Fanny took out useful items from the pile of sundries near the door and put them into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.
After confirming everything, Fanny led her sister out of the dark, damp alley.
Wandering aimlessly on the street, Fanny hadn't yet emerged from the sorrow of losing her home. To be honest, she hadn't thought about what to do next and was full of confusion about the future.
"Sister," Lilika looked up at Fanny, "Do we not have a home anymore?"
Stopping in her tracks, Fanny looked at her young sister and almost wanted to hug her and cry. Not only was she kicked out of the team, but she also lost her home. Today was truly a despairing day.
Fortunately, Fanny stopped herself from crying in time; she didn't want to show her weak side in front of her sister.
Touching Lilika's hair, Fanny said earnestly, "As long as we are together, anywhere is home."
Although she said that, she had secretly made up her mind to definitely give her sister a stable home and not wander around anymore!
To achieve this wish, she needed money, but how to earn it? Fanny suddenly remembered the Border Garrison Town's commission.
What if the other party was willing to hire her, and she chose to stay after two months? Wouldn't she and Lilika then have a stable home?
Thinking of this, Fanny knelt down to be at eye level with her sister.
"Lilika, are you willing to go to a new place with your sister and start a new life?"
"Mm." Lilika nodded heavily, "Wherever Sister is, Lilika will be!"
It's decided! Fanny would accept that commission and take Lilika to Border Garrison Town to try her luck.
Since she had made up her mind, it was time to act. Just as Fanny was excitedly thinking about how to get to Border Garrison Town, she realized the first problem to solve was that she didn't have enough money.
Border Garrison Town was North of East Rise Fortress. The land between the two places was largely undeveloped, and traveling by land would take at least three days. The expenses on the way would definitely be more than 5 copper coins.
After much thought, the only person who could provide her with financial help was the priestess An Li.
Fanny didn't want to trouble others, but there was no other way at the moment. So, she took Lilika and walked towards the cathedral.
…
An Li didn't expect Fanny and them to return. Perhaps it was something urgent, so An Li quickly went to meet them.
Near the entrance of the cathedral, An Li listened to Fanny's idea, and an expression of disbelief appeared on her face.
"What! You're taking Lilika to Border Garrison Town?!"
Perhaps because she was too loud, many believers turned their heads, casting puzzled glances.
Realizing she was too agitated, An Li quickly smiled and nodded at the believers, then whispered to Fanny, "Follow me."
The three entered the church and came to an unoccupied corner.
After confirming no one was around, An Li pressed, "Fanny, even if you accept the Guild's commission, you can still leave Lilika at the orphanage for care as before. There's no need to take her on an adventure, right?"
"This time is different," Fanny explained, "Lilika and I might settle down in Border Garrison Town."
"You're going to settle in Border Garrison Town? Why?" An Li was very confused.
"Today was truly unfortunate…"
Fanny had no choice but to tell An Li the news that they had just lost their home and the details of the Border Garrison Town's commission. After understanding, An Li finally understood why Fanny would make such a move.
"I see." An Li was still a little worried, "But, you're not even sure if Border Garrison Town will hire you. Isn't that a bit drastic?"
"I know, but I want to take a chance. If I watch this opportunity pass by, I will definitely regret it later."
Fanny's tone and gaze were very resolute; it seemed impossible to change her mind anytime soon.
After a long silence, An Li shook her head helplessly and sighed softly.
"Alright then. I'll lend you enough money for two boat tickets. You two go by boat."
"Ah?" Fanny was startled, then waved her hands repeatedly, "No need for so much money. We'll go by land. Boat tickets are so expensive."
"Just take it."
An Li took out two silver coins from her purse and forcefully put them into Fanny's hand.
"Traveling by land is so hard. Not only do you have to sleep rough outdoors, but you might also encounter danger. Even if you don't care about your own safety, you should consider Lilika; she's still so young."
"Then… alright."
Glancing at Lilika, Fanny struggled internally but eventually accepted. It concerned her sister's safety, and she dared not take risks.
After taking the money, Fanny solemnly declared, "I will definitely repay this money in the future."
"Mm, I'll be waiting."
An Li didn't care about the money; she only hoped that Fanny and her sister could truly settle down on this trip to Border Garrison Town.
Suddenly remembering something, An Li said to Fanny, "Wait here for a moment. I'll go write a letter."
Walking away quickly, An Li hurried back to her room and swiftly wrote a letter, then returned and solemnly handed it to Fanny.
"If Border Garrison Town doesn't hire you, go to the church and give this letter to the bishop there. They will provide you with some necessary help."
"Thank you, Priestess An Li." Fanny was deeply moved, taking the letter with both hands.
Since there was a boat heading to Border Garrison Town that afternoon, Fanny could only bid a hasty farewell to An Li and take Lilika to the dock.
…
Border Garrison Town, Lord's Castle, study on the third floor.
After finishing the last document, Owen put down his quill and stretched.
Getting up from his chair, he walked to the window, from where he could see most of Border Garrison Town.
The Lord's Castle was the tallest building in Border Garrison Town. But Wenster said that he had skyscrapers over a hundred stories high on his side. How tall must that be? Wouldn't they collapse? It was truly unimaginable.
A plume of white smoke rose from a distant building, clearly visible from here. It seemed the cement workshop had started firing cement again.
Many days had passed since Owen sent people to post the commission to recruit fire mages.
As of now, only a single mage had accepted the commission and arrived in Border Garrison Town. He had just completed his training two days ago and was able to fire cement independently.
Because it took time to recover magic power, the cement workshop's firing room only operated once every one or two days. Even with the same equipment as Owen, that mage could only fire two batches of cement each time he worked, and his efficiency was nowhere near Owen's.
At the Northern City Wall, Vilu had already begun using cement to repair the two breaches, and for a while, the supply of cement was surprisingly tight.
Because of this, Owen would help fire cement at the cement workshop whenever he had free time.
So much time had passed now; it seemed the fire mages from East Rise Fortress wouldn't be coming.
Owen was puzzled. Was the reward he offered not attractive enough? It shouldn't be. Two gold coins for two months, and no dangerous monsters to fight. Why wasn't anyone coming?
In fact, Owen underestimated the pride of mages in certain aspects.
As darlings in everyone's eyes, it was very easy for mages to earn money. Fanny was an extremely rare exception and not included.
Therefore, these people weren't very concerned about the commission's reward; instead, they paid close attention to the commission's content.
Work like firing cement was something they were quite resistant to internally, considering it manual labor that only commoners would do. Even if Owen offered a higher reward, they wouldn't even glance at that commission.
Additionally, there were some individual factors, such as suspecting it was a fake commission, where the tasks upon arriving at Border Garrison Town would be unrelated to the commission's content—such things had happened before, especially for commissions where the reward and content seemed very disproportionate. There was also the feeling that Border Garrison Town was too far, and so on.
Just then, a guard knocked on the door and reported to Owen, "Marquis, there's a young woman from East Rise Fortress at the castle gate. She says she's a fire mage and accepted a commission from the Adventurers Guild to see you."
"What! Let her in quickly."
Having waited so long, the second mage had finally arrived, and Owen was somewhat excited for a moment.