There was a counter at the front with tables and chairs scattered around like before, but there was a distinct difference between the furnishings of the two, with the tables found here being mostly small and round unlike the many long rectangular ones at the dining hall.

There were also stools before the counter where several elves were seated, something that was absent in the dining hall. There were also many conversations taking place here, but the elves here were watching their volumes, so there wasn't much noise.

The food served here also came in smaller portions, with most of the dishes around being filled with fruits and snacks which were clearly not meant to substitute for meals.

The hearts of the expedition members settled slightly as they entered, influenced by the cosy and relaxed atmosphere in the room.

The captain didn't stop to explain anything to the elves, continuing to proceed deeper into the room. The group soon arrived before a closed door within the room, the first entrance they encountered that had a door attached.

The captain lightly pushed on the wooden door, causing a soft creaking sound to ring out from the hinges by the side. Many of the elves from the expedition observed the hinges curiously, having not seen anything like it in the past.

Alz spaced out momentarily as he looked at the door, reminded of the huge metal door from the special place of his memories and the absolute sense of security which he felt in those times.

The group's movements did not stop during this time, entering through the door one by one. The captain finally stopped after taking several steps into the room, turning around to face the group.

Upon entering, Alz let his eyes roam about the room, trying to look out for hints towards figuring out what the room was for. The room was small, feeling cramped even when not everyone had entered yet.

There was a simple square desk at the back with various scrolls scattered messily above it, along with stationery used to inscribe on them. By the side, there were several shelves similar to those found in the tribe's libraries with various scrolls on them as well.

Apart from these, the only other furniture in the room was a large table in the middle, with long seats on both sides coated in what seemed to be the skin of an animal for additional comfort.

When all of them entered the room, the captain finally began to speak, "I have understood the circumstances before and know that you are not at fault, but I would still like for all of you to watch out and avoid such incidents in future."

His voice was not as stern as before, containing a clear sign of exhaustion within it instead. Colt opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but quickly fell to silence again as he looked at the tired expression on the captain's face.

The captain noticed Colt's expression from the corner of his eye as well as the tear marks on Maya's face that had yet to dry, prompting him to let out a sigh internally. Colt did not report anything about Maya's incident to him, but he had been in charge for long enough to guess what went on.

This issue was something that had already been brought up many times before, something he had long since known of. If he had the ability to do something about it, he would have long since done so, but he did not.

Even when he tried to raise this issue to the higher-ups in the palace, it would always fade into nothingness, unable to raise even a single ripple. No matter how many times he tried, it always ended the same way, causing him to grow weary towards this long-standing problem.

He had even received warnings from the 'invisible' force that worked behind the scenes, the ones that had obstructed his reports from reaching the Queen. He naturally knew the identity of this force as well, but it was precisely because he knew it that this was such a thorny matter.

He was also not alone in this struggle, with this being the most common problem raised the four of them, the four captains of the guardhouses. Yet, all they could do was complain and accept the existence of this 'tumour', powerless to change anything.

The captain suddenly stretched a hand towards the group with his palm facing up, as though waiting to receive something. The elves from the expedition exchanged confused glances with one another, trying to see if anyone knew what he wanted.

Looking at this, the captain spoke in a mildly irritated voice, "The scroll of summons, your tribe's leader should have left it with one of you. The guards at the entrance should have also checked it earlier."

The elves immediately revealed looks of enlightenment after hearing this. The elf who carried the scroll felt cold sweat dripping from his back as he frantically removed the scroll from his bag, carefully placing it on the captain's palm.

The captain quickly grabbed the scroll and opened it, nodding his head as he went through its contents. Suddenly, his eyebrow wrinkled, and his gaze began to move back and forth between the scroll and the expedition members with slight puzzlement.

"It is written in the summons that your tribe only needed to send 25 combatants and 25 non-combatants, yet why have you brought along an extra member?" the captain raised his question while his eyes began scanning through the members of the expedition, eventually settling on Alz.

Colt had only reported that the northern elves had began to insult the southern elves when they noticed the newcomers, but hadn't mentioned the reason why it started, to which the captain didn't probe as well.

Hence, it was only now that he realised the existence of Alz whose youthful appearance made him stick out like a sore thumb within the group. Also, subtracted from the group, it would be left with 50 members, the exact number requested by the summons, making it immediately apparent that he was the extra one.

Alz remained unfazed even with the captain staring at him, talking a step out from the group and bowing slightly to the captain before he began to speak.

"By the grace of Her Majesty, I have heard that our tribe is only sending in half of the promised number of elves in light of the attacks that destroyed one of our villages five years ago." Alz paused here for a short moment, lowering his head while his eyes began to darken.

"I am a survivor from that village. When I heard of this story from the chieftain, I personally volunteered to join this expedition in hopes of repaying the favour shown by the Queen." he continued on with a voice that was filled with resolve amidst the dejection it contained.

A look of understanding dawned on the captain's face while his eyes that looked towards Alz began to soften, filled with sympathy towards his plight. Colt also looked at Alz with eyes of shock, not knowing that he had such an unfortunate past.

He had also felt some resentment towards Alz's tribe for sending over a child earlier, embarrassing the rest of them as well. However, this now faded completely, replaced by a look of pain and empathy, from his old memories of wolf attacks in his tribe.

Maya also turned to look at Alz with watery eyes with tears flowing down her cheeks. She had already felt very sad when she had lost her father and couldn't even begin to imagine the grief Alz felt, stimulating her vulnerable emotional state that had yet to recover fully once again.

Even the other members of the expedition began to look at him with sad and sympathetic eyes as each of his words resonated strongly in their hearts.

Yet, all these elves would have probably not looked at him the same way had they known the true thoughts that were running through Alz's head.

"Finally, something went according to plan!"

Alz carefully observed his surroundings, being careful to retain the expression on his face. This was not to say that his grief was feigned, as the attacks back then had left deep scars in his heart he wasn't sure would ever heal.

However, he was not one to openly show his pain to others, much less to strangers that he was meeting for the first time. In his mind, he was only reciting a well-rehearsed script that he had prepared beforehand for this situation, which seemed to have achieved the result he wanted.