CH 42

After leaving the guild, we went to my favorite coffee shop.

It was a coffee shop that appeared in the game, and its name was 'Chien Viverrin'. In French, it is said to mean 'raccoon dog'... The reason why it is called so is a mystery to me.

Recently, it has become a routine for the three of us to visit this coffee shop and have a strategy meeting before going on a quest.

“I'll have a coffee.”

“I'll have the same.”

“Urza wants a Giant Extreme Parfaits, desu~no!”

We sat down at a table and ordered our drinks from a familiar waitress. A few moments later, coffee for two and a giant parfait are delivered.

The stuff Urza ordered, with a name like a special move, is the specialty of this coffee shop. It is a huge parfait that looks as if it is about to hit the sky, and it is filled with a lot of fruits and chocolates.

In the game, it was a reasonably priced sweet, but since eating it buffed one's strength and speed, it was often ordered before a big battle.

“Then... Zenon-sama? What kind of quest did we accept today?”

Aeris asked me as she sipped her coffee.

She is a beautiful girl who looks pretty even when she just sips her coffee cup. But when she tilted her head in a cute way, it was more destructive.

“Ah...'Straw Millionaire'...”

“Yes?”

“No, it's nothing. Today's quest is simply to gather medicinal herbs. Our destination is the forest east of the capital.”

I explained the details of the quest.

The purpose of this quest is to collect and deliver 'red dragon flower', a plant that grows wild in a place called 'Forel Forest' in the east of the capital.

The deadline is within a week from now, and the reward is only 100G.

The reward is very cheap. Is it worth?

Urza asks curiously as she crumbles the parfait into pieces and puts them in her mouth.

It takes about two hours from here to the Forel Forest on foot, so it takes quite a bit of time just to go there and back.

For that much effort, the reward was only 100 G. It was obvious that the reward was not worth it, even if he didn't point it out.

“Well, it can't be helped. The client is a seven-year-old girl.”

The client is a poor little girl living in the capital.

The girl had sent a quest to the Adventurers' Guild to give the flower to her mother for her birthday.

This flower symbolizes the memory of the girl's mother and her father who died as an adventurer, and she is trying to cheer up her widowed mother by giving the flower to her.

Incidentally, since red dragon flowers are only available deep in the forest and are neither poisonous nor medicinal, few people go out of their way to risk their lives to pick them. So,they were rarely found on the market.

“In other words... in order to make the child's wish come true, Zenon-sama dare to accept a quest that does not bring in any money? As expected of Zenon-sama. How merciful...!”

Aeris crossed her arms as if she were praying and uttered an exclamation of deep emotion. She was so moved that there were even tears in the corners of her eyes.

Other customers in the coffee shop were looking what was going on, but they seemed not to notice it either.

“...It's not like that. It's just a whim.”

“Geez, you say that again... you are really not honest, are you? I like that side of you too!”

“Haaah...”

No matter what I say, I'll always get high marks. At this point, I frown and shut up.

Aeris is happy and praises me with a big smile on her face, but I didn't really accept this quest out of the goodness of my heart.

You see, this unworthy quest is a flag for a sub-event in the game, the 'Straw Millionaire Rally'.

The old tale of the 'Straw Millionaire' is well-known to all Japanese people.

It is a story about a poor villager who obtains straws, and through exchanging them, he eventually becomes enormously wealthy... something like that.

So, when I accomplish this task and bring the Red Dragon Flower to the client girl, she gives me a stone she picked up on the street as a token of her appreciation, in addition to the 100G reward.

The stone, which looks like a light green bead, is actually a stone that was attached to a ring that a young man sent to his girlfriend. If I find this young man and give him the stone, he will exchange it for another item.

If I keep exchange it, eventually I can exchange it for a “skill orb” that allows me to acquire the ability of “growth acceleration”.

A skill orb is a stone that contains a skill's power. This item is necessary to obtain new skills in [DunBrave]. It is mainly obtained as a drop item from defeating monsters or as a reward from events.

And among these orbs, the skill orb of 'Growth Acceleration' was very rare and valuable. This literally means that it could speed up proficiency of a skill, and it is a necessary ability for those who want to achieve the highest level of the skill.

Skill orbs are disposable. In addition, the only event where it is possible to obtain the 'growth acceleration' is the 'Straw Millionaire Rally' event.

However, according to the net, it could appear as a drop item from a certain monster, but the probability is so low that I cannot expect to get it.

Anyway, this skill orb is not included in the items collected at the 'Treasure Room', so I must get it by all means.

“...This event has made me cry a lot. I won't make any more mistakes.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

Aeris blinked at my comment.

By the way, it seems that Urza has already stopped listening to me and is puffing up her cheeks like a hamster with a piece of fruit in her mouth.

For the note, this sub-event has a time limit.

It occurs one month after the student enters the school, and disappears after another month.

Probably, this is due to the fact that the birthday of the girl's mother will pass. In the game, per turn equals to one week, so that the event can no longer be completed if the quest is not fulfilled within a short period of only four turns.

When I was playing the game, I was not even aware of the existence of the event, or I postponed it, and the quest disappeared without being able to clear it.

Also, there were times when I got a jewel after completing the event, but I sold it to a tool shop without realizing that it was the start of the 'Straw Millionaire Rally'.

So, when I found out the whole story of the 'Straw Millionaire Rally' on a strategy site later, I cried over the rare item I had missed.

“I can't forget that regret even if I wanted to... So, I'll never regret it again.”

“I don't really understand... but it's true that regret is not good”.

“Ah, I will live without regrets, so, let's get on with the strategy meeting. I'll fulfill the wish of this filial girl...”

“Yes, with pleasure!”

“Munch, munch!”

Aeris nodded with a smile, and Urza, her mouth covered with cream, raised her hand cheerfully.