At the simple breakfast table, a family of four chewed on sour, coarse black bread.
Shaven and Lake didn’t say a word, and Vili tactfully kept quiet as well.
Vilia, sitting next to Vili, also sensed the unusually heavy atmosphere. Normally lively, she ate obediently, not making a single sound.
The simple breakfast was over quickly.
"Vili, your mother and I are heading to the wheat fields. After you and Vilia clear the table, go pick some Sweet Fruit."
Because there was still wheat to be harvested in the fields, Lake and Shaven ate faster than the two children.
"Understood," Vili replied.
Lake and Shaven took their tools and left the house, leaving only Vili and Vilia at the breakfast table.
"Vili, what happened today? Why does everyone seem so serious?"
Vilia struggled to swallow her last bite of black bread and took a sip of thin rice porridge that had only a few grains of rice floating in it.
"It’s nothing. Children shouldn’t worry too much about adult matters."
Vili patted Vilia’s head and started clearing the table.
’Since I can’t solve my older brother Sopps’s predicament, I’ll at least try to lighten the family’s other burdens.’
After clearing the table, Vili and Vilia took a short rest, then slung baskets onto their backs and set out for the Sweet Fruit trees.
"So many people!"
As the two walked along together, Vilia suddenly pointed toward the village entrance up ahead and shouted.
A crowd of villagers was gathered, looking toward the center while discussing something in low voices. Not a single one of them moved closer.
"Let’s go take a look."
Vilia tugged on Vili’s arm. Children her age seemed to be curious about everything.
Vili gave a helpless smile and had no choice but to go along with his sister’s request.
They easily squeezed their way to the front.
In the middle of the crowd stood four people—men and women—dressed in Light Armor and carrying weapons. Beside them, they held the reins of four fine horses, whose hooves were shod with thick iron horseshoes.
’They’re people from outside the village.’
Vili’s eyes lit up. This was the first time he had seen people from outside the village since coming to this world.
"Still no one’s willing? I can raise the price to two Gold Rums."
One of the men, who appeared to be the leader, held up two fingers and said to the surrounding villagers.
The villagers murmured among themselves again, but no one responded.
"Aunt Shana, what are these people doing?"
Vili didn’t understand what was going on, but when he noticed Aunt Shana standing next to him, he asked.
Aunt Shana glanced at Vili and said in a low voice, "These people are from out of town. They need to go deep into the western forest to find something. They’re passing through our village and want to hire a guide. They’ve already raised the price to two Gold Rums."
Hearing this, Vili understood. He now realized why the surrounding villagers weren’t tempted at all by two Gold Rums.
To the west of the village lay a vast forest. The outer edges were filled with common fruits and plants like Sweet Fruit, with no beasts of prey, making it relatively safe. The depths of the forest, however, were fraught with all kinds of dangers, and almost no villager was willing to venture deep inside. Before these outsiders, many others had entered the heart of the forest, but a good number of them never returned.
It was said to be a paradise for fierce beasts and a forbidden land for Humans.
That was why it was no easy task for a few outsiders to find a guide here.
"Three Gold Rums! Three! Is that price still not enough to tempt you?"
Vincent looked at the circle of villagers, their gazes a mixture of caution and greed, and raised his voice. But still, no one answered.
He felt a wave of helplessness. ’Villagers in these backwater places are always overly wary.’
Two days ago, an herb merchant had found Vincent’s mercenary team of four.
The herb merchant wanted them to go to Morse Forest, west of Tam Village, to gather a plant called Sweet Star Grass and bring it back. Once the job was done, the wealthy herb merchant would reward them with one hundred Gold Rums.
Vincent had agreed immediately upon hearing the offer.
’A hundred Gold Rums! That’s enough for the team to live comfortably for several years.’
However, after learning the details of the mission, Vincent realized it wouldn’t be simple.
First, there was the target, Sweet Star Grass. It was an herb that looked almost identical to a common weed, and finding it would take a great deal of effort. If they were unlucky, the search could take as long as a month.
Second, there was the location: Morse Forest.
This was a massive forest on the border of the Lanso Duchy, filled with all sorts of wild beasts like fierce tigers, black bears, and wolves. The bones of many of their peers were buried there. If they wanted to search for the Sweet Star Grass as safely as possible, they had to find a guide familiar with the terrain. That way, they could avoid many deadly threats.
At first, Vincent had thought a single Gold Rum would be enough to find a suitable guide in a nearby village, but he had miscalculated. Even after raising the price to five Gold Rums, he’d had no takers. In his heart, Vincent was already cursing their greed.
Just as Vincent was growing impatient, a voice came from the crowd.
"Five. Five Gold Rums, and I’ll take you."
Vili stepped out from the crowd and spoke to Vincent, drawing the astonished gazes of everyone present.
Vincent frowned as he looked at the youth who had stepped out of the crowd.
’The boy seems steady enough, but he’s far too young. This isn’t what I was expecting.’
’I wanted to hire an older person as a guide. They’d have more experience.’
"Are you really familiar with the terrain of Morse Forest?"
Vincent didn’t seem to quite believe Vili.
"For several winters in a row, I’ve gone with my father into the depths of Morse Forest. I’m very familiar with the terrain inside."
Vili was not lying.
In the winter, many of the large animals in Morse Forest would hibernate. Only smaller animals like wild rabbits were still out foraging, which made it much safer. His father, Lake, had hunting experience from his younger days, so every winter he would take Vili into the forest to look for lone prey.
"In that case, I’d rather hire your father," Vincent said with a smile.
Vili shook his head. "He won’t accept your offer. He’s the pillar of our family, and he can’t possibly enter Morse Forest during this dangerous season."
Vincent fell silent, his eyes narrowing slightly. He felt that he could perhaps trust this composed young man before him.
Beside Vincent, another man and two women were also looking at Vili with curiosity.
They had seen many villagers from small places. They were reserved, wary, and distrustful of outsiders. But this boy in front of them was completely different.
"Five Gold Rums. It’s a deal," Vincent finally decided.