It was already afternoon by the time they returned to the apartment.
Loviki was sitting on the steps at the entrance of the apartment, organizing her backpack. Seeing them step out of the teleportation array, she stood up and patted down her skirt. “What took you so long?”
“Shopping,” Chen Mian replied as he took the supplies out of his storage space one by one, piling them on the grass.
“Chili powder.” Chen Mian handed her the jar. “I don't know if it's any good, but you should try it.”
Flora opened the lid and took a sniff, smiling. “It smells wonderful! We can try making some spicy dishes.”
Luolin stood nearby, holding the pouch of leftover silver coins. “Mr. Chen Mian, there's still a lot of money left.”
“Keep it as a reserve fund for running things,” Chen Mian said, patting the dust off his clothes. “If there are any facilities you need, just arrange to buy them.”
“Alright!” Luolin nodded vigorously.
Melo was already calling the villagers over to distribute the supplies.
Sari squatted on the grass, grinning as he looked at the newly bought hoe and hunting knife.
“Uncle Sari, what are you smiling about?” Tina asked, leaning in.
Sari hoisted the hoe onto his shoulder. “I just feel... it's really good to be alive.”
Just a few days ago, they wouldn't have dared to dream of this. Even during times of peace in the Sairen City-State, life had been incredibly difficult for a people like them who lacked citizenship.
“Luolin, we're going to be away for a few days soon. I'll leave the management of the apartment and the farm to you during this time.”
“Mr. Chen Mian, are you going far?” Luolin asked, feeling a bit anxious.
Without Mr. Chen Mian around, would they really be alright in the Forest of Death...?
“You don't need to worry about safety. I'll have Ryan stay here. This area is also within the flame demon bear's territory. If a situation arises that even Ryan can't handle, just bring all the villagers and hide inside the apartment.” Chen Mian completely understood Luolin's worries; he had already taken these things into consideration before setting off.
Although a situation that even Ryan couldn't handle was highly unlikely, it never hurt to be cautious.
I should set up a defensive magic circle before leaving. That way, even if a Mythic Rank enemy comes, everyone will have plenty of time to hide inside the apartment.
“By the way, Luolin, is there anyone in your village who knows how to brew alcohol?”
“Sister Tina brews some wine every year,” Luolin said after a moment of thought.
“The grapes will be ripe in a few days, so I'll leave the brewing to Tina. Just let her experiment. Feel free to pick them to eat, but remember to save some for me. Store any extra fruit in the warehouse.” Many varieties of fruit trees in the orchard were redeemed directly from the System Shop, and some didn't even exist in this world. Selling them could wait until they returned from the dungeon, which would save them a lot of trouble.
“Okay! Leave it to us.”
Three days later.
Once everything had been properly arranged...
The day of departure arrived.
That morning, Loviki was the first to wake up. She was already packed and ready to go before Flora even got up to cook.
It seemed she really loved exploring dungeons.
By the time Chen Mian got out of bed, Flora had already prepared the food. Aside from breakfast, she had also packed all sorts of seasonings. Jars of chili, salt, soy sauce, and honey—anything that could be used for cooking—were packed into her bag. This was Chen Mian's suggestion. Aside from finding the ghost tenant and letting Loviki gain some practical combat experience, having a chef like Flora along made him want to enjoy a free buffet inside the dungeon.
Of course, all of this was ultimately placed into his storage space.
With everything ready, the three of them stepped out of the apartment with their gear.
The residents of the territory had also gathered at the apartment entrance to see them off.
“Luolin, I'll have to trouble you all to manage this land for a while. I'll bring back some special items from the dungeon for you when I return.”
“Okay! Mr. Chen Mian, Miss Loviki, Miss Flora, we'll wait for your return.” Luolin nodded heavily, a smile on her face. “As for the wine you want to drink, Mr. Chen Mian, Sister Tina is already explaining the brewing process to us. We'll make sure you can drink it soon.”
Chen Mian gently patted Luolin's head. “We won't be gone for long. Once it's brewed, we'll hold a bonfire party so everyone can drink together.”
“Alright!”
“Big brother, big sisters, come back soon!” Miya said, holding her rabbit reluctantly.
“We'll be back soon.” Chen Mian squatted down and rubbed her head. “You can borrow the rabbit to play with.”
Miya hugged the rabbit a bit tighter, and the rabbit didn't struggle.
“Wait for us to come back, little Miya,” Flora said with a smile, having already changed into her mage cloak.
“Wait for us to bring you some delicious food.” Loviki, also clad in a hooded robe, squatted down and pinched the girl's cheek.
After spending these past few days together, Loviki seemed to have become more and more open.
The three of them stepped into the teleportation array.
Sari shouted from behind, “Mr. Chen Mian, leave the village to us. Don't worry!”
“Have a safe trip!”
Having bid everyone farewell, the three of them arrived at the streets of Linyu Port. The dungeon was located near Wigtan City, in the northern part of the Hella Kingdom.
“Taking a ship from the harbor at Linyu Port will lead directly to Wigtan City.” Loviki's face was hidden beneath her hood. Such attire was quite common among adventurers.
“Have you been there, Loviki?” Flora, who was also wearing a cloak to cover her face, looked over at her.
Since the two beside him were bundled up so tightly, Chen Mian, dressed in his novice adventurer's gear, looked somewhat out of place.
“Yeah, I went there before to handle some family business. That's why I told you to bring plenty of warm clothes. Wigtan City is at the northernmost tip of the Hella Kingdom. It's freezing there, and it snows year-round.” Loviki nodded, then looked at Chen Mian. “Have you been?”
“It's been a long time. Right now, all I remember is Wigtan City's fruit wine and the dwarven blacksmiths,” Chen Mian recalled. Indeed, he hadn't been there in ages. The Hella Kingdom had been the first stop of his adventure. Afterward, he had traveled to various countries, and once he became a complete loner, he focused most of his energy on increasing his strength.
His impression of Wigtan City was still stuck decades in the past.
“I'm positive you haven't been there in a really long time. After Wigtan City was restructured, many of the dwarves moved away. Their blacksmithing skills and the taste of their wine aren't anything special anymore. The most prosperous sector now is actually the ice carving industry, which is more of an entertainment thing.”
“Restructured?” He really didn't know about this.
“Yeah. Wigtan City's blacksmithing industry was originally controlled almost entirely by dwarven blacksmiths. But six years ago, a massive deposit of frost steel was discovered in the ice mountains north of Wigtan City. Frost steel is a precious blacksmithing material that only has a chance to form in extremely cold environments. The dwarves discovered it and mined a small amount. The weapons forged from it could greatly increase the user's ice magic affinity, even to the point of cutting through the flames of a fire mage of the same rank.”
“So a lot of major families reached their hands in, right?” Chen Mian could guess the general picture. Hella was, after all, a nation ruled by humans. No matter how exquisite the dwarves' skills were, people would turn on them in a heartbeat when faced with absolute profit.
“Yeah, the Lawrence Family had a hand in it too. Wigtan City even went to war with Silver Ice Keep of the Ice Wolf Kingdom to fight over the frost steel. The result was a stalemate that lasted over two years, and they eventually signed an agreement to split the mining rights. But as it turned out, the material was only part of the equation. Without the dwarves' blacksmithing skills, the frost steel couldn't show its true potential.” Loviki added with a slightly complicated expression, “And they ended up ruining both the blacksmithing and brewing industries.”
“Tsk, those foolish nobles. I was actually looking forward to having a few drinks in Wigtan City,” Chen Mian said, somewhat exasperated.
“Hey, does ‘foolish nobles’ include me?” Loviki tilted her head, pretending to be angry.
“No, no, of course not.”
“Pfft.”
“Flora, don't laugh!”
“Mm-hmm.”
“The ship is here.” Chen Mian pointed at a massive passenger ship appearing on the horizon.
Rate on N.U.
