Chapter 589: Spring View
Editor: Tseirp
“We delivered it…safely.”
“Yes…”
The one muttering in a voice worn down by exhaustion was Jun Luo, a third-rank adventurer and the party leader.
Responding to him was the group’s strategist and magician, Barili.
The other three—scout Chunk, healer Shun Li, and the other swordsman Rosso—were equally fatigued and could only nod silently.
Third-rank adventurers were considered first-rate—recognized as elite.
So for a group like that to be this exhausted…
Well, among the five, only Rosso, a young swordsman, was still in fourth-rank.
But even compared to the rest of the third-rankers, his strength was more than sufficient.As long as he accumulated more achievements, promotion to third-rank was just a matter of time.
The reason such capable individuals were this worn out? They had difficulties delivering a set of documents to Count Roche-Ten of Bashu.
According to what they were told when leaving the city of Boago, the Count was staying at the Moonlight Banquet Pavilion, located along the Holy Emperor’s Plaza.
It was his usual place in the imperial capital, and the five adventurers had no trouble finding the place.
However, when they tried to meet him…
“We’re terribly sorry. Lord Bashu and his party are no longer lodging here.”
“What?”
“They checked out five days ago.”
“Wh-where did they go?”
“Apologies, but we were not informed.”
The five of them were dumbstruck by the innkeeper’s reply.
Most critical was that the inn had no idea where the Count had moved to.
That kind of information should have been known, shouldn’t it?
In truth, the senior staff at the Moonlight Banquet Pavilion had been informed.
But such sensitive intel required careful handling.
Especially given the recent rumors of an assault on the Count inside the imperial palace.
That’s why the temporary reception staff the five had spoken to wasn’t told…
An unforgivable blunder for a first-class establishment.
But mistakes happen.
People are only human.
Unfortunately, that’s no consolation to the ones left paying the price.
The five adventurers scoured the capital.
They walked it. They searched it.
They inspected it from end to end…
They even went as far as visiting the distant Ryusen Residence.
Eventually…
“To think he was at the Jade Clarity Inn on the opposite side of Holy Emperor’s Plaza…”
“Completely blind-sided.”
Jun Luo muttered bitterly. Barili nodded in agreement.
They had checked the inns around the plaza first.
They had. But…
“The Jade Clarity Inn had its gate shut, so we decided to check it later…”
“That was the mistake…”
Chunk, the scout, whispered. Shun Li, the healer, nodded repeatedly.
Rosso, the swordsman, remained silent, just like the others—but equally exhausted.
And yet, his eyes were fixed on one spot.
“What’s up, Rosso?”
“Ah—nothing, Jun-san.”
Rosso turned his red face away in embarrassment.
But the others understood why. When Rosso acted like this, it only meant one thing.
He was hungry.
“I’m starving, too.”
“Same here.”
Barili agreed instantly with Jun’s remark.
The other two nodded as well.
After walking all day, of course they’d be hungry.
Now that their errand was done…the hunger they’d ignored came back full force.
“Alright, let’s get something to eat.”
With that, the five of them stepped into a restaurant facing the Holy Emperor’s Plaza.
One of the specialties on the menu was, ‘Brothy Wheat noodles with Pork’.
“These noodles are sweet and have a great chewy texture.”
“You’re pretending like this is your first bite and saying something refined, but don’t forget this is your second bowl.”
Ryo gave an instant-noodle-critic-like comment, and Abel pointed out the dangerous situation.
Yes, they had both already finished one bowl and were now on their second.
Both of them.
“This sweet-and-spicy stir-fried egg rice is also delicious, with the oil coating the rice nicely.”
“You’re pretending like this is your first bite and saying something refined, but don’t forget this is your second plate too.”
Ryo gave an instant-fried-rice-critic-like comment, and Abel once again pointed out the danger.
Yes, not only the noodles—they were on their second rice dish as well.
Both of them.
Though Abel was calmly pointing out the dangerous situation, he wasn’t stopping it.
Not at all.
Just as the two of them were about to descend into the hell of ‘too full to move’.
A saving angel appeared.
“Abel?”
“Hmm?”
Abel turned toward the voice.
Standing there was a familiar swordsman.
“Oh, from Tiger Mountain…Jun Luo, right? Long time no see.”
“Knew it was you, Abel. And Ryo, too. What a coincidence, meeting in the Imperial Capital.”
During the Tiger Mountain hunt, Abel had saved Jun Luo’s life.
Jun Luo had been extremely grateful at the time. Truly a lifesaver…
“But wait, Jun Luo—you’re with Boago, right? That’s Count Roche Ten of Bashu’s territory. That’s quite a distance from the capital.”
“Yeah, we took a commission. We just came back from our meeting with the lord himself.”
As Jun Luo explained, the other four members chuckled bitterly.
Apparently, something tough had gone down, which even Ryo and Abel could pick up on.
“Well, no matter how tough things are, people get hungry all the same. You all should eat too. This place is a hit.”
Ryo shifted to the side to make space for the five of them.
The table was big enough that all seven could fit without being cramped.
“Now that I think about it…we haven’t properly introduced ourselves, have we?”
“Huh?”
“We didn’t even mention our team name.”
“Team name?”
Abel tilted his head in confusion.
“Probably means their party name.”
Ryo chimed in to help.
Of course, it was his usual loose interpretation…but this time, it seemed to be accurate.
“We’re Third-Rank Party ‘Spring View’, led by me, Jun Luo. These are Barili, Chunk, Shun Li, and Rosso. Thank you for saving my life back then. I’m truly grateful.”
With that, Jun Luo and the other four members of ‘Spring View’ placed both hands over their chests in the formal Darwei-style gesture and bowed deeply.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Spring View…that’s a cool team name!”
Ryo complimented the name.
For Ryo, Spring View reminded him of the famous Chinese poet Du Fu’s line: “The nation has fallen, yet the mountains and rivers remain”.
“We borrowed it from an old, famous poem.”
Barili, the magician, smiled as he explained.
“Oooh~”
Ryo was intrigued.
Maybe this world—’Phi’—had a Du Fu of its own.
After finishing their bow, the five of Spring View stared expectantly at Abel.
It didn’t take him long to realize—they were waiting for him to introduce himself.
“Ah—I’m Abel. Former A-rank adventurer from the ‘Crimson Sword’ party of the Kingdom of Knightley. I’m just sixth-rank here, though.”
“A-rank? That means…you’re really strong, right?”
“Pretty much…I was the strongest in the country.”
“I knew it!”
Abel puffed his chest a little despite the embarrassment.
Jun Luo and the others from Spring View nodded in satisfied agreement. He was as capable as they’d hoped.
Watching them, Ryo nodded to himself for some reason.
Barili, the magician, noticed and asked:
“Abel-dono, is the ‘Crimson Sword’ just you and Ryo-dono?”
“There used to be three others. But the party’s disbanded now. Also—Ryo was never part of ‘Crimson Sword’.”
“Eh…?”
Barili looked genuinely surprised.
“Yeah, I’m just taking care of Abel while we travel through the Eastern Countries.”
“Taking care…?”
“Abel can’t do anything on his own, so I kind of have to look after him…”
“Don’t say stuff they’ll take seriously!”
Ryo said it with a look of pity toward Abel, while Abel quickly denied it before it could be misunderstood.
“Still, with Ryo-dono’s skill, you’re probably just as strong as Abel-dono, the strongest in the country.”
Barili nodded firmly.
Ryo tilted his head, puzzled.
“Barili-san, how do you know I’m a powerful magician?”
“You can call yourself powerful, huh…”
“I’ve trained my magic at the cost of sleep, so I’m confident in it.”
Ignoring Abel’s grumble, Ryo answered proudly.
Clearly happy to be called a powerful magician.
“No, it’s just…I can see magic power leaking from people’s bodies. But with you, Ryo-dono, there’s none at all. That’s the first time I’ve seen something like that.”
“Ohh! Barili-san can see magic power too! Since coming to the Eastern Countries, I’ve met quite a few people who can do that. But yes, I’m a little confident in my mana control. Fufufu.”
Ryo replied cheerfully.
In fact, he was confident in his mana control.
Although…he still had limitations against non-humans, which he found frustrating.
“I still struggle against non-human foes.”
“Non-human? Like what?”
“Hmm…like a kraken.”
Ryo replied, then declared with resolve! I’ll beat the crap out of them one day!
“Kraken… sorry, I can’t really imagine that.”
Barili admitted honestly.
After introductions, the seven of them enjoyed a friendly conversation.
They ate in moderation, drank in moderation, and shared fun stories.
It was a truly wonderful evening.
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