Chapter 171: Chapter 159: The Return Journey

When Roland returned to the inn, Galvis, who had gone to "repair" the carriage wheel, had just gotten back as well.

At that moment, the Minstrel was frantically explaining something to Avril, a look of utter embarrassment on his face.

Seeing Roland, Galvis scrambled behind him as if clutching a lifeline and pleaded in a hushed voice.

"Roland, I know I was wrong! I’ll never exaggerate our adventures again... So..."

He peeked at the Short Bow clutched in the Elf Maiden’s hand and the playful glint in her eyes, and couldn’t help but shudder.

"This business about Avril training me... can we just... drop it?"

"Heh heh..."

Seeing the Minstrel’s mouse-caught-by-a-cat expression, Roland couldn’t help but chuckle before clapping his hands.

"Alright, Avril, stop scaring Galvis. Go get Teresa. We need to discuss whether we’re going to get certified by the Adventurer’s Guild."

At Roland’s words, Avril finally dropped her teasing expression.

A short while later, the four of them were gathered in the room.

Just as the Elf Maiden had predicted, Galvis had no objections to the proposal of becoming an A Level Adventurer Group. He was so thrilled that he immediately began to strum his instrument, launching into a stirring melody.

Paired with his exaggerated lyrics, anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were heroes who had saved the world, on their way to receive the adoration of thousands.

"That’s enough, Galvis..."

Roland interrupted his impromptu performance, rubbing his throbbing temples.

"Since no one has any objections, Teresa, Avril, you’ll come with me to the Adventurer’s Guild tomorrow to see what else the certification requires. As for you, Galvis..."

He looked at the Minstrel, who still seemed to be itching for more, and clapped him firmly on the shoulder.

"Get all the supplies we need for the journey ready by tomorrow morning. If everything goes smoothly, we’ll set off for the Royal Capital at noon."

After giving a few more instructions, the group went downstairs to the main hall.

To celebrate this leg of their adventure coming to a close, they splurged on a large, sumptuous feast.

As Roland savored the delicious food and sipped the fragrant wine, with Galvis’s moving songs echoing in his ears, the tension that had built up over the past several days finally began to melt away.

After eating and drinking their fill, they all returned to their respective rooms to rest.

After quickly washing up, Roland lay down on the soft bed.

Gazing at the bright moonlight outside the window, he gradually drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the group split up as planned.

Roland, accompanied by Teresa and Avril, made his way to the Adventurer’s Guild, navigating a constant barrage of admiring gazes and rising cheers from the passersby.

However, they didn’t run into the mysterious woman, Lilith, today.

The governor of the Adventurer’s Guild for the River Domain had apparently anticipated that Roland’s group would accept the certification, and had thus left town the previous night.

The entire certification process was instead handled by Laurie, a receptionist with a delicate and pretty face.

The process went more smoothly than expected. In less than half a day, Roland’s party of four was officially promoted from a regular adventurer group to an A Level Adventurer Group certified by the Adventurer’s Guild.

"This badge is so cool!"

Walking out of the guild’s main gate, Avril held the A Level Adventurer Group badge Laurie had just given them up to the sunlight, examining it closely with a curious glint in her eyes.

"Roland, do you know what this is made of? It looks like gold, but the texture... it feels a little different..."

Hearing her question, Roland also began to examine the badge in his hand.

Its main body was a finely forged, shield-shaped emblem of a dark gold color, its edges adorned with an embossed pattern of intertwined thorns and roses.

Set in the center of the shield face was a crystal "A," which refracted light with a starlike blue halo.

Turning it over revealed a small guild motto engraved on the back.

Courage and wisdom walk hand in hand.

"It’s refined gold."

Thanks to the knowledge imparted by Hawke, the old Blacksmith, Roland identified the badge’s material almost instantly. But the discovery sent a secret shock through him.

Refined gold, a metal as famous as Mithril, was also one of the rarest on the continent.

Its hardness was enough to shatter ordinary metal and rock with ease, and weapons forged from it were rumored to be able to pierce any defense.

But unlike Mithril, which could be found in fixed locations, there was still no known pattern to the distribution of refined gold veins.

Thus, finding its deposits required enormous amounts of manpower and resources, and even when a lode was successfully prospected, the yield was often pitifully small.

Based on the knowledge Hawke had passed down, this small, exquisite badge in his hand alone had probably consumed more than half the output of an entire refined gold deposit.

This was enough to offer a glimpse into the astonishing financial might of the Adventurer’s Guild.

’More importantly, as far as I know, only the Dwarf Race currently possesses the techniques to forge refined gold.’

’To get that bunch of Dwarves—who value rare metals more than their own lives and are more stubborn than mountain rock—to use refined gold to craft a badge with no practical combat value...’

’The relationship between the Adventurer’s Guild and the Dwarf Race must be incredibly close.’

"Refined gold?"

Hearing Roland’s assessment, Teresa and Avril both exclaimed in unison.

Although Teresa wasn’t as worldly as Galvis, she had also heard of this rare metal, thanks to the knowledge bestowed upon her by the God of Truth.

And as for Avril, that went without saying.

The Elf Race had a brief "honeymoon period" with the Dwarf Race before the Era of the End, so their historical texts were sure to contain detailed information about refined gold.

"How... extravagant..."

Now knowing the badge’s material, the Elf Maiden toyed with it with great interest before suddenly winking playfully.

"Roland, if we’re ever so broke we can’t afford to eat, do you think we could sell this thing to get back on our feet?"

Hearing this, Roland couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.

"Theoretically, yes. But... I hope we never have to use it as a last resort."

Chatting and laughing, the three of them made their way back to the inn.

Galvis, meanwhile, had already prepared all the supplies for their return journey.

After taking the badge, the worldly Minstrel, just like Roland, recognized the material in an instant. His subsequent words, however, made Roland rub his aching brow.

"Roland! This thing is refined gold, right?"

"I remember you’re pretty good at forging. Could you melt this thing down, cast it in the shape of a tulip, and inlay it on my Harp? Right here... I think this spot would be perfect!"

He gestured excitedly at the body of his Harp, while Avril, shockingly, stood to the side, earnestly contributing to the scheme.

Looking at this pair of goofballs, a thought suddenly occurred to Roland.

’Are all the Elves in this world... this eccentric?’

Shaking his head to dismiss the strange thought, he called for everyone to get into the carriage.

With a neigh from the horses, Galvis skillfully drove the carriage toward the city gate.

The Guards let them pass respectfully without so much as an inspection.

Before long, the carriage had vanished over the horizon.