I Have a Task Log

Chapter 221: Chapter 220: Wonderful Roasted Meat

’Bob sure has a lot of friends,’ Colin grumbled to himself.

"Alright then," he said, "one for each of us."

"It’s a large platter," the Elf innkeeper said with a smile. "One will be enough for your party. And four glasses of mead."

"We’ll need a room as well," Colin added.

"An oak-view room or an ordinary one?"

"The cheaper one."

The innkeeper immediately spoke a few words in the Elf Language to the oak tree behind him.

A faint creaking, like the swaying of wood, immediately came from the middle of the giant oak tree.

’This should be good enough,’ Colin thought to himself as he led the others to an empty table.

While waiting for the food to arrive, Colin walked over to the entrance to check the notice board.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy on the bounty board. The listings were similar to the ones in Flint Village, but with the addition of many monsters from the Supreme Forest. There were bounties for everything from Wyverns and Four-armed Giant Apes to adult Green Dragons.

Presumably thanks to the hard work of other Adventurers, all the bounties were high-difficulty; the low-Level ones had already been cleared out. After looking everything over, White Frost still seemed like the most suitable choice.

If they were really going to hunt White Frost, they would need a lead at the very least.

Colin glanced around the tavern, then swallowed his pride and went to ask a few questions of the people who looked like Rangers.

He spent several Silver Coins buying mead for a few people in a row and only managed to gather some information after chatting for a long time.

Colin didn’t return to the table until he saw Ale waving at him.

Before he could even speak, four burly men walked over carrying a stone slab large enough to cover almost the entire tabletop, which they placed directly on the table.

On the slab was their roasted meat platter, an exceptionally hefty portion.

In the center of the slab was a whole leg of venison and a rack of pork ribs, surrounded by piles of roasted acorns, carrots, and potatoes. Besides those, there were also a few loaves of freshly baked White Bread and some verdant green moss.

"How did it go?" Kase asked.

"I have good news and bad news," Colin said. "The good news is that White Frost seems to be active in the area southeast of Moss Stone Village. There’s a small village over there called Oakville where we can stay."

"And the bad news is that no one’s willing to be our guide, right?" Kase said.

"You guessed it," Colin said. "Eighty percent of them turned me down before I could even get the words out. People here are really spooked."

"That’s a real pain. I thought that bear was over by the hills," Kase said, looking troubled.

"I was expecting you to say something like, ’I’ll take ya there myself!’" Colin rumbled, mimicking the other man’s tone. The other two immediately burst out laughing.

Kase shot him a disgusted look. "This forest is a bit... off. I’m not confident enough for that. Why don’t we go back and check around Flint Village again?"

"I have a feeling it won’t be that easy to find a suitable... Ah, whatever. Let’s eat first and think about it later." ƒгeewёbnovel.com

With that, Colin looked at the roasted meat on the table, tore off a piece of moss, wrapped it around a piece of meat, and popped it into his mouth.

The moment the meat entered his mouth, a gentle bite released a burst of savory juices. The sauce on top was perfectly balanced, cutting through the gamey taste of the wild animal.

And the moss wrapped around the meat had no earthy flavor at all; it was like eating lettuce with a slightly odd texture.

"So that’s not just for decoration?" Orelia asked, a little surprised.

"I saw the Elves over there eating it like this. It’s not bad," Colin said, taking a gulp of mead.

It tasted like honey water going down, followed by a subtle, herbal tartness. You had to really savor it to taste any alcohol; it was more like a sweet beverage than actual liquor.

The group dug in, working together to finish the platter of roasted meat.

Kase ate a lot, Orelia ate little, and even after splitting it up, there was still plenty left over.

The strange thing was Ale. Though she didn’t look like she could eat much, her appetite was on par with Kase’s. Her small mouth took bite after tiny bite without stopping, and Colin was starting to worry she’d eat until she burst.

Just then, the tavern door was pushed open.

Colin looked up and saw, to his surprise, the very people they had rescued from the Goblin Cave. They were being led into the tavern by a Guard.

The Guard exchanged a few words with the innkeeper, who nodded with a stern expression.

Afterward, the people following the Guard walked toward the nearby staircase and went up to the tavern’s second floor. It looked like they were being put up in the tavern’s guest rooms.

The Adventurer who had spoken with Colin earlier didn’t follow the main group. He walked over to the counter and began asking something at each table, but judging by his expression, he wasn’t getting the answer he wanted.

Before long, the Adventurer spotted Colin’s group and walked over on his own initiative.

The Adventurer came over and asked, "Heroes, are you staying here too?"

"Why aren’t you with the others?" Colin asked in return.

"I live around here, but a lot of them want to go to Thousand Masts City," the Adventurer said with a shy smile. "So I was hoping to find a job as a guide, see if I could head home on the way."

"A guide?" Colin’s interest was piqued.

A hint of confidence entered the honest-looking young man’s voice. "I’m the son of the Forester here. I grew up around the Supreme Forest. I can use a Short Bow and a Hunting Knife, and I’ve killed a few wolves before."

"Perfect. We’re planning to stay in Oakville to hunt a great bear called White Frost. Can you be our guide?" Colin asked quickly.

"My home is right over there!" the young man said, pleasantly surprised. "In that case, I’ll guide you for free. It’s a perfect chance for me to get home."

"Forget that. Just charge us the standard rate for these parts."

"We’ll be taking the smaller paths. It’s not really dangerous, just easy to get lost. Eight Silver Coins will be enough."

"And what if we wanted to hire you to help us track the great bear in the forest?"

"Well... I’ve never taken on a task like that before, sir."

"We can discuss it on the way then. We’re definitely heading to Oakville to stay for a bit anyway," Colin said. "By the way, what’s your name?"

"I am Aidan, son of Ronan the Forester, Mister Mage."

"Eight Silver Coins it is, then. We leave tomorrow."

Aidan gave a shy smile and said, "Alright. We leave tomorrow."

After that, the group had a few more glasses of mead. Once they’d eaten and drunk their fill, they returned to their room to rest.

The accommodations at this tavern were excellent. It had a public bath, and the mattresses, covered with woolen blankets, were clean and soft. Lying in bed, you could even smell the faint scent of acorns.

The meal and a night’s lodging cost each member of the party about one Gold Coin, which was well worth it.

They were staying in an ordinary guest room. That evening, Colin had asked if the others wanted to upgrade to a fancier oak-view room, but everyone agreed that looking at an oak tree probably wasn’t that fun, so they didn’t book it.

’Still, he felt a twinge of regret just before falling asleep.’

「Early the next morning」

Aidan led Colin and the others along a small path into the Supreme Forest, heading southeast.