After the door had closed behind the girls, Rigel turned to look inquiringly at the elderly man.

“Mr Vilfred, is there anything that we can assist you with?” He asked politely.

“Are you sure I am the one who needs assistance now?” The elderly man asked with a raised eyebrow. Seeing the cramped expression on Rigel’s face, Vilfred softened his tone. “My words might have come out harsher than expected. What I was trying to say is that I'll like to offer my assistance to you.”

Rigel looked up in surprise. That was something out of his expectations.

“I may be old, but I can still contribute to the Guild.”

Although it had been a long time since he had stepped down from the position of Guild Master, he still held fond memories of his time as an Adventurer. Furthermore, there was no reason for him to not give his strength in protecting the town that he had stayed in for the past 30 years.

Seeing the steel-like will behind the old man’s eyes, Rigel lowered his head. “Then we will gladly accept your offer,” he replied formally. Even though this former Guild Master was in his sixties, he was a well known Mage when he was younger, and he heard he had been tinkering with magic devices since he retired from the post of Guild Master 15 years ago. Even if he took up just a support role, he was definitely going to be a good help in their upcoming battle.

Vilfred nodded his head satisfactorily. He turned to look curiously at Andric. He remembered this russet haired young hair who came by his shop a few days ago. What was he doing here in the room? Although he could guess that he was an Adventurer, he should not be someone high ranking enough to sit in this room.

“You are Andric Kennings, correct? You look slightly different from what I remember,” he said with a slightly raised eyebrow. The young man before him now seemed like he was caught up in an internal turmoil. What had happened during these few days? “How is that girl doing? Is she better?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Vilfred felt the atmosphere in the room change.

“What is wrong?” He demanded as his eyes flashed around the room.

Rigel lowered his eyes. Once again, it seems like the most difficult job has been placed on his shoulders. Heaving a sigh, he started to explain what had happened the past two days.

After hearing from Rigel, Vilfred’s face immediately changed colour. He took deep breathes to calm himself down before he placed his hand on his forehead.

It was a well known fact that Goblins like to kidnap women and kids. As for what they did to them, it varied from story to story. Some were kept in cages like pets, while others were forced to do unpleasant things. There were even some who were worshipped and treated like Gods.

Regardless, getting captured was a traumatic experience, and the fate of a girl in the hands of a group of Goblins who were preparing to wage war was something that nobody wanted to imagined.

He took a glance at the silent young man sitting across the table.

This explains his appearance. From what he could tell, the girl was probably a person very important to him.

“What do you intend to do now?” He turned his head towards the young man.

“I'll save her,” Andric answered without hesitation.

Vilfred furrowed his brows slightly. Although he could understand the reason why Andric looked dishevelled now, there was still something that puzzled him.

Why was he holding back his emotions? It would be entirely understandable for him to be worried, or even angry. But instead, this young man was suppressing his emotions; acting calm and composed even though everyone could tell that he was distraught.

Why was he doing this?

“We will all save her,” Rigel added. “Miss Elise is a fellow Adventurer. Plus she met with such an accident while under our watch so the Guild will do our best to help her.”

“What Rigel say is right. We will all do our part to search for the girl,” an Adventurer with curly ash purple hair spoke up. He was part of the group that Elise joined and he knew Titan personally as well, so his passing had greatly saddened him.

A woman Adventurer wearing plate armor nodded. “Although I did not get the chance to talk to her, Elise helped us a lot by using her magic. I will definitely do my best to save her, and I won't forgive these Goblins for looking down on women,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Louise, Corwyn, it is great that we are all on the same page for this. I will be counting on the both of you tomorrow then,” Rigel addressed the two B+ Adventurers with a slight smile.

“Andric,” he said in a softer tone. “You should go back to the inn and rest earlier today. We have an important mission ahead of us tomorrow.”

Andric looked outside the window. It was only afternoon, what was he going to do with all the extra time at hand?

Looking at the unwillingness on his face, Vilfred decided to give the poor Assistant Guild Master a hand.

“There is nothing much you can do here anymore. Might as well go back early and get rid of that unsightly stubble of yours. This is no way to see a girl!”

Andric gave a wry smile. He could tell that everyone was seriously misunderstanding about his relationship with Elise, but he himself had contributed to this mess so he had nothing to say.

“Alright.”

*****

After Andric had exited the Guild, he did not return to the inn immediately. If he had returned then, he would need to spend a few hours facing the four walls of his room. Compared to that, he would prefer wandering around outside.

As he strolled through the streets, he could see that the number of Adventurers on the streets had increased exponentially compared to his first day of arrival at the town. Adventurers wearing their full armor and carrying rucksacks and bags walked down the street as they conversed cordially with their party members. The word of the special quest had spread quickly. Although it was only slightly over a week since the notice was sent out, they should have gathered over 200 Adventurers. With such a number, it will hopefully be enough to hold off part of the Goblins’ forces.

Andric continued wandering around aimlessly until the sky turned dark.

By the time he returned to the inn, it was already past the peak dinner period and the employees were all busy tidying the dining area.

Mari saw him walk pass the dining area and gathered up her courage to approach him.

“E-Excuse me…”

Andric looked at the young girl curiously. “Yes?” He was aware that the girl was always looking at him whenever he was in her line of sight, but this was the first time the girl had approached him.

“Um… Do you know where Miss Elise went?” Mari asked timidly. She had been meaning to ask about it since Elise did not return to the inn two nights ago. However, she never managed to gather enough courage to ask him until today. Although they had only spent a short time together, she really liked the older girl’s company.

“She…” Andric paused as he thought of what to say. “She will be back,” he said finally.

He watched as the girl’s face scrunch up from hearing his vague reply.

“Will Miss Elise really come back?” Although she was a child, she was old enough to know what kind of job an Adventurer does. Fighting monsters was a dangerous job and she had heard stories of people getting injured or even dying. Could it be that the pretty blonde-haired big sister will never come back again?

Andric flashed a comforting smile and patted the girl’s head. “It will be okay. Thanks for worrying. I’m sure Elise will be happy to hear about this.”

Mari cheered up slightly upon hearing his words. Putting on a brave face, she nodded. “I’ll ask Papa to make add more eggs into her food when she returns!”

Andric raised an eyebrow. Elise… like eggs?

*****

“What are you doing?” Andric asked as he paused in his steps.

In front of his room stood a certain blue-haired man. He was supposed to have went out with the Guild Master to the forest. Were the things settled already?

Seymour let out a tired smile. “Can I talk to you for a while in your room?”

He nodded reluctantly. “Come in then.”

The door closed behind them with a soft click.

Andric litted up the oil lamps on the wall before crossing his arms. “So, what do you want to talk to me about?” He had not seen, much less talk, to Seymour much for the past few days as he had been extremely busy running between the Town Council, the Guild and the forest. What does he want to talk to him about?

Seymour lowered his eyes. “I’ll like to apologise about what happened to Elise. Even though I promised that no harm will come to her, she still ended up getting captured. I have nothing to say about my incompetency.” He gripped the frame of the bed so tightly that his hands shook slightly.

Andric heaved a sigh. “There is no need for you to apologise specially to me.”

“But aren’t the both of you…”

Andric shook his head and laughed dryly. “I have only met Elise around 10 days ago. My acquaintance with her is not that much longer than yours.”

Seymour widened his eyes. It was true that he had always felt that there was a slight barrier between the both of them, but they had always behaved in a jovial manner around one another so he didn’t think too much into it.

“10 days ago? How did the both of you meet each other?”

Andric ruffled his hair with a hand. Since it has come to this, he might as well just explain everything.

“I met Elise by the lake in Spider Forest. Do you know where it is?”

Seymour nodded. “The only lake around this area would be the Luna Lake.” He heard that it was called Luna, which means ‘moon’, because the lake’s surface had a special property of becoming milky white like the moon in the morning.

“When I saw her, she was standing by the edge of the lake, staring into space. Before I knew it, she had jumped into the water fully clothed.”

Seymour widened his eyes once again, but he kept silent as Andric continued to speak.

“I jumped in and saved her. But when she woke up, she claimed that she has amnesia.”

“Amnesia?” Seymour asked with a slight frown. Although he had not met an amnesiac before, but a young girl who has lost her memories would most likely be frightened and uncertain. However, the Elise he knew switches between being bubbly and sly. It was difficult to believe that she was hiding such a secret behind her.

Andric gave a wry smile upon seeing his unconvinced face.

“I didn’t believe her either,” he said flatly. Having worked as an Adventurer for six years, he has met all sorts of conmen. None of them had been bold enough to commit suicide and then claim they had lost their memory though.

“If that is so, why are you so concerned about her well-being even though there is a chance she could be lying to you?”

Andric paused. He had been wondering about this himself as well. Why is he unable to stop worrying about the safety of the girl that he had only met a few days ago?

“This is because… Although she is lying, she does not seem like she is trying to harm anyone. On the contrary, it seems like she is trying to protect herself.”

He thought back to the scene by the lake when she was seated alone and deep in her thoughts. Her grey eyes were forlorn, as if she was facing a hopeless situation. But when he approached her, she immediately returned back to her innocent act.

What on earth is this girl’s background? What is she hiding? He could help but get curious.

He initially thought that she might be trying to get money from him. However, she had been insisting on paying for her own bills, and even decided to become an Adventurer to earn her own airfare, so that seemed to be unlikely.

During their short acquaintance, Elise had shown herself to lack common sense in the strangest of ways as well. She was fearless in front of monsters, but extremely inept at certain life skills; he had never seen a person wash vegetables until they become mush before. To say the least, she had brought him more trouble than he had warranted.

Despite this, he found it difficult to part ways with her. Was it because of the cute smile she occasionally flashes when she is trying to scheme? Or could it be the determination she shows in pushing herself to her limits to complete tasks? When did this mysterious girl start appearing in his thoughts so often?

Seymour studied the man in front of him who seemed to have come to a decision. He had always felt that Elise was more than what she looked, but to think that she would have such a background… He had heard something interesting today. A smile stretched across his face briefly before it disappeared.

“What do you intend to do now?” He asked softly.

Andric looked at Seymour in the eye and said resolutely, “Save her. I have already done it once. Doing it another time is not going to make a difference.”

Seymour smiled gently. “Then I will do my best to assist you as well.” Dipping his head slightly in apology, he continued, “I’ll take my leave first. See you tomorrow.”

Soon after he finished his words, a shadow that had been stationary outside the door scampered away.

Andric and Seymour exchanged a look. Seeing Seymour’s enquiring gaze, Andric furrowed his brows. “It’s fine. It’s not like she can do anything with this.”

“If that is okay with you,” Seymour replied calmly before he turned around and exited the room.

Finally alone, Andric took out a small blade from his pocket.

That elderly shopkeeper had some sense in his words.

Picking up the small mirror on the table, he studied his face with dark stubble with a frown. “This really isn’t a good face to meet someone with,” he muttered.

Putting the small mirror back on the table, he murmured under his breath, “Wait for me. I’ll definitely come and save you, Elise.”

Author's note:

I hope that this chapter clarifies the relationship between Andric and Elise so far. Although Andric and Elise had some cute moments, Andric's feelings for Elise at this point isn't love, but more like a mischievous stray he can't leave alone. They have only met for a while and they are keeping secrets from each other, after all~

The story will be on hiatus as I have exams coming up. The expected period is around 1 - 2 months. The fun part is just starting so I hope you will hang on for the continuation of this story!

Please leave comments and drop a review if you have the time!