fame and fortune that you might never find? You don't start making enough money to make adventuring a living until you're B-rank at least, something that takes years. A house to settle down in would be out of the question at the start, not because it's expensive since there are many affordable options but a waste of money."
"…Well, we bought a house already so all we're looking for is an income to save up for the future." Shaun answered while smiling awkwardly.
Nova folded his arms. His expression didn't change and he didn't attempt to mock the two for using their money for unnecessary things.
To them, his words—the words of someone beyond S-rank—must be taken to heart. He's been through a lot so he knows the profession as well as any veteran and didn't just "get lucky".
As such, they should take his words to heart because it will help them in the future.
"That was money you could have used for better equipment before you joined my guild. It could have served you better and allowed you to take on higher rank quests. The inns around the market district in the capital city have secret discounts for low-ranking adventurers since the guilds has a partnership with them specifically to support young adventurers. You should've been told this when you were given your adventurer tag."
"Eh, I think I remember the receptionist saying something like that. But I didn't think about it too much…" Shaun responded.
Idalia was a fool to leave the license tag collection up to him. If she were with him, she would've listened attentively. Guild staff don't have as much knowledge about the profession as adventurers do but they have the basics down and can recite that back to young adventurers easily.
"Is that like a secret? Why aren't there flyers advertising it?" Idalia asked, wondering why they don't just advertise it.
Many new adventurers end up sleeping in barns, in alleyways or camp out in the wild. They are constantly in danger, outside or inside the city.
"It's easy to make a counterfeit adventurer plate. There are specialized magic items that engrave your plate with thin lines that form a pattern on the plate, which gets scanned whenever you hand in your plate when they need to verify a quest completion. A thief could get their hands on anyone's plate and just make a copycat. Then they get discounts for life. Not just that, opportunists might use it to get cheap meals and never rank up."
"So, it's just an open secret?"
"Pretty much. But some of the receptionists are bias about who they tell about it. They think it's one of the reasons why their salaries are lower in certain parts of the empire so they think they must have control over who gets to use the discounts. Anyway," he shifted back to the main topic, "make use of the discount and save up money. If possible, sell that house."
"Yes…"
"The Guild doesn't have enough rooms to accommodate everyone yet so I'll let Josephine speak with a few inns to see if we can get you two a permanent room for the year. We'll cover the expenses."
"Thank you, Guild Master!" Idalia bowed her head, "Shaun, be grateful!"
"Ow!"
She grabbed his ear and pulled him down too.
The two heard a small chuckle but when they lifted their heads, his face was back to being stoic.
"Don't mention it. You're part of my guild. To ensure it grows, I must make life convenient for my guildmates as much as possible."
Guildmates? That's something you call your peers, not your juniors.
Idalia gulped hard and felt a knot in her throat.
Being acknowledged this much by a man so far beyond their level
It didn't feel real.
Idalia lowered her gaze, trying to hide the tremor in her lips. For the past year, she and Shaun had been scraping by—mocked, overlooked, barely surviving on errands no one else wanted. To hear him—someone who stands at the very summit of power—speak to them not as burdens, but as equals in spirit... it sent a strange warmth through her chest.
Her hands clenched in her lap. She didn't know if it was pride or disbelief. Maybe both.
People like Nova didn't need to notice people like her. They fight monsters that can swallow towns, and discussed matters beyond her understanding. And yet… he had said guildmates. Not subordinates, not rookies.
That single word carried more weight than any medal or promotion could.
"Oh right, I forgot to tell you guys," Nova suddenly changed the subject, "Anyone can slow a aggro'd monster down if they're prepared for the task but it takes special dedication and planning to ensure it gives up on the task, even if it's facing off against humans it can kill in one attack."
He alternated his gaze between the two, "So good work. You're not ordinary greenhorns. I hope that in a few years' time, we can go on S-rank quests together, not as leader and porter but peers fighting together."
Idalia blushed at the sudden praise.
Shaun, still rubbing his ear, grinned awkwardly beside her. He didn't seem to understand what it meant—but Idalia did. She felt it deep in her bones.
She straightened her back, bowed her head once more, and said softly,
"…I promise that, in the future, we won't let you down, Guild Master."
Nova gave no response—just a faint nod before returning to his book. But for Idalia, that small gesture was enough.
It wasn't just recognition.
It was proof that their struggles meant something in this world that favors the strong—that the two of them existed, even in the eyes of those who stood above the clouds.