Chapter 27: The Adventurer Baudric

Sitting beneath a big tree that grew in higher elevation, four people enjoying their lunch with the wide grassy plain as their background. Somehow, they ended up befriending Baudric. At least, Rena did.

She shared the cookies she made with him.

"Whoa, your cookies are very well made! I looovee it!"

"Thank you. I'm glad you like it." She made a formal smile, like dealing with an important client. Right now, the situation was rather uncomfortable since it was only her who was talking to Baudric.

"Say, Miss. Are you interested working in the palace?"

"Eh, why?" She was taken aback by the unexpected question.

"Why you said? You have talent here, the kingdom can use your talent."

He made a big friendly smile while crunching happily at Rena's cookies.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. We are actually on our way to the Ardia Kingdom right now, our ship caught into a problem."

"Ooh... Are you a traveler?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. We're..."

She paused for a while, thinking what to say here. She was a slave, Mirra was an orphan Frei picked up, and she didn't know what Senka's doing. What an odd party.

"Uhm, we're working for a merchant named Frei."

Baudric licked his finger, eating the crumbs that stuck on it. "I see, I see. And you are collecting the Slime Jelly for him?"

"Yes..." She nodded.

"What a guy, making pretty girls fighting with dangerous monsters." He shook his head.

"Eh, no no! He didn't tell us to do this! Uhm, my... my teacher said it would be a good practice for me."

"Oh? You have a teacher? What are you learning?"

"Surviving skill!"

"Well, you managed to survive then."

"Y-Yes!"

"Talking about surviving, I think the young lad, uhm, Senka, is it? He had a good chance in this year Silver Blade Tournament. Are you participating?" He looked at Senka.

"Uhm, no, he isn't... What is The Silver Blade Tournament?"

"It's a sword tournament for youth that we hold every two years. It's a great way to spot future heroes, many great warriors and knights have come from this tournament in the past." He grinned. "You can give it a shot!"

Senka ignored him, like he was just a wriggling Caterpillar Snake.

After finishing half of the cookies Rena brought, Baudric peered at Rena's bag, hoping to get more food. "Say, miss, do you carry a drink as well?"

She looked at her bag, the red recovery potion she made could be seen from the half-opened bag. She put it inside an empty beer bottle from the kitchen since she didn't have a container for it.

"Oh, this... I'm sorry, but this isn't a drink. It's a potion."

Baudric looked interested. Hearing this, Mirra and Senka took interest as well.

"Hooh, what kind of potion is that?"

"A small recovery potion..."

"Ooooh. Can I have some, please? I'm a little tired." He showed her a pleasant wide smile.

She didn't mind to give him actually, but what would happen after that? She glanced at Senka and Mirra, both of them also looking at her direction. Chasing the Slime Jelly and killing a herd of Valiant Bulls, they must be tired as well.

"Just a sip, okay?"

She brought the second potion she made that night, so she knew the effect, with only a little drop it would recover their stamina. She opened the cap and gave the bottle to Baudric who took a sip of it.

As expected, he opened his eyes wide in surprise.

He bent his back and shouted facing the sky. "Whoooooooo!!! I feel like thirty years younger!!!"

His loud voice scared the smaller monsters nearby, a flock of birds in surrounding area escaped to the sky. His voice could even scare the mighty Valiant Bulls.

"Did you make this?!" He grabbed Serena's shoulders. "This is the best recovery potion I've ever drink in my life! They usually taste like a Goblin's sweat had been mixed into the wine!"

(I knew it! I shouldn't give it to him!)

"No, no, err... It was my teacher who made it!"

"Who is your teacher's name?!"

"J-J-JJean!" Her shoulders being pressured and shook hard, she stuttered trying to make a word.

Baudric blinked. "Oh?"

"Jean Jaunice?"

Rena's heart stopped for a second.

"No, no, it's different Jean! A-anyway, it hurts! Could you let go of me?!"

Baudric quickly let go of Rena when he realized what he did, he kneeled and hit his head on the ground.

"I'm really sorry! I hurt a lady, this old man is truly worthless!"

"Please, get up, Baudric. And I'm not a lady..."

She pulled Baudric so he stopped kneeling.

"I won't stand until you forgive me!"

"I forgive you, I forgive you!"

"Oh, thank you, Miss! Hahahaha!" He lifted his head, laughing. And then sat on the ground like nothing happened. His mood changed so fast.

"Uhm, could you give the bottle back, please? I want to give Senka and Mirra a little."

Baudric looked at the bottle that he put on the ground, examined it for a while, and gave it back to Rena.

"Here you go, Missy."

Rena gave the bottle to Mirra and carefully warned her to only drink a sip of it. This was the first time she tried a potion, so she was excited. As soon as she gulped it down, she gave a shocking reaction.

"I... I could throw a thousand knives without feeling tired with this!"

When she gave it to Senka, he looked dubious, but he sipped the potion and his expression changed... A little. He returned the bottle to Rena without commenting on it.

Well, he couldn't.

Rena secured the bottle again, but before she could put it back to her bag, Baudric made a proposal.

"Miss Serena! Could you give that bottle to me? I don't bring any money right now and this is not enough, but..." He pulled something from his waist pocket.

"Eh, is that..."

"Yes, I have some Slime Jelly here."

At least five slime jelly secured on that semi-transparent pouch. The monster which only as big as baby's hand and as transparent as a glass was moving violently inside the pouch, trying to escape from it.

Rena thought on Baudric's offer. If she gave the potion she made, that surely saved them time, they didn't need to spend a night on this grassy plain full of monsters. She looked at her friends.

"What do you think?" She asked Mirra and Senka.

"Ummm, I don't want to spend a night in this place if I could. But your potion worth much more than those Slime Jelly." Mirra said.

Rena then looked at Senka, he shrugged his shoulders. She took it as he was fine with either way.

They needed those Slime Jelly right now and she could always more of that potion.

"Hmm, okay. Let's trade this potion with those Slime Jelly." She said.

"What a nice young lady you are! Thank you very much!"

"Well... I just don't want to spend a night in this place. And those Slime Jelly are just what I need right now."

"Hahahaha! I like that honesty!" Baudric laughed so hard, scaring another flock of birds.

She traded her potion with Baudric's Slime Jelly. Rena was satisfied. Now, they could go to Ladylake after this. She smiled happily and gave the pouch to Senka.

"I shall return your kindness someday, Miss Serena. Whenever you need my help, just come to the Adventurer Guild and ask for Ignus Baudric."

He placed a large gold pin with a symbol on her palm, a shield of sun and bird encircled with a laurel wreath.

Rena looked at the pin on her palm and smiled. "Thank you."

She wasn't aware that it was the same symbol tattooed on Jean's nape.

After done resting and their stamina more than fully recovered, the man wanted to stay there to test his overflowing energy and they wanted to arrive at the capital before dark. The trio separated with Baudric after that.

They went west, trying to find the road that led them to the capital. Fighting with small monsters in between.

"We're lucky to meet Baudric, aren't we?" Rena was still happy they could get Slime Jelly because of the potion she made.

"Mm, I think so." Mirra replied.

"But it was unusual for Mirra to be quiet like that. I didn't think you would be as shy as Senka when meeting a new person hehehe." She teased Mirra.

"Aw, c'mon, sis, don't be mean. I don't have the gift of all languages like you."

"Huh, what does that mean?"

"You seriously don't know? East Continent and West Continent have different languages. For me, I could only speak Phoebes language."

A sudden realization hit Rena. She froze on the spot for a while. The gift of all languages... All the voices she heard on this plain. She knew about the existence of this skill but never thought about it up to this extent.

Mirra continued speaking, "Argh, I'm so jealous of you! Sebastian will teach me the main language of West Continent, but I'm not good at studying!"

Rena wasn't listening to what Mirra said anymore. Now that she realized about this skill, she focused on the sounds she tried to ignore since they came to this plain.

"Chirp, chirp."

[Hungry], [Hungry].

If she concentrated, she could understand what the birds saying.

"Sssshhh...."

Or what the snake saying. [Prey].

All of them were just basic words conveying their instincts.

[Hungry], [Hungry], [Mating], [Hungry], [Hungry], ...

[Help! Please help me!]

Rena startled hearing the voice in her head. Her head automatically turned around trying to find the source of that voice. But of course, she couldn't find any.

"What's wrong, purple sis?"

"Eh, uhm, it's nothing." She tried to calm down, trying to reassure her.

[Help me!]

Now that she had caught this particular voice in her mind, she couldn't ignore it. But she didn't know what to do either.

[Help me!]

The voice resounding in her mind made her think of a little boy.

[Save me, I'm trapped inside a cage...]

[Help...]

She remembered the story about a haunting spirit, she was weak with that kind of stories.

(Please, not that scary thing!!)

She shook her head a little while saying those words in her mind.

The voice stopped suddenly.

And then... [Can you hear me?]

(Eh? W-what is this? Did you hear my thought?)

[I can hear you clearly. Can you help me, please?]

(Help? But I can't see you? Where are you?)

[I'm inside a wagon, I'm moving.]

(I don't see any wagon around here.)

[.....]

(Sorry.)

[Help! Please help! Please! Please! Please! ...]

The voice kept shouting tormenting her. (Stoopppp!!!)

(I'm really sorry, but I can't help you. Please rest in peace!)

[I'm not...]

The voice stopped talking in the middle of the sentence and didn't return again.

They came out from the grassy plain and walked on the straight road that would lead them to the capital.

When the sun almost set, they finally saw the white city wall from the distance. They ran, so they could be inside the city before the gate was closed. Senka probably would have arrived sooner, but he slowed down to wait for Mirra. As for Rena...

She got a piggyback treatment.

On her defense, she had the weakest stamina among the three, and the only one who didn't drink the potion earlier. When they started running, she couldn't keep up with Senka's superb physical ability and Mirra who wore a magic bracelet that could manipulate her weight. She pushed herself, not trying to be a burden, but before her bone started to break, Senka decided it was faster to carry her than waiting for her.

And so the trio arrived at the capital of Valia Kingdom right at dusk.

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