As Father joined Anemone to look for quests, they eventually both landed on the same one, the beastkin. It had a pay of three gold and seemed to be quite simple. A business that was illegal in Vun—slave trading. The poster had a drawing of a scrawny feline woman, shackled on the ground in a fetal position. She lay in the middle of a cage with thick bars.
Anemone then ripped off the paper, walking to Helen, the receptionist who hands out rewards, quests, and allows you to accept them.
"We would like to accept this quest, please."
"Oh! Aurora! Excellent choice, but do please be careful, as quests related to releasing any species can be quite dangerous. You never know who may be standing guard or who may fight back. But anyway, dear, please show me both of your bracelets, and then we may get started on the details."
Both Anemone and Father put their arms on the slender table, revealing their bracelets with the ranking on them. Helen soon took the paper poster and gave them a small folded envelope.
"Inside contains all the information related to the quest, but I will give you a small condensed version. The quest involves saving a feline, beast woman who is named Astrape. She was captured off the streets in the middle of the night while gathering some berries just outside her home. Age is unknown, nineteen at most, father and mother both live away, the one who issued the quest is Astrapes's older brother. The exact location of the slave trader is unknown, but it is thought to be north-west, in Havefard. The only problem that may arise is if the slave trader has guards. Good luck."
With that, Helen gave them the envelope as Father and Anemone left. They rented a carriage to go to Havefard, which was a five-hour ride through a dense forest. It was a beautiful sight for both of them, though they were forced to act as bodyguards for the one who drove the carriage. Boars filled the forest, and the sounds of snorting often filled the surrounding area. The random man who rode with them, who seemed to be a dwarf, had his grey beard tied in three braids, each held together with a golden ring. It was a majestic sight, and anyone who laid their eyes on him could tell that he was wealthy. He took care of most of the monsters with earth magic, and he seemed to have an expertise in the field.
As they passed over the last major hill towards Havefard, a beautiful sight filled their vision: a city with one major building in the center, then castle walls that surrounded the city. A golden river arched around the side they were approaching, with a bridge built across it. Past the bridge, connecting to the dirt road lay fields of rice shoots with wheat fields covering the rest of the area.
As they rode past the fields, they entered a small village with a well in the center. It had just a few houses, probably filled with farmers. Behind some of the houses were large pins with different animals inside. Anemone and Father exited the carriage as the bearded man stayed inside, riding to the city.
As the carriage left their view, they walked up to one of the houses. It seemed like a simple house, then on the front door, it said Village Chief, Hampton. Father's knuckle connected with the door a few times. After a minute, a man opened the door. He was an elderly bald man holding a cane, with simple attire including worn boots, a worn leather waistcoat, and a blue, brown stained shirt. He seemed displeased at first, but his attitude soon altered to a fake excitement, like an attempt at dissimulation.
"Hello, sir! It is nice to meet you! If you are here for the taxes, then may I request just one more week! Please, sir!"
Anemone then shoved Father to the side to make eye contact with Hampton.
"Hello, we aren't here for taxes or taking anything from you or this village. We came for information. Recently, a child has gone missing in the city, and we were wondering if you happen to have heard any news, rumors, or anything related to this issue."
Hampton's attitude soon shifted to annoyance.
"I have already told you adventurers once before, all this village knows is that supposedly, every Saturday, a large, obese man wanders the streets. He has a black cane and a bowler hat; he always wears a suit. I only know this because one of the villagers went into town on a Saturday night."
'Tomorrow, we will be busy then.'
"What do you mean, 'adventurers'? We are the only ones."
"The beast man, the feline one. He was wearing brown clothes and had a bow attached to his back with a sword on his right side.
"Okay, well, thank you."
Anemone then tossed the man one silver coin before leaving and continuing her walk to the city.
'We got crucial information pretty quickly, I guess we won't be doing this quest for long.'
After a lot of walking, Anemone and Father soon arrived at the gate to the city, which was opened by two guards.
"I will go get us a room to stay in, Anemone. Please find us more clues." Father said to Anemone before forking to the right near the end of the path, while Anemone went left toward the main part of the city.
Anemone soon found herself in a tavern, sitting at a table alone while listening in on conversations.
"Hey, man, wanna go find some ladies to hit on?"
'No, not that one.. creeps..'
She then focused on the three men sitting together at a table.
"—I told you, the wheat prices are rising again. If this keeps up, I'll have to sell my own boots to afford bread."
"Bah, you farmers are always complaining, try digging in the mines, coal filling your lungs, and see if your back doesn't snap in two."
"At least you don't have to worry about thieves makin' off with your crops every night."
'They are useless as well.'
She thought to herself, but then the conversation continued.
"What about slavers? Or slaves, the slavers force their slaves to steal your crops just so they toy with you."
Anemone's ears soon perked up at the mention of slave traders.
"Especially that one man who keeps takin' children as well…'
Then, suddenly, a large, snobby-looking bald man approached Anemone, putting his hand on her shoulder with a wide grin, bending down to speak to her with his dreadful breath.
"Hey, pretty lady, you know a man like me could take real good care of you. I could please you in many different ways."
Anemone responded, keeping her calm and sweet demeanor to protect her image.
"I'm okay. Thank you, though."
"C'mon, don't be like that, darling. Just trust me, I will even pay for your food."
Anemone lifted her gaze from the table, looking over her shoulder to the arrogant man, this time with a cold gaze.
"I said I am okay."
The man stumbled backwards on his feet, trying to brush it off while reaching behind his ear and scratching.
"Okay, okay."
Anemone left a few copper on the table and quickly walked out of the building, going to another tavern that wasn't far away.
She soon found a seat and ordered a bowl of stew. This place was much busier, seats everywhere, not a single one free now that she entered. It was full of adventurers as well as businessmen.
"—ve you seen how empty the streets are at night now? No drunks, no kids, and no beggars.
"Heard a man say his cousin went missing. It probably has something to do with that."
"Maybe he ran off… or maybe he was taken."
"I did hear that recently, people have been getting kidnapped and sold to slave traders."
'So it isn't just one or two kids, but a lot of people… Please stay safe. Father and I will help soon.'
Once the sun hit the horizon, it caused an orange glow to disperse over the sky and into Anemone's blonde hair, causing it to turn orange. She sat outside the building they were going to be staying in, watching as the sun slowly disappeared.
'I'm getting sleepy, I need to rest for tomorrow.'
***
Once the sun began to rise and the roosters crowed, Anemone and Father woke up and quickly met in Father's room.
"What should we do in the meantime, Father?"
"Well, young one, first answer this, then we can decide. How long does it take for you to regenerate your mana?"
"About five hours, why?"
"Then, would you like to go monster hunting? Or do a small quest we can get done in a few hours?"
Anemone soon got giddy from excitement and nodded
"I would love to"
Some time passed, and they soon arrived at the Adventurer's guild of the city. They looked at the quest board dedicated to low-ranking quests, of which were almost all achievable in one day. They ended up deciding to do a quest about giant boars. A singular giant bull in the outskirts of the city, located in the forest, was on a rampage. Stomping on crops, killing sheep, and other animals.
Father and Anemone sat down to strategize before continuing to do the quest.
"As you know, young one, boars are already tough; they have thick skin that is hard to pierce with arrows, sharp tusks that are very hard, and once they start charging, they can't be stopped by human means. And since this boar has a codename, 'Iron Boar.' I would like to assume this one will be even tougher."
"I think we should fight it in the forest, not lure it out. If it charges, then we can dodge as it rams into a tree. The legs are weak, so if I can use Wind Blade and actually hit the legs, then it should become slower. and they have poor eyesight, which means you may be able to distract them, Father."
"If we can somehow knock them onto their back, we can cut into their stomach as well."
Anemone and Father both got up from their seats and began their march to the outskirts of the city, into the village which they had visited before. Once there, they found more information on the whereabouts of the boar, which was terrorizing them.
The forest was vast and expansive, with fallen, shriveled-up leaves covering the ground along with broken sticks that formed a pathway. The ground was beaten into by some creature, or creatures, enough to turn the grass to dirt. Broken branches hung low, forcing both to bend over to walk beneath them. Roots snaked across the ground, causing them to watch their steps and their entire surroundings.
They then came across a dead carcass, a sheep, it seemed like. A sour smell filled their noses as they looked at the white wool, which started to lose its fluff due to decomposition. The entire stomach from the carcass was missing, with its ribs and spine making an appearance. It was gruesome to say the least. Anemone then spotted a hole in a tree, the size of a fist, but carved by what seemed to be a horn or arrow.
The sound of snorting began to enter their ears from far away, twigs breaking as slowly closing upon them, like a beast was hunting. Anemone and Father met eyes before nodding, knowing this was the boar, the thing they came for; it was closing in on them. Both Anemone and Father climbed up a tree, just a few meters off the ground, to look around.
Then they saw it, a monstrous looking beast. It was a boar with a thick strip of fur down its spine, tusks the size of human legs, but as sharp as an arrow. Its snout was the size of a human head, and its eyes glowed with an orange tone. The boar then quickly began to charge at the tree that the two people were sitting upon, causing the entire tree to rattle and loose branches to fall.
'I wish it could be like some kids' novel where an apple falls from a tree and knocks them out. But that won't happen.'