Chapter 1029 – (Side Story)07. A Witch’s First Love (4)
“What is a guide? “Is it different from an adventurer?”
“Ah, it’s a guide.”
The receptionist smiled and explained about the ‘guide’.
“It literally means an adventurer who specializes in route guidance.”
It is not much different from adventurers registered in the guild.
However, everyone knew that in some special terrain, an especially experienced adventurer would have an advantage.
A desert where it is difficult to find even a drop of water, or a jungle swamp with a humid and hot climate.
This is especially true in the case of snowy mountains, which are expected to be so rough that everyone is reluctant.
For adventurers who work with their bodies and lives as collateral, not knowing when they will die, the experience is a sure means and weapon to increase the probability of survival, and is also an important asset for adventurers to increase their ransom.
If you are accompanied by an adventurer who has gained a wealth of experience by exploring such difficult terrain and has survived so far, it is natural that the survival rate of the request or expedition will increase dramatically.
But there is one problem.
“… “I know the cost of hiring a guide is very expensive.”
As the experience itself is very expensive and precious, the cost of hiring a guide is much more expensive than that of a typical adventurer of the same class.
The leader of the adventurer party was not pleased with the idea of hiring a guide at a price higher than his own ransom.
The same goes for other party members.
There is an advance fee that Illyana is scheduled to pay, so the budget is not lacking, but it is not so large that one can relax.
They are adventurers of the same rank who are just being reviewed for promotion to the silver rank.
“I think I could buy one more useful sword with this money.”
“I want to get new armor this time.”
They prioritized purchasing better equipment and strengthening their own power rather than hiring a guide, a stranger with whom they had no relationship.
If an amount equal to the cost of hiring a pathfinder is deducted from their request fee, this is not good news for the adventurer party.
However, the receptionist responded with a smile even after seeing the adventurers’ unfavorable reaction.
“Hehe, it’s okay. The cost of hiring this person is very cheap. “I can only do this much.”
When the receptionist raised her finger and pointed to three, the party leader looked worried.
“Surely… 30 silver coins is cheap compared to the prices of other guides…”
“No. No. “It’s not 30 coins.”
“What?”
“All it takes is 3 silver coins.”
“… “What?”
The leader of the party momentarily asked with a puzzled expression whether he had heard correctly.
As if the receptionist had already expected his reaction of complete disbelief, he smiled and spoke again.
“It only takes 3 silver coins.”
“…”
The party leader, as well as other party members, are unable to react and are replaying the receptionist’s words in their heads.
Well, if it’s 3 silver coins, isn’t it less than the amount of compensation they will share?
Is it because the truth about other pathfinder adventurers who were pathfinders and used to demand more compensation came to mind?
The adventurers’ reactions all looked like they couldn’t believe it.
“… Is it really okay? That guide.”
The party leader asked the receptionist with a skeptical look.
The suspicion is reasonable.
All things have a price attached to them, and there is definitely a good reason why they are cheap.
Most products have defects or similar problems that must be considered.
It may be inhumane to compare adventurers to objects, but it is a common metaphor in the world of adventurers who risk their lives and bodies as collateral.
However, despite the suspicious gaze, the receptionist smiled and answered confidently.
“Yes. “I can guarantee your skills.”
“Could it be that you have some ulterior motive? “Why on earth are you providing guidance at that price?”
“No? It’s not like that… I think I’m just helping adventurers out of pure kindness. The adventurer party who returned together also had very good reviews of the guide.”
“…”
“Here are reports of completed requests.”
The report that the receptionist placed on the table contained details of how many requests were completed.
And among them, even the reviews of the adventurers who took on the request.
The stories about the guide who guided them were all good stories.
“How are you?”
How good are you as a guide and adventurer that even the receptionist strongly recommends you?
At this level, it makes you wonder why they serve as guides for a fee that is almost free.
“Ah! Or would you like to talk to me directly?”
“What?”
Everyone, including the adventurer party members and Illyana, tilted their heads at the words of the receptionist who made an unknown suggestion.
Their heads naturally turned, following the direction of her smiling gaze.
“Welcome!”
“Hello.”
A man greeted the receptionist with a bright voice and smiled.
“Huh?”
Illyana seemed surprised and expressed her confusion in a low voice.
The man who slowly walked towards them and towards the receptionist who welcomed them was a face that Illyana knew.
Silver-white hair and glowing red eyes.
I don’t know his name, but that face that I can never forget once I see it, isn’t it the man who was beating up pickpockets and robbing them in the alley a little while ago?
“Hmm?”
Just as Illyana recognized him, it was natural that he also recognized her.
It was rare to find a woman as strikingly beautiful as Illyana.
However, the silver-haired man only smiled slightly and bowed his head slightly, and did not pretend to know anything with just a simple greeting.
“You came at the right time.”
“What’s going on?”
“Actually, these people were planning to go to the snowy mountain area near the Kurdel Mountains, but they were worried because it was made up of people who had no experience yet.”
The silver-haired man nodded his head immediately as if he understood what was being said.
“Do you need guidance?”
“Yes. That’s right. If you have time, may I ask you a favor?”
“Hmm…”
The silver-haired man did not answer right away.
I shifted my gaze and looked at the whereabouts of the adventurers who might be joining me.
“…”
The adventurer party members also watch his movements.
Is the person in front of me, whom I have never met, really a person that is okay to accompany, or a person that I can safely trust and allow myself to be vulnerable?
It is to judge and measure with one’s own eyes.
Due to the nature of adventurers’ jobs that expose them to danger all the time, this exploration, which can be rude if done wrong, is in some ways a natural habit.
“Nice to meet you. Please take care of me.”
Eventually, it was the silver-haired man who finished the search first and held out his hand with a smile.
“Well, thank you.”
The leader of the party, who came to his senses late, was slightly embarrassed and shook the silver-haired man’s hand without realizing it.
“My name is Eunhyeon.”
“It’s a rare form of name. Are you a descendant of ancient people?”
“That’s right.”
It was a very unfamiliar name, but in this world of adventurers meeting various people, it wasn’t that strange.
Very occasionally, there were people who inherited the culture and traditions of ancient people and maintained their characteristics.
One thing that was unique was that the most distinctive feature of all of them was black hair and black eyes, but this man who introduced himself as Eunhyeon had white-silver hair and red eyes.
But what’s the problem with that?
What is important for adventurers is their skills and experience.
It is only the ability to value oneself.
“My name is Malek, and he is the leader of the party.”
“I would like to hear your plans and preparation schedule.”
“I think you should hear that directly from the client over there.”
Malek glanced at Illyana.
Illyana trembled for a moment when she felt her gaze directed towards her, but she soon forced herself to hide her agitation.
It was true that he received help from the man who introduced himself as Eunhyeon, but he was the employer of many adventurers, including him.
As a superior, I didn’t want to show that I was so immature that I could be manipulated.
“Why are you going to the Kurdel Mountains?”
“… “I want to obtain ingredients for a reagent that can only be collected in the Kurdel Mountains.”
“Ah, perennial snow ginseng?”
“… Do you know?”
Illyana couldn’t hide her agitation this time.
“Yes. “I know.”
That’s because Eunhyeon’s words clearly understood her own purpose.
Of course, no matter how expensive it was, I couldn’t figure out the fundamental purpose of going all the way to the cold snowy mountain area to obtain the reagent ingredients that could be found in the market.
Just mentioning the existence of her ice cap was enough to embarrass her.
“Hmm. Then, shall we write a formal contract?”
“Then we’ll leave.”
The adventurer party, who had already signed a contract with Illyana, left the guild first.
The purpose was to rest in advance and be in optimal condition in accordance with tomorrow’s departure schedule.
Illyana was so drawn to Eunhyeon’s story that she quickly signed a contract.
“Then I guess I should buy the equipment first.”
“Equipment?”
Illyana, who had thought that she had finished signing the contract, looked puzzled.
“If you want to go to a snowy mountain area, you must first wear the appropriate equipment.”
Starting with the most basic cold weather measures, it goes without saying that a variety of equipment is needed for hiking in frozen conditions due to snow and temperatures.
Illyana frowned at the additional expense, which she had never considered, but it made perfect sense.
‘I just hate being cold…’
If Eunhyeon had heard what she was muttering, she would have said that she had chosen the snowy mountain area as her destination.
It was a very narrow-minded decision for Illyana, who only thought about the goal and not the process.
Eunhyeon headed to the market to purchase clothing suitable for Iliana and hiking equipment.
“Oh! Mister! Hello!”
“Hmm? Okay. Hi. “Don’t butterfly run away from home these days?”
“Yes! Thanks to you, I always wear a leash!”
“Thank goodness.”
“Hehe, come visit my house later! “I’ll introduce you to Mom and Dad!”
“No. What kind of invitation is it for finding a puppy? That means I might get beaten to death by your dad. “You might misunderstand.”
“It’s not a misunderstanding…”
“…”
Illyana stared at Eunhyeon, who was chatting cordially with a young girl she had met in her market.
“Thank you for helping me last time. This is the cake we just made at our store. “Would you like to eat it?”
“Oppa! What’s happening today? Are you busy?”
“If time permits, would you like to go see a play with me this weekend?”
Women I keep encountering every time I walk through the market.
And every time she felt the gazes they gave towards the man named Eunhyeon, filled with feelings beyond kindness, Illyana was shocked.
This man named Eunhyeon was a person who was easy to like with the opposite sex, so much so that it wouldn’t be strange to say that he was truly a different type.
But what was even more shocking than that.
‘What the hell is this person. ‘What is it?’
“Sorry. There was a bit of a delay.”
“… “There are so many women around you?”
“Yes? Ah, them? We just happened to become friends. “We are not in a special relationship.”
“…”
This man had no awareness.
Just because he found a puppy, because he helped move a heavy load, and because he sold rare materials at a low price.
How can a friendship that started from something so trivial develop into a romantic relationship?
They say it makes no sense, and they are blocking the development of that relationship.
Ridiculously, he didn’t seem to have any desire for that side, and he didn’t harbor any desires or dark intentions for the opposite sex.
“Well, there are people like this… ?”
Even from the same woman, Illyana, she thinks such blatant flirting is ridiculous, and she is denying it and making a mistake.
“What are you doing? “There are a lot of people here, so you have to be especially careful.”
“…”
“If you walk around quietly, you could get your money stolen by pickpockets.”
“Oh, I know.”
Illyana got annoyed for no reason.
She may also be petty, but she was unaware that she was one of the women who had a relationship with Eun-hyeon.
