Chapter 29: CH. 29 | Recommendation Letter For Aya

Theo walked over and joined the line in front of the reception desk until his turn finally came up. Sara handled it, standing behind the counter, and took the guild mission Theo handed her.

The first thing Sara noticed when she took the mission from Theo was its rank. She immediately looked up and asked to confirm Theo was really ready for it.

"Are you sure? This is a D-Rank mission."

"If you fail this mission, you and your party will be fined," Sara added.

Theo didn’t have a shred of doubt about his plan, since he knew exactly what he and his party members were capable of. He even reassured Sara that he’d get the mission done.

"All right," Sara answered, "Just be careful with whatever you do."

"I will."

[Congratulations! Guild mission successfully registered for the party]

[Party Name: Theo’s Party]

[Leader: Theo (None || Lv. 3)]

[Guild Mission: Escort a herbalist expert to Nador Hill]

[Mission Rank: D-Rank]

[Mission Duration: 03:23:59:51]

[Reward: +200 exp || +15 Contribution Points || +35 Copper]

A notification panel appeared in front of Theo, Thalia, and Lily. In short, the panel showed up right in front of every party member. Sara confirmed she’d finished registering the mission for Theo.

"For proof of completion, you’ll need to get that person’s signature in this section," Sara said, "Don’t even think about trying to fake it, that’s a serious violation, one that could get your adventurer status revoked."

Theo nodded and took the mission sheet back, but before leaving, he asked Sara for a favor. She listened eagerly.

"One of our party member’s little sisters is sick, she’s staying at my apartment right now. Because of this mission, we’re worried we won’t be back home anytime soon," Theo said.

"I’d like to ask you to look after her for a while until we get back. We’ll pay you for it," Theo added.

"Sure," Sara answered with a smile, "I’m off shift by midday, so just bring her here."

"We will."

Once that was settled, Theo and the others left the city guild. Their destination was Nador Hill, but since they needed to pick up Riley first, they decided to bring her to the city guild before continuing on to the mission location.

"I’ll go get Riley myself. You two should wait here," Lily said, turning to look at Theo.

Theo glanced briefly at Thalia, then turned back to Lily. He explained that he and Thalia still needed to buy supplies for the trip ahead.

Because of that, Theo decided to have Lily meet them at their meeting point instead, at the city’s south gate. Even if Lily got there before them, she’d just need to wait no matter the situation.

Lily understood right away and hurried off, while Theo and Thalia headed to the row of shops to buy food, potions, and other supplies to help their mission go smoothly.

They ended up buying quite a lot, given the party now had three members, all of it stored in Thalia’s inventory bag, while Theo’s inventory bag would be reserved for whatever drop items they picked up later.

Once they’d finished shopping, Theo and Thalia walked together down the main street toward the south side of the city.

There, they found the city gate, along with plenty of passenger carriages ready to take people to their destinations.

"Hey there, young adventurer."

"Heading out of the city? I can take you there."

"Tell me, where are you headed?" the carriage driver asked.

Theo unrolled the map Yasa had given him and located Nador Hill, showing it to the driver, a middle aged man dressed in simple clothes.

"Oh, Nador Hill," the man said, "I know the place. How about I take you to the village near the hill instead? The route straight to Nador Hill is steep and rocky."

Theo glanced sideways at Thalia, and she nodded, seeming fine with the suggestion. In the end, both of them agreed to go along with it.

"Two people, one way trip, that comes to twenty copper total."

"We’re still waiting on a third person, would you mind waiting a bit?" Thalia asked.

The middle aged man smiled and said he didn’t mind at all. He asked to be told once their third party member showed up so they could head out right away.

Theo kept his eyes on the street ahead, toward the city center near Yasa’s apartment. Lily’s look was distinctive enough that Theo could spot her even from a distance.

"Isn’t that her?" Thalia asked, pointing.

"Yeah," Theo said, "That’s Lily."

Thalia narrowed her eyes, raising a hand to shield them from the sun. For some reason, her expression shifted.

"Who’s that with her?" Thalia asked.

"Wait! Is she carrying Riley too?"

"That’s not Riley, it’s someone else," Thalia replied.

As the two got closer, Theo finally got a clear look at Lily. He also saw exactly what Thalia had meant, Lily was walking alongside a woman with short black hair and glasses. He recognized her, and clearly Thalia did too.

"Aya?" Theo asked, "What are you doing here?"

Lily finally reached Theo, gasping for breath. It made sense she looked so worn out, since she and Aya had apparently sprinted the whole way from the city center to the south gate, as if terrified of being left behind.

"When I... got to the guild, Sara called me over and gave me this," Lily said.

The pink haired girl tapped her inventory bag and handed Theo a sheet of paper, stamped with the letterhead of the Aluric City Guild.

The letter contained a member recommendation for a party. Sara had signed it herself, explaining that an adventurer named Aya, an Archer class, rookie rank, was the best possible recommendation to join Theo’s party.

Sara vouched for her recommendation, she must have had her own reasons for doing this.

But if Aya joined the mission now, she wouldn’t receive any of its rewards, since she hadn’t been registered as a party member when the mission was submitted.

Theo glanced at Aya, who looked just as exhausted as Lily. He walked over to her and asked what her reason was for wanting to join his party.

"I want... to earn money to help pay off my father’s debt."

Debt?

"What happened with your father, that you’d have to become an adventurer just to earn money?"

"I-It’s..."

Aya didn’t answer Theo’s question, but Theo wasn’t naive. Watching her reaction, he could guess something was wrong with Aya’s family situation.

"Sara gave me your recommendation letter. You seem like someone I can trust," Theo said.

"I-I won’t betray you," Aya said.

"Sure," Theo said, "But I’m worried the guild’s system means you won’t get anything out of this current mission."

"That’s fine," Aya said.

She worked up the courage to lift her head, looking up at Theo, who stood noticeably taller than her, "I’ll find some other way to earn money, even if it’s not through a guild mission."

Theo went quiet for a moment. Even though she was young, he could see real determination and resolve in her eyes.

He couldn’t bring himself to turn her away, especially with a recommendation letter pushing the decision.

"Thalia will help you get added to my party."

"For now, everyone gets in the carriage. We need to head out," Theo ordered.

The three of them nodded obediently, climbing into the carriage one after another. Once everyone was settled, the driver spurred his horse forward, carrying them toward the village near Nador Hill.

And so, their adventure continued once again.