Chapter 106 - Business Trip (2)
The others bowed slightly and Gerald nodded. When he first saw them, he thought that they were just a bunch of runts, but he was wrong. It seemed that his instincts were getting dull… back in the day, Gerald was able to see those that had potential with just a single glance. He knew that the people of their state had small numbers, but they had many tribes among them, but he had also heard of other wildlings that had all sorts of abilities. In any case, he would wait for interesting rumors about them.
When Billy and the others reached the entrance of the town, Pierre was already there. While he had planned to send the carriage four days after he left, some things happened and he ended up not having the chance to do that. In the end, he returned with another one.
"I didn\'t believe when I heard that, but it seems that you guys really did it, huh," Pierre said. "If you don\'t mind, can you tell me what has happened since the day I left?"
The trip would be long, so some chit-chat was welcome. Still, Billy didn\'t feel like talking that much… fortunately, Kate seemed like she wanted to talk and she proudly said almost everything that happened. At least she was smart enough to omit the parts where they took some of the gems and turned them into magic items.
In any case, Billy wondered if he should make accessories out of stone and use the gems or put them with the items forged using the black steel. The effects will be the same, but the durability will be higher with the steel. There was also the matter about which he should get… Billy and Alexander will use those, but their effects were a bit similar. With extra endurance, one wouldn\'t need much time to recover, and with extra recovery, one could heal insanely faster.
"Speaking of recovery, Gerald had Pain Resistance… until now, I didn\'t get hurt that much aside from training, but I need to start considering my defensive abilities," Billy thought.
Two days later, the group was back to the bridge and they said their goodbyes to Pierre as well and three days later, they were back at their town.
"That was fun, I can\'t wait for our next trip to the next dungeon," Kage said.
"I agree… but we need more training," Natalie said. "The other two dungeons are supposed to be five times bigger."
"Let\'s reunite every day to train together, I am sure we will make more progress that way," Lily said.
Billy facepalmed… he failed at his mission. It couldn\'t be helped since he didn\'t let anyone get hurt, but still… Regardless, the group split and then they headed toward their homes. The idea of meeting every day like before wasn\'t half bad since Billy had way too much free time when he wasn\'t working.
"Big bro!" Samuel and Samara said in unison when Billy stepped inside his home.
"Hey, I am back," Billy said and then put both of them on his shoulders. "Ah, you guys are a lot heavier than before."
"They are already six, after all," Camilla said. "It seems everything worked well. I am glad… but I didn\'t think you would return so soon."
"... Six? That means that I am already thirteen?" Billy asked. "The last few weeks had been so busy that I forgot about my birthday."
Samuel and Samara wanted to hear about the dungeon and his mother also was curious as to why they returned so soon. Still, the sun was setting, and soon Drew and Camilla would return, so it would be better to give his report when everyone is together. Billy did that after they had dinner together.
"It seemed you had quite the adventure… you even managed to learn a little bit of our allies\' alphabet," Drew nodded, visibly surprised.
"It is fine that you didn\'t get hurt, but you didn\'t even check the medicines and herbs being sold there?" Anna asked.
"No, I didn\'t, I am sorry," Billy said.
"There is no need to feel sorry," Anna said. "I just asked because the other healers were planning to buy some of the medicines and herbs being sold in the Hiloh state. We will have to check things with our own eyes instead of just asking what they have."
"They probably had some advanced medicine since considering the size of their army, they wage war pretty often," Billy said.
"That is what we thought as well," Anna said. "Do you want to do some escort work? We will be transporting quite the sum of money and we don\'t know much about the lands beyond the river."
"Mom… Billy just returned," Camilla said.
"The trip will take place in a month, it isn\'t tomorrow, you can rest easy," Camilla said. "Regardless, you can give me an answer later."
Billy nodded. It seemed like a long trip and it will probably be sponsored by Edward. While he probably would be paid more than usual, but less than what he could earn by clearing the dungeon, that wasn\'t something he was worried about, he just wanted to be sure that his grandmother would be fine. Anyone from Heinhall state is bound to be targeted by the people of Toles state and their allies. While it seemed peaceful there, Billy wasn\'t naive enough to think that there weren\'t spies infiltrated… or a bandits guild working behind the scenes.
In any case, the next day Billy\'s party reunited in front of Kate\'s house, and then they took the black steel to John\'s shop.. Billy didn\'t need a new weapon, so he wondered what he should ask… his friends just wanted better versions of their current weapons, so Billy was the only one in a bind.