Preparing for the rewards

Renato had stuffed the Bag of Holding, which could carry five hundred pounds, to the brim.

Fortunately, the Bag of Holding worked by transferring its contents into an extradimensional space. Otherwise, Renato could never have carried such a heavy load back to town.

After giving the blood on their bodies a quick wash in the stream, the two returned to the Silver Deer Inn before night fell and the town gates closed.

Renato did not go straight to Iron Wheat. Instead, he had Perly use the evening to prepare her spells again while he tried on the newly acquired Chain Shirt.

According to the conventions in the Adventurer's Guide, the other party should honor the agreement. But Renato would not stake his life on something so uncertain. To guard against Malik double-crossing him, he decided to wait until tomorrow, when he had recovered.

After discussing it, Perly decided to prepare three spells: Mage Armor, Burning Hands, and Magic Missile.

With her help, Renato put on his new Chainmail.

His basilisk-scale breastplate had been slashed open in two places by the twin blades. Not only had the outer scales shattered, but the tanned leather underneath had been cut through as well.

It could still be used with a little stitching, but Renato had always believed in wearing the best gear he had. He would never settle for less.

Chainmail was far from light, with most of its weight resting on his shoulders. Renato, who was used to leather armor, found it slightly uncomfortable.

Perly stood behind him, helping adjust the straps, and asked:

"How's that? Is it tight enough?"

Renato moved his limbs, checking that he could still move freely, then nodded.

"Yes. Help me strap on the Pauldrons too."

"Honestly, I'm not your servant..."

Perly muttered under her breath, but her hands kept moving briskly.

"Renato, why are you putting on your armor now? Aren't we going tomorrow morning?"

Rotating his wrists to make sure the new Splint Vambraces did not restrict them, Renato explained:

"I need to get used to wearing it beforehand. In combat, even the slightest discomfort can be fatal."

In Renato's memories, training in armor was a compulsory part of a noble's education. On important occasions, young nobles had to appear fully armed and armored, or they might be seen as weak and unfit to inherit their lands.

Back then, he had even owned a custom-made suit of full plate armor. Unfortunately, his escape had been too hurried for him to take it along.

Recalling his sword techniques, Renato drew the Silent Lady, settled into a stance, and began practicing in the room.

The cramped room did not give him enough space to fully execute his techniques, but his steady breathing and precise movements reassured him.

Looks like I don't need to worry too much about my stamina. The weight of this armor doesn't affect me much...

Perly sat by the table and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"What a hassle, Renato. And all this gear is so heavy." She took out the small mirror looted from the caravan guard. "Look at yourself. Haha, you've practically doubled in size."

Long sleeves and trousers of padded cloth underneath, a Chain Shirt over them, then Pauldrons, a Leather Gorget, and a pair of Splint Vambraces...

He certainly looked the part. Satisfied, Renato said:

"Perly, help me take the armor off. Time for bed!"

"Hey! Didn't we just put it on? Renato, are you messing with me?"

With the oil lamp extinguished, Renato lay in bed and considered his plans for tomorrow.

I need to visit the Adventurers' Guild first, not go straight to Iron Wheat. After all, I'm a registered adventurer, and the guild should offer some protection within town. If someone completes a quest only to be murdered by a gang immediately afterward, who would dare take guild quests in the future? In the end, Malik and his men are just a bunch of slum lowlifes. Faced with an organization as powerful as the guild, they probably wouldn't dare make a move.

But handing over all the smuggled weapons would be a bit of a waste...

These weapons of unknown provenance counted as stolen goods in town, and they belonged to the Wolf Gang. Renato had no way to fence them, making them difficult to sell.

Besides, with a monopoly like the Blacksmiths' Guild around, selling them in town would be too risky, while keeping them would take up space. After weighing it over, Renato decided not to hold on to the weapons.

I'll keep only the swords and blades in good condition and hand over everything else. Hopefully, the Blacksmiths' Guild has enough of a conscience to offer a better reward.

As for Malik of the Iron Fist Gang... Renato lacked the information to judge what the man was planning. He could only take things as they came tomorrow.

Iron Wheat was a tavern in the slums, effectively the Iron Fist Gang's home turf. He had to prepare to fight while outnumbered.

From Renato's observations, most gang enforcers had no decent armor. A Greatsword was an intimidating weapon against unarmored opponents, and he was confident he could take on several at once.

Besides, he had a mage backing him up. The spells Perly had prepared this time were all effective at close to medium range, and most of the slum shacks were wooden. If it really came to a fight, Burning Hands would give those enforcers quite a surprise.

Still, Malik might try something underhanded... like poisoning the food. I need to remind Perly tomorrow morning not to eat anything at Iron Wheat.

"Renato, are you asleep?"

They usually slept with their backs to each other. Perhaps because the weather had turned colder, Perly shifted closer to him of her own accord tonight.

"Not yet. What's wrong?"

"This is our tenth day adventuring together, isn't it? It went by so fast... A week ago, I was still trying to figure out how to save a few copper coins to buy a few more pieces of black bread." In the darkness, Renato could make out Perly's black eyes. "But now, I'm lying in a comfortable bed, thinking about which spell I should learn once I have the money."

Perly's eyes gradually filled with tears, but her voice remained calm.

"You saved me again, Renato. If it weren't for you, I probably would have been the one beheaded today..."

"Perly, your spells were important too. If it weren't for you..."

"Don't try to comfort me, Renato. I'm not a child." Perly brought her face closer to his, as though trying to read his expression. "You always think of everything. It's as if nothing can stop you. Even without me, I'm sure you would have found another way to complete the quest."

"It was the same in the Phantom Forest... Renato, if you hadn't saved me, I would have died under that dragon's claws. No, maybe even earlier. I might have been torn apart by the pigmen along with those adventurers."

Listening to her ramble, Renato found his memories drifting back to the Phantom Forest, back to Brekka Town.

"I still remember how you taught me to recognize calming flowers, those little bell-shaped flowers with pale blue petals. You didn't pick any yourself. You left the whole patch to me and kept watch nearby."

"Back then, I foolishly thought it was all because of that one silver coin I paid you..."

"Only later did I realize that one silver coin meant nothing to you. You're so good with a sword, and you have so much experience. You could make plenty of money anywhere."

"Those pigmen were no match for you. No, you could even drive off a dragon all by yourself..."

"You must think I'm so stupid, don't you? I overestimated myself and made you waste a precious potion."

"You taught me how to adventure, helped me earn money, and even lent me money to learn spells..."

The deeper Perly delved into her memories, the more her voice choked up. Renato found himself drawing the girl into his arms.

Her body trembled slightly. Seeing her like this reminded Renato of himself when he had first crossed over to Ereel.

"Renato, you... why are you so good to me? I'm not your family. I'm just a wandering Mage Apprentice who keeps holding you back. I'm poor, and..."

For the quest experience? Then he should have ditched her when he left Brekka Town.

For the money? Then he could easily have found an opportunity to kill her. The slums were full of corpses; no one would investigate the death of an apprentice with no family or connections. Then all the money would have been his alone.

Even Renato could not quite explain why he wanted to help her.

Was it pity, a desire to lend her a hand?

Perhaps he had simply been alone for too long and wanted someone to travel with.

Her sobs were quiet, but Renato could see clearly that tears were streaming down her little face. She was merely biting her lip, struggling not to cry aloud.

He said nothing and simply held her tighter. Renato knew that Perly was not looking for comfort. She was a brave girl, but she had faced too many brushes with death lately. She was tired and needed to let it all out.