[Congratulations! You’ve earned 5,000 Chaos Points!]
Beneath the scorching high-noon sun, a twitching, blonde, middle-aged man sat tied up in front of a damaged establishment, his face comically swollen.
"You bastard!" roared a short, hunched old man with long white hair as he slapped his long-time adversary for the thirtieth time. "You think you can do whatever you want in my town?! Take this! *Pah!* And this! *Pah!*"
Bunroon Town’s Mayor, Eldred, had long yearned for this day.
His town would’ve been among the most peaceful and swiftly developing towns had it not been for Soren and his damned bandits.
Finally! After five long years, the bastard has been caught, and he was even gifted by the heavens a chance to extend his life by a few years by slapping the hell out of the bandit leader.
Meanwhile, the wizards of the Imperial Wizard Guild were in a conversation with Hal.
"H-Hal Fennec, I must say, it’s an honor to see you in action," said the red-haired Flanner with a bow. "Thank you for helping us handle the situation. We truly wouldn’t have won without your timely assistance."
The town’s militia and the two guild wizards also offered sincere bows of gratitude.
Soren and his bandit group had been causing trouble in Bunroon Town for the past five years.
Although the town and the guild members stationed in the area had occasionally thwarted his schemes and captured a few of his men, they had never managed to track down or apprehend the leader himself.
As a result, the group’s operations never stopped.
"Ah, no worries, Sir Flanner. I just happened to arrive at the right time," Hal responded, a bright idea forming in his mind. "Perhaps it was fate that led me here on this very day and time."
He knew who was truly responsible for this, though.
It wasn’t fate, but Chaos.
After all, five thousand Chaos Points were far too much to be a coincidence, no?
"Right... I heard you had returned to the academy to celebrate, so I was truly surprised to meet you here. If I may be so bold, what brings you to Bunroon?"
The town was only three hours from the Grand Magic Academy by Manatech vehicle, but about seven hours away by donkey cart.
And yet, there was nothing in Bunroon that a celebrated youngster like Hal could possibly need, nothing that wasn’t already available in Aeloria.
Hal’s ears perked up in glee at Flanner’s words.
They were exactly what he needed to come out of the veteran wizard’s mouth!
"Ah, right..." he began, scratching his head "awkwardly". "I’m not sure if you’ve heard about my origins, but I’m from a border village. Now that I’ve won the Arcana Primis Cup and earned some good money, I want my family to experience a better life."
Flanner was smart, and he could easily piece the rest together.
"Oh! So you’ve chosen Bunroon to be their new home?!" the middle-aged wizard exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.
Flanner had long since decided to settle in this town, having already purchased a house here for his family.
He had even cut back on quests and only accepted occasional ones to reduce the risk of dying while still earning enough for his loved ones to live comfortably.
Naturally, Bunroon would attract attention if someone like an Arcana Primis Cup champion chose it as his family’s new home, even if only temporarily.
Such recognition would accelerate the town’s development.
With Soren and his bandits having been captured or killed, it wasn’t impossible for Bunroon Town to become Bunroon City in the not-so-distant future!
It certainly had the potential, thanks to its vast land area.
"Hahaha, Sir Flanner truly is smart. In fact..."
Hal explained the situation to the guild wizards, informing them that more of the Poporo villagers would be arriving in the coming days.
Eventually, the mayor learned of it as well, after the old man was finally satisfied with ravaging Soren’s face with his aged palms.
Eldred was delighted to be given the chance to become acquainted with such a renowned young man and was naturally eager to help the Poporo villagers settle in.
He even vowed not to let harm come anywhere near Hal’s mother and aunt, even if it meant exchanging his own life to protect them.
Hal knew the old man was exaggerating.
However, it didn’t matter, as he was glad to have secured Flanner’s promise to watch over his mother whenever he could.
It was also quite fortunate that the house next to the seasoned guild wizard’s was available for rent.
Hal immediately decided to take it, knowing that his mother and aunt would be safer living beside such a capable wizard than farther away.
For one, he wouldn’t have to worry about beasts or monsters ranked below C.
Flanner would never let anyone harm his family, and with his mother and aunt just next door, they would remain within the veteran’s protective range.
Of course, he also asked the mayor for help in finding rental houses for the other villagers, even managing to secure a slight discount thanks to the old man’s connections in town.
Hal was truly fortunate to have arrived when he did.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to secure the town’s goodwill so easily and would have felt a bit uneasy about leaving his mother and aunt in a new environment.
Flanner was assigned to handle Soren and his men, so Mayor Eldred and his secretary personally accompanied Hal to fetch Helena and Lynn, welcoming them to the town and guiding them to their new home.
It was a two-storey house made of brick and cement.
While the interior design couldn’t compare to accommodations in the city, it was far better than the makeshift huts in Poporo.
The house was fully furnished and had two bedrooms—one for his mother and one for his aunt.
It also came with a somewhat cheap model of a holographic television and a few low-grade Manatech appliances to help make life more comfortable for the two women.
Overall, the three of them were extremely satisfied.
Everyone would surely live better lives here, as long as they could sustain it.