Mission Complete

It is now noon. Astra had spent a good amount of time looking around for yams, and she ended up with more than she can carry.

I mostly played around with my new ability. It's amazing. There really is no limit to what I can do. Well, of course, there is a limit in terms of that I can't play God, but anything under that is available to me.

I summoned lightning, raised hills, and split rocks. People who see this from far away must be wondering what the hell is going on over here.

This opens up a whole new frontier of possibilities. Many tasks that should require heavy machinery can just be done by myself in no time. It will undoubtedly make my journey much easier.

We began heading back to the city walls. With a zoom, I can see Faye and Lohikaarmi already waiting at the gate leading into the shrine. They are both each holding an armful of yams.

I was so caught up with the miracles I didn't have time to look for any myself, so I am completely empty-handed.

I look over to Astra, who is cheerfully humming and dropping yams through her arms as she skips.

"Hey, Astra, can I have some of yours so I don't look like I did nothing?" I ask.

"But you did do nothing," she says and bends down to pick up a piece she dropped while more slip off her arms.

"I know, that's why I am asking. Plus, you have so many you can't even hold on to them."

"Fine," she sighs and says.

"Thanks."

"You've thanked me more today than ever since we met."

I haven't even noticed that.

"Yeah… I don't know why."

Astra laughs. "Well, I am not complaining."

She walks over and offers some yams for me to take. I grab a couple, enough to make me look like I did something.

A few seconds later, Faye sees us from the distances and waves, dropping her yields onto the ground.

How is it so hard to keep a few roots in your arms?

They are standing beside a trickling line of crusaders leaving and entering the Holy Capital. They are attracting a lot of attention. Their clothes don't even come close to fitting in with the others, especially Lohikaarmi, who is clearly not getting those looks only from her dress.

I am surprised that no one has come and approached them yet, seeing how seemingly open and inviting they are, but after noticing a patch of blackened grass beside them, it's making some more sense.

Astra and I walk up to them.

"Look how much we got," Faye says with a merry smile.

"Good job," I say.

"You guys did pretty well, too."

"That's right, we did," Astra says, slightly emphasizing the "we", not enough for Faye to notice, but enough to make me feel bad.

"So how much money is this?" Faye asks.

"We will have to weigh them. There is probably a scale back in the shrine," Astra says.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Sure," I say.

Together, the four of us head back into the city walls. There are no guards beside the shrine exit since the constant flow of heavily-armed fighters has essentially made them obsolete.

The crusaders are bringing back all sorts of remains, not just ogres. I don't see another dragon anywhere, but there are heads of other huge animals and insects I don't recognize. I can say for sure that they are not supposed to be that big, not on Earth, at least.

While we are walking down the stone path in the yard beside the shrine, I notice those crusaders with creature corpses aren't going into the shrine. They are going into the small mansion on the side of this path. It looks a little like the convent, but there are no colored windows on this one. It's a lot more modest, which I guess is not the right word when it sits in a walled-off area in the middle of the slums.

"Is that where we hand in our items?" I ask.

"I think so," Astra says.

Compared to what other people are bringing in, we look like farmers rather than crusaders.

We walk up to the building and step through the door. It's busy. There are the same mission boards as the ones in the shrine lobby. Every so often, a staff member goes over there and either puts up or takes down a post.

A row of counters occupies most of the floor. In front of each is a line of crusaders handing in their items.

The desks counters are all labeled with a rank. D is among the ones all the way in the back corner.

We go over there and join the line.

"This is exciting," Faye says, "We are handing in our first mission."

"Yeah," Astra agrees with a smile.

To be completely honest, I have never done a day of hard work in my life. Success just seems to come my way no matter what I do. This is not a bad feeling indeed, and I'm sure I'd probably feel better if I had actually done something to contribute.

While in my thoughts, I overhear a person beside us talking to the man standing behind the D+ counter.

"The rabbit mission, I give up. They are too damn fast," the crusader says.

The staff member flips through a booklet.

"Are you sure, sir? You can keep trying. There is no time limit on this one," he says.

"Yes, I am sure. I can make the fine back in no time if I just do a few other easy ones."

"Alright then. That will be five silver coins."

The crusader takes out a handful of coins.

After the staff takes them, he turns to someone else behind him.

"Wyatt. Go raise the forest hare mission to C- and contact the client tel him that five silver coins have been added to the reward."

The man behind him nods. He walks to the board of D+ missions to grab the post. The crusader thanks them and leaves the building.

I am surprised that we are in the equivalent of the pre-industrial age. This is a lot more organized and business-like than I thought, in a theocracy no less.

"You have to pay a fine if you fail a mission?" Faye asks. She has also overheard that conversation.

"It looks like it," I say, "It makes sense, right? Or else people can just report a failure when they actually completed the mission to receive a higher reward."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that's right," Faye says, "How did spot that so fast?"

"Spotting this kind of loopholes was part of my old job where I came from."

"I see."

Speaking of which, I think I just found one.