"Young wizard, any news?"
"None…"
Seven days had passed since Hal managed to drive the Mischievous Housesprites out of Greyfen Town, and so far, contrary to what Mayor Erold said, they hadn't returned to cause further trouble.
Most of the residents had also returned to the town and were already working to restore their ruined homes.
"I see, thanks for your hard work and for going this extra mile for us…" the old town leader bowed sincerely.
"You're very welcome, Mayor Erold," Hal responded with a smile and bowed at the elderly man in return.
Today was the last day of their agreement, and if the sprites didn't attack again, he would be able to return to the academy and report for completion.
Strangely, Hal wasn't satisfied.
He sincerely wished the Mischievous Housesprites would attack again.
He couldn't shake the nagging feeling that if he left just like that, he might be cheating the town out of their money.
'Sigh…maybe I'm overthinking things…'
After all, the agreement was that no matter what happened after seven days, it wouldn't be Hal's problem anymore.
He sincerely wished he could confirm that he had already resolved the problem and that the darned arcane monsters wouldn't return to cause trouble.
The rest of the seventh day passed peacefully.
That night, a celebratory farewell dinner was held in Hal's honor, filled with gratitude and good cheer.
Morning inevitably came, and it was time for him to leave Greyfen Town.
His stay had been short, but he had grown quite fond of the town's kind residents, vowing to return someday, perhaps when he's a bit richer, to treat them to a feast of his own.
"Once again, please accept my deepest gratitude, young wizard, Sir Hal Fennec. Greyfen Town will be forever in your debt."
"Please don't exaggerate, Mayor Erold. While I do appreciate the gratitude, I gained a lot in return, so you're not indebted to me in any way. I'll visit sometime in the future, so please take care of your health."
The residents of the town were also thanking him from behind the old town leader, making Hal feel like some sort of hero despite merely defeating F-ranked monsters.
'Oh well, I guess I really am overthinking things…'
Even the old town leader and the defenders, who had been dealing with the Mischievous Housesprites for more than two weeks, seemed confident that they wouldn't be returning.
Perhaps it was just his inexperience that made him constantly imagine such negative outcomes.
After another minute of pleasantries and farewells, Hal finally left, walking with a bounce in his step.
He had succeeded in his first mission, harvesting a total of eight F-ranked arcane cores and five sets of sprite wings, and had been sincerely thanked and rewarded for a job well done.
Who wouldn't be in a good mood?
Around fifteen minutes into his walk, Hal was already thinking about what he should do next when a fleeting thought entered his mind.
After a moment of pondering, he raised his right hand to about chin level and pointed his index and middle fingers skyward, summoning a tiny brown sparrow with faintly glowing eyes.
It was a fifteen-minute walk back to Greyfen Town, but only a three- to four-minute flight for his swift summon.
He planned to check on the town one last time, so he could finally move on from the mission and make peace with himself that it had, indeed, ended just like that.
But then, around two minutes later, Hal spotted one of the young guards, Arlo, making a mad dash towards his direction, desperation evident on the slightly older man's face.
Hal's heart sank.
He urged the Spirit Sparrow to fly faster, finally arriving above the town after another minute.
"Damned rats!!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with fury and disbelief.
The town had once again fallen into chaos!
Residents were frantically fleeing to the other side of town as eight Mischievous Housesprites chased after them, injuring many with their Rock Bullet spells.
One of the sprites had a slightly different skin tone and was noticeably larger than the others, standing about five feet tall.
Hal quickly perched the Spirit Sparrow somewhere safe and made a mad dash back to Greyfen Town.
He ran into Arlo along the way, and the two of them hurried back together, huffing and puffing as they arrived about eight minutes later.
The defenders scrambled to set up barricades, while the other residents frantically fled.
Noticing Hal, one of the defenders sprinted towards him, reporting:
"S-Sir Wizard! Thank the heavens Arlo caught up with you! Please, help the mayor and the others. They're still out there!"
Hal's eyes widened at the report.
With gritted teeth, he closed his eyes and switched visions to the perched sparrow, controlling it to fly around the chaotic town.
There were indeed more than a handful of residents still scrambling to the safety of the barricades, including Mayor Erold.
There were even a few who already lost consciousness.
Beside the old town leader was a ten-year-old young man, pulling the elderly as desperately as his little body allowed him, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
"There!"
As much as Hal wanted to help everyone, the element of surprise was on the side of the Mischievous Housesprites.
He could only prioritize the town's head and the child's safety for now.
Parking the sparrow in the safe shadows of a high branch covered with thick leaves, Hal turned to Akan, the bald, thirty-three-year-old leader of the defenders with a robust frame.
"Akan, you and five others come with me! The rest, defend the barricades. No need to bring weapons, just grab the largest shield you can find!"
The defenders didn't dare dally and moved quickly, picking up some thick wooden boards that were meant for house repairs, and readying themselves within seconds.
Hal, seeing that the defenders were ready, dashed toward where Mayor Erold and the child were being pursued by four Housesprites.
The cohort's eyes widened upon seeing the mayor and his adopted grandson.
They seethed in anger upon seeing the old man's left arm hanging limply to the side, certainly broken from being hit by a Rock Bullet.
In the distance, brown magic circles lit up.
The darned sprites were casting their earth magic again.
'Damn it! I have to do something…'
The problem was, that there were four Mischievous Housesprites that were attacking from slightly different angles.
His [Fireball] charges could maybe destroy two Rock Bullets, but that was it.
Two more would shoot the fragile duo's way.
'Tch, fine then, I'll use one charge…'
And so, reluctantly, Hal used a charge from one of the two spell cards he had drawn the other day using the eight Chaos Points he earned from killing eight sprites, leaving him with only one more use.
Hal waved his left arm in an upward motion.
The next moment, a thick blue barrier appeared behind Mayor Erold and his adopted grandson, shielding them from the Rock Bullets and allowing them to flee to the safety of the defenders' thick shields.
"One of you, escort the mayor and the kid to the barrier. The rest, follow me, there are others who've collapsed. We'll try saving them!"