The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 13 - Ronald’s Patrol Quest – part 1

Ronald nodded. After placing the Points, his status appeared again.

Race – Human

Name – Ronald O’Sullivan

Age – 25

Job – World Traveller

LV – 100

ATK – 15.060

HP – 10.040

Skills – none

Physical Attributes:

Strength – 110

Quickness – 100

Body – 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence – 1.100

Wisdom – 1.100

Special Attributes:

Willpower – 1.100

Mana – 1.100

XP (x2) – 0

Riattus smiled and said, “Looking better…”

Ronald placed the Sphere inside the bag, called Woof and tied the rope to his scarves. They went through the narrow passage to enter the Inn from the front door. He could try knocking on the back door, but it would be too suspicious for the servants if he did that.

As soon as he entered the dining room, Mister Feebles signaled him from a table in the corner. As usual, a lot of looks followed him and Woof, but he pretended not to notice.

When he seated, Feebles called a servant. “You came right in time, Mister Ronald. I have a very good bottle of wine for you to try out. It’s one of my newest products, and it’s also an immense success.”

“I normally don’t drink wine before a meal, but if it’s one of yours, it would honour me to try it.”

“Oh, this one is not to drink before a meal. I just want you to try it first to see if you like having it for dinner.”

The servant poured the red wine into their glasses. Feebles waited for Ronald’s reaction, and he was surprised to see him sniffing the wine after taking a moment to look at his colour.

He was even more surprised at seeing him take a small sip to slowly taste it before swallowing. “You seem very knowledgeable about wines…”

“Yes, I had a friend who liked wine a little too much, and he taught me how to really appreciate it. He even tried to convince me once to start a winery. But I knew it was only because he wanted to have wine for free.”

“Ahahaha! Funny friend! But… you said had… What happened?”

“Nothing drastic; he just got married and moved some time ago. I came here, so I kind of lost track of him. I hope he is well. He must be, or his wife would kill him!”

Feebles smiled and drank some more. “This wine is something else. I took the liberty of ordering some beefsteaks for us. I hope you like it. It’s perfect for this type of wine.”

“Indeed… Here is a thought. Do you have ten bottles for sale? I would like to buy some for my travel. I think my companions would love to drink it when I cooked some meat to accompany this.”

“Yes, I do. I can sell it to you at a very good price.”

“That would be just perfect. I bet Mister Ovaidel will appreciate this wine; he seems to like to drink, based on what I saw at the Guild.”

Feebles nodded and leaned back a little to give space for the servant to place the food on the table. When the servant left, he leaned forward again and lowered his voice: “Are you really going on that dangerous voyage tomorrow? It is very long, across many countries, and if you follow Mister Taly to Zakrosia, you can get into a lot of trouble!”

“I know, but I will also have a lot of opportunities to increase my Level. I need to impress the Guild Master if I want him to approve me.”

Feebles stopped his fork midway. “Approve you? Because of what? Of you becoming an Adventurer?”

“No… Me and Duza… I kind of like her, and it seems she is starting to like me. I know she is a good fighter and quite famous around here; I can’t shame her with my low rank, can I?”

“Well, it would be really strange if the well-known Duza Sonanji had as a partner a mere Farmer… Yeah, I understand your reasons. Nevertheless, be careful in your journey, and don’t try to get stronger too fast; people often die because of that. I used to know some that went that path, and it didn’t turn out very well for them and their families.”

Ronald placed more water in Woof’s bowl and made sure he still had enough meat before continuing, “I have already promised Duza, but I will be very careful. I don’t want her to worry about me. By the way, she asked if, after dinner, we would like to have a late drink or some tea at the Guild. She said that her father, the Guild Master, could join us and protect you from those ugly and nasty Adventurers in there!”

“Ahahaha! Yeah, some of them are indeed like that. Some are very friendly, but many of them spook me to death! I won’t mind having tea with Haje Sonanji. It will be funny seeing you and Miss Duza disguise your feelings while he is there.”

Ronald shrugged his shoulders. “Well, he already talked with me about that; he noticed some looks between us and asked what my intentions were. I guess I was able to reassure him about my good intentions, but I am not sure. He is hard to read.”

“Yeah, he is like that; one can never tell what he is thinking or what he is about to say or do. I guess that’s why he is the Guild Master. Maybe he became like that after so many years as an Adventurer. Did you know he was once the most famous Adventurer in this region? Haje Sonanji, ‘The Dreadful’! He had a terrible reputation as a skilled assassin and killer of Monsters. He only settled down when he fell in love with his wife. She was a City Guard here, and she tried to arrest him when they first met. He fought her and escaped her claws for two hours before getting trapped because she cheated by luring him into falling into a few Traps she placed in an alley, where she made him flee. Over the days that he was arrested, they were often seen talking, and she was always laughing because of his stories. Or getting angry because of some of his deeds. Eventually, he was released because his last employer came to his rescue. Haje knew some things that he couldn’t let anyone find out. But Haje didn’t leave this City by then, because of her. He was a wreck when she died, and he only managed to have the strength to continue living because of his daughters.”

“Yeah, I can understand that… Lucky for me, he was able to, because that granted me the opportunity to meet him and his lovely daughters. I must also thank you again for introducing me to him and for giving me a ride to get to this City. I like this City, what annoys me are some people who live here, and I don’t know how a good person can live here, surrounded by so many mischievous people.”

“I guess they had to because it is like this everywhere. In some countries, it is even worse. For example, in Breidan, the people suffer from the huge amount of taxes that go into the army. In Thetria, the religion is so oppressive that everything you do must first be approved by the Church. If one of your neighbours accuses you of actions unworthy or not following God Seya’s Teachings, you can be arrested and tortured to change your ways. In Zakrosia, there are only Monsters and in Argoheria, most people don’t even care about their neighbours. These are some that I know very well, and I was told that it’s similar in other countries. It’s the World that we have, unfortunately.”

Ronald went silent for a moment, thinking. “Not even once, someone tried to change things? Or the people are so used to the ‘status quo’ that they don’t even care?”

“Well, I have read a book about a Mage that lived four hundred years ago who tried to change things, ‘Riattus, The Powerful’. The problem was that he was a tyrant and a violent man, well-known for killing anyone who opposed him or doubted him. A vast army of soldiers and Mages from every country fought him and his allies, killing them all. But in the end, he used a very powerful Magic and wiped out everyone in that huge army. He died also, considering no one ever heard of him again. Who knows how this World could be now if he achieved his goals? But I am fortunate. In my line of work and because I am always travelling, I have many opportunities to meet some amazing people, although some don’t deserve the air they breathe. That’s why I am so worried about your travel; I would like to have more dinners with you in the future.”

“Don’t worry, Mister Feebles. If everything goes according to my plan, I won’t die so soon. I intend to have a lot of children, and for that, I need to survive the voyage to Argoheria.”

Feebles raised his glass. “Here to a future full of children, then!”

Cling!

They drank the last bit of wine, and Feebles followed Ronald to the Guild, for some tea with Haje and Duza.

As soon as they entered, the same thing happened like all the other times that Ronald entered with Woof firmly tied to his rope: everyone went silent for a while.

The talks and the noise resumed, and Ronald saw Duza at a table, signalling for him to join her, Mira, the Guild Master, Ovaidel, Reylom, and Ini.

Ronald and Feebles approached with a smile and some red colour on their cheeks because of the wine they drank. Ronald sat next to Duza and Woof rested the head on Mira’s lap. Mister Feebles went to the empty seat next to the Guild Master and as soon as he was seated, a servant came, carrying some fresh-backed biscuits and tea.

As soon as the servant left, the Guild Master spoke to Ronald while delivering him his Guild Card: “So, Duza told me that you had some trouble in the City. Or better yet, you caused it.”

Ronald took a small sip of tea while reading his brand-new Guild Card. “They caused it; I just reacted accordingly, as any normal person would. It’s not my fault if the people who live in this City don’t deserve the air they breathe.”

The Guild Master was puzzled. “You know we also live in this City, right?”

“Just my point. It’s also your fault if things are like this. A City that has City Guards that can whip to death a mother and two children without being afraid of the consequences and thinking they have all the right to do it is not a City where good people live, for sure. And considering that Adventurers are a higher rank than a Capitan of the Guard, it’s your fault for not making sure such kind of City Guards don’t exist.”

The Guild Master frowned. “If you weren’t a newcomer, I could feel insulted.”

“You can feel insulted because I am in fact insulting you and every Adventurer that works or lives in this City. And I am doing it with all the reasons on my side. You can all just take it in and try to improve yourselves, or when I come back from this journey, I will make sure to open those thick skulls and put some sense into them.”

Ronald’s harsh words dumbfounded everyone. When Duza opened her mouth to try to excuse him, the Guild Master answered with anger in his voice: “You are too bold for a mere Farmer, aren’t you?”

Ronald took another sip of the tea. “I was going to remain like that, but after today, I changed my mind. I will be the strongest Adventurer this World has ever seen so that dear Duza can be proud of me, and I will make sure to clean up this City. I don’t want to settle in a City with so many rotten and evil people, for sure. It would not be safe for my future children.”

Duza turned bright red, Mira was grinning, but the Guild Master was still angry. “You have some great plans, but why do you think you will be able to accomplish that? Others tried it before you to get strong very fast, and they all failed miserably.”

Ronald gave a slight smile. “Those people weren’t me. I am stronger than I look, and up until today, I was thinking of having a simple life. But after hearing that woman and her children screaming their lives out, I can’t do that anymore. Some days ago, I saw, inside the forest in a Goblin Village, one man and a horse being roasted alive, a woman being r***d while being eaten alive, and another woman tied to a pole, watching what was going to happen to her next when they finished. That was bad, but they were Monsters, they were doing what they were meant to do. The City Guards today, despite looking Human, were acting like Goblins. And it surprises you I am upset because Adventurers could prevent those things from happening? I always thought Adventurers would always rush to help the innocent and correct bad deeds, and that doing Quests was only a means to gain some money. But it appears it’s not like that. Adventurers in here seem to be more interested in the money they can gain from Quests than making sure that people who live around them are safe.”

“Or it’s because Adventurers know it’s a futile effort. There are too many people that are rotten, as you say, and many others that just like to watch and not do a thing.”

Ronald took from his belt purse five gold coins and five silver coins, which he placed on top of the table. “In that case, I want to open a Quest. This is the payment.”

The Guild Master looked at the huge amount of money right in front of him with a puzzled look. “What… is your Quest?”

“Anyone who acts with violence against another or causes the death of someone is to be arrested or killed after a fair trial. The deadline for the end of this Quest is eight months from now when I will return. If things are looking better by then, I will give the same amount to the Adventurer’s Party that fulfils this Quest. There is no limit to the number of Parties that attempt to complete the Quest, but the prize will go to the one that actually turns this City around. In eight months, I will pay to that Party the same amount, if and only if things are looking better on my return.”

“But… Will you be able to pay for all that?”

“Yes. But there’s a catch. If when I come back things are looking the same or even worse, I will keep the money and I will do it myself, with the mandatory help of every Adventurer that applied to this Quest.”

The Guild Master frowned. “Wait, a minute… You are saying that if the Quest is not fulfilled or if they fail, they will work for you for free? I don’t think they will like that. Sometimes a Quest is too difficult, and yours seems impossible.”

“I don’t care if they like it or not. I am willing to pay to make this City safer. If honour or money are not good reasons, maybe having me on their back, willing to beat them up if they don’t do what I say, can be one.”

Everyone went silent. Only the noise of Ronald drinking his tea could be heard at that table. Duza was the first to speak: “You know, if you force them to help you, some of them might be resentful and try something against you.”

Ronald took a dagger from his pocket, gripped it with both hands on the hilt and at the sharp point, and pressed. The dagger was squashed into a mess of metal and wood at the hilt. He then started to shape it into a ball and rolled it over the table in Duza’s direction. “Let them try. Until now, you only saw a glimpse of what I can do, dear Duza, but you didn’t see everything. I have a gentle nature, but if needed, I can be everyone’s worst enemy.”

Duza turned white while looking at the ball in front of her. The Guild Master spoke with a trembling voice: “You… Why are you just a Farmer and so willing to work as a Carrier and a Cook in Duza’s Party? With your strength, you could lead your Party!”

“That would be a nuisance. I also don’t know this region or how to act in some situations. No, I prefer to learn and be a secret weapon if we encounter an extremely dangerous situation. But I am still waiting for your response about my Quest.”

The Guild Master nodded. “Very well, the Guild will accept your Quest. Mira, take care of the paperwork, okay? And put this money in the safe.”

Mira was almost getting up when she remembered one thing: “You know, Mister Ronald, strength can’t always help you. There are many Mages in this Guild that can get angry at you if you make them obey you, and those guys don’t need strength to defeat you.”

Ronald took another sip of his tea. “I am perfectly aware of that, Miss Mira. But I think I can manage myself, even if all the Mages in here attack me at the same time. You probably didn’t realize it until now, but even Woof is more powerful than he looks. Or didn’t you notice how easily he chewed Ma Yangfa’s arm, even with his gauntlet in the way?”