Chapter 43: It’s Actually the Esteemed Warrior, Mage, and Priest!

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: It’s Actually the Esteemed Warrior, Mage, and Priest!

Horton took the money bag and carefully counted its contents. Only then did he nod in satisfaction and say, "Alright, the enchantment will take about two days. Wait here a moment; I’ve already fixed your shield."

He took the warhammer Pip handed him, turned, and went to the back of the blacksmith shop. Before long, he returned with the Dragon Scale Round Shield and placed it on the counter.

"Take a look."

The scales on the shield, which Pip had previously hammered askew, were now properly aligned. The thick scales pointed neatly toward the top of the shield, giving it a very secure appearance.

Lorin glanced at the shield’s durability again.

[Durability: 44/44]

"Great, no problems here," he said with a nod.

The two didn’t stay long at the blacksmith shop. After retrieving the shield, they headed to the Government Affairs Hall, preparing to inform Nathan that they had agreed to hunt the rock-dwelling salamander.

The Government Affairs Hall had a different look from when Lorin last visited. The surrounding walls were draped with numerous pine branch wreaths and colorful ribbons, giving the place a highly festive atmosphere.

"You two are finally here! The Mayor sent me to the tavern to look for you several times, but I never caught you," Guard Captain Joel said, spotting them from a distance and hurrying over to greet them. He then lowered his voice to warn them, "The three sent by the Duke have just arrived as well. Be careful with your words later; don’t provoke them."

Lorin and Pip exchanged glances, both looking completely bewildered. They hadn’t even met the people yet, so why was Joel already talking about provoking them?

"Alright, take us to see Mr. Nathan," Lorin said, simply nodding in agreement.

The meeting place wasn’t set in Nathan’s office this time. The two followed Joel through a series of winding corridors until they arrived in front of an imposing set of grand doors.

Joel stepped forward and knocked gently on the door twice, announcing, "Mr. Nathan, Mr. Lorin and his companion have arrived."

"Please, let them in quickly!" Nathan’s familiar, warm voice called out from within.

The two pushed the doors open and entered. The space inside was much larger and far more luxurious than Lorin had imagined. This room was probably the only place in the entirety of Shallow Beach Town that had carpeted floors.

A deep crimson carpet covered the entire room, woven with intricate patterns that made one’s eyes dizzy just looking at them.

In the center of the room sat a long table flanked by several high-backed chairs. Dark green cushions rested on the chairs, looking a hundred times more comfortable than the broken seats at the tavern.

"Come in, come in, make yourselves at home." Nathan stood up from the head of the long table, noticeably sighing in relief upon seeing the two. He walked over enthusiastically and pulled them toward the table. "Allow me to introduce to the three of you: these are the heroes I mentioned earlier."

Lorin was dragged to the side of the long table. Before he could react, a languid voice drifted over from the windowsill.

"This... Mr. Hero."

His gaze was forced away from a candlestick on the table that was worth at least ten gold coins, and he looked toward the source of the voice.

A tall, red-haired woman was leaning diagonally against the windowsill. She wore an exquisite ring on her hand and cradled a slender magic staff inlaid with a red crystal in her arms.

Upon hearing the Mayor’s words, her gaze swept back and forth over the two of them with obvious aggression before finally landing on Lorin’s face. With a faint, mocking smile, she asked, "Nathan said you successfully wiped out a kobold expeditionary outpost, which even had a Scale Mage among its ranks. I’d like to ask, with the strength of you two, exactly how did you manage that?"

"Erin!" a young woman sitting closest to the head of the table rebuked softly.

She had long golden-brown hair tied loosely behind her head, and she wore a plain white robe. The edges of the robe were embroidered with the holy emblem of the Dawn Lord.

"A priest of the Dawn Lord? She seems to have a rather high status," Lorin quickly concluded.

The red-haired mage named Erin scoffed, crossing her arms and saying no more. However, her eyes remained fixed on Lorin, as if waiting for him to speak on his own.

Lorin frowned.

He wasn’t exactly angry over this slight passive-aggressiveness; if he and Pip were recruiting teammates right now, they would definitely want to confirm the other party’s character and capabilities as well. He just didn’t quite approve of this method of testing them.

"As long as you get close enough, a caster goes down in a single sword strike," he stated simply.

"You!" Erin flared.

"...Apologies." The young blonde woman stood up and offered the two a polite bow. "We just wanted to verify the circumstances of our potential companions. After all, as adventurers, you two should know best that the risks of battle don’t only come from the enemy."

Her demeanor was very gentle, and her features carried an innate quality that could easily calm someone down.

"I am a priest of the Dawn Lord. You may call me Anya. These two are my companions—Erin, and Rain," she introduced slowly and softly, sitting back down.

"Good cop, bad cop. What a clear division of labor," Lorin thought to himself.

"Hello, Ms. Anya," he greeted politely, then turned his attention to the third person.

That was a warrior clad in full plate armor, sitting in the shadows at the innermost end of the long table. The bright silver armor bore flowing, gorgeous engraving, looking absurdly expensive at a mere glance.

A similarly engraved helmet rested on the table in front of him, revealing short dark brown hair and a face with hard, chiseled lines. He looked somewhat similar to Anya, especially in the eyes, brow, and the bridge of his nose.

When Lorin looked over, the man happened to look over as well.

The moment their eyes met, the warrior immediately looked away, staring fixedly at the flag on the wall.

"Warrior, mage, and priest. The strength of this party seems quite impressive," he thought.

A standard adventurer party could never assemble such a lineup.

The casters who went out adventuring were usually wild mages who only knew two or three tricks and couldn’t afford to further their studies at a Magic Academy; or they were Dog Luck Sorcerers who didn’t even know their own bloodlines and had inexplicably awakened their talents.

As for a highly sought-after catch like a priest, one shouldn’t even dream about it.

Lorin knew it was time for the two of them to introduce themselves. He cleared his throat and said slowly,

"My name is Lorin. I am a sorcerer, and I also know some swordsmanship. This is my companion, Pip, a barbarian.

"The heads of the Dogman Scale Sorcerer and the Dragon Shield Guard have already been delivered to the Adventurer’s Guild in this town. You three can go over and verify it with Hiv.

"Alternatively, if you have other ways of testing our strength, we are more than willing to oblige."

"Wait." The red-haired mage, Erin, interrupted him. She looked at Pip in astonishment and asked, "A barbarian? Him?"

"Yes, red-haired human lady. Pip is a barbarian, although he hasn’t fully learned how to control his frenzy yet," the short halfling nodded.

At this, even Anya couldn’t sit still. Her eyebrows twitched upward slightly, as if she had just heard something surreal that was nonetheless unfolding right before her eyes.

"A halfling... barbarian?"

With her experience, she certainly wouldn’t mistake Pip for a dwarf, but a halfling was clearly an even harder answer to accept.

"That’s right!" Pip puffed out his chest, though given his nearly cylindrical physique, it didn’t look any different.