160 Don’t leave people behind, please! part When Sera noticed the way Risa flirted with Ryu she wasn’t worried in the slightest. She knew the instructor’s intentions and was completely certain that she wouldn’t try to take Ryu for herself.
What troubled her was Anne’s behavior. It was clear she was more than happy after being reunited with her friends, but she stared at Ryu whenever she thought he wouldn’t notice making it obvious that she was interested in him. That was a problem, at least for Sera, because she knew Anne wouldn’t want to share Ryu and would try to seduce him and keep him all to herself.
The road ahead was straight and their viewing range widened as they left behind the dense forest. A beautiful mountain stood tall in front of them and a small town was located near it’s base. The grassy fields and the unobstructed sunlight provided the perfect environnt for a light hearted journey and everyone hurried their pace to be able to sleep in a proper bed, courtesy of Lea’s purse which they requisitioned when they captured her.
Bob, Luke and Risa passed through this town on their way to save Sera, but it was a short visit because all they needed was to get so water from the well so they didn’t really know what to expect. That’s why they asked Ryu to keep the amarok near the forest, just in case people were scared after seeing it.
“Are you sure you’re ok Sera?”
“Yes mister Ryu! walking bare feet on this soft grass is actually a nice experience”
Sera replied with a wide smile on her face as she walked with her arm interlocked with Ryu’s. For Ryu, it was a matter of safety and caring, but Sera took it as a sign of sothing else and she quickly developed different scenarios, each and every one of them ended in bed.
“I want to try it too!”
Rina rrily took off her boots and jiggled her toes in the soft grass.
.....
“Ahhh! it feels like walking on a cloud! you guys should try it too!”
After seeing her wide smile everyone felt compelled to follow suit and they took their footwear to appreciate the new sensation. While it was indeed an enjoyable feeling, it held a special significance for Sera since she was born and raised in a cold place and never had the chance to actually enjoy sothing like that.
Once they got into town they soon noticed the strange glared that were directed towards them. The inhabitants seed to be wary of them and they hurried to their hos and shut their doors and windows.
“Are we so kind of outlaws or sothing?”
Luke asked to no one in particular and the one to answer was no one from their group.
“Greetings adventurers, I’ve been expecting you. I’m the town’s mayor and I’m here on behalf of the citizens of Quarrydew”
His greeting was nothing out of the ordinary, adventurers were usually greeted by people in high standing whenever they arrived at a small town or village, but his voice was shaky making it obvious that he was scared.
“Thank you for the warm welco mister mayor, is there anything we can do for you?”
Luke replied assuming the role of the party leader.
“No, not at all... well... not for anyways, there’s soone I would like you to et”
He proceeded to lead the group to a cozy tavern located in the middle of the town, right in front of the water well. The place looked a lot better than Rina’s tavern, or at least that was the impression it gave.
It was smaller, but it was decorated in a rustic but fashionable way. The tables and the bar were made of polished stone and there were so flower vases on top of them. The decoration was simple but nice.
The man behind the bar poured them drinks and a youthful looking girl served them their food.
After seeing that their guests were happy eating and drinking to their heart’s content he excused himself and left to fetch the person he talked about.
It was just before they finished their al that the mayor ca back with an elderly man.
“I hope you found our food to your liking, this is the man I wanted to introduce you. He’s the owner of this town’s hot springs...”
Everyone in Ryu’s group, heroes and natives alike, grew wider at the sole ntion of hot springs. Each had their own motives to looking forward to visit the hot springs, but Sera was especially excited about it.
The elderly man didn’t let the mayor continue and interrupted him mid sentece.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s cut to the chase before I die of old age. I need your help, we are experiencing so troubles with the hot springs...”
“We accept”
Everyone said in unison.
“No, no, you see...”
“We accept!”
“The thing is...”
The poor old man was experiencing the sa frustration he caused to the town’s mayor, and he didn’t like it one bit. Being the owner of the hotsprings, his monthly revenue was the sa as the yearly inco of the tavern, and he wasn’t used to people disrespecting him. His old age did nothing to appease his arrogant behavior and only made it worse.
Still, now that his hot springs were experiencing difficulties he was forced to bow down his head and ask for a favor. It took him a while to gather the resolve he needed to let go of his pride.
When the soldiers that survived the fight against the sacred empire agents ca through town, he took it as a strike of luck and commanded them to perform their duty as servants of the kingdom and help him. But they were in such a hurry to go back to Celarent that they ignored him, but not before telling him about the strong adventurers that were sure to co after.
Of course he wanted to introducehimself as a wealthy old man that held a higher status than the mayor, he was used to dealing with all sorts of nobles and even the royals fromti toti since his springs had dicinal properties, but now the old man had no choice but to accept their help withoug being able to put pressure on them at all.
He had to wait until the adventurers finished their drinks and then so more, as excited as they were to try the hot springs, they needed to restock before going anywhere. Lea watched in disbelief as they spent a hefty sum in things that seed to be completely useless.
Why would adventurers who were able to pass a week without eating or drinking water buy so much food? why did they need to bring with them so many blankets, cookware and even clothes?
She was dumbfounded, not only because of their odd behavior, but also at the speed they spent the money without even caring. Even though it was technically her money they were spending, it was entrusted to her by the hands of father Stefan himself, it was going to be used to pay the wages of a corrupt captain that wasn’t alive anymore so she didn’t care about what they did with it.
Both the mayor and the old man had to wait for them at the tavern the whole ti they were on their spending spree. By the ti they were finished it was getting late already and the trip to the hot springs was about half an hour in carriage but it could take more than three hours on foot since it was uphill.
The old man hoped in the carriage and, since not everyone would fit in, they decided to let Ryu and sera ride with the old man while the others walked on foot.
“Are you sure it’s ok mister Luke?”
The old man asked the one he thought was the party leader and Luke nodded in reply. Thinking on the reason why did they chose those two to ride with him up the mountain he ca to a conclusion, the woman was the most beautiful he had ever seen, it was obvious for him that she was a noble and the man must be his servant.
After all, they bought the most expensive dress and footwear in town for her, which was a lot more expensive than what could be found in nearby towns. Quarrydew wasn’t a re stone quarry but an imperial stone one, it was a powerful building material and the only ones allowed to buy it were the royals and nobles. It was said that the sole reason why the sacredempire couldn’t invade the kingdom after they gained control over the obelisk in the holy land was solely because of the kingdom wall made with this powerful material that grew stronger with ti.
It was a small but highly profitable town, not everyone was allowed to stay in there and they were really protective of their town affairs. There were lots of high end products in the market, mostly because of the regular visits from people from high standings, but also because even the citizens were all wealthy.
It took a while after the carriage set off, but the old man finally decided to introduce himself to the person he thought was the most important in their party.
“I’m sorry for troubling you milady, I’m Heimar of Quarrydew, would you be so kind as to honor with your na?”
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