24 Hearts
Chapter 78

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Calypso’s Nightmare

Curse it.

It had been a few days since the rainy season came, and it had been raining ever since. They managed to pass by two castles and leave the border of Philoria to reach the outskirts of Calypso, but it seemed like the rain was unlikely to stop anytime soon. The rain poured hard, not even a drizzle to spare them.

“Isn’t it strange? It’s raining all of a sudden. I’m starting to feel like I have yet to see the sunlight again for a very long time.” Jeanne grumbled, looking out of the window. It was midday, and yet there was nothing to be seen outside but the unending growling of dark clouds, “Is this why you said our journey would be hard?”

“No. That’s not it. I’m talking about the magic herb. But this weather… It feels like it won’t be stopping anytime soon even if we reached the village.”

With a quick glimpse in the -Map-, Judah confirmed they had crossed Calypso’s border and was soon to reach their destination. He could almost feel the joy of reaching the village after being cramped inside their wagon for a long time, but there was the dread of traveling under such weather.

Judah took out his raincoat and wore it over his leather clothes. His leather clothes had a code that kept them clean without the need for external maintenance, but his coat had none. He wore it nonetheless. Then, the carriage stopped. Seeing the city wall out of the window, it seemed that they had arrived.

Soon after, a soldier in a robe approached and knocked on the door. After showing the purpose of their visit, their names, and adventurer plaque, they were able to enter the castle.

The coachman continued, stopping outside a well-known inn. The coachman hopped off and knocked on the door, fighting against the raging storm.

“We’re here!”

Judah tugged the hood of his coat close before stepping out of the carriage. The sky rained down at his coat, and the coachman soaked by the rain began to sneeze. He seemed to catch a cold after those long hours of driving in the rain.

“Sigh.” Judah sighed as he turned around to help Jeanne get off.

The coachman closed the carriage as soon as his passengers stepped out and then pointed at the building behind him, “This is the best inn in this castle, so get in there and stay for the night!”

The coachman advertised like he had been there himself countless times. Judah and Jeanne watched him as he brought the carriage to a corner, settling the horse somewhere safe, before disappearing at the back of the inn to stay there for the night.

“Are we going to stay here?”

“Yes. We can’t help it. Let’s just hope this rain stops today. If it comes tomorrow, we’ll just have to go around. Quick, we should head inside.”

Jeanne nodded, looking at the raining sky once, before following Judah.

Unlike the busy street outside, the inn was more relaxed, with only a few patrons inside. There were less than 20 people inside, despite the vast inn.

“Welcome!” greeted a girl, who was carrying four beer glasses in both hands. She glanced at them, settled the glasses down a nearby table before approaching them, “Are you going to stay in? Of course, you will. Would you like a double room, then?”

“No. Two single rooms. And can we have a meal?”

“Of course! Would you like to eat first?”

Judah looked back at Jeanne. She took off the hood of her robe and nodded her head.

“We’ll eat first. Can we take a seat?”

“Yeah!”

Judah took off his dripping coat and sat down in an empty seat. Requiem’s leather coat skill -classy atmosphere- made people glance his way. But when their eyes met, most of them avoided his gaze. The girl who had come to their table with a menu and their glasses of water also couldn’t hide her admiration for Judah and his outfit.

“Wow, you are one fine guest. You look like a noble! Oh, are you not a noble?” The girl gasped as she rambled on.

Judah smiled at her as he received his menu, “Do I look like it?”

The girl nodded her head without uttering a word.

“Don’t worry. I’m just a common adventurer.”

“Ah. Is that so? Good luck on your journey then! Hehe, nobles don’t really come into our inn.”

Judah smiled at her again before opening the menu. There was a wide variety of meals for them to eat; most of them were western foods such as pork cutlets, french fries, salads, or pizza. It didn’t matter what he ate, so he handed the menu over to Jeanne instead, who was sitting right next to him.

“Do I order?”

“Yes, order what you want to eat. I don’t mind whatever I get to eat.”

Jeanne paused for a moment, thinking, before ordering, “You have pizza. Can we have that?”

“Of course!”

“And then, this one, and two warm cream soups, please.”

“You can add toppings. Would you like some?”

Jeanne nodded in a flash, running her finger down the menu, “Double all vegetables, meat, and cheese.”

“Noted~ Please wait a bit!” The girl replied before running to the kitchen.

“She’s a lively kid.”

“She’s the same age as you are.”

“Hmm, really?” Judah laughed out loud at what Jeanne said. She knew he was fifteen after his coming-of-age ceremony, and while he was fifteen externally, he was much older inside.

The door of the inn opened, and there stood their coachman. Looking around for the girl, he met Judah’s eyes instead, and he greeted him with a nod. Soon after, he got a room key from the girl and hastily went up to the second floor. He heard the rough thumping of his feet as he went upstairs. When he disappeared out of view, Judah’s eyes fell to the window ahead. The rain outside subsided, and yet it didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon. Boredom started to bother them as they waited for their food, and while Judah fiddled with his glass of water, Jeanne filled in the silence.

“Do you think the rain will stop tomorrow?”

“No.”

Judah, still looking out of the window, didn’t even need to think of his answer.

“I hope the rain stops soon, but the sky doesn’t seem to clear up…”

Judah turned his gaze. People in the inn were chatting while drinking beer, complaining about whether it would rain the same all week.

“This looks like no ordinary rain.”

“Is there a risk of flooding?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

At that, their conversation ended again. With nothing to do, Judah looked at the window again and overheard the conversations of those sitting at the nearby tables.

-Is it true? It’s been raining so much, and the number of missing persons is increasing lately. Does that have anything to do with each other?

-You idiot, of course. As it rains, the number of missing people increases. Those who enter the forest in this weather are crazy. Insane, I tell you.

-Still. Does it make sense that adventurers and mercenaries disappear just because of that?

-Yeah? They are human too. Two eyes like us. Two noses. No, one.

-You’re drunk.

-I’m not drunk!

The number of missing persons was enough indication that the dungeon had opened, but these people didn’t know that. If they did, they wouldn’t be taking their sweet time drinking beer. They would’ve packed their bags and escaped the pouring rain.

‘If a person had been reported missing nearby, that meant the neighboring village is already gone.’

Judah tapped the table with his fingers. Even in the game, the player would arrive at the dungeon with several villages already in ruins. Judah thought that he could still reach the villages upon receiving the quest before they were attacked, but it didn’t seem like it anymore.

“Pizza! It’s here!”

The attendant put down their order, a steaming thick pizza, a refreshing pickle marinated in vinegar, their drinks filled with ice, and their warm cream soup. There was even a salad for a side dish.

“Please enjoy your meal!”

“Ah, wait a minute.”

“Yeah?” The girl, on her way back to her kitchen, tilted her head and looked back at them.

“Do you have any adventurers guild around here?”

“Yes, there is. There is also a mercenary guild. It’s small. It’s not far from here. Can you see the road over there?” The girl said, pointing her hand out of the window. Judah nodded like he knew what she was talking about. The girl continued, “If you follow that road, you will see a signboard. You’re an adventurer, so I don’t think I have to explain what kind of signboard it is?”

“Of course, thank you.”

“Hehehehe, that’s nice of you to say.” She blushed before turning away and going back to work.

“When you grow up, you will surely captivate a lot of women,” Jeanne said the moment the girl left.

“Haha, is that a compliment?”

Jeanne shrugged her shoulders and reached for the pizza. The toppings were doubled, so the cheese left a trail as she pulled apart a slice. Judah did the same. The place was rich with vegetables and meat, as Calypso possessed a magical engineering technology. Judah wasn’t surprised, however. Thanks to a refrigerator and air conditioner running on a hearthstone back in his home in Serenia Castle, he grew accustomed to eating fresh food.

Judah and Jeanne enjoyed every bite, and after their meal was over, they went up to their respective rooms and took their rest. They prayed for the rain to stop, but unfortunately, the rain continued to pour down the next day.

“I can go alone if you’d like? I’m only heading to the guild anyway.”

“…No, it’s okay. I’ll come.” Contrary to her words of affirmation, Jeanne’s face said otherwise. The rain was a menace to her. She put on her hood like she was ready to fight against the rain, but as they opened the door of the inn, she sighed deeply.

Her sigh said, ‘I wish I had an umbrella.’

Seeing her like that, Judah had no choice but to open his -Bag- and pull out a large umbrella that he had bought at the general store.

“Now you can grumble less.”

Jeanne’s face, shaded by her hood, perked up. She took the umbrella, sprang it open, and smiled at it marvelously.

“What about you, Judah?”

“I can just wear my coat and go. I like the rain.”

“But it’s so annoying. Come here. The umbrella is big, and it’s enough for us together.”

She grabbed Judah by the arm without hesitation and put the umbrella over him. They walked together, looking for the guild silently pitter-patter of the rain hit their umbrella. Following the road that the girl pointed at, they eventually found a signboard. Judah first opened the door and stepped inside while Jeanne folded the umbrella and dried it off. A man, who was eagerly cleaning the floor with a mop, heard the bell hanging from the door and greeted them with a bow.

“Welcome to Kaora’s Adventurers Guild.”

“Good morning.”

He set aside the mop and walked to the counter right next to the entrance in order to accommodate them formally.

“What brings you here?”

“I’m carrying out a quest. I was wondering if I could get information on Edron since the last quest he accepted here?”

Judah handed him the request, which he had received from the Adventurer’s Guild in Aslan. As the man read his request, he nodded his head.

“I need identification. Can you show me yours?”

Judah handed him what he asked for, and Jeanne, who just entered, did the same.

“Judah Arche, Jeanne Art Loire… Okay, confirmed.” He scratched his head as he returned their I.D and their request form.

“Is there any problem?”

“No, ah, I want to explain this the best way possible. Um, I don’t know if you’ve heard it from the client, but Edron was an adventurer at the same age as you. He was a diligent friend who wandered around the forest while carrying out miscellaneous quests here in Kaora Castle to find a magic herb. But about three weeks ago, news about his whereabouts was cut off after he headed to the village of ‘Cherryu’, two days away from here.”

He sighed.

“It wasn’t a very difficult quest. Goblins from the forest kept coming down to the village, so I asked him to defeat the monsters. He’s a good lad, so I thought he’d come back after solving it, but there was no contact after a week. Someone from Aslan regularly sent letters out of concern, so I decided to send out a letter. It seemed like something had happened. Then, a request to find him came from that branch. So I sent out a search party a few days ago, but even I lost contact with them. I don’t know if it’s because of this rain that had been going on for ten days, but that’s all that our branch knows.”

“Is that so? I guess there’s no other choice I have to go directly to the village. Could I get a map?”

“Yes, here it is. That’s 2 silver coins.”

“…Are we getting paid for this quest?”

“Sure.”

Judah handed the money to him as he nodded.

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#Setting 5. 「The Land of Magic, Calypso」

Calypso is famous as the land of magic because it is exceptionally more magical than other countries. Curiously, there is no king in this land. Instead, the ‘Langritsa Tower’ recognized by many mages, protected and cultivated the land.

However, two hundred years ago, Calypso did not have a significant impact on the continent. Of course, it wasn’t ignored because of the tremendous power of the tower owners. However, as the fragments of Pernern scattered around the world, the monsters bearing the gemstones appeared places, and the world entered into a new phase.

Those who have developed semi-permanent magic using magic stones collaborated with engineering technology in the neighboring country, Mantium, to for life, including refrigerators that revolutionized the distribution of ingredients such as vegetables and meat—helping them build enormous wealth. Naturally, Calypso’s position strengthened, but they were not interested in foreign lands or politics, unlike other empires.

In addition to this, Calypso had many more dungeons when compared to other countries. This is also due to the individualism of the mages. Many mages visit deep mountains or valleys that humans cannot easily reach to conduct their research without being disturbed by others. They dig burrows in suitable places and kept them under control with traps, guards, or monsters to protect themselves, and then they studied alone.

Then, when they die, that place becomes a dungeon. There were no gold nor silver treasures to be found, but one could receive money according to the research materials and magic books one could collect and sell to the towers.

Of course, not all mages are aiming for this grotesque life. There are examples of some who allied with empires or kingdoms to gain wealth and fame, and some traveled as mercenaries or adventurers. And when they have the skills, they live as holy lords in the land of Calypso.

Calypso’s tower owners respected a mage’s will.

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