That sounded ominous, but with the way Vince was smiling, Sara figured he was probably fine.
“Yeah, he said something about how the kid had average potential as a Hunter, but it was cute how hard he was working. Then, ‘I’ll train him up since he’s here in Rosa.’” Vince’s half-smile turned to full laughter.
“Is the guildmaster at the guildhall right now?”
“Nah.” Vince shook his head, stifling his laughter. “He’s taken some veteran Hunters to keep a lookout at the entrance to the Dark Mountain. That Kuntz kid is with them.”
Sara remembered the hellhounds showing up in town in Hydrangea. “Is the entrance to the Dark Mountain weakened right now?”
“It’s nice talking to you, Sara—you catch on quick. Steel armadillos and mountain wolves have been popping out every so often. The Dark Mountain’s a fair distance from Rosa, so no one’s gotten hurt yet, but we can’t fight the continental tortoise even if we’ve got Hunters here, so we’re having ’em keep watch over there.”
“Kuntz said he couldn’t beat hellhounds on his own yet... I hope he’s okay...” Sara couldn’t help stretching up and looking out toward the eastern meadow. She wondered if it was still full of horned rabbits.
“It’s normal for a caster to not be able to take out a hellhound on his own. You guys expect way too much of people.”
He could be exasperated with her all he liked, but Sara had been raised by Nelly, so she didn’t know what was normal and what wasn’t. Still, Vince had picked up on her anxiety.
“The eastern meadow is still full of horned rabbits, but thanks to Ted, we finally got the road over there fixed up. No one’ll get hurt running errands out there anymore.”
That reminded Sara of the incident with Allen and the knights, but that had been Ted’s fault in the first place. She was surprised to hear that it was thanks to him that the road had finally been fixed.
“Thanks to Ted?”
Vince shrugged. “Surprising, right? I guess he did some reflecting after his trip with you. He’s still got a bad attitude, but ever since he came back last year, he’s been doing some pretty decent stuff, helping out the mayor.”
“Helping the mayor. He’s not working as an apothecary?” It was unexpected news to Sara, who had thought that Ted wanted to prioritize his work as an apothecary over everything else whether or not he was the mayor’s son.
“He’s doing both. The guildmaster of the Apothecary’s Guild right now was the vice guildmaster when you were here.”
He had seemed more reasonable the last time they’d met in the capital. Though his attitude was also as bad as always just like Vince had said.
“Even the mayor spoils his kid, after all. We could tell him he needed to do stuff over and over again and he’d drag his feet, but as soon as Ted said something, he’d give permission right away. Then when it was done, he bragged to everyone about what his son was accomplishing. I’ve got my complaints about it, but the results are all that matters, really.”
As always, Vince was a practical guy. As long as the stuff that needed doing got done, he didn’t care who got the credit for it.
“I’m glad the road got fixed too, no matter how it happened. By the way...” Sara decided to ask what she’d been wondering about for some time now. “Isn’t the area where we used to stay out in our tents, and the food stands and everything out here, in danger?”
“Oh.” Vince waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve asked them to leave. We announced they were to evacuate to the northwest side of town, but they’re all determined to make money while the walls are being built, so they’re sticking around until the last possible minute.”
Merchants were tough.
“The northwest...” That was the exact opposite side of town from where she and Allen had stayed, so she’d never even gone there to gather plants.
“The protection field around the town won’t do jack if the continental tortoise destroys the Third Wall—or worse, the Second. We set up some areas with protection fields around them on the northwestern side of town. People who do business or live in tents outside of town aren’t officially recognized by the town, so the Hunter’s Guild took care of all of that. The stands are only out here selling stuff ’cause of the dungeons, after all.”
But the town is profiting off of them, Sara almost said in response.
“Now, Sara.” Vince smirked for some reason. “That mayor’s got a standing invitation for Invited to stay at his house. What do you want to do?”
“Eep!” Sara flinched.
“What do you mean, ‘eep’? Have you only grown on the outside? You still want to avoid trouble as much as possible, I see.” Vince’s smirk changed to full-on laughter.
Ignoring the rude man, Sara turned to Bradley for help. “Bradley!”
“Oh, I’ve been staying there myself and have had some pleasant conversations with the mayor Conrad and his son Theodore.”
“No way. Pleasant conversations with Ted?”
Sara was almost dizzy trying to picture having a pleasant conversation with the always rude, sour-faced Ted. More than Ted himself, however, Sara was having trouble picturing living in the same house as the mother and father who had raised Ted. But anyway, if Bradley wasn’t going to be any help, then she’d just have to take a stand for herself.
“The guild inn is fine with me. I couldn’t possibly stay at the mayor’s house.”
“Yeah, I figured. Not sure the mayor will allow that, though. He probably doesn’t want anyone talking about how he wasn’t a good host to one of the Invited. At least stay in a fancy inn.”