Chapter 88: Hafen Village

"You want me to escort you to the fishing location?" Elfina asks, her tone perplexed.

"Oh, sorry, I haven't even introduced myself yet. I am Michio Kaga," I say, extending my hand.

"Uhm… I am Elfina," she replies, her voice sounding more reserved now as she shakes my hand. 

I wanted to say that I already knew that, but I kept it to myself. Her hand felt incredibly soft to the touch, but I let go quickly, not wanting to come off as a creep. Also, I had a feeling she might have mistaken me for a noble just because I had a surname.

"So, Elfina, you are an Adventurer, correct? I don't have much time since I need to be elsewhere soon, so it is best if you guide us there to avoid any incidents with other Elves in the village. Think of it as a mission request; you can set a fee and let me know," I say with a smile.

"Uhmm… alright, then maybe 2 silver Nars?" she suggests, sounding unsure.

"Alright, great. Wait here while I bring my party back," I say before turning around, mumbling a fake spell, and casting Warp back to the Imperial Capital.

I arrive at the Adventurer Guild, where Roxanne, Lillia, Anastasia, and Miria are still waiting at the same spot. Roxanne, who had been watching the area I disappeared from, is the first to notice me.

They come to me promptly.

"Welcome back, Master," Roxanne greets me with a warm smile.

"Master is back," Lillia says with a relieved sigh. Anastasia smiles gently, and Miria is still clutching her fishing rod tightly.

It feels heartwarming that they welcome me so happily, even though I have only been gone for five minutes.

"I am back," I whisper with a smile as I send them the Party invite. They accept it swiftly.

"Let's go to Hafen; it is one of the Empire-approved fishing locations," I inform them while casting Warp again.

The girls obediently follow, and we emerge in a dilapidated building where Elfina is waiting.

"This is Elfina, an Adventurer who will escort us to the fishing spot," I introduce her. "Elfina, meet Roxanne, Lillia, Anastasia, and Miria."

"Hello, nice to meet you," Elfina says, giving a short bow. Her golden hair falls forward, making me sigh inwardly—Elves really are all naturally beautiful.

"Hello, and thank you for your trouble," Roxanne replies with a polite bow. I reaffirm mentally that Roxanne is still the most beautiful to me.

The other girls greet Elfina as well.

"Shall we go, then?" I ask Elfina.

"Yes, sure," she says, leading the way out of the building. 

It is still quite dark outside, with the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon. This must be because this place is farther up north than Quratar and the Imperial City, so it is behind in time. 

I can see wooden houses, much like the ones I saw in Somara Village when I first arrived in this world. In the distance, many Elves and some Beastkin are already up and heading to work.

As we take a few steps away from the building, an old Elf man approaches us—the first elderly Elf I have seen in person. Appraisal reveals him to be a Village Head, Level 3.

"What business do you humans have here?" he asks harshly in a strange language I haven't heard before, though I can still understand him. I notice his gaze is focused on me and Anastasia, not the other girls.

So, just like in the original story, the village head of this Hafen village, and most Elves in the north, seem to harbor a strong dislike for humans. I would like to find out someday why there is such hostility.

Elfina responds in the same language, "They are my employers, village head. They have come here to fish."

'That's Elvish they are speaking, Master,' Anastasia informs me telepathically through the Party link.

'Thank you, Anastasia,' I reply with a nod.

"Fishing?" the old man repeats, glancing at the fishing rod Miria is holding tightly.

"Is it okay to fish around here?" I interrupt, speaking in Brahim.

"Uh… yes, fishing is permitted anywhere in this area," he says, his stance softening. "The rocky seashore further down is a good spot. People who have fished there have had good catches. Nets are hard to set up there, so the fish are plentiful." He turns back to Elfina, speaking in Elvish once more.

"Alright, got it. Thank you," Elfina says, giving a small bow. The old man nods and walks away.

"He told me about a good fishing spot," Elfina informs us with a small smile.

"Alright, let's go then," I say, choosing not to comment on the old Elf's apparent bias.

As we walk along the dirt path, Roxanne starts a conversation with Elfina, "Do you know the village head, Miss Elfina?"

"Just call me Elfina," she replies with a wry smile, glancing at me briefly. "Not particularly, but I have been to this village before because of its fish market," she says, pointing towards an area where people are heading.

"Fish-desu," Miria chimes in, her interest piqued. Roxanne translates Elfina's words for her, and Miria looks longingly in that direction.

"We will visit the fish market another day. Today, you need to focus on fishing, remember?" I say with a wry smile.

"Fishin-desu!" Miria nods enthusiastically, clutching her rod tightly after Roxanne translates.

"So, Elfina, have you been an Adventurer for long?" I ask, making small talk as we leave the village and enter the woods.

"No, I was part of the Explorer Guild some years ago. Then I joined the Adventurer Guild for a while, but our labyrinth party lacked a Warrior, so I joined the Warrior Guild," Elfina explains, taking a deep breath of fresh morning air.

"Why did you return to the Adventurer Guild?" I ask curiously, knowing that she was still a Warrior five days ago. 

"My elder sister, Meira, the Adventurer in our party, was injured in the labyrinth a few days ago. I had to rejoin the Adventurer Guild to fill her role," she says with a sigh.

"Oh no! Is your sister alright?" Roxanne asks, concern evident in her voice.

"Ha... no, she is still seriously injured. Her leg was cut badly," Elfina replies with another sigh.

"That's terrible!" Lillia exclaims, clutching her chest in empathy.

"Where did this happen?" Roxanne asks.

"In the newly discovered labyrinth in Vale. I warned her it wasn't safe to explore a new labyrinth, but no one listened," Elfina says, shaking her head.

"That's the labyrinth we visited today," Anastasia murmurs, her whole body trembling. "I knew labyrinths were scary," she adds, shuddering.

"We are still trying to gather money to buy a Nourishment Tablet for her," Elfina says, her voice weary.

"A Nourishment Tablet costs almost 60 silver Nars," Anastasia says abruptly, shaking off her fear.

"Yeah, it is quite costly," Elfina replies with a wry smile.

I, on the other hand, was astonished for a completely different reason. Meira was the name of the Elf Lady Adventurer who had brought me to the Imperial Capital and Quratar. It couldn't just be a coincidence—there couldn't be many elves sharing the same name. She must be her older sister.

Now that I looked closely, both elves were beautiful blondes with similar features. Still, it was such an odd twist of fate that the only two elves I had interacted with in this world turned out to be sisters.

Hearing that such a graceful lady was injured so badly in the labyrinth left me feeling uneasy. We might be cruising through the labyrinth floors with ease, thanks to being overgeared and still in the lower levels, but this was a sobering reminder: labyrinths were dangerous, no matter how well-prepared you thought you were.

Before I could comment further, we emerged from the woods and reached the shore.

"This must be the place the village chief mentioned," Elfina murmured, her gaze fixed ahead.

The shoreline before us was jagged, filled with rocks and reefs. It was immediately apparent why fishing nets wouldn't work here. As expected, in places where movement was restricted, fish would be plentiful.

Miria walked ahead, observing the area with a serious expression. She hopped onto a rock and peered into the water. Suddenly, she jumped back, rushing to us with excitement.

"Fish-desu!" she reported happily.

"Will you be fishing here?" I asked, patting her head affectionately.

"Yes-desu!" she replied cheerfully after Roxanne translated.

Avoiding Elfina's eyes, I reached into my backpack and took out a leather jacket and a steel sword.

"This is for protection. You need to be cautious of strangers and demons out here," I explained, helping Miria put on the jacket with Roxanne's assistance. "Also, use the 10 silver nars I gave you to buy anything you need from the fish market or the village."

"Thank you-desu," Miria nodded, her face showing understanding.

"I will be back before sunset. Don't stray far from this spot, alright?" I added, unable to hide my worry. She nodded again, her seriousness contrasting with her usual bubbly demeanour.

While Roxanne reminded her to avoid rushing into the water recklessly, I turned to Elfina.

"Elfina, do you know of a waterfall around here? It was once used by the Priest Guild," I asked.

"Hmm, a waterfall? Sorry, I am not familiar with the area around this village," she replied, shaking her head. "The village head might know, though."

In the original story, Michio had visited this village for flood relief work, which was why he chose this location for Miria's fishing. The flood was still months away, but I had picked this site because of a nearby waterfall abandoned by the Priest Guild—it would be vital for acquiring another job.

"That's fine," I said, then asked Miria to keep an ear out for any news about the waterfall.

After ruffling Miria's hair one last time, we set up her fishing gear and left, heading back into the woods.

"Elfina, here's your payment," I said, stopping near a large tree. I handed her four silver coins—two for teleportation and two for the escort. Then, placing a pouch containing 60 silver coins in her other hand, I added, "And this is for your sister, Meira."

"Wha? No—why are you giving me so much money? I can't accept this, Michio. It is too much, and we barely know each other," she protested, trying to push the pouch back.

"Take it. Think of it as a small loan from a new friend," I said, gently holding her soft, white hand. "It is 60 silver Nars—enough to buy a Nourishment Tablet. Your sister urgently needs it, right? Just pay me back when she gets better," I add, looking at her beautiful face.

Nourishment Tablets are an advanced form of Nourishment pills and medicine. It is said they can even regrow broken limbs, though I am not sure if that's true.

"...But..." Elfina hesitated.

"Accept it. It's Master's kindness," Roxanne interjected.

"It will help your sister," Lillia added with a nod.

"Yes, you don't get an interest-free loan every day," Anastasia said eagerly.

Ugh, Anastasia... that wasn't necessary.

"...All right. Thank you very much, Michio," Elfina said, defeated but smiling beautifully. "I... will pay you back soon," she added, clutching the pouch tightly. Then, with a determined look, she pushed the four silver coins back into my hand.

"At least take these coins back, then," she insisted.

"No, that's your payment," I said, shaking my head.

"You called me a friend, right? I don't take money for spending time with my friends," she replied with a gentle smile.

"Alright," I conceded, pocketing the coins.

"So, where do you live? Where can I repay you?" she asked curiously.

"We live in house number 69 in Quratar," I replied, keeping a straight face as a quiet 'Nice' echoed in my head.

"Oh, the Haunted Mansion!" she exclaimed in recognition.

"The haunted mansion?" Lillia asked, intrigued.

"So that's what it was!" Anastasia added in realization.

"Yes, that infamous house," I said with a wry smile, still unsure why everyone seemed to know about the Haunted Mansion—or what exactly was so haunted about it!

***

Cedric NGOUBY has used his points to claim an extra chapter!

I sincerely thank you for your support!