Chapter 93: Chapter 93

Early morning sunlight filtered through the window cracks, falling on Lin Mo's face.

Before even opening his eyes, Lin Mo's consciousness gradually awakened, the stifling air making him frown.

Summer weather was truly unbearable. If only this world had air conditioning...

But why did he feel somewhat cool? Had the villagers delivered ice?

The icy sensation quickly jolted Lin Mo awake, and only then did he hear the steady breathing sound beside him.

Looking down, he saw two slender arms tightly wrapped around his waist, pale thighs draped over him as if clinging to a body pillow.

The heavy weight on his chest was a girl's delicate face, the ears on her head pressed directly against his chest, furry and slightly ticklish.

Lin Mo froze for a long moment, confirming he hadn't drunk last night nor done anything strange.

"Lin Mo, are you awake? The Village Chief said he needs to..."

Alden, who had pushed the door open, looked at the scene before him, his mouth twitching as he silently closed the door again.

"Ahem—The Village Chief needs us for something. You... you two come to his house after getting up."

Lin Mo raised his hands high with an innocent expression.

Damn, this was like yellow mud falling into his pants—hard to explain even if innocent.

Ellie was finally awakened by the commotion, emitting a coquettish hum, rubbing her eyes while looking dazedly at Lin Mo.

"Ah, Lin Mo... good morning."

Good morning my foot!

Lin Mo couldn't help but pinch her cheek: "Wake up, Ellie. Why are you in my room?"

Ellie froze for a moment, finally realizing the problem. Frowning in thought for a while, she suddenly slapped her palm: "I remember! Last night I got up to use the bathroom and forgot how to get back to my room."

"And then... I think I accidentally went to the wrong room..."

Noticing Lin Mo's somewhat unhappy mood, Ellie lowered her head and spoke carefully.

"You can get that wrong?"

Lin Mo wore an expression of speechlessness. Had he known, he shouldn't have slept so soundly yesterday.

"I just smelled a really nice scent, and then..."

Ellie scratched her head, "Sorry, don't be angry, okay?"

"It's not exactly anger."

Lin Mo didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "But you should at least pay some attention. See, the captain just misunderstood."

Ellie didn't speak, just giggled foolishly.

"Would Lin Mo hate this?"

Ellie didn't answer, blinking her eyes before directly hugging him.

Lin Mo's body stiffened, suddenly realizing she wasn't actually that clueless.

So did this count as him being harassed?

Ellie leaned close to his ear, whispering softly: "Last night, I was really scared something would happen to you, so scared..."

"At that time I thought, if you could come back alive, I definitely wouldn't be such a coward anymore."

"So, would you hate this?"

Ellie's body was very soft, astonishingly so. Her slender arms wrapped around him, trembling slightly with nervousness. At such close distance, Lin Mo could clearly hear her beating heart.

"No, it's comfortable."

Lin Mo finally followed his heart with the answer. Ellie's body was cool, really comfortable to hug in such hot weather, like being wrapped in a small ice blanket...

Ellie nuzzled against his chest, emitting comfortable whimpers.

When they arrived side by side at the Village Chief's house, their teammates' gazes turned toward them simultaneously, eyes carrying varying degrees of teasing.

It seemed Alden wasn't very thick-skinned, having directly spilled everything.

Although Lin Mo really wanted to explain that he hadn't done anything, upon further thought it wasn't necessary.

Lin Mo shrugged. As long as he had thick enough skin, he could directly ignore their looks and act like nothing happened.

The Village Chief entered the room holding a document. "Mr. Alden, this is your team's mission document." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novelFirｅ.net

Falling Leaves Village had suffered heavy losses this time. Although the mission was ultimately completed, relevant circumstances still needed the Village Chief's personal explanation and seal, otherwise it might affect the association's evaluation and rewards for the mission.

The other teams had already taken their documents and left. The Raging Bull Team was the last because of Lin Mo's "sleeping in."

Alden accepted the document, exchanged pleasantries with the Village Chief, and prepared to leave.

"Actually... I have another presumptuous request."

The Village Chief hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

"I know your mission is already completed, but this matter... our villagers alone simply can't handle it. We must rely on the strength of you adventurers..."

"Please speak, Village Chief."

Alden didn't agree directly, instead first inquiring about the specific situation.

"It's . After those goblins retreated yesterday, I assessed the village's casualties. Besides those killed by goblins, there are also some missing people."

He pursed his lips: "Most of the missing are young girls aged 10 to 20 from the village... my granddaughter is among them."

Lin Mo recalled that yesterday he had rescued several girls from that Goblin Spellcaster, but that obviously couldn't be all of them. The remaining girls had likely been taken away earlier.

"The total number of missing girls exceeds 50. If we go to the association now to post a new mission, I'm afraid..."

I'm afraid by the time new adventurers arrive, the situation would be beyond saving.

"I know this might make you feel uncomfortable, but we definitely won't let you help for free!"

The old Village Chief spoke while taking out the heavy cloth bag hanging from his waist.

Inside were over twenty gold coins, more than a hundred silver coins, and many copper coins.

"This is the savings accumulated over years by me and the relatives of the missing girls, plus money collected with help from other villagers."

He put down the cloth bag, then went to the inner room and brought out a yellowed scroll.

His withered arm tightly clutched the scroll, carefully unrolling it: "One of my ancestors was once a professional. This is the skill he left behind when departing the village. But over all these years, no one has been able to learn it. If you can help us rescue those poor girls, this scroll will be given to you as reward."

A skill no one could learn for so many years?

Alden felt somewhat suspicious. Could it be fake?

The Village Chief nodded, handing them the scroll.

Alden took it and glanced, immediately understanding the situation.

In such a small village, if someone could learn spells just from this scroll alone, that would be truly miraculous.

Hearing these four words, Lin Mo's eyes lit up. He took the scroll from Alden and examined it carefully.

Indeed, it contained much content about "magic circuits" and "incantations," similar to the spell scroll he obtained earlier.

But the one he got before was related to "fire" magic, while this scroll was related to "ice."

"Lin Mo, what do you think?"

Alden clearly noticed Lin Mo's strong interest in this spell scroll and seized the opportunity to inquire: "Should we accept this Village Chief's commission?"

Although he was the Raging Bull Team's leader, the current core had clearly become Lin Mo.

The old Village Chief also looked at him with pleading eyes.

Although he didn't understand much about professionals, last night's battle situation had changed precisely with this young man's departure and return.

Lin Mo was his last hope.

All the previous teams had rejected his commission...

Not that they lacked sympathy, but the mission's difficulty was truly unpredictable.

Yesterday's goblin army had only scattered in chaos, not been wiped out. Several Mutated Goblins were still alive. Recklessly pursuing them would be too dangerous...

Moreover, frankly, the rewards offered by the old Village Chief weren't very enticing.

Those twenty-plus gold coins weren't much to them, and even if they obtained this mage scroll, they could only sell it.

Although mage scrolls were indeed valuable, potentially fetching hundreds of gold coins, they'd need to consign it at a city auction, which would take a long time and be very troublesome.

Of course, the main reason was that they acknowledged lacking the ability to rescue people.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Mo finally nodded.

He couldn't give up on becoming a mage, so this spell scroll was highly tempting to him.

Moreover, if they didn't rescue those girls, after some time new Mutated Goblins and even Goblin Spellcasters would emerge, rendering last night's victory meaningless.

Therefore, whether out of humanitarian considerations, future planning, or including the post-completion rewards, he had no reason to refuse the Village Chief's request.

"What about the rest of you? This isn't an association mission, so whether to accompany us is your freedom."

The assassin Carson said with a bitter smile: "I'm currently injured. Even if I went with you, I'd probably just hold you back..."

Knight Rick also shook his head.

Solan hesitated somewhat, glanced at Alden, and remained silent with lowered head for a long time.

"You should return with them too."

Alden looked at him: "This mission is very dangerous. You'd only be a hindrance if you came. Remember to tell Bella not to worry, I'll return soon..."

Lin Mo promptly stopped him from jinxing it. Under Alden's puzzled gaze, he explained: "He understands what you mean. In my hometown, saying such things has somewhat unlucky symbolism."

Alden nodded without further inquiry: "Anyway, that's it. You three take the carriage back first. We'll leave after rescuing the people."

As for Ellie, he didn't ask and didn't need to.

Judging by her look, she probably wished she could stick to Lin Mo every moment...

Moreover, compared to the other three, Ellie's strength was greater, at least capable of self-protection.

"No time to delay, let's depart now!"