Chapter 22 - So The Journey Begins

"Yo kid!"

Reiner was waving towards Griff who had just got out of the master's office.

"You want me to show you the ropes around here a bit? I can take you with me on a mission. I'll make sure little Rin here will not bite you."

'So the bratty girl's name is Rin. Good to know that.'

"Well, I was thinking of going with James."

He looked towards James with a sense of distress as the last time he went on an adventure with strangers things didn' end up well.

James merely winked at him, signaling that the denizens of Alfrum were trustable.

"Actually I'd like to tag along with you guys as well. The more the merrier."

Reiner just nodded while still smiling.

"I see no problem with that!"

"Stinky brother! Why are you allowing these weirdos to come along with us!"

"Because I wanna. It's that simple. I like how the kid there didn't really get mentally scarred by you."

The guild hall suddenly fell silent as Rin's antics had caused most who tried talking to her to be traumatized and those who tried to flirt with her re-locate cities.

Rin's face blushed red as she hid behind her brother and started punching him.

"You're making me sound like a monster!"

Reiner just giggled, and pointed towards the quest wall.

"So. I was thinking of something simple like a goblin subjugation. Pay is pretty handsome, and the quest is ranked as a G rank quest."

"Sounds cool with me. What about you Griff?"

"Well... anything that helps me gain experience, I'm fine with it."

"Alright then let's go."

James and Griff blinked.

"Wait... like, now?" Said James.

"Um... yeah. The faster we finish it the faster this kid here can become independent."

James looked at Griff, and saw his innocence. The kid went through hell and was still naive. Yeah, he definitely needed this.

"Hell yeah. Let's go."

"Alrighty. Let me get something real quick."

Reiner turned around and grabbed Rin under his arm.

"Alright I'm ready."

"Put me down! Put me down down down! You're embarrassing me!"

"Well, I know you're lazy so this is the only way I can make you earn your cash lil sis."

"Grr... hmph!"

Rin turned her face around and pouted, but came face to face with Griff who was snickering. Blood rushed to her face, but she decided to take revenge later.

"Alright, so my lil sis here is a great mage. She's in fact an E+ rank. I'm a brawler, and I'm an E+ too."

James sighed and pulled out his guild card.

"I'm an E rank swordsman."

"And I'm an F- rank Ranger."

"Good. Seems like we got a decent party. I think we qualify as an E- party with Griff here, but it doesn't matter. The quest board stated that we are to head to a small farming village located a bit to the east of here. It won't take long by carriage, so move out!"

"Hell yeah!"

Shouted Griff, who slowly walked near James and whispered: "What's a goblin?"

James, not being surprised anymore calmly spoke.

"Mischievous little creatures. Be wary of them. They are weak but fight in pack. Stick to me, got it?"

Griff nodded as they started walking through the streets. Reiner quickly arranged a carriage, and they set off. The driver had told them that the ride would take approximately an hour. So they decided to take a rest...

One hour later they jumped off the carriage. Griff had slept the whole way without feeling any of Rin's intense gaze on him.

"Ahm! Are you the adventurer's from Alfrum?"

A feeble looking man approached them.

"Yep, we are. We're here for the subjugation."

"Ah thank you so much! You see the goblins have been pillaging our village for a long time, but-"

Reiner raised his hand to signal the man to stop talking.

"Yeah we get it, alright. However, as an official organization we have to take the accounted reward. I'm sorry to break your hopes, but I've handled cases similar to yours before."

The elder bowed down his head in shame and nodded.

"We have no idea where the goblins are right now."

"Now that's what I like. Straight to business. We'll set off right now."

They quickly walked to the outskirts of the village and started investigating the perimeter for foot-prints or any disturbances in the current ecosystem.

"Hey, James, wasn't Reiner a bit harsh?"

"Well, he had to be. We can't feel sorry for everyone because this is how we make our living. That's just how the world works Griff. Adventurer's aren't heroes. We're just ordinary mortals."

"Yeah, makes sense."

Just then, James shushed Griff.

Griff understood something was amiss and shut up.

"Do you hear that?"

James slowly whispered. It was the sound of twigs breaking. Footsteps... and they were fast.

"We better get out of here. This is their territory, and you never fight them in their territory."

"Alright. Let's run back to the village. Perhaps Reiner and Rin are done with their search too, so we can comeback later."

"Exactly. Now, run!"

The duo started sprinting as the sound of growling and screeching drew closer. A few minutes later, a group of small green impish beings arrived at the spot Griff and James had been. These small creatures started sniffing the broken twigs the two had left and began jumping up and down.

Goblins saw humans as livestock, so they were overjoyed about prey coming to their territory.

Things were sure to be spiced up...