New Task

Thursma immediately moved aside and gestured for Ronan to sit.

Ronan adjusted his collar, swallowed to bolster his courage, and pushed the door open. This was, after all, Ronan's first time meeting a truly important figure, someone who controlled a nation. The nervousness was unavoidable.

As soon as he entered, Ronan saw two beauties, one older and one younger, sitting behind a table and looking at him. Daisy winked at Ronan and, while Serena wasn't paying attention, stuck out her tongue and made a face.

Ronan felt a wave of speechlessness. He didn't know any etiquette, so he could only clench his right fist over his chest and bow.

"Your Majesty, Rodrit has arrived."

Fortunately, Serena didn't seem to mind his errors in etiquette, likely knowing he wouldn't understand such things, and didn't press the issue. Nodding, Serena gestured for Ronan to sit on the stool opposite her. After Ronan sat down, she said:

"First, I must thank you, Commander Rodrit, for safely bringing my daughter back to me. I heard the journey was fraught with danger. You've worked hard."

"It's nothing, nothing. Since I accepted the mission, I had to complete it no matter what. As a professional mercenary, I have to uphold that code."

"Heh, then Commander Rodrit has shown me what a true mercenary is like. My general impression of them before was that they were mercenaries when on a mission, but bandits when not."

"There are indeed many such people, but I think they are at most a bunch of incompetent fellows. Those who wish to gain without working hard will not always have a good outcome!"

Nodding, Serena seemed to agree with Ronan's point.

"Where are you from, Commander Rodrit? Sibylla told me you're from Calradia, but I've never heard of that place."

"Haha, I'm actually from Gaoling. Calradia is just a small village that was abandoned years ago due to bandit raids."

"Is that so? Where do you plan to develop your career next, Commander Rodrit?"

"I haven't really thought that far ahead yet, but I plan to rest well in Teldrasil for a while. After that, I might return to Gaoling. After all, Gaoling is at war with the Eagles, and I suppose there's a place for someone like me there."

"If you're looking to make money, I have a good opportunity here. I wonder if Commander Rodrit is interested."

"Of course! I'm interested in any way to make money!"

"Before that, I need to ask you a question: what are your impressions of Sibylla?"

"Her Highness the Princess is kind-hearted, pure, and lively. I don't think anyone would dislike such a girl!"

"That's not necessarily true. The opportunity I mentioned is also related to that!"

Pausing for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts, Serena continued:

"Do you understand Sinterland's succession mechanism? Sinterland is not hereditary. The Sinterland throne is usually chosen from among the major Elf families. When the current queen reaches maturity, she selects the most reputable and capable young person to succeed her.

In other words, Sibylla may not necessarily succeed me. My term has five more years, and Sibylla has just returned to Sinterland. She has no power base, doesn't understand many things, and most importantly, the people don't know her yet. Compared to the other current candidates, she is too weak.

Therefore, I plan to do my best to pave the way for Sibylla during my reign. Even if she can't inherit the throne, I don't want my daughter to be a mere ornament.

And recently, there's an opportunity for Sibylla to gain fame. Sinterland's ally in Slovakia, the Terra City-state, is under invasion by Valantis and Eredar. According to the alliance treaty, Terra hopes Sinterland will send troops to assist them in repelling the invasion and reclaiming lost territory.

Terra is also Sinterland's most important trading partner in Slovakia. Therefore, Sinterland does not wish for it to be conquered, especially since the Sons of Harpies and Snake Worshipers are not easy to deal with.

Sinterland plans to provide support to Terra in three phases. I hope you will lead troops in the first phase of support under Princess Sibylla's name and achieve good results to pave the way for Sibylla!

What do you say, are you willing to accept?"

Ronan remained silent for a while. Serena didn't rush for an answer but stared at Ronan with interest. Ronan's heart was in turmoil because the system had also conveniently issued a quest.

"Chain Quest: Expedition to Slovakia (Total 5 Rings)

First Ring: Successfully arrive on the continent of Slovakia.

Reward: 1000 EXP, 20 Gold Coins, 10 bottles of High-Efficiency Wound Salve.

Accept Quest?"

This was the system's first chain quest. Completing all five rings would undoubtedly not be simple, but the rewards should be correspondingly rich. After some hesitation, Ronan chose to accept.

"But Your Majesty, I only have about twenty men under my command. I'm afraid they won't make much of a decisive impact!"

"I know. Don't forget that besides being the Queen of Sinterland, I am also the leader of the Silver Moon Clan. I will entrust you with leading the 150 soldiers from the Silver Moon Clan in the first reinforcement team. Publicly, you will claim to be a follower of Princess Sibylla!"

"Understood, Your Majesty. I will complete the mission!"

"Hmph, I knew I wasn't wrong about you. Dorodamenro trusts you, and Belicha speaks highly of you. I hope you won't disappoint us. The first team departs in three days. You will stay in the side palace these few days. I won't let you work for nothing. Later, Belicha will deliver the reward for this mission to you, in addition to the 100 gold coins he owes you!"

"You may go now. I have a few words to say to Sibylla."

Ronan bowed again and turned to leave.

"Sibylla, what do you think of Rodrit?"

"Rodrit is a very responsible person, and principled, but he seems to have many secrets. Sometimes he's hard to read, and what he says is hard to understand."

"None of that matters. What matters is, do you trust him?" Serena asked gently, stroking Daisy's hair.

"Yes, I trust Rodrit!"

"That's good."

Meanwhile, Ronan was led back to the side palace by a maid. This royal palace was as winding and labyrinthine as a maze. Without the maid leading the way, Ronan probably wouldn't have found his way.

Glancing at the sky, he saw there was still a long time until dark. Ronan decided to leave the palace to sell the medicinal herbs he bought from Ravenwood Town from his backpack. At the same time, he would use these few days to find opportunities to recruit more soldiers to fill his ranks, as he was about to participate in a major city-state war.

The battle on the continent of Slovakia this time would be nothing like the minor skirmishes Ronan had faced before. On the main battlefield, there might be battles involving nearly ten thousand people. At that point, his small force would likely not even make a ripple.

Just now, when he accepted the quest from the Queen, Ronan had also unlocked his reputation with Sinterland.

Unknown (0/100) (Sinterland)

To gain a renowned reputation with a country and upgrade the system, the road ahead is long and arduous.