Chapter 30 : The Road Ahead
Dior narrowed his eyes.
“Aren… or should I call you Aspen?”
After hearing him both Aspen and Ryl froze.
“I think you misheard!” Ryl snapped immediately.
“Y-Yes!” Aspen’s voice cracked.
Dior stared at them coldly, “Really? Now am I deaf too?”
“We didn’t say anything!” Ryl hissed.
Aspen hesitated, then exhaled.
“…There’s no point hiding anymore.”
They told him everything.
Dior listened in silence. “…Hmm.”
He nodded.
“So please don’t tell anyone,” Aspen said earnestly.
“Yes! It’s important for him!” Ryl added.
“Understood,” Dior muttered—then slowly he stretched out his hand.
Ryl blinked at his stretched arm. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Payment,” Dior replied flatly.
“For keeping quiet.”
Both of them stared. “P-payment…?”
“There’s a price for everything.”
Aspen sighed. “Fine. What do you want?”
Dior fell silent for a long moment, fingers resting beneath his chin.
Then nodded dead seriously.
Both Ryl and Aspen leaned in for his answer as Dior opened his mouth,
“…I don’t know.”
“......”
Both went silent.
Ryl’s eye twitched.
“HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO PAY YOU IF YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW?!”
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Dior looked up, then back at them,
“I don’t know.”
“You—!”
Ryl raised his fist, but Aspen caught him from behind, clamping both arms around him before he could swing.
“Ryl! Calm down!”
“LET GO! I’LL REARRANGE HIS FACE!”
“Whatever.” Dior turned.
“Just make sure it suits my taste.”
Ryl stomped the ground furiously while Aspen watched Dior walk away.
_ _ _
“So… are you heading to the capital?” Ryl asked later.
“Yes,” Aspen replied. “I have something to take care of.”
Dior went his own way without explanation.
“And you?” Aspen asked Ryl.
“I don’t really have anything specific to do…” he scratched his cheek.
“So I’ll follow you.”
Aspen nodded. “Fine.”
Together, they headed toward the capital—Ealdoria.
_ _ _
Ealdoria rose before them, it was lively as ever.
“So where are we going?” Ryl asked.
“The merchant guild,” Aspen replied.
“Want to come?”
“Sure.”
Inside the merchant guild, Ryl’s eyes sparkled as he looked around.
“Whoa… Aspen, you didn’t tell me everyone here was this rich and fancy!”
Aspen chuckled.
“I can’t handle this level of royalty,” Ryl said dramatically, shielding his eyes.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“As you wish,” Aspen said, heading to the counter.
“Excuse me,” he told the worker. “There’s an issue with my card.”
“What seems to be the issue, sir?”
“I can’t use it outside the capital. Every place rejects it.”
The worker nodded.
“How many quests have you completed so far?”
“Two,” Aspen replied.
“Herb collection and delivery.”
“I see. Since those were low-risk missions, your rank is still Copper. You’ll need at least Bronze rank to trade in other regions.”
“Bronze…” Aspen murmured.
“To rank up faster,” the worker said, handing him a paper, “I recommend this quest.”
Aspen read it. “…Snowdrop Flower?”
“Yes. It grows only in the cold dungeons of our northern neighboring country.”
Aspen paled. “Dungeons…? And overseas?”
“That’s the fastest way,” the worker said apologetically.
“Otherwise, you can continue accepting quests only from the capital guild, but it may take a very long time to advance.”
Aspen sighed.
“It’s important to me… I can’t stay in the capital forever... So I suppose there’s no other choice.”
Then he straightened, “Alright. I accept this quest.”
The worker stamped the quest and handed it to him.
Outside, Aspen read again.
“Let's see… Nivell? It is a small island-like country and the dungeon name is… Rimecrypt.”
Pausing mid-step, he swallowed hard, “…That sounds terrifying.”
After reading the quest he looked around, “Not again… can't he stay still for sometime?”
“ASPEN!”
Moments later, Ryl returned—pockets bulging, arms full of snacks.
Aspen stared at him like he was an alien.
“…Seriously, Ryl? Why are you wasting money?! And can you eat them all?!”
“I can!” Ryl said defensively.
“But—”
“Forget that!” He interrupted. “Did your work finish?”
Aspen sighed. “Yes. And I’ve to go overseas.”
“WHAT?!”
After explaining everything.
“So… will you come with me?” Aspen asked.
“No.” Ryl turned away. “Absolutely not.”
“Why?”
“Why?!” Ryl spun back dramatically, candy spilling from his pockets.
“Are you insane?! That dungeon is a death invitation! I’ve heard it’s full of high-rank beasts!”
“Then I’ll go alone,” Aspen said calmly.
“You can’t—”
THUD!
Ryl was suddenly kicked from behind and sent flying.
“Ryl!” Aspen rushed forward.
Ryl groaned sitting upright and opened his eyes—only to see Ellie standing there flaring.
He leapt up yelling, “You lunatic girl!!”
Ellie threw punch after punch. Ryl dodged some, took others, and struck back when he could.
Aspen panicked, waving his hands wildly as he tried to get between them.
“You two—stop it!”
“How DARE you mislead me?!” Ellie shouted.
“How did I mislead you?!” Ryl snapped, narrowly dodging a punch.
“Don’t play innocent!”
“I’m not!”
“STOP IT!!” Aspen yelled, finally losing his patience. “Why are you fighting like this?!”
Ellie straightened, brushed the dust off her clothes, then marched over and wrapped Aspen in a tight hug.
“Aspennn!! I missed you!!”
“I—Ellie-I—cant—breathe!!”
She released him, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry!”
“So… why are you angry?” Aspen asked, catching for breath.
“…And did you call me Aspen!?”
“Yes!” She cheered up.
“How did you know?!”
“That’s a long story…” She tilted her head. “But I’ll keep it short.”
She pointed sharply at Ryl, who was still sitting on the ground.
“It started when this idiot said we should split up and do our missions separately instead of working as a group.”
Ryl looked away, deliberately avoiding her gaze, playing with his fingers.
“And then,” she continued, “he said I could even impress you if I managed to kill the beasts on my own. So I agreed and left for my mission.”
She paused.
“Later, I started wondering how you were doing, so I sent Squall. It reported everything it saw.”
Then her expression darkened slightly.
“That’s when I learned Aren wasn’t your real name. I was furious at first—but after hearing the whole story, I realized I was wrong to get angry.”
“How is this my fault?!” Ryl snapped.
“I only said that because we will be slowing down because of you!”
“And who said that?!” Ellie shot back.
“No one had to!” Ryl yelled. “It was obvious! We even lost during the test because of you!”
“That was entirely because of you!”
Aspen tilted his head back and stared at the sky, letting out a tired sigh.
“Not again…”
_ _ _
Aspen’s secret was finally out among his teammates.
And ahead of him lay a long journey and a dangerous quest yet to be completed.
Will he succeed?
The answer awaits in the coming chapters.
*****
Chapter 30.5: Seeds of the Journey (Arc 1 completed)
