-Chapter Seventeen-

The Inauguration of an Adventure

It wasn’t long before the receptionist returned to Aelius, wearing a reserved smile on her face as she reapproached him. “Mr Lius, I am happy to tell you that the Guildmaster approved your undertaking of this Commission,” she reported to him as she presented the itinerary to him. “There are some things you must be cautious of, however, especially since this is your first official Commission,” she began to explain. “While the Adventurer Guild’s authority will help support you in any legislative trouble you may encounter, we still urge you to exercise discretion on this Commission because the client is a Noble. Currently, the political landscape between Mercenaries and Nobles is somewhat strained because of some incidents in the past, so please keep that in mind.” Aelius simply remained silent, listening quietly and waiting for her to finish. “If they ever become a source of danger for you, the Guild requires you to do everything necessary to evacuate without causing further friction, and return to report the event. The Guild will do the rest, such as protecting your identity and negotiating with the Noble faction to resolve the incident…” She continued droning on for some time, during which Aelius blatantly rolled his eyes, knowing she couldn’t see him do it, until she finally reached the end. “Thank you for listening. Good luck on your first Commission!” she finally cheered for him with an upbeat smile.

“...Thanks,” Aelius turned away and without paying attention to anything else, began to read the itinerary intently on his way out the Guild. Aria followed him as well without a word, but Lia noticed the receptionist’s dejectedness at not even a further word uttered from Aelius, and gave her a quick bow. “Ah- thank you!” she clumsily dipped her head. The receptionist blinked for a moment, before a beam spread across her face and she gave Lia a wave goodbye.

“You’re very welcome.” She watched as Lia stumbled into a spin around and raced to join up with her companions, who callously did not even look back as they left the Guild. Not very much like newbies at all. Their rank, nor their demeanour.

As soon as Aelius stepped out the door, Aria was hot on his heels. “So, where to now?” she asked him immediately.

“Meeting with the client,” he merely answered, keeping his eyes on the paper as he turned down the street and slowly walked towards his next destination.

“Hah… I can’t believe I’ve wound up doing Mercenary work for Nobles of lesser stature than me,” she sighed.

“If you can’t even handle this, don’t even think about sticking around me,” Aelius clapped back without taking his eyes away from the task before him.

“Aria, you’re a Noble?” Lia exclaimed and Aria merely stared back at the girl for a moment. They couldn’t see each other’s expressions through the mask, but Lia could sense somehow Aria was giving her a deadpan stare.

“Not just any Noble,” Aria shrugged. “I am- well, I was the Heiress to one of the only Archduchy’s in the Kingdom.”

“Wow… so you must have a really high status. How did you get involved with Aelius?” Lia asked again.

“Ugh,” Aria muttered under her breath.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to be a nuisance,” Lia dejectedly added, casting her gaze down. Straight away, Aria was met with a glare from Aelius, and she turned her head away from him.

“Hmph. That wasn’t it. It’s just your questions brought up some unpleasant memories, that’s all. After all, what woman would relish the encounter with the man who's the source of her ambivalence?” She answered and Lia tilted her head to the side.

“Ambiva- what?”

“Shut up,” Aelius groaned to Aria, looking over his shoulder at her. “You’re not a woman, stop trying to act like one. You’re just a girl, a teenager. Why the hell are you going around talking about ambivalence this, ambivalence that?” he pointed an accusing finger at her. “And, what source of ambivalence are you talking about?”

“Like you’re any better!” Aria argued back. “We’re the same age. What gives for you to run around being all high and mighty but you want me to act like I don’t have a brain?” She clenched her fists. “And what is the source of my ambivalence? You should be asking who! Who is that source?”

“Heh, finally, you’re showing off your young side,” Aelius scoffed. “Arguing about trivial matters like this is quite fitting for a teenager like you. And, I couldn’t give a damn about who or what or anything to do with your ambivalence.” He turned away again, no longer paying the two girls any attention, continuing to read the Guild’s briefing instead. Lia shyly and awkwardly followed along, casting a nervous glance at Lia.

“Is it just me or… do you two not really get along?” she softly asked Aria.

“I want to, but he makes it hard,” Aria shrugged.

“Stop lying,” Aelius butted in, and for a moment, Aria had to fight the urge within her to start shouting at him, when Lia broke out into laughter suddenly.

“Hahaha!” After a moment and she regained her composure, wiping a tear from her eye, she spoke with a beaming smile on her face. “My grandma talked once about how married couples would always be bickering. I think I know what she meant now.” Aelius remained silent, with nothing further to say, and Aria sighed heavily.

“Perhaps so. You asked how I got involved with Aelius, well, didn’t you know? He is the only Noble in this Kingdom with equal status to mine. Or, we were. He was the sole Heir of the other Archduchy.”

“Whoa…” Lia looked at Aelius with gleaming eyes. “So you’re both really high ranked Nobles.” She tilted her head to the side. “Why did you run away from your families then? I thought most Nobles would just go to school, go to gatherings, party and drink, and then go home.” At her words, both Aelius and Aria broke out into laughter.

“You’re right, that’s a very accurate description of Nobles,” Aria gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“You forgot to include the part where they harass people of lower status than them,” Aelius added after his laughter died down. “But yes, that’s what Nobles typically are like.” His tone suddenly turned serious as he spoke. “And that’s exactly the reason why I left that society. I have better things to do than to get involved with the trivial affairs of this place. If it wasn’t for my family living in peace here, I would’ve probably destroyed this rotten Nation myself,” Aelius lowly muttered.

“O-oh… okay,” Lia nervously responded. “What about you, Aria? Did you leave behind the Nobles for the same reason?”

“For the most part, yes, but it’s also because I saw an opportunity to do so when A-... Lius, I mean, left. Besides, I’d have followed him wherever he went.” Aelius tried not to scoff under his breath.

Hah. Would have followed me wherever I went? Where were you when I became a Mercenary in my last life? He thought begrudgingly, but suppressed his anger. Why am I even getting upset over such a thing? Is it really just because of the hypocrisy from her? But she doesn’t even have memories of her past life. Why are things so different this time around?

Eventually, the small crew had gotten on a carriage and was ferry’d into one of the outer districts of the city via carriage, where they arrived at a large estate in the city. At the gate, the party of three saw the mansion was bustling with activity, servants running around and dozens of carriages lined up being filled with goods and supplies.

“They seem to be having an overhaul,” Aria observed.

“Yes,” Aelius turned to face the two girls at the gate, crossing his arms. “Before we go in, I finna give you guys a quick rundown on what we should expect.” Lia firmly nodded, though Aria merely looked away with disinterest. “First thing’s first, don’t forget to strictly stick to our codenames, now that we’re in the presence of other people. Secondly, only take your mask off when you’re alone, obviously. But be careful if for some reason - any reason, that someone is watching you. We have to protect our identities at all costs. Now, about what we’re doing here, our specific task will get explained in greater detail by the client once we go in, but generally, we’re here for an escort or bodyguard mission. This Noble family is planning on moving out of the Capital City and going elsewhere to find business. From what I understand, we’ll be moving through an unregistered route, first into the Hamadia Forest, and then through the Hamadia Mountain Ranges.”

“The Hamadia Forest!?” Aria exclaimed. “That place is known for nobody making it out alive!”

“Yes, exactly. It’s likely we’ll encounter some sort of danger, and that danger might be a very high threat, which is why this Commission was given an A-rank. You don’t need to worry though, I’ll make sure to keep you guys safe. If it’s just normal body guarding, Lia, you can stay in a carriage or keep somewhere safe. Ria, you should go somewhere with vantage and only act as backup for me if you really think I can need it, and as for myself, I should be alone enough to fend off any external threats,” Aelius explained with a nod.

“Ho~ You’re sure confident. But what will you do if you get swarmed by a dozen Sixth Tiers?” Aria asked with a smirk under her mask.

“Did you really think my fight with the Guildmaster was all I’m capable of?” Aelius asked with a tone of offence. “Did you forget that a Magic Swordsman isn’t my main occupation?” And Aria frowned.

“You’re telling me that a Magic Swordsman isn’t even your main occupation?” she repeated, dumbfounded.

“I’m a Spiritualist, you dense fool. How many years did we go to the Academy together for you not to remember?” Aelius turned away. “Well, whether I use that power or not will depend on what trouble we come up against,” he spoke as he approached the gate to converse with the patrol guard.

“You couldn’t sign any contracts before though… ugh, whatever. Is that true?” Aria turned to Lia. “Do you know if he’s able to use his Spiritualism?”

“Hmm?” Lia tilted her head to the side. “My uncles told me they remember seeing him use some weird power. They didn’t talk about it much.”

“I-I see,” Aria responded, taken aback a bit. “So it is true.”

“They only told me it was like witnessing a demoness incarnate, whatever that means,” Lia added before bounding after Aelius to join him, leaving Aria dumbfounded behind them.

“I’m here with my party for the Commission submitted to the Adventurer Guild,” Aelius explained to the guard at the gate, who looked at him peculiarly.

“Uh… are you sure you’re not lost?” he scratched the top of his helmet from behind the bars, raising an eyebrow at Aelius, who quickly fished out the itinerary and displayed it for the guard to see.

“Oh… well, right this way then,” the guard opened the gate and watched as Aelius’ party stepped through. “Sorry about the questioning, I hope you didn’t take offence,” the guard sheepishly smiled.

“It’s fine,” Aelius answered, waiting for the guard to lead them.

“Right this way,” the guard gestured as he closed the gate behind them and began to take them across the large front courtyard of the manor. “The Masters are very busy right now, so I’m afraid you might be waiting sometime. I don’t know how long. For now, I’ll take you to where the other Mercenaries are.”

“We’re not the only ones on this mission, then,” Aria spoke to Aelius, who nodded his head.

“Of course not. It’s the Hamadian Region, what were you expecting? And look at all these carriages, there’s no way three people can protect such a large convoy alone. What do you think would happen if we were flanked on all sides?”

“Right…” Aria admitted, as they came to a small camping area with dozens of tents set up, and Mercenaries resting all around. Aelius’ eyes skimmed over them for a moment, observing the different parties gathered, before the guard disappeared off into the building. There were a total of about thirty Mercenaries gathered here. The largest party seemed to have ten people in it.

“Will we be okay with these ruffians?” Aria quietly asked and Aelius turned his head to her.

“You should avoid drawing lines like that between yourself and other people. Whenever Mercenaries felt they were being discriminated on, they’d often act out on purpose,” he warned her.

“Okay, okay,” Aria sighed. “You better protect us well then, since you were boasting so much earlier.”

“Of course I will,” Aelius smiled through his mask. Lia looked around the camp with curiosity, before she tilted her head to the side in wonder.

“Hmm, strange. Lius, why are they all B-rank or C-rank? I thought this was an A-rank Commission, right?” she asked.

“Ah, that’s because our roles in the Commission are different. They require A-rankers to act as the vanguard. For the rest of the positions, normal Mercenaries suffice,” Aelius explained when their conversation was suddenly cut short.

“Hey!” The three turned to see a woman geared up in leather and a shoulder cape, wearing some sort of insignia on it. The rapier by her waist was quite high quality, Aelius noticed when he felt Aria give him a tap on the shoulder.

“Do you want me to deal with this one? I’d hate to see you start hitting her like you did me,” she whispered in his ear and he narrowed his eyes.

“No, I’m pretty sure I’ve got this,” he answered back to her in a low growl and turned back to the woman.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“What are children like you doing here? Did you sneak in? Do you even know what’s going on here?” she crossed her arms sternly, giving them an intimidating, adamant gaze. Aelius merely remained silent, holding up the itinerary. She squinted her eyes as she leaned forward to read it.

“Did you steal that from somewhere? I’ll say it again but this is no place for kids.” Aelius sighed, holding up his A-rank badge and for a moment, she stared at it in bewilderment.

“Did you steal that too!?” she exclaimed and Aelius groaned.

“If we’re such weak children, how do you think I could’ve stolen an A-rank badge off an A-ranker?” he asked, crossing his arms back.

“Maybe while they were sleeping?” the woman questioned. “Either way, you should back off. We’re here to do our jobs, not babysit deadweight. Turn around and go back whence you came from,” she glared at him. Behind the two, Lia’s eyes frantically darted from Aelius to the woman, feeling tense.

“I…” Aelius’ voice dropped really low. “I hate people who meddle in other people’s business like they’re on some sort of high horse just because they’re ignorant-” he began to gather Mana in his fist when Aria’s God-eyes noticed.

Uh oh, he’s about to snap again, she thought and quickly jumped in front of him, raising her staff. “Hey,” Aria narrowed her eyes, interrupting them. “What gives you the right to turn us away? It’s the client’s choice if he wants to employ us or not. Do you really want to fight in the client’s backyard?” she asked with a threatening tone, and the woman took a sharp breath in.

“Fine, I’m going to find Mr Daniesvich right now,” she snapped back and stormed off to the building, leaving Aelius and his party standing at the camp. Aria immediately turned around to give Aelius a death glare.

“Were you really going to put your hands on that woman!?” she exclaimed. “What did I just say!?” Aelius narrowed his eyes back at her words.

“When it comes to people like that, beating some sense into them is the most effective and efficient,” he simply answered, crossing his arms and turning away.

“I-I…” Lia nervously pursed her lips. “I agree with Aria, it’s not good if we start fights with people everywhere we go.”

“No, it’s not good to start fights everywhere you go if you’re the one in the wrong,” Aelius corrected her. “If you’re the one in the right, no one can do anything about it.”

“Hmph, we’ll create countless enemies and grudges that way,” Aria clicked her tongue.

“And why do you think I’ve had us hide our identities, little miss genius?” Aelius bickered back at her when they heard a door slam open behind them, and turned to see the woman with a Nobleman at the door. He was clearly the client, wearing fancily tailored clothing with his short and chubby stature. Stepping forward, the man almost blinded them beneath the sun with a reflective, gleaming bald patch on the top of his head. He wore a cold, calculative gaze as he approached Aelius.

“This woman has some complaints at me about you,” he began to speak, as Aelius turned to face him.

“They’re far too young to be here!” the woman added and the Nobleman cast her a glare, silencing her, before he turned back to Aelius.

“What’s the name of your party?” he asked.

“...The Misguided,” Aelius answered, and the Nobleman let out a deep sigh, turning back to the woman.

“I’ve heard your complaint, but you’re dismissed. They are indeed the ones assigned for this Commission by the Guild. If there’s any more trouble, don’t blame me for firing somebody!” his tone lowered and he returned to the doorway.

“Come with me, Lius. I’ll have one of my children explain to you the details of the Commission,” he gestured for Aelius to follow, who did so, leaving Aria and Lia behind with the other Mercenaries. He looked over his shoulder in worry at the two girls, but Aria only waved him onward, as if shooing him away, and he smiled to himself.

I guess she’s reliable at times, he thought, and followed the Nobleman into the manor.

Lia cast a nervous glance at the woman, who was giving them a deadly glare before she turned back to Aria.

“Why do we always run into trouble like this?” she quietly asked her and Aria chuckled.

“Oh, Lia, you’re so lovable. You know why. It’s just how people are,” she shrugged.

“Right…”

The Daniesvich family were at the status of a Count, which was a very incredible feat considering that prior to this generation, they were a family of commoners. However, because of the action of the family head two generations ago, who started up an independent merchant business, they grew in influence until the King of Farrien granted them title. Since then, they’re wealth has only expanded, securing their position as part of the Noble society. It was this very same family that was now trying to move through the Hamadia region, in search of better opportunities, no doubt. Whether they safely reach their destination or not will depend solely on the Mercenaries they’ve hired.