In addition to the three quests mentioned earlier, the fourth quest seemed particularly generous:
Escort the client to Stone Pine City.
Bronze-ranked Adventurer: 10 Gold Dragons per person
Silver-ranked Adventurer: 50 Gold Dragons per person
"This one pays per person!" Cipher exclaimed. "I think this escort quest sounds great!"
"Eep!"
Suddenly, Aria jumped in surprise, clapping her flat chest. Turning around, the golden-haired girl exclaimed, "Sister Cipher! Don't scare me like that!"
Cipher looked genuinely innocent. "I didn't mean to..."
It was simply because Cipher walked so quietly that Aria hadn't noticed her approach.
Feidric chimed in, "Then let's take this escort quest. Fifty Gold Dragons each should cover our expenses for a while."
Cipher suddenly realized something. "Fifty Gold Dragons each?"
Feidric nodded. "That's right. We're all Silver-ranked Adventurers... Wait, aren't you?"
Cipher looked embarrassed. "Um... I'm not exactly an adventurer yet. Do you need to register for that?"
Feidric's face contorted into a mask of pain. He slapped his forehead and sighed inwardly, taking stock of the current state of the "Hero Party."
There was the naive, single-minded golden-haired girl who believed everything she was told without question.
Then there was the peculiar priest who could only cast three or four Divine Magic spells a day, all talk but too timid to even flirt, and who had been expelled from the Church for his odd behavior.
And now, this brainless Cat who ran into trees and knocked herself unconscious, utterly lacking in common sense.
We're doomed, Feidric thought. Is this party even viable?
With a sigh of resignation, he said, "Alright, wait here a moment. I'll go get you an Adventurer's Certificate."
It didn't take long—about half an hour—before Feidric returned with a palm-sized circular bronze badge. Engraved on it were Cipher's name and the word "Thief."
He explained the basic structure of the Adventurer system:
There were four ranks: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Legendary. To become an adventurer, one needed either a guarantor to vouch for their abilities or to pass a simple test at the Adventurer's Guild. Successful applicants would be granted Bronze-ranked Adventurer status.
Normally, to raise your Adventurer Rank, you have to slowly complete missions. Only after completing enough challenging missions can you apply for a rank upgrade.
It's worth noting that this world doesn't have clear-cut power divisions like "First-Tier" or "Second-Tier." There are no sudden breakthroughs where someone can sit down, meditate briefly, and whoosh!—their strength skyrockets. For all Class Holders, power comes through slow, steady effort: warriors hone their swordsmanship through relentless practice, mages strive to learn more spells, and so on.
Furthermore, there's no way to instantly gauge someone's exact strength. You can't just glance at them or sense their aura and shout, "That's a Ninth-Tier powerhouse! Run!"
As a result, most people rely on Adventurer Ranks to assess someone's combat prowess. A rookie Bronze-ranked Adventurer would never stand a chance against an experienced Silver-ranked Adventurer.
Cipher listened attentively, nodding occasionally. When Feidric finished explaining, she exclaimed gratefully, "Thank you so much, Feidric-mama!"
Feidric blinked in confusion. "?"
Aria, standing beside them, froze in shock. She stared blankly at Feidric, her expression a mixture of bewilderment and curiosity. "Huh? Feidric, are you Sister Cipher's mother? But... but you're a guy! Can magic even do something like that?"
Feidric's lips twitched violently as he let out a weary sigh. "Cipher's just joking! How could I possibly be her mother?"
Cipher wagged her index finger back and forth, wearing an utterly serious expression. "No, no, no! If someone takes good care of you, always lending a hand when you're in trouble, then they're practically your non-biological mother! It doesn't matter if they're male—male moms are awesome too!"
Feidric stared at her, utterly speechless. "?"
Aria pondered for a moment, recalling everything Feidric had done since joining the team. The blonde girl tilted her head slightly and tentatively asked, "So... does that mean Feidric is my mother too?"
Feidric slapped his forehead, looking utterly exhausted.
Coincidentally, Douglas wandered over at that moment. Chewing on a wad of Chew Grass, he took a swig of water to rinse his mouth, just in time to overhear Aria's question: "Mother?"
"Pfft—"
"Cough! Cough cough! What the hell was that?!"
After a quick breakfast, Feidric applied for the escort quest he had just seen. The three Class Holders he had met yesterday—the female warrior, the black-robed man, and... a small raccoon—had also accepted the quest.
Soon, a man in his late twenties or early thirties appeared at the entrance of the Adventurer's Guild, flanked by two guards. He had short blue hair, handsome features, and wore an extravagant silk outfit embroidered with a golden floral pattern on the chest. A sapphire, the size of a pinky nail, adorned his collar.
This starkly contrasted with the ragged commoners Cipher had seen yesterday, making her wonder if the disparity between them was really this vast.
Perhaps sensing the team's confusion, Feidric whispered, "Pieck Braun . I know him. His father is the Viscount, the de facto ruler of Stone Pine City, and wields considerable power. That gem on his chest is likely a magical item permanently imbued with the Purify spell. His entire outfit must cost at least five hundred Gold Dragons."
"He needs to hire adventurers for protection just to return to his own family's territory? He must have gotten himself into some kind of trouble."
"This quest might not be as straightforward as we thought. There's clearly a reason the reward is so high."
While Feidric continued analyzing the quest details, Cipher's mind was fixated on a single thought: How much?! Five hundred Gold Dragons?!
Good grief, is this guy some kind of cheapskate? I'm only getting ten Gold Dragons for escorting him! That's just one-fiftieth the value of his clothes!
In that instant, Cipher's goodwill toward the nobleman plummeted. Not out of malice, but simply because she was dirt poor and he was dripping with wealth.
A sudden realization struck her: she couldn't bring herself to steal from ordinary people, but nobles? That was fair game! This guy looked like he was practically swimming in gold! What harm could there be in contributing just a tiny bit of his fortune to help out a poor little Cat like her?
She wouldn't feel a shred of guilt!