Akiro had been sighing for ages, trying to find a way to contact Erus without provoking him. The problem they were facing with the Teumessian fox was a serious ordeal, and they desperately needed their team leader.
Then, someone stormed into the meeting hall.
"Hey, did you hear? Solari is here, and he brought someone with him!" A teenage boy barged in and exclaimed.
This caught Akiro's attention. Ryden, who was nibbling on a sweet stalk, looked up unbothered, though his expression lightened at the knowledge that their leader had arrived. Neither of them cared about who Erus had brought along. They had a problem to face—one that even the guild master could not resolve on his own.
Akiro hurriedly left the meeting room, while Ryden stood up, unfazed.
"Where is he?" Ryden asked the boy.
"At the reception area. I think he brought a new guild member."
Ryden paused. Erus bringing a new member? That was a first. He quickly shook off the idea, figuring the others had simply misunderstood their leader again. Instead of seeing a captive being dragged into the guild, they likely saw the opposite.
He left the room and headed directly to the reception area, where the registration for new members was held.
When he arrived, there was no sign of Erus or Akiro. Had Akiro found Erus first and dragged him off somewhere without him?
But then, he saw Akiro on the third floor, skimming through the crowd of hunters. He could guess Akiro was asking if they had seen Erus around. Meanwhile, he spotted the man they were looking for emerging from the rank testing room. Ryden's brows furrowed at the sight of a woman walking beside Erus. Was that the captive—without a single chain or cuff?
"Captain!" Ryden called out, successfully catching Erus's attention.
Erus walked straight toward him.
"Glad you're all cleaned up today. Caught no monsters in the wild?" Ryden joked, though his tone remained too formal to be truly casual.
"Didn't hunt. What's up? You seemed agitated a moment ago."
Ryden scratched his head. Erus was a badass, even when it came to reading expressions.
"Actually, there is something regarding the mission assigned to us. We can't discuss it here. Plus," Ryden paused and glanced toward the third floor, "Aki was swarming the area just to find you."
"Let him be. Just lead the way," Erus ordered, and Ryden nodded submissively.
Ryden led Erus toward the meeting room, his focus fractured by the beautiful woman following behind them. He had no idea who she was or why she was trailing them all the way to a private briefing.
"Ah, Captain. If I may ask... is she with you?" Ryden asked, unable to silence his gnawing curiosity.
"Yes," was Erus' curt response.
Ryden's confusion deepened when Erus didn't stop the woman from entering the meeting room. Did their leader truly intend for her to hear everything they were about to discuss?
Just who was she? Erus hadn't bothered to introduce her, yet he didn't shoo her away either. What the hell was going on?
"You might get bored. There are books here to read if you want," Erus told Cana.
Cana looked at the pile of books on the table and those on the shelves, which were messily arranged. For a second, Ryden had almost mistaken the comment as being directed at him. He stood frozen, glancing back and forth between Cana and Erus.
"Can I read any of it?"
"Suit yourself," Erus answered. "Just don't bring anything home from here."
"Luh, I'm not some thief," Cana commented. Then, she helped herself to the messy shelves.
Ryden could not believe he had just heard Erus talk to a girl in such a casual manner. He wasn't even using his usual stoic tone with her. Ryden doubted if this was actually their leader or some person in disguise.
"You missed me that much?" Erus asked in his serious tone when he noticed Ryden was just staring at him.
"Ah," Ryden snapped back to reality. "Are you really Solari?"
"Do you want me to burn you so you won't have time to regret asking me such a question?" Erus countered. His eyes were not joking.
Ryden forced a hesitant smile. "I was just joking," he said, though Erus didn't even crack a smile.
Erus sat in his usual seat—the one to the right of the guild master's chair. Ryden followed, taking a seat across the table.
"Speak," Erus ordered.
Ryden immediately began detailing their mission at the Lustful Brothel the previous night. He didn't skip the minor details, though he hesitated when describing the animals in heat and the filthy things happening on the beds. He tried to use more decent, alternative words to mask the grit of the scene.
"Is that scene necessary to detail as well?" Erus interrupted, sounding annoyed.
"Not at all," Ryden answered.
"Then skip it."
Ryden nodded at once. Thank goodness Erus wasn't like Akiro.
He continued, moving on to the identified thief that Akiro claimed was a genuine Teumessian fox.
"Have you told Nick about it?"
Ryden shook his head. "Not yet. He was so drunk last night, he's still sleeping it off in his quarters."
Erus sighed. He knew it. Nick might be one of the strongest among mortal men, but when it came to his vices, he was hopeless.
Then, Akiro barged into the meeting room, looking exhausted. When his eyes landed on the long table and saw Erus, he was floored.
"Why are you here? I've been looking for you on every floor!" He ranted at Erus before spinning toward Ryden. "You didn't even tell me!"
"Didn't see you outside," Ryden lied simply. "I already told the Captain about our mission and the Teumessian fox. Do you have any detail to add?"
"I know how precise your reporting is, so I'll pass," Akiro answered while scratching his head.
"How about the flies swarming around your house?" Erus asked.
"Ha?" Akiro was still in a daze from his floor-to-floor search. Why would Erus care about flies? "What flies?" Their house was clean; it didn't even smell.
Erus sighed.
"He meant those nobles chasing Kyla," Ryden enlightened him.
"Oh, you mean that." Akiro cleared his throat. "They're not funny at all. I can't even take a peaceful walk in our own garden anymore," he added. "Thanks for gifting her the holy—Ouch! What was that for?"
Ryden had smacked Akiro's skull so hard the latter's spirit almost left his body. Akiro shot Ryden a deadly glare.
"That was hard, Ryden!" He barked.
"I can give you another one," Ryden countered.
"Geez!"
"Can you gather all the information on that fox if I let you observe it for two days?" Erus asked, completely ignoring their nonsense.
"Captain, only two days?" Akiro started to complain.
"If you could find the pattern of its movement and the hideout, that would be better," Erus added, unbothered by the protest.
Akiro looked at Ryden, pleading with him to back him up. Two days were too short to trace the whereabouts of that fox; it wasn't exactly an ordinary creature. But Ryden just looked back, silent.
"Can you do it?"
"I... we will do our best, Captain," Akiro surrendered.
"Same here, Captain," Ryden seconded.
Erus nodded.
"About your family's situation, Akiro—I've already passed word to the guild master. He will be holding a meeting with the head of your family soon."
Akiro's face lit up instantly. "Oh! Did you also ask for my sister's hand?"
Before Erus could answer, time seemed to stop as a thick book dropped. The sound of its hard spine hitting the floor echoed into every corner of the meeting room.
"Of course not," Erus answered Akiro. "I've had no interest in your sister from the start, and you know that."
But Akiro's attention was gone. He was staring toward the bookshelves, wide-eyed and mouth agape as if he'd seen a ghost. A woman stood there, staring back at him blankly.
"What... Who..." He couldn't find the words. He simply pointed toward Cana, his finger trembling. He wasn't sure if she had been there the whole time or if she had just manifested out of thin air. It was unnerving—how could he, a trained hunter, have completely missed her presence?
Akiro looked at Erus and Ryden, but their expressions weren't like his. They didn't look surprised at all. Was he the only one seeing her? If that were the case, she really had to be a ghost.
"Oh, sorry," Cana spoke as she picked up the book. "It was dusty and slipped from my hand," she added, though her tone was as serious as hell. Her expression didn't change in the slightest.
"Ryden, Captain, help me! I'm seeing and hearing things," Akiro panicked, but he only received a synchronized sigh from Erus and Ryden.
"I didn't know you faltered this much in front of real beauty, compared to those caked in powder," Ryden commented.
Erus gestured for Cana to come closer. She was a bit confused but followed his lead.
Akiro's eyes widened when Cana stopped just inches away from the seated Erus. That was the death line. Then, both Cana and Erus gave him a look that nearly shattered his soul. Erus was terrifying enough with his usual stoic gaze, but who the hell was this girl, projecting that same oppressive aura as she locked eyes with him? He scrambled closer to Ryden, his eyes frantically demanding to know what the hell was going on.
"This is Cana, and she is my apprentice. Only a few are to know about this for now," Erus introduced her. "Cana, these are the members of the Grand Abyss party, which I lead. Ryden and Akiro."
Cana's face lit up instantly.
"Oh, hi there!" She greeted them. "I thought you were bullying Erus," she said with a bright smile.
Both Akiro and Ryden froze at the mention of "Erus"—the name itself was the red line of death. Whoever she was, she was done for real. But nothing happened. Cana was still standing beside Erus with all her limbs intact; no blood was scattered, and she was still breathing.
Was their leader deaf for a moment?
Cana looked at Erus when the two men did not answer. She tapped his shoulder because she felt agitated. They were staring at her like she was some hideous being.
Seeing another red line of death, Akiro and Ryden prepared for the worst scene when Cana touched Erus.
"You're scaring her," Erus said.
Akiro and Ryden exchanged glances, completely baffled. Who was scaring who? Then, they both looked at Erus with the exact same thought. Wasn't Erus the scariest person in the room—and the girl standing beside him? She was giving them a panic attack with her every move.
But the worst they were expecting failed to happen yet again.
"Hmm! We beg your pardon, Miss," Ryden initiated, though he had not fully recovered from the shock. He even bowed a little.
"Ah, yeah, yeah," Akiro added, his brain still short-circuiting. "I'm sorry, too."
Cana smiled at them, and for a moment, the heart attack they were feeling turned into a stunned silence. She didn't just look like a natural beauty—her beauty had depth, something far from ordinary.
Then, Erus reached for the hand Cana had used to tap his shoulder.
Akiro absentmindedly reached for Ryden's hand and squeezed it. He wanted to know if they both saw how Erus casually held hands with this girl. Had he forgotten his own no-touch policy?
"Did you just wipe the dust on my shirt?" Erus asked, gently brushing the dust from Cana's palm using his own hand.
"I... forgot?" Cana answered. "Sorry, Erus."
"Forget it."
Now, Akiro and Ryden were sure: Erus wasn't deaf. And he wasn't mad in the slightest. Had he changed already? Was it possible for someone to change this fast? Yet, his aura remained as oppressive as ever.
"Do you still have more to discuss with me?" Erus asked.
"No more, as of now," Ryden answered.
"How about the others?"
"Maybe Kyla?" Ryden suggested, glancing at Akiro.
"Okay. I'll meet her later if she comes here."
"Captain! You're really here. Thank goodness, I'm saved!" Someone stormed in while clutching her chest. She had a stack of books tucked under her arms and a bundle of parchment rolls.
She disregarded everyone else and unrolled the parchments across the long table. They were covered in data—records of different jobs completed by the hunters, reports on beasts, and the financial allocations for each.
"Captain, please help. I've been staring at these parchments for a week, but I still can't match the details to the budget allocation. I'll brew you coffee every day—just help me with these. Please, please, please..."
Akiro and Ryden sighed.
There went Glecy, the literal braincell of their team. She had zero self-awareness when it came to her work. She wouldn't even bother being afraid of asking a lion for answers if it helped her solve a problem.
Erus stood up and looked at the parchments while Glecy stepped back. It wasn't because she was afraid; she was simply following their leader's standing rule.
"You put too many notes," Erus commented, though it sounded more like a complaint. Writing too much made the reports messy.
After a minute, Erus pointed out a specific number that didn't match the supposed price for a transaction. It could have gone unnoticed if one only looked at the total demanded budget versus the total spending.
"Double-check the backgrounds of these hunters, then report whatever you find to the guild master."
Glecy leaned in, squinting at where Erus was pointing.
"Something's wrong with them? Their record is good," Glecy said, her brow furrowing as she tried to reconcile her data with his suspicion.
"Do you think their calculations here are good?" Erus pointed at the list of item prices.
Glecy tried to compute the numbers in her head, then her eyes went wide. She hadn't noticed these doctored numbers before.
"Whoa! You're really amazing, Captain. Thank you for saving my day." Instead of hugging Erus, Glecy hugged the parchments on the table. "Wait." She suddenly straightened. "I'll be making the cup of coffee I promised!"
"No need." Erus raised his palm to stop her, then he reached for Cana. "Accompany her to the pub to get some snacks. I have to talk to the guild master."
Glecy's jaw dropped at the scene unfolding in front of her. Even her glasses almost slid off if not for the bridge of her nose catching them.
Their captain was holding a woman's hand!
Then, she slowly raised her head to meet the woman who owned that hand. Her mouth opened and closed before finally forming a small 'o'. She almost forgot her own gender at the sight of Cana.
"Is... is she some forbidden magic?" She asked Erus, suspecting that Cana was a being made of pure mana. It didn't seem impossible, considering how monstrously strong Erus was.