"Oh, right, Orelia," Colin said. "My tuition for learning magic is monster materials. That means we can’t sell the parts from the Scorpion-tailed Lion, so I’ll reimburse you for your share later."

"That’s not necessary, Mr. Colin."

Orelia said, "You’ve worked the hardest on this journey. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for you to take a little extra. Besides, I’m already earning much more than I did at the Monastery."

"I’ll reimburse you when we get back," Colin insisted.

"I can’t guide us like Mr. Kase, and I can’t make plans like you, Mr. Colin. I just don’t want to... be a burden," Orelia said, lowering her head.

’Probably because she’s been discriminated against for so long, the poor girl doesn’t even want to fight for what she’s owed. Simply put, she’s been beaten down into having far too little self-esteem.’

’But there’s no way I can let it go as she says.’

’After all, we’re companions in the same party. Problems with dividing the loot are a major liability. We’ll have to recruit other members later, so how would we handle it then?’

Colin thought for a moment. "Well... you’re not very skilled with a shield, are you? When the time comes, I’ll see if I can have them teach you as well. How does that sound? If you get stronger, our party gets stronger too."

Orelia mulled it over for a moment, then nodded.

As they were chatting, a Half-Sheepman tavern waitress walked by and placed their complimentary dinner on the table.

What she brought over was a plate of stew and a meat roll. You could see a red sauce drizzled inside the meat roll, and the portion looked quite generous.

Orelia took a bite of the meat roll, then scooped up a spoonful of stew and ate it.

"Why does this thing smell so weird?" Kase asked doubtfully, pinching the edge of the meat roll with his fingers and sniffing it carefully.

"What’s so weird about it?" Colin said, taking a bite of his meat roll.

The moment he chewed, he felt a spicy heat rush from his mouth all the way to his sinuses. It was like eating wasabi. Even for Colin, who could handle his spice relatively well, it felt a little hot.

Kase frowned and asked, "What’s it taste like?"

"It’s just a meat roll," Colin said nonchalantly.

"If there was nothing wrong with it, you’d be calling me crazy. How about this, Red-head, you tell me."

Orelia, her cheeks puffed out, said while chewing, "Ith thweet!"

"You’re way more honest than that Mage." Kase confidently took a big bite of the meat roll. The Half-Orc’s brown face instantly turned red, so red it was almost black.

"There are razor blades in this thing! No, wait, it’s burning tar! Dammit, someone’s trying to get us, quick..." Kase said, about to draw his Battle Axe and fight someone to the death.

"It’s just spicy. Have you never had it before?"

Colin quickly grabbed him and glanced around. Thankfully, the tavern was loud, so no one had noticed the little commotion. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"You two tricked me!" Kase looked at his two companions with righteous indignation.

Orelia tilted her head, took another bite to confirm, and said, "It *is* thweet."

"I remember reading in a book that Tieflings have a resistance to things like fire. Maybe that’s why," Colin said.

"How can anyone eat this kind of stuff..." Kase grumbled.

After ordering a beer, he still finished his food bit by bit. Of course, not without a lot of complaining.

A Half-Orc who could understand the hatred a human veteran felt for him was completely unable to comprehend the existence of spicy food. The whole situation was rather comical.

Colin, however, found the meat roll quite delicious.

After dinner, the group left the tavern and, by asking for directions along the way, soon found the local Church of Morninglord.

The Church of Morninglord in this city was much like the one in Thousand Masts City—a sort of alternative Gothic-style church.

However, the Church was surrounded by a low wall, on which were posted wanted posters for groups like the "Viper Association" and "Devil Cultists." There were also Guards armed with Giant Crossbows standing on the wall.

The group stood at the main gate for a moment before a man in a Plate Armor Chest Guard walked over. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"I’m Colin from Thousand Masts City. Mr. Helder said..." Colin could sense the wariness in the man’s eyes.

"Ah, you must be the one Edwin was talking about recently."

The wariness in the man’s eyes vanished instantly. He smiled, patted Colin’s shoulder, and continued, "You came from the mountains, right? With that whole Hill Giant incident recently, I thought you might have given up on the journey."

"We took a detour around the mountains."

"Then come on in. You’ll need to speak with our ’White Eagle’ about the matter."

Colin nodded.

The so-called "White Eagle" was a title within their organization.

According to the ranking standards for field agents in Thousand Masts City, Colin only held the fifth-rank title of "New Blood," or perhaps the slightly higher "Glory New Blood."

And according to the information he had, "White Eagle" was a third-rank title in the Morninglord Sect, basically equivalent to a regional director.

The group entered the Church and made their way to an office in the innermost part of the second floor.

An old man was sitting in the office.

Although his hair was white and his face was covered in wrinkles, the Chest Armor he wore still gleamed, and he projected an intimidating aura.

The old man glanced at Kase and Orelia, then said, "You must be Colin."

"Yes, sir. Mr. Helder told us to report here first."

"Then I’ll get straight to the point." The old man coughed twice. "Edwin asked me to provide support for you, but the Devil Cultists in this city have been running rampant lately, and our hands are a bit full."

Colin’s head started to ache when he heard that.

Frostland Druids, Demon Cultists, Giants, Devil Cultists... The whole journey, all he’d heard was news about these kinds of monsters.

’Just as Edwin had implied, every corner of the world was starting to stir. Other city-states and other nations were beginning to encounter all sorts of trouble; he just hadn’t seen it for himself yet.’

"So, should my mission be canceled?"

"Not necessarily. The Endless Wilderness is actually quiet right now. It’s mainly inhabited by Hobgoblins, Orcs, and some uncivilized Barbarians." The old man glanced at Kase before continuing, "Every so often, they start fighting amongst themselves, followed by a period of quiet. Based on the pattern, they’re in a quiet period right now, so the Endless Wilderness should be quite safe."

Colin breathed a sigh of relief.

’So this trip wasn’t a total waste after all.’

"However, the only support we can offer is Holy Water, Antidotes, and some rations. The Endless Wilderness is the ruins of the Ancient Elf City-States. There might be some things like Ghosts and Skeletons in there. You can throw the Holy Water on them.

"As for rations, I suggest you take a six-day supply, and it would be best to find a guide to lead the way. Unfortunately, this city isn’t very welcoming to us, so you’ll probably have to handle that task on your own."

The old man arranged things efficiently. "So, when will you depart?"