My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 29 Sharing the good times and the bad.

"So this is how you all see me..." Lucius muttered to himself, lost in thought as he faced the wall.

"Isn't it too hurtful to say that?" Rod asked Father Galen quietly, looking at his drooping head.

"Hmph, ignore him. How old is he? How dare he argue with you?" Garen picked up the scattered chess pieces from the table and put them back in the wooden box. "As a knight who swore an oath before the Holy Light, he should be at an age where he can wield his sword to protect his followers and stand alone. Instead, he acts like a child, throwing tantrums. Doesn't he feel ashamed?"

He snapped the chess box shut, dusted off his hands, and turned to look at Rhodes, a gentle smile immediately spreading across his face. "Let's not talk about him. You came all this way today, surely not just to watch us play chess? What good stuff did you bring?"

"I've come to see you all," Rod said, placing the coarse cloth backpack he had been carrying on his shoulder on the table and taking out its contents one by one, spreading them out on the table. "I've gotten some more medicinal herbs."

The fern, with its pale silvery-white sheen on the edges of its leaves, is a common herb used for clearing heat and detoxifying; a small jar of sealed wild honey, its opening tightly sealed with beeswax, exudes a sweet aroma; and several bundles of hemostatic grass, with dark red leaf veins and slightly curled edges.

"Hmm? Why are there so many this time?" Garen looked at the table piled high with medicinal herbs, and the smile on his face faded a little.

He frowned slightly, reached out and picked up the bundle of silver leaves, weighing it in his hand: "Don't go to dangerous places for something like this."

Although they are all common species in the Misty Forest and don't sell for much money individually, they are quite difficult to buy in the city.

To collect medicinal herbs, one must first be familiar with their growth habits and environment; they cannot be found simply by wandering around the mountains.

However, most adventurers risk their lives to venture deep into the Misty Forest, their eyes fixed on valuable monsters. Who would waste their precious energy and time to learn to identify and pick these inconspicuous wild herbs?

As for ordinary people in the city, as long as they can find a decent job to make a living, they would never step out of the city walls to face the wolves, goblins, and even more terrifying things lurking in the forest.

With high barriers to entry, low returns, and the constant threat of death, only villagers who have lived in mountain villages for generations, and low-income corpse collectors like Rod, would be willing to collect these things that others look down upon.

As for Galen, as a priest in the church, he had to manage church affairs and spread the gospel of holy light on a daily basis, so it was impossible for him to take time to go into the mountains to collect herbs.

"They brought these to pay off a debt," Rhodes said, pulling out the two empty medicine bottles and handing them back to Garen. "I saved two people before, and since their families were broke, they used these mountain goods to pay off their debts."

As for the rescue process... Rod selectively didn't say anything.

"It's good that they were saved," Garen said, taking the medicine bottle. "Luckily, I gave you a few bottles to keep on hand. I didn't expect to need them so soon. It's getting more and more dangerous in the forest lately, hasn't it?"

"Hmm...it is a bit dangerous," Rhodes thought for a moment, "but I'm also very skilled, so it's not too dangerous."

"Well... anyway, be careful." Garen hesitated, but knew his personality; he wouldn't be so stubborn as to do something that would make him worry.

"Um."

Rod then pulled out a neatly folded coarse cloth bag from the innermost layer of his backpack. When he opened it, he found a small handful of bright red berries inside. The berries had smooth, round skins and a refreshing, sweet and sour fruity aroma.

He reached out and pushed the bag in front of Garen: "Firethorn berries, want some?"

Before Garen could answer, Lucius, who had been facing the wall in contemplation, immediately perked up his ears:

"Firethorn berries? What are those?"

Are those two hiding something good from me again?

He darted to the table in a flash, his head almost touching it. The fruit's bright red and tempting appearance made his eyes light up: "This looks pretty good, can we eat it?"

"Hmph," Garen sneered as he saw him approach, then picked up a piece, casually wiped the dust off the surface with his sleeve, and popped it into his mouth. "Of course it's edible, and it's a rare delicacy."

"Click—"

The crisp chewing sounds were particularly clear in the quiet lounge.

"Still the same taste, not bad," Garen squinted, a satisfied expression on his face, as if he had tasted some rare delicacy. "It's a pity that not everyone can enjoy this delicious food."

"Really?" Lucius stroked his chin, glancing suspiciously at Garen, then at Rhodes beside him. "Hey, Rhodes, is this stuff any good?"

"The taste is rather unique..." Rhodes' gaze lingered for a moment, then he casually picked up a firethorn berry, popped it into his mouth, swallowed it whole, and muttered, "But I don't think you'll like it."

Upon hearing this, Garen raised an eyebrow, while Lucius hesitated.

Lucius, who had just secretly used [Sight of Truth], was quite certain that the two were not lying, but seeing them enjoying the taste of the wild fruit so much, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

First, they teamed up to trick him while playing chess, and now they have to avoid him when they eat something good, making him suspect that the two of them are deliberately saying the opposite of what he means and hiding some key information to isolate him.

"What do you mean I won't like it? I'm going to try it anyway..."

Before the two could react, Lucius swiftly reached out and grabbed the biggest, reddest one, tossed it into his mouth without even looking at it, and bit down hard.

The next second, his facial features instantly scrunched up.

The intense sourness instantly swept through his entire mouth, making his teeth chatter, his tongue feel numb as if it were being pricked by countless fine needles, and even his cheeks twitched uncontrollably.

He suddenly opened his mouth and spat out saliva frantically:

"Ugh—what the hell is this? It's so sour!"

Garen's shoulders twitched slightly, but he still maintained an indifferent attitude as he provocatively said, "I told you you wouldn't like it, but you didn't believe me."

"You can eat it, but I can't? I don't believe it."

Lucius was stubborn too. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, stared at the pile of firethorn berries on the table that still looked tempting, picked up another one, closed his eyes, and stuffed it into his mouth.

It must have been bad luck; I just happened to get the sour one.

Then Lucius learned his lesson after another, and finally realized that the fruit tasted incredibly sour and astringent.

In the end, all he could do was glare at the two people who remained indifferent with eyes so full of resentment they seemed to drip with tears.

"Have you two lost your sense of taste? How can you actually eat this awfully sour stuff?"

"Maybe it's because of my unique taste," Garen shrugged. "I'm a native of Misty City. When I was a kid, my family was poor, and these wild fruits were the only snacks we kids had."

He teased, "A noble young master like you naturally wouldn't be used to the coarse food from the mountains."

"Hmph, this has nothing to do with my background," Lucius raised an eyebrow, seemingly dissatisfied, then looked at Rhodes beside him, "And what about you?"

Rod stared at the ceiling with a tense expression, remaining silent.

"Say something," Lucius nudged him with his elbow, "or are you trying to act all high and mighty without saying a word?"

"We'll share the good times and the bad," Rod looked at him and forced a victorious smile. "I bet you'll eat it."

The smile looked rather stiff due to the sour and numb feeling, but it carried the joy of successfully teasing someone. Garen, standing next to him, even reached out to give him a high five.

"Tsk, you guys predicted it perfectly," Lucius said, scratching his head in annoyance. He glanced at the time, then picked up the armor and greatsword beside him and stood up. "If I had your skills, my job wouldn't have been so troublesome..."

He muttered a complaint under his breath, "I'm going on patrol."

"Why are you still patrolling? Haven't you found her yet?" Father Galen's eyes flickered, and he asked casually, "Perhaps she's no longer in town?"

"Impossible, that demon bastard is definitely still in the city," Lucius scoffed instinctively. "Maybe someone has been bewitched by her, just like her damned father..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he glanced at Rod beside him, and seemed to suddenly realize that he had let something slip, so he quickly corrected himself:

"Anyway, this has nothing to do with you. Just do your own thing."

He finished speaking and left in a hurry.

Rhodes instinctively looked at him, wanting to say something, but was interrupted by Garen:

"Don't worry, he really has something to do, he wouldn't get angry over something like this."

Rhodes nodded and sat back down.

"However..." Garen hesitated for a moment, then reminded him, "If you encounter any strange people in the city recently, try to avoid them."

"For example?" Rhodes pondered for a moment, thinking that there were many people in Mist City who could be judged as "suspicious".

For example, John's gang, or succubi like Aphrodite.

Take himself, for example.

"Anyone you think is suspicious counts," Garen paused, "but don't get involved with those people, or you'll be in trouble..."

He glanced at the door Lucius had left through, unsure how to explain.

Perhaps not knowing is the best way to protect him...

"Even with you guys as my backers," Rod followed his gaze, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Will I still be in trouble?"

"Yes," Garen said seriously, "you might be arrested and interrogated, especially since you're an undocumented outsider. You could easily be made a scapegoat..."

"All right."

Rodton felt helpless.

Although he was curious whether the person Lucius was looking for was Aphrodite, whom they had encountered earlier, Garen had already said so…

The matter of reporting it will have to be put on hold for now.

I can't just put myself in jail to help a friend, can I?

It would be better to secretly investigate as a Wind Ranger and then surprise them.

"But you've always been well-behaved and intelligent, so I don't really need to worry about you," Garen waved his hand to reassure him. "Remember those adventurer's credentials you sent last time?"

He got up and walked to the oak cabinet against the wall, pulled open the bottom drawer, and took out a wooden plaque strung together with thick hemp rope.

Seven or eight adventurer wooden plaques collided together, making a dull "clattering" sound. Each plaque had a name scrawled on it.

"I've already had someone find out their identities and their family addresses," Garen sighed, touching the wooden plaques that were as cold as corpses. "Although I hate this kind of thing, someone has to tell them that their loved ones are not coming back."

"Shall I come with you?" Rod asked.

"Alright, this is a good opportunity to show you around the city again," Garen nodded with concern. "Will anyone still kick you out when we go now?"

The job of collecting corpses is a thankless and thankless profession, mostly done by the poor and lonely who are really struggling to survive.

Or it could be someone like Rhodes, an outsider with no identity or money, who needs a place to live and wants to settle down in the city.

Even so, this lowly and despicable profession is still not well-regarded by most people. Often, people will avoid it or even pick up sticks to drive people away.

After all, body collectors are like the Grim Reaper; when they knock on your door, it often means misfortune...

"It's much better than before," Rod thought for a moment, "not many people are bothering me anymore."

At least now he doesn't have to worry about being kicked out by family members or being ostracized and extorted by local body collectors and gangsters.

As for why...

On the one hand, with Garen's help, he became a familiar face in the local community over the course of two months, and most of the time he was collecting corpses in the Misty Forest without taking away other people's business;

on the other hand……

In the past two months, Rod's fighting and running skills have improved significantly.

……

……

Half an hour later, the two walked out of the church carrying several heavy wicker baskets.

The afternoon sun slanted across the stone-paved streets of Misty City, but it couldn't illuminate the low, dilapidated slum in the south of the city.

The houses here are built of mud and gravel, with blackened thatch on the roofs, and the narrow alleyways are filled with a damp, musty smell.

The taverns where adventurers partied every night were also located here, even just across the street from them, yet they represented a completely different lifestyle from that of the adventurers.

The adventurers who live here are mostly people who are neither good enough for high-level jobs nor good enough for low-level ones:

They either live one day at a time, like seasoned old hands who drink day and night and do swindling and cheating to get by;

They are either the pillars of the family who risk their lives for a meal, trying to provide for their wives, children, and elderly parents;

Of course, there were also many ignorant young people who were attracted by the stories of heroes and sudden riches circulating in the taverns and dared to rush into the forest with farm tools.

In the end, they either met a gruesome death or miraculously survived, only to become one of the former two groups, losing their initial passion and left with nothing but the mundane struggle of life.

"The first one is here." Garen looked at the wooden sign and address in his hand, took a deep breath, and then went up to knock on the door.

The first door they knocked on was a mud-brick house with only one small window.

crunch--

A moment later, Rod saw a little girl, about five or six years old and dressed in dirty clothes, open the door for them.

Upon seeing that they were two adult men much taller than himself, the child's face showed obvious unease, and he immediately turned to look at his mother who was working inside the house.

The woman with a sallow complexion was sitting in a chair sewing clothes for someone. Her fingers were covered with calluses and cracks from being pricked by needles, but she no longer felt pain from them.

Upon seeing Garen and Rhodes, the woman stopped what she was doing, a look of confusion on her face: "Father? What brings you here?"

Garen simply took out the wooden plaque engraved with "Tom" from his pocket and gently placed it on the loom.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am, your husband..."