Chapter 91: Final Step to Riches
On the way back to the submission office, I saw a couple of other crusaders near the city walls looking around for things in the grass, presumably the yams. I thought it might be a smart idea for me to hide my findings as to not attract any unwanted business.
The mission asked for five pounds, and I have four yams. Each one of them definitely weighs over a pound. I tuck them under my coat so others won't see them.
"You guys stay out here. I will go turn these in with Lohikaarmi," I say to the girls as we reach the outside of the building.
"Can't we go in, too?" Faye asks.
"Well, I figured that completing this mission will probably help us rank up, and you and Astra don't exactly need it."
"Oh, okay."
"Alright, Lohikaarmi, come with me."
"Yes, Master."
We step through the door and into the submission office. In the little time that we were gone, the "Impossible Yams Mission" has gone up another level to A+. I guess at least one of the rank A crusaders fell for it.
Its reward has also increased to four gold slabs. I can probably keep waiting for it to go even higher, but it's good enough. The faster I rank up, the faster I can start making even more money.
While trying not to draw any attention in the busy room, Lohikaarmi and I line up at the D desk. Of course, being discreet has kind of become an uneasy task with Lohikaarmi's appearance and apparel.
A couple of eyes follow us as we are greeted by the receptionist.
"Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?" He asks.
I glance around me and lean in. "Is it possible to turn in a quest in secret?" I say, keeping my voice just between the two of us.
The man seems unfazed. "Yes, but it's mostly for crusaders of higher profiles. May I ask for your and your partner's names, sir?"
"Kris Kaplan. Lohikaarmi."
He nods and starts flipping through his booklet. A second later, his hands stop, and I see his eyelids flinch.
The receptionist looks back up at me. "Yes, sir. You are welcome to go around to the back gate if you wish."
"Thank you."
I lead Lohikaarmi away and toward the exit of the building as the stares, now confused, see us out.
Faye and Astra greet us as we step outside.
"How did it go?" Faye asks.
"I asked for a way to turn in the mission in secret. They told us to go around to the back gate. We will be right back."
"Oh, okay."
From afar, the submission office looks like it sits on the very edge of the shrine's plot with its back up against the fence walls, but as I walk around to get a closer look, there is a small gap back there that barely allows a person to walk through.
Is this it?
Lohikaarmi and I squeeze through the alleyway and stop at the door. It's the only one here, so I am assuming it to be the back door the receptionist was talking about.
I knock on the door, and a second later, it opens.
A young, scantily clad woman appears from the other side.
Her thin white clothes seem to be covering not much more than the places that need to be covered, and her face doesn't show that I caught her during an uncomfortable time.
It's as if this is her usual outfit. Also, there is a weird sense of familiarity, as if I have seen her before somewhere.
"Ah, hi?" I say.
She squints at me. "Who are you?"
"I was told to come to the back gate to turn in a mission in secret?"
"Huh?" A sense of puzzlement crosses her face, and then she immediately comes to a realization, "Oh, they meant the back gate of the shrine. Does this look like a gate to you?"
Ah, I should have guessed.
"No, not really," I say.
"Oh well, it doesn't really matter. We can take your items here as well if you want. They just need to be able to fit through this alley," she says.
"Are you sure?"
She looks nothing like the formally dressed receptionists at the front.
"Yeah, of course. What mission are you turning in?"
"The prairie yams one."
The corners of her mouth spread wide.
"The Impossible Yams Mission?" She asks.
"That's the one."
"Oh, you came to the right place. There are people at the shrine waiting for a crusader to turn up with yams. They might not have been yours anymore if you went there."
Yeah, I doubt that. I would say my companion can fend off some yam bandits
"Okay," I say.
"Well, so show me these rumored yams."
I reach under my coat and take them out.
"Wow…" Her eyes glow as she reaches her hand toward me.
I bring the yams back. "Money first."
"Right, right. One second." She goes back and closes the door behind her.
"Master, are you sure she can be trusted?" Lohikaarmi asks.
"Nope."
A second later, the door opens again. A pouch comes flying out from within and lands right my one chest. It's heavy, almost enough to cause me to lose my footing when I caught it.
The woman peeks her head out of the half-opened door.
"There, forty gold coins," she says.
"You couldn't have given me slabs?" I ask as I hand her my proceeds.
"Most missions that reward in gold slabs are not submitted here. Also, what rank are you two?" She says and takes the yams.
"We are both D-."
"D-?"
"That's right."
"O, Goddess. If you intend on staying low, bad news, my friend."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"There is a leaderboard in the shrine that keeps track of any crusaders above A and those who climb quickly. You two have just made yourselves major celebrities."
I think I might have seen that leaderboard before.
"Why would we be on there?"
"You are D- crusaders who completed an A+ mission. Even though the difficulty is obviously not even close to any other on the A+ board, the rules are the rules, one of which would make you two A- crusaders."
"That's pretty good."
"Pretty good? It's never seen before!"
"Never seen before" probably doesn't have the meaning to me that she thinks it does.
"This is only a start."
"Cool, now go away, and pretend we never met," she says.
"What? Why?" I ask.
"You will cause a shit storm in no time, my friend, and I do not want to take part in it. Unless… you want to go out sometime?"
"No."
"Eh, worth a shot. Bye." She slams the door shut.
What a character.
"Let's go back," I say.
"Yes, Master."
Well, I am not complaining. There is really nothing to complain about. I didn't want to raise any suspicion because I thought others might mess up my plans, but now, I will be publicly recognized for my success, which is a different thing, a much better thing.
Who cares that the exploit might not work a second time? I now have the permission to take missions from within the Pitted Woods, and I got the Dragon Queen beside me.
Faye spots us coming back from the other side and comes running.
"What happened?" She asks.
I jingle the pouch in front of her.
"Is that…"
I untie the string knot and open it under direct sunlight. A gold, blinding glow comes flooding out from within.
Faye puts her hands to her mouth and stares with wide eyes. "Oh wow…"
Mission accomplished.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone