It was an hour past dawn yet the situation around the Royal Academy was electrified with tension.

A Field Trip, they say. Half of the Academy already knows what happened half a month ago and some of the students even gained a good grasp over the political situation happening on the big table.

Archduchess Eleanor is angry at the Crowns faction for ruining the chance to reconnect with Leon Dark, especially very angry with the Prince who was surrounded by girls since the morning. And the fact that Alice Godfrey, Eleanor's daughter, and allegedly Leon's fiancée, have jumped up a year to be the youngest student in the first year was very clear.

Both mother and daughter seemed willing to oppose the fragile peace held between the Crowns and the Lords of the East but it is Alice herself who is in trouble now.

With Leon gone, the Crowns faction has no proper hostage to keep the East in check. Leon was a member of House Dark, his mother is from House Merlin, and his fiancée is from House Godfrey. Basically, these are the three powers of the East and this weakling loser had them at his back combined.

If not for his father being a loyalist to the Crown, which is a dissent allegiance to most of House Dark, Leon wouldn't have become a hostage.

Everyone knows Leon's story. A few understood his purpose but he is this piece that is meant to be kept. As long as Duchess Annabelle Dark has her son a hostage, she will hold the East at bay.

So with Leon gone, the best proper hostage is Alice. She is a Godfrey, should be wed and become a Dark, and is very held in high esteem by the Merlins for her talent.

Not only so; for the past six years, the Archduchess had to keep her daughter away from their enemies and so she sent her around the Eastern Duchies and outside the Kingdom a lot to develop her talents. Aside from the Scholarships, Alice was said to have connections with the outside nations strong enough to overshadow a prince or a minister. The qualities which proved to be more threatening with the constant growth and the limitless talent. She even inherited the talents of her parents so the idea of making her the substitute for Leon was scary for the Eastern Lords and advantageous for the Crowns.

But that girl is a true Wild Card. The polar opposite of Leon altogether.

A Silver-haired blaze dancing and consuming the brazier that is meant to hold her were the only words to say about her. Aggressive to the extreme, bold beyond the limits of rudeness, and not an exemplary hostage by all means. On the first day in school, it is said that she walked to her cousin, Prince Edward and gave him a blue eye when he tried talking to her. She even confronted many of those faces who used to bother Leon and redefined the definition of a Bully for them.

In other words, this girl was starting to become the new bad guy of the show or as some people liked to call it, the Villainess.

"On my part, I would call my daughter something different… a bit more accurate to say the least." Eleanor said while sipping tea.

"And that would be?" Erielle asked while sipping green tea.

"An Asshole!"

"Pffft!"

Erielle didn't hold it in at all as she laughed with the tea in her mouth causing a small spray before putting down her cup and using a hand towel to clean her mess.

"What? You don't believe me? Half of the tantrum she threw around that day was on me. You think I have sleep problems because I am worried or anything? That girl gives me a piece of her mind right on every meal." Eleanor kept complaining as her hands were waving violently, "I am the mother, I am the one supposed to be nagging my child, not the other way around."

"Stop it, Eli." She said in an attempt to comfort her friends, "And… doesn't she remind you of someone?"

"Hm? Who? Anna?"

"What… how can you even say that?" Erielle felt offended, "She was the nice one, you were the evil one."

"Excuse me?!" Eleanor felt wronged right away making it show on her face.

"It's only fair that a daughter follows the example of her mother." Erielle continued.

"Hah!" Eleanor snorted with dissatisfaction as she rejected the narrative of Erielle all together, "Speaking of fair, did you take care of the communications?"

"Changing the subject, are we?" Erielle asked but Eleanor didn't flench, "I managed to reach my son last night, he said Lance and Lara have departed from the Dark Duchy on their way to the capital."

"The two of them?" Eleanor reacted, "These two are not the best to put down fires. They may actually cause trouble."

"That's what they want. If they cause trouble here, this will give us a better chance to keep the other side in check and smuggle Leon out." Erielle explained.

"Right… and the boy will be coming to the Hall this morning, right?"

"He should be. With his identity and face that may be exposed, going out on a large scale mission like this is his best way to leave the Capital without another murder spree. Vadim will be on the lookout for him and once you start moving with the students, the plan will start happening in order." Erielle said.

"Alright." Eleanor nodded, "I trust you to keep an eye on Leon. Be mindful and careful and don't let him get spooked. Make sure that he does not start escaping the capital the moments he sets his foot out and also don't let him come into contact with the students."

"That's a lot of work for one person, you know?" Erielle complained.

"I am sure you are capable enough. If not, Vadim will always support you or whatever he does."

The last words were said by Eleanor with a bit of dejectedness. Erielle could easily tell from them that since the last exchange between Vadim and Eleanor, the two won't be talking for at least a while as they always do.

"You will have a window of a few minutes to take Alice away from the sight of those predators." Erielle nodded as she stood up to leave, "Deliver Alice my love."

"Yeah, yeah, you two Assholes mix really well."

***

"Oh, hell no! Not this Dickhead!" (Mercenary 1)

"My name is Leo, nice to meet the lot of you. This guy knows me. And I am on my trial mission so please, don't fuck this one up for me." (Leon)

"You know him? I like this guy's introduction though." (Mercenary 2)

"Isn't that the boy that gave you a taste of your own medicine?" (Mercenary 3)

"Stop it. Alright?" (Mercenary 1)

Leon was invited to a small mercenary company right at the start. It happened pretty easy, actually, the guy who held him from burning his hand just a while ago recognized him after he took a better look at Leon's face. To be more specific, he recognized him from the fight he had with the Mercenary called Titus from the fight showdown in front of the Hall.

He accepted the invitation since he had no better option since it is a suicide to go in the Forest alone according to the Mercenary Handbook which Leon read very thoroughly.

As a senior mercenary, Titus felt a little bit uncomfortable to have a company member like Leon who defeated him in a fight. This breaks the seniority chain which is rather important in a Mercenary Company and makes it difficult for the roles to be assigned since the victor junior will always think he is better than the defeated senior who is definitely more experienced in the field.

Leon realized that and upon that realization, he spoke to Titus.

"Whatever it is, I will follow your lead and learn from you." He said.

"Is that humble or cocky?" Titus asked.

"Neither. It is respectful to the ranks. I am an F-Rank, not a Mercenary yet. You are a D-Rank, which means you had experience with not just simple jobs but also in raids. Someone who survived a monster raid is more than enough to be respected." Leon spoke those words without a hint of hesitation in a monotone even.

Titus was speechless to what he heard, he looked to the people beside him and wanted to take their opinions.

"If he can follow orders and can learn along the way, I wouldn't mind." The second mercenary after Titus spoke.

"No disagreement here." The third added.

"But… he burnt his hand a little?" The fourth one, who met Leon, from a while ago added.

"Burnt? How bad?" Titus asked.

"Not bad at all."

At this moment, Leon stuck out his right hand which he was keeping behind his back covered by the cloak he was wearing and showed it to the people.

"It was just a little redness, it doesn't hurt anyway." Leon said discarding the problem.

"Wha…" The mercenary behind him wondered, "I thought you were hurt badly."

"I am more resilient than what you will take me for." Leon shook it off with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It's all good then." Titus replied, "We won't be fighting on the first day anyway so you will have time to heal."

"The first day?" Leon asked.

"Yes, this mission may at least take a week." Titus explained.

"But… I thought the Forest was not far from the city gate."

"It is not. But you don't expect us to find the Goblin nest and thin out their numbers for those aristocrat brats in just a day?" Titus said, "There is an encampment in the forest, many Mercenaries fortify it, we will go there and make camp before organizing work with the other teams."

"I see now." Leon nodded, "Thank you for clarifying things."

It seemed that this mission was bound to be more annoying than what he expected it to be. Camping in the woods is all good and dandy but this will thin his chances to achieve his next plan.

"So…" Titus spoke, "Name, level, and specialty!"

Leon reacted by taking a serious stance.

"Leo, Level 5, Long Ranger and Striker Rouge."

"Rogue?" Titus nodded, "Not a choice anyone would take but I've seen your skills… still… level 5? It doesn't sit well with me."

"I did a lot of Attribute training, I am good with blades and complex weaponry more than the spear and the short bow but understanding the theme of the mission, I will go with the flow as well."

"That's right. The Spear is the primary and ideal Mercenary weapon but keep your secondary weapon close up." Titus nodded, "You seem to have the basics nailed in. Even a Mage like Edrick here uses a spear."

As Titus pointed at the Mage named Edrick, Leon almost frowned as the theme of a Mage didn't fit with this fellow Edrick.

He was as buff as Titus and around his 40s, he even wore exactly as a mercenary would do and had more extra armors on the side with a long shield standing out between his gear.

Fantasy shattered!

Leon took a while to absorb the fact that those skinny guys with small physique and cloth armors from every fantasy he grew up to see are by now ways as cool as this fellow. Like this guy can be mistaken for a tank and he's a Mage. It makes sense why a mage would train his physique as well to be more effective in combat and wear some serious armor for actual protection.

"A Mage?" Rather than a rude dumb face, Leon put on a smile, "I have an affinity to Earth but I found no proper teacher at all."

"Affinity to Earth?" Almost the rest of the group were surprised.

"That's great news." Edrick replied, "I am an Earth Caster myself. What can you do with Earth?"

"Make sand fly into my opponent's eyes, make them trip by sinking their feet, disguise traps, and I can launch an attack if given enough time to prepare." Leon said.

He didn't reveal his ability for two reasons. First, to be able to freely use it; second, by undermining his ability, he can't get more than his share of the work.

"That's Roguish." One of the two other two men said.

"Impressive nonetheless. I'll advise you along the way but if you need actual training, show me something that clinks and shines." Edrick said.

"Noted."

"For the end of the introduction, this boy here is Huxley, a flank fighter and our pair of eyes." Titus pointed at the youngest of the group who seemed still older than Leon. The two greeted the other with a nod.

"And the one who brought you here is Cenric, Edrick's brother and the other flank man. He's the one who knows the stuff about cooking and surviving in the woods." Titus pointed at the one behind Leon.

Titus, a Spear and Shield Sentinel rearguard with the best armor and the defense. He takes the role of the leader.

Edrick, an Earth Mage vanguard with a large shield, spear, sword, and most certainly a magic trick or two. He takes the role of the main offense and frontals defense as well as the navigator.

Cenric, a left flank Spear Warrior with a large build carrying the heaviest load yet still the most perfect flank armed with not only a spear but a heavy crossbow with a fast-loading mechanism.

Huxley, a right flank Spear Warrior and Leon's partner in this flank being the lightest of the group and a user of a short bow as well as the scout and the runner.

Finally, Leon; a right flanker Spear Rogue with a short sword as a sidearm and a short bow with the potential to lay traps and fight dirty even with something as common as Earth Magic.

"The last call out for company management spells, any company that is not linked won't find another chance after this."

And that call was heard from the direction of the Mercenary Hall building.

Leon furrowed his brows but Titus patted his shoulder signaling him to follow. A few Hall Clerks stood on the side stairway taking request forms from the Mercenaries and leading them to a series of Mages standing on the top of the stairs.

As Leon presented the paper of him being an F-Rank, he was to a mage wearing a dark leather coat and an old round hat.

"A Silver." The Mage said.

"Alrig…" Leon was about to fish out a coin but a tall shadow covered him and from the direction of the east.

"Take a break, Sigeberht." And a voice spoke.

Looking towards it, Leon was surprised to see this beautiful woman approach and smile towards him.

As a Hardcore Virgin, he followed the ultimate rule of never falling for a woman's smile as 200% of the time, she has something up her mind and nothing scares him more than losing his good old virginity.

She was that Elven lady from the day he registered in the guild, Erielle was her name.

"A Soul Link spell I assume?"

She said as a flare of arcane energy lit on her hand.

"Yes, Madam. Between me and the boy, please." Titus said while patting Leon's back.

Meanwhile, both Leon and Erielle suddenly reacted to something else. Both of them looked at each other in the eye all of a sudden.

It was not a look of realization but rather as if they scared one another right away.

With "Read", Leon understood that the spell which she evoked just now was [Mysticism Magic - Soul Mark], the same spell which was put on him that day.

On the other hand, Erielle didn't know how but it was as if Leon had invaded her Magic with his senses and caused a very uncomfortable feeling when her spell was fully seen through.

Both of them realized one thing about the other that day.