Roughly two months had passed since Ralph and Hester had started taking on bronze-level quests.
Now that they’d been completing them again and again without fail, it felt like their combat class affinities were finally starting to bear fruit.
Little by little, word was beginning to spread among the adventurers about them, and because it wasn’t yet public knowledge that we’d formed a party, invitations from clans and other parties started rolling in.
Hester and Ralph might have only been bronze-rank adventurers, but their impeccable quest completion rate had caught people’s attention. Everyone wanted to snatch them up before anyone else caught wind of their budding talent.
My name was on everyone’s lips too, of course. I’d reached the bronze rank before they had, and I’d successfully completed every quest I took by myself, so that was bound to draw some attention to me.
Unfortunately, though, the reputation I’d earned was a little more...niche. Since I’d been exclusively hunting stray cowbirds for these past few months, and I was spotted carrying a full carcass on my back to the butcher every few days, they’d bestowed the nickname “Cowbird Chris” on me. Needless to say, I wasn’t too pleased about that.
What’s more, everyone thought I was kind of suspicious for my habit of leaving town for a week or two at a time when I went to gather poisonous plants.
In any case, even the jacked-up middle aged guys who seemed to wear permanent scowls on their faces made a point of avoiding me whenever they walked by. I couldn’t decide if I was sad or grateful about that, though. Honestly, it was a weird feeling.
Putting aside the rumors about me, though, things were going pretty well. We’d been making good progress saving up money for Ralph’s surgery, and we now only had five more gold coins to earn before we hit our target of five platinums.
I was in Patia Forest when we hit that milestone. I’d been camping out there for about a week, actually.
Ralph and Hester had insisted on earning those last five golds themselves, and I’d happily let them have their way. It was the perfect opportunity to go hole up in the woods for a while.
That being said...after about a week had passed, I couldn’t help but think about them and wonder if they’d managed it yet.
If they had, then there was only one thing to do: head for the capital with Ralph and get that shady healer Vlad to perform the surgery.
I opened the door to our hotel room, feeling excited about the possibility that we might be ready to go—and found Ralph and Hester sitting on the floor seiza-style right in front of the door.
“What’re you doing?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting there waiting for me this whole time?”
Instead of answering me, they exchanged glances and nodded.
“We’ve saved up the last five gold coins, Chris! Thank you for everything you’ve done to make this happen!” Hester said.
“Honestly, I wasn’t that into the idea of forming a party with you at first...but now, I’m really, really glad we did!” Ralph added.
“Where’d that come from, all of a sudden? We haven’t even accomplished anything yet. If you want to thank me, do it after you’ve gone through the surgery. Sheesh... You’re embarrassing me.”
“I know, but I just wanted to show my appreciation. Can you blame me? Not only did you get that grimoire for Hester, but now you’re even helping to pay for my surgery. I’m seriously so grateful for all you’ve done.”
It was weird to hear Ralph express gratitude so earnestly like that. He was acting so unlike his usual self that it just made the whole thing kind of awkward.
“Well, it’s not like I did it all out of the goodness of my heart, you know. I’ve got a lot to gain from helping you two grow stronger. But if you’re really grateful, then forget about saying thanks and just pay back the money,” I said.
“The debt we owe you isn’t one we can repay with money. That’s why we’re expressing our gratitude in words,” Hester replied. “At the rate we’re going now, I’m sure we’ll be able to save up five platinums and pay you back one day...but if it hadn’t been for you, that possibility would have never been in the question to begin with.”
“Yeah, exactly what she said. You can go from one to a hundred, but it’s a whole lot harder to go from zero to a hundred. We know that firsthand. That’s why we want to make sure we tell you just how incredibly grateful we are!”
I could feel their sincerity, but honestly, I was at a loss as to how to respond.
I smiled uncomfortably, scratching my head as I desperately searched for the words I needed.
“I hear you,” I finally said. “You’ve communicated to me just how grateful you are. If you want to thank me, then consider your growth a token of gratitude toward me. Also, don’t forget that we haven’t actually gotten you the surgery yet, Ralph. This Vlad guy may be skilled, but he’s still some shady back-alley healer. Let’s not breathe a sigh of relief until your knee is fully healed.”
“I know. But even if he can’t heal me, my spirit will never be broken again.”
“Good. Now relax your spines and just sit normally.”
Fortunately, the awkwardness abated after that.
After sighing deeply, I plopped my bag down onto the floor and sat down with them.
“So, when do you think we should head to the capital, Chris? Do you want Ralph and I to go by ourselves again?” Hester asked.
“No, I want to go with you this time. Hmm... I’m not sure about when we should go, though. How much money do we have right now? Is it exactly five platinum coins?”
“No. We’ve got one gold extra.”
“If I remember correctly, we need to get our hands on the surgery materials and bring five platinums, right? From what the guild healer told us, it sounds like we’ll need that metal slime oil. How about we save up a little more money first before we head to the capital?” I suggested.