A Letter from Dorn City

After plenty of food and drink, everyone was flushed and merry.

Rain also learned from Chris that Leia was the daughter of a noble family in Dorn City. She had apparently become an Adventurer because she strongly opposed certain arrangements her family had made.

Just then, Leia, her cheeks rosy, seemed to remember something. She clapped with a smile to get everyone's attention and said:

"Right, there's one more happy thing I want to share with you all."

"Illys sent a letter."

"Hm? Did she succeed?" Chris asked at once.

"She did. Illys has become a full priestess of the Earth Goddess Temple," Leia confirmed with a nod.

Rain paused at that.

He had always assumed Illys, the Whistling Hunters teammate, was an archer. After all, Leia and the others had been discussing finding one at the time.

He hadn't expected this teammate he had never met to be a priestess.

Thinking back, Rain realized Leia probably hadn't expected to find an apprentice priestess on her own in Mill Town, so she had settled for looking for an experienced archer instead.

"That's great! Our team has a Professional now!"

"Chris, what are you thinking? Bringing a full priestess into our team would only hold her back," Fabian said, less enthusiastic.

"True. She wouldn't get much experience with us, either." Chris's smile gradually faded.

Rain had never met Illys, but Fabian had a point.

As far as he knew, full Professionals rarely joined teams made up of non-Professionals, even elite teams among lower-ranked Adventurers.

They had too many other choices.

And she was a priestess. In some respects, priests were even rarer than spellcasters such as mages and sorcerers.

Most priests served in temples, churches, or large organizations. Few had any desire to go adventuring.

"Illys doesn't see it that way. She really can't come right now, though," Leia said with a smile.

"I'll read her letter to everyone. Oh, Rain, you haven't met her yet. Illys is a lovely girl. I'm sure you'll get along wonderfully when you do."

"Now I'm looking forward to meeting her," Rain said, smiling and nodding.

He was curious what the priestess had written.

"Dear Leia, Chris, and Fabian..." Leia cleared her throat and began to read.

"By the time you receive this letter, I'll probably still be busy preparing for the Harvest Festival. Yes, as you hoped, I became a full priestess last week. You'll have to call me Priestess Illys now."

"Hahaha! Still such a little girl at heart. She hasn't changed a bit!" Chris laughed.

Rain couldn't help smiling, too.

"...Being a full priestess keeps me so busy. Morning prayers at dawn, studying Lesser Restoration all morning, seeing patients in the afternoon, and evening prayers at night..."

"I wanted to come join you, but the elder said this is my first festival since becoming a priestess and a test from the Earth Goddess. Clearly, I won't be able to make it anytime soon."

"But that gives me time to study Divine Magic. Then the next time Chris breaks his ankle, he won't have to rest for so long."

Hm?

At that, everyone turned to Chris with knowing smiles.

"Hey, hey, I'm not some fragile warrior! That was an accident." Chris flushed under their gazes and waved a hand. "Leia, keep reading."

Leia spared him further embarrassment. She parted her lips and continued:

"But don't worry, my friends. I've never forgotten any of you. I still remember sharing a sleeping bag with Leia. Speaking of which, Leia, yours are far too big. I could barely breathe in there."

"I'll skip that part... Ahem..." Leia's cheeks reddened further.

The others pretended they hadn't heard. Rain, though, glanced at Leia's shapely figure and found himself agreeing wholeheartedly with the distant girl's complaint.

Sharing a sleeping bag with her would definitely be a tight squeeze.

"...I've never forgotten the look of delight on Fabian's face when he picked a chest open... Oh, and the new teammate. Leia, please say hello to Grand for me. He seems calm and dependable."

A smile appeared on Grand's face.

"Leia, I've asked the post office to deliver an Enchanted Arrow to you. Please take care of yourself while I'm away... Illys, forever a member of the Whistling Hunters. Written after morning prayers at the Earth Goddess Temple."

When Leia finished reading, a brief silence settled over the little table.

Leia and the others, who knew the priestess, and Rain, who did not, all seemed to be lingering over her words.

The letter had conjured an image in Rain's mind of a lively young priestess in robes.

As they chatted afterward, Rain learned that Illys, Leia, and Chris had all come from Dorn City.

Leia and Illys had been close friends since childhood.

Fabian had joined them a little later.

Grand had been the last to join the Whistling Hunters, only about a month before Rain.

No wonder Illys didn't know Grand very well.

Still, the warmth and sincerity in her lively letter left Rain curious about the priestess he had never met, and rather fond of her already.

A team with such a lively priestess in it would probably be a cheerful one.

"Now that Chris has recovered, how about we visit the Adventurers' Association tomorrow and see if there are any suitable jobs?" Leia asked, looking around at everyone as the gathering drew to a close.

"Of course. Could we pick an easier one this time, though?" Chris said, waving his newly healed left hand.

The others laughed.

"What do you think, Rain?" Leia asked, turning to him last.

His opinion seemed particularly important to her.

Rain had, in fact, been thinking about what kind of job to take next. With his equipment vastly improved and the basics of Armor-Breaking Strike under his belt, it was only natural to consider his next target.

Small groups of Goblins were out of the question.

Common Goblin Bloodline was worthless to him now, and the chances of encountering a Mutant Goblin were too slim.

Kobolds were about as strong as Goblins individually, so they offered little to someone who had already obtained a Boarfolk Warrior bloodline.

Only a large Goblin or Kobold colony, where stronger individuals were more likely to appear, would interest him.

Ideally, his next target would be a Boarfolk Warrior or an even stronger creature.

Rain knew that might be difficult, though.

Leaving aside whether the team was strong enough to handle one, there were no suitable targets around Mill Town. The Basic Monster Compendium for the area made that clear.

They would have to travel several days to the Boarfolk Gathering Place in Deadwater Valley or head north to the Lancot Snowfield.

But even Winter Wolves, the easiest prey on the Snowfield, had a Challenge Rating of three.

So Rain approached the problem from another angle.