The Frugal Mage-Chapter 189: Mission

"Fiancée?" Rayven asked in shock...

"Sorry... I think I forgot about her. It might’ve happened after I almost died several months ago. What happened? Why do I need to return home?"

Stein’s expression changed... His smirk faded as he recalled what happened to Rayven before.

He knew how Rayven and his Caravan had disappeared, and everyone thought that he had died through the schemes made by the Veltham Family.

’Right...’

Stein could only think that it was due to the trauma he had experienced.

Because of that, his expression was now replaced by something more serious with a hint of concern, maybe even guilt.

Rayven realized this, but he didn’t mind since that was the story he had already come up with.

He exhaled slowly. "I... I forgot. You were missing for a month or so... Everyone thought the caravan was wiped out. We even held a memorial."

Rayven wryly smiled. When he was transmigrated here, he only recalled important names, places, and a few events... There wasn’t anything about his fiancée... He barely recalled any childhood memories too...

Stein could only nod his head and informed him about his fiancée...

"Her name is Julia Wales. She’s from the Wales merchant family. The engagement was arranged two years ago... It was part of a trade alliance. You were twelve, she was thirteen. It wasn’t romantic, just something our parents arranged for politics or business or something... Everyone’s like that in the family."

Rayven nodded slowly. That explained why it hadn’t surfaced in his system’s memory prioritization. It wasn’t vital to survival... Just another noble formality.

"She waited even after the memorial. She didn’t accept the annulment either. She said she’d wait until it was confirmed."

Rayven didn’t expect the young lady to be loyal.

’Did I do something to her?’ Rayven mused as he didn’t expect that someone would fall for him...

"And now?"

Stein sighed and continued.

"Now she’s in trouble. Her family’s estate was raided last week. Bandits... or maybe mercenaries. It’s unclear. Her father was injured, and she’s been moved to our house for protection."

Rayven’s eyes narrowed. "Why would they target Wales?"

"That’s the problem," Stein said. "We don’t know. But Julia insists it’s connected to something she found in her father’s ledger. Something about a shipment from a Dungeon."

Rayven frowned as he had no idea what he had to do now... Still, he continued to listen.

"Since we learned that you’ve become a mage, our parents decided to ask for your help. Of course, we still hired mercenaries and mages to help, although they’re expensive. However, you might be more interested since it’s about the Wales family. You should help if you have the strength to do so." Stein explained.

That certainly made sense.

"They hired Mages? How much are they paying them?" Rayven asked.

This confused Stein for a moment before he replied. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Initiate Mages are expensive. They’re asking for a 5 gold upfront payment and 1 gold every two days. If we hired them for escorting services or defensive missions. If we want them to attack the bandits, it would be more expensive. We could hire Adept Mages, but the payment would also be too much."

Rayven didn’t like that they had to hire other mages.

He might as well accept those payments and deal with the Bandits himself...

Of course, Rayven couldn’t just leave Hesa City on a whim.

He had roots here now... The businesses, connections, and responsibilities he had. The Eterna Script Trading and Eterna Mayonnaise Shop weren’t just side projects anymore. They were growing, profitable ventures that carried his name and reputation.

Still, he moved quickly.

***

He spent the next day finalizing operations, meeting with Gene in the back office of Eterna Script Trading. The man was intelligent, loyal, and had already proven himself capable of running things in Rayven’s absence.

"I’ll be gone for a while," Rayven said, handing over a sealed pouch. "This contains emergency funds, supplier contacts, and a few signed orders. Use them if anything urgent comes up."

Gene nodded. "Understood. I’ll keep everything running. You just focus on whatever mission you’re on."

Rayven gave a faint smile. "It’s not just a mission. It’s... personal."

Gene didn’t pry too much... He also had a lot of things to do.

At Eterna Mayonnaise, the kitchen was bustling as usual. Rayven gave a few quiet instructions to the shift leads, checked the inventory logs, and made sure the delivery schedules were locked in. The shop could run itself for a while, especially with Gene overseeing both branches.

After that, he returned to the estate and spoke with Uncle Albert.

The old man was in the garden, pruning a bonsai tree...

’Wow... He’s too relaxed. Everything must be going well in the business.’ Rayven thought to himself.

"I heard from Stein," Albert said before Rayven could speak. "You’re heading to Kesla."

Rayven nodded. "It’s related to the Wales family. Julia’s in trouble."

Albert didn’t look surprised. "Then go. Just don’t forget... You’re an Adept Mage now. You’re completely different from before."

"I won’t." Rayven said as he knew the implications of being a Mage as well.

With that, Rayven made his way to the Adventurer’s Guild.

The hall was familiar now. Adventurers moved around, checking boards, haggling over rewards, or bragging about recent kills.

Behind the counter, Stella looked up and smiled as he approached.

"Rayven. Back already?"

"Just passing through..." he said. "I need to transfer my registration to Kesla City. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Not at all," she said.

"Your rank and records will carry over. You’ll just need to check in at the Kesla branch when you arrive."

Rayven nodded. "Any missions heading that way?"

Stella scanned the board. "There’s an escort mission leaving tomorrow morning. Merchant caravan. Standard route, decent pay. Should be uneventful... unless you’re hoping for trouble."

In short, the payment for a silver rank adventurer like him would just be cheap.

Still, it was better than going to Kesla without earning anything...

"I’ll take it."