Beginning of the expedition

"I'm not looking to leave without paying you.", said Gen.

"No? Then give me the twenty bronzes, please."

"I wish I could, but I'm really out of money. Isn't there any other way I can pay the bill?"

"Well ... you can take part in the challenge."

"Challenge? What challenge?"

"It's very simple. You just have to eat the spiciest dish in the house. If you can eat it all, you don't have to pay anything."

"Ok, I'll try then."

"Ok, one moment, please."

Gen was waiting for the owner to return with his dish and started to hear the people around him talking, "I can't believe that there is still someone who tries this challenge."

"Yeah, I remember the time I tried. I had a stomachache for two days."

"Shouldn't someone talk to him? There's still time for him to withdraw."

"From the looks of it, he's out of money. That's why he accepted the challenge."

"Poor guy, I'd pay a silver coin not to have to eat that again."

Hearing this, Gen swallowed hard, and Dehji said, 'Oh, Gen, who told you to try being smart and try to leave without paying him? Now you'll have to suffer the consequences.'

'Shut up, Dehji, you know I didn't mean to.'

'That's right, I know, it's too bad they don't know that, hahaha!'

Gen put his head in his hands and thought, 'Let's hope they're exaggerating.'

After a few minutes, the owner returned from the kitchen with a plate in his hand, stopped at Gen's table, and said, "Here you go. A portion of Burning Desert, enjoy."

Gen then looked at the plate, and his eyes widened as he realized that it seemed completely normal.

He then thought, 'Did he bring me the wrong dish?', and then he looked around and almost jumped out of his chair as he realized that everyone in the restaurant was looking in his direction.

He saw that some of the people looking at the plate were shaking slightly while others were sweating profusely, and then thought, 'Looks like this is the right dish.'

He then turned to the owner and asked, "Do I get a drink?"

And the owner then said, "You do, but I would advise you to stay without a drink."

Gen then looked around and saw that some people were nodding their heads.

Gen then said, "Well, since you're saying so, I'll take your advice. Well, thanks for the food."

"You're welcome."

Gen then started to eat the food. After taking the first bite, he was expecting to feel something, but nothing happened, and he thought, 'Funny, I don't feel anything spicy. Could it be that I have a good resistance to spicy food?'

After a while, Gen had eaten half of his plate and then thought, 'Looks like I worried too much.'

He then continued eating, and then he heard the owner say, "It must be almost time."

Gen finished swallowing what he was eating and asked him, "Time to-", but stopped in the middle of his sentence because he began to feel something he had never felt in his life and thought, 'What is this?! It feels like my mouth is on fire!'

Gen began to squirm, and when the people in the restaurant saw this, they began to say, "Eat."

"You must eat quickly."

"Eat before you can't eat anymore."

When Gen heard this, he thought, 'It's true. I can't lose this challenge.'

He then started eating again, only this time much faster.

The burning in his mouth didn't stop, and the food was only making things worse, but Gen kept eating as fast as he could until he finished eating his plate.

Seeing that Gen had eaten the whole plate, the owner said, "My congratulations. You don't have to pay anything else now."

"That's nice, but are you sure that a drink won't improve the burning?"

"Trust me, young man, no drink can help you."

"And you don't have anything else that can?"

"I do, but if I give it to you, the challenge will lose its meaning."

"And what would that meaning be?"

"Simple, it's so people will understand what happens to people who try to leave without paying."

Gen wanted to say that he was not trying to do that when suddenly Lia came through the door, and seeing him called out, "Mr-, whoops, Gen, it's time. Mr. Gerald and the rest of the group are waiting for you."

Gen then got up from the table and asked, "Has it been an hour already?"

"Yes. Let's go."

"Okay."

Gen then started to walk towards Lia and heard the owner say, "Come back again."

Gen paused slightly as he heard this, let out air through his nose, and then said, "You got it. You can be sure.", and continued in his thoughts, 'That I am never coming back here again.'

He then walked off with Lia towards the guild door, where everyone was waiting.

Seeing Gen, Gerald said, "Gen, you're finally here."

And Gen said, "Sorry, I ended up missing the time while at lunch."

"No problem. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's go then."

Everyone then started heading towards the city gate, and on the way, you could hear some people talking among themselves.

"What's going on? Why are there so many adventurers in that group?"

"Haven't you heard? Today is the day of the expedition to eliminate the herd of Grunars that have been attacking the people around the city."

"Oh, I heard about that. A cousin of mine keeps talking about how it's harder to get supplies for the store after that herd showed up."

"Is that the guild leader in the front?"

"Yes, and not only him. Next to him is the strongest adventurer of this town, Karin."

"That's right, and I also recognize some other faces in the middle of this group. Is the herd that dangerous to need all these high-rank adventurers?"

"Yes, from what I've heard, in the herd, there are four red diamond Grunars, and their leader is an awakened one."

"An awakened monster! What are they thinking? Even though they are strong, it will be hard for Miss Karin and Mr. Gerald to deal with it."

"Yes, but from what I heard, they won't be the ones to fight the awakened Grunar. They have managed to recruit two awakened ones for this expedition.

"Two awakened ones?! Who are they?"

"Well, one of them is that man next to Karin.", said a man pointing at Raja.

"Oh, I've seen him in some of the bars I frequent. Every time I see him, he's hitting on a different woman. Who is the other one?"

"The other one is that man with the white package on his back and his hand on his belly."

"I've never seen him around here. Has he arrived recently?"

"From what I hear, he arrived earlier today."

"I saw him just now.", said a woman who was standing near the men and then continued, "He tried to leave without paying in the burning desert and was forced to participate in the challenge."

"He participated in the challenge?! That must be why he has his hand on his stomach then."

"Probably."

Hearing what people were talking about around him, Gen thought, 'I didn't try to leave. I forgot that I was out of money. I even offered to pay in some other way.'

'That's not a good excuse, Gen. You better think of another one.'

'What excuse?! You know I'm telling the truth!'

'I know, but even if it is true, who would believe it? would you?'

'... Yeah, you're right.'

'I know I am.'

Gen was about to answer Dehji when he heard Gerald speak and realized that they had arrived at the gate.

Gerald then said, "Attention! Get in formation. From now on, the expedition begins. The formation will be by rank, with silver at the back, followed by gold, platinum, and diamond. Me, Karin, Raja, and Gen will take care of the front. any questions?"

"No, Mr. Gerald!"

"Good."

Gen started to go to the front of the group, and when he arrived, he heard Raja speak, "Hey Gen, what took you so long to get back from lunch? Was the food that good?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it was bad, but I wouldn't advise you to eat there."

"Hmm, got it. I'll take your advice this time."

"Raja, about Dekin-"

"When we get back, we'll talk about it, Gen. We can go to this great bar I discovered the other day."

"Is the food that good?"

"No, it's terrible, but you have to look at the women who go there. They're not on Lina's level, but they're still beautiful."

"..."

'Hahaha, I like this guy.', said Dehji.

Raja then said, "What do you think? Or, if you prefer, there's another place with decent food. Only the women who go there are a little older, and, ah, I almost forgot."

Raja walked over to Gen and said with one hand over his mouth, "There's another place too, the food is good, and there's ... some pretty good-looking guys, if that's your thing. There are other places too ...", and then Raja continued talking about all the bars he's been since arriving in the city.

"..."

'Hahahaha.'

Some time passed, and Gen then asked Raja, "How long have you been in this city?"

And Raja said, "About five days."

"Five days? How come you've been through so many bars?"

"Impressive, isn't it? Hahaha."

"Yes ... Impressive.", said Gen.