Morning has arrived in the wilderness, where a group of 11 people had just experienced an intense night which had put their lives at stake. They were now gathered at the mouth of a cave, and some of them were preparing breakfast for everyone. Some others were standing guard, stationed at both sides of the cave entrance.

“You sure about it?” Storm One asked while keeping his eyes on the dark depths of the cave.

“Yes, the bells still work. I checked while we were walking.” Lory replied. “If a new black serpent comes we’ll definitely hear it. And no, despite mainly living underground they can’t burrow. They rely on caves, natural or artificial.”

Storm One sighed a little in relief. “Alright, I’ll take your word on that.”

A few minutes later, Renne called out to everyone. “Breakfast ready!”

Storm One and Nathan remained standing guard at their respective sides of the cave while the rest gathered around.

“Uhh...” Lory said, staring at the meal presented in front of him. It was unlike any other meals around. Simply put, it looked much more extravagant. “What’s this?”

“What I promised!” Renne said. “My special dish. Enjoy!”

“I’m not sure about this. I mean, it feels like this would be wasted on me.”

“Just accept it and eat.” Anton said with a wry smile. “Our leader won’t stop convincing you to have it otherwise.”

“Yup.” Sandra said while nodding with closed eyes.

Renne folded her arms and smirked at Lory while everything was happening. Seeing how things unfolded around him, Lory visibly smiled before speaking. “Then I’ll accept the hospitality.”

“Alright! Everybody, enjoy your meal!” Renne said with a wide smile.

Soon, everybody other than the two who were standing guard began having their breakfast. Renne in particular often glanced at Lory, who naturally noticed her behavior but decided to ignore it.

“So, how’s it? Is it good?” Renne asked.

“Yeah, it’s much better than what I usually have.” Lory replied.

“So, feeling better now?”

“Heh..!” Lory chuckled. “Really, you remind me of her.”

“Who?” Renne tilted her head.

“My sister...” Lory replied weakly and lowered his head.

“Ah, nononono!” Renne frantically waved her hands left and right. “Let’s just continue enjoying the meal and not make the mood worse!”

Seeing Renne panicking, Lory chuckled again. “Now that’s so unlike her. You’re you after all.”

Renne, after calming down, replied to the remark. “Yeah of course. I mean, the chance of two people having exactly the same personality is basically zero.”

“Hmm.” Lory nodded. “At least, the way you intended to cheer me up with food and also what you said to Storm One back then were like her.”

“What I said back then?” Renne tilted her head again. “What was it?”

“No dinner for you.”

Upon Lory replying to Renne’s question, there was an awkward silence lasting for slightly less than five seconds before she broke the silence.

“Pfft! That, of all things?” Renne said, visibly holding her own laugh. The others around within earshot were also visibly trying to hold their laugh, with varying degrees of success.

“Anyway, we’ll leave this island after everybody finishes.”

Storm Three then chimed in. “Oh yeah, speaking of that. How do we leave?”

Lory drank a few sips from his bottle of booze before replying. “The river feeding this lake fluctuates periodically. Right now it’s low on volume, and thanks to that the southwest part of the lake is only ankle-deep all the way to the mainland.”

“Wait, so we will have to cross the lake by walking through it?” Sandra asked, not hiding her concerned tone. “Aren’t the waters corrupted?”

“That’s where I come in.” Lory said. “I’ll use magic to help you all cross safely.”

“Guess we’ll owe you another one, eh?” Storm Two remarked.

“Never mind all that.” Lory said. “I’m just... happy to help.” He glanced at Renne as he spoke the last part.

“Sorry for this but...” Audrey chimed in with her eyes visibly squinted. “Are you helping us, simply because our leader reminds you of your sister?”

“...” Lory went silent, not responding to the question.

“If she hadn’t said that line by chance, would you still have helped us this far?”

Keeping himself silent, Lory lowered his head.

“Audrey, that’s enough.” Renne intervened with stern eyes and an audibly upset tone. “Why don’t we just look at the fact that he risked his own life for us all, even though he didn’t have to?”

“But leader!” Audrey retorted. “I’m frankly worried that-“ But she halted her own speech, glancing at Lory with a degree of fear and worry on her face.

“Just let your concerns out.” Lory said, noticing Audrey’s behavior. “Many conflicts unnecessarily escalate because of poor communication. So, what is it that you’re worried about?”

“...I’m worried that you may...” Audrey hesitated, but soon she said it anyway with closed eyes. “That you may kidnap our leader for yourself at any second!” She then panted quite intensely.

The rest of the entire group went into complete silence after hearing Audrey’s words. Hilda froze up with her mouth agape, Sandra and Anton scratched their heads, while Renne let out a wry smile.

“Aren’t you... thinking too far?” Sandra asked with her hand still scratching her own head.

“Yeah.” Anton said. “I can’t imagine this nice person doing that.”

Lory then intervened before anyone else could deny Audrey’s words further. “No, you actually got a point being concerned about that.”

“Wait, what?” Storm Three asked.

“Not that I’ll do anything like that, but it’s correct to be careful around someone you just met in a foreign land.” Lory folded his arms. “Especially now that you know about my lingering attachment with my late sister.”

“Lory.” Renne said. “You’re not helping your case by saying that, you know.”

“Well, yeah. I guess so.” Lory said with a shrug. “Let’s just say that I don’t want to become the cause of a rift forming between you.”

“Huh? Oh...!” Renne then looked at Audrey, who was rolling her eyes, and then back to Lory with a wry smile. “You didn’t need to, really. We’ve been working together for a long time. Trust me, this was not the first time something like this happened, and we still get along fine.”

“Not an easy role to play,” Audrey said. “But someone simply has to.”

“Guess I was worrying unnecessarily.” Lory then drank another sip from his bottle and resumed. “Anyway, to answer that question, yes. Despite what I said back then, I’d still have helped all of you. But in either case, frankly speaking I wouldn’t do anything like sacrificing myself to protect any of you. I’m no hero.”

“We wouldn’t like to have it anyway, definitely.” Storm Two said. “That would be our failure as soldiers if that happened.”

“Right.”

The group continued having their breakfast, with a little shift change later so Storm One and Nathan had their chance to eat as well.

Once everyone was done, they all packed up and departed from the cave. The overcast above was still lingering like ever, but it was visibly thinner and allowed more sunlight to go through. Lory was the one leading the way, with Storm One walking beside him and Nathan at the very back. Renne and her crews were in the middle, and the remainder of the Storm Squad escorted them in a triangle formation covering every side.

“How far are we from the coastline?” Storm One asked.

Without stopping his walk, Lory replied. “At this pace, we’ll be there in about one hour or two.”

“Just curious but...” Renne said. “What if you were alone?”

“Five minutes.”

“Like what?” Storm Three said. “Magic sure is unbelievable if speaking from our common sense.”

“Do you fly with magic to go that fast?” Sandra asked.

“No. I simply run and jump.” Lory replied. “Flight is either a Wind Weave or Gravity Weave, and both are not my field.”

“And now I’m curious. How many magic fields are there?”

“Nobody really bothers counting, especially that the number changes over time.”

“Changes over time? Why is that?”

“Discovery of new things, old things becoming obsolete. Things like that.”

Renne then spoke to Sandra. “I think it’s just like science. Like how Astrology used to be a science in reeeally ancient times. Now it’s just some occasional fun talk and largely forgotten.”

“Oh, I get it.” Sandra nodded twice.

Lory then spoke again. “For example, compared to most other fields, Gravity Weave is new, having been discovered less than twenty years ago.”

“Intriguing. So before that only wind magic users can fly?”

“Basically, yes. Though, flying with Wind Weave is impractical so there aren’t many who do that to begin with.”

“Why impractical?”

“A moment.” Lory pulled out his spyglass and scanned ahead for a couple seconds before pocketing it again. “The path ahead is still traversable, no change in plan. Anyway, without proper mastery flying with Wind Weave is dangerous to both the user and all the people around.”

“I’m guessing...” Renne said. “They could accidentally blow everyone and everything around them away?”

“Exactly.” Lory said. “Anyway, let’s keep walking.”

The group then continued walking with Lory in the lead like before. The trek to their destination was fairly smooth in general, mostly only walking through natural paths or grass. Lory kept leading them through areas less affected by the recent constant rainfall, so they didn’t have to deal with muddy terrain or such. Finally, after just over one and half an hour later, the group arrived at a rocky coastline with a vast body of water ahead. Land was visible on the other side, at a distance too far for an average person to feasibly swim.

“Alright, here we are.” Lory said, stopping from walking near the edge of the coastline and then pointing forward. “And that’s the mainland.”

“Whoa, what a beautiful view.” Renne said as she stepped forward near Lory and admired the scenery.

“Careful, Leader!” Audrey said a bit loudly. “Don’t forget that the water is corrupted!”

“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry!” Renne replied before she looked at Lory. “How do you usually cross while alone? Jump across in a single bound?”

“No, I run.” Lory replied.

“Running on water, huh?” Renne folded her arms. “By the way, are you in a hurry to go somewhere?”

“Huh? Me?” Lory asked back, to which Renne responded with a single nod. “No, not really. The rain stopped early after all.” He then folded his arms like Renne and asked. “What do you want to do before we cross?”

“Teehee, so you caught on.” Renne said with a small laugh that sounded a little strange. Her assistants behind her shrugged while rolling their eyes.

“There she goes again.” Anton said. “Guess we should prepare.”

“Right.” Sandra said. “Hilda, you know what to do.”

“O-Oh, yes. Right away.” Hilda said, putting down her space suitcase and opening it.

Lory watched as Renne’s assistant began pulling things out from the suitcase and then setting those stuff up. “What are they doing?” He asked with his eyes glancing at Renne.

“I’ve told you what I am, right?” Renne said with a smug grin on her face.

“Field researcher, wasn’t it? Oh, yeah I guess I get it now.”

“Yup! I’m going to do a quick research before leaving this island.” Renne said.

“Alright, suit yourself.” Lory said, walking away from Renne and approaching Nathan, who was visibly rolling his eyes. “Is she always like that?”

“It’s her job and passion at the same time, so yeah.” Nathan said. “The tension of fighting for our lives is basically gone after all. At least for now.”

“I’ll scout around then.” Lory said. “In case some of the foul beasts are still around.”

“Alright. Be careful.” Nathan said with a single nod. “And sorry that you have to put up with her antics.”

“Eh, it’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

Lory was then about to leave the place, but Renne shouted at him from afar. “Hey Lory! I have one question!”

“What is it?” Lory asked, right after disappearing from the spot he originally stood at and reappearing right in front of Renne. Naturally, everyone who saw that were surprised.

“E-Eh!? What!?” Renne said while being so startled she almost fell on her bottom, but Lory held her hand with his left hand and her body with his right hand, keeping her from falling.

“Sorry about it.” Lory said.

Renne then recovered her footing and stood straight. “I guess... now I have multiple questions, if you don’t mind.”

“If I can answer, I will.”

Before Renne could begin asking, Sandra hurried there and asked a question with a tense tone. “What was that? Did you just teleport?”

“Well, she said the first question for me.” Renne said.

“No, I just simply moved.” Lory said.

“With magic too, I’m guessing?”

“Yes.”

“Magic in this place really blows our logic out of the window.” Renne said while scratching her head. “Anyway, the corrupted water. How dangerous are they?”

“Well, let’s put it this way.” Lory said. “Water, or basically anything, is said as corrupted when it has calamity ardor within. Human body purifies calamity ardor they absorb, but there’s a limit to that.”

“What happens if a human absorbs too much calamity ardor?”

“It’s left to the whim of fate. But whatever comes.... it’ll be horrible.” Lory averted his eyes the moment he spoke the last part.

“So, specifically to this lake, how dangerous is the water?”

“Don’t drink it. That’s all you need to know.”

“Alright! Last one!” Renne said in a hurry. “Could you tell us about your... right arm? If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Oh... so you felt it.”

“Yes. But if you don’t feel like telling-“

Before Renne could finish her sentence, Lory took his leather glove off his right hand and rolled his right sleeve up to his shoulder. It was then revealed to everyone, much to their astonishment, that Lory’s entire right arm was an artificial one made of metal. At a glance, the shape of the metal arm was about the same as an athletic genuine human arm, but observant ones would notice the seam lines and small bulges which implied that there was possibly more to the metal arm than meets the eye.

However, what everyone found unbelievable was the fact that up to now Lory had been using his right arm naturally as if it had been a normal, genuine human arm. The cybernetics technology of humanity today actually could do a similar feat relatively easily while also covering the mechanical arm with organic layers, but seeing such a fully functioning mechanical arm in basically a fantasy world left a huge impression on everyone’s mind.

“The result of my own folly way back when.” Lory said before he rolled down his right sleeve and put his right glove back on. “But for some reason they gave this replacement arm to such a worthless guy like me. Down payment they said, heh!” He let out a wry smile. “They’re bad at lying.”

“They who?” Renne asked.

“Sorry, but let’s stop there.” Lory shook his head. “Anything else you want to ask?”

“Ehhh... nothing for now.”

“Then I’ll take my leave. I’ll be back before noon.”

Lory then walked away and disappeared from sight within seconds. Without wasting any more time, Renne and Sandra went to the rest of the researcher group, where the field lab kits had been set up and ready.

“Alright!” Renne said. “We’re going to analyze the so-called corrupted water!”

“Do we have to wear hazard material suits while doing this?” Audrey asked.

“Lory said we only have to keep ourselves from drinking the water.” Sandra replied.

“We should still wear the suits, I say.” Anton said. “Lory’s a native while we aren’t. Chances are high that we are much less resistant. Not to mention that we’re dealing with magical stuff now. Can’t be too careful.”

“Yeah, you have a point. Get the suits.” Renne said.

Meanwhile, at a stone’s throw distance from Renne and her assistants, Nathan and Storm Two were sitting on a large rock. The remainder of the Storm Squad remained standing guard around the area. Nathan pulled out his notebook from the pocket of his suit, while Storm Two pulled out something else from his own suit.

Nathan noticed the thing Storm Two pulled out and cracked a grin before speaking. “Yeah, could use some calming music.”

Storm Two nodded, and then he began playing the small musical instrument he had: a flute. There was no trick or sophisticated technology within his flute. It was simply a flute, the traditional musical instrument which had existed for a very long time, long before humanity could even travel out of their origin planet. Storm Two skilfully played his flute, ignoring the fact that he was wearing thick military gloves. The sequence of melodies coming out from his play could be described with one word; soothing. Given enough time and relaxation, pretty much anyone would eventually fall asleep listening to his calming performance.

After enjoying Storm Two’s performance for a minute, Nathan looked down on his notebook and began writing in the section where he had been keeping the journal of his adventure on this planet.

Let’s see... today is the 6th day counting from the night Martin Alphen fell...

***

“So it has been over two weeks since that day, huh?” Lillie said, looking at the calendar projected holographically by her own wristwatch. She was sitting on her bed in her room, which had three beds and was shared with the other two members of Mountain Squad; Ulysses and Gregory. The other two were doing their routine morning workouts.

“Since what day?” Gregory asked without stopping his workout.

“Since we landed on this planet, Greg.” Ulysses said, also without stopping.

“Oh, right.”

“But it’s been still less than a week since the day we arrived here in this city.”

“Also right.” Gregory said right before stopping his workout, having finished it. “So, leader. What are your plans for today?” He asked while looking at Lillie.

Lillie stood up from the bed and walked to the window, through which she looked out. “Captain Mayer granted us a day off because we just came home from an intense mission last night.” She said while gazing at the view outside. “But honestly, sleeping all day would be boring. Let’s go for a walk after breakfast!”

“Sure, why not.” Gregory said with a grin.

“But before that,” Ulysses said, finishing his workout and wiping the sweat from his face. “Why don’t we check if they have finished evaluating our quest result?”

“Worth a try, even though they probably haven’t finished yet.” Lillie said, walking away from the window. “It’s still morning after all.”

“Umm, leader. Sorry for asking this but...” Ulysses said, falling into silence for several seconds before resuming. “What will you do if they decide that we failed?”

Hearing the question, Lillie lowered her head, put her right hand under her chin, and sat down on her bed. After thinking for half a minute, she raised her head and spoke. “I’ll have to go and apologize to Lady Mirabelle for letting her down. Ah, no. I’ll go and do that regardless. Many of her people died there.”

“But it wasn’t your fault, though?” Gregory said. “We were deep inside the mines when it happened, and we were following instructions.”

Ulysses then chimed in after drinking some water. “You’re not wrong, Greg. But I think we should go there and offer condolences at least.”

“Alright, you have a point. But don’t forget that we’re dealing with an aristocracy of a foreign planet. They may see our sincerity as a weakness and exploit it.”

“Is this Lady Mirabelle possibly like that, leader? You’re the only one who has met her directly after all.” Ulysses asked.

Lillie shook her head. “Didn’t seem that way if you ask me. She also seems to be close with the queen, whom we know to be benevolent.”

“It never hurts to be careful around those in high positions.” Gregory said with a shrug.

“Yes, Greg. I get your point.” Lillie lowered her head again and let out a sigh. The other two noticed, and therefore they went silent with lowered heads too.

“If only he were still with us...” Ulysses said.

“Yeah, he always offered the best advice when we’re like this.” Gregory said with a small sigh and hands on his hip.

“Honestly, despite his denial way back then, Victor would’ve made for a better squad leader than me.” Lillie said, standing up from her bed. “But he’s gone, and we have to move on with it. Let’s go and have breakfast.”

Lillie walked past Gregory and Ulysses before going out the door. The other two silently followed her.

***

“Professor...!” One of the students in the class Sedhoust was teaching raised his hand.

“Yes.” Sedhoust responded, looking at the student.

“What will happen if we combine this function with the function Professor taught us the other day to cast a spell?”

“Hmm, let me answer that by throwing a question back.” Sedhoust replied, folding his arms with one hand right under his chin. “What’s the result of zero plus one minus one?”

“Umm... zero, sir.”

“Correct. The same as if the operations never happen to begin with. In other words, if you try casting a spell with both of those functions added, they will nullify each other and make the resulting spell behave as if there’s no added function. Therefore, doing this will only serve to make you weavesick quicker.”

As Sedhoust finished his explanation, he noticed that some other students began laughing subtly and silently. Knowing this, he resumed speaking.

“However, that doesn’t mean it has no practical application. Take that for example.” Sedhoust then pointed at a nearby wall-hung picture of his creation; the lightning power generator. “A certain part of this machine is imbued with the precision function, while another part is imbued with the wild power function. Together, the functions make the machine work as efficiently as it should.”

The students took the explanation in their own ways. Some made several slight nods, some others rounded their mouths, and some were still scratching their heads.

“In other words, opposing functions nullify each other if they are applied at the entire spell. But, if you can apply them only in specific different parts of the spell, they may end up as an incredible combination nobody has ever thought before. Such is the limitless science of magic.”

“Oooh..!” Several students could be heard saying it in low but noticeable volume.

“Professor!” A different student raised her hand.

“Yes?” Sedhoust said, looking at the student.

“How do we apply functions to specific parts of a spell?”

“Good question, but it is part of an advanced weaving control technique. It’s not your time yet to learn about it.” Sedhoust said, and the students were immediately and audibly disappointed. “However, there are ways to learn about it earlier if you know where to look. Just be mindful of the risk involved.”

Ring! Ring! Ring!

“All right, class is over. See you again next time.” Sedhoust said after hearing the bells of the academy building.

“Professor! Would you tell us where we can learn about the advanced weaving control technique?” Another student stood up with his hand raised as he spoke.

“Sadly, I have to refuse.” Sedhoust said. “Outside the topics I officially cover in class, you need to look for it yourselves. After all, I believe most of you aspire to be... adventurers.”

“Ah, yes sir.” The student sat back down, but he then visibly glanced and smiled at some other students who seemed to have gotten into something. Sedhoust noticed that, but he ignored it and left the classroom.

After storing his teaching materials away, Sedhoust walked out of the academy building and briefly pondered about where he should have lunch for the day. But before deciding on that, he settled on doing something else first. With that in mind, he activated his flight spell and flew towards the patch of land he had officially taken ownership of the day before.

Sedhoust arrived at the location just a few minutes later. The ten hectares of land was being fenced off with simple wooden fences, and the process was already mostly done. Sedhoust had no intention to talk with any of the officials and workers doing the work for now, so he stayed afloat in high altitude and observed while a number of things were going inside his mind.

I guess... the ship can go there, then a warehouse or two near it... or maybe three. I guess I really bought too much land. I could build a private village with this much land. Maybe that’s what I’ll do indeed, heh.

After doing the brief observation, Sedhoust flew away from the area and went towards the Adventurer’s Guild building. Not landing on the ground, he approached one of the windows at one of the higher floors and knocked on it without hesitation.

Knock! Knock!

Within seconds, the window was opened by none other than Keith the guildmaster.

“Too lazy to enter through the front door today?” Keith asked with a grin and arms on his hip.

“Well, you can put it that way.” Sedhoust said with a similar grin. “Anyway, I’m coming in.”

“Yeah, suit yourself.” Keith said, giving way to Sedhoust who immediately came in through the window and gently landed on the floor. “What brings you here?”

“I just want to check on you after what happened yesterday.” Sedhoust said as both he and Keith sat down on their respective chairs. “And also to check if Elana has come back from her quest.”

“Yeah, she came back last night. Her quest didn’t go as planned.”

Sedhoust squinted his eyes. “What happened?”

“The location was unexpectedly infested. She and several others she brought with her had to fight for their lives out of there.”

“Ah, damn those things again!” Sedhoust gritted his teeth and clenched his hands.

“Thankfully they made it back safe and sound, but dozens of the requester’s private soldiers weren’t as lucky. Still, the quest was officially deemed as successful since their job was not to fight the beasts in the first place.”

“What was it again? To lift heavy rubble inside a mine, wasn’t it?” Sedhoust asked, to which Keith responded with a nod. “What beasts did they fight?”

Keith then took a piece of paper nearby and looked over it quickly. “Red centipede swarm inside the tunnels, and then a rock golem after they escaped from the mines.”

Sedhoust’s eyes slightly went wider before he spoke. “They survived an encounter with a golem? Granted it’s just rock, but that’s remarkable.”

“Yup.” Keith said. “And what’s intriguing is that they didn’t only survive the encounter. They slayed the golem.”

“Ooh.” Sedhoust said, visibly smiling while squinting a little. “That means they’re at least as capable as a gold rank team, maybe even platinum.”

“And remember that they can’t use magic.”

“Yet.” Sedhoust said with a mischievous smirk.

“Sedhoust...” Keith said, squinting at him. “You’re not planning to teach them magic, are you?”

“Well, I want to. But I have to know my place.” Sedhoust leaned back on his seat and folded his arms. “The Royal Archmage offering magic lessons to foreign strangers. What would people say?”

“Says the Royal Archmage who casually bought ten hectares of land like buying lunch.” Keith said, and they both laughed. “Speaking of lunch, let’s have some downstairs.”

“Sure, since I’m here might as well.”

“Just a moment. I want to finish this thing first.” Keith said, taking a different nearby piece of paper and writing on it. “Should be done in a few minutes.”

“What quest are you making there?”

“What else? Infested Area Extermination.”

“Right...” Sedhoust went silent for half a minute after saying it. “Speaking of infested areas, it’s about time that lake rains this year, right?”

“Last week, actually.” Keith said without stopping his work. “No incidents reported by the guild. He’s still as reliable as ever.”

“Heh, pretty much the only time of the year his location is certain.”

“Think he’ll visit us soon?”

“Nobody knows for sure.” Sedhoust shrugged. “But he certainly will, whenever that soup is available.”

“Hey, you know I can’t do that too often.”

“Yeah...” Sedhoust lowered his head, musing by himself with a melancholic smile.

“Anyway, it’s done. Let’s go downstairs.”

Keith and Sedhoust stood up from their seats and went out of the office. By ten minutes later, they were already sitting together having lunch on a shared table. The meal this time was not bad, but not really outstanding either. While eating, Sedhoust noticed something at the corner of his vision and then he spoke to Keith in a rather low volume.

“By the way, have you figured out a solution? About the case yesterday, I mean.”

Keith stopped eating, then he leaned to his seat and closed his eyes with his arms folded. “To be honest, I can’t think of anything other than declaring it as an unfortunate misunderstanding.”

“Well, it was.”

“I know.” Keith said. “What I meant to say is that I’ll omit unnecessary details that would serve nothing other than putting the people involved in a more difficult position than they are now. Why do you ask that?”

“Well...” Sedhoust glanced at what he had noticed before, and Keith turned his head to the same place.

“Oh, I see...” Keith said, seeing the group of three people sitting together at a corner table.

The people Sedhoust noticed were the adventurer team who had misunderstood Doctor Kai’s intention back then. Right now it was very easy to describe their apparent mood with one word; gloom. Their heads were hanging in depression, and their food was probably getting cold already with how slow they were eating, if at all. The one missing from the team of four was Juliana, who was the leader, healer, and also the one who unfortunately had killed the victim unwittingly.

After a few seconds, Keith sighed and stood up, bringing his food along. “Sorry, Sedhoust. I have work to do as a guildmaster.”

“It’s fine. Good luck” Sedhoust said as Keith walked away from the table and approached the gloomy group.

As a guildmaster, my foot. You’re simply a little too kind and that’s just like you.

Sedhoust grinned and laughed subtly as the thought came across his mind, and then he continued eating his meal alone.

***

“Look... Hic..! There it is.. Hic..!” Lory pointed forward with wobbly hands and feet. He and the group of ten foreigners he had been accompanying were now standing on a higher ground overlooking a city at the distance. The sun was high in the sky and the weather was fair, providing a sufficiently clear view of the city.

“It’s a beautiful city, but...” Renne squinted at Lory. “Why have you been constantly drunk like that ever since we crossed the lake yesterday?”

Lory gulped another batch of booze from the bottle he had been carrying before replying. “We’re... Hic..! Out of danger already... Hic..!”

“Have you been cursed or something?” Renne scratched her head. “Seriously, your drunkenness looks unnatural for all of us. And now you reek of alcohol so bad!”

“Cursed? Ha...” Lory began smirking, and then he laughed for at least ten seconds before calming down and replying. “You can... Hic..! Say that I really am cursed.. Hic..! For my inability to.. Hic..! Protect her.”

Renne sighed hearing the reply. “I guess you really are beyond help when it comes to that, huh? Even though I said all those things back then.”

“Anyway.. Hic..! This is where we part.. Hic..!” Lory said.

“Wait, what?” Sandra said without hiding her surprise. “But we know nothing of the people and the culture!”

“Yeah, and we have no local money.” Audrey added.

Anton followed up, chiming in. “Also, we don’t even know if the guards at the gate would let us into the city to begin with.”

“Here. Take this.. Hic..!” Lory pulled out a small pouch and handed it to Renne. “Should last you for.. Hic..! A week or two. And don’t worry about the.. Hic..! Guards. They will let you in.. Hic..!”

Renne, while taking a quick glance at the coins inside the pouch, spoke to Lory. “Am I right to guess that your parents live in that city?”

Lory twitched very slightly upon hearing that, and he fell silent. All the others beside Renne also showed a certain degree of reaction.

Renne sighed a bit with her arms on her hip. “Looks like I was right, but I won’t pry further into that. It wouldn’t be right after everything you’ve done for us, and for the city too.”

“W-What do you mean, Leader?” Hilda asked.

“I’m pretty sure that if Lory hadn’t been doing what he does on that island, that city would’ve been the target of the monsters. But let’s stop there.” Renne then looked at Lory in the eyes. “If you don’t wish to accompany us to the city, then so be it. But I just want to ask one question.”

“...What is it?” Lory asked. Somehow, he didn’t look drunk anymore and his body no longer reeked of alcohol. The only possible explanation for it was that he was able to manipulate the metabolism of his body through magic. However, nobody wanted to ask about it.

“Are you sure you want to avoid them forever?” Renne asked with her face showing nothing but seriousness. The glares from her eyes would pierce anyone’s mind and compel them to look away.

Lory didn’t give an immediate answer. Instead he lowered his head and smiled before answering. “Heh, funny. My brother asked the same thing last time we met.”

“So, what’s your answer?”

“I don’t know.” Lory shrugged. “Maybe someday I’ll change my mind. Maybe I’ll decide to steel my resolve and face them.” He went silent for a bit before resuming. “But not today.”

“Alright then.” Renne said before holding Lory’s hands. “Thank you for everything, and I hope we will meet again someday. I definitely will repay your deed.”

“You better don’t look forward to it.. Hic..!”

With a simple farewell of waving hands, everyone sent Lory off. He walked away like how a heavily drunk person would be, which was worrying but their worry was quite unwarranted because suddenly he vanished from view, presumably having leapt far away in a single bound.

“Alright, time to go.” Renne said, looking at the others. “Let’s get moving, everyone!”

“Miss Renne.” Nathan said. “This will be another first contact, so I will do the talking with the guards at the gate.”

“Alright, I’ll be watching like before.”

Later, the group arrived at the gate of the city. Naturally, the group’s attire was unusual to the guards so they were visibly alerted on approach, but Nathan calmly stepped forward.

“What’s the purpose of your visit?” One armored guard asked. He was accompanied by two others wearing the same armor.

“We are travelers from somewhere very far. Someone guided us here.” Nathan replied.

“So, where’s this someone?”

“We parted ways right before arriving here.”

As soon as Nathan spoke his reply, one of the other guards audibly sniffed, and then he looked surprised. That guard stepped forward to Nathan and asked. “Was that person a drunkard carrying a barrel on his back?”

“Yes. You know him?”

And then, without warning, the last one of the guards pulled out a horn and blew on it, making a loud melody which echoed everywhere. Just seconds later, a different gate at a distance opened and a bunch of horse-riding soldiers came out in full gallop, disappearing into the distance as quickly as they appeared.

Nathan, and naturally the rest of Renne’s group, looked confused and dumbfounded seeing what had just happened. By now, it would be natural to begin assuming that Lory was a highly wanted criminal or such, and getting involved in this matter would spell bad.

“Don’t be alarmed.” The first guard said.

“Well, of course we’re now alarmed.” Nathan said, taking one step back. “It makes us think that he’s an enemy of the entire city seeing an entire cavalry mobilized to hunt him down like that.”

“Rest assured that he’s not. The Duke has always wanted to see him, but he never steps close to the city. The cavalry you saw will only try to politely persuade him to come. That is, if they can get close enough to begin with.”

“Hmm...” Nathan folded his arms, not sure whether to believe the guard’s words or not at first. However, his experience told him that the guard was telling the truth.

“In any case, if he was your guide then there will be no questions. All of you may come in.”

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it.” Nathan said, to which the guard responded with a nod. “By the way, what is the name of this city?”

The three guards looked at each other briefly, then they lined up side by side and stood straight, speaking in unison.

“Welcome to Arstjipta, the capital of Grasmord Dukedom in Arxhige Kingdom!”

Nathan and the Storm Squad kept themselves cautious, but they and the rest of the group entered through the city gate, looking forward to what fate would have in store for them.

***