Vol 3 Chapter 58

"I overheard you earlier, and it seems you know a lot about the song that bard just sang. I wanted to ask you about it. Do you know it?"

As Kran asked, gesturing with his eyes towards the bard who was now just gently strumming the strings to provide background music, one of the men nodded pleasantly.

"Of course, we know it. It's the first time we've heard him sing it, but we're well aware of the content of that song as it's related to the White Flower Festival."

"The White Flower Festival?"

"It's our village's main festival. We hold it to bless the 'Luigina,' a flower that blooms abundantly in our village."

"Ah... I see. It sounds like a wonderful festival. Here, have another glass."

As Kran naturally engaged with them and poured another glass each, the NPCs completely melted, giving him looks of deep trust.

"Haha... You're quite generous, young man. Not like those ill-mannered ones these days."

"Not at all. You flatter me. By the way, when you say Luigina flowers, do you mean those white flowers all over the village? I was curious because I saw many of the same flowers in pots from the outskirts of the village."

"Hmm. That's right, those are the ones. They're the most cherished flowers of our villagers. Even apart from the White Flower Festival legend, the petals are good for stomach aches and colds when brewed, the roots have detoxifying properties, and when ground into powder, it can be used as an energy restorative for most illnesses. There's not a single part that goes to waste. That's why it's also called the flower of healing."

"The flower of healing... It really is."

"Indeed. There's another famous legend, though different, about a brave and devoted Paladin Dignity who stopped by our village in search of the silver Luigina that could revive even the dead."

At that moment, Kapros saw a certain light flash in Kran's eyes.

"Paladin... Dignity?"

"I'm not sure about the name, but they say he was called Paladin Dignity simply meaning a paladin of high pride. We all grew up hearing his story since childhood. Most people in this village are followers of the healing god, so Paladin Dignity, who went through all sorts of adventures for that god, was practically our childhood idol. Hahaha."

"Ah yes. When we were young, both you and I used to run around the village playing paladin..."

"Hoho. That was already decades ago. Time really flies."

As the men trailed off, lost in their memories, Kran glanced slightly in Kapros and Un-o's direction. Seeming to realize only then that they had been watching him, he smiled awkwardly once before waving his hand with a confident expression. Then, as he turned back to the men saying, "But about that paladin story...", Un-o quietly spoke up beside Kapros.

"...He really is impressive."

"Yeah... he is."

Kapros nodded in agreement with Un-o's words. As he watched, he too could understand why Kran had focused on the song and the men's story.

Judging from the conversation so far, it was clear that this village and Kran's quest were closely related. The key points seemed to be the legend, the Luigina flower, and the Paladin Dignity he was now asking about. Watching him instantly steer the conversation to the topic he wanted and extract information was quite impressive.

"In my case, because I'm not good at talking, I've had a few close calls due to not being able to get enough information from NPCs. Watching that hyung makes me think I should learn how to speak like that."

Seeing Un-o speak so seriously, Kapros thought it made sense for someone like him. Kapros himself had struggled several times trying to be as polite as possible when dealing with NPCs throughout his journey so far. The eccentric wizard of the Torelit Tower, Ilumine, and others. None of them had given information easily, causing him trouble.

Recalling those memories while watching Kran, Kapros couldn't help but think how amazing he was.

"...How many have you solved so far, hyung?"

'How many?' Kapros, who had been absentmindedly chewing his meat, was confused for a moment before realizing Un-o was asking about the number of quests he had completed so far.

"Three out of eight."

Un-o nodded at Kapros's answer.

"Same as me. Three out of six."

Although the number solved was the same, the total number was different, so the meaning was different. In any case, that guy had already cleared half of his.

As Kapros was looking at Un-o with narrowed eyes, Kran plopped down in the seat next to them, saying something like "Thank you" to the men. Looking to the side, Kapros saw the middle-aged men Kran had been talking to leaving the restaurant, arms around each other's shoulders, in good spirits and slightly drunk.

"How was it?"

Although Kran looked satisfied, as if he had obtained all the necessary information, Kapros asked out of courtesy, and Kran smiled brightly.

"Okay, okay. I think I've heard pretty much everything I needed. But even though it seems like all the possible information has come out, I'm still not sure where to go next. As we saw earlier, there's nothing special here... Hmm... I'm not sure where to go to use this information."

Isn't that the most important information to find out?

"..."

"...Isn't that the most important information?"

"Huh? Well, yeah... But isn't it something that I've gotten this much? Hahaha. If we just go around the village once, I'm sure... something will work out somehow?"

Kran scratched his head sheepishly and smiled.

After leaving the restaurant, following Kran's suggestion, they spent several hours searching every corner of the already small Russil village for 'places that might be related to the quest', but to no avail.

"...Kran."

Surely he had nothing to say about this situation. As Kapros called out expressionlessly while looking at the crimson sky at sunset, Kran's back, walking ahead, flinched noticeably.

"Umm... Should we... dig underground with a shovel?"

"I think it would be better to go back to that restaurant from earlier, or to the square where quite a few people were gathered."