01/06/1164

William’s House

The stars shone with their last burst of light as the sun from the horizon overshadowed their existence with its blinding light, illuminating the sky up above.

A person wearing a brown cloak stood outside a house in an unassuming village. The person lifted their hand, knocking on the door.

*Knock* *Knock*

The elegant voice of a woman drifted out in response, “Coming!”

A few moments later, the door opened. A woman with long arctic colored hair and a noble poise walked out, bowing slightly in greeting.

Flustered, the person wearing the cloak raised both their hands, “Ah! Ma’am, please. Don’t do that. I’m not qualified to accept a bow from you. I haven’t reached such a level.”

The nervous voice of a young woman rang through the air, shaking ever so slightly.

Aira tilted her head in confusion. “What’s wrong with a greeting?”

Scratching the back of her head, the cloaked woman replied, “Ma’am, my status isn’t high enough that I can accept that level of courtesy. So please. Don’t do that next time.”

With a warm smile, Aria nodded before asking, “Hedy, was it? How’s Diana doing?”

The woman in the cloak replied, “Yes, I’m glad you remembered. Big sis—I… I mean… I’m sorry. Please forget that. Chief is doing alright. She couldn’t come because of some matters.”

Looking at the woman before her, Aria thought, ‘She doesn’t seem to be doing well. Maybe she is tired and hungry?’

She asked, “It’s early in the morning and you probably haven’t had breakfast. How about you come inside for a snack?”

Bowing politely, Hedy replied, “I appreciate the offer, but… but I can’t—”

Before Hedy could complete her sentence, a rumbling sound interrupted her midway, causing her to feel her face burning. She lowered her head slightly, wanting nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into and pull it in after.

Aria smiled, pulling her in by her hand.

Walking inside, Hedy saw a man sitting in a wheelchair, a newspaper in his hands as his gaze roamed all over the newspaper, as if wanting to burn a hole through it.

Raising her finger, Hedy whispered to Aria, “Is he… he couldn’t be that right? He… he doesn’t seem that… awesome.”

Holding a hand on top of her mouth to hide her smile, Aria replied, “That he is. He’s William. Don’t doubt it. In any case, take a seat. I’ll get you some snacks.”

Hurriedly sitting down, Hedy lifted her cloak, revealing the face of a young girl with a soft chin, looking to be fifteen aevis of age. Her auburn hair was cut to a shoulder-length bob-cut, complementing her fair skin. However, a faint outline of two black circles lay beneath her watery eyes, giving her a weary air.

Lifting her bag, which seemed a bit too heavy for her, she began rummaging through it. Picking out a letter, she held it in her hand. Hesitating for a moment, she asked, “Madam Aria, I… have… a letter from you. From Ursula Leora.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, Aria replied, “It’s probably for him, then. Pass it over to William. William, mind reading it out?”

William extended a bony hand towards Hedy as he replied, “How can I ever mind anything my dear wife asks me to do?”

Aria turned back, giving William a worried look before returning to what she was doing.

Tearing open the envelope, William pulled out two sheets of paper, filled with sentences written in a lazy handwriting.

“Okay, I’m starting.” William said before continuing, “Dear Mentor and Madam Aria. This is the usual monthly about what happened. Oh right, How’s mentor doing now? Has he gotten any better? As for me, I’m currently at Frellesca, fighting a dungeon outbreak which seems to never end—Why’re you so nervous?”

While amid reading, William suddenly asked, his brow furrowed as he looked at the fidgeting Hedy.

Hedy’s hand trembled as she asked, “Was it that obvious?”

William nodded.

“Ah… please, don’t mind me. I’m just nervous because I… um… uh… I am sitting in my idol’s house and… and.. ah!” Hedy buried her face in her palms, shaking like a nervous puppy.

Aria walked over with a plate with some cookies, candies and other snacks. Walking over to the nervous Hedy, she patted her shoulder, comforting her awkwardly. “Don’t be too nervous. At the end of the day, we both are humans. It’s just we’re a little strong. Nothing else. Don’t worry too much. Here, have some.”

Looking at Hedy before shifting his gaze to Aria, William shook his head before saying, “Don’t have any weird fantasies. Rest is alright.”

Aria chided, “William, don’t be rude.”

Heaving a drawn out breath, William gave Aria a confused look as he muttered, “Why do I not have any fans like you do?”

Giving William a weird look, Aria rubbed her temples.

Clapping, William said, “Okay, back to the topic. I’m continuing. Currently at Frellesca, fighting a dungeon outbreak which seems to never end. Outside of that, we all are doing great. Though I’d say that mission this time is…”

William kept reading, paying no heed to the fidgeting Hedy, and Aria trying to make the former feel relaxed.

“…And yeah, that’s about it. We’ll try to visit when we’re done with this outbreak. Though I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon, by the looks of it. Your trainee, Ursula Leora. Well, that’s that. Guess she isn’t doing well and wanted to rant.”

Aria nodded in agreement. “I suppose so. Dealing with a dungeon outbreak on that big a scale can be headache inducing.”

William’s brows relaxed as he asked, “Miss… Hedy, right? How’s the situation back at Frellesca?”

Hedy lifted her head before replying, “Back at Frellesca, the situation isn’t good. They sealed the gates a few days back and were trying to cage the beasts inside before clearing them. As for the people, a majority evacuated while a few chose to stay back and help out with clearing.

“As for the outbreak, it happened all of a sudden, catching a lot of parties off-guard. But the guild master there handled it well. He joined hands with the branches of Crafter’s Confederation and Alchemist’s Association and is giving out quests for clearing that place out. Overall, he isn’t any bit lacking. He is doing his job great. Not long ago, he sent requests for reinforcements to the higher ups, so they should be able to handle it.

“But the scale keeps on growing. They say that if not for the dungeon entrance being relatively small, the beasts would pour out at atleast ten times the rate. Still, their numbers and power levels are manageable. Even then, it’ll take a long time, as always, ten months being a conservative estimate.”

Listening to the report, William rubbed his chin before asking, “When did the outbreak start?”

Hedy replied, “On 25th, middle of the night. Technically, that’d be 26th then.”

William rubbed his temples before sighing, “That brat. She is already tired in just a few days. Think about when we fought in the wars at the border. Kids these days.”

William shook his head, portraying the picture of an old man.

Hedy couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at his comical appearance, looking away. As if remembering something all of a sudden, she said, “Big Sist—I mean, the chief said she’ll give you both a visit as soon as she is done with all the stuff that her promotion shoved onto her.”

William nodded, “That’s alright.” However, his voice turned solemn the next instant, “But one more thing, I hope you remember that we both never met you here and you never came here.”

Hedy nodded, “I know. Chief told me about it. I’ll guard this secret as best as I can. Don’t worry! Anything else you might want to ask?”

Hedy’s voice was full of confidence, contrasting heavily against her previous nervous self.

After thinking about it, William replied, “Nothing for now.”

Hedy stood up before bowing in courtesy, “Thank you for your patronage towards the Informant’s Guild. I’ll take my leave.”

Finishing her words, Hedy pulled the hood of her cloak back on before leaving.

William chortled, “Diana sure has a marvel for a sister, no?”

Aria walked up to William before lightly punching his arm. “William, you should know that she was nervous. Would it have killed you if you didn’t pull her leg?”

In response, William couldn’t help but laugh. However, the next moment, his voice grew solemn as he said, “Little Ursula is going to have a hard time. As long as she and her party aren’t complacent, they should be alright.”

Aria looked at William before asking, “You’re worried?”

Scratching his cheek, William replied, “A little.”

Giving William a warm smile, Aria patted him on his head as if comforting a child before walking away to cook breakfast. Stupefied, William stared ahead blankly, his hand ruffling through the hair near the top of his head.

A moment later, he rolled his eyes, continuing to read his newspaper.