The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Anya nodded slightly, then confirmed:

"How much preparation time do you need?"

"Pip's hammer is being enchanted; it will take another two days," the short man whispered.

"...Enchantment?"

The red-haired mage raised her eyebrows. She could hardly believe what she had just heard. These two poor bastards actually had money to enchant their items?

Although magical equipment wasn't particularly expensive for them, Anya had a full four pieces of magical equipment.

Although Eileen's family wasn't as wealthy as hers, her father still prepared a staff and a life-saving magical accessory for her.

But that's an enchantment!

It's almost equivalent to combining two magical items into one, and there's still a considerable chance of failure.

Enchanting materials are far rarer than magical equipment, and even a father would rarely do such a wasteful thing.

Where did these two people get the money?

Eileen's gaze swept back and forth between Lorraine and Piper twice, but in the end she said nothing, only hummed and swallowed her doubts.

"Then I feel much more at ease."

Anya was somewhat surprised, but she didn't care about these minor details. Everyone has their own background and secrets, and she has never liked to pry into things.

She looked at the sky outside the window.

The sun is setting in the west.

The last rays of warm orange light gently spread across the snow-covered rooftops, the tiny specks of light dancing lightly in the distance, as if turning the entire rooftops into a gently rippling lake.

"Then it's settled."

Anya slowly stood up, crossed her hands on her lower abdomen, and gave a slight bow to Lorraine and Piper.

"We plan to take action the day after tomorrow evening, as rock-dwelling salamanders are most active at dusk and are easier to catch."

She smiled gently and said, "Before that, please get some rest and make sure you're well-rested."

The little guy slid off the chair, patted his bottom, and chuckled, "Don't worry, Piper is best at sleeping, if not everything else."

Lorraine also stood up and nodded to Anya.

The two walked out of the reception room, and as they closed the door, Eileen's soft exclamation could be heard behind them: "Half-barbarian... truly incredible."

They walked through the corridor and pushed open the doors of the government building.

A cold wind swept over us, and scattered lights had been lit on the streets. Pine branch wreaths hanging everywhere swayed in the wind.

Lorraine tucked his hands into his sleeves and walked towards the tavern. He glanced back at the government office and muttered, "Those three are not simple people."

The short man followed beside him, his short legs moving swiftly. He nodded in agreement.

"Pip realized it too; that warrior's armor alone could buy our lives."

"Nathan said they were just passing through, so their original destination was Frostvale City nearby? Or the Misty Forest?" Lorraine squinted as he pondered.

"Don't think about it too much. Do you think there's roast lamb leg tonight? Piper wants some."

"Braised beans with meat is also good..."

......

The taverns are busier than usual before Midwinter.

Many adventurers who had been traveling abroad returned to their hometowns at this time, but the lower classes of this world had little entertainment and could only gather in taverns to drink and chat.

Haifu was busy behind the bar, pouring drinks into glasses while calling out to the kitchen, "Is the rabbit meat ready yet?!"

The bar where the two usually sat was occupied by several adventurers, so they could only say hello to Heif and then find an empty seat in the corner.

"You're back?"

Haif came over with two glasses of ale and asked curiously, "Pip said you were going to pick up that commission. How did it go? Did you see the people the Duke sent?"

"I've run into... wow, this ale is really cold."

Piper took a big gulp of ale, shivered from the cold, and then gestured:

"Three professional warriors: a priest, a mage, and a warrior. The priest is named Anya, she's incredibly kind and polite. The mage is named Eileen, she's like a fire dragon... and what was the other one's name again?"

"Raine," Lorraine added.

Haif snorted coldly: "A young man who's already a professional, and a descendant of nobility, it's perfectly normal for him to be arrogant."

"Two roasted lamb legs, a serving of stewed beans and meat, and two loaves of bread," Lorraine interjected.

Haifu smirked, announced the names of the dishes to the kitchen, then pointed at him and scolded, "You brat! I'm providing you with meals, and you don't even know how to be polite."

"What did they say?" he then asked.

Lorraine picked up his glass and took a sip. After spending so much time with Haif, he had become much more thick-skinned and didn't care about Haif's scolding at all.

He then briefly explained the hunting plan.

"Such a large rock-dwelling salamander, and they asked you two to be in charge of the retreat?" Haifu frowned.

"right."

Haif was silent for a while, then beckoned a waiter to take over his work and simply plopped down next to the two of them.

"With your current strength, you might not be unable to stop that rock-dwelling salamander. Just be careful, if it escapes, so be it. You're just doing this for money anyway," he said thoughtfully.

Lorraine nodded, knowing he genuinely cared for them both, and promised, "We'll be careful."

"Hehe, I'm not worried about you, but I need to keep a close eye on Piper. He hasn't fully mastered Berserk yet, and I'm afraid he might get carried away."

Haifu took the beer from the waiter and drank most of it in one gulp.

The short man chuckled awkwardly, but didn't defend himself.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

Lorraine rubbed his fingers, recalling his encounter with Sylvia, and felt he should let Hef know about it too.

"There's one more thing. When we went to the Misty Forest to collect fire oil, we encountered a female elf who called herself Sylvia. She was accompanied by a huge bear."

He recounted the events exactly as they happened.

Piper listened attentively and nodded repeatedly, adding, "That bear is huge! It even has red stripes on its body; it looks terrifying."

"The Flame-Patterned Giant Bear...she's a Beastmane Druid." Hef was startled by their experience, then asked to confirm, "What did the flame markings on that bear look like?"

"What else could the flame pattern be? A pattern resembling flames... but it also glows with each breath." Lorraine thought carefully.

Haif's expression suddenly became complicated. He glanced around and said in a low voice:

"That's a giant bear with fiery markings that's close to the 'transcendent' level. Once the markings on its body truly ignite with flames, it means it has already stepped into the 'transcendent' realm."

"And the Sylvia you described... is most likely already a 'transcendent'."

Lorraine's eyes widened.

He knew that the elf was strong, but he didn't expect her to be this strong. No wonder his magic couldn't sense her emotions; the difference in strength was simply too great.

Luckily, his sword failed to strike, Lorraine thought with relief, but then he felt very puzzled.

"Then why did she stop that Flame-Patterned Giant Bear from attacking us? And why did she even give us Fire Oil Grass?"