Chapter XXXII - Will To Live (part 2)

"Ah, the girl from that town."

"I'm not from 'that' town."

"Oh, I meant... You know what I mean."

He grinned, and so did I. We both shook hands like true gentlemen as we introduced ourselves.

"Barett Stillon from the Stillon family. Newly ranked Blue ranked adventurer. My role is the Tanker. Nice to meet you."

"Rize Violet. Not from any family. Currently Purple ranked adventurer, Swordsman."

"Same here!"

Cony walked forward, and I was quite surprised seeing the change in her attitude. The tears had completely dried as she looked at me with bright eyes.

"Cony Hallow. Not a noble family, and currently a failed-to-rank-up Green ranked adventurer. Swordsman!"

What a crazy title to have!

"N-Nice to meet you Cony..."

I shook Cony's hand, and the smugness on her face tells me that it's like a competition for her, between us female sword users. I just ignored it.

While Valey scolds Cony about being so competitive, I turned to Hod about something I just realized.

"Come to think of it, Hod. I never knew if you are from any family."

I asked Hod, because when we introduced each other, we only mentioned our first name. And hearing that question, Hod only turns confused.

"Oh... Uhm..."

"Valey Hilva! From the noble, Hilva family!"

Valey quickly introduced herself without even getting asked. From the looks of it, it's like she is covering up Hod, who is just as surprised as me. I noticed this and understood their actions.

"I get it. Thanks for telling me."

I just brushed it off with a smile, and both of them became glad that I didn't push onwards. 

If Valey thinks that I shouldn't ask, then I won't. That much is enough.

Valey looked surprised that her sudden introduction somehow works as a message to me, but I'm not dumb. Then again, knowing their families doesn't really do much. I'm just curious, that's all.

Hod noticed that I was curious, and he wished to let me know. But since he won't tell me straight, instead he will just show me.

"Are you guys tired? Do you guys want to eat something?"

Hod asked Barett and Cony, who was also confused. Barett quickly snapped out of it and answered.

"Huh? Oh, well we could have a meal before we went home to rest."

"Then, you know just the place! Let's go!"

Hod quickly turned around like a happy little boy. Barett and Cony followed behind him happily, leaving just me and Valey behind.

"What's going on?"

I asked Valey, still standing straight. I wasn't referring to where Hod is going, but also his actions earlier when I asked about his family. She looked at me with an understanding expression.

"Not everyone is a noble, Rize. It's fine if you are born a commoner in the first place, but not all commoners were born a commoner."

"... I don't get it."

"Haha! You'll get it once you see it. Just make sure you don't ask him too much. You can ask me, though!"

Valey proceeds to follow the others, leaving me behind who felt like an alien. It's certainly only been a while since I arrived in this world, and I thought I'm already quite accustomed to the systems here.

Apparently... there are still things that I have not seen just yet.

So... a fallen noble, huh?

I hurriedly followed behind them because I didn't want to get left behind. And while walking, I turned my gaze around us, where the adventurers were having a chat at this large road. Talking about how the test went, it would seem that while a majority had failed the test, the number that succeeded wasn't that low.

We made our way past these emotional adventurers and began making our way somewhere else. Hod and Barret led the way while chatting a little, and we arrived in a small restaurant at the right side of the western street. 

I have never been here before, so I'm not exactly familiar with what their food is. But according to the list, it seemed to be some modern cooking. At least to this world's standards.

And... I'm pretty sure this is the path Hod took after we split up last night. Could it be...?

"Welcome! Have a seat--Oh! It's you guys!"

The lady behind the ordering desk quickly shouted at us right after we entered the restaurant. Seeing that the lady was so familiar with the team, I was a little bit surprised.

"Hello, Miss Vesny. Sorry for the intrusion."

Barett spoke to the lady behind the ordering desk. They seemed to be familiar with each other, but I'm not sure how close.

The group then proceeded to approach the ordering desk. They talked with the lady as if they had known each other for a long time while ordering their food. After Valey gave out her order, the lady turned to me.

"Ah! You seemed new."

"Yes. She is the newest member on our team."

Hod introduced me to the lady, and the lady grinned at me even wider. I moved my hand for a handshake with her, and she quickly accepted the handshake happily.

"I'm... Rize. Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Hello Rize. I'm Hod's mother. Nice to meet you too!"

.

.

.

"That's... Hod's mother?"

Everyone seemed to be busy talking about the Blue ranked test. Barett and Cony were sharing how difficult the test really was for them, while Hod was comparing their test to the one that he took months ago.

Only Valey next to me isn't joining the convo, so I leaned closer to her to whisper. Since she said it's okay for me to ask her, I thought it would be fine to ask since I've been very curious.

Valey looked at me and grinned after I leaned closer to her shoulder and asked.

"Yep."

"She doesn't really look like Hod..."

"Because her hair is different?"

"Hmm... Right."

Looking at the lady behind the counter, her hair is brown, while Hod has a ridiculously unnatural light blue hair. I have no idea how he even has light blue hair as a natural colour, but I'm guessing it has something to do with magic. Then again, my hair is also unnatural.

But if hair colour was affected by magic, shouldn't everyone have a different colour of hair?

Ah. Another question to the piles of unanswered ones.

Valey looked at the lady and let out a sigh before answering.

"The blue hair from Hod, he took that from his father."

"Oh..."

... That's it? Can't you just explain it to me more? Why does everything have to be so cryptic? Do I really have to find out everything myself? What good does that do, anyway?

Hod's mom then came to our table, bringing a couple plates from the kitchen. Seemed like she was also the one cooking them because she wasn't on the counter all the time.

"Here you go. For Valey, the lamb steak, and for Cony... the crisp chicken."

She placed down the dishes in front of Valey and Cony, and I became surprised seeing the food.

"Thank you, miss."

Huh? Where's my food...

Looking at Valey's menu, it's like a modern steak. The steak was sauced by a brown sauce which I thought looked like barbeque sauce. And Cony's plate is even more thrilling. The cooked chicken was ripped open in half and inside are some sauce and other stuff that can make your mouth watery.

Even the smell made me hungry... I should've visited this place earlier.

The lady came back a few minutes later with the rest of the dishes. She held two plates in both her hands, while one more on her left arm. What a skill.

"Hod, the sauced lamb chop. Barett, spicy chicken. Emm, Rize, right? Sauced chicken."

Looking at the dish made me lose my mind. Seriously, why didn't I come to this place earlier?

The chicken looked similar to Cony's, just that this dish seemed to have an even more sauce covering the whole thing. My mouth gets watery just looking at it.

Everyone else already started eating, so I let myself go with the meal. I placed the first bite inside my mouth, and...

Hmm... It tastes better than it looks.

"This is great."

I mumbled and was heard by everyone. Everyone else smiled and chuckled hearing that, and it looks like they one hundred percent agreed with me.

"So, back to the test. How did you say the testers judged your scores?"

Hod gulped his food and asked Barett. Barett replied after drinking his glass of water.

"Well, by the amount of monsters killed, and how efficient we are in the process. And also a bunch of other essential factors, I forgot some of them. But, most importantly is how many monsters that we manage to subjugate."

"That sounded quite simple. But, I'm guessing it wasn't that simple?"

Hod looked at Cony who's enjoying her crisp chicken. She nearly choked on the food until she drank her water before turning to Hod with a worried face.

"Well... I wouldn't say it's that simple."

"Hmmmmmmmm..."

Hod just lets out a long hum at Cony's words. I still don't understand what's going on, but it seems like an interrogation.

"Oh, yeah. Cony, Barett. You must be wondering how we ended up having a new recruit, right?"

Hod said out of the blue while looking at me, and the two followed his gaze.

Hod explained to them how I wound up getting invited to the team. Starting from how we picked a high tiered mission, to how it actually is.

Barett asked a few questions that somehow made sense, like why did we pick a Yellow ranked quest, and how was there so many red orcs. Hod sort of blamed me and Valey for the first question. And as to the second...

"Apparently, the mission requester didn't realize that it's actually... a dungeon break."

"You guys went into a dungeon break on your own?? Did you call for backup?"

Barett was shocked, but Cony's eyes were even wider. As an adventurer, they knew exactly how dangerous a red orc is. And for a dungeon break filled with red orcs, it for sure worries them.

"We didn't. We decided to take quick action because there was a town very close to the dungeon. Any time wasted, and I fear that the town will get attacked by the red orcs."

"If just a single red orc made it to the town, it would cause great havoc. They are Blue ranked, after all. They are very strong and intelligent."

Valey supported Hod with her comment, and the two understood the explanations.

A single red orc is ranked Blue in terms of danger level. So it would take at least one Blue ranked adventurer or a group of Green ranks to take it down. And there wasn't much Blue ranking in the kingdom. And there most likely won't be any adventurers in the village.

"That's a good point. Then how did you take the red orcs down? Even if it's a red orc, it is still a dungeon break. There must be a ton of them there... How did the three of you manage to kill them all?"

Cony asked while sipping on her drink. She had finished her meal, and left the chicken bones on her plate. Hod simply smiled at that question.

"Well, that's where she came in."

Hod looked at me with a smirk, and I just closed my eyes, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"I believe now that we are a team, it is fine to share secrets?"

Hod asked me first, and I just nodded at him.

"I guess so."

I continued eating and let Hod explain. He explained how I pretty much killed most of the red orcs myself. He even inserted some nicknames like she-devil or something. That's terrible, Hod...

"I still killed a few!"

Next to me, Valey forcefully added. She obviously doesn't want to be left out. Barret, however, is much smarter than he looks.

"So, you, a Gray ranked--"

"I'm Purple ranked now, thanks to that mission."

Barett was certainly thrown back by that remark.

"An instant promotion... That's rare."

"It's really not surprising considering who she was. Her dual wielding sword skills are definitely at the level of Fran's."

Hod just couldn't wipe out the smirk on his face, that it's starting to piss me off. Barett looked at him with a 'seriously?' kind of look, before turning his face at me and continued.

"So... you wiped over three hundred red orcs? And you just... put the fame on Hod?"

"It's better that way."

Hearing that surprising answer, he leaned his back on the chair. It looks like he just heard some bullshit news from someone, and he looks so tired of it.

"I have been working my butt really hard so I can get a rank up. And Cony here... Uhm, actually, on second thought--"

"Hey! Why did you change your words about me?"

Cony smacked Barett in the shoulder, making him flinch while laughing.

"What I meant is that you could at least use this chance to gain higher ranks. Anyone would take every chance to rank up... So, why didn't you?"

Barret asked, and again, it's the same question. Over and over again, I'm getting tired of answering it.

"I just think ranking up will just add more problems to me. I have another goal, after all."

"Huh...?"

"If I ever wished to do higher ranked missions, I can just stick with you guys. Having friends with higher ranks have their perks, right?"

Hearing my answer, Barett looked at Hod, who just simply lifted his shoulder and started pulling everyone's plate before bringing them to the back. Valey just chuckled from her side, leaving Barett scratching his head confusedly.

"Then... I guess we could count on you to help us during high ranked missions! Haha!"

He seemed to be glad, so I'm glad. As long as we all can keep contributing to each other, we can function properly as a team.

"If that's the case, then we have nothing to worry about! Welcome to the team, Rize."

Barret gave me his approval, and I nodded at him. Cony lifted her body and gave me a thumbs up as well.

"Welcome to the team! We will always welcome strong people!"

She said... making me realize exactly how young she looks.

She couldn't be under fifteen, could she...?