"And that is the story," Celia concluded with a gentle smile, setting her empty teacup down on the saucer.
Aria sat in her chair, completely starry-eyed. Her hands were clutched tightly over her chest, right over the silver pendant. Hearing the tale of Kian's supposed genius only deepened her absolute devotion. Brielle, Elen, and the others looked similarly awestruck.
"We should get going," Elen finally said, looking out the huge glass windows at the setting sun. "We need to find an inn before it gets entirely dark."
Aria nodded, but her shoulders slumped. The thrilling story of his past had momentarily made her forget the harsh reality: she had been completely rejected. Her hero didn't even want to see her face.
Celia noticed the deep sadness in the young swordswoman's eyes. The elf offered a gentle, sympathetic smile.
"Do not be too discouraged, Aria," Celia said softly. "Kian stands at the absolute peak of the Imperial Capital. Because of that, he naturally respects true strength. Right now, a Level 5 might not catch his eye. I don't want to give you false hope, but... if you and your party continue to train, clear difficult dungeons, and push your ranks higher, things might change. If you become truly, undeniably strong, perhaps one day your paths will naturally cross."
Aria's head snapped up. The sorrow in her chest was instantly replaced by a burning, fierce motivation.
"I understand," Aria said, her green eyes shining with renewed resolve. She clenched her fists. "We will get stronger. We will climb the ranks until the whole capital knows our names. And one day, we will prove we are absolutely worthy of his attention."
Celia gave a satisfied nod. "I look forward to that day."
With their spirits completely restored, Aria and the four girls offered a deep, respectful bow to the Level 7 Healer. They turned and began walking toward the main doors of the clan house lounge.
Celia watched them go. She let out a soft sigh and stood up, smoothing out her pristine white robes.
"It's time, Celia."
Celia blinked and turned around. Lumina was standing right behind her. The young Mage wore a dark, heavy traveling cloak over her usual dress. Her face was completely flat, showing zero emotion, and she held a tall wooden staff.
"Right," Celia nodded. "I should go up to the private quarters first. I want to see Kian one last time before we leave for the East."
"We have no time for it," Lumina said bluntly, grabbing Celia's wrist. "If you go up there, you will take too much time checking his temperature, adjusting his pillows, and casting healing magic on him. The carriages are already waiting outside."
"But Lumi—"
Lumina didn't listen. Using her surprisingly strong grip, the young Mage simply pulled the Level 7 healer away from the lounge, dragging her straight out the front doors and toward the waiting transport.
---
Meanwhile, on the highest floor of the mansion.
Kian Astor sat behind his huge mahogany desk, staring blankly at the ceiling.
His private office was incredibly luxurious, completely separated from the noisy clan house downstairs by heavy vault doors. Right behind his desk was a smaller door that led directly into his personal bedroom. He had spent the entire morning and half the afternoon lying in bed doing absolutely nothing. He had only moved to his office chair because his back was starting to ache from sleeping too much.
Knock. Knock.
The heavy oak door to his office opened. Elara, the Vice Clan Master, walked in carrying a stack of paperwork. She pushed her wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose and glared at him.
"Kian," Elara sighed, dropping the papers onto his desk. "You really should have accepted those five girls. They were practically throwing themselves at you to join the clan. They could be incredibly useful."
Kian didn't change his blank expression. He just rested his chin on his hand.
"I ran a background check on them," Elara continued, crossing her arms. "Their leader is actually a Level 5 Adventurer from a small kingdom. She goes by the alias 'Sword Prodigy.' And she is incredibly pretty, too. Oh, and she was wearing a very expensive magical artifact.
Kian's breath hitched. His heart completely stopped beating for a full second.
That girl, Kian thought, a cold sweat instantly breaking out on his back.
Kian was slightly terrible at remembering things. He didn't even know the real names of his own party members until recently. But there was absolutely no way he could ever forget her. How could he? She was the terrifying monster in human skin who had violently robbed him of his favorite, most expensive napping artifact! The memory of losing that pendant was permanently burned into his brain.
Four years ago, he had been touring a random, faraway country, just trying to enjoy a quiet, lazy vacation. He was walking near a dead forest when a low-level wild boar suddenly charged at him. Because he had absolutely zero combat ability, he ran for his life in pure, blinding terror.
While sprinting blindly through a village, he accidentally bumped hard into a little blonde girl.
He fell into the dirt. The heavy, expensive pendant dropped from his pocket. He was about to reach down to pick it up, but when he looked at the girl, his instincts screamed at him to freeze.
She had been crying, but suddenly, a terrifying, suffocating amount of Aura surrounded her small body.
In Kian's panicked mind, he thought she was absolutely furious that a clumsy stranger had bumped into her. He thought she was a hidden monster pretending to be a little girl.
She is going to kill me, the Kian from four years ago had thought, completely paralyzed.
Terrified, he accidentally blurted out the words: *"Strong... Aura."*
This little girl is way too "Strong..." Kian accidentally wheezed out loud, his face turning completely pale. If she hits me with that terrifying "...Aura..." I am going to die right here in the dirt!
Hoping to buy his own life, he yelled at her to just take the expensive necklace as an apology bribe. He slowly backed away, and when the terrifying little girl didn't follow him, he assumed the bribe had worked. He had survived.
But he heavily regretted losing that artifact, because it was a magical item that naturally stabilized temperatures, giving him extremely comfortable naps during long carriage rides.
Kian snapped back to the present, sitting in his office chair.
But now, that blonde girl traveled all the way from a faraway country just to find me, Kian thought. A cold, heavy weight dropped entirely into his gut.
There was only one logical explanation in his mind.
She is hunting me down. I bumped into her four years ago, and she held a grudge this entire time. She tracked me across the continent! If I accept her into the clan, it's a trap. She will wait for an opportunity to cut my head off the second she enters this room!
Kian forced his face to remain completely stoic, hiding his internal panic. "I am not interested in her."
Elara frowned. "I see. I really don't understand you, though. She is a high-level Adventurer, she seems loyal, and she is extremely attractive. Any other Clan Master would have instantly—"
"Enough," Kian interrupted, raising a hand to stop her from talking about the blonde assassin. "Tell me about the mission given by the Association. The one I passed to Yellow and Black."
Elara sighed, dropping the subject. "Celia and Lumina are currently in their carriages now. They will arrive at the city gates in five hours. They have a very long way to go. It will take a while before they can come back."
Elara tapped the paperwork on the desk. "The quest from the Adventurer's Association seems incredibly difficult, even for them. They will be accompanied by other high-level Adventurers from the capital to form a raid team. Honestly, Kian, if only you would accompany them, the task would be solved in an instant."
Kian kept his eyes completely dead.
Solve it in an instant? Kian screamed internally. Do you want me to die? If I go to a low-level dungeon alone, a goblin will trip me and I will break my neck! How much more if I go on that quest? I am absolutely not going there!
"I am not going," Kian said aloud, his voice flat and cool. "Yellow and Black are monsters. They can do it on their own."
Finally, Kian thought, a wave of relief washing over his panicked mind. That annoying Yellow is gone for a while. I won't have to deal with her constantly trying to check my pulse every five minutes when I'm sick. I can finally have some free time to read my comic books.
"Well, about your free time," Elara interrupted, as if reading his mind, completely shattering his hopes. She pulled a pristine, wax-sealed envelope from the bottom of her stack and slid it across the desk. "You received a nomination request from Earl Sterling. The Association delivered this by special courier this morning."
Kian froze.