Seeker 259.2

Test

Chapter 259.2. Reunion

"Therefore, that's not the case."

The conversation suddenly became complicated. 

Rebecca-san, I hope you won't stir things up right from the beginning of the scene.

So, even though the introductory event took longer than expected, a woman who claimed to be an adventurer appeared before us. 

Unlike Yuzuki, she had a boyish charm with short-cut, bright brown hair leaning towards orange. 

She wore active clothing, with a sword hanging from her waist. 

She was both an adventurer and the client for this quest.

"So, you wanted to go to the underwater city, right? Do you know its exact location?"

As the conversation was already veering off track, I overtly attempted to bring it back on course.

 Rebecca-san acknowledged this and finally began talking about the main topic.

"I have a general idea of the location. Do you know the port town of Barren beyond the Landram Mountains, north of the Holy Kingdom's capital?"

"Yes. Within the range that can be grasped by looking at the map."

I took out a map from my [Item Box], unfolded it, and confirmed the location of the town Rebecca-san pointed to.

 Barren, the port town, was a bit more than a day's walk north from our current location, the Holy Kingdom's capital. 

However, the actual distance to Barren was much longer than that because the rugged mountain range extended east and west, requiring a detour along the main road.

"Whether you take the eastern or western road, it will take about 4 to 5 days from here. Is the underwater city near Barren?"

"Yeah, that's what my investigation suggests. After leaving Barren and heading out to sea, it should be somewhere not too far."

"When you say 'out to sea,' are you planning to use a boat? Or are you going to swim?"

"I plan to rent a boat at the port. We should reach the landmark mermaid rock in about an hour."

"So, roughly 5 to 6 days to the destination..."

Assuming it takes about 5 to 6 days to reach the underwater city, I estimated the mission experience points to be 80,000 points (S-rank quest 30,000 + reaching the underwater city 50,000). 

Considering it daily, it would be around 15,000 points. 

Not bad. 

If there weren't more efficient quests available, it might be worth accepting. 

The remaining consideration was how much risk was involved.

"But first of all, what exactly is an underwater city? Is there really a city at the bottom of the sea?"

Yuzuki voiced the fundamental question. 

That's a good question, Yuzuki. 

I was curious about that too.

Rebecca-san nodded and answered. 

"That seems to be the case. It's said to be a city where the merfolk live."

"'Seems to be' and 'said to be'—there's a lot of hearsay in this information. What's the source of this information?"

When I asked that, Rebecca-san proudly took a book from her [Item Box] and showed it to me. 

It was a splendid hardcover book with a cover depicting a world map, a dragon, and an illustration of a sword and shield combined.

"Hehe. If you're an adventurer, you must have heard of 'Randolph's Adventure Chronicles'. It's a record left by the great adventurer Randolph, who traveled around the world in the past. The writer Gwell turned it into an exciting adventure story."

"Uh... isn't that fiction?"

"Well, yes, it is. But don't worry. It's fiction based on facts, and there's proper evidence in other literature. The underwater city is there. I guarantee it. Even if it turns out to be untrue, I'll pay the guest fee. Please, help us!"

Saying that, Rebecca-san begged us. 

Hmm... it started to feel like a quite suspicious case. 

But as long as there's a mission, there's no doubt that there is something called an 'underwater city' in this world. 

If we consider whether this underwater city exists where Rebecca-san assumes it to be, it doesn't seem like a bad deal. 

The only thing left is—

"Come to think of it, the quest request mentioned taking the 'shortest route.' What's that?"

"Right, that! Thanks for asking. Boy, you easily defeated the quasi-S-rank monster Hydra, right? In that case, I think you can go."

Saying that, Rebecca-san pointed to the mountainous part of the map I was holding.

"There's the Chiryuu Mountain. Let's go through this cave."