After spending a day wandering around Rommon, the group reluctantly bid farewell to the luxurious guest rooms at the Church and began their journey home.

The trip out had taken a long time, after all, and the city of Rommon wasn’t exactly welcoming. Staying there felt like having a dagger pointed at their backs, especially with a Half-Orc and a Half-Demon in the party.

The group soon found a merchant caravan that was also heading to Torrent Bay via the Roaring Mountain Range and set out with them.

It took Colin quite some time to convince the caravan master that they weren’t spies for some band of robbers and that they had actually traveled the trade route through the Roaring Mountain Range before. Only then were they permitted to join.

Compared to their journey there, the trip back was as uneventful as can be.

The biggest threat on the route had been the Scorpion-tailed Lions. With them gone, the caravan only ran into some Wild Wolves and snow leopards, none of which posed a real danger.

It was worth noting that in the days since, many caravans had started taking a detour over the mountains. It took longer, but at least the path was passable now.

The village that had been threatened by the Scorpion-tailed Lions managed to turn a small profit selling supplies, making up for the bounty they had posted.

Once they returned to Torrent Bay, the rest of the journey was much smoother.

The party made a point of passing through the Halfling village again, spending a little money on a fifty-percent-off Halfling dinner before continuing on their way.

While they traveled, Colin thought it over and decided to put all the Skill Level points from his mission reward into his Silent Sword Skill. With training, his Skill Levels now stood at: Casting (1298), Armor (562), and Sword Skill (653).

’The word "Legendary" has to mean something, right?’

’As for the Dwarves’ Empowerment Armor, I’ll think about that after I upgrade my Silent Sword Skill.’

「That evening.」

The group, walking along the road, finally saw the gates of Thousand Masts City once more.

"We were supposed to finish this trip in a month, but it looks like we went quite a bit over," Colin remarked with a sigh.

"But we earned a fair bit, too," Kase said with a chuckle.

"Let’s go report to Edwin first."

With that, Colin led the group straight to Horn Castle. Parading through the city with the Scorpion-tailed Lion’s wings on his back was rather conspicuous, but it was better than leaving them at home where they might get stolen.

Along the way, an old fisherman carrying a sea fish the length of his arm saw them and, puffing out his chest, fell in step behind them. He followed them almost all the way to Horn Castle before turning down another street to continue his own procession.

It seemed the talkative Guard was on duty again today.

He waved as the group approached. "Hey, Colin! What’ve you been up to? Looks like quite a haul. Those aren’t dragon wings, are they?"

"Close enough. Half a dragon," Kase grunted.

"I think you’d better..." From a distance, Colin spotted the officer who’d caught the Guard chatting last time heading their way. He shot the Guard a sympathetic look before stepping into Edwin’s office.

The Paladin was, as usual, seated at his desk, waging an endless war against a mountain of paperwork.

Seeing the group enter, he smiled. "I had a feeling you’d be here today. I’ve already heard the report from my contacts in Rommon. They said the intelligence on the Hobgoblins was extremely useful and had nothing but high praise for you."

"That’s a bit of an exaggeration..." Colin said. "Well, in that case, I guess we don’t have much else to report."

"Are those parts from a Scorpion-tailed Lion? And is that a Magic Giant Sword?" Edwin said. "Seems like you had a very fruitful trip. You’re starting to look like real Adventurers—you know what I mean."

"We almost lost our lives a few times."

Edwin knew what Colin was getting at and replied, "Regarding the matter of the Orc Tribe, the party that took that mission is making good progress. We’ll have to wait a few more days for more specific news, though."

"Mhm, and we made a lot of money," Kase added in his rumbling voice.

"One last thing—do you remember what the Weston Clan promised you, Colin?" Edwin produced a wooden box and set it on the desk.

"This is it?"

Colin’s gaze fell upon the wooden box on the desk.

The box was iron-bound at its four corners. In the center was the crest of the Weston Family: a blue shield, the top half displaying crossed weapons and the bottom half a golden trade route.

He reached out and opened the box. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

With the faint whirring of interlocking gears, an exquisite metal mechanism slowly unfolded a series of trays, presenting the items within to the group.

First, there were three straps of varying sizes. Each strap had five wide-mouthed pouches, and inside each pouch was a stoppered glass vial.

Edwin, who was holding a cup of tea and watching the excitement from the side, explained, "Those are Potion Bandoliers. You can strap them to your waist or chest for easy access during a fight. They’re quite a practical little accessory. It seems the Weston Family prepared one for each member of your party."

"You two can take yours," Colin said to the others.

Kase unceremoniously snatched up one of the Potion Bandoliers.

Orelia, however, glanced at Edwin’s and Colin’s expressions before respectfully taking her bandolier with both hands.

Colin then turned his attention to the next tray.

This tray held a small bag with a leather belt.

The bag had a buckle and a compartmentalized pouch on the side, which held a leather-bound book. The whole thing was exquisitely crafted, resembling a modern pistol holster.

Edwin took a slurp of his tea. "A Spellbook. It doesn’t look like it has an Enchantment, but it’s a high-quality piece nonetheless. For at least a decade or so, there shouldn’t be much difference between it and an enchanted Spellbook."

"The pouch on the side of the book’s sheath is for components... Hmm, that’s a rather fashionable new design in Thousand Masts City. The Mages are calling them ’Tactical Spellcasting Bags.’ A strange name."

The final tray at the bottom held a bottle of ink, three quills, and a ring.

The ring looked rather plain. It was forged from pure silver, with a small, dull blue Gemstone set in its bezel.

Judging by appearances alone, it didn’t look much different from a silver heirloom one might see on a wealthy freeman. At most, it seemed like it would be worth a few dozen Gold Coins.

But its effect...

Colin swallowed hard.

[Weston’s Smoothness / Non-Ordinary Magical Items]

[Magic Attached: The wielder can use the "Water Manipulation" Cantrip.]

[Magic Penetration: All damaging Cantrips deal +1 Damage.]

Gaining a Cantrip was one thing—and Colin had no idea what this "Water Manipulation" was even for—but the key was the "Magic Penetration" property.

Plus one Damage to all damaging Cantrips.

This meant that both his Flaming Arrow and Emerald Flame Sword would now deal more Damage.

"To think they gave this to you..." Edwin stroked his chin. "It seems the Weston Clan is taking this Orc migration business very seriously indeed."

"Is it that special?" Colin asked.