12 Lurking Trouble
For some reason, it was almost more breathtaking than the sight of magic itself; the atmosphere that was boisterous, loud, and filled with laughter; stinking of booze and the smell of sweat and steel–he felt truly inside of a fantasy world at that moment.
“Gh-“
He fell back after being bumped into by a passing person, not noticing them while he was awestruck.
“Sorry ’bout that. Didn’t see you there.”
The words came from the man who had knocked into him, who extended a hand down to him that was clad in a glove woven of black leather and studded with silver.
“–“
The man had kind eyes and a scruffy, crimson beard with messy hair of the same shade; he wasn’t particularly muscular, and his armor hardly looked lavish; it was half leather and half steel, as if not being able to afford a full-set of metal protection.
“Are you okay? Oh, man, I didn’t bump into you too hard there, did I?” The man asked worriedly.
“…I’m fine,” he said, finally coming to.
As soon as he accepted the helping hand, he was hoisted up to his feet as for a moment, he felt as light as a feather in the grip of the kind adventurer.
“There ya’ go. All good!” The red-haired man smiled, brushing off his shoulders and patting him.
He stood there in disbelief for a moment, thinking only one thing:
This guy is so cool. I want to be just like him, he thought.
“Err, who are–”
Before he could ask his question to the man, a voice from across the rowdy building called out to him, calling him over.
“Let’s go, red-hair!”
“Yeah, I’m right behind ya’!” The red-haired adventurer looked up, going on his way.
He was a bit disappointed that he didn’t get to ask the man for his name, slumping his shoulders a bit with a sigh.
“Hey, kid!”
“–!”
He raised his head, looking back as he saw the red-haired, affable adventurer flick something over to him that spun in the air.
Catching it in his hand, he looked at it–finding it to be some sort of coin with a language inscribed on it that he didn’t recognize, etched with the symbol of a cross and a sword.
“What’s this…?” He mumbled.
“If you want to be an adventurer someday, there’s your fee!” The man winked, “It’s on me! If you become big someday, I don’t want you holding a grudge over a little bump!”
It was a playful notion, but he smiled, nodding with giddiness as he kept the coin tightly held in his hand before tucking it away in his shorts.
Before he knew it, the red-haired adventurer disappeared within the crowd, leaving his sights as he finally remembered what he was there for in the first place.
“…Grgh…!”
He struggled to haul the sack over to the reception desk, but managed at last as the woman behind the desk watched with a worried smile.
“What can I help you with?” The blonde-haired woman asked kindly.
With his last ounce of strength, sweating by quite a margin, he hoisted the bloodied sack up and set it on the desk as a grotesque squelch sounded out.
“I’m…here…to…turn this in,” he said between heavy breaths.
“…Right,” the guild receptionist nodded before looking at him for a moment, blinking a few times, “…You’re the Dragonheart boy, aren’t you?”
He was confused as to how she figured that out, but it wasn’t exactly surprising with how many people in the town seemed to know him as well.
“Yeah,” he nodded, resting his chin tiredly on the counter.
The receptionist smiled brightly, “I’m Lia! I’m quite familiar with your parents. Sir Julius has talked a lot about you.”
‘Sir’? He thought.
“I’m guessing this is from his most recent quest, then?” Lia asked, taking the sack behind the reception desk.
He nodded, “…Yeah.”
“Alright, then. Let me verify the quest proof and I’ll get your payment for you.”
As the joyful, golden-haired receptionist opened the sack, silently counting the heads inside of its hold, he tiredly watched her chest bounce with each movement she made.
It was like counting sheep; each time they bounced, he counted higher and higher.
…Three, four, five, six…He thought.
He nearly fell asleep while being hypnotized by the bouncy mounds before a small sack jingled in front of him.
“Here you are: twelve crowns! Thank you for your assistance to the Guild Federation!” Lia bowed.
It was a lot of money; more than he had ever had access to as he gulped, accepting the payment before he left the building.
Just as he left, he was hounded by a perturbed old man, who jabbed his bony finger near his face out of anger.
“Hey, you! Brat! Look at the mess you left on the street!” The old man yelled at him.
At first, he was confused as to why anybody would bother him, but he looked down at the dirt road of the village to see a trail of blood.
Oh, right…He remembered.
He had been dragging the bloody sack of orc heads during the last bit of his haul, to which there were a few people who seemed bothered by this.
“Go grab a brush and clean it right up! Or else I’ll go get the guards–”
Shutting the old man up, he held his hand out, manifesting a spray of highly-pressurized water that cleaned the crimson liquid from the dirt swiftly.
After rinsing the street, he glanced back at the old man, who was missing half of his teeth, “Is that good enough?”
“I-I suppose so…!”
The passing villagers seemed in shock at his display of casual magic, but to him it wasn’t anything extraordinary.
Going on his way, he bounced the sack of money in his palm with a giddy smile. He wasn’t planning on spending the hard-earned money his father had acquired, but it certainly felt nice to have some coin in his possession.
He took some time to actually explore the humble town, getting familiar with some of its occupants and how things were run. It was surprisingly bustling for such a small town, but apparently Lilgulia was a sort of “commuter town” for adventurers and merchants to pass through quite often.
Little did he realize the two men who were trailing him, watching him with less-than-good intentions in their eyes.
“The Dragonheart brat, eh? A lot of rumors about the bodies of those folk. He should fetch us a pretty coin,” one of the men said.
“Looks like he’s pretty talented, too. A young boy, well-educated, and talented? Hoh…I bet some dirty noble will love him,” the other man said.