Youkar, Walite - Chapter 7. Tall order

The winding streets of Trunk city lead all the way to the adventurer’s guild.

The guild consists of three levels. The first level consists of a tavern and a front desk, the second floor serves as the accommodation area, while the third floor is the office area.

The ground floor is about ten meters below the second floor, which means climbing a long staircase to reach the second-floor accommodations. However, this design does ensure that the sleeping and working in the upper floors won’t be disturbed by the ruckus downstairs.

Youkar pushed the door and walked in, with Dr. Faust following behind. Ellie, the rabbit-person in charge of the front desk, saw Youkar and shook her long ears, waving enthusiastically. “Here you are, Miss Walette!”

“I see, I see,” Youkar walked up to the counter, hands on her hips, and said calmly, “I know you don’t enjoy this job, so you can be sincere with me.”

Ellie frowned, smiled helplessly, and said, “It’s not that bad. It’s just a few drunkards who always come to harrass me, which is annoying.”

“If only I had a figure like yours,” Ellie said, glancing meaningfully at Youkar’s chest.

Youkar then bluntly replied, “I don’t need that kind of burden, my breastplate already needs extra reinforcement because of it.”

“Same old routine?”

“Yep, highest pay available.”

Ellie pointed to the sign beside her and said, “This one if five gold coins, should be what you’re looking for.”

“Five gold coins!?” Youkar’s eyes widened and she had to ask, “Who’s so wealthy?”

“Father Cleon from the church. He said a demon appeared near the old wind church, and needs people to strike it down.”

“Demon?” Youkar raised her head to look at the rather striking golden-bordered white paper. It read, “Stone gargoyles have started appearing near the old wind church, causing initial alarm in the community. Here, in the name of the Goddess, we hope that brave and just adventurers will come forward to join in the demons’ extermination.”

The signature at the bottom reads ‘Cleon’.

“Gargoyles?” Youkar furrowed her brow, clearly skeptical. After all, Snodham’s peace had endured for over a hundred years, with its mild climate and vast plains situated at the very center of the continent, there was scarcely any demonic activity here.

Due to this, most of the tasks Youkar receives here are shady

“The gargoyles wandering? That’s quite unusual,” Dr. Faust spoke up from his side, “Normally, gargoyles would be content guarding the place they were made to be, rather than exploring aimlessly. Unless something went wrong during their creation or, perhaps… there is a large cemetery nearby.”

“A large cemetery?” Ellie perked up on the table, her long ears bouncing up in interest.

Youkar then added: “I have some basic understanding of these things as well. Long ago, in the ancient and incomparably brutal War of the Gods, countless heroes were born, and countless heroes perished. After the war ended, people buried the heroes, and the demon king, that terrifying demon god, dispatched his gargoyles to the tombs as guardians to protect the peace of those heroes, for all eternity.”

“It’s impossible, absolutely impossible,” Ellie shook her head. “The old wind church has a long history, and no traces of tombs anywhere near here. How could gargoyles appear?”

“So that’s the strange part,” Dr. Faust reached out, took a sheet of paper and placed it on the table. “Compared to extermination, I believe investigation is more important.”

Youkar had already walked to the counter, taken the registration form, and signed her full name on it. She then took out three silver coins for the lodging fee, and went up the stairs to her room to have a good rest, while Dr. Faust, carrying his medical kit, went to investigate.

Inside the shop, Youkar took off her armor, sat on the bed and started to wipe it, a towel in hand. The wind outside abruptly grew stronger, Youkar only glancing at the wildly swaying window, continuing to focus on the task at hand.

Just then, the screech of a crow echoed in her ears. Youkar lifted her head and saw a crow as black as ink perched on the back of a chair. It had no eyeballs, instead, crimson flames burned a bright hue in its eye sockets, like a pair of gems.

What’s even more surprising is that this crow isn’t a living creature at all; its body, from feathers to form, is made of black charcoal, casting an ominous aura by its presence alone. Remember, crows themselves aren’t exactly endearing birds, and a crow is even more so, a symbol of disaster and war. If someone were to find its feather, it would be even more unfortunate than encountering a black cat.

Even so, Youkar didn’t shoo away the crow. Instead, she naturally asked, “What’s the matter, Mr. Xi?”

The crow opened its mouth and unfolded the note it held in its beak. On it was written: “Bring back the crystal core from within a gargoyle’s body, and in return, I can provide you with the information you desire. Of course, if it is money you prefer, I won’t be cheap.”

After reading the note, Youkar took it from the the crow’s beak, indicating her willingness to accept it.

The black crow flapped its wings a few times, darted towards the window, and vanished without a trace.

Soon after, Youkar finished cleaning her armor and layed down on the bed to rest.

“I didn’t expect Mr. Xi to be as knowledgeable as ever, issuing a task for me so quickly. Well, five gold coins plus information, that’s a huge gain.” Youkar murmured to herself for a while, then turned over and fell asleep.

……

Early in the morning, many adventurers had already gathered on the first floor of the tavern. Many long tables placed together formed a makeshift stage.

However, the person standing on it was not Father Cleon, but a holy knight named Neir. Youkar looked him over, and noticed nothing more to him than his name.

This holy knight has deep blue hair, eyes as deep as emeralds and black stripes painted under each eye. He wears a blue cloth around his neck and a somewhat passable suit of plate armor. The broadsword on his back has seen its years, the leather scabbard showing signs of falling apart, with several patches. Even the Goddess’ radiance on his shield has faded. His whole person exudes a sense of “poor”.

Compared to those knights of the church who wore heavy silver armor adorned with gold, it’s like comparing heaven and earth.

Knight Neir held up the church’s scroll and read aloud, “The demon god has long fallen, but its remnants still threaten the entire land. As the church, as the most loyal children of the Goddess…”

Youkar’s ears hurt to even hear this, more of the same empty words echoing. The church was always so hypocritical and full of themselves.

“…all adventurers are willing to show their noble and pure souls. I am extremely pleased; the scent of copper has never tainted you, and you are still willing…”

Just at that moment, a rash adventurer interrupted: “Sorry, could you pause for a moment?”

Neir set aside the scroll, brows slightly furrowed as he asked, “May I ask what’s the matter?”

The next statement was nothing short of surprising: “Can we cut to the chase? I don’t want to hear this nonsense, let alone participate in this so-called mobilization meeting.”

` Demon king might not be so bad if he sends eternal gravekeepers for even his worst enemies… as far as we know. ` Release schedule’s messed up, real life happened and well… I’ll loosen it a little, let’s say one every 3 days, until I get my chapter stockpile up and running to avoid this very situation. 1 day late – Luminarynovels bugged out at login :shrugs: