“Miss Elise… You should be staying in your room…” A small and nervous voice sounded out.

The owner of the voice was, of course, the cute and adorable Mari. Elise smiled indifferently and argued, “I’m just having my dinner in the dining area. I can’t possibly stay in such a small room the whole day.... Ah! I’m not saying that the room is small though!” Elise quickly added as she realised her words might be hurtful to the young girl.

“It's ok, Miss Elise. I know the room is small as well,” Mari replied ruefully.

“Mari, don't let the other customers wait.”

Mari jumped and turned around. “Mama…”

A woman in her thirties with the same light brown hair as Mari approached the table Elise was seated at.

“Go and help the other customers take their orders. I'll help Miss Elise,” she said firmly as she put a hand on her waist.

Having no choice, Mari had to do as her mother says and went off reluctantly.

“Sorry my daughter is so stubborn,” the woman said apologetically. “She has been very motivated by Mr Andric’s request to keep a watchful eye over you.”

“It's okay, Mrs Daysworth,” Elise chuckled. “I really appreciate all the help the inn has given me for the past few days.”

Mrs Daysworth laughed heartily. “You are a paying customer. Something as small as this is not an issue at all.”

“So, what do you want to eat today?” She asked as she placed the menu on the table.

“The roast beef with potatoes sound delicious. Can I have the vegetable soup as well?”

“Sure!” Mrs Daysworth replied as she jotted the order down with a notepad she took out from her apron. “Will you be eating alone today?”

Elise raised an eyebrow. She had been eating alone in her room for the past four days. What was she talking about now?

Seeing the girl’s confused look, Mrs Daysworth glanced around before leaning forward. “Most of the people staying here are rough people so they might get a bit excited when they see a pretty miss. If you need any help just give me a call, okay?”

Elise thought for a while before her words registered in her head. Ah, having a good looking face is pretty tough isn't it.

“I will be fine,” she said with a smile.

Mrs Daysworth looked unconvinced, but she nodded. “Alright. Just give us a while. I’ll bring the food over soon.”

Now that she was alone, Elise started looking around. The dining area contained twelve wooden round tables that could seat four people each. The number of seats was more than the maximum number of occupants in the inn as the inn also served diners not staying in the inn.

The place was now almost fully occupied as it was close to dinner time. As Elise was waiting for the food to be served, more diners streamed in, making the place even livier. This was a nice change for Elise who had been holed up in her room for the past few days.

“You are Miss Elise right? Your soup is here,” a cheery voice called out.

A bowl of steaming vegetable soup was put in front of her. Next to the soup was a small loaf of bread that was meant to be eaten with the soup.

Elise looked up and met the twinkling hazel eyes of the buxom waitress. She was wearing a green apron that all the staff were wearing over a long sleeved white blouse and dark brown midi skirt. Her apricot coloured hair was braided loosely into a pigtail and brought to the front of her ample bosom. Her looks was average, but she gave off a welcoming atmosphere, so she should be quite popular in the inn.

She heard from Mari that the waitress’ name was Percy, a part timer who only worked during the lunch and dinner hours.

“Thank you.”

“Ah, so polite.” The twenty year old grinned. “I heard a lot about you from Mari. Are you feeling better?”  

“Haha. Yes. If I stay in my room any longer, I'm going to grow mushrooms,” Elise joked.

“Heh. Good to know that you have recovered,” she remarked. “You still have a main right? It should be done soon. I'll check with boss,” the young lady said rapidly before she bustled off again

Having been left alone again, Elise picked up the spoon to prepare to tuck in.

“Hey there. Are you eating alone?”

How unoriginal, Elise thought before she looked up. As she was cautioned by Mrs Daysworth earlier, she was not surprised to hear a stranger talking to her.

It was a youth wearing a silver coloured light plate armor with black under clothes. From his getup, Elise could deduce that he was an Adventurer. The person that looked to be in his early twenties was grinning and his green eyes was friendly.

“If you are eating alone, would you mind if I join you?” The youth with messy brown hair asked enthusiastically.

Smiling slightly, she answered, “I’m waiting for my friend.”

Hearing this, the face of the youth fell.

Elise was amused. Was he going to give up just like that? The men of the lower world seemed to be pretty chivalrous. Not that she was complaining of course.

“See, I told you a pretty lady like her will have companions.” A tall, muscular man with dirty blond hair under a white bandana appeared behind the youth, and grabbed his shoulders. Different from the first man, he was wearing a brown shirt under a set of black, hard leather armor.

Flashing her an apologetic grin, he said, “Sorry, I hope Mansor has not scared you.”

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Elise quickly waved her hands. “Not at all. I was slightly surprised though…”

“Mansor… See I told you it was a bad idea,” the muscular man said with a disapproving frown.

“Fred, you wanted to talk to her as well, didn’t you… Why am I the only one who is getting scolded…”

Elise smiled at the duo. Since she had time, why don’t she entertain herself for a while?

“If the both of you don’t mind, would you like to join me for dinner?” She invited. “My friend seems to be late. It would be nice to have people to talk to while having my dinner.”

“Really!” Both man exclaimed before they looked at each other and grinned. “Of course we will not mind!”

The surrounding diners who have been secretly listening to the conversation between the pretty blonde haired girl and the two Adventurers immediately regretted not gathering their courage to speak to the girl.

*****

“Are the both of you from Wivendale?” Elise asked after they had settled down at her table.

“No, Fred and I are Adventurers. We just came to the town a day ago,” the younger looking of the duo, Mansor, answered energetically. Elise could tell that he was a chatty person.

“Oh? What are the both of you in town for?” Elise asked as she put a piece of bite sized roast beef into her mouth.

Mmm… Delicious!

All of their mains had been served so they were in the midst of eating while they were talking.

The reason why she had invited them to have dinner with her was not only because she was bored. It was to find out more information about the land as well. Although Mari had shared with her what she know, there were many things she was not sure of as she had never went out of town. If she was to go to the capital to take the airship, she will need to find out more information about what is happening in other towns in the land. She can’t keep depending on Andric after all.

“We are here to participate in the special quest the Wivendale Guild sent out.” The muscular man called Fred said. “How about you? What are you here for?”

“What’s a special quest?” Elise asked curiously while ignoring his last two questions.

“The details are not out yet, but I heard that it is something to do with Goblins,” Mansor replied. “The forests in this area gets pretty infested with Goblins during this time of the year. Perhaps it’s to help with the extermination.”

“I heard that the reward for this is going to be pretty good!” Fred added.

“Reward? Is it money?” She knew that the job of an Adventurer was to complete quests and submit them to the Guild for a reward, but she was not sure of what kind of reward they received, and how much they received for each quest. But for a life threatening job, the reward should be pretty good right? Her eyes started sparkling as she thought of that.

“Mmm… If it’s Goblin subjugation, they will usually count by the number of monster you have killed. The usual rate is around 2 Merin for each Goblin. If it’s a High Goblin, then it will be around 10 Merin,” Fred explained. “Miss, you are interested in becoming an Adventurer?” He joked when he saw her eyes light up.

Elise smiled as she realised she had found her chance of getting the money for her ticket back home.

Her adorable smile caused the heartbeat of the two Adventurers in front of her to increase. Who was that bastard that dare to leave her sitting alone in an inn?

“Yes. I think I'll like to become an Adventurer. It sounds pretty fun.”

“Ehhhh!” Mansor exclaimed. Fred looked surprised as well, but he did not let out a unsightly sound like Mansor. “What kind of Adventurer are you intending to become?”

“What kind?” Elise questioned. “There are different kinds of Adventurers?”

“Ah, he’s referring to your job class,” Fred explained. “For example, I am a Warrior who uses a battle axe while Mansor is a Swordsman who uses a longsword and shield.”

“Miss do not look like the kind of person who fights. What kind of weapon do you use?”

“Hmm… I haven’t thought about that…” She could be a Mage… But her mana level was so low it would be an insult to other Mages to call herself a Mage.

Mansor fell over his chair comedically. “You don’t know what weapon to use and you want to be an Adventurer? Isn’t that too dangerous?”

“Mansor is right about that. The job of an Adventurer is tough and you meet with lots of dangerous situations. It is not a job that someone without training should go into,” Fred said seriously as he crossed his arms.

“Ah, it’s not that I don’t know how to use any weapons. It’s just that I’m not sure which one to use when I’m registering myself as an Adventurer,” Elise explained. “But thanks for the caution, I’ll be careful.”

The two men looked at each other. “Well, since Miss says so…”

“By the way, we have been talking for a while but we still don’t know your name yet,” Mansor said as he leaned forward.

“That’s right. May we know the name of this beautiful lady?” Fred asked smoothly with a wink.

Seeing the two expectant faces looking at her, Elise could not help but smile at their foolish expressions.

“My name is…”

“Elise.”

A deep voice had interrupted her sentence.