CHAPTER 23: QUEST

As Nolan returned to the inn through his room window, he walked slowly to his bed, glanced at Celia and Linda, then carefully climbed in, settling in the middle, and closed his eyes.

A few moments later, Celia and Linda woke up. It was already morning. They looked at Nolan and noticed his eyes were still open—he hadn’t slept. Dark circles framed his eyes.

"Did you have a good sleep last night?" Celia asked.

"Yes, I did," Nolan replied.

"I did too," Linda said.

They got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning, Mira," Nolan said with a smile.

"Good morning," she replied.

Celia and Linda greeted her as well. Mira moved closer to Nolan and asked softly, "Did you have fun last night?"

"So that was a plan all along. Well, didn’t work," Nolan said.

Mira frowned. "That just means you’re not man enough. A real man wouldn’t be able to resist these two beautiful ladies," she said.

Celia and Linda exchanged confused glances, not understanding what she meant.

"Well, whatever. Just get us something to eat. I want to try the omelette I saw on your menu," Nolan said.

Mira turned to Linda and Celia. "What are you two going to eat?"

"Whatever Master is eating," they said together.

Mira smiled and left to prepare the meal. A few moments later, she returned with three plates of omelette rice.

Nolan picked up his spoon and studied the dish. "I wonder how this is going to taste," he said, then slowly took a bite. He paused, savoring it.

Linda and Celia ate their portions normally. Nolan glanced at Mira.

"How was this created? Who was the first person to make it?" he asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Mira replied.

"Yes. This tastes exactly like the omelette in my world—no difference at all. They must use the same ingredients. I don’t understand how," Nolan said, nodding toward Mira.

"The first person ever summoned to this world was meant to fight the Demon Lord at a specific time," Mira explained. "Even if he couldn’t defeat the Demon Lord, he helped our civilization evolve. He introduced bicycles, tea, glass, books, writing, cooking techniques, food ingredients, and even electricity. He taught us everything. He could have taught us more, but he was killed by the Demon Lord."

Nolan paused, processing her words. "So that explains it. No wonder things from my world exist here exactly the same."

"Thank you," Nolan said. "Well, you can leave now."

"You haven’t paid me for staying at the inn," Mira said.

"Oh, I forgot. How much?" Nolan asked.

"Four silver," she replied.

Nolan reached into his pouch and handed her a gold coin.

"What? A gold coin? We don’t have change!" Mira exclaimed, shocked.

"Well, keep it," Nolan said, continuing to eat.

"Well, thanks," Mira said.

"Is one gold coin really a lot of money?" Nolan asked.

"Well, no. It’s not a lot, but it can cover your expenses to live here for three days," Mira explained.

"They don’t walk the way," Nolan thought. "That means I spent a lot on their clothes... Well, it doesn’t matter."

Once they finished eating, they stood up and left the inn, heading toward the Adventurer’s Guild.

As they reached the guild, they saw Ella, the receptionist, standing by the gate.

"Good morning," Ella said with a smile.

"Yes, we’ve come looking for a job," Nolan replied.

"What type of job or quest would you like? You’re currently rank E," Ella asked. She glanced at the signboard. "Let me check... Jobs available for rank E."

Ella walked over to the signboard and quickly returned. "You can go pick 20 medicinal herbs in the forest," she said.

"Okay, that’s fine," Nolan replied.

"But the pay isn’t much," Ella added.

"You are rank E. That’s where you have to start," she continued, leaning slightly closer and lowering her voice. "But I could give you rank C or D quests, special ones... because you’re exceptional. Don’t worry, no one will know."

"What type of quest?" Nolan asked.

"Defeat a golem. Once you defeat it, bring the core to us," Ella explained, handing him a piece of paper.

Nolan glanced at the paper, read the details, and nodded. "Fine, I accept. How much is the pay?"

"These aren’t ordinary golems," Ella said, her eyes sparkling. "They’re King Golems. Each one you defeat earns 100,000 gold coins."

"That’s a lot of money," Nolan thought. "Since I came to this world, I’ve never been short of money... but this is really good. Really good pay."

"Deal," Nolan said aloud.

Ella smiled and gave him directions. "The quest location is outside the village of Sindra. Follow the path and you’ll reach the forest where the golem resides."

"Okay, so I’m going to take my leave then," Nolan said as he turned to walk away.

"Wait," Ella called after him.

Nolan glanced back.

"Please, forget what happened yesterday... about Garrick trying to fight you. He doesn’t know you’re exceptional—that’s just the way he is," Ella explained.

"Well, is that how you treat rookies?" Nolan asked.

"Yes, but please... go easy on him if you decide to fight him or if he crosses the line," Ella added, "it was said that last night you were found sleeping on the road. No one really knows what happened."

"I don’t really want to fight anyone," Nolan said, turning back around. He continued walking, Celia and Linda following closely by his side.

Nolan stepped out of the Adventurer’s Guild. Suddenly, someone came running toward him, sword drawn. He glanced ahead and saw it was Garrick and Peter. He looked at them briefly, then acted as if he hadn’t noticed and continued walking.

"Hey! Try ignoring me again!" Garrick shouted. "I came to deal with you last night, and suddenly I woke up on the street. Did you have something to do with that?"

"What makes you think a rank E like me is capable of anything? And how would I even know about your moves?" Nolan replied coolly.

"You’re right," Garrick said, "but that doesn’t change the fact that you embarrassed me by talking back yesterday!" He clenched his fists and shouted, "I challenge you to a duel!"