(Attendances… plz…)
….
A xx Days Later:-
The trio and Reinhard were back in the Kingdom of Blumund. They were sitting in the exact same chairs in Guild Master Fuze's office, facing the man himself as he silently read through a report, sipping his tea.
They sat there, waiting patiently for him to finish. He seemed so focused on the document that they didn't dare disturb him.
Finally, Fuze set the paper down with a heavy sigh. "Well," he muttered to himself, "it seems the Eastern Empire isn't attacking or expanding… at least, not yet. I'll have to keep the intelligence bureau on them like hawks." He then turned his tired, grumpy eyes to the four adventurers sitting in front of him.
"What is the report?" he asked, his voice flat.
Bastard, Kaval thought, his eye twitching. He doesn't even ask if we're alright. Just straight to the report. Of course, he didn't have the courage to say that out loud.
Reinhard spoke for the group, his voice calm and even. "While in Veldora's Cave, we confirmed the dragon's disappearance. We searched the entire cave, all the way to the deepest chamber where he was sealed, and we found nothing."
"Nothing?" Fuze repeated, his brow furrowing.
"Yup. Nothing," Reinhard confirmed. "Other than some monsters that attacked us, which was to be expected. We handled them."
Fuze closed his eyes, rubbing his temples as if trying to piece something together in his mind. "Hmmm," he hummed. "I'm starting to get a clearer picture of what might have happened in that cave."
Kaval, Gido, and Ellen saw this as their chance to escape. They started to shift in their seats, ready to stand up and leave. But just as they were about to, their happy bubble of freedom was popped once again.
Fuze opened his eyes, and his tone was no longer one of inquiry, but of command. "You all have three days off. After that, you have a new mission. Instead of the cave, you will investigate the area around the forest. Now that Veldora's presence is gone, the monsters will be more active and violent. I want you to search for any changes in their behavior. Don't overlook anything, no matter how small, and report back to me. Be thorough. Search every nook and cranny. You may all go now."
And with that, he picked up another piece of paper and began to read it, completely dismissing them. Kaval and Ellen's faces contorted into masks of pure rage. They looked like they were about to summon a demon just to get a contract to torture the old man to death.
Fuze, without even looking up from his paper, seemed to sense their murderous intent. He glanced up at them, his eyes sharp. "What? Have something to say? If you do, say it to my face."
Their angry expressions vanished instantly, replaced by wide, fake smiles.
"Hahaha, what are you saying, Guild Master?" Kaval said, his voice strained. "Why would we complain ab…"
"Complain?" Fuze interrupted, finally looking at him directly. "You have a complaint?"
"Hahaha, no, no, no!" Ellen jumped in, laughing nervously. "He's saying, why would we have anything to complain about? Hahaha! Let's go, everyone!" She practically shoved Kaval and Gido out of their chairs and toward the door, desperate to escape before they dug themselves any deeper.
Reinhard following behind them with a smile or more like a laugh.
….
As soon as they were outside the guild hall, the forced smiles vanished. Kaval and Ellen's faces turned red with anger, and they lashed out like bulls seeing a red cloth.
"The hell is that old fart's problem?!" Ellen practically screamed.
"Three days! Three days my foot!" Kaval raged. "We should have gotten a promotion for investigating Veldora's Cave, not three days off and then another mission to investigate the entire forest!"
"If Reinhard hadn't been there, I swear, I would have burned that bastard to ashes and thrown them in the canal," Ellen hissed.
Reinhard was confused. He didn't remember stopping her, or even noticing she'd had any intention of doing such a thing.
"I would have been really thankful if you two had actually said any of that to the Guild Master's face," Gido muttered dryly.
As they were fuming, a quiet voice spoke from behind them. It wasn't threatening, like in some cheap cliché, just a calm, clear sound.
"Excuse me."
They all turned. Standing there was a young woman with long, straight black hair. A strange, antique-looking mask covered her face, and a fine sword was strapped to her hip. She had a graceful, athletic build, and even through her simple traveling clothes, it was clear she was a skilled warrior.
"Did you not just say that you are going into the Great Jura Forest?" she asked, her voice muffled slightly by the mask.
Reinhard recognized her instantly. The mask, the hair, the sword. Shizue? he thought, his mind racing.
Not wanting to seem like he was staring, he answered first. "Yes, we are. Is there a problem?"
"No," the woman replied. "I was just wondering if you would allow me to accompany you."
Before Kaval could even open his mouth, Ellen's anger vanished, replaced by a bright, welcoming smile. "Yeah, sure!"
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Kaval snapped, his frustration returning. "I'm the leader here! You can't just give the okay before I do!"
Ellen spun to face him, her hands on her hips. "Why not? You don't do anything other than drag us down anyway! Both of you! I think we already said we should have a revote for the leader. Reinhard, what do you think?"
Reinhard blinked. "About what? The leader revote, or the woman accompanying us?"
"Both!" Ellen said. "But mostly about this lady joining us. I think it would be great to have more company in the forest. The more the merrier! And it would be fun."
"Well," Reinhard said with a small smile, "it seems you've already made up your mind. I don't think my words would matter much."
"No, Reinhard, your words matter!" she insisted. "If you think this is a bad idea, we can reconsider."
"You should have said that to me when I objected," Kaval grumbled under his breath.
Ellen completely ignored him and looked at Reinhard expectantly.
"Well, I wouldn't really mind if you've already decided," Reinhard said. "I don't have any problem with it."
"Ahh, thank you, Reinhard! You're the only one who really cares about me!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in a quick, tight hug. She then stepped back, turned to the masked woman, and gestured to the group. "I'm Ellen. This is our 'leader,' Kaval. That's Gido in the back. And this is Reinhard."
The woman gave a slight bow. "Shizue."
"Well, hello, Shizue," Reinhard said with a polite nod. "As Ellen already introduced me, I'm Reinhard. We'll be leaving in three days. You're welcome to join us, if that's okay."
"I appreciate it," Shizue replied.
"Well," Reinhard said, turning to the rest of the group. "We should return to the inn and get freshened up. And maybe we can try out some of the more expensive food tonight. We did make a good bit of money from those herbs, after all."
Kaval's mood instantly brightened. "Yeah, can't wait for that! But to be honest, Reinhard, I liked your cooking better when we were traveling."
"Haha, well," Gido said with a rare smile. "One more advantage we'll have in the forest, then."
….
A/N: I think story is moving forward now steadily. Or maybe too fast in some persoective. But i hope you enjoyed it. And vote below.
Next two chapters are already on my discord.
Melatonin, spawn and many more on my discord … thanks for beta reading this fic and not to mention suggestions too.
Hoped you all liked the chapter and all.
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