Jamie and Quinton, fearless C-Ranked adventurers from Leunderk, who formed the two-man party, Kone.
The two had braved many dangers, though not the top of the crop back in Leunderk, word of their feats was not lacking in any manner. From scouting a nest of Mananteaters, a nest of Orcs, and even a nest of a wandering Griffin! Such great, brave adventurers, were shaking in their boots today.
With each bump the old farmer's cart drove over, Jamie's fear would rise and his heart would quake. Quinton wasn't any better off either as he sat in alert and stretched his arms around the pile of hay with each jostle the cart sent over.
Laying atop the pile of hay was a young red-haired man with a rowdy gaze and a dandy smile, and next to him, a transcendental beauty they still couldn't wrap their minds around.
The cart shook again, a few strands of hay fell off this time, sending a shudder down Jamie and Quinton's spines.
"Ay sonnies up there," the farmer's voice reached them. Up there? Was he talking to the two who barged in?
"Ya mind comin down? My feed'll get ruined at this rate—"
"—AAH!" Jamie screamed. "Pops! We'll pay you for more ok? Please shut up!" Quinton nodded frantically from the side.
"Yes, sure, sorry about that." The red-haired man said and sat up on the hay before sliding off to the cart, next to Jamie and Quinton. The two adventurers widened their eyes, they didn't think this one would agree.
The man didn't bother Jamie and Quinton as he shook the other person. "Hey. Hey, wake up."
Despite his attempts, the other one didn't wake up. Jamie and Quinton would honestly have not minded letting that one sleep, but they didn't have the guts to speak up against the one who had thrashed them without batting an eyelid.
"Haah." The man grabbed his head and sighed. Then, he held the other one by the feet—
"WAKE UP!"
—And threw him off the cart.
pαndα`noν?1--сoМ The person flew through the air and slammed against the ground before rolling behind. Even the Ox seemed to have been shocked as it slowed down and all of them turned their heads.
The red-haired man smiled widely and dusted his hands as the person he threw slowly sat up.
"He's a bit stubborn when it comes to sleep."
"He…?" Jamie muttered.
His voice caught the man's ears. With a pitying gaze, the red-haired man patted Jamie's shoulders and showed him a wry smile.
"Yup… He."
***
"So, I tell that portly man, 'Boy, this farm don't belong to ma father, it belongs to yours.'"
"Oh?"
"'And daz me. I am your father.' How's that?"
"Ooh! Cool as hell, pops! You are truly the manifestation of the word cool! Mind if I use this line sometime?"
"Sure sonny, it's all yours. Ima look forward to hearing tales of you saying this, boy."
"You bet, pops." Elric held the farmer's hands and nodded. "I won't let you down!"
"Ahaha!" The farmer smiled and slapped Elric's back.
The cart was rather uncomfortable, so Elric went up and sat next to the farmer, leaving Jamie and Quinton with the most difficult one around. Claude sat with his arms and legs crossed and eyes closed, he seemed to be deep in thought and Jamie and Quinton couldn't muster the courage to look away from him.
Hearing the conversation of Elric who had immediately become old pals with the farmer, Claude decided he should use his communication skills too.
Alas, for the last two years, his only communication partners had been trees who were waiting for him to die, monsters who were out to kill him, and Elric whose antics had already killed him inside.
Claude awkwardly opened his eyes and stared down the two in front of him. The stare worked well to make the angry monsters stop and have a talk.
A chill ran down Jamie and Quinton's spines.
"Name?" Claude asked. (f)reewe(b)novel
"Y-yes?"
"Name."
"Oh, uh…. I'm Quamie, t-this is Jinton…"
"Heh," Claude smirked. "Silly names."
"…"
"… sorry…"
"Oh, don't worry, your parents should apologize," Claude said. "Not your fault."
Jamie and Quinton did not think it necessary to correct the misunderstanding. Their wounds were still fresh, after all. He could even insult their parents and get away with it for now. After another short bout of silence, Claude spoke up again.
"How do you make dough?" he asked.
"…dough?"
Instead of answering, Claude rubbed his thumb over the tips of his index finger.
"Aah… money!" Quinton said.
"Well, we're adventurers—"
"—WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Elric's scream interrupted Jamie. He popped his head out from the other end through the hay and stared at Jamie and Quinton with widened eyes. "What did you say?" he repeated.
"M-money?" Quinton asked, his voice high-pitched on the verge of tears.
"After that."
"Adventurers—"
"—CLAUDE!" Elric turned to his friend with an excited gaze, his friend, on the other hand, was stretching his neck away to avoid his eyes.
Elric tapped him.
A bead of sweat fell from Claude's forehead.
"Claude! Claude! Claude!"
"Haah, fine fine." Claude sighed and raised his hand in surrender. "We'll look into it, ok?"
Despite the lackluster response, there was a bright glimmer in Claude's emotionless eyes. A glimmer that Jamie and Quinton did not miss. A glimmer that reminded them of their youth when they were enamored by the life of adventure, when they would hop excitedly at tales of the old adventurers during their childhood and vow to become one like them.
Quinton and Jamie gazed at each other and broke into a relaxed smile. They were on edge the entire time, worried about the monsters that had latched onto them from the Mystic Forest, but the humanity in those monsters melted away all their worries.
"Oh, we are here," the farmer's words snapped all of their attention to the front.
The overhead sun shone down on the sandy road mixing in with the stone pavements. In the distance, huts of straws and wood enlarged and expanded until they turned into brick houses of two to three stories reflecting the bright light with their gypsum and lime coverings. Wooden finials stretched out of the tilings of the roofs and touched the blue skies above the houses, welcoming the cart into the townscape.
An enchanting sight Elric and Claude would have never imagined back at their homes.
"Welcome to Leunderk, lads."
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