Chapter - 21 Trial by Fire
"Welcome to my Moonlit Silver Inn," she said.
They looked around and saw the old lady.
"Hello," said Aren.
Seris and Lira greeted her as well.
After that—
"We would like to rent two rooms," said Lucien.
She looked at Lucien, then smiled. "Okay."
She went to the front desk and asked them to tell their names.
After she wrote Aren's and the others' names in the book—
"Two rooms?" she asked again.
She was confirming whether Lucien and the others wanted more rooms or not.
But Seris stopped Lucien from renting two rooms.
"Why don't we live in one room?" she said.
Lucien looked at her. "Why?"
Seris replied, "Isn't it better if we live in one room?"
"Huh?" Lucien thought inwardly.
"I think Seris sis is right. After all, we lived in one room before," said Lira.
Lucien looked at Aren.
He nodded because he thought it was better to live in one room than two.
Lucien took a long breath. "Okay!"
"Madam, we're going to rent one room," said Lucien.
The old lady smiled.
"Okay," she said.
After renting, they went to their room on the first floor.
They opened the door.
Inside the room, there was one working table and chair, one bed big enough for two people to sleep, and the room was four times bigger than the place they lived before.
Lira jumped onto the bed.
"Soft," she said.
Seris also sat on the bed.
"The bed is really soft," said Aren.
Seeing them, Lucien understood that they liked this inn.
By the time they arrived and rented the inn, the whole day had passed.
They went to sleep.
Seris and Lira slept on the bed. Lucien and Aren slept on the floor.
"These futons are of good quality," said Aren.
Lucien nodded.
"Goodnight, all of you," said Lira.
Next Day
They all woke up.
A few minutes later, they went to the ground floor for breakfast. They ate fresh bread with butter.
"This is the first time I've eaten something fresh since entering this world," Lucien thought. "Tasty."
"That bread is really good," said Aren.
Seris and Lira nodded.
After they left the inn for the Adventurers' Guild—
When they were about to leave, the old lady waved her hand.
Lira and Seris waved their hands back at her.
In the Adventurers' Guild
"Let's check E-Rank quests," said Lucien.
"Okay," said Aren confidently.
After they checked the quest board—
"Goblin quest mission," Seris continued. "What do you think of this?"
"Goblin?" said Aren.
"Goblin… Well, It was good for them to fight against wild creatures." Lucien thought.
"How about we accept this quest mission?" said Lucien.
Aren replied with a smile, "Okay."
Seris also nodded.
But Lira was afraid to take this mission.
After a few minutes, she replied, "Okay."
Lucien thought, "Good."
After they showed the quest sheet to Fiora—
"Goblin quest mission?" said Fiora.
"Well, they completed the test of the vice guild master. They must be strong," Fiora thought.
"Okay," she said. "Take care."
"Then we're going," said Aren.
Fiora waved her hand and thought:
"That Aren and Lucien are swordsmen, but I don't see any swords they're carrying. How are they going to fight?"
In the Forest
They didn't go too deep into the forest because the quest sheet said the goblins were seen at the edge of the forest.
They started searching for goblins but didn't find any.
A Few Hours Later
"Everyone, look," said Lira.
They saw goblin footprints. They followed them and finally saw them.
The goblins.
Small green figures stepped out from behind the bushes — one, two… five goblins.
Lira's fingers trembled for a second.
Aren moved forward. "I'll—"
A hand stopped him.
Lucien.
"Wait."
Seris looked at him in surprise. "There are too many—"
"That is okay," Lucien said calmly. "If we step in now, she'll never grow."
Ahead of them, a goblin charged at Lira with a rusty blade.
Her heart pounded loudly in her ears.
I can't run…
She raised her hands.
"Flame Shot!"
A small fireball burst from her palm and struck the goblin, sending it rolling on the ground with a scream.
The others shrieked and rushed at her at once.
"Lira!" Seris tried to move again.
Lucien tightened his grip on her shoulder.
"Trust her."
Another goblin jumped from the side. Lira quickly stepped back.
"Flame Ring!"
Fire spread in a small circle around her, forcing the goblins back.
Sweat ran down her face.
Her breathing became heavy.
One goblin slipped through the flames and lunged at her.
Her eyes widened—
Then her expression changed.
No fear.
Only focus.
A larger fireball formed in her hand, brighter than before.
"Blazing Burst!"
The explosion knocked the remaining goblins to the ground.
Silence returned to the forest.
Smoke rose slowly.
Lira stood there, breathing hard, but still standing.
Behind her, Aren crossed his arms.
"…She really did it."
Seris smiled softly.
Lucien nodded.
"She's stronger than she thinks."
Lira turned toward them, exhausted but proud.
"I heard that, you know…"
Lucien smiled and thought,
She is growing well.
Seris took care of Lira because she was exhausted.
Lucien and Aren collected goblin ears, cutting them using aura shaped like knife blades.
"Aura is really useful," said Aren.
Lucien nodded.
While they were collecting the ears, Seris came over to them. Lira was resting under a tree.
Lucien looked at her.
"Well," Seris sat down, "I've always wanted to ask why your aura colors are different."
"Did we tell you about this before?" Aren asked.
"No," Seris replied.
Lucien explained about aura and how their colors were different from what normal humans used.
"That's really amazing," said Seris.
Aren smiled proudly.
"And don't tell anyone about our aura," said Lucien.
Seris quickly replied with shining eyes, "Okay."
After they finished collecting the items, Lira's condition was stable.
Lucien gently patted Lira's head.
"You did a great job," he said.
"Yes, you did a great job," said Aren.
When Lucien patted her head, her face turned red.
"What?" he thought.
Seris looked at Lira.
"Overheat," she said.
"Huh? Overheat?" said Lucien.
A Few Minutes Later
"Then let's go," said Aren.
Lucien replied, "Okay."
In the Adventurers' Guild
"You guys did a great job," said Fiora with a smile.
After she checked the goblin ears—
"Here are five silver and sixty copper coins," said Fiora.
After receiving the coins, they left the Adventurers' Guild.
On the way back to the inn—
Lucien looked at Aren, Seris, and Lira.
Then he smiled.
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END OF CHAPTER 21
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