Chapter 53: The S-Rank Errand

After this oath of sisterhood, Anna seemed to fully embrace Eve—someone she had known for less than a day—as a trusted confidante. She simply couldn’t keep any secrets from her.

Anna readily divulged any information she possessed, completely dropping her guard around Eve.

The crucial detail was that Eve hadn’t even intended to ask.

Anna had simply taken the initiative, pulling Eve into a rambling, incessant conversation as they walked.

She had, quite frankly, been bottling things up for far too long.

Yulim Wilivia, their traveling companion, was excellent in every regard, save for her quiet nature.

Whenever Anna tried to engage Yulim in conversation, the other girl would simply retract her neck, timidly nodding or shaking her head in response.

It was a rare occurrence to hear Yulim speak, often only when she herself chose to initiate a conversation.

With a new companion joining their ranks, the perpetually chatty Anna unleashed her true nature, delighting in sharing all sorts of interesting tidbits and information with Eve.

This included the very reason for their journey to the Xigelili Grasslands, which Anna also eagerly disclosed to Eve.

“Because you couldn’t pay rent, got evicted by the stable master, and ended up homeless?”

“And then, utterly broke and unable to afford food, you came out here to take on quests?”

“What kind of vagrant existence did you two lead before this?”

“To be an adventurer and end up like this… you’re absolute failures!”

Eve was utterly astounded after hearing Anna’s account of their plight.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t encountered adventurers before. She recalled Odell, the leader of the Wolf Fang Adventurer Group—his confident swagger, passionate spirit, and love for exploration truly embodied the prevailing temperament of an adventurer in this otherworldly realm!

So why did Anna and Yulim present themselves as desperate mercenaries, forced into an adventuring life simply to earn enough commission to survive?

Anna, however, merely tilted her head in confusion after hearing Eve’s words. “Aren’t adventurers like that?”

‘What kind of adventurer is like that!?’

‘Apologize to all adventurers, right now!’

Eve took a deep breath, suppressing the overwhelming urge to retort, and spoke with a serious expression. “Anna, true adventurers are pioneers! They are trailblazers! They are the very architects of their era!”

“They explore unknown worlds, eradicate the malevolent monsters that plague their paths, and cut through every obstacle, transforming the impossible into reality for all to witness!”

“They are magnificent!”

“They are *not* mercenaries who, finding themselves penniless today, simply take on a quest to scrape by for a few more days!”

Eve spoke with righteous indignation, her fist clenched tightly.

Yulim Wilivia gazed blankly at Eve’s back. She had never imagined that this Luosha, who appeared almost villainous, possessed such profound ideals!

‘Reflecting on her and Anna’s daily lives—accepting any quest, as long as the commission money provided a full meal, living each day as it came—Yulim was suddenly overcome with shame.’

‘Even Anna, after such a lecture, must surely be moved…’

Yulim stole a glance at Anna.

Anna’s clear blue eyes suddenly sparkled. “Oh! So that’s it! I never realized I was such a great person! I completely missed that before!”

Eve’s blood pressure surged, and she stomped her foot in exasperation. “I’m talking about the *spirit of adventure*! I wasn’t praising you! Anna, where did your understanding even go!?”

“Huh? But Luosha, aren’t I an adventurer?”

“You! I! You… this…”

Yulim: ‘…’

‘Well, it seems Anna is completely immune to Luosha’s lectures…’

‘Indeed, hoping Anna would suddenly gain insight is like expecting free fried chicken legs to fall from the sky right in front of me.’

Yulim adjusted the brim of her hood, subtly glancing up at Eve, who had petulantly turned her face away, deliberately ignoring Anna.

Recalling everything that had just transpired.

‘It feels like… Luosha isn’t actually a bad person after all…’ Yulim thought to herself.

Eve was on the verge of fainting from sheer frustration.

She felt that no matter how she tried to reason with Anna, it was like casting pearls before swine.

Anna’s understanding was simply on a completely different wavelength from her own.

Thus, Eve turned her face away, choosing to ignore Anna.

But Anna, like sticky candy, clung to her once more. “Luosha, Luosha, we’re sworn sisters now, so if you want to praise me in the future, you can just do it directly! No need to beat around the bush or think of so many profound compliments; I don’t understand those complex words. Simple and straightforward is best!”

‘I wasn’t praising you at all!’

Eve’s eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. She pressed a hand to her forehead and took a deep, calming breath.

‘Eve, calm down, calm down… Trying to reason with an idiot is utterly pointless. Doing so will only lower your own intelligence to their level, assimilating you into a new idiot…’

‘Look at Anna. Even after all I’ve said, she remains carefree, blissfully happy in her own little world.’

‘So Eve, you need to understand one thing: you are not an idiot like her!’

Upon this realization, Eve’s mood brightened considerably.

‘That’s right, I’m not an idiot!’

Consequently, Eve’s gaze softened as she looked at Anna, much like one would regard their own cherished, slightly foolish child. She reached out and gently ruffled the blue-haired girl’s head, saying with tender affection, “Alright, alright, whatever you say.”

The scene was so heartwarming, it was as if a mother and daughter were reuniting.

The atmosphere within the trio’s small group gradually returned to harmony, a truly welcome development.

“Ah, by the way, what kind of quest did you two take on before this, Anna?”

“Did you also come to the Xigelili Grasslands to hunt slimes?” Eve asked curiously.

Anna shook her head. “No, our quest is to help Madam Stith retrieve her lost underwear and skirts from the grasslands.”

“When I saw that quest, it offered good pay for little effort, and I thought it would be easy to complete, so we just took it.”

“Alright… that’s certainly a very realistic and simple reason, quite typical of a choice you’d make, Anna…”

Eve had assumed that Anna and Yulim, being such high-level adventurers, would have taken on some advanced monster-hunting quest to come all the way to Xigelili. Instead, it was merely an errand.

Yet, looking at it from another perspective—considering it was Anna’s choice—it didn’t seem so strange anymore.

Come to think of it, Eve had previously seen numerous low-ranking Bronze-tier adventurers at the Adventurers’ Guild in Bigmeluo, practically fighting over simple, easy-to-complete errand quests.

Just imagine a Level 61 powerhouse rushing to snatch a quest from a group of newbies—how utterly shameless that would be…

But if that powerhouse were Anna, it somehow didn’t seem quite so unacceptable, did it?

Anna, with her hands clasped behind her back, walked briskly and cheerfully at the front. Seemingly recalling the moment they accepted the quest, she spoke with a joyful air. “That’s right, Yulim and I hadn’t eaten for two whole days back then. When we saw such a simple errand quest still unclaimed, we just snatched it right up.”

“It was an S-rank quest worth one gold coin! The advance payment alone was enough for Yulim and me to enjoy a lavish, hearty meal.”

“Oh, so the quest paid one gold coin…”

Eve nodded, taking a couple of steps before suddenly halting. She then realized Anna had said something rather significant and quickly pressed for clarification. “Wait! Anna, what rank did you just say that quest was?”

“S-rank, why?”

“??!”