Cassandra put her backpack right beside the couch. The backpack wasn’t big at all, in fact, it was as big as the backpack that Del brought from Pidma. It rose another question, where did Cassandra put all of her belongings?

“Cassandra, if I may ask, where do you put all of the surgical tools or the first aid kit?” Del asked.

“In my backpack, of course,” Cassandra answered. She then opened her backpack and pulled out another bag from that backpack. That bag was only a little bit smaller than the backpack from which she pulled the bag.

“What kind of backpack is that? I doubt an ordinary backpack can do that,” Del commented.

“This is a magical backpack. It provides the backpack a bigger space and reduces the weight of the luggage by 90%,” Cassandra explained.

“Wow, really?” Del asked.

“Yup, the space inside of the backpack depends on the amount of magical energy poured into the backpack. A large amount of magical energy is required to make a large space inside of a magical backpack,” Cassandra explained.

“How much did you pay for this backpack?” Del asked.

“It is supposed to be fifty gold coins, but since I make this backpack myself, maybe it only costs my magical energy,” Cassandra said.

“How much stuff did you put inside of that thing?” Del asked.

“A lot of stuff,” Cassandra said.

“Can you teach me how to make one?” Del asked.

“Well, first of all, you need a regular backpack first,” Cassandra said.

“I do have that,” Del said.

“Well, in that case, I will teach you later,” Cassandra said.

“Alright, I understand. Anyway, since you’ll be living here for a while, what will you do today? Do you want to tag along with us to do a bounty hunting activity?” Del asked.

“Sure, I meant, I think I can tag along,” Cassandra said.

“Very well then, anyway, unlike Cole, you’re registered in the adventurer’s guild, right? Do you have any certification that you have so I can dictate your strength?” Del asked.

“Sure, here’s my status plate,” Cassandra said.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Cassandra Gable] [Level: 75]

Strength: 241

Agility: 359

Vitality: 100

Aptitude: 525

Perception: 275

Skills: Water Manipulation LVL.45 | Health Manipulation LVL.32 | Magic Comprehension LVL.60

Magical Energy: 157500/157500

Health Point: 75000/75000

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

The first thing that Del wanted to say was, “Damn, these are some big boi numbers, how the hell had it reached this high anyway?” Del wondered how the hell Cassandra had that monstrous amount of magical energy and health.

“Well, I’ve lived for quite a long time although I don’t necessarily spend most of my time adventuring from one place to another. Still, this is quite normal in the demon world,” Cassandra put his plate back into her pocket.

“What’s your qualification rank anyway?” Del asked.

“B,” Cassandra answered.

“B rank adventurer??? Then your salary must be a lot, right?” Del asked.

“Yup, I get around two hundred gold coins per quest at average,” Cassandra answered.

“I see, it must be nice living as a rich adventurer, isn’t it?” Del asked.

“Well, I can’t exactly say I don’t enjoy it. Still, most of that money is for paying something that I need to pay in Ilbistirum,” Cassandra said.

“Ilbistirum?” Del asked.

“Our country,” Cole added.

Wait, they were living in Ilbistirum? Del previously thought that both Cole and Cassandra were from the Reian Kingdom. Well, It was surprising to be entirely honest. It might be one of the reasons why Cole and Cassandra were not even aggressive when they met humans. Although, it had to be admitted that Cole saw Del as an inferior creature at first.

“Oh, you both are not living in Reian?” Del asked.

“No, of course, we are not,” Cole said.

“I see. Well, what are going to do for today?” Del asked, “Do you want us to go adventuring? Or should we just stay at home?”

“Up to you, really,” Cassandra said.

“So, should we go to Alder now?” Del asked.

“Sure.”

====================================================

“Ah, Mrs. Gable, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Is there anything I can do for you, specifically?” The receptionist asked.

Unlike Del that didn’t even get a greet, Cassandra got one from the guild receptionist due to her high rank among the adventurers. Del waited right behind her with his M240 on his back. He wondered what kind of quest Cassandra would take.

“It’s a pleasure to see you too, anyway, do you have any search and rescue quests? I brought companies with me so it should be easier than usual,” Cassandra answered.

“I see, I see, well, someone is missing on the northern part of the road between Midham and Begard. As you know, the adventurer is missing on the foot of Adrea mountain,” the receptionist explained.

“Who are we going to search, an expedition, or just a group?” Cassandra asked.

“You’re looking for a group of adventurers,” The receptionist said.

“I see,” Cassandra nodded.

“Here’s the task list. Good luck, Mrs. Gable,” The receptionist gave Cassandra a piece of paper.

“What is on the list?” Del asked.

“Read it by yourself,” Cassandra showed him the paper.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Search in the Mountain] [Difficulty: B]

A group of adventurers is reported to be missing at the foot of Adrea mountain. The group consists of six adventurers consisted of five swordsmen and one mage. The last known position of the group is on the north side of the closer side of Midham.

Reward: 10 white gold coins.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

“The description is rather… vague,” Del commented.

“Well, it’s called searching not for nothing,” Cassandra smiled.

“Anyway, do you have any plan, Cassandra?” Del asked.

“I usually work solo, but Del, what do you have in mind, you’re the team leader after all,” Cassandra said.

“Well, with how vague the location is, I’d prefer to have Wolfie to guide us. We will go to the northern part of the road and we will start searching to the north,” Del said.

“And then?” Cassandra asked.

“We can start tracking down the adventurers with some tracking techniques that I learned and with Wolfie’s ability,” Del said.

“Oh, when did you learn that?” Cassandra asked.

“Youth Red Cross, an organization, I doubt it exists here though. It’s kinda like a medical volunteer organization if I simplify it,” Del answered.

“Oh, like MSVI, well, it’s an organization in my university anyway,” Cassandra said.

“MSVI?” Del asked.

“Medical Student Volunteer for Ilbistrum,” Cassandra said.

“Oh, I see,” Del nodded.

==============================================

Back in the house, Del, Cole, and Cassandra were planing their rescue operation more thoroughly. First of all, Del might be a former member of the Youth Red Cross, but he only had participated in a search and rescue operation twice in his entire life.

Second, Cassandra might be more familiar with the terrain than Del. Cassandra also could help Del making a new magical backpack. That way, he could carry much more luggage than he was supposed to be carried using an ordinary backpack.

“So, about the rescue operation, can you tell me more about what kind of condition we will be facing?” Del asked.

“Well, the moment you entered the foot of Adrea mountain, you a need thick clothing. The shirt that you wore might not be enough,” Cassandra commented.

“It can be taken care of quite easily. Anyway, what is the threat that we are most likely to face in the mountain,” Del asked.

“Well, we enter the Taiga at first, in that region, you will encounter snow wolves most commonly. They aren’t hostile, but in a group, they are. There are also ice slimes that differ greatly from regular slime. This slime can shoot ice spike at great velocity, sometimes, even piercing metal armor,” Cassandra said.

“Hmm, is that ice spike small?” Del asked.

“Yes, that’s why it’s dangerous, it’s a solid spit of ice shot at great velocity,” Cassandra said.

“I see,” Del nodded.

Maybe the FLAK jacket was all that he needed after all. Del could protect himself against a projectile like that, but a plate armor probably couldn’t. Even though plate armor could be said as a thing that would turn anyone into a walking tank, it wasn’t exactly that thick. Against bullet, it was as good as a coffin.

“Anyway, do you have enough camping equipment for us?” Del asked.

“Well, I have all of my equipment set, still, it might be a good idea to turn one of your backpacks into a magical backpack, what do you think, Del?” Cassandra offered.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Del handled Cassandra his empty WW2 backpack.

“Hmm,” Cassandra looked at the backpack, “This should do nicely.”

“What would you do?” Del asked.

“Let’s upgrade this backpack of yours, shall we?”