Rose.. what the hell did you just say to the Paladin Lord? You will only go on a party quest with me in it? How absurd. You do know that is not a request that you can make out of the blue. And not to mention right after the initiation test! Rose, what has gotten into you?
"Ho ho.. and might I ask why you are making sure a specific request?" asked the Paladin Lord.
His face features changed now. It seems like he is taking this request pretty seriously. I should just keep quiet for now and see what Rose's will say.
"The reason why I am joining the Light Guild is become Onii-chan's support. He means everything to me and I want to be there to make sure he is safe," Rose said with conviction.
The Paladin Lord kept quiet as he somehow knew that Rose was not done.
"I... I do not want to come home one day to find that he is no longer around. I... would rather die than to let that happen to me anymore," said Rose.
I did not know she thought so much about me. But she is being way too clingy by saying this. Will the Paladin Lord even consider this request based on what she said?
"I see that you have been through a lot despite your young age. In your eyes, you do not want to sit alone and wait for news to come to you. You would rather take action and willing to die than to receive another bad news. However, you are still young. No doubt receiving bad news is part of live no matter how much you wish to be involved in," said the Paladin Lord.
"I am sorry that I cannot indulge in your request fully. However, I can make an exception. For any party quest by the Dark Guild that involves your brother, I will put you in as the first recommendation. But for party quest from the Light Guild, you will need to follow what the other guilds decide. You are still young, dear Rose. If you just follow your brother, you will not be able to follow your own path nor will you be able to meet other people. You do not want to be in the shadow of your brother. See the world through your own eyes instead. Would that suffice?" continued the Paladin Lord.
I looked at Rose. Is that good enough for her? I do agree on what the Paladin Lord said. If she just follow me, she won't be able to grow on her own. By following other people, you can think differently such as other tactics and strategies in combat that suits the situation. Sticking with me might end up in her being dependent on me instead of thinking on her own. Thinking differently can help you improve yourself in ways that you would never think of. I hope Rose would understand this and accept his proposition.
"Thank you very much, guildmaster," Rose bowed to the Paladin Lord.
I'm glad Rose is sensible enough to understand his intention.
"I almost forgot. Rose Starr, starting today, I shall grant you the rank of Crusader starting today. I hope you can make the guild proud," he said.
Hang on.. did I just heard wrongly?
"I'm sorry, Paladin Lord sir? Did you just say Rose is in the rank of Crusader now? You're giving her three hops in ranks?" I asked him.
"Well, she did manage to best one of my Templar ranked member. I don't see why not. I'm different than your Dark Lord who is still in his old thinking. Don't compare me with him," he said to me while waving his hand sideways. Uh.. okay then. If you say so.
"Now, you wish to hear about your father right? As for your mother, I only know so much based on her interaction with your father. Truth be told, I wouldn't say I "know" your father well but we did interacted before. I guess that is better than nothing for you?" asked the Paladin Lord.
"Before that. Rose, there is something I wish to tell you. I don't believe you will rat me out after seeing you so determined to support and protect me... My full name, is Zen Hawthorn. My father is Jack Hawthorn. The hero from the war of the Demon King," I told Rose.
"I... see. No wonder you never told me your last name before. I always thought there was a reason why you did not reveal your last name. Guess I know why now," said Rose.
She kept quiet after a while so I gestured to the Paladin Lord to start his story.
"Jack was.. a genius. He was very similar to you to be honest. He was what you would call, a great leader. Speed is his forte and when he used "Accelerate", not many was able to follow him. He was actually the next in line to be the Paladin Lord but alas, the war came. When he met your mother, we were all confused as to why he would choose her as his wife. Jack was always fond of the female elves more than humans. Every time you see him wondering around or relaxing in a tavern, he was always surrounded by elves," said the Paladin Lord while putting on a thinking face.
I smacked my head. Damn it. So my fetish was from you father? Geez. Rose is looking at me with her eyes squinting. It is like she is interrogating me with those eyes. I'm so glad Lily is not around otherwise I do not know what will happen between these two. I am glad that I did not have the courage to ask the receptionist from the Elemental Guild too.
"Ah, but when your mother was pregnant, both guilds celebrated together. It was such a festive day. Both the Light and Viking Guild pulled together to make a grandiose feast. I was there that day and it was memorable. Barrels of liquors were emptied almost immediately. Mostly thanks to the Vikings and their drinking habits. But the joy and laughter that day was certainly something to behold. Although, something is strange. I always thought the rumour was true but seeing that you are here, it was definitely a baseless rumour," the Paladin Lord said.
I wonder what rumour was that? Is it related to my parents? Should I push it? He seems certain that it was a baseless rumour.
"Your father is certainly a great man, Zen. Both your father and mother fought zealously against the Demon King. They both fought with tenacity and skills unseen by other humans today. I doubt any of the current guildmasters can even match both of them in combat. You do well to make him proud. For you are the son of a great hero," he smiled at me. I stood up and bowed to him. Rose followed the same apparently.
"Thank you for telling me. I can finally feel some closure about my parents now," I said.
"I'm glad I finally get to meet the son's hero. I wish both of you well," he said and proceeded to head out.
Both Rose and I headed back to the Dark Guild. She needed to retrieve her items from my room. No doubt it will take her some time seeing as she has been buying a lot of clothes recently.
"Are you sad that I won't be staying with you anymore, Onii-chan?" she asked me.
"I have been living alone for quite some time before you came, Rose. I'll be fine," I assured her.
"I will be coming often to your place to cook dinner. I won't leave you high and dry without your head chef cooking for you. He he. With that said, you don't mind if I leave some of my clothes at your place right? Since I'll probably be staying over once in a while. Unless.. you are planning to invite some female elves into your place?" Rose said with a scary red eye glare. Geez, that is some murderous intent there.
"You can do what you like, Rose. I doubt there is any other female member that would be willing to stay with me anyway. But you do need to knock before entering, alright?" I told her.
"Fine. I just hope I don't open the door and seeing you on top of a female elf. I definitely do not want to see the sight of that," said Rose.
And so, Rose officially left my home to live by herself in the Light Guild. She still visits me often and I hope that she has found some friends of her own. I continued increasing my skill stats with Alchemy and cooking. I am definitely aiming to unlock those two bloody hidden spells.
***
Time flies by quickly. I am fifteen now and close to sixteen. Rose is hovering between twelve and thirteen. She is officially a Templar now while I am still at the rank of Shadow Knight. Now I know what you're thinking. The Dark Lord refuses to promote me in an attempt to force me to work harder. Quite the contrary actually. The Dark Lord had been pushing for my promotion to the Queen in an attempt to knight me. Going so far as to not promoting any other Shadow Knight until I am knighted by the Queen.
My very first attempt had me bowing to the Queen. All was going well until the Queen saw my face. She looked at me like some disgusting creature and told the Dark Lord that she will never knight me until the day she dies. Is my face that disgusting? Geez. The Dark Lord told me that the Queen has never acted this way before. She always knighted anyone from any guild no matter what. He interrogated me on whether I did something horrible to offend her and I told him that I have never met the Queen before in my entire life.
"Perhaps there is something amiss that we have yet to discover. I will get to the bottom of this. Rest assured," he told me.
Truth be told, becoming a Dark Knight was the least of my concerns. Seeing as the Queen's insistence on not knighting me, I will be finding other ways to become stronger. My skill stats is close to thirty-five now. Just a few more and I'll officially be able to see the second hidden spell. So near yet so far. As for the final hidden spell, that will take a lifetime to achieve so I will leave that aside. Fifty skill stats is going to take a long time to reach.
I was having breakfast outside with John and Rose when we were summoned by the guild to join a meeting. We were busy chatting on why I am the only one who have not promoted. John has met Lily recently and said that even she is a Blitz Knight now. She is extremely beautiful too. Both the Elemental and Viking Guild have a mutual bond with each other. The Viking Guild have a custom that requires the Viking Lord to meet with the Underwater Dragon King in the City of Underwater Marrydia. It is a custom that happens every five years where the Viking Lord will need to prove himself on his worthiness to lead the Guild. Failing to do so will result in his death. And the next potential Great Viking will in turn prove himself worthy of being the Viking Lord to the Underwater Dragon King. Why the Underwater Dragon King would be willing to indulge in this custom is beyond me. And since it is underwater, the Elemental Guild excels there. Their lightning spells work wonders in underwater. Hence, this is where the mutual bond comes. The Elemental Guild will provide support for the Viking Guild's custom while the Viking in turn will provide full support to the Elemental Guild needs.
I was tempted to ask John on whether Lily has met a partner but seeing that Rose was here, I held back. Rose in turn was insulting the Queen for not knighting me (not loudly of course). She was saying that she did not smile during her knighting ceremony and wanted to stick her rapier down her throat. Both John and me quickly closed her mouth when some guild members invited us to a meeting. We all looked at each other wondering whether any of us knew about the meeting but none of us did.
We reached a fancy place on what I would describe as a grand meeting area. It sort of looks like a hotel but hotels does not exist in my world. We headed in and were greeted by an unusual scene. Inside the meeting room, four of the guildmaster was in. All except the Elementalist. How strange for all the guildmaster sitting together to have a chat.
"Ah, I see you are all here. We will begin shortly," said the Paladin Lord.
What is going on? It does not seemed like they called us here to talk about our friendship. Or did Rose offended the Queen earlier with her remarks? But it was not soldiers that escorted us but guild members. Hm, something fishy is going on here. I hope it is not about me not being able to be knighted by the Queen.
"Let's get started. The four of you are chosen to uncover the mystery about the recent disturbance that is happening in the Northern Continent. You will be given three days to prepare yourselves for the journey. There will be a carriage that will be bringing you to the City Of Lilies Dahlee and from there, you will be sitting a boat to the Northern Continent. Is there any questions?" said the Dark Lord. Straight to the point as always.
Wait, four of us? Who is the last member? Oh, looks like a Dragon Knight member. I guess we will be travelling together then.
"What are we looking for there? This quest is too vague for us. We require more information or we do not know what to look for," said the Dragon Knight.
"More information will be provided to you by your guide. We do not know much about it ourselves but it was a request from someone that we could not refuse. Keep in mind that this quest is top secret. You are not allowed to inform anyone apart from the four of you," said the Dragon Lord.
"Are we to only uncover the mystery or eliminate the disturbance?" I asked them.
"We ar no expecting ye te face an army o demons yourself. Ance ye figured oot what is causing the disturbance, ye can return an caa for more backup," said the Viking Lord.
Oh Gosh, I really hope John don't start talking this way if he becomes the Viking Lord one day.
"Do not take on the role of hero in this quest. As you all are aware, Demons are resilient creatures. We will provide support for the four of you after you figured out on the disturbance. Although we are hoping that the demons are not coming together to start another war," said the Dragon Lord.
"That is absurd. The only Demon that can do such a feat was the Demon King. I do not believe any random Demon is capable of rallying each other to start a war. They are practically always fighting among themselves there," said the Paladin Lord.
"Whatever it is, do take care of yourselves over there. Go there, find the answer and come back. No hero business," said the Dark Lord.
The four of us bowed to the guildmasters. This was not something any of us can refuse. We were chosen for a reason. We were chosen because all the guildmasters had the utmost faith that we can accomplish this task.
We all headed out to have our own meeting. We settled on our favourite tavern, Sleeping Daisies. Of course we did not mention a single word of our quest. Our discussion is more towards breaking the ice and what to prepare for. The three of us introduced ourselves to the Dragon Knight.
"My name is Pietro Sorrel, nice to meet all of you. I can see that the three of you are well acquainted. That would make me the only oddity of the group," said Pietro.
"You won't be the oddity. Let's get along. Cheers," I said to Pietro while raising my cup to him. All of us cheered together.
"After this drink, we are family!," said John.
Oh John, please don't go there.
Our meals arrived and we ate to our heart contents. I can see that John is no longer the picky person he is. Truth be told, his weight has gained significantly. Not to mention he is drinking beer at the age of fifteen now. But no one would dared to poke fun of him. Everyone knows that Vikings are strong and you would not want to get punched by them when they are drunk.
"Let's move on to the important topics at hand. Who will be the leader of this group?" asked Pietro. Now that was straight to the point.
Rose immediately raised her hand. We were all shocked that Rose wanted to be the leader until she said that she is voting for me to be the leader. John also agreed that he do not mind voting for me to be the leader. I looked at Pietro and asked him.
"You seems to be older than all of us here. What say you about becoming the leader of the group instead?" I asked him.
"It is true that I am older. Not to mention I do have experience in becoming a leader of a group a couple of times before. But your other teammates voted for you to be the leader instead. Who am I to deny that from them?" said Pietro.
"I insist. I would like you to be the leader instead," I said to him.
"Well.. if you insist. Take note that when I am the leader, my orders are absolute. Hesitate and all of us are dead," he said to all of us.
"Alright, but I would like that you allow us to give opinions. You will make the decision on whether to follow our opinions and such," I said to him.
"Very well. But opinions are not allowed during combat as every second counts. We will meet in the morning three days from now at the Northern entrance. Do not be late," warned Pietro.
We ended our meeting and parted ways. But John and Rose decided to have a talk with me instead.
"Zen Onii-chan, is there a reason why you decided to make him the leader instead? I.. don't really like that guy," said Rose.
"Indeed. He is giving off a sort of bad vibe," said John.
"I see. I did get the feeling that he have another mission aside from what is assigned to us. Hence the reason why I decided to make him the leader. I want to see what is his intention. And I also want him to fit in the group. He is the only one who is not familiar with us. But remember, act on your instinct. He might be the leader but we are still our own person. No one's order is absolute to me," I said to the both of them.
They nodded and understood my intention to make him the leader. By doing so, we can find out what is his role in this quest.
***
Three days passed and the four of us met at the Northern entrance. Each of us brought a backpack filled with supplies that might last us for a week. We do not know how long we will be there. I am hoping there is a town or village that we can stay in. Rose brought her rapier while John brought along an even larger axe compared to the one I bought for him. His strength should be off the charts now. Pietro brought a long spear along with some short ones. Most probably for throwing. I pondered on the thought of bringing along my gauntlets, but after much consideration, I decided not to. I am suspicious of Pietro and was not going to reveal to him one of my most important equipment.
It took us a day and a half to finally reach the City Of Lilies Dahlee. Good thing we brought along some winter equipment as it was snowing heavily. It would take us another day to finally reach the port. Upon reaching, a reptilian greeted us.
"Greetingsss. I am Kronk, I will be your guide sss," said the reptilian.
Wait what? Did he just say.. Kronk is his name?
"Excuse me, did you just say your name is Kronk?" I asked in disbelieve.
"Indeed sss. I am a mixed between reptilian and a human sss. My father have such horrible naming scheme sss," said Kronk.
Oh well, who am I to judge? If Kronk is his name then Kronk it is.
We boarded the boat and the four of us looked towards the Northern Continent. Otherwise known as the Demon Continent. From afar, we can already see a storm brewing there. We all braved ourselves towards the unknown.
"I hope the four of you are ready sss," said Kronk.
"Yes, we are ready," I said. How wrong was I.
Rose.. what the hell did you just say to the Paladin Lord? You will only go on a party quest with me in it? How absurd. You do know that is not a request that you can make out of the blue. And not to mention right after the initiation test! Rose, what has gotten into you?
"Ho ho.. and might I ask why you are making sure a specific request?" asked the Paladin Lord.
His face features changed now. It seems like he is taking this request pretty seriously. I should just keep quiet for now and see what Rose's will say.
"The reason why I am joining the Light Guild is become Onii-chan's support. He means everything to me and I want to be there to make sure he is safe," Rose said with conviction.
The Paladin Lord kept quiet as he somehow knew that Rose was not done.
"I... I do not want to come home one day to find that he is no longer around. I... would rather die than to let that happen to me anymore," said Rose.
I did not know she thought so much about me. But she is being way too clingy by saying this. Will the Paladin Lord even consider this request based on what she said?
"I see that you have been through a lot despite your young age. In your eyes, you do not want to sit alone and wait for news to come to you. You would rather take action and willing to die than to receive another bad news. However, you are still young. No doubt receiving bad news is part of live no matter how much you wish to be involved in," said the Paladin Lord.
"I am sorry that I cannot indulge in your request fully. However, I can make an exception. For any party quest by the Dark Guild that involves your brother, I will put you in as the first recommendation. But for party quest from the Light Guild, you will need to follow what the other guilds decide. You are still young, dear Rose. If you just follow your brother, you will not be able to follow your own path nor will you be able to meet other people. You do not want to be in the shadow of your brother. See the world through your own eyes instead. Would that suffice?" continued the Paladin Lord.
I looked at Rose. Is that good enough for her? I do agree on what the Paladin Lord said. If she just follow me, she won't be able to grow on her own. By following other people, you can think differently such as other tactics and strategies in combat that suits the situation. Sticking with me might end up in her being dependent on me instead of thinking on her own. Thinking differently can help you improve yourself in ways that you would never think of. I hope Rose would understand this and accept his proposition.
"Thank you very much, guildmaster," Rose bowed to the Paladin Lord.
I'm glad Rose is sensible enough to understand his intention.
"I almost forgot. Rose Starr, starting today, I shall grant you the rank of Crusader starting today. I hope you can make the guild proud," he said.
Hang on.. did I just heard wrongly?
"I'm sorry, Paladin Lord sir? Did you just say Rose is in the rank of Crusader now? You're giving her three hops in ranks?" I asked him.
"Well, she did manage to best one of my Templar ranked member. I don't see why not. I'm different than your Dark Lord who is still in his old thinking. Don't compare me with him," he said to me while waving his hand sideways. Uh.. okay then. If you say so.
"Now, you wish to hear about your father right? As for your mother, I only know so much based on her interaction with your father. Truth be told, I wouldn't say I "know" your father well but we did interacted before. I guess that is better than nothing for you?" asked the Paladin Lord.
"Before that. Rose, there is something I wish to tell you. I don't believe you will rat me out after seeing you so determined to support and protect me... My full name, is Zen Hawthorn. My father is Jack Hawthorn. The hero from the war of the Demon King," I told Rose.
"I... see. No wonder you never told me your last name before. I always thought there was a reason why you did not reveal your last name. Guess I know why now," said Rose.
She kept quiet after a while so I gestured to the Paladin Lord to start his story.
"Jack was.. a genius. He was very similar to you to be honest. He was what you would call, a great leader. Speed is his forte and when he used "Accelerate", not many was able to follow him. He was actually the next in line to be the Paladin Lord but alas, the war came. When he met your mother, we were all confused as to why he would choose her as his wife. Jack was always fond of the female elves more than humans. Every time you see him wondering around or relaxing in a tavern, he was always surrounded by elves," said the Paladin Lord while putting on a thinking face.
I smacked my head. Damn it. So my fetish was from you father? Geez. Rose is looking at me with her eyes squinting. It is like she is interrogating me with those eyes. I'm so glad Lily is not around otherwise I do not know what will happen between these two. I am glad that I did not have the courage to ask the receptionist from the Elemental Guild too.
"Ah, but when your mother was pregnant, both guilds celebrated together. It was such a festive day. Both the Light and Viking Guild pulled together to make a grandiose feast. I was there that day and it was memorable. Barrels of liquors were emptied almost immediately. Mostly thanks to the Vikings and their drinking habits. But the joy and laughter that day was certainly something to behold. Although, something is strange. I always thought the rumour was true but seeing that you are here, it was definitely a baseless rumour," the Paladin Lord said.
I wonder what rumour was that? Is it related to my parents? Should I push it? He seems certain that it was a baseless rumour.
"Your father is certainly a great man, Zen. Both your father and mother fought zealously against the Demon King. They both fought with tenacity and skills unseen by other humans today. I doubt any of the current guildmasters can even match both of them in combat. You do well to make him proud. For you are the son of a great hero," he smiled at me. I stood up and bowed to him. Rose followed the same apparently.
"Thank you for telling me. I can finally feel some closure about my parents now," I said.
"I'm glad I finally get to meet the son's hero. I wish both of you well," he said and proceeded to head out.
Both Rose and I headed back to the Dark Guild. She needed to retrieve her items from my room. No doubt it will take her some time seeing as she has been buying a lot of clothes recently.
"Are you sad that I won't be staying with you anymore, Onii-chan?" she asked me.
"I have been living alone for quite some time before you came, Rose. I'll be fine," I assured her.
"I will be coming often to your place to cook dinner. I won't leave you high and dry without your head chef cooking for you. He he. With that said, you don't mind if I leave some of my clothes at your place right? Since I'll probably be staying over once in a while. Unless.. you are planning to invite some female elves into your place?" Rose said with a scary red eye glare. Geez, that is some murderous intent there.
"You can do what you like, Rose. I doubt there is any other female member that would be willing to stay with me anyway. But you do need to knock before entering, alright?" I told her.
"Fine. I just hope I don't open the door and seeing you on top of a female elf. I definitely do not want to see the sight of that," said Rose.
And so, Rose officially left my home to live by herself in the Light Guild. She still visits me often and I hope that she has found some friends of her own. I continued increasing my skill stats with Alchemy and cooking. I am definitely aiming to unlock those two bloody hidden spells.
***
Time flies by quickly. I am fifteen now and close to sixteen. Rose is hovering between twelve and thirteen. She is officially a Templar now while I am still at the rank of Shadow Knight. Now I know what you're thinking. The Dark Lord refuses to promote me in an attempt to force me to work harder. Quite the contrary actually. The Dark Lord had been pushing for my promotion to the Queen in an attempt to knight me. Going so far as to not promoting any other Shadow Knight until I am knighted by the Queen.
My very first attempt had me bowing to the Queen. All was going well until the Queen saw my face. She looked at me like some disgusting creature and told the Dark Lord that she will never knight me until the day she dies. Is my face that disgusting? Geez. The Dark Lord told me that the Queen has never acted this way before. She always knighted anyone from any guild no matter what. He interrogated me on whether I did something horrible to offend her and I told him that I have never met the Queen before in my entire life.
"Perhaps there is something amiss that we have yet to discover. I will get to the bottom of this. Rest assured," he told me.
Truth be told, becoming a Dark Knight was the least of my concerns. Seeing as the Queen's insistence on not knighting me, I will be finding other ways to become stronger. My skill stats is close to thirty-five now. Just a few more and I'll officially be able to see the second hidden spell. So near yet so far. As for the final hidden spell, that will take a lifetime to achieve so I will leave that aside. Fifty skill stats is going to take a long time to reach.
I was having breakfast outside with John and Rose when we were summoned by the guild to join a meeting. We were busy chatting on why I am the only one who have not promoted. John has met Lily recently and said that even she is a Blitz Knight now. She is extremely beautiful too. Both the Elemental and Viking Guild have a mutual bond with each other. The Viking Guild have a custom that requires the Viking Lord to meet with the Underwater Dragon King in the City of Underwater Marrydia. It is a custom that happens every five years where the Viking Lord will need to prove himself on his worthiness to lead the Guild. Failing to do so will result in his death. And the next potential Great Viking will in turn prove himself worthy of being the Viking Lord to the Underwater Dragon King. Why the Underwater Dragon King would be willing to indulge in this custom is beyond me. And since it is underwater, the Elemental Guild excels there. Their lightning spells work wonders in underwater. Hence, this is where the mutual bond comes. The Elemental Guild will provide support for the Viking Guild's custom while the Viking in turn will provide full support to the Elemental Guild needs.
I was tempted to ask John on whether Lily has met a partner but seeing that Rose was here, I held back. Rose in turn was insulting the Queen for not knighting me (not loudly of course). She was saying that she did not smile during her knighting ceremony and wanted to stick her rapier down her throat. Both John and me quickly closed her mouth when some guild members invited us to a meeting. We all looked at each other wondering whether any of us knew about the meeting but none of us did.
We reached a fancy place on what I would describe as a grand meeting area. It sort of looks like a hotel but hotels does not exist in my world. We headed in and were greeted by an unusual scene. Inside the meeting room, four of the guildmaster was in. All except the Elementalist. How strange for all the guildmaster sitting together to have a chat.
"Ah, I see you are all here. We will begin shortly," said the Paladin Lord.
What is going on? It does not seemed like they called us here to talk about our friendship. Or did Rose offended the Queen earlier with her remarks? But it was not soldiers that escorted us but guild members. Hm, something fishy is going on here. I hope it is not about me not being able to be knighted by the Queen.
"Let's get started. The four of you are chosen to uncover the mystery about the recent disturbance that is happening in the Northern Continent. You will be given three days to prepare yourselves for the journey. There will be a carriage that will be bringing you to the City Of Lilies Dahlee and from there, you will be sitting a boat to the Northern Continent. Is there any questions?" said the Dark Lord. Straight to the point as always.
Wait, four of us? Who is the last member? Oh, looks like a Dragon Knight member. I guess we will be travelling together then.
"What are we looking for there? This quest is too vague for us. We require more information or we do not know what to look for," said the Dragon Knight.
"More information will be provided to you by your guide. We do not know much about it ourselves but it was a request from someone that we could not refuse. Keep in mind that this quest is top secret. You are not allowed to inform anyone apart from the four of you," said the Dragon Lord.
"Are we to only uncover the mystery or eliminate the disturbance?" I asked them.
"We ar no expecting ye te face an army o demons yourself. Ance ye figured oot what is causing the disturbance, ye can return an caa for more backup," said the Viking Lord.
Oh Gosh, I really hope John don't start talking this way if he becomes the Viking Lord one day.
"Do not take on the role of hero in this quest. As you all are aware, Demons are resilient creatures. We will provide support for the four of you after you figured out on the disturbance. Although we are hoping that the demons are not coming together to start another war," said the Dragon Lord.
"That is absurd. The only Demon that can do such a feat was the Demon King. I do not believe any random Demon is capable of rallying each other to start a war. They are practically always fighting among themselves there," said the Paladin Lord.
"Whatever it is, do take care of yourselves over there. Go there, find the answer and come back. No hero business," said the Dark Lord.
The four of us bowed to the guildmasters. This was not something any of us can refuse. We were chosen for a reason. We were chosen because all the guildmasters had the utmost faith that we can accomplish this task.
We all headed out to have our own meeting. We settled on our favourite tavern, Sleeping Daisies. Of course we did not mention a single word of our quest. Our discussion is more towards breaking the ice and what to prepare for. The three of us introduced ourselves to the Dragon Knight.
"My name is Pietro Sorrel, nice to meet all of you. I can see that the three of you are well acquainted. That would make me the only oddity of the group," said Pietro.
"You won't be the oddity. Let's get along. Cheers," I said to Pietro while raising my cup to him. All of us cheered together.
"After this drink, we are family!," said John.
Oh John, please don't go there.
Our meals arrived and we ate to our heart contents. I can see that John is no longer the picky person he is. Truth be told, his weight has gained significantly. Not to mention he is drinking beer at the age of fifteen now. But no one would dared to poke fun of him. Everyone knows that Vikings are strong and you would not want to get punched by them when they are drunk.
"Let's move on to the important topics at hand. Who will be the leader of this group?" asked Pietro. Now that was straight to the point.
Rose immediately raised her hand. We were all shocked that Rose wanted to be the leader until she said that she is voting for me to be the leader. John also agreed that he do not mind voting for me to be the leader. I looked at Pietro and asked him.
"You seems to be older than all of us here. What say you about becoming the leader of the group instead?" I asked him.
"It is true that I am older. Not to mention I do have experience in becoming a leader of a group a couple of times before. But your other teammates voted for you to be the leader instead. Who am I to deny that from them?" said Pietro.
"I insist. I would like you to be the leader instead," I said to him.
"Well.. if you insist. Take note that when I am the leader, my orders are absolute. Hesitate and all of us are dead," he said to all of us.
"Alright, but I would like that you allow us to give opinions. You will make the decision on whether to follow our opinions and such," I said to him.
"Very well. But opinions are not allowed during combat as every second counts. We will meet in the morning three days from now at the Northern entrance. Do not be late," warned Pietro.
We ended our meeting and parted ways. But John and Rose decided to have a talk with me instead.
"Zen Onii-chan, is there a reason why you decided to make him the leader instead? I.. don't really like that guy," said Rose.
"Indeed. He is giving off a sort of bad vibe," said John.
"I see. I did get the feeling that he have another mission aside from what is assigned to us. Hence the reason why I decided to make him the leader. I want to see what is his intention. And I also want him to fit in the group. He is the only one who is not familiar with us. But remember, act on your instinct. He might be the leader but we are still our own person. No one's order is absolute to me," I said to the both of them.
They nodded and understood my intention to make him the leader. By doing so, we can find out what is his role in this quest.
***
Three days passed and the four of us met at the Northern entrance. Each of us brought a backpack filled with supplies that might last us for a week. We do not know how long we will be there. I am hoping there is a town or village that we can stay in. Rose brought her rapier while John brought along an even larger axe compared to the one I bought for him. His strength should be off the charts now. Pietro brought a long spear along with some short ones. Most probably for throwing. I pondered on the thought of bringing along my gauntlets, but after much consideration, I decided not to. I am suspicious of Pietro and was not going to reveal to him one of my most important equipment.
It took us a day and a half to finally reach the City Of Lilies Dahlee. Good thing we brought along some winter equipment as it was snowing heavily. It would take us another day to finally reach the port. Upon reaching, a reptilian greeted us.
"Greetingsss. I am Kronk, I will be your guide sss," said the reptilian.
Wait what? Did he just say.. Kronk is his name?
"Excuse me, did you just say your name is Kronk?" I asked in disbelieve.
"Indeed sss. I am a mixed between reptilian and a human sss. My father have such horrible naming scheme sss," said Kronk.
Oh well, who am I to judge? If Kronk is his name then Kronk it is.
We boarded the boat and the four of us looked towards the Northern Continent. Otherwise known as the Demon Continent. From afar, we can already see a storm brewing there. We all braved ourselves towards the unknown.
"I hope the four of you are ready sss," said Kronk.
"Yes, we are ready," I said. How wrong was I.
