Chapter 18: Hotshot

Rena explained the quest that we are going to take. Based on her explanation, these are the details that she has given.

The quest originally began as a normal quest to capture a couple of thieves. People spotted a group harassing people in the streets, taking their money and food for their own gain. Probably because of the current poor state of the city, the people resorted to violence.

The guild hall started to take action, trying to prevent the thieves from committing their wrongdoing. However, a bunch of armed forces attacked the adventurers. protecting the thieves that were meant to be captured.

The armed forces call themselves 'The Shadow Pledge'. Their intent was unknown, but they are inflicting injuries on the adventurers. The strength of their forces isn't to be underestimated.

Due to the strength of The Shadow Pledge, the guild hall decided to increase the rank of the quest to Skilled Ranked. Adventurers began to take on the quest but returned to the guild hall injured.

Having no other choice, the guild hall increased the rank of the quest once again. To a Seasoned Rank, hoping to finally end this problem in this city.

That sums it up. Rena didn't exactly tell us the specific plan for us and let us handle it ourselves. She just gave us a warning that the Shadow Pledge is not something to be underestimated and we must stay on our guard.

We stayed at one of the inns in the city. The room is ragged and covered with visible cracks. I just couldn't help but miss my old room in the Wyourld City. I hope I'll get back soon.

Going back to my thoughts I touched my chin and stared blankly at what was in front of me. The actions of The Shadow Pledge don't make sense to me. They're protecting the thieves from the adventurers, yes. But based on Rena's story, the Shadow Pledge didn't kill anyone. They just inflicted injuries on the adventurers.

Probably because they also didn't want any trouble. They might just be protecting the people who were forced to steal from others due to hunger. It was such a noble thing to do, too.

Speaking of the Shadow Pledge, I just couldn't help but think of Hernandez. Since he's also a thief who stole from us, We might just get a clue from him.

I also wouldn't be surprised if he's one of them.

"This is tiring," I muttered to myself.

Rena gave us time to rest for the time being. Taking her offer, Neerial and I decided to rest for the night. I continued to gather my thoughts and my stuff for tomorrow.

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The next day, we went to take a walk in the city. Our purpose is to gather information and become familiar with the paths. As we strolled around the street, we couldn't help but notice the poor condition of its people.

We already had an idea about it yesterday, but seeing it up close makes it worse. The air is filled with sweat and bad odors. Taking a simple bath must've been tough for them.

"Christ..." Neerial called out to me.

"I know," I replied.

I can tell what Neerial was thinking. She must be feeling pity for the state of these people. But sadly, we couldn't do anything for them. Our job is different compared to the real solution to this problem. However, I couldn't help but wish that we would help these poor people. even by a minimum.

"Hey, Neerial." I called out to her and went close to whisper something. Once I finished giving her instructions, she couldn't help but let out a smile.

"Look at you, trying to be you," teased Neerial.

"Shut it," I replied.

We continued looking for traces of the Shadow Pledge. What awaited us, however, were two adventurers. They are a pair of men and women. The man is wielding a gigantic red sythe, and the woman isn't holding anything.

They wear neat clothes that one can recognize as adventurer's clothing. I raised my guard against them. Even though we're both adventurers, I'm still cautious around every stranger I meet.

The two of them are comfortably sitting on one of the house's roofs. They stare at us with a clear grin and smiles on their faces.

"Yo, you must be Christ," says the guy with a gigantic red sythe.

I hesitated to answer and wondered how he got my name. "And who are you?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter who I am; what matters is that I know you!" he relied.

"Huh?" I couldn't help but feel exasperated through his words.

It's certainly weird to call up someone you know but who doesn't know you for no reason. Is there something wrong with his head? The insulting thoughts couldn't help but appear in my mind, even though I didn't intend to.

The girl who's with him gave him a smack on the head with a closed fist. The girl is a petite, small-figure woman but has tough looks.

"Brother! You'll cause them a lot of misunderstanding if you act like that!" she yelled.

His brother just pouted and touched the place she smacked. Rubbing it so the pain will go away.

"I'm so sorry about my brother," the girl said. "My name is Nova Fireheart, and this guy here is Jonathan Lewis. We're siblings working for the guild hall."

Siblings? But their surnames are different. There must be some reason for it, or they're just friends who treat each other as siblings.

Before I gave my reply, Neerial stopped me with her hands and went forward. As if she's saying, 'Let me handle this'.

"What do you need?" asked Neerial.

"The both of us are thinking about teaming up with you on this particular quest. You're Christ Skylar and Neerial Ocsanod, correct?" she replied while giving us a confirmation of our identity.

"I can't agree or disagree with that information. How can you be so sure that those names belong to us?" said Neerial.

That's true; even I wondered about that. The two of us don't have any posters or have our names on a newspaper either. It's really strange that someone approached us without any ill intentions.

"Eh? But you two are the talk of the guild hall lately," the girl named Nova replied. "'The Two Heroes who saved Wyourld City from Terror'—that's what they call you."

"What kind of nonsense is that?" asked Neerial.

"It's real. The two of us are curious about the two of you, and we heard your names from guild hall last night," Nova continued.

I know what we did was amazing, and I knew that rumors about us would spread. But it surpassed my expectations.

As I let the two exchange words, I noticed that the crowd was becoming aware of us. Mostly because those two are on the roof, making them stand out.

This might lead to trouble, so I changed the topic and tried to take this somewhere else.

"Hey, let's talk about this somewhere else," I interrupted.

"Huh? Why?" The guy with a sythe joined in to the conversation, wondering about my question.

"The people are staring to stare dagger at us. It might be best to go somewhere else to avoid bystanders," I added.

The two gazed at each other and gave a nod. They agreed with my suggestion, and we moved away from the crowd. a place where only the four of us can talk freely.

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We arrived at a forest; the trees are tall, and the color green can be seen all over the place. It's a perfect place to talk about something confidential, probably.

"So? Explain," Neerial said, continuing their explanation.

"Well, the two of us are also looking for a way to stop the Shadow Pledge," said Nova. "But it seems just us two won't be enough to handle them; apparently they possess a lot of strong individuals. So teaming up with you two can increase our chances of winning."

I didn't join in on the conversation and just leaned on a tree with my arms crossed. I looked above and wondered deep into my thoughts. The reason for the Shadow Guild might have been pure intentions. But the guild hall apparently tries to eliminate them because it's the order of the king.

As if annoyed by my actions, the guy with a sythe spoke up. "Hey, you've been very uncooperative since we met. Are you mocking us, huh?" he yelled.

"What do you want? You guys are the ones asking us for help. I just let my comrade speak with you, and I didn't agree to anything the two of you said," I replied.

The guy stood up and stabbed his sythe into the ground. Leaving tracks in their place, he spoke loudly. "You really are mocking us; you must be thinking that you're a hotshot now because of that simple monster sweeping, aren't you?!"

I pulled out my book and stood firmly. It seems I was right to move this somewhere else. This way, I can fight without worrying about any civilians.