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Claire's expression suggested that things weren't as simple as she made them out to be.

However, the other party didn't seem willing to say anything more, so there was no need to keep asking her. At present, the [Sharp Teeth] team really needed a trustworthy teammate, which was more important for future adventures.

"Look how sleepy I am, Lindsay," Claire rubbed her eyes. "It's getting late. If you don't mind, you can stay in the cabin next door for the night."

"No need, we'll go back to the hotel to sleep later."

"Then I'll have to rest now. See you tomorrow." After saying this, the female wanderer got up and walked out of the house.

"Ms. Martha, before you leave, if it's convenient, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

After confirming that the female vagrant had left the house, Lindsay called to the nun who was also about to leave.

"Is there anything else?" the other person asked, sounding puzzled.

"Claire's reluctance to join the team for the adventure is probably not what she just said. What could be the reason?"

"Mr. Lindsay, I didn't expect you to be interested in this kind of thing."

Martha pointed to the north side of the long wooden table in the room. Linssey looked over and saw some wooden bowls, spoons and other tableware there.

"Claire did hide something, but it's mostly true. Helping me is helping the orphanage, and it has helped so many children."

This orphanage currently houses twenty-four children. It is the smallest and worst-equipped of the three orphanages in Wind and City. The monthly funding allocated by the authorities is limited, so the children often don't even have enough to eat; they are barely alive.

Claire asked you for money to make up for the monthly food expenses and improve the children's quality of life. I think I'll send some money every month after she joins your adventure team, since this is where she grew up.

She grew up in an orphanage? Oh, I see. That explains why she always disappeared for a while when she was in Linchui Town.

As for sending money, that's her personal matter. Optimistically speaking, as her abilities improve, the rewards from her adventures will also increase. If she wants to borrow money from me, it's just some silver coins, so there's no problem.

However, there are still some things I don't understand.

"Ms. Martha, isn't her adventurer title 'Phantom'? I've heard rumors that she stole money from some unscrupulous nobles to help the poor. Are these rumors true?"

Sister Martha gave Lindsay a meaningful look when she heard him ask that question.

"That happened several years ago. She did steal a couple of times, but not many. And later, the nobles increased their vigilance, so she failed the third time and never did it again."

And you know, Claire has a bad habit of gambling. She always says she wants to win money for the kids, and she almost always takes advantage of any gambling opportunity, losing more than she wins.

Fortunately, she doesn't borrow money to gamble after losing, and she has managed to maintain her principles over the years.

"Broken Arrow," who had been listening for a while, finally shared his opinion: "Captain, 'Phantom's' approach is alright, isn't it? A little gambling is harmless fun. I can actually understand her feelings."

"Heh, Brinnan, you may not be as addicted to gambling as she is, but you do seem to have some. It would be best to gamble less in the future."

"Broken Arrow" scratched his forehead.

"Well, it depends on my mood."

……

The following morning, the Adventurers' Guild of Wind and City.

As soon as Lindsay and "Broken Arrow" stepped into the guild hall, they found Claire already waiting for them in the rest area.

"Here you are, Lindsay. From today onwards, we are officially teammates."

"Yes, Claire, welcome to our team."

After completing the registration process at the counter, the three of them went to the task board.

"Captain, are we planning another mission today?"

Lindsay, of course, hadn't forgotten that he was going to collect monster materials of the giant blind spider today.

He glanced at the task list and didn't find any easy tasks that were convenient to do.

"No, I've already earned enough to cover our daily expenses, and we're going to the primeval forest soon."

"From today until the end of the month, we need to train intensively to prepare for the competition. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"

"Broken Arrow's" eyes were resolute: "How could I forget? I believe in the captain; with your abilities, you'll definitely achieve a very good ranking in the tournament!"

This Brinnan, does he think so highly of himself? It seems that as his monstrous abilities are gradually revealed, he is also beginning to change.

"By the way, Lindsay, you just said you were going to the primeval forest? What's going on?" Claire asked from the side.

"Oh, I haven't explained that to you yet, Claire..."

Lindsay told the female wanderer what had happened yesterday, and Claire had only one question after listening.

"Giant harvester spiders must be huge, right? Can all that material fit in one basket?"

"Based on my impression from yesterday, it should be possible."

"Just in case, I'll go to the general store and buy another basket. They're not expensive anyway. Then let's hurry up and leave. I still have training to do, and I'll be participating in the competition."

The three then prepared another basket and spent some copper coins to travel out of the city by carriage.

The location of the burrow was clearly visible on yesterday's treasure map, and with Linsel's markings, the three of them easily found the location, went down into the burrow, and retrieved the materials on the giant blind spider.

A pair of spider eyes, venom glands, and long spider legs fit perfectly into the two baskets.

Before leaving, they carefully checked the cave for anything left behind, but found nothing. It seems that their guess about the "broken arrow" yesterday was wrong.

The cave was located on the outskirts of the primeval forest, where there were fewer wild animals and it was safer. After leaving the cave, Lin Sai and his two companions immediately returned to Wind and City. They did not encounter any other monsters on this trip.

After entering the city, before noon, the group went straight to Adventure Street, to a counterfeit shop that Linsel had failed to enter the previous night.

This shop is smaller than the goldsmith shops in Linchui Township. The interior is still furnished with a few cabinets displaying bottles and jars, and a table.

Lindsay and "Broken Arrow" dumped all the giant blind spider material in front of the shopkeeper.

"Boss, how much are these things worth if you take them?"

The shop owner was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, of average height, and spoke in a friendly manner.

"Let me see."

He immediately poured the spider material from his basket onto the table, then showed a very surprised expression.

"The hairy legs, venom glands, and eyes of the haystack spider are all extra-large. I have rarely seen haystack spiders this big."

He then took out an account book and began to look through it.