The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 5 - Meet the Guild Master

The silence in that room was overwhelming. The woman slowly placed her sword in her sheath. "You know, coming here and knocking out three Adventurers from another City and demolishing the hand of one of them could get you a lot of grudges from the Adventurers in here."

Ronald looked around with a serious face. "What? From all these cowards that looked away while a woman had a dagger against her throat, pretending to not see anything? Why are you all looking at me? Did I say any lies? None of you moved a finger to help her! None! And you call yourselves Adventurers? You should all be ashamed…"

The same angry looks that had been directed at him were now directed away or at the glass in front of them.

Ronald gave a serious look to the woman who helped him. "I came to this Guild looking for a job, but if all these guys around me are an example of the calibre of this Guild, it's better if I go to another one."

He then turned to face the young receptionist. "I truly apologise for all the violence I committed in front of you. If you lend me a piece of cloth and some water, I will quickly clean up the blood on the floor. It's not fair if my actions give you more work than you already have."

The receptionist quickly waved her hands with a shine in her eyes and a big smile. "No, by all means! It's the least I can do, clean up after you so boldly helped me! I didn't know what to do. Maybe I caused all this because I didn't properly explain my concerns!"

Ronald slowly shook his head. "No, it was their fault for disrespecting you. Thank you for your understanding. I shall take my leave then. I will continue my journey and go to another Guild."

From the corner of the front desk, they heard a strong male voice saying, "Nonsense! After giving such appropriate treatment to those rude men? I am not going to let you go without convincing you to join this Guild! I was a little too slow to arrive on time. I rushed from my back office at the sound of your first blow, but you were too fast, and it all ended before I could intervene. Mister Feebles, where did you find this guy? Come on, let's all talk in my office! And to the cowards that didn't budge to help my daughter Mira, I will remember this!"

Everyone in the room became restless. They all knew far too well what a warning like that from the Guild Master meant. They would have a lot of trouble for him to forgive them.

The woman with the ponytail raised her hand. "Guild Master, do you mind if I join you? I am a little curious about our visitor."

"I don't see any problem with that. And you, young man?"

Ronald shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see any problem either. I would also be very honoured if such a beautiful and strong woman accompanied us."

The woman laughed. "Ahahahah! Yes, you should be very honoured because I will grant you my presence!"

The Guild Master looked at Woof, who had a rope tied to the scarf around his neck, with the other end of the rope strongly held by Ronald. "This wolf is tamed? I would prefer it if he stayed tied outside in the street. Having a wild animal here is not a good idea."

"I am sorry, but that was the agreement I made with the Gate Guard for him to be allowed entry into this City. He can't leave my side. Outside, someone can get into a problem if they annoy him. I can reassure you he will behave properly while near me. All alone, I can't promise anything. He may try to kill everyone here if I let him loose."

The Guild Master pointed with his hand at the back of the front desk, and he then looked around at the Adventurers at the tables. "Okay, let's go then. I want to hear more about him. And you as well. And you guys, take those three from my floor and throw them in the back of the building with the rest of the trash!"

Feebles, Ronald, Woof, and the woman followed the Guild Master to a room on the back of the counter while a group of Adventurers rushed to obey his orders.

After closing the door behind him, Ronald took a look around while sitting on a chair the Guild Master pointed at. Some shelves with books, a table full of papers with a Status Sphere in the middle, and a lot of flasks in a corner on top of a small table with a light blue liquid inside.

Ronald was looking at those flasks. They had the same colour as the leaves that he picked up in the forest, the ones that Riattus told him could be prepared to make Healing Potions.

The Guild Master noticed where he was looking. "Right upon entering, evaluating the space, the exits, and the most valuable possessions... You intrigue me, young man."

Ronald turned to face the Guild Master. "I am sorry. It was rude of me. I was curious, and those flasks had the same colours as some plants I saw recently."

"Yes, those are Healing Potions made from the rare Blue Brittlebush leaves. Very rare and extremely valuable."

Ronald made a slight smile. "Really? How much does a handful of those leaves cost? "

"Well, considering that all those flasks were made from only three leaves and they cost one silver coin each, a handful would be a huge amount."

Ronald slowly nodded his head. "I see… Well, I have a bunch of those leaves with me that I am more than willing to sell…"

The Guild Master made a suspicious smile while caressing his chin. The woman at Ronald's left side changed the position of her chair to more easily face Ronald, while the Guild Master said, "Oh, that is interesting, very interesting indeed…"

Slowly, Ronald let go of Woof's rope. "Woof, attention! Now, before any of you try to kill me, I must warn you that Woof is very fast and obedient, and if any of you try anything against me to relieve me of my cargo, you will not leave this room alive."

The sudden change in the mood alarmed the Guild Master, and he frowned. "I don't know what you had to face while you were travelling to get here to make you so suspicious towards other people, but you are among friends. No harm will come to you. You have my word!"

Ronald grabbed the rope again. "Woof, stay! Your word means nothing to me. I don't know you. I was warned by a very wise old man that things around here are not as peaceful as in my home village. You must forgive me for being so careful. I do not intend to die anytime soon, especially from a sudden attack by another Human. And your body language was too suspicious for my taste, while this woman was getting ready to jump on me."

The Guild Master strongly shook his head. "No, I was only thinking about your words and how much profit I would gain if I had enough money to buy your leaves!"

And the woman continued while waving her hands. "I was just surprised by what you said! Since you entered this Guild, it has been one surprise after another."

Ronald stopped to think for a moment, and he then continued. "Okay… Well, I came here in search of a job. I was told that a Party of Adventurers could need someone like me to be a Carrier or a Cook. And if I got a fair offer for those Blue Brittlebush leaves, it would also help me with filling my purse."

The woman looked at him while frowning. "You seek a job as a Carrier? An Adventurer like you?"

Ronald nodded and asked the Guild Master. "I suppose it is expected that I have my stats measured, correct?"

"Yes, of course. If you could be so kind to place your hand over this Status Sphere, it would help me figure out where you could be used."

Ronald put his hand over the Sphere and what they all saw in there made their jaws drop.

Race - Human

Name - Ronald O'Sullivan

Age - 25

Job - Farmer

LV - 14

ATK - 2.130

HP - 1.420

Skills - none

Hp Armor - 0

ATK Weapon - 0

Equip Intelligence - 0

Equip Wisdom - 0

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 110

Quickness - 100

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 200

Wisdom - 200

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 200

Mana - 200

XP - 0

The woman was the first to speak. "No way… a common Farmer… Stronger than any Knight I have ever met… How did you manage this?"

Ronald answered with his cover story that he practised with Riattus, about him being a Farmer from the far East of the Kingdom of Terbik, where hordes of Goblins were so common and were also the reason why his wife and daughter died and made him go on a rampage, killing every Goblin around in a guerrilla tactic of killing one and hiding, waiting for the next one.

Like that, he managed to get a hold of many Mana Orbs that, upon advice from a Priest of his village, made him place his Points on the Physical Attributes so that he could kill more Goblins.

After some years and because the memories were haunting him, he left his village and travelled to get there because he was told that it was a peaceful Kingdom.

The Guild Master was still looking at Ronald's Stats. "A Farmer… A very strong one, but still a Farmer… Didn't you ever try to change jobs?"

"No, I didn't even know I could do that. But being a Farmer never bothered me, so I won't mind keeping it. Who knows, maybe one day I will decide to settle on a small piece of land again, but for the time being, I need another kind of job. One that can give me money to start over while allowing me to forget my past life."

The Guild Master looked at the woman. She was in silence and staring at the Sphere. "What do you say, Duza? You are always complaining you could have someone to carry all your stuff, right? And your Party could use another member because after what happened with the last one, you never accepted anyone I recommended to you."

Ronald frowned. "He died?"

Duza slowly shook his head. "Not immediately. I had him bleed for several hours before I let him die. He had the nerve to try to r**e me when I was in bed recovering from a mission that went terribly wrong. The other members of my Party stopped him in time when they arrived to check on me. When I recovered, I sliced his male friend and watched him bleed to death. That's why I am so curious about you; what you did to that guy that threatened Mira impressed me in a good way."

Ronald made a frown. "Yeah, I always hated violence towards women. Even if the woman is strong and seems quite able to take care of herself, something pops inside of me when I see situations like that one. But you didn't say your name. It doesn't seem fair, considering you already know mine because of the Sphere."

"Fair enough. I am Duza Sonanji, and that big Guild Master over there is Haje Sonanji. You already met my sister, Mira Sonanji."

Ronald covered his face with both hands. "Great… A family business… I guess I won't have any luck in finding a job here, so, if we could just take care of the sale of my leaves, I shall go away."

The Guild Master shook both hands. "Nonsense! After what you did to help my younger daughter and after I found out how strong you are? There is no way that I won't try to convince you to stay with us! I bet you are going to get even stronger. You will be an excellent asset to my Guild!"

Ronald went silent and answered in a low voice. He was mostly speaking to Riattus, who was also in the room, but everyone heard him. "Great… I came here trying to find a peaceful place to live, and I already found people trying to take advantage of my goodwill. I am either too stupid or too kind for this…"

Riattus spoke from a corner, and only Ronald could hear him. "Don't worry, I think you can trust these people. We just need to be careful with them not finding out about you."

Haje, the Guild Master, tried to reassure Ronald, "I would never try to take advantage of you! But I would like to invite you to join Duza's Party. Judging by what you did in there, I could bet she would be a lot safer with you around. Not that I don't believe she can't protect herself, far from that, because I made sure to train her since she could walk, but I would be happier if she had you nearby."

Ronald looked at Duza, who was frowning. "And what makes you think I am reliable? I can easily be a crazy guy, pretending to be a good one, only to attack her on my first try."

"Well, you had to pass through her companions first. And then, defeat her. I assure you, it's not an easy task. Why do you think the other one tried his luck when she couldn't stop him when she was almost dying from her injuries? But there's something about you. Maybe that look on your face that I saw when you were crushing that bastard's hand, or it's just a feeling I have."

When Duza spoke, she seemed annoyed. "I never said I wanted him in my Party. I was just curious. Besides, even if I said I wanted him, he still has to get approval from the others."

Ronald smiled. "Do you mean those guys that were with you at that table? That serious Human, the Half-Breed Dwarf, and the Elfian?"

"No way… How could you tell? I found out about Ovaidel's heritage almost a year after we started travelling together! No one besides my father knows that, not even my sister! And Ini always has above his head that big hood of his, to hide his ears and looks!"

Ronald shrugged his shoulders. "I used to have two friends who were a Half-Breed Dwarf and an Elfian. I can recognise one of them when I see it."

Feebles spoke for the first time since the commotion started in the other room, "I knew it, you are not our average Farmer. I was suspicious when I saw you coming out of the forest with that wolf, but your smile and polite manner fooled me. You looked like a different person in there! It was a little frightening, seeing you change like that."

Ronald strongly shook his hands. "I am really sorry. It was never my intention to scare you, Mister Feebles! I may have overreacted in that situation. I need to be more careful from now on. Besides, aren't we forgetting anything? I thought we had a transaction to take care of…"

The Guild Master crossed his fingers on top of his desk. "Indeed… I would like to see those leaves first, of course."

Ronald nodded while opening his one-shoulder bag and saying the name of the leaves to the inside, in a very low voice, "Of course… 'Blue Brittlebush leaves!'… Here it is. Let me just open this cloth. I may have more, but for now, we can trade these."

When Ronald opened the carefully wrapped package, a bunch of the best quality leaves of Blue Brittlebush that they ever saw were on top of the white cloth on that table.

The Guild Master gasped for a moment; Feebles had his mouth wide open and Duza was trembling.

Haje Sonanji was the first to speak, after starting to breathe again, "These are the best Blue Brittlebush leaves I ever saw in my entire life… Where did you find these?"

"Come on, are you really asking that? What is important is a fair price for these, so that I can go meet Miss Duza's Party and see if they allow me to join them. You said that three leaves could make all those flasks, and each of them is sold at one silver coin. I suppose there are ten or twelve flasks in there, so I guess each leaf costs almost four silver coins. And these ones are top grade, so it could be a little more, like five or six silver coins. So, I have here… 43 leaves and 20 silver coins total. Considering the work to boil the leaves, which must be at an accurate temperature of 115 degrees for thirty minutes, pouring the mixture into flasks, the price of some pretty flasks, and the top-grade quality of the leaves, you are looking at a pretty good profit, if you have 18 silver coins. These would be able to make high-grade Healing Potions, that can go as high as two silver coins for one flask."

The Guild Master raised one eyebrow. "You… are really willing to sell me all these for 18 silver coins?"

"Yes. Even if I don't stay here, that's the price. I think it's very cheap, considering you can sell the flasks for more money than those over there."

"You are completely right… But I don't have that much money right now. Maybe next week, if all the jobs from last week are completed. I can pay 15 silver coins right now."

Ronald wrapped the leaves and delivered the package to Haje Sonanji. "I will trust you on this. I know someone that would make a fuss because I trusted something so expensive to someone I just met, but I guess I will take that risk."

Haje opened the lower drawer of his desk, and from there, he took a small money purse that he opened.

He took 15 silver coins that he handed over to Ronald with a smile. "Thank you for this. I will have more silver coins by the middle of next week, for sure. I don't know how many, so I hope you wait for it."

"I think I can. Even if I don't find a job here, I will use my free time to learn a little more about this Kingdom, so that I can decide if I will remain here or go to another country."

Haje smiled and asked Duza, "What do you say? Have you decided?"

Duza got up and looked at Ronald. "Come, Mister Ronald O'Sullivan. Let's see what the others say about you. I am still intrigued, and I guess it would be interesting to have you around. I am also a little tired of the quality of Ovaidel dishes every time we go on a job."

Ronald frowned. "Okay… I guess… Mister Feebles, thanks for your help. Can we meet again tomorrow? I would like to have lunch with you to speak a little more if you could grant me that honour."

"By all means, Mister Ronald, of course."

Ronald followed Duza, with Woof next to him, still firmly tied to the rope. Upon his exit, Haje began to open the cloth with the Blue leaves. "Mister Feebles, from where do you know him?"

"I just met him this afternoon. I saw him coming out of the forest and walking alongside the road with that huge wolf happily at his side. After travelling with him and having dinner, I realised I was comfortable near him. I wasn't suspicious, afraid, or felt I was in any kind of danger. He seemed… real? Or maybe that's not the best word… Like if he was truly kind and not pretending to be one to fool me, you understand?"

"Yes, I got the same feeling… Weird, right?"