Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 639 - 3 Liaison Officer_1

Chapter 639: Chapter 3 Liaison Officer_1

"What about the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture further south?" Catherine asked more deeply, "Is life there also as comfortable as you describe for these villages and towns? The two areas are quite close so there should be frequent communication, right?"

"Haha, you’re wrong. The situation is completely different from ours here," laughed the mayor. "You probably have never seen the people from the Dragon Worship Autonomous region. If you did, you would understand. They are all oddballs, they never use gold coins, nor trade with merchants. Everything they have is handcrafted by themselves. They only occasionally trade with outsiders when they pass by. Apart from farming and hunting, they eat, sleep, or just sit and daze off. They live like beasts, and no one can tell what they are thinking. We don’t really communicate with them. They hardly have any interaction with other villages or towns. It’s said they consider themselves dragons, not humans, so naturally, they wouldn’t have much to do with humans. But if you’re lucky, you should be able to meet someone from the Autonomous Prefecture in the next few days. When the Federation was first established, they negotiated with them many times in order to demonstrate that they were part of the Federation, requesting the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture to send a representative to stay in a nearby village or town, like a nominal diplomat. Originally, they completely ignored the federation’s request, but after two years of persistent persuasion, they probably annoyed them too much, so they agreed and sent one person to our town, switching every five years. When these people come here, they act as if they are extremely unlucky. Outsiders might even think our town is terrifying,"

"It’s like your thinking, Mayor." As the mayor became more and more dissatisfied and muttered complaints, he seemed to feel that the attitude of the envoy from the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture had caused him great harm. Catherine couldn’t help but laugh and comforted him, "You said that about other cities in Neville earlier, didn’t you also feel it was not as good as here? I think they must feel the same way."

"Maybe you’re right," the mayor sheepishly smiled, took a mouthful of strong alcohol to hide his embarrassment, and continued to explain, "These days, it’s just time for the five-year term to expire. They are about to change officers. If you want to go to the Autonomous Prefecture, you might as well wait for the snow to stop and wait a few more days for the new liaison officer to arrive. You can then go with the previous officer. But I still want to advise you to stay here for another six months. Winter has passed for three months, wait another six months for snow melting and then go to the Magical Beast Forest. It will be safer. If you go in winter, even if you’re a powerful adventurer, according to ancestral records, few have come back alive."

"Thank you for your kindness." Catherine gave a faint smile and shook her head, jokingly, "But those who want to enter the Magical Beast Forest in winter always have their unavoidable reasons. If there were other options, who would want to risk the severe cold? And those who dare to enter in winter are confident in their own strengths, just like us. Nobody thinks they’ll die inside and never have the chance to come out. So, Mayor, your kindness is wasted. Haha."

The bearded mayor was also amused by Catherine’s straightforward words. Indeed, the professionals who come here are few, but each team is relatively powerful, and those who enter the Magical Beast Forest in winter are even more powerful. At least two or three Legendary rank professionals dare to enter. To qualify for Legendary rank, one must have sufficient confidence and a firm will. Their determination can’t possibly be swayed by mere words from an ordinary mayor, so the mayor’s kind advice won’t ever yield the desired effect.

"Indeed, we’ve never encountered professionals who have changed their plans due to our persuasion." The mayor rubbed his beard and gave a wry smile, "Young lady, you’re really straightforward. But, you’re right. I don’t understand your world of professionals. The professionals in our town are just Iron or Bronze ranks and are far from being like you, who can enter the Magical Beast Forest. I like your candor and hope that you can be the exception and let me see you again when you return."

"Don’t worry, Mr. Mayor." Freya, having lost some weight over the past month, now appeared noticeably thinner. Whether it was due to the influence of the Denia Oracle or the dual torment of her emotional state and daily affairs after the demise of her teacher, her physique had gradually changed from an oval shape to a cylindrical one, denoting initial progress in her weight loss. After the month-long emotional adjustment, Freya’s mood improved significantly. She regained the grace and dignity befitting a city lord’s daughter. She nodded slightly at the mayor and said, "We have certain conditions to venture in during winter, or else we wouldn’t rashly go in."

"Well, that’s good." The mayor obviously did not take Freya’s words seriously. He gave the uniquely aristocratic, yet adventurous lady a strange look and just nodded, "Anyway, you can’t set off in a snowstorm. Stay in town for a few days. We don’t get many out-of-town visitors. Other visitors are mostly from nearby villages who come for errands, also in small numbers, so we don’t have any hotels. But there are a few guest rooms in this tavern which are vacant recently. If you don’t mind, you may stay here. The place is fairly clean and warm. If you don’t want to stay here, there are vacant rooms in Dicker’s house, Sol’s house, and Klein’s house in town. I can talk to them to lease a few rooms to you temporarily."

"Thank you, but there’s no need." Catherine shook her head, "We’ll just stay in the tavern. We adventurers are used to living in the wild. This place is already very nice for us. Are there three vacant rooms?"

The last sentence was apparently directed at the bartender, who nodded without a second thought, "All six rooms are vacant. If you’re willing, we can give you one each. It’s five silver coins a day, including breakfast. Lunch and dinner are not included."

Catherine twitched the corners of her mouth, gritted her teeth, and counted five little silver coins from her pouch and slapped them on the counter, speaking in a low tone, "For the drinks just now, I gave you three silver coins in total. You should still give me a change of twenty copper coins, right?"

The bartender’s mouth twitched while he looked at Catherine with a fearful awe as if he’d seen a ghost. He dumbly counted out twenty copper coins and pushed them towards her, not daring to utter a word. The bearded mayor watched Catherine meticulously wipe each copper before putting it back into her money pouch. His amusement got the better of him, triggering another hearty laugh. He pointed to the east and said, "The liaison officer from the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture lives in the east, a very strange man. Actually, all of them are strange. Apart from going out hunting, they spend their time crafting necessities in their yards or sulking in their rooms. If not for the fact they can’t make salt themselves, I guess he wouldn’t communicate with anyone in town. However, despite their lack of communication, they’re actually pretty good. If there’s anything important in town that needs their help, just talk outside their door and, although there’s no reply, the matter gets quietly resolved, so everyone is quite grateful to them and often gifts food to their doorstep."

"Them?" Catherine asked, "I thought there was only one person?"

"Oh, there indeed is only one person, but they rotate every five years," the mayor explained. "We don’t know their names, so we refer to each liaison as ’they’. Every liaison is quite decent despite they barely talk and move around as little as possible, um, if only they could be a bit more willing to come here, that would be even better."

"Hahaha." Catherine burst into laughter at the mayor’s heartfelt grievances. "Thanks for the heads up. Could we just speak to them directly at their door when we come to find them? What if they are not at home?"

"Err, if they’re not home, the yard gate would be closed, otherwise, it’s definitely open," the mayor explained. "But if you tell them you’re heading back to the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture, they should have a response. Give it a try, though I can’t guarantee. Also, is the silver-haired lady a priest? I noticed she’s carrying a priest’s hammer at her waist."

"What do you think?" Silver-haired Lina, who had been engrossed in her book, seemed quite irritated to be disturbed. She lifted her head with a frown and glared at the mayor with an intimidating look, asking gruffly, "What’s the matter?"

"Lina, don’t be like that," Catherine felt helpless about Lina’s new persona, advising her, "Be polite."

"Fine, fine," Lina said impatiently. "Yes, I am a priest. Speak up. What’s the matter? If there’s nothing important, don’t disturb my reading."

"Err, alright, alright." The mayor was taken aback by Lina’s reaction. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Our town is quite remote and we only have a Snow Goddess’ temple. The priest is nice, but his ability is somewhat... "

"The priest’s Disease Removal Spell is ineffective," Lina interrupted him directly, frowning and asking, "Are you asking if I could help treat some of the town’s sick people? Are you planning to change your faith?"

"No, our faith in the Goddess will always be devout," the mayor respectfully bowed towards the direction of the temple before continuing, "I just want to ask, without using Divine Spells, would you be able to provide some herbal or other remedies to help treat some of our more severely ill townfolk?"

"Understood, you’re so long-winded. Gather them in one place tomorrow, and I will treat them," Lina moved her gaze back to the book, then lifted her head after a few seconds to add, "Also, other sick residents in the town can come as well, don’t regret it after we leave. Besides, for those with mobility issues or those who are too weak, they don’t need to come, I’ll go to them."

"Thank you, Reverend," despite Lina’s imperiousness, her concern for the patients warmed the mayor’s heart and he bowed respectfully, "We will never forget your benevolence." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation. Cell phone users please go to m.qidian.com for reading.)