The meeting wrapped up shortly after that. I promised Dan and Falur that if we ever needed help, we’d turn to them first. Also, that we’d write them recommendations if they wanted that. That seemed to satisfy them.

The two left the room. I turned to Hartwin, Johan, and Roska. “I don’t know if I mentioned this already, but we’ve already got our first job. It’s in about two weeks. Unfortunately, I don’t know all the details, only that we’re to go get ‘something’,” I told them.

“Who’s the client?” asked Roska.

“Cadius,” Lloyd supplied.

Roska sighed, guessing that a job from Cadius wasn’t going to be a simple one.

“Ah, don’t be like that,” Johan said. “Our first job? And it’s from the lord himself? If we pull this off, it’ll be a great start!”

“Regardless, we’ve got time to prepare. Cadius hinted that we’d be traveling some distance, so we’ll need supplies and transportation. I’ve already been working on that. All you need to do is prepare whatever equipment and clothes you’ll need,” Lloyd said.

“Hey, how long is this trip going to take?” Johan asked.

“We don’t know,” I shrugged. “Lloyd thinks a month in total is a safe bet. As for myself, I doubt it’ll be that long. Either way, we’ll take care of the long-term stuff.”

“Oh, and we’ll also be paying for anything you’ll need to maintain your equipment, ammo, etc.” Lloyd said.

There were nods all around.

“Any other questions?” I asked. “No? Alrighty. You know how to contact us. We’ll meet here right before dawn the day we leave.”

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

“Hey, Lloyd. What the hell was that with Hartwin?” I questioned him.

“Sorry, I went a bit overboard,” he said, not looking the least bit sorry.

There was a pregnant pause; I wanted him to elaborate. He bit his lip.

“Lloyd.”

“Fine. What I did, I did for a reason.”

“And that reason?”

“It was to make Hartwin more loyal to us,” he admitted.

“Huh?” Lloyd… What?

“Von. You need a shield. Unlike mine, your powers aren’t suited for defense.” He isn’t wrong, as reluctant as I am to admit it. “Hartwin’s just a teammate right now. But there will come a time where he’ll be an inseparable ally. We need people who we can trust and rely on, and I believe he’s suited for that role.”

“That’s-” I started.

“I’m not budging on this,” he shook his head.

I set my jaw. “Fine. Let’s leave it at that.”

Lloyd… I know you’re concerned for my safety, but do you not trust me to defend myself? Aren’t you being overprotective? I shook my head. I’m just overthinking it. He’s just worried about me, is all.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

“C’mon, isn’t this enough?!” I whined.

My current situation was grim. Shadows wrapped around my legs and torso to bind me to my chair. Lloyd sat adjacent to me, calmly sipping his tea as he read from a hefty tome.

“Here’s your sugar, sir,” a maid said, setting down a saucer with cup filled with sugar cubes in front of Lloyd. She didn’t even glance in my direction, as per his orders.

“Lloyd, please!” I cried, trashing in my chair.

The bindings momentarily tightened to a painful degree. “Don’t damage the furniture,” a cold voice warned me.

“Why are you doing this!?”

“For the last week, you haven’t read a single thing I assigned to you. I can’t have you shirking your responsibilities like that.”

He wasn’t wrong. I had skipped out on these study sessions under the pretext of finding an isolated spot to read. In reality, I might have actually gone drinking, roamed the city… I couldn’t survive the hellish schedule Lloyd had set for me without those breaks. I’d end up a withered husk.

The look on his face, he was in a mood. A bad one. Rather than subject myself to further punishment by lying, it was time to fess up. “Ok! I admit it! Just let me go! I’ll study, I promise!”

He shook his head. “No, you’ll stay right there and read. From now on, every night, I’ll be quizzing you on what you were supposed to read. If you can’t answer my questions, you’ll spend the next night just like this.” He shot me an icy glare. “ I suggest you start reading,” he said.

NOOOO!!!

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

And like that, the days passed relatively quickly. For me, however, that didn’t make it any easier. Each day was filled to the brim with things to do, places to go, people to meet, etc. Training, studying… it felt endless, especially since Lloyd started forcing me to study. I was able to get away one time, only to have Wolfram appear out of nowhere and teleport me back home. Apparently, he sympathized with Lloyd’s plight and decided to help out. Unbelievable.

The appointed day finally arrived. That morning, Cadius came to our usual meeting spot to give us the details of our mission.

“I’ve been waiting for a number of years for an opportunity like this, and it’s finally here,” he began. “I’ve finally found a researcher whose sole focus is Dusts.”

Roska raised a brow at that. “Why Dusts?” she asked.

“Because I think there’s something special about them.”

“Your hunch, you mean,” I supplied.

Cadius nodded. “Yep.”

“So where is this researcher? And how should we handle them?” I asked.

“She goes by the name Korin, and she’s currently holed up in Westray, Battos.”

I turned to Lloyd and gave him a look that said, ‘Where?’

“Battos is the nation east of Milon. It’s ruled by the demigod of storms, Wiesis. Westray is a city near the Milon border,” he supplied.

“The trip should take about a week, give or take a day. As for the method of bringing her back, I’ll leave that up to you.”

“This Korin, the name sounds Mavish,” Roska commented.

“Correct,” Cadius said in a pleased voice.

I once again looked to Lloyd.

“Mavs are the humanoid avian descendants of Artix, demigoddess of repose. They’ve got wings on their arms, bird-like legs, and talons,” Lloyd said to me.

“In general, they’re solitary and reserved, but kind,” he added.

I turned back to Cadius. “What’s she look like?” I asked.

“Korin’s got grey plumage and tends to dress in muted colors, supposedly. That’s what the merchants who’ve seen her have said. Here,” he handed Lloyd and sheaf of folded papers, “this is all the info we’ve got on her. What got my attention in the first place was her search for a particular tome written by an obscure author. I’ve got a copy of my own, but I can’t make heads nor tails of it, it’s just way out of my league,” Cadius shook his head.

Lloyd skimmed through the documents. “…A rooftop tent?” he remarked.

“Hm?” I leaned over, reading over his shoulder. Apparently, she’s been sleeping in a tent on some rooftop for the last month. Is that a Mav thing? Or is she just one of those weirdos?