Chapter 1802: New Side Quest

Henrietita showed me her resolve, and it wouldn't be right for me to ignore her or not

recognize it. I remained in silence for a bit, but after that, I quickly grabbed the crystals she gave to me, and stored them back into the bag.

And then, something appeared, a system message once more, showing me what I had advanced of the current Quest.

Ding!

[Congratulations! You have progressed through the {Special Trial Storyline Quest}: [Explore the City of Lost Souls: El Perdido]!]

[Explore the Central Plaza and Visit 5 Shops or Restaurants]: [5/5] (COMPLETE)

[Talk to the Locals and Learn About Their Problems and Solve Them]: [0/3] (Larry's Side Quest Unlocked) (Henrietita Side Quest Unlocked)

[Catch Any Evildoer and Apprehend Them]: [5/10]

[Talk With An Important Story Character]: [3/3]

[Discover What The Golden Spire Race Is All About]: [0/1]

[Quest Duration: 9 Hours, 21 Minutes.]

"Alright, I'll take this job," I said with a nod. "The pay is barely enough, but it'll do."

Her eyes quickly sparkled with happiness, as her father panicked and screamed behind her, although she completely ignored him anyways.

"W-Wait! Hold on a second, are you sure this is okay?!" he screamed.

"Yes it's fine!" she said. "Don't listen to him! He's a coward!"

"Hmm," I nodded, patting her shoulders. "Your father might be a coward, but he still loves you. Although I also disagree with how he was handling things, his intentions were to protect your life, rather than your pride. Not everyone, like my kids, are born with parents strong enough to fight back. But at least, he was planning to escape."

"A-Ah..." the man felt surprised after I talked about such things, it was obvious he thought I hated him. "Y-You're right... But... Hahh..."

The man fell to his knees, he started crying.

"I'm sorry Henrietita, I shouldn't have been so stupid... I overlooked what they did and... And I made you suffer because of that," he muttered. "I'm sorry for being so weak and pathetic..."

"Dad..." the girl ran to her father, hugging him. "Just don't start crying now, dammit! If you cry who else can I even rely on anymore? Mom's gone, you're the only thing I got left!"

"I'm sorry... I'll try to be a stronger father..." the man kept weeping. "I'll try to be a better father..."

I nodded as I watched in silence, glancing at the bag of crystals, and then storing it in my inventory.

Of course, I had little need for that, but I still decided to take it because if I didn't, it would be an insult towards the girl's resolve.

I also have to sell her the identity of a bounty hunter, if I don't accept it, then it might create weird rumors about someone doing things for free, and it might end up biting me in the back.

"So you took it, huh? Well, we were going to do it anyways," shrugged Miranda. "Now we need to know if these are a separate gang from the one that targeted Larry."

"They likely are..." I nodded. "Let's ask though."

"Henrietita, and her father, do you know more about these people? Their gang? Where do they live?" Benladann asked.

Father and daughter looked at one another and then calmed down, cleaning their tears. "Yeah, we know..." nodded Henrietita. "It's a bit, so let's have something to drink as we talk... I'll prepare some herbal drinks."

She quickly ran to the kitchen to prepare something for us, she was a really good girl.

"Sorry about everything..." her father apologized. "My daughter has been holding back more than I imagined, and she ended exploding, letting out all her frustrations. You shouldn't had seen all that, I'm really ashamed, and very sorry."

He sighed, lowering his head again.

I looked at Benladann and Miranda, then my daughters.

Not Drakda, he was still eating what was left on the table, licking the plates.

"It's fine, we would have known about that eventually if we worked for her," said Benladann. "What happened to your wife... it's very unfortunate and very disheartening, I'm really sorry." "I hope she can rest in the other side, if there's any," said Miranda. "She went through a lot, I'm sure... But she was also a wonderful mother if she raised a daughter like that girl!"

"Yeah!" nodded Benladra. "Henrietita is strong on her own right!"

"Hmm," Kate nodded. "Your food is tasty too, mister."

"Hahah... thank you," the man sighed, smiling lightly. "Thank you so much for helping us..."

"There's nothing to thank us about, we have yet to do our job," I said. "We should be the ones grateful for your upfront payment, some other bounty hunters might even run away with the money and not give it a care, so you've showed us great trust, we will not disappoint you."

"Hahah... indeed, my daughter was a bit reckless there," the man sighed. "My name is Tom, by the way. I used to belong to a larger family, but the famine struck us really hard back in my small town, and we had all to escape, some siblings died, our old parents couldn't hold on anymore either... It was a nice place originally, where we raised Henrietita with my wife, Melusine."

"I see..." I nodded. "So you lived with more family back then?"

"A few of my siblings, Henrietita's beloved aunts and uncles," sighed Tom. "Haven't seen them in years though... I wonder if they're ok."

As he talked, his daughter arrived with some of their own version of tea, it had a very aromatic, relaxing smell.

I drank a bit, and felt a slight sweetness similar to cactus juice, but made into caramel inside. Perhaps their own version of syrup or honey to sweeten things, which worked pretty well.

"It's a good drink," I nodded. "Now, please tell us whatever you know about those bastards. We'll make sure to make them pay, especially their leader."

"Thank you..." nodded Henrietita.

"Then..." Tom muttered.

We learned a bit about them, everything they knew in fact. Their hideout, their leader's name,

and some more things.

Miranda then nodded, confirming they were actually separate gangs, but connected, as if they were the branches of something bigger.

This might end up escalating much more than I imagined.

But I've already made my resolve, and I won't go back on my promises either.