Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 233 The Wanderer, Commissions and Culinary Skills

Compared to the slightly dejected and powerless feeling he displayed when we last met in Newme.

The sight of Wood standing at the tavern entrance reminded Xia Nan of their first meeting.

The extremely low profile due to his profession made this middle-aged man's already ordinary face even more inconspicuous, and his neat figure under the close-fitting black clothes seemed as if he would blend into the shadows of the street at any moment.

His waist was bulging, and two leather sheaths could be vaguely seen hanging down to his sides, their hidden sharpness faintly visible in his calm and determined eyes.

Ordinary people may not be able to discern his current situation simply by observing his seemingly minor changes in clothing and appearance.

However, Xia Nan, with his extremely keen senses, could tell at a glance that Wood was in a fully armed adventure state as a professional-level rogue.

His overall energy and spirit were completely different from when he was in Newme.

I roughly have an idea in mind.

Just as I raised my hand to greet the other person, their gaze, which had been reduced to a minimum of intimidation, swept over me.

Wood's previously expressionless, cold face softened instantly, and he walked straight toward Xia Nan with a smile of familiarity and reunion.

"This... they came specifically to find me?"

Xia Nan secretly guessed.

"Green Blood" Adeline has not yet become a professional, and her perception ability is only average.

Following Xia Nan's gaze for a while, it wasn't until Wood walked to the table and deliberately released his aura that Xia Nan was able to truly focus her attention on the man.

"Why so suddenly? You didn't even write a letter to let me know before you came."

Xia Nan greeted him with a smile.

"If I'm on a mission outside, I might miss it."

"Hehe, the main problem is that I'm short on time and don't really have time to worry about those things." Wood casually found a seat and sat down. "If it's really that unlucky, I can only blame my bad luck."

Seeing the two exchanging pleasantries, and sensing that they seemed to have something to discuss, Adeline showed great tact.

They chatted briefly at the table before he took his leave.

Xia Nan shifted her gaze from the other person's muscular back as he walked away into the distance, and stared directly at the middle-aged man across the table.

"Just tell me what's wrong, and I'll definitely help if I can."

Wood is known to be the personal bodyguard of Haian, the half-elf and second son of Lord Wycliffe of Newme, whose duty is to protect his young master's safety.

Currently, Newme is in turmoil at the highest levels, and the position of the city lord is teetering on the brink of collapse.

The important figure who should have been deeply involved in the storm has inexplicably appeared in the town of River Valley, more than half a month away from Newme, in a fully prepared and adventurous manner.

He even went so far as to visit the White Sparrow Tavern, the address he used to send letters, to look for himself.

Even though the other party hadn't said anything yet, Xia Nan already had a general idea of ​​what they were going to discuss next.

After all, several months ago, when the two met for the last time, Wood mentioned that he might need to help with a future request.

After such a long time, it's definitely time.

Just as he had anticipated.

When faced with Xia Nan's direct suggestion, Wood was taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to be so straightforward.

Only later did I realize that this was just his personality.

He didn't speak, but simply nodded slowly.

At the same time, he took out an envelope with sealing wax from his pocket, gently placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Xia Nan with his fingertips.

"See for yourself. I trust you. Remember to burn and destroy it after you read it, or you can just return it to me later if the opportunity arises..."

"I do need your help this time in River Valley Town, but there may be some risks involved in the specifics of the request."

Please consider this carefully.

Looking directly into Xia Nan's eyes, Wood's attitude was serious and sincere.

"Of course, we won't be stingy with the mission rewards, you can rest assured about that."

"Because it cannot offer points for exchange like the association, it will be settled in gold coins, and the amount will definitely be much more than that of the association's missions of the same level."

“Three days.” Wood held up three fingers to Xia Nan, his thumb and forefinger interlocked. “We’ll be staying in town for the next three days.”

"If you have read the task details in the letter and are willing to accept it after consideration, you can come to us at the address written on the back of the letter."

"Of course, if you are not interested, or have concerns about the task, it is perfectly fine to refuse. We will leave on our own after three days."

"As an adventurer, you have the right to choose your own missions, and I have no right to force you to accept a commission."

"Trust me." Wood said seriously, clearly not just making empty polite remarks for the sake of "saving face." "This will not affect our relationship."

Xia Nan understood what the other party was trying to express.

It's simply about making sure you think things through and realize that there's no need to force yourself to accept a task you don't want to do just because of his relationship with the other person.

He nodded to indicate that he understood.

However, he did not open the envelope on the spot, but simply stuffed it into his pocket.

They came in haste and left even faster.

Having urgent business to attend to, Wood left in a hurry after conveying the information to Xia Nan without even taking a sip of his drink.

They appeared to be in a hurry and busy.

But in Xia Nan's opinion, the other person's overall condition was infinitely better than Newm's preoccupied, gloomy and depressed state at that time.

It's like finding a goal to strive for and work towards.

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

Xia Nan wasn't in a hurry. She calmly sat alone in the corner of the tavern, finished all the creamy mushroom soup she had ordered to celebrate the first anniversary of her time travel, and cleaned up all the food on the table.

He then greeted the tavern owner, Chapton, and strolled upstairs to his room.

Sitting at his desk, he opened the envelope Wood had handed him and began to read it carefully.

In general, the delegation itself is not complicated, and can even be described as simple.

An escort mission that is extremely common among adventurers.

The destination is a territory called "Sticky Tree Territory" located in the southwestern part of the Kingdom of Servia, within the province of Yuansha.

As for the target of the escort, it was naturally the city lord's second son, the half-elf "Hai'an," whom Xia Nan had guessed he hadn't seen for a long time.

No wonder Wood told him to think it over carefully and that he could confidently refuse.

The mission itself may not be anything special, but the people and events involved are quite complex.

At least according to what he had recently heard in the tavern, the position of Lord of Newm City was far from settled.

The city lord's mansion, various noble families, the church... all kinds of forces collide and intertwine, and undercurrents surge within the city's upper echelons.

In this situation, Hai'an, as the second son of the city lord, was undoubtedly one of the focal points of attention for all parties. And judging from Wood's current appearance, it seemed that he and his young master had already slipped out of the city and were even in River Valley Town.

He simply didn't show himself in the tavern for fear of being exposed, and instead sent Wood, who was easier to hide, to deliver the message.

Although we don't know what they went through in between, it's clear that the journey from Newme to Riverdale was not easy.

It seems that the two of them really trust him, as they still gave him complete information about the mission even though he hadn't agreed yet.

"Aren't you afraid I'll leak your secrets?"

Xia Nan shook his head, joking to himself.

He certainly wouldn't do that.

They were, after all, one of the few friends he could trust in this world. How could he possibly betray them for some vague and intangible benefit?

In fact, after carefully reading through the contents of the letter, including the address at the end, he had already begun to consider the pros and cons of accepting this commission.

squeak-

The candlelight, bathed in the bright sunlight streaming through the window, was not very bright; it flickered slightly, using its remaining heat to scorch the letter above it.

The pure white, fragile paper suddenly burst into flames and curled and charred at a speed visible to the naked eye.

On the one hand, from a logical and emotional perspective.

There is no doubt that Haian and Wood helped him a lot.

He was close to the legendary barbarian mentor, Ferguson, and even during his previous advancement quest, it was with Wood's help that he obtained a crucial clue from the Badger Gang and discovered the traces of the beastman Buck in the Newme Sewers.

The two need help right now, and I should definitely lend a hand to them as much as I can within my capabilities.

On the other hand, if we think about it from a relatively rational perspective...

What made him hesitate about accepting the mission?
It's simply a fear of getting caught up in the turmoil within Newme's upper echelons, which would threaten their lives.

But if you think about it carefully, you don't actually need to pay too much attention to these things.

Xia Nan was just an ordinary person from a peasant family. He had only just obtained his professional rank and did not possess any noble titles, territory, army, or political allies.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the distribution of power among Newme's top brass or factional loyalty.

To others, he was just an outsider, an adventurer who got paid to do things.

It seems highly unlikely that someone would send a high-level professional to assassinate him simply because he participated in the escort mission in Hai'an.

To put it bluntly, he was just an insignificant little karami in the vortex, completely unworthy of being targeted.

The focus of high-level power struggles is often on controlling the city and mastering the army/financial resources. The guards of a city lord's offspring (especially non-eldest sons) who has already fled the city have a very low priority.

If we had to put it in perspective, it's more likely that Newme sent professionals to Riverdale to investigate because of his connection to the sheep-deer statues that once ravaged the city, than because of his relationship with Haian and Wood.

In terms of danger, since I transmigrated to the present, apart from the daily pastime of being a professional in the goblin's lair, what mission has been without any risk?

The petrified lizard, the owl bear, and even the strange elf named "Windstring" were all unexpected and sudden occurrences.

If he were to stop at the slightest possible danger and cower in the town, afraid to do anything, perhaps he should retire from the adventurer's profession.

Countless thoughts swirled in my mind.

When the last corner of the letter in my hand was also consumed by the candlelight and turned into a charred fragment.

Xia Nan had already made up her mind.

【Gravity Control】Works and takes effect invisibly.

An invisible vortex suddenly appeared at her fingertips, pulling and shredding the charred scraps of paper that had fallen onto the table, along with the sparks that had not yet completely burned out.

With just a gentle touch, the already burned letter paper was further reduced to tiny, dust-like fragments by gravity.

With a gust of wind, it vanished into the air.

……

……

In the suburbs of River Valley, there is an inconspicuous, simple hut.

"Gudu... gudu..."

The orange flames burned fiercely, accompanied by rising smoke and bursting bubbles on the surface of the soup, filling the small room with the rich aroma of food.

Luca's eyes were fixed on the iron pot in front of him. His strong arms, as thick as an average person's thigh, gripped an iron ladle tightly as he stirred the soup.

You could tell from the slightly bent spoon handle from the excessive force he was using due to tension, and the slightly dark, somewhat off-putting color of the broth in the iron pot.

He probably isn't very good at cooking.

And this is indeed the case.

Born an orphan, he has lived with the Wycliffe family since he can remember.

His decent talent led him to be trained as a bodyguard from a young age. No matter how hard the professional training before he embarked on his career, the wealthy and generous Mr. Wycliffe never let him go hungry or worry about food.

That is why he might be able to easily destroy an entire goblin colony and engage in direct melee combat with the equally burly and robust bear goblin.

Faced with the unfamiliar stove, all I could do was tense up, regretting whether I had added too much water, while sweating profusely as I scooped the forgotten ingredients out of the pot.

Luca believed that there must be a teammate in this house who was a better cook than him.

But due to various circumstances, one can only stay by the stove alone.

if not?
Should the young master cook for me himself?
Even if the other party did have this intention, Luca would never allow them to do so; otherwise, how could he repay the Wycliffe family for raising him for so many years?

As for Mr. Wood…

He had already done so much; Luca knew how hard the other had worked on the journey from Newme to Vale.

Luca himself was unwilling to trouble the other party for such a small matter and take up their precious rest time.

As for the other two, that's even more impossible.

Who knows if that dragonborn, covered in scales and with cold eyes, resembling a giant lizard, might secretly sprinkle something unclean into the pot when I'm not looking!
Even though the young master and Mr. Wood had repeatedly assured her of her trustworthiness, Luca still felt she should be careful and absolutely not let the young master be harmed because of her negligence.

The last member of the team was a mysterious young mage named "Veiro."

Ever since that pot of indescribable stuff was cooked a few days ago, thrown into the pigsty, and remained intact the next day, no one has dared to let her near the stove.

"Tuk-tuk-tuk."

There was a sudden knock on the door.

Luca became alert, and his expression, which had been troubled by the soup-making process, suddenly turned serious.

The heavy axe handle was already firmly gripped in his palm.

They moved their feet toward the gate.

(End of this chapter)