Chapter 106: Preparing for the Quest

“The condition is-The difficulty level of the rank-up quest is equivalent to A-rank.” (Aaron)

““………”” (Toru & Esther)

At Aaron’s words, Esther and Marie gasped simultaneously.

I wasn’t too surprised because I was already bracing for it. And I’m used to being forced to do difficult work.

I then thought, “Oh, it’s the same everywhere.”

“Do you still wish to continue?” (Aaron)

I didn’t need to nod.

The answer is obvious.

The less you are expected to do your job, the more you are motivated to do it.

Is this Aron’s trickery, or is he just a natural instigator of motivation?

Either way, I was very motivated.

“… I see. You adventurers are idiots, aren’t you? But I love adventurers like that. I don’t want to lose any of you. Please come back safe and sound.” (Aaron)

““Yes sir!”” (Esther & Toru)

Thus, Esther and I accepted our Rank Up Quest.

After leaving the guild, Esther and I immediately decided to contact someone who might have an idea about Persimo.

We returned home and entered the living room.

“Lily, there’s something I want to ask you.” (Toru)

Lily is a long-lived elf, and although she still looks like an innocent girl, her actual age is quite high.

The “someone who has lived as long as I am” that Aaron mentions is Lily.

(If she didn’t know this, I’d be back to square one…) (Toru)

“Do you know about Persimos?” (Toru)

Toru’s anxiety fizzled out with the dramatic change in Lily’s expression.

“…what for!?” (Lily)

“In our Rank Up Quest, we were ordered to collect some.” (Toru)

“…Toru?” (Lily)

“Yes.” (Toru)

“…What rank are you now?” (Lily)

“D.” (Toru)

“…………” (Lily)

Lily is shaking her head in disbelief.

I know what she’s thinking.

Giving a D-rank adventurer an A-rank equivalent quest is tantamount to saying, “go get die.” Anyone would think that the guild would never make such a foolish decision.

“What’s wrong with your head?” (Lily)

(Wow, that brings back memories.) (Toru)

When I was working for a black company, I used to hear the same line when I complained to my few friends about the reckless behavior of my boss.

My heart ached as I recalled the painful memories of those days.

“No way, are you insane?” (Lily)

“No. You see—” (Toru)

I explained the situation in summary to Lily, who does not understand what was going on.

Then, with a small sigh, she said,

“You’d better stop now, you’re just going to die.” (Lily)

“Tell me why Lily-dono!” (Esther)

“Are you willing to die?” (Lily)

“I’ll make sure there’s a safety margin. So, can you tell me?” (Toru)

I stared straight into Lily’s eyes.

After a few moments of silence, Lily gave a small sigh and dropped her shoulders.

“……Get out the map.” (Lily)

“Thank you!” (Esther)

Esther took out a map from her own [Inventory] and quickly unfolded it in front of Lily.

(The most important thing to remember is that you can find a lot of different types of maps. Wow… So, this is what the area around Finlis is like.) (Toru)

Lily’s slender finger headed northeast from the point marked “Finlis” and stopped at a certain mountain.

“A mountain?” (Toru)

“Yes, it is in the heart of Mount Rheitis.” (Lily)

“What kind of fruit is persimo?” (Toru)

“Orange. There is no other tree that bears fruit there, so you know it when you see it.” (Lily)

“Lily-dono, tell me what I need to watch out for on the way.” (Esther)

“The monsters are B-rank and above. The path is rough.” (Lily)

If you have to fight B-rank or higher-ranked monsters on a bad road, you will not be able to fight them at your best first.

With my current state, even B-rank demons can be defeated if they are one by one.

However, with multiple monsters, who knows what will happen?

“And then there’s the Eternal Flames.” (Lily)

“Eternal Flames?” (Toru)

“Flames that has been burning since the time of the gods. You need to go past it.” (Lily)

“I see, how do we get past it?” (Toru)

“Some quick magic.” (Lily)

“Quick…” (Toru)

“……?” (Lily)

Lily shook her head. It’s like, “I don’t understand why you don’t know.” In every world, it seems that geniuses cannot understand the questions of mediocre people.

(The Eternal Flames… Well, how do we deal with that?” (Toru)

Toru had a memory of a phenomenon similar to the eternal flame.

It was the “Door to Hell ” in the village of Darvaza, Turkmenistan.

The Door to Hell is a gas crater that was set on fire to prevent the spread of methane gas leaking from the gas field and has been burning for more than 50 years since then.

(If the Eternal Flame is the same as the “Door to Hell”, then there must be a way to get through it.) (Toru)

Esther and I then asked Lily for information essential to our quest.

When the questions were over, Esther and I got up to go shopping.

“Toru, if you’re going to go harvest persimo…” (Lily)

On Lily’s face, there is a bottomless hatred that seemed to grow bigger with the years.

And there was a slight hint of regret.

“Watch out for Amy.” (Lily)

“Amy?” (Toru)

“Yes. If you meet someone who calls herself Amie on the road to Persimo, even if she is an acquaintance—” (Lily)

A low, deadpan voice echoed quietly.

“—Kill them and don’t hesitate.” (Lily)

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