GILF Hunter

Chapter 334 A soft bed

Airi, who woke up early in the morning, opened her eyes in bed.

A soft bed. A spacious room.

Nearby were the other members sleeping together in the same room.

...I can’t get used to this.

Airi muttered in her heart as she opened her eyes in bed.

The luxurious facilities and her roommates were all equally unfamiliar.

Airi walked out, opening the door quietly so as not to wake the others or make a sound.

At the very least, it was a relief that the floors and stairs didn’t make loud creaking noises every time she stepped on them like in a cheap inn. Airi went down to the first floor in silence.

Starting the morning early was a habit she had formed long ago.

As soon as the guild’s mission counter opened, she had to line up at dawn to pick a mission from the very front.

That was the only way to snag a decent mission suitable for doing alone.

Since she had lived that way for so long, this relaxed atmosphere didn’t suit her at all.

Sleeping in late, having free time, and having the guild pick out good missions and bring them to her.

What exactly was the mercenary life I’ve lived until now...?

Someone suddenly spoke to Airi as she came down to the first floor with those thoughts.

’Who is it?’

’Hic.’

Perhaps because she was distracted by her own thoughts, Airi—who hadn’t expected anyone else to be there—got startled and belatedly hid her body.

Seeing that, Tanya spoke to Airi, who was hiding behind the stairs.

’It’s you, Airi. You woke up early.’

’Ye, yes.... Hello.’

Realizing she had already been caught, Airi walked out quietly from her hiding spot.

I thought it was a thief because you were tiptoeing around.

With a light sigh and a smile, Tanya asked Airi.

’Do you want something to eat?’

’Ye, yes.’

Seeing Airi nod, Tanya hesitated as she was about to enter the kitchen.

She remembered what Ian had said before. Did he say she just answers ’yes’ to everything because she can’t refuse?

’Is it something you really want to eat?’

’Ye, yes!’

’Not because you feel forced, but for real?’

’Th, then... just tea.’

A cup of tea was placed in front of Airi as she sat at the table.

When Tanya sat across from her, Airi lifted the teacup while stealing glances.

...What should I talk about? Should I speak first?

While Airi was pondering, Tanya spoke first.

’Why are you so nervous? Is there anything uncomfortable about living here?’

’That....’

Airi, who was staring down at her teacup and thinking, answered carefully.

’It’s my first time in a mercenary group... and my skills aren’t that good, so I’m worried I might be a burden....’

’You did well from what I saw last time.’

Tanya recalled the time when she had just become a mercenary.

She was used to this life now, but it was something she couldn’t have imagined when she first left her village.

’I was like that at first, too. I just became a porter without knowing anything.’

If she hadn’t happened to meet Ian back then, she couldn’t imagine how she’d be living now. Would she have been able to become a proper mercenary like she was now?

’It’s amazing that you’ve grown that much on your own. Our Master has an incredibly good eye for people, you know? Since it was the Master who brought you here, you should have confidence in yourself.’

’Yes.... Thank you.’

’I told you to call me comfortably.’

Tanya, seemingly forgetting that she was the same way at first, approached and urged Airi, who was trying to keep her distance.

’Go on. Try calling me Tanya.’

’Ta... Tanya...-nim.’

’Tanya!’

It took about thirty minutes for Airi to call Tanya just ’Tanya.’

Tanya, who let Airi go after she became exhausted from calling her name just once, recalled old memories for the first time in a while.

So much time has already passed since I became a mercenary.

And suddenly, a thought occurred to Tanya.

...Wait? But isn’t Airi actually a much more senior mercenary?

Her mercenary career was longer, and she must have reached C-rank first. It felt like she wasn’t in a position to be giving such advice.

Tanya, realizing something, quietly disappeared into the kitchen before Airi could notice while stealing a glance at her.

＊ ＊ ＊

Then, when it became a leisurely lunchtime.

While everyone was gathered in the lounge, the sound of someone shouting was heard.

’Delivery!’

’...Did it arrive?’

At the sound coming from outside the door, everyone looked up.

The delivery... has finally come.

Hearing the word delivery, everyone including Ian flocked to the entrance.

They could see porters from the recovery team unloading something wrapped in cloth from a wagon and carrying it in.

’Please put it over here.’

What the porters brought was a block of rock.

The rock discovered in the goblin cave last time. It was the item Ian had called a sacred statue.

Since they couldn’t bring it to the city themselves, they had called a separate recovery team and entrusted the transport to them.

During the few days Ian spent waiting for the recovery team’s delivery, he had emptied out a small, rarely-used room on the first floor to create space.

The sacred statue brought by the recovery team was placed in the middle of that room.

As the cloth covering the exterior was unwrapped, the sacred statue revealed itself to the members who were watching.

When they saw it lit by torches in the cave, it looked like just a plain lump of stone.

After being cleaned up by the recovery team and undergoing some repairs, seeing it in a bright place revealed it was definitely a stone statue with facial features.

They had wondered what it was when they saw it in the dark cave, but placing it in such a well-decorated room made it look like a proper altar.

’What is this that you went all the way there to bring it back?’

’I think the goblins were praying to this....’

’Isn’t it something weird? Like a pagan idol or....’

Mika asked Ian while looking at the stone statue.

Just hearing about it made it seem like a very strange object. A stone statue worshipped by monsters—honestly... wasn’t it something that would cast a brainwashing spell or something?

Perhaps because of the background of being found in a goblin den, everyone’s expression was poor.

’It’s a perfectly fine sacred statue, so don’t worry.’

...Of course, I don’t really know which god it is.

Ian checked the information of the repaired sacred statue.

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[Sacred Statue of Blessing]

- Artifact Item

- When placed at the base, purifies a small amount of erosion at regular intervals

- Can offer items and receive blessings every month

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An artifact item.

It was an item classified as furniture, which provided effects if placed at the base like it was now.

What they found this time was the most representative item among those artifacts, a sacred statue.

Just placing it gave stat bonuses, and it also possessed special abilities like this object.

It could provide recovery, or purify curses.

Or, it could have a blessing function like this one.

If you offered prayers along with an item, it was a function that gave rewards such as random buffs or beneficial effects.

’If you offer a sacrifice here, you can receive a blessing. The goblins must have known that and piled up items in the cave.’

’It gives blessings? Then it really is a sacred statue?’

Mika said in surprise.

She thought it was just called that in name, but if it bestowed blessings, it meant it was a real sacred statue.

Sacred statues that exhibited such abilities were rare, but they did exist.

The goddess statue in this city’s temple was also a similar sacred statue, although its scale was excessively different.

Because it looked so shabby, everyone seemed to have thought it was just an ordinary stone statue. But upon learning it was a real sacred statue, their eyes sparkled.

Ian took out an item he had prepared in advance to test the blessing function.

At a glance, it looked similar to the Fairy Spring they had encountered before, but there were quite a few differences.

The Fairy Spring was a completely random reward where you didn’t know what would come out.

In contrast, the types that came from the sacred statue were limited, but you were guaranteed to benefit once you offered something.

The formula was also much simpler compared to the Fairy Spring. It was even simply organized as to what sacrifice produced what effect and which was most efficient.

Ian placed one item he had prepared as a trial in front of the sacred statue.

An accessory with a simple enchantment.

It was the cheapest magic accessory one could obtain at a shop.

The effect when offering a magic accessory was a random buff applied to the base.

Since there was nothing he needed right now, his plan was to just try anything as a test.

A moment later, the item Ian had placed disappeared, and a faint light radiated from the sacred statue.

The soft light swirled inside the base before disappearing.

’Wow....’

’Did we just receive a blessing?’

The members, who were looking up at the cluster of light, looked around with faces like they were seeing something miraculous.

A sacred statue was usually an object found only in a large temple.

Moreover, receiving something like a blessing wasn’t something just anyone could do.

The image that usually came to mind when thinking of a sacred statue was a large, luxurious marble sculpture placed in the middle of a room in a grand temple.

...Compared to that, who would think of this lump of stone as a sacred statue?

Its appearance didn’t look like a sacred statue no matter how one looked at it, but anyway, looking at what happened just now, it seemed it really was a sacred statue.

Tanya, who was watching the light seep into the building, asked Ian.

’But, what gets better if we receive a blessing?’

’I don’t decide it, so I don’t know what it’ll be either.’

Something will get better. Since it’s a blessing.

Come to think of it, the blessings given at the temple were almost all just such vague expressions.

Maybe the priests answered that way because they didn’t really know either?

In the meantime, a message appeared in front of Ian.

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You have received a blessing.

- HP and SP recovery speed significantly increased within the base

- Probability of Favorability Events occurring increased

- Remaining blessing time: 30 days

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’...’

Ian was silent for a moment.

’I feel like I have more energy than usual somehow....’

’It’s just your imagination. How could an effect show up that noticeably?’

’No, really....’

Should we go on a long-term expedition this month?

Ian decided on the next schedule in his heart.