Two days later, Finn and Darwin arrived at the guild with the two crates they'd snatched from the goblins and a bag of goblin teeth. Seeing them arrive, Amelia quickly checked them over to see if they were injured.
"I see you two did well" Amelia said, examining them.
"Yeah, it was pretty easy" Darwin confirmed, placing his crate on the floor, just like Finn.
"I see... you didn't have any problems with the goblins?" Amelia asked again.
"Nope, pretty easy" Finn said.
"Hmm... did you happen to notice anything strange, like any strange behavior from the goblins?" Amelia asked, knowing about the recent rumors about the goblins.
"No, everything was normal" Darwin affirmed.
"Okay, what about the crates? Where did you get them?" Amelia asked.
"We snatched them from the goblins. We thought they were lost merchandise" Darwin said, and Amelia nodded.
"I understand. I'll call some receptionists and we'll check if there are any reports of lost merchandise from any merchant" Amelia said. "In the meantime, you can wait in the reception room" Amelia said, and they both nodded.
Amelia turned around, called two receptionists to pick up the crates, and left with them, forgetting the fact that this was practically the first time Darwin and Finn had encountered goblins, and they didn't know that goblins couldn't speak like ordinary people or didn't know how to put on armor.
After a few minutes, Amelia returned with two bags of money, which was payment for completing the mission and a bonus for recovering lost merchandise sent from the Animal Kingdom.
A few minutes later, Finn and Darwin sat at a secluded table, waiting for Amelia to return with the food they had ordered.
"See, I told you we'd get something for bringing the merchandise," Darwin said, happily looking at his bag of money.
"Yeah, although I thought we'd get a little more..." Finn said, looking at his bag.
"Don't be greedy, this is already a bonus to what we were going to earn" Darwin said, agreeing.
"Yeah, I guess you're right" Finn said, putting away his bag.
"So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to buy the Imperial Gem?" Darwin asked, knowing that Finn wanted to learn how to use magic.
"Hmm… no, I think I want to train with my sword a little more before I want to use magic" Finn said. "I feel like I can be more effective with my sword with a little training."
"I understand. I should practice my sword skills a little too…" Darwin said, knowing that he didn't even get to use his magic on the goblins. "Goblins are very weak monsters. I didn't even need to use all my magic on them. I think with a little practice with the sword and better handling, I'll be able to take on several at the same time" Darwin surmised, and Finn nodded.
"Yes, I think the same. Goblins don't require magic to be defeated." Finn nodded, completely agreeing, since he hadn't used magic at all.
"In that case, you should go on more hunting missions" Amelia said, arriving with two plates of food.
"Go on more hunting missions?" Darwin asked back.
"Yes, there's nothing better for learning and honing your skills than real combat" Amelia said, taking a piece of paper out of her dress. "This mission arrived yesterday. It's from a town west of here. They say they've spotted several goblins in the forest right between the town and the capital. Take care of them," Amelia said, placing the paper on the table.
"I think it's a great idea" said Darwin, looking at the quest. "Besides, the western forest isn't as far away as the southern forest, we can get there in less than a day."
"Sounds good" said Finn, looking at the quest. "We can leave in the morning, kill some goblins, and return to the capital for the night."
"Yeah, it'll be a piece of cake" said Darwin, taking the quest.
"This will be a long-term quest since you'll have to search for goblins in the forest, so you'll have to take on other quests from time to time" said Amelia.
—
So Finn and Darwin began a long period of alternating quests between the capital and the goblin-hunting quest. The first few days, the two searched the western forest trying to locate the goblins, managing to find a few groups of three goblins. Then, they started doing missions in the city since they had to get money to survive, some missions in the capital consisted of guarding the capital's gates, working as waiters in a bar, helping to arrange armor in Mr. Jacob's new store, and even helping to test the items of the alchemist and developer Dan.
The mission, which they initially believed would last less than a week, stretched to three weeks. Finn and Darwin encountered many goblins during this week, wondering where so many goblins were coming from and discovering that they were only hanging around certain parts. Days passed without sighting any more goblins. Finn and Darwin believed the goblins had finally left this area of the forest, until their imminent encounter with a group of hobgoblins.
The hobgoblins were considerably larger and stronger than the goblins. While the goblins measured between 1.30 and 1.40 meters, the hobgoblins measured between 1.50 and 1.70 meters, their bodies were stronger, being only slightly weaker than Finn and Darwin.
"What the hell are some hobgoblins doing here?!" Darwin asked, clashing his sword against the hobgoblin's sword.
"NIHIHIHI, stupid human, you'll never get them! They're ours!" exclaimed the hobgoblin.
"This is like the hundredth time they've yelled that! What the hell are they talking about?!" Finn asked, confused, dodging a hobgoblin and parrying another's attack with his sword.
"You won't have them! They're ours! They belong to us!" the hobgoblin shouted, lunging at Finn. Finn saw an opportunity and pushed the hobgoblin in front of him with all his streght. Finn turned around and slashed quickly in the air, managing to make a large cut across the hobgoblin's chest as it charged at him.
The hobgoblin fell to the ground, writhing in pain while clutching its chest. Finn didn't hesitate and with a quick slash, he cut off the hobgoblin's head, scaring the others. Darwin took advantage of the hobgoblins' commotion and summoned a fireball that burned the face of one, and with a swift movement, he plunged his sword directly into the eye of another, leaving only two hobgoblins alive.
"Damn humans, you won't take them!" said the hobgoblin, raising his sword.
"You know... I think I understand now" said Finn, wiping the blood running down his forehead from a hobgoblin who had earlier hit him with the hilt of his sword. "They usually kidnap women, right? They're just repeating what people usually say when they see them" Finn surmised.
"Sure, how did I not notice?" said Darwin, making sense of what Finn said.
"THEY DON'T BELONG TO YOU!" shouted a hobgoblin, running towards Darwin, only to be disarmed and decapitated in two swift movements.
"THEY ARE OURS..." the hobgoblin shouted only to be pierced through the mouth with one of the other hobgoblins' swords, courtesy of Finn.
"Do they ever shut up or something?" Finn asked, sighing, lying on the ground and using his shirt to wipe the blood off.
Darwin sighed wearily, looking at the bodies of the seven hobgoblins who had attacked them. Then he dropped down next to Finn, invoking some fire magic to cauterize the wound on his left arm so it wouldn't get infected.
"Being attacked by hobgoblins on the very day we didn't bring any healing potions is certainly luck" Darwin said with a wry smile.
"Lucky us… well, at least these were the last ones. All that remains is to inform Amelia" Finn said.
"Sigh, I hope the pay is good" Darwin said. "We spent three weeks going back and forth between the guild and the forest."
"I hope so" Finn said, standing up and grabbing his sword. "What do we do with the hobgoblins? Do we just leave them here?"
"Yeah, I'm sure some wolf or bear will eat them later" Darwin said, standing up as well. "Although, I still can't get what they said out of my mind."
"Sigh, I know. For some reason, it seemed to be directed at us. I don't know what they meant, though" Finn said, also thinking about what the hobgoblins shouted.
"Or maybe we're just overthinking everything and they're actually repeating what they heard" Darwin said, shaking off the thought.
"Let's hope so" Finn said.
___
"So, they're on their way?" Master Rohan asked at his desk.
"That's right, Master. The group of adventurers that Miss Cristel is part of sent a letter notifying them that they're on their way. It's just that the zeppelin was destroyed by accident, and since they were a bit far away, they're taking a while to get there" Damian said, handing the letter to the Master.
"I understand. They were heading to the southern desert. It should take a month's walk, more or less…" the Master said, nodding. The Master remained silent for a few seconds, looking a little thoughtful, then looked up at Damian. "No one has taken the quest yet?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not, Master" Damian shook his head sadly. "The receptionists have encouraged our adventurers to take it, but everyone ignores it."
"Sigh, if no one takes it in a week, I'll have to repost it myself, see if anyone takes interest" said the master.
"I highly doubt it, Master. Even though you weren't the one who put it up on the mural, everyone knows it's a quest you yourself ordered" said Damian. "I really apologize, Master. If only we receptionists were a little stricter with our adventurers…"
"Stop it, son. This isn't your fault…" interrupted the Master. "We Masters have been very soft on our adventurers over the years, and now we're paying the consequences."
"I'm really sorry, Master…" apologized Damian again.
"What about the other quests that aren't from the North? They've been doing them," asked the Master.
"Very barely. Only a handful of adventurers deign to take on quests that aren't from the North… many believe that the glory of adventurers lies in the Northern quests, since they're more challenging and urgent" said Damian, causing the Master to grimace in disapproval.
"These fools, there's no glory in leaving people without Protection" said the Master, disappointed, standing up from his desk and walking out onto a small terrace. "Ha, but I assure you they still enjoy life as adventurers, eating nonstop, fornicating like crazy, taking advantage of their status in the guild hierarchy" said the Master, looking at the starry night sky above.
"Sigh, they do..." confirmed Damian, sighing.
"They don't deserve those benefits... not anymore. There are very few who deign to fulfill their duty as adventurers, and yet they never abuse their status" said the Master. "They've never missed a mission or failed one without giving an arm in the process... they're the true adventurers, the ones who deserve the benefits of being an adventurer..."
"By the way, Master, this is a letter of thanks from a guild in the Animalia Kingdom" said Damian, taking a letter out of his pocket.
"A letter of thanks, why?" asked the master, taking the letter.
"A few weeks ago, adventurers under Amelia's supervision recovered some supplies that came from one of the Animalia Kingdom's guilds" Damian said.
"I understand. Good work. Did they give you the extra bonus as it should have?" the Master asked, and Damian nodded quickly. "Well done."
—
At a campsite in the middle of the forest, a large group of adventurers had decided to rest for the night. Cristel stood in front of one of the campfires, watching a small screen appearing on the card in her armband. On the screen was a photo of her and Amelia, the two of them posing in bikinis.
"A friend of yours?" asked Rodrick, a tall older man. His hair and beard showed a few gray strands, and he always looked serious and distant. Rodrick sat across from Cristel, on the other side of the campfire, his long black cloak covering his face and body.
"Oh, Mr. Rodrick. Uh… yes, that's right, this is Amelia, a very close friend of mine," Cristel said, showing Rodrick the photo. "This is one of the few missions we did together. Before Amelia stopped doing missions, we were doing a capture mission back then. A spy had infiltrated the kingdom as a photographer, and Amelia and I had to get into modeling to find out who it was."
"I understand. You said she stopped doing missions. Did she get hurt?" Rodrick asked.
"Something like that. She was one of the first victims of the Order of the Raven" Cristel revealed, causing Rodrick to narrow his eyes at the name.
"I see. So it was those bastards," Rodrick said, understanding what had happened. Then he looked at the photo again. "You look very close. Do you miss her?"
"Yes, something like that. She's my only friend in the guild" Cristel revealed, causing Rodrick to nod again.
"Well, there's only a little over a week left until we return to the capital. Very soon you'll be able to talk to her as much as you want" said Rodrick.
"Sure… I'll do just that" said Cristel. 'If she even talks to me, even when we're both at the guild, it's very rare for her to talk to me unless I start the conversation…' Cristel thought, pouting slightly. 'Do I need to show her more love so she'll pay more attention to me, like Grandpa told me?' Cristel wondered.
Cristel closed the screen and remained silent for a moment. But suddenly, noises began to be heard coming from some tents, making Cristel sigh irritably and Rodrick smile amusedly.
"Young people are very energetic… I wonder why Miss Cristel doesn't join them? Didn't they invite you?" Rodrick said, making Cristel roll her eyes.
"Of course they did" Cristel replied. "It's just that I'm not interested in sleeping with adventurers who have no goal beyond becoming famous or acquiring political power. I'll only do it with a true adventurer."
"Who would have thought it? You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. But well, it was to be expected from Rohan's granddaughter" Rodrick said, nodding approvingly.