Lu Mao did not continue standing at the doorway.
He stepped back from the room and gently closed the door, leaving the two sisters in peace.
Balen's snoring was already drifting over from the next room, clearly audible even through the wooden door.
Leaning against the corridor wall, he closed his eyes for a moment, running through everything that had happened from start to finish in his mind.
Why on earth did that mysterious figure, who was clearly so powerful, need to hire people to destroy the altar?
The tavern owner also seemed very concerned about the altar, but why did he deliberately hide information about it from him?
If he were to investigate the mysterious figure's identity in secret, would he be discovered?
If Misha went to collect the reward tomorrow morning... Lu Mao suddenly found himself unwilling to follow that line of thought any further.
He stood up straight, pushed open the door to his room, folded his newly acquired leather armor neatly at the head of the bed, and slipped his dagger under his pillow.
Having seemingly experienced far too much in a single day, Lu Mao fell into a deep sleep amidst Balen's earth-shaking snores.
Early the next morning, Misha woke up before everyone else.
When Lu Mao went downstairs, she was already standing at the inn's entrance leaning on her staff. She had changed into her brand-new cleric robes, looking much more spirited than she had yesterday.
Her face wore a rare look of anticipation, and her greeting was even a bit brisker than usual:
“Let's go. The client agreed to meet us at the apothecary shop in the alley behind the guild. Balen and the others are still sleeping in, but the captain has already headed over. Let's go together.”
Lu Mao didn't say much, simply buttoning his cloak and following her.
He knew in his heart that the client wouldn't be at the designated spot, but since he couldn't explain how he knew this, he could only follow along and watch how things played out.
The alley behind the guild was a cobblestone path so narrow that only two people could walk abreast, its sides cluttered with empty wooden crates and discarded potion bottles.
At the end of the alley stood an old apothecary shop that had long since closed down. The sign hanging over the lintel was crooked, and the writing on it was so faded that one could only barely make out the word "Apothecary."
The door was unlocked.
Upon pushing it open, they found the shop completely empty.
A thick layer of dust covered the counter, and the air was thick with the musty smell of moldy herbs and dust.
Rayne stood before the counter, wiping away a patch of dust with his hand.
“There's no sign of anyone having been here.”
His voice was low. “The dust is completely undisturbed, and there are no footprints on the floor.”
Misha said nothing.
She walked to the shelves behind the counter, searching through each compartment one by one. She searched for a long time but found nothing except moldy wooden planks and dried-up mouse droppings.
Her fingers came to a stop on the very last shelf, her fingertips pressing into the gaps between the wooden boards as her shoulders trembled slightly.
Standing at the doorway, Lu Mao looked at Misha's back, fell silent for a moment, and then spoke:
“Let's go back. This place isn't safe.”
Misha's shoulders trembled once more. Then she slowly stood up straight and turned around, the anticipation completely gone from her face.
Her expression was somewhat numb. Her fingers tightened around her staff one by one, then loosened, then tightened again.
“...Back to the inn.”
Rayne and Lu Mao walked on either side of her, neither of them uttering a word.
Upon returning to the inn, Misha did not go upstairs immediately.
She stood by the stairs for a brief moment before walking over to an empty table in the corner of the lobby and sitting down. Laying her staff across her lap, she stared down at the crystal on its tip.
The crystal reflected her own face, slightly distorted by its convex surface.
No one went to disturb her.
In the afternoon, Misha left the inn alone. She returned about an hour later, pushing the door open very gently, though her expression was even darker than when she had left.
She had gone to the Rhode City Adventurers' Guild headquarters to confirm the validity of the commission with the receptionist.
The commission was indeed genuine, and the client had even paid a deposit—but it was useless. The client had run off.
Misha had no choice but to take the twenty-gold-coin deposit.
Though twenty gold coins was a large sum, it was practically worthless compared to the Panacea.
She didn't know whom to hold accountable, or if she even should.
She knew the guild's rules—the guild did not guarantee the fulfillment of commissions that were not directly issued through them.
When a client failed to deliver on their promise, all the guild could do was place them on a blacklist, banning them from posting any further commissions with the guild. That was all.
And as for a blacklist, one could easily bypass it by simply taking on a new identity in another city.
Yet there had been no other way. An item like the Panacea was simply too rare; even knowing the other party might renege on the deal, they had no choice but to brace themselves and take the commission anyway.
At dusk, she called her teammates down to the inn's lobby.
“It seems we won't be getting the Panacea, but there is still the twenty-gold-coin deposit. I don't need it, so the five of you should split it.”
Having said that, Misha lined up the twenty gold coins on the table. They gleamed a bright yellow under the oil lamp.
Balen was the first to speak. Without looking at the coins, he stared directly at Misha.
“Liz is still lying upstairs, and you're splitting the money among us?”
He pushed the coins back. “I don't want it.”
Gerak pushed his share back as well.
“I have no use for money right now.”
Elliot spun a gold coin between his fingers before setting it back on the table.
“The guild replaced my staff for free, so I didn't have any expenses on this trip.”
He paused. “If you need to buy alternative ingredients, I can find a way to contact an alchemist.”
Rayne said nothing, simply pushing his share to the center of the table.
Lu Mao weighed his four gold coins, then pushed three of them back, leaving only one in his hand.
“I'll admit that I do need money. I've just arrived in Rhode City, and I don't have a single copper to my name.”
“However, give me a few days. I might be able to find a way to cure Liz.”
Without looking up, Misha gathered the gold coins back into a pile.
“...Yeah, thank you.”
Her lips twitched in what could barely be called a smile. She took Lu Mao's words as mere consolation—what kind of connections could a newcomer possibly have?
She tied the coin pouch shut, picked up her staff, turned around, and went upstairs.
Rate on N.U.
