Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 43: Should I ask them if they want tea or coffee?

"It is ready, a bow according to your nature." With a wide smile on his face, Erick brought the finished bow from inside his shop.

[Pulley Bow (Imbued with Magic)] [(Blessing of Wind, Water, and Lightning)]

Outwardly, the bow looks the same as before, but when I touch it, a change occurs. It makes me feel like the heat and humidity of the environment have disappeared, creating the perfect environment to aim and shoot an arrow.

"Now the bow is invulnerable to any type of weather, whether there is a storm or infernal heat at the time of shooting the arrow, it will not be affected by anything. In addition, the arrows will be able to travel a greater distance, improving their precision and power. A single arrow shot from this bow will immediately become one of the highest qualities."

'If just by touching the bow I can already feel the benefits, I can't even imagine what it will be like to shoot an arrow.'

"How much do I owe you?"

"As we talked about before, it's better that you pay me with work. I have some weapons right now for you to identify."

"Okay, I won't be long."

Each rune is Blessing of Wind, Blessing of Water, and Blessing of Lightning. From looking at the slot, I can understand that the three runes merged into one, very similar to [Edge+]. Since it's just an abbreviation in the name, I didn't take it too seriously.

After the identification of the weapons, we said goodbye to Erick.

I was sorely tempted to ask for a rune fusion on each of my arrows, but I held back. I still have a debt to pay with Erick, and if I add more to the account, I fear that he will start charging interest for delinquency.

"Why do we walk through little-traveled streets and alleys?"

"For our peace of mind, so we don't run into other pedestrians."

'I'm not lying, it's for our peace of mind. Especially to avoid fighting those red dots on my map. I don't know what they are planning, but if my UI marks them as enemies, it must be for something.'

"Good morning. I wanted to know if my mission has been accepted by someone."

"Mm, let me see… It has been accepted by a warrior named Zia. She left a note saying that she would come at noon, so there are only a few minutes until her arrival"

"Thanks"

'Zia… The name rings a bell. Well, it's not a strange name either; maybe I heard it on the street or somewhere else.'

"I've been curious as to why you want to visit those floors, master."

"Later, you will understand for yourself."

Although Alessia seemed unhappy with my answer, she still nodded.

'If I told her that I was doing all this for her, what would she think? Haa... Even so, it would be difficult to explain in words, it will be best if she sees it.'

Following the receptionist, we entered a small room. Having created a quest in the Adventurer's Guild, I am granted a room to meet with those who accepted the job. It has a large table in the center and some seats on its sides.

If it were an important mission, then the room would be soundproofed and the chairs would be replaced with comfortable couches.

"Here is the employer; go ahead."

"Understood"

Minutes later, the receptionist appeared along with a beautiful woman.

[Zia] [Warrior Lvl16]

Zia has waist-length black hair. Blue-eyed, with a mole under her left eye. She's slim, and her breast size is very similar to Alessia's, but unlike her, Zia exudes an older sister aura.

"Wow, as the saying goes, the world is the size of a handkerchief."

Emir: "…"

Alessia: "…"

'This woman is part of the group of three annoying beauties!'

Although it was only Miria who told us 'weak' before fighting the skeleton boss, the others didn't even say anything at her contemptuous words.

"Hello, long time no see; my name is Emir."

"And I, Alessia, a pleasure."

"Mn, the pleasure is mine, Alessia. My name is Zia, and you must be the employer, right?"

Zia spoke to Alessia with a smile on her face and in a very polite manner. She mistook her for the employer. Something that is not very strange considering that, being a short mission, it is not necessary to find out too much about who created it.

"It's not me who created the mission."

"Ah, I see, it's you. I'm sorry"

'Hey! Don't change your tone of voice when talking to me.'

"Since you accepted the quest, that means you entered the 6th and 9th floors, right? I'd like to go immediately if you don't mind."

"Hmm, I think maybe it is for the better; let's go now."

'Haa… Does she have something against me, or am I overthinking things?'

As with Marc, the bow seller, I looked at Alessia, hinting to her that she would be the one to talk to Zia from now on to avoid trouble.

"Miss Zia, about that time in the skeleton boss fight, what was your tactic? We just cut its knees and then its elbows since we didn't have another way to get to its head."

"Don't call me 'Miss'. You currently have the highest rank on this mission. Just call me Zia"

"…It's okay"

Then we saw a carriage parked, so we took it. After paying the driver, he headed towards the east exit of the city. Sitting in the carriage, Zia spoke again.

"The simplest tactic to defeat that skeleton is to wait for it to attack vertically with the swords, then cut its wrists. At that point, the skeleton will want to attack with its feet, but its weight will make it fall. Once on the ground, it is simple to cut its neck"

"Oh, that's a new way of dealing with the situation."

'So, we didn't have to go through all that trouble, huh? Its first attack was in a vertical line, and due to the weight of the swords, its hands remained on the ground for several seconds. Long enough to cut its wrists.'

"Since you defeated the boss, it means that you are strong people, especially being a group of only two. Let me warn you that the Bajamira labyrinth is extremely easy, and the deaths inside it are very few compared to the great Altamira labyrinth. However, its bosses are strong; they should not be despised"

"Thanks, we know."

Zia smiled very elegantly and patted Alessia's shoulder. It was an action that could have many meanings. At least for me, it meant that she praised Alessia for her knowledge. 

Knowledge is power. No matter how obvious something seems, it still needs to be investigated. Especially thanks to the bad reputation of the golden labyrinth, where no one deigns to find out enough before entering.

'By the way, the two of them sat on the seats in front of me, and I'm alone here on this site. Should I ask them if they want tea or coffee?'

"You are extremely beautiful, dear. You shouldn't risk your life fighting in a labyrinth. How did you get into this situation?" Zia asked.

"Mm, it has been since I was little…"

Alessia looked at the window next to her for a few seconds before continuing.

"My mother was very sick, so I had to earn money from an early age. Luckily, I met a group that was in similar situations and joined them. One thing led to another, and we managed to raise some money to buy some used weapons… We were complete novices, so, from time to time, we exchanged our weapons because we didn't feel comfortable with them."

"Oh, which weapon did you originally choose?"

"The bow, but I broke all the arrows, so I changed it to a sword, Hahaha…"

Alessia smiled with 4 points of shyness and 6 points of cuteness. I want to reach out and squeeze her cheeks. But I held back as she is now talking about her past, and I am interested in hearing more from her.

Looking to the side, I saw Zia smile too. A mature smile with hints of sexiness. She does have an older woman's charm, even when she doesn’t seem older than 27. She is young, considering that women with a high level can maintain their youthful appearance for a longer time, and have a life expectancy of over 100 years of age.

As for men… We also have such a long life expectancy, but we are more reckless. So, most of us die in fights rather than of old age.

"Since the labyrinth of the Denir city is not as weak as that of Bajamira but not as strong as that of Altamira, we managed to earn a living without running into almost any danger. Unfortunately, our family situation did not go so well. Only one of the members of my previous group kept his family afloat, the rest of us couldn't keep up… My mother died when I was 14 years old."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"It's okay; it's been 4 years since then, and a lot of things have happened on the life road. Life goes on, and I won't stop."

Without any tears or sadness, Alessia has eyes with great will inside her. It seems that she got over her mother's death, as she can talk about it with strangers.

At this, Zia reached out her hand and stroked Alessia's head.

I couldn't help but compare her eyes and see how wet Zia's look in comparison.