After traveling for nearly half a day, the group of people finally arrived at the entrance of Gronar City.
Although it was supposed to be a City, it was only a little over a kilometer long, and its width was roughly the same.
Gronar City was one of the places where trade between the Orcs, and the Barbarians were in full swing.
Even though it was small, it was one of the most important cities of the Barbarian Kingdom.
Before coming to this place, Thirteen came up with a story that Jubei would use as an excuse if the latter was recognized by his fellow Orcs.
The story went something along these lines—while his hunting party was out looking for prey, they stumbled upon three children who were wandering within their territory.
Since they had been ordered by their Chieftain to catch any Human children who weren't of Barbarian descent they saw, they took them in.
However, they didn't know that these children were being hunted down by Ogres and their Troll slaves.
While they were on their way back to their base, they came across a Spiny Bronze Anteater and thought that they could kill it as their prize before returning home.
But in the middle of the battle, the Ogres and Trolls ambushed them, killing all of Jubei's teammates.
The Orc would then explain that he managed to run away, but since the path back to the Stronghold was blocked by the Ogres, he had no choice but to head to the Barbarian City of Gronar in the hope that he could join other Orc Hunting Parties to return to their Stronghold.
As for the kids, he was planning to sell them as slaves to recover his losses.
This was the story that Thirteen had prepared, and he made sure that Jubei memorized it very well.
The High Orc walked confidently toward the gate, gripping a rope attached to the bodies of the three children behind him.
This ensured that they wouldn't be able to escape regardless of what they did.
The Barbarians only gave Jubei a brief nod and didn't even bother to question why he was entering their city.
The sight of the three children was enough for them to assume that he was there to sell slaves.
Because of this, they no longer thought of questioning him and simply allowed him to enter unchallenged.
After entering the city, Jubei took the children to an inn that was a popular gathering place for Orcs and Barbarians.
He only rented one big room since renting more than that would be very suspicious.
"Make sure to bring a few buckets of water into my room," Jubei told the innkeeper. "These kids stink, so I plan to let them wash before I sell them. That way, I can fetch a higher price for them."
"Understood," the Innkeeper replied. "I will send someone to bring the buckets of water to your room."
Gronar City was situated beside a river, so they didn't have any shortage of water. It was also situated right outside the desert, so it became a hub of trade and activity for the Orcs and the Barbarians.
As if to confirm that his guess was correct, a notification appeared, congratulating Thirteen, for he had managed to pass one of the Trials.
< Unique Quest! >
Quest Category: Chain Quest
Quest Name: The Thirteen Trials
< First Trial Completed! >
— Escape the Houdini Desert!
< Second Trial >
— Find a Five Leaf Clover
< Rewards for Chain Quest Completion >
— You can go back home if you succeed, you unfilial brat!
"… Huh?"
Thirteen couldn't help but stare at the condition of clearing his Second Trial.
He was wondering if the quest was bugged or if his old man was completely messing with him.
However, he also knew for a fact that it was impossible for a quest to appear if there was no possibility for it to be cleared.
'A five leaf clover?' Thirteen pondered. 'Where will I be able to get that?'
While he was pondering the answer to this question, someone knocked on the door.
Jubei opened it to see who it was.
When he saw that it was only the inn's helper carrying two buckets of water, he stepped aside to allow him to pass through.
"Jubei, feel free to look around the town and see if you can find familiar faces," Thirteen ordered. "Also, if possible, see if you can find where the Human slaves are being held captive."
The High Orc nodded and left the room to do what Thirteen had asked of him. When only the three teenagers were left inside the room, Rianna stood up and picked one of the buckets of water.
She then carried it over to the corner of the room and started washing herself.
The teenage girl hadn't taken a bath since she arrived in Solterra, so she decided to at least wipe her body clean now that she had the opportunity to do so.
"Don't look in my direction, okay?" Rianna told Cristopher, who almost choked on his saliva.
"Why are you only asking me to not look in your direction?" Cristopher asked with a face filled with injustice. "The Young Master is here as well. Why don't you tell him not to look in your direction?"
"Zion is different," Rianna replied. "I can see that he has no interest in girl's bodies. You, on the other hand, are a healthy young man. I'm sure you don't have resistance to ladies."
Before Cristopher could even object, Thirteen ordered him to go to the corner of the room to look at the wall.
Just like Rianna had said, he had no interest in looking at her juvenile body.
He was someone who had seen the bodies of drop-dead gorgeous beauties, who were often referred to as Goddesses for thousands of years.
Even after becoming a Human, he was already immune to the allure and charms of the opposite sex.
The rustling of clothes sounded inside the room as Rianna took off her clothes. She then took a cloth and soaked it inside the bucket of water for a while, using it to wipe her skin.
While doing this, she was facing Thirteen's and Cristopher's direction to make sure that the chubby boy wasn't peeking at her.
Although she was strong-willed, she was still a girl. Even she would feel embarrassed if a boy were to look at her.
Thirteen also had his back turned in her direction as he brainstormed about their next course of action.
Rianna had been paying close attention to the younger boy and already knew that he was someone very dependable despite his young age.
Even now, she was still comparing Thirteen to the children who were of the same age as him. Even after racking her mind, she couldn't think of anyone who could match his confidence and presence.
'Is this what a real prodigy is like?' Rianna thought as she continued to wipe her body clean.
She had seen the children of the Five Monarch Clans and the Ten Prestigious Families, but none of them came close to the boy that was in front of her.
After she finished washing her body, she reluctantly pulled her dirty dress back on and sighed sadly.
She wished that she could have a proper change of clothes and have her current clothes washed properly.
But for now, she would have to settle without these small luxuries, while waiting for the clue that would lead them to the location of the Beacon of Hope.
"Do you want to wash yourself too, Cristopher?" Thirteen asked.
"Young Master, you can wash yourself first," Cristopher replied, still looking at the wall in front of him. "I can do it later."
"It's fine," Thirteen replied. "You can wash yourself first. I'm still busy thinking."
After hearing Thirteen's words, Cristopher went to the corner of the room in order to wash himself.
He then looked at Rianna and asked her not to peek at him.
"You don't have to worry about that," Rianna replied. "You're not my type at all."
"Well, sorry for not being your type," Cristopher snorted. "Just don't look, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I told you not to worry."
"Tsk!"
Thirteen could only shake his head at the two children, who were acting their age.
He felt like a babysitter looking after two kids.
But for some reason, he didn't find this annoying at all.
