The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

"What are you grinning about? Did you hit your head?" Piper's big head suddenly popped out from the side.

"No," Lorraine said irritably. "I'm thinking about something."

"What is it?"

"I want to go to Frostvale."

Piper paused, then sat down cross-legged beside him, asking curiously, "Why did you suddenly decide to go there?"

Lorraine grinned, took out a cloth from somewhere, and began wiping the longsword in his hand.

"Register, official soldier."

The short man's eyes widened in surprise, and he almost dropped the hammer. "Really?! Your combo attack is already at a proficient level? And it's only been a few days!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I made a breakthrough in the battle just now." He nodded.

"That's great... Piper still hasn't learned Berserk." The short guy smirked.

"There should be other barbarians in Frostvale. We can try to learn other combat skills then. Anyway, the ranking doesn't require you to learn Berserk."

Lorraine offered suggestions.

"You can do that?!"

"You never even thought about trying a different combat technique before!?" he asked in surprise.

"Pipe didn't have any money before..."

"..."

Alright, they're both in the same boat.

Anya overheard their conversation and walked over, asking, "Are you going to Frostvale City to register as a full-fledged professional?"

"Yes," Lorraine nodded.

"Congratulations, with your abilities you should have been there long ago."

She smiled slightly, then reached out and gently touched the wound on his forehead.

As the warm light shone, the wound on Lorraine's forehead healed at a visible speed, and the pain in her body also subsided considerably.

"Thanks."

"No, I should be thanking you."

Anya bowed respectfully to him, looked into his eyes, and said earnestly, "Eileen is my best friend. We grew up together. She... doesn't say nice things, but she doesn't mean any harm."

"I know."

Ever since he saw her carving magic circles by the river in the cold wind, Lorraine has found it hard to be angry with her.

He has always cared only about what others do, not what they say.

Anya nodded, took out a silver-white metal badge from her belt, and handed it to Lorraine.

"This is my personal keepsake," she said. "If you ever run into trouble, take this badge to any temple of the Lord of Dawn, and they will do their best to help you."

"this..."

Lorraine accepted the badge. He was still not used to being thanked so sincerely, especially by a priest who could help him from the temple of any Dawn Lord.

"This is too valuable."

He really didn't feel he deserved such gratitude, after all, helping his comrades in battle was just a very ordinary thing for him.

"You saved my friend's life."

Anya looked at Lorraine, whose gentle eyes held an emotion rarely shown in public, and even now Anya could still feel a deep sense of lingering fear.

"If something happens to her, I don't know how I'll explain it to her father, and I don't know how I'll explain it to myself."

"So... thank you."

She bowed deeply to Lorraine once again.

"You're welcome."

Lorraine knew it would be inappropriate to refuse any longer, so she accepted the badge.

"Um... if you're done talking, could you help me with my treatment?" Renn limped over.

His left armplate was dented, and his body was riddled with dents and pockmarks. Blood flowed from his head down to his chin, making him look exceptionally pitiful.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

Anya smiled sheepishly and cast a healing spell on him as well.

"Hiss... He's alive."

Rein wearily removed his helmet, extended his right hand, gently patted Lorraine on the shoulder, and nodded, saying, "Thanks."

Before Lorraine could react, he immediately turned and walked away.

"This..." Lorraine was stunned for a moment.

"Raine isn't much of a talker; this is the first time I've seen him willingly take the initiative to speak."

Anya looked at him with a strange expression.

Is this... a warrior with social anxiety?

Lorraine twitched the corner of his mouth. If you included him and Piper, the composition of this team could only be described as very abstract.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"Um?"

"We are also preparing to head to Frostvale City. If possible, I would like to hire you for a period of time. What do you think?" Anya asked.

"Hiring? What are the specifics?" Lorraine asked, puzzled.

Anya glanced back at Eileen and Ryan, then sat down beside them.

She tilted her head slightly and said softly, "Actually, our trip north this time wasn't just to hunt rock-dwelling salamanders."

Lorraine nodded. He had heard Nathan mention this before; the team had been passing through Shallow Beach Town.

"The Lord of Dawn has many temples in the North, but Frostvale is one of the more important ones. Every year before spring, the various temples hold a grand spring feast, which includes prayers, almsgiving, and routine sacrificial rites."

"In previous years, the Frostvale Temple handled the event itself, but this year Duke Kasper specifically asked me to come and take a look."

"Want to take a look?" Lorraine asked, frowning.

"How could a duke be so interested in the temple's spring ceremony..." he wondered.

"They said they were helping with the preparations, but actually..."

Anya understood the implication in his words. After a moment's hesitation, she carefully considered her words and said:

"Actually, they wanted me to take this opportunity to learn about the situation in the border towns. After all, the Duke's territory is in the south, separated from the border by the Greystone Ridge. The waterway has recently been cut off by this rock-dwelling salamander, making communication difficult."

So preparing for the Spring Feast was just a formality; the real purpose was to inspect the borders, and the security, public sentiment, and the loyalty of the lords were mostly within the scope of this "look around"... Lorraine understood what she meant.

He frowned immediately and asked, "This kind of thing... isn't something you outsiders can handle, is it?"

Even Nathan, the mayor of Shallow Beach, knew about this. How could they possibly keep it from Viscount Herman?

Or perhaps Nathan was one of their men... Lorraine recalled the three men's attitude towards Nathan and began to have some guesses.

"So we can't make a big fuss about it." Anya smiled slightly. "On the surface, we're the priests and their guards who came to prepare for the feast, but we'll keep an eye on things that need to be watched out for in secret."

So I need someone familiar with the area. Nathan mentioned you came from Frostvale, right?

Lorraine did not deny that he had lived in the slums of Frostvale for nearly half a year, carrying goods during the day and scaling walls at night, and could indeed be said to be very familiar with the area.

"We need mentors and assistants."

Anya touched her waist, suddenly realizing she hadn't brought any money. She smiled awkwardly, then her eyes lit up when she saw the red-haired mage rubbing his arm as he approached.

"How about this, I'll have Eileen teach you how to cast spells, okay?"