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Reinhard x Tensura [Chapter 8: C-Rank Quest!]
🕑 Added 2025-09-23 11:27:24 +0000 UTCFeeling every bit the proud leader now that he had a new recruit looking up to him, Kaval strode over to the mission board.
With a dismissive wave of his hand, he ignored all the E and D-rank papers.
He scanned the higher-level requests before confidently plucking one from the C-rank section.
"Alright team, listen up," he announced, turning back to them. "This one's perfect for us." He held up the paper. "Quest: Investigate the village of Oakhaven. It's a C-rank, but the pay is closer to a B. A merchant sent a delivery man there a week ago, but he never came back. He sent more men to check, and they haven't returned either. The client just wants us to go to the town, find out what happened, and if possible, collect the payment for his supplies."
Kaval grinned. "See? This will be a good one. It's just investigation. No mention of fighting. We go in, ask a few questions, and come back with a nice reward."
"It looks too easy," Gido muttered, scratching his chin. "No contact for a week? That's not a good sign."
"That's what makes it good!" Ellen said, chiming in. "We can take Reinhard with us and teach him a thing or two on the way. It's a great way for him to see how adventuring works without throwing him into a big fight."
Reinhard gave a small, polite bow. "Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you again for letting me join your party."
Ellen smiled at him. "You know, you're so polite. It's kind of weird. How old are you, Reinhard?"
"I'm nineteen," he answered simply.
Ellen's eyes widened. "Oh! You're older than me?"
"Really?" Reinhard said, with a fake hint of genuine surprise in his voice. "Well, that's just more impressive. To be such a capable adventurer at your age is quite a feat, Miss Ellen."
She blushed slightly. "Ah… now you’re just trying to butter me up… but wait how do you know my name?"
Reinhard smiled faintly. "Well, not to be rude, but I think anyone in the guild could have learned it. You were shouting at each other, and they were calling your name while you were calling theirs."
Ellen's face went from pink to red as she let out a sheepish laugh. "Heh heh… oh. So you saw all that."
"I think everyone saw that," Reinhard said gently. "It was hard to miss."
"Well, it wasn't my fault!" she said, instantly turning to glare at the other two. "It was these two!"
"Hey! Don't dump all of that on u…" Kaval and Gido started to say in unison, but they stopped dead. Ellen was giving them a look so sharp and angry it felt like a physical force, a death ray of pure annoyance.
They both laughed nervously, pretending they hadn't seen it.
"Ahhh, ha ha, well!" Kaval said, quickly turning his attention back to the quest paper. "I think we should get going and complete this! It's a few hours' walk to the town, so we should head out now."
….
With the C-rank quest officially accepted, Reinhard and his new party left the Kingdom of Blumund, heading for the village of Oakhaven. It was, as Kaval had said, a few hours away on foot.
Reinhard didn't ask why they weren't taking a carriage or renting horses. It was probably a matter of cost, and he didn't want to sound like a noble who was too good to walk.
Besides, he had other things on his mind. He had wanted to buy a normal sword today, but it looked like that would have to wait.
He couldn't just bring it up now; they would ask why he needed another one when he had such a fine-looking weapon already.
He'd just have to buy one when they got back. He could come up with an excuse then if they asked.
Something like, I just wanted a second sword in case I lost one, or maybe, I sometimes use two swords. He would think of something later.
….
An hour passed as they walked, leaving the main road to cut through a section of forest. The path was clear enough, and the trees provided nice shade from the sun.
While they walked, Ellen fell into step beside him.
"So, Reinhard," she began, her tone casual. "You said you kind of got kicked out of your house, right? What happened exactly? If you don't mind sharing, of course."
The question made him pause. The memories he had of Reinhard’s past surfaced, the feelings he was very much feeling even now. The cold hatred and disappointment of his father, the outright hatred from his grandfather… the sense that he was a monster they couldn't stand to look at.
He gave a simple, honest answer pulled from those feelings. "All I can say is that it wasn't their fault."
Ellen immediately looked guilty. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean it like that," she said quickly. "Ah, I don't even know why I asked you that. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Reinhard said, giving her a reassuring look. "It's good to be cautious of unknown people, so there's no problem."
"Cautious?" she repeated, looking confused. "Oh, I wasn't being cautious of you. You look like a good man. So I know it wasn't your fault, either." She looked him up and down, then laughed.
"And cautious of what, exactly? You look one hundred percent harmless to me. It looks like you couldn't even hurt a fly, and if you did, you'd probably apologize to it again and again."
Reinhard stared at her for a moment, the image of what he'd done to the goblin in the training yard flashing in his mind. He let out a soft chuckle. "Hahaha, is that so? Well, I think you are somewhat right. Hahaha."
"Hey, you two!" Gido's voice cut in from ahead. "Can you stop flirting with each other?"
Kaval, who had been watching them with a frown, joined in. "Yeah, we're on a quest, so stop flirting with him, Ellen. And keep your hands off the boy. He's innocent."
Ellen’s eye started to twitch. She turned and fixed both Kaval and Gido with a glare so intense that they immediately looked away, pretending to be very interested in the trees.
"I think," she said, her voice dangerously sweet, "we will have a talk when we return to the inn."
