Chapter 240: New Mission, Guarding the Tears of Crys
Chapter 240: New Mission, Guarding the Tears of Crys
It had been more than half a month since the Sakura Festival.
The noisy scenes from that day were still vivid in everyone's minds.
Everyone gathered to drink, admire the cherry blossoms, perform, and play, making the event lively even though not all members participated.
The most anticipated activity was the 'Bingo Game,' which was essentially a lottery.
The grand prize was two all-inclusive tickets to a famous resort in Fiore, while the consolation prize was just a small pastry.
Unfortunately, Rod's luck was only average, and even with Wom's help to secure an extra spot, he only won a small cake.
And it was Wom who won it.
As for the grand prize... it was taken by Nab, who even invited Bickslow to go on the trip with him.
It left everyone... speechless.
But what stayed with Rod the most was the giant, magical cherry blossom tree that turned rainbow colors at night.
Gathering with dozens of people who trusted each other in battle, admiring the dreamlike beauty, was an experience Rod had never had before.
At that moment, he felt a great sense of peace and happiness.
That day, he didn't focus solely on Mira but paid attention to everyone's smiles and each companion's happiness.
Each time he recalled the rainbow-colored cherry blossom tree, he could see everyone's figures in the dreamlike colors.
Half a month later, while on a mission with Elfman, Rod couldn't help but sigh in frustration:
"Why does Nab have such good luck!"
Dressed like a tribal chief, but when it came to the lottery, he was like a lucky king—was this reverse jinx?
Elfman looked at him, "You're still thinking About That?"
"Of course, a three-day, two-night all-inclusive trip to the Arkane Resort, wouldn't you want it?"
"Of course, but a man can't control his luck," Elfman said regretfully, "I wanted to give the tickets to my sister if I won."
Rod sympathetically said, "Me too, sigh..."
" S—man!" Elfman suddenly felt the urge to hit him again.
Rod decided to change the subject: "Let's not talk about it. I'll give you the details of the mission. Do you remember the task content?"
Elfman replied, "Help a tribal chief find his runaway children, right? And we have to protect their village for a while."
"More accurately, the brother and sister didn't run away; they acted on their own," Rod explained the task in detail, "The village is called Monotropo. The entire village is a clan, and the village chief is the clan chief."
"Fiore Kingdom's history mentions this as an ancient tribe. Although it has been influenced by outside culture in recent years, it still maintains many ancient customs."
"Monotropo has a treasure called the 'Tears of Crys,' made of gold and precious stones, passed down from ancient times."
"However, the value of this treasure lies not in the gold and stones themselves, but in a legend—possessing this treasure ensures good weather and bountiful harvests every year."
"This belief has been passed down through generations, and the village holds grand ceremonies each year to pray for the ancestors' blessings. It's similar to the Harvest Festival."
"However, this year has been unusual. The treasure occasionally emits strange light, and some villagers have seen strange people in the vicinity."
So the village chief suspects that someone is eyeing the 'Tears of Crys.'"
Elfman crossed his arms and guessed, "Could it be that the brother and sister went out on their own to investigate the suspicious people?"
Rod nodded, "Pretty much. They probably feel that, as the children of the clan chief, they have a responsibility to protect the village's treasure and want to get to the bottom of it quickly. If someone really has ill intentions, they want to catch them as soon as possible."
"Why is it always like this..." Elfman didn't know how to describe it.
It seemed that he and Rod had encountered many such impulsive children on their missions.
While their intentions were good, their reckless actions often caused trouble.
Rod didn't answer, but he knew that it was because the missions were carefully selected by him and his older sister.
However, there were indeed too many impulsive young people.
What could have been easily resolved by a Mage was made more difficult by the children of the clients.
To put it mildly, Rod had saved many tragedies thanks to his cautious approach and solid strength since the beginning of his career.
Although these experiences were something to be proud of, Rod genuinely hoped they would learn to be more careful.
Elfman asked, "What are the brother and sister like? Not kids again, right?"
The client was probably very concerned about the safety of their children, so the information provided was very detailed. Rod even pulled out two photos and handed them to Elfman:
"The situation this time is a bit better. The brother's name is Mal, he's 21 years old, and the sister's name is Vina, she's 18."
"Because their village has a long tradition of martial arts, the siblings have never stopped training since they were young. They are already the village's best warriors, and they wouldn't have any trouble even facing tigers or rhinos."
"Their main flaw is that they are too stubborn. Our biggest challenge might not be finding them, but bringing them back."
Elfman asked, "If they are so strong, why do they need us to find them?"
Rod explained, "Originally, they just wanted us to investigate who was targeting the Tears of Crys. But yesterday, a villager found the bodies of a grizzly bear and a wild boar near the village.
"They were killed in one hit, and it doesn't look like the villagers' fighting methods. The village chief believes that a Mage might be involved, so he added the requirement to find the siblings and the corresponding reward."
Elfman clenched his right fist in his left palm, "I see. A Mage trying to steal someone else's treasure, a man will never let them get away with it!"
Rod warned, "Don't be careless. The fact that they can take down large beasts like grizzly bears and wild boars in one hit suggests that they are very dangerous. We don't know how many there are, so there might be trouble."
"Don't worry," Elfman nodded. The opponent was indeed dangerous, but he had faced equally dangerous battles before and wasn't afraid.
As for the number of opponents... wasn't crowd control Rod's specialty?
The moment the enemy showed up, or even before, Rod's summoned creatures would already be surrounding them, both in the air, on the ground, and underground.
Every time they teamed up and encountered a fight, if they didn't act quickly, they might not even get a chance to join in.
While it made completing the mission easy, Elfman, the man, wanted a victory that relied on his own strength, not just on Rod's.
(End of Chapter)
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