Chapter 102: Midsummer Aftermath

Many days have passed since the annual Midsummer Festival, yet traces of the holiday can still be seen everywhere in Hegu Town.

Miss "Moli," the association receptionist who is usually listless, has changed into a pair of sterling silver earrings bought during a store promotion.

The new hangover remedy developed by Ms. Edwinna of "Green Grass Crucible" was widely acclaimed during Midsummer, and it is said she is considering mass production.

The massive bonfire in the town's central square has already been cleaned up with the help of the staff.

But one can still see charred marks from the remaining ashes in the cracks of some inconspicuous floor tiles in the corner of the square.

By contrast, the adventurers at the White Tit Tavern seem not to have noticed that the festival has long since faded away.

Even though all kinds of activities have ended, the atmosphere inside the tavern remains fervent.

From the moment the sun set and the twilight deepened, until the dawn broke and the morning light shone bright, the sound of lutes, shouting, cheering, and even chaotic, off-key singing never ceased.

For these adventurers who live with their heads tucked into their waistbands and walk on a tightrope, the so-called "Midsummer Day" is just an excuse to celebrate.

After a mission, every day is a festival, and every breath is worth commemorating.

"Hey, the commotion over at Kalanfur the last couple of days was no small thing. Do you know if there's any inside story?"

At a wine table, an adventurer wearing simple leather armor deliberately raised his voice and asked his teammate beside him.

Knowing each other inside and out, they naturally understood what the other meant.

Even though they had discussed it countless times in private, the teammate still pretended as if it were the first time he had heard the topic mentioned.

With a heavy display of acting, he pulled his voice and shouted in reply:

"Good grief, that light ball flashed so bright that when I went out to take a leak, I thought it was already dawn."

"I asked everyone the next day and no one could say for sure. I'm just as puzzled myself right now!"

Sure enough,

no sooner had the words fallen than a voice thick with drunkenness, the words themselves becoming somewhat blurred, came from the next table.

"It's just that little matter, nothing worth talking about!"

A red-bearded dwarf, who had been drinking since broad daylight and was now flushed red and reeking of alcohol, swayed his sturdy, tree-stump-like body.

He feigned generosity, leaning back in his chair as if he didn't care.

Only the whiskers slightly curled at the corners of his mouth and the peripheral vision he cast toward the people beside him revealed his inner thoughts.

"Oh, what exactly happened? Tell us about it?"

Seeing the other party take the bait, the adventurer who spoke first seized the opportunity, his tone filled with deliberate curiosity as he pressed for more.

He even sent his own bottle of ale, of which only a third remained, over to the other table.

The dwarf seemed quite pleased by the adventurer's gesture.

He took the bottle, tilted his head back, and downed the ale inside in one gulp.

He let out a satisfied burp.

Without playing coy, he went straight into the "specific details" he knew:

"According to my buddy who happened to be resupplying in Kalanfur a few days ago, *hic*..."

"A crazed cultist, right under the nose of the church, used some kind of evil ritual to lure a powerful magic beast from the depths of the Mist Forest to Kalanfur."

"In the end, even the priest of the Sun God Church got 'blown up'."

"Bang!"

As he spoke, the dwarf tucked his hands in front of his chest, spread his radish-like fingers, and fiercely made an explosion gesture.

His face was full of mockery; he felt not a shred of sympathy for the dead priest.

"That power... tsk tsk."

"You guys have it easy, being right here in Hegu Town. At most, you just heard a sound and treated it as a spectacle."

"My brother, though, he had it miserable. He was so busy running for his life that a whole cart of goods was burned to charcoal."

"Half a year of work for nothing!"

Hearing the dwarf say this, as if he really knew some inside truth, the adventurer, who had originally just wanted to fish for some information, showed surprise on his face.

He took the initiative to step forward and help fill the empty glass in front of the other party.

"With such power, even Hegu Town could see it. What about Kalanfur? The whole town isn't gone, is it?"

"That wouldn't go that far." The red-bearded dwarf waved his hand, his other palm stroking his round, bulging belly, his eyes squinting in extreme comfort.

"Just half the town, I suppose."

"But it is said that the cultist was a high-level spellcaster of the Conjuration school. Not only the air, but even the nearby water sources were polluted, meaning even if the civilians in the town are still alive, I'm afraid they won't be able to live there for a long time."

The conversation among the few had not been masked at all, coupled with the dwarf's naturally loud voice.

After a few sentences, almost half the tavern had heard the "inside truth" from the dwarf's mouth.

"Is there no one to manage it?" An adventurer with a youthful appearance lowered his voice, seemingly afraid of being overheard by someone. "Those noble 'masters' in the castle, or even our association... just let them mess around like this?"

"How could there be no one!"

The red-bearded dwarf puffed out his beard and glared, his emotions somewhat agitated.

"That night I even saw..."

But halfway through the sentence, realizing he had made a slip of the tongue, he suddenly shut his mouth.

No matter how others tried to goad him, he just kept his mouth shut and buried his head in his drink.

Even when pushed to the limit, he would only shove them away, spit out a few swear words, and then ramble on about irrelevant topics.

Behind the bar, "Chaputun" silently withdrew his gaze.

With his fingertips pinching a soft, fine cloth, he continued to carefully wipe the wine glass.

A few days ago, he naturally saw that brilliant golden light erupting from the horizon.

As the owner of the tavern most frequented by adventurers in all of Hegu Town,

although he rarely participated in the adventurers' topics, he just silently did his own work.

But after operating for so many years, he still had some connections.

It was just that, regarding the details of the incident in Kalanfur, his own "connections" were basically all tight-lipped.

This meant he didn't know much more than the red-bearded dwarf at this moment.

And if he really wanted to dig for information...

Chaputun's hand suddenly paused, his gaze subconsciously glancing toward the black-haired youth on the left side of the bar who was scooping up soup with a spoon.

What flashed in his mind was the scene from the morning before yesterday.

He remembered that at that time, he had just finished dealing with the rowdy drinkers who had been there all night and was yawning, intending to change shifts.

The figure carrying two swords walked straight into the tavern door.

Although he didn't look particularly exhausted on the outside, judging by the bloodstains remaining on his tattered armor and his dusty, travel-worn appearance,

it was clear he had just experienced a dangerous mission.

It was not uncommon for cautious adventurers to rest in the wild for a night before returning to the city to be safe;

it was also common for adventurers not to rush to repair their equipment after returning to the city, but to return to the inn to rest and reorganize first.

But for some reason, the intuition Chaputun had gained from running a tavern for many years made him invisibly link this young adventurer named "Xia Nan" to the brilliant explosion from the other night.

Perhaps...

"Boss, another serving of mushroom soup."

The greeting from in front of him brought Chaputun back to reality from his thoughts.

"Coming right up!"

He subconsciously wiped the glass in his hand two more times before putting it back in the cupboard and walking toward the back kitchen.

Xia Nan naturally did not know the other party's thoughts.

And even if Chaputun really asked, he could only brush it off.

After all, he did not fully understand the full picture of the incident that occurred in Kalanfur.

He only guessed roughly that it should be related to the Barbarian Fugang and a certain powerful existence he was tracking.

In his mind, the terrifying momentum of that night, like a high-yield missile bombardment where even a mushroom cloud rose up, surfaced involuntarily.

He muttered to himself.

Although he had some expectations for the level of extraordinary power in this world because he knew of the existence of "Gods,"

looking at it now, he had still underestimated it by far.

According to his contact and communication with the Barbarian along the way, the other party should not have reached the "Legendary" level at the top of the pyramid in this world, but was still at the "Transcendence" stage.

Even so, the aftermath of their battle had destroyed half a town.

If one went higher, the battles between those Legendary powerhouses, or even a "God War"...

wouldn't that be comparable to a nuclear war?

"Pop."

The steaming cream mushroom soup was handed to the table by the waiter.

Xia Nan shook his head gently, no longer considering those things that were still far away from him.

He pinched the spoon, scooped up a mouthful of soup, and sent it into his mouth.

Feeling the fresh, sweet taste lingering on the tip of his tongue,

it seemed that his heart, which had been fluctuating due to various encounters these days, had gradually eased.

At the same time, a certain anxiety that had been entrenched in his heart since he returned to Hegu Town two days ago also manifested.

What appeared before his eyes was the back of the Barbarian, wearing a wolf-skin cloak, walking alone toward Kalanfur.

After he returned, he had also spent a lot of time thinking about whether he should report the situation he encountered to the association.

It wasn't that he was overthinking it; in his view, the matter was far less simple than imagined.

First of all, it must be pointed out.

The Adventurer Association, as a behemoth that spans countless kingdoms, has branches all over the Aifala Continent, and even continues to expand outward to even further places.

It is a completely "neutral" faction composed of countless adventurers.

It is not the kind of justice organization that will send relevant personnel to investigate just because you casually report that a cultist has appeared somewhere.

To put it to the extreme, even if the entire Kalanfur were now occupied by cultists and became a nest for breeding magic beasts,

as long as it did not touch upon fundamental interests, the Hegu Town Adventurer Association would not move even an inch.

Of course, this is just a simple example. In reality, considering the many adventurers within the association who have connections to Kalanfur, as well as various factors such as the Servia Kingdom issuing rewards through the association, it could not possibly develop to this point.

With this as a premise, in the situation where the Barbarian only told him to run in the direction of Hegu Town and did not leave any extra instructions,

if he rashly contacted the association and revealed information related to Fugang,

would it add trouble for the Barbarian and have some kind of adverse effect on the other party?

Xia Nan even had to consider the one-in-ten-thousand possibility that there was some kind of conflict between Fugang and the association, which would make the association, upon learning of the situation, instead help the other side—the "enemy" he was fighting.

After all, he didn't even know who the target the Barbarian was tracking actually was.

After getting along these days, although Xia Nan and Fugang's relationship could not be called very close,

the other party was seriously helping him learn combat techniques according to the content of the commission.

He could feel this point.

Therefore, regarding the Barbarian's actions, even if he couldn't help much,

he tried his best not to add trouble for the other party.

On the other hand, if he simply omitted the Barbarian's identity information that he knew,

and just reported the things he saw happening in Kalanfur town to the association,

that actually wouldn't require Xia Nan to make an unnecessary move.

As early as that night the day before yesterday,

even before he had returned to Hegu Town and was still on the road escaping,

he had already seen a large number of adventurers setting out from Hegu Town and rushing toward Kalanfur.

Just among those he could observe, the number of professionals was not small.

Clearly, the Adventurer Association's reaction was much faster than he had expected.

In summary, to be safe and to try not to add trouble for the Barbarian,

doing less means making fewer mistakes.

Staying honestly in Hegu Town and waiting for news is what Xia Nan should be doing most right now.

"Heh, don't know where you heard that fake news, and you're still here showing off."

A sneer filled with mockery suddenly came from the corner of the tavern.

It was clearly aimed at the red-bearded dwarf who had just claimed to have learned about the situation in Kalanfur from a friend.

Xia Nan looked over.

Appearing in his line of sight was a man with yellowish-brown skin and curly black hair.

A Calishite, looking a bit familiar.

Seeing the gemstone rings the size of pigeon eggs on the other party's fingers, as well as the metal rings at the ends of his hair,

his gaze subconsciously looked toward the dwarf on the other side, and a somewhat strange expression could not help but appear on his face.

Isn't this the two people who were causing trouble in the tavern on Midsummer Day before he left?

Don't know what kind of luck it was, but not long after he returned to Hegu Town, these two guys actually got together again.

The dwarf, who was already dead drunk and flushed red, turned around, glared with his two round eyeballs, and stared for a long while.

Only then did he finally react.

"Dam— *hic*—damn Calishite maggot, your daddy didn't beat you enough that day, huh?"

Clearly prepared.

Unlike the solitary figure of that day, this time the Calishite had two men sitting beside him, also wearing cloaks.

Judging by their attire, they should also be people of the desert.

Drunk and coupled with the race's own nature, the red-bearded dwarf didn't show any weakness.

Puffed out his beard and waved his sturdy arms:

"What, you think... *hic*... adding two more sand rats can hold up the scene for you?"

"Go lick the butt crack of your Wind Genie master together!"

Having hung around taverns for years, all kinds of discriminatory slurs were at his fingertips.

With just a few simple sentences, the dwarf provoked the three Calishites opposite him until their faces were red and their eyes glared in anger.

Xia Nan sat on the side, with some anticipation, enjoying the mushroom soup quite a bit.

And just as the few were cursing and shoving each other, and a fight was on the verge of breaking out,

"Creak!"

The tavern door was pushed open violently.

Reflecting the blinding sunlight from outside, a cold, biting wind like a blizzard in the North surged in through the door crack.

A familiar, burly figure appeared before Xia Nan's eyes.

(End of chapter)