“Ed, I want to go too!”
Seeing that she couldn’t stop him, Bailis tried to demand they fight side by side like they had before.
The youth bent down slightly so his gaze was level with the girl’s.
Blue and crimson eyes met in the air.
Ed looked away first.
“This time… it’s very dangerous. Stay right here by the traps and wait for me to come back, okay?”
“It’s exactly because it’s dangerous that we should go together! We’ve always done it that way before!”
Bailis grew anxious, clutching his clothes and refusing to let go.
“It’s different this time.”
The golden-haired youth shook his head and gently but firmly pulled her hand away.
“Those are two third-tier demon bears. I can’t lure them to the target location while also guaranteeing your safety. I don’t want to see you get hurt because of my carelessness or incompetence. Do you understand?”
He turned to the side.
“Kelta, the adventurers from town should be arriving soon. Remember to position them quickly. Once everything is ready, signal me with a whistle. As soon as I hear it, I’ll begin.”
With that, Ed didn’t wait for the stunned girl to offer any more words of protest. He strode straight toward the depths of the forest.
“Why…”
The girl stared at the figure gradually disappearing into the trees. She bit her lip hard and lifted her foot to chase after him.
But another hand suddenly reached out from the side, blocking her path.
Bailis froze.
“Sylvia? You’re just going to stand by and watch Ed face those two demon bears alone?”
“That’s not what I mean.”
The young apothecary girl shook her head.
“But there’s something I hope Miss Bailis will consider carefully. Mr. Ed isn’t going to fight those two monsters this time—he’s going to lure them to the trap location. I know Miss Bailis is very skilled in combat, but when it comes to luring demon beasts, your experience might not be as extensive. In other words…”
The light purple-haired girl stared at her intently.
“If you go now, you’ll only be getting in his way.”
“I… getting in his way?” Bailis murmured.
“Yes.” Sylvia nodded.
“Not just Miss Bailis—Kelta and I included. Right now, we’re all just burdens to Mr. Ed. The only thing we can do is trust him and handle everything except the luring itself.”
The girl seemed to come to a realization and sat down heavily on the ground.
“But other than fighting… what else can I do…”
She remembered how, back in Hilos, she had proudly boasted to the youth.
“I can help you with so many things!” she had declared.
Yet in just a single month, reality had ruthlessly shattered that boast, revealing the fragile side hidden beneath her pretended strength.
“Don’t lose heart. There will be places where we’re needed.” Sylvia spoke softly. “Look, they’re here.”
Bailis snapped out of her self-reproach and looked up.
A group of adventurers wearing light or heavy armor and carrying swords, spears, axes, bows, and all kinds of weapons was marching toward the three of them.
Leading the group were Wilfred and Leo—the two middle-aged adventurers they had met a few times before.
The middle-aged adventurer who loved drinking and talking nonsense raised his arm first.
“Hey! Kelta, Sylvia! We brought all the lads who are still willing to tangle with those two beasts!”
“Thank you, Uncle Leo, Uncle Wilfred, and everyone for coming to help.”
The young adventurer scratched his head and suddenly sighed.
“Otherwise, if the noise from our fight draws a swarm of demon beasts, I really don’t know what we’d do with just the four of us.”
“I heard you three already cleared out most of the surrounding area with our people,” Wilfred stepped forward and said.
“I only came because I was told we could definitely take down those two demon bears. But from the way you’re talking, Kelta, it sounds like we’re just here to do the cleanup work?”
The middle-aged adventurer with the thick beard lowered his brows, his expression far from pleased.
If this had been the old Kelta, he might have panicked and not known what to do.
But after spending these past few days with Ed, he had gradually learned quite a bit from the youth who was nearly the same age yet always calm, powerful, and extremely reliable.
“Uncle Wilfred, the task for you and everyone else really won’t involve facing the demon bears head-on,” he said, imitating Ed’s manner as he looked toward the large group of adventurers. His voice was steady and calm.
A faint stir rippled through the crowd.
Wilfred frowned.
“I know many of you came for the reward the town mayor offered. However—” Kelta continued without changing his expression, “not facing the demon bears directly doesn’t mean there’s no reward to be had.”
The murmurs in the crowd grew louder.
“What the hell do you mean by that, kid?”
A burly man finally couldn’t hold back and jumped out.
“Are you saying we just stand here and still get silver coins? I don’t believe there’s such a good deal falling from the sky!”
“Kugna, I remember you didn’t join us for the reward,” Wilfred turned his head and said in a deep voice. “Or are you telling me the reason you want revenge for your brother was made up?”
The seemingly casual question subtly placed him on the side of Kelta’s group.
The young adventurer thought for a moment, his eyes suddenly brightening as he realized what Wilfred was getting at.
“H-how could that be!”
The man jumped up immediately, the iron plates on his leather armor clinking together.
“Of course I came for revenge for my brother! But if there’s free money to be had and I don’t take it, wouldn’t that make me an idiot?”
A chorus of “Yeah, yeah” and “That’s right” rose from the adventurers.
Wilfred offered no further rebuttal. He turned back to Kelta, clearly waiting for his answer.
“Of course there’s money to be made. We won’t make anyone come all this way for nothing.” The young adventurer smiled faintly. “The remaining demon beasts around the demon bears’ nest will be left to all of you to clean up. The town mayor has set lower rewards for those beasts as well. Once the numbers add up, it should still be a decent sum.”
“What about the demon bears’ reward?” someone shouted.
“We can’t just guard the perimeter for you for free, right?”
“Rest assured, the demon bears’ reward has already been arranged,” Kelta answered before the man could finish.
“We will take half of the demon bears’ reward and distribute it among everyone according to the number of perimeter demon beasts each person kills.”
“Half? According to the town mayor’s reward, two bears are worth ten gold coins. Half of that is five gold coins… Hiss!”
One adventurer did a quick mental calculation and immediately grew excited.
There were dozens of adventurers present. Even if split evenly, each person could get around ten silver coins.
And that didn’t even include the rewards for the demon beasts they killed themselves.
“That actually sounds like quite a lot…”
The adventurers exchanged glances and nodded one after another.
Kelta finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked toward Wilfred. Just then, the middle-aged adventurer with the thick beard looked back at him.
A trace of approval flashed in those eyes.
“Good.”
Wilfred said. “Looks like no one has any objections. We’ll go with that for now. We’ll discuss the exact distribution of earnings after the battle.”
Kelta nodded.
“Then let’s arrange the specific positioning of personnel right now…”
“I’ll handle it.”
A young voice suddenly sounded from behind Kelta.
The young adventurer turned around in surprise.
The girl who had been sitting on the ground earlier had stood up at some point.
Her hood was pulled low, revealing only the lower half of her face.
She walked step by step in front of Kelta and faced the group of puzzled-looking adventurers.
“I’ll tell you which areas need to be defended.”
Her voice had lost all the softness it held when she was with Ed, leaving only a hard, steely resolve.
“Let me make one thing clear first. If any extra demon beast suddenly appears while we’re fighting, then the adventurers in that direction…”
Her gaze beneath the hood seemed to sweep across the crowd.
“will not receive a single copper coin of the demon bears’ reward,” she said coldly.