33 - New home

Val suddenly broke the tense atmosphere,

"Well, now that that's sorted I have got things to do."

Everyone was surprised about how casual Val was about everything that just happened, everyone had taken note of Val, and they decided it was best not to mess with him until more was known about him.

With the tension broken Lilly approached Jim and requested his guild card. He would no longer be a part of the guild and therefore could not have a guild card. After that, the brothers both left.

Val headed to the counter where the brown-haired receptionist was. Val spoke politely which surprised the receptionist and everyone else who could hear him.

"Hello ma'am, I am Val, I'm an F-Rank adventurer, and I would like to submit these goblin ears as proof of subjugation please."

Val brought out a bag from his spatial ring and handed it over to the receptionist.

She gave a cute smile and took the bag, she then proceeded to introduce herself,

"Hey, I'm Jane, one of the receptionists at this guild branch. Good job dealing with Jim but be careful of Clint, he will probably try to get revenge for his brother, even with the warning from the Vice Guild Leader."

Val smiled and responded,

"Thank you for the concern, but you don't have to worry, I can deal with him."

Jane was still concerned for the cute silver-haired boy but she had done all she could. She took the bag to the back to count the goblin ears.

There were still many people staring at Val with many questions, Lizzy and the others had also been waiting for Val. The 4 of them were thinking of asking Val to join their party, now that they were 1 member less.

Adventurer parties could have any number below 10 and above 2, but generally for young adventurers the recommended amount of party members was 5. This was due to varying factors, such as diversity in skills and strength, and the ability to earn enough money to survive. If there were too many members, the split of rewards would be too small for the members to live.

Soon Jane returned, with 75 B, each goblin subjugation was worth 3 bronze. Val took his reward and stored it immediately. Val turned to leave but was stopped by Lizzy. Who asked,

"What are your plans now that you are in Loka Town?"

Val turned a bit to face Lizzy, taking a moment to think before replying,

"First I'm going to find somewhere to stay, then I need to find a magic blacksmith. There is a magic blacksmith in this town right?"

Lizzy was surprised but nodded,

"There is, but you will need a lot of money to purchase a magic weapon."

Val smiled,

"Money is not an issue for me."

Lizzy nodded, after hearing about what happened with the bandits, and how Val had raided their base, she had assumed he had quite a lot of money.

"If you want we can show you to the inn where you can book a room and stay?"

Suddenly Bindy interrupted them. This surprised Val as Bindy rarely spoke. She was a cute girl and Val liked her attitude.

Val nodded,

"I would appreciate it if you could, thanks."

Bindy's face went a slight shade of red and she smiled,

"It's not an issue, we stay there too."

With that, the group left the adventurers guild and headed to the inn which was a 15-minute walk. The guild was on the west side of town, whereas the inn was located in the center of town.

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As the group walked Val was very impressed by the layout and design of the buildings. They were all very solid and made with superior materials to what he was used to.

Val also noticed the town was very lively. There were many young adventurers but also many families. Val suspected it would become even more lively later when more adventurers would return for the day.

The group eventually arrived at the inn, which was a tall building, about 5 stories, and made of nice brown bricks. Val liked the look and entered with the others.

When they entered they were greeted by a girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She had an innocent look about her, she looked to be a similar age to Lizzy and Bindy who were both 11 years old.

She greeted everyone when they entered the inn,

"Hey, guys! How was your day?"

As she began to speak to the group she noticed an extra person. Usually, there were only 4 of them, Lizzy, Bindy, and the twins, but today there was another boy.

Jim did not stay at the inn, he lived somewhere else with his brother.

As the girl observed the boy, she was awe-struck. The boy with silver hair was the most handsome boy her age, she had ever seen. When she noticed she had been staring her face went red with embarrassment and she stuttered,

"He...ll...o sir... I'm Michelle... on...e of the daugh...ters of the own...ers of the Brow...n Bear Tav...ern. Wel...come." (Hello sir, I'm Michelle, one of the daughters of the owners of the Brown Bear Inn. Welcome.)

Val found this girl very amusing, he had figured out that he was a good-looking boy, but was still not used to people getting nervous because of his appearance.

He gave a smile to the nervous girl and introduced himself,

"Hey, I'm Val, F-Rank adventurer, I just arrived in town and I was looking for a place to stay, do you guys have available rooms."

Michelle vigorously nodded her head,

"Yes, we have a few rooms available, we have a smaller room available if you are worried about the cost?"

Val thought about it for a moment then said,

"Cost is not an issue to me, I would like a larger room, one that allows Leo, my familiar to stay with me."

Val pointed at Leo and only now did Michelle notice the little feline standing next to Val.

Michelle was surprised, she had not noticed the adorable cat because she had been in a daze from Val. But now that she noticed the little cat she seemed to have stars in her eyes. Michelle loved cats, and she really wanted to pick Leo up and give him a big cuddle. But she restrained herself, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Val.

"Okay, I can organize one of the larger rooms for you, how long will you be staying?"

Val thought about it for a bit,

"I will be staying for quite a while so how should I pay?"

Michelle nodded and said,

"The way we do it is that you will pay per week. The cost of the larger room is 5 bronze per day, so you will pay 35 bronze per week, at the start of the week. Is that okay?"

Val heard the cost and did not have an issue, he took out 35 bronze from his spatial ring and handed it to Michelle.

Michelle took it and then informed Val,

"I will take you to your room now if you would like?"

Val nodded and agreed but before they went to find Val's room, Bindy spoke,

"Val we will wait for you, once you are done finding your room, we will show you where the magic blacksmith is, and then we should have dinner together."

Val looked at Bindy, he thought about her suggestion for a moment, then nodded his head and agree. Val, Leo, and Michelle then walked off, Michelle was leading the way. She was trying to think about what to say to Val, she was a talkative person by nature, but in front of Val, her mind was going blank.

Val was the one who broke the silence,

"You said before you were one of the daughters of the owners, does that mean you have sisters? Do they also work here?"

Michelle was surprised by Val's attention to detail. She nodded and explained,

"Yes, I have two sisters, one older and one younger. My older sister and I are both adventurers as well. I'm an F-Rank like you, and my sister is E-Rank. We work to help our parents and when we aren't working here we complete requests as adventurers."

Val was surprised,

"Oh, that's impressive! What about your younger sister?"

Michelle explained,

"My younger sister is still only 9, she turns 10 in just over a month, she will probably also become an adventurer when she awakens."

Val nodded in understanding then asked,

"So how old are you and your older sister?"

Michelle turned he head back and squinted her eyes staring at Val, but she decided to answer anyway,

"I'm 11 and my older sister is 13."

Val thought it was pretty good, that Michelle's sister was E-Rank at 13 even though she only worked as an adventurer part-time. Val decided it was only fair to share his age too,

"I am 10 by the way."

It was Michelle's turn to be surprised, she thought Val would be at least her age if not a bit older because he was slightly taller than her.

But before she could argue or question Val, they arrived.

"Ahhh anyway this is your room. Here is the key, if you need anything just let me know."

Val smiled and thanked Michelle.

"Thank you for your help Michelle, I'll let you know if I need anything."

Michelle left and Val stayed for a moment looking around the room. He wanted to let Larz out but it would be hard to get him to agree to go back inside once he's been let out. Val decided to just return to the others.

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After a little while, Val left his room and returned to the others, they said goodbye to Michelle and headed towards the east of town, where a lot of the blacksmiths were located.

Val was having a lot of fun exploring the town, he and Leo would buy a lot of food from food stalls that smelled nice. They would also save a lot to give to Larz later.

After about 45 minutes of walking, though most of the time was taken up by Val and Leo buying and eating food, they arrived in front of a Brick building with a big chimney that had black smoke coming out of it.

The sign above the door said,

'Balricks Blacksmithy'

Val asked,

"Is this the place?"