At the post house’s backyard.
Owen was checking the horses' saddles while his team members gathered nearby to pack their gear.
The young Archer couldn’t help but speak up, his voice kept very low. “Captain, our team badge... we’re just giving it to him? To someone we’ve known for less than a day?”
Owen didn’t even look up as he continued his work. “Why not? It’s just a badge.”
“Using a wooden token to exchange for a potential connection with a rare Healer in the future—don’t you think that’s a bargain?”
“But...” The Shield Warrior chimed in, his brow furrowed. “What if he uses our badge and causes trouble out there?”
“Won’t people end up blaming Hammerfall for it?”
Only then did Owen stand up and brush the dust off his hands. The scar on his face was even more prominent in the sunlight.
“A Healer holds a high status no matter where they go.”
His tone was steady. “As long as he doesn’t actively provoke powerful figures he can’t handle, ordinary trouble won’t be an issue. People will usually give him some face for the sake of his identity.”
“From what I’ve seen, he doesn’t look like the type to actively go looking for trouble.”
He looked around at his team members and continued, “Even if he does get into a bit of minor trouble, and we use some connections or spend a little money to settle it for him, don’t you think that favor would be worth it?”
“How much is a favor worth from a Healer who can rapidly heal serious injuries—even if the process is a bit... unique?”
The team members looked at one another, and no one argued further.
“Then... what if,” the Light Swordsman girl spoke up hesitantly, “he causes a huge problem? Like kicking a hornet’s nest?”
Owen laughed, the motion tugging at the scar on his face and making him look somewhat cold and hard.
“Then it’s even simpler.”
His tone was relaxed. “If he really is foolish enough to bring a massive disaster upon himself, what could an adventuring squad from a frontier town possibly do about it?”
“When that time comes, we’ll just sever ties. What can a wooden badge prove? Who could possibly claim that we were the ones who put him up to it?”
He looked back down to check the saddle’s buckle, his voice flat but certain.
“Investments always carry risks. But a Healer... especially a lone Healer who doesn’t seem to have been recruited by any major faction yet, is worth this small bet.”
“If it works out, we might have a valuable backup plan. If it doesn’t, all we’ve lost is a piece of wood.”
The backyard fell silent, save for the occasional snort from the horses.
The team members stopped talking and hurried their packing.
...
“Finally, I’m almost at Blackcreek Town!” Bai Xuan muttered these words through gritted teeth.
After two days of trekking, Bai Xuan’s resentment toward the distance to Blackcreek Town had only deepened.
If the post house hadn’t lacked mounts for rent or sale, he wouldn't have chosen to walk.
The slanting afternoon sun cast Bai Xuan’s shadow long across the road leading to Blackcreek Town.
Thanks to the map Colin gave him and the Broken Compass that Always Points North.
He had managed to travel this considerable distance without the embarrassment of getting lost at a fork in the road.
As the road beneath his feet grew firmer and smoother, the signs of people passing by became noticeably more frequent.
The rumbling sound of wheels rolling over gravel and the clip-clop of horse hooves mixed with the loud laughter and chatter of adventurers, creating a noisy background for the approach to town.
Bai Xuan quietly observed the travelers passing by.
Broad carriages loaded with goods were surrounded by lean, tough-looking guards; squads of adventurers wore worn leather armor with weapons hanging casually at their sides.
There were travel-worn merchants and a few loners like himself.
His gaze lingered for a moment on several quieter figures.
They all wore inconspicuous grey robes with hoods pulled low, almost covering half their faces, and they moved quickly along the side of the road in silence, completely out of place with the surrounding bustle.
As for himself, he had clearly become an object of observation as well.
His appearance was already quite striking, and he wore a highly recognizable light-white robe, even though the hem was covered in travel dust.
He also held a... well, a rather crude-looking wooden staff in his hand.
This appearance caused many eyes to linger on him.
Those gazes held evaluation, curiosity, and even a bit of contempt.
“Another unlicensed amateur trying to pose as a cleric to get some benefits?” a merchant riding a packhorse whispered to his companion.
But those fragments of words drifting on the wind still reached Bai Xuan’s ears.
“Mind your own business. Wearing those robes means he either has some backing or he’s stupid enough to think he does. Don’t go looking for trouble,” his companion replied.
Bai Xuan’s expression remained calm, though he tightened his grip on the staff.
A freelance Healer? That label would do for now.
He adjusted the straps of the pack on his shoulders and continued forward with the flow of people.
The terrain gradually rose, and when he looked up from a gentle slope, the silhouette of Blackcreek Town finally revealed itself in its entirety.
The town was much larger than he had expected. The buildings were generally bright grey-white and light brown, which didn’t quite match its somewhat gloomy-sounding name.
What stood out the most were the two distinct sets of walls.
The outer layer was a ring of stone and wood composite walls that looked sturdy but basic in craftsmanship, with dense but relatively low and simple houses behind them.
The inner layer was a wall that was significantly taller, thicker, and built from more finely polished stone.
He could even see regular battlements and tiny figures patrolling along the top.
Beyond the inner wall, the spires of several taller and more sophisticated buildings were faintly visible.
“The Outer Town and the Inner Town...” Bai Xuan understood.
It seemed that things were the same everywhere; the core areas were always reserved for those with more power or wealth.
He followed the crowd to the massive main gate and lined up for inspection.
When it was Bai Xuan’s turn, the guard at the gate saw his white robe and instinctively straightened his back, his tone remaining polite. “Sir... where are you from? What is your business in Blackcreek Town?”
“I came from the direction of the post house to the east, traveling through these lands,” Bai Xuan replied simply.
The guard’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then quickly swept over his dust-covered, slightly worn robe and the crude staff with the chipped crystal at the top.
The initial respect visibly faded, replaced by a routine indifference.
The guard waved him through. “Go on in. Don’t cause trouble. Next!”
Bai Xuan nodded and calmly walked through the gateway, stepping into the Outer Town of Blackcreek Town.
The cacophony of sounds grew louder with every step.
At a glance, the streets were quite crowded, with a few shops open on either side and stalls packed tightly together.
The aroma of food mixed with the scent of leather and iron, and the smell of livestock hit him full force.
What truly energized Bai Xuan was that he saw many non-human figures here.
Not far away, a demi-human girl with fluffy beast ears and a tail hanging behind her nimbly wove through the crowd with a basket on her arm.
He even caught a glimpse of a tall figure with skin that had a faint green luster turning into a small alleyway...
“It really is... another world.”
Bai Xuan felt a surge of emotion, and his gaze couldn't help but follow the cat-eared girl's tail for a few seconds.
Realizing his loss of composure, he looked away with a bit of embarrassment.
Pictures and imagination were, after all, different from living, breathing reality.
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