...

Shin and Charlotte managed to get out of the city with the help of Owen and Ithilien. They arrived on a nearby mountain which had a little distance away from the city.

"I already heard that you are doing quite a lot of commotion anywhere you go, but I didn't expect that you are also dragging it in this kingdom," said Owen after making sure that there were no opponents in the vicinity.

Hearing that, Shin suddenly clicked his tongue before replying. "Tsk! I am innocent this time, alright? I'm just here to do some of my quests but I don't expect that I am going to be dragged into this kind of situation."

"So, what really happened there?" asked Owen while taking a seat under a nearby tree.

"A very good question! And I also love to know the answer to that," answered Shin in an instant before turning his head to Charlotte.

Seeing that, Charlotte couldn't help but take a deep breath before replying. "As you can see, that idi*t prince colluded with the Corrupted Cult and raised a rebellion against the royal court. And based on what we have seen earlier, it seems like they are now in full control of the whole palace."

"You are supposedly going to report to the Elven Council earlier, am I right? So, what happened to the King and the other members of the council?" asked Shin while knitting his brow.

Charlotte took a brief pause when she heard that before answering. "When I was reporting to the council, some of the elves that are loyal to the prince suddenly entered the conference room without permission and started capturing everyone inside."

"The King already knew that it was already too late to turn the situation around so he ordered his Royal Guards to escort me out of the main castle so that I can ask some assistance from the two neighboring kingdoms."

After that, she took out a sealed letter from her inventory space before saying. "The King gave me a letter of recommendation, so there shouldn't be a problem when we arrive there."

When she reached that point, she couldn't help but take a brief pause and look at Shin before continuing. "The problem is we need some time to get to their capital."

"Given that the palace is currently under the crown prince's control, I'm pretty sure that he is going to issue an order to capture us so that they can prevent us from asking some help from the Beast Glade and Draft Kingdoms."

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but fall into deep thought. If it was just sneaking into any of the city, then that shouldn't be a problem since all he needed to do was to switch his equipment and use his other identity to sneak inside.

But his main concern here was he didn't want to reveal his identity to other people yet and it looked like Charlotte was fully aware of that which was why she looked at him.

Moreover, he was also running out of time due to his current quest that concerned his slumbering Elemental Spirit. And due to this matter, he couldn't afford to waste much time on getting involved in this current issue.

Sigh~!

Shin inhaled and exhaled quite deeply when he realized their current situation and said. "Alright, I get it. Just send me the coordinates of the place that you are talking about and I will go there myself so that you can do your own thing."

But to his surprise, Charlotte actually said something a little opposite to what he was saying. "That is actually what I am going to say earlier. But now that we have your friends over here, I guess we can at least divide the tasks among us."

Shin suddenly raised his eyebrows when he heard that and suddenly turned their heads at Owen and Ithilien who remained silent up until now. "Now that I think about it, what are you two doing here? From what I remember, this is not your main Kingdom, isn't it?"

"Tsk! And now you can see me again after being blinded by beauty?" asked Owen.

'What the heck is this guy talking about?' thought Shin to himself after hearing those words. And after a brief moment of pause, he immediately repeated what he said earlier. "Enough with that already and just tell us what you are doing here."

Hearing that, Owen immediately clicked his thought before responding. "Tsk! You are still the same as ever. You and that cold personality of yours."

"Anyway, we are in here because I'm helping her with one of her Quest, but I don't expect that something this big is going to happen right after we arrive in the castle," he added while pointing his thumb at Ithilien.

After that, Shin turned his head at Charlotte before saying. "You heard them, so what do you suggest now?"

Unfortunately, Charlotte didn't reply to his words and just stared at him with an expression that was telling him it was his call to decide.

Understanding what she was thinking, Shin could only shake his head bitterly before thinking to himself. 'Yeah, right. It is me who commissions her with my quests after all, so it is supposedly my problem in the first place.'

He then stopped the twitching corner of his mouth before looking at Owen and Ithilien, asking. "Well, you already heard about our situation earlier. My current quest somehow coincides with this matter, so I can't take part in it personally."

"And since both of you are already involved, how about lending us a hand to solve it?" he added with a casual tone.

When he heard that, Owen couldn't help but click his tongue once again before saying. "Tsk! You really have a unique way of asking a favor from someone. How about making it a little more convincing so that we can get persuaded with it?"

"Tsk! Just say it if you don't want to help. I will not beg you, so just cut it out already," responded Shin before standing up.

Seeing that, Owen immediately surrendered and raised both his hands. "Alright, alright! You win! But the decision is still not mine."

He then paused for a moment before pointing at Ithilien while adding. "It is for her to decide."

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but feel like teasing Owen a little, sending him a whisper. "Already acting tamed? Has your relationship already gone that far?"

Reading that personal message, Owen suddenly gave Shin a snarling look before turning his attention to Ithilien while asking. "So, what do you think? Can we help them with their quest? After all, we can't finish your quest if the castle is still in a mess."

Ithilien remained silent for a few moments before finally opening her mouth. "So, all we need to do is deliver the letters to the two neighboring kingdoms?"

"Yes. All I need to do is share the quest with the two of you so that you can deliver the message to them," replied Charlotte while nodding her head before looking at Owen and quickly adding. "Though, there is going to be a problem with him since he has a Human Race."

"Hmm? Oh~! Don't worry about that, I can also hide my identity with a special item and no NPC can easily see through it either," said Owen while waving his hand.

After that, Ithilien suddenly chimed in and said. "But I still have a request before we agree to this cooperation."

Shin knitted his brow a little when he heard that before nodding his head. "Sure! Let me hear it out first. As long as it is within our capabilities, then we will agree with it."

Hearing Shin's response, Ithilien immediately nodded her head and said without any hesitation. "I would like to invite you to an underground duel and represent us as one of your teammates in it."

"Huh?" Shin was taken slightly aback as he didn't expect to hear that from her. He already heard from Arthur and Leonard that there were some 'special betting duels' in this game where any player could bet literally everything.

In the meantime, Owen suddenly freaked out when he heard those words from her and quickly said. "Hey, wait! Are you planning to get them involved with our personal matters? That is supposedly our own problem!"

Hearing that, Shin could already tell that this issue was not as simple as it seemed to be. "Will you mind explaining the situation to us, so that we can decide whether we are going to get involved with that or not?"

"No, Brother Swordsman! This is something that we need to solve with ourselves so that you don't have to concern yourself with it," replied Owen in an instant while turning his head at Shin.

But to his surprise, Shin's tone suddenly turned serious as he opened his mouth. "That is exactly why I am going to get myself involved with it since it concerns you personally."

"You already agreed to be the main tank of our adventurer team, so I can't ignore it if you are in some sort of trouble," added Shin while looking at Owen with full seriousness.

...…