I leaned back against the couch, rubbing my jaw as the notification settled in my mind.
[Quest received: Deliver Dragon Fang to the outcasted Princess.
Reward: +1 Rare Evolution Chance.]
"Dragon fang?… outcast princess?…
Who is she? And why does she need this fang?" Questions kept hammering in my head.
Then I looked around at the women, all of them scattered across the room, with each one minding her business.
Sarah, sprawled lazily on a mat and said, "I don't know anything,"
Meanwhile, Aria, leaning against the wall, her spear rested beside her, tilted her head and added.
"I don't know her either"
And in the corner of the room, Kalia stood there, stretching a leg lazily, she also added
"No idea here, darling.
But… I can keep you company while you figure it out," she said, giving me a teasing glance.
Finally, I sighed and turned towards my last hope, Bella.
She was sitting cross-legged with her ears twitching nervously.
Seeing my gaze, she blurted."I… I don't know either," she admitted, fiddling with her sleeve.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Great. No leads."
Suddenly, Sarah's eyes lit up.
"W-Why don't we ask around? People might know something," she said, proud of her Idea.
I nodded at her. "That… actually, not a bad idea. Let's check around"
Thanks to everyone's effort, the news spread quickly.
Soon everyone in both tribes knew about who I was looking for.
Hearing the news, Mia, the wife of the dead elder Bruuk, came to our hut.
She knocked on the door and waited.
When it opened she saw me inside, sitting on the chief's chair.
She walked towards me then knelt on one knee and spoke.
"Chief, I might know what you're looking for," Mia said, bowing slightly, her posture elegant and confident.
I raised an eyebrow. "Wait…you have a lead?"
Mia nodded at my words. "I have an Idea where we should start"
I blinked at her. "Alright… go on."
Then Mia started explaining, taking a deep breath,
"Before Bruuk's death, he and a group of orc elders had made a cult.
They worshiped a dragon, who called herself "the princess."
It was the very reason they had been gathering slaves to fulfil her plans.
And something about reclaiming an item she had lost"
"Wait, so that was the reason for the orcs ' attack?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Exactly," Mia added.
After thinking for a while, I gestured toward Aria on my side.
And seeing my motion, she picked up a bag of gold and tossed it toward Mia.
The latter caught it, and seeing how heavy it was, she shot a seductive smile at me.
"If you want more… information, you know where to find me." she said, trying her best to hint.
But hearing her words, all the women froze, then glanced back at her. Eyes burning with pure rage.
Seeing their gaze, Mia gave a small bow and dash out from the hut.
I shook my head, amused at her reaction, then said,
"Alright, team. We have a lead. Now we trace it back to this princess' hideout."
For once, Sarah straightened her back, then pointed decisively. "We should hurry up, before someone clean the evidences"
I blinked. "Wait… are you really Sarah? I don't remember her ever saying something this smart."
Sarah's face flushed bright red. "W-What?! I… It's an obvious thing!"
I cleared my throat, "ok, let's go and plan the trip"
Everyone nodded at my words, and we made our way to the living room.
After Kalia cleared the table, I spread a map of the entire forest across it.
"This is our target," I said, tapping my claw around a circled area.
It was in the south, far from both the goblin and kobold tribes, and larger than both combined.
Aria raised an eyebrow, "Do you think any survivors left?"
I shook my head, "Doubt it, I don't think anyone survived"
Sarah rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "If the princess's hideout is there, wouldn't that be walking straight into a tiger's den?"
Hearing her words, my face darkened. "That's true…"
But before I could finish my thoughts, Bella cut in. "Don't worry, guys. I can handle a mere dragon."
I looked back at Bella, for some reason, a thought repeated in my mind.
"What if this dragon isn't normal?" I shot back at Bella.
Kalia nodded from the sidelines in agreement.
"Yes. From Ragnar's words, she calls herself a princess.
Not many are brave enough to do that.
She must have the strength to back it up."
"Exactly. We need to prepare" I added.
Sarah pointed toward the back and said, "Do we need to take the carriage? It isn't that far."
I nodded. "You're right. We can go on foot. Do you all agree?"
Hearing my words, everyone nodded.
"Good," I said, folding the map in my hands and tucking it into my coat.
Each of us went to prepare something.
Kalia handled the food rations for the journey, it was a relatively long trip.
So she packed some snacks to keep us fueled along the way.
Aria took care of the weapons; she always carried a bag full of them wherever we went.
For some reason, I never used a sword, just relying only on my claws.
I should probably start using a sword at some point.
Meanwhile, Sarah helped me pick out healing potions for our journey.
It didn't take long, and soon everything was ready.
But since preparation had taken so much time, it was already nighttime by the time we finished.
Despite the darkness, we set out, leaving the Kobold village and venturing deeper into the forest.