Chapter 33 – The Mission Begins

The guild hallway felt narrower as the group advanced after the meeting ended, leaving the room and following Alden out of the guild.

As they walked, the air felt a bit heavier. After what Isolda had said, each of them seemed lost in their own thoughts, but no one said anything.

Alden led at the front, guiding the group with firm steps and a stiff posture. His hands were clasped behind his back, the posture of the Merchant Coalition’s Master Treasurer returning.

Korgar walked right behind him. His large, heavy body resembled a small artificial mountain sliding through the narrow corridor. Each step was heavy enough to make the floor tremble, his dark plate armor blocking some of the light.

Silas followed at his side, hands folded behind his head. He still wore that light, relaxed smile as if he were out on a stroll.

Mark walked behind them.

Further back came the Silver Wolf group. Kael was in the middle. Lyra, Garret, and Voren followed beside him, all maintaining a tight formation. The group had not said a single word this entire time, simply following behind quietly.

As for Elara, she walked close to Mark. Her lips held an unreadable smile. From time to time, she shot him a quick glance.

And it was genuinely confusing him.

Mark kept his eyes forward, pretending not to notice.

But it was impossible to ignore.

From the moment he had entered the room, that woman seemed interested. Mark had absolute confidence in his concealment skills. Nothing about his behavior should have been suspicious.

Besides, Pippin was well hidden beneath the [Threat Dissipation Cloak].

Elara had no reason to suspect anything.

Even so, there she was, observing him as if she had found something curious.

What had she seen? Mark tried to think of an answer, but none came. His discomfort had little to do with danger, since Elara did not seem threatening. It was more like the unsettling feeling of being analyzed without knowing why.

And Elara was not the only one.

There was another occasional stare.

A light pressure that appeared and disappeared on his back every few seconds. Mark tilted his head just enough to catch the corridor behind him from the corner of his eye. His movement was discreet, almost imperceptible.

Lyra was looking.

The red-haired girl kept her eyes fixed on him with a discreet intensity. But the instant she realized Mark had noticed, she quickly looked away, turning to Kael and letting out a short, clearly forced giggle, as if reacting to some comment he had supposedly made.

“?” Kael looked confused at Lyra, then looked in Mark’s direction. His expression shifted suddenly as he realized something. He frowned, glancing between Lyra and Mark a few times before lowering his head.

Mark faced forward again.

There were two people watching him for completely different reasons.

And neither made any sense.

“Alright.” Suddenly, Alden glanced over his shoulder and called their attention.

“As you must know, this mission will last a few days. Crossing the initial stretch of the desert, leaving Luminaris until we get past the sand, should take around three to four days if we do not take many breaks and the weather stays stable. With better soil, but still hostile, we will take another two to three days to reach the eastern detour and finally enter the Principalities. And since this is not a mission resolved in half an hour, we should spend around two to four days on site. Add that to the return trip and we are talking about something between fifteen and twenty days away.”

“Twenty days?”

Korgar grumbled behind him, his deep voice filling the corridor. “We do not need all that. We can finish it in a day, tops.” He cast a sideways glance at Mark before continuing.

“We are three experienced gold rank adventurers. We will handle it. You can trust us.”

Alden let out a long sigh and shook his head. “Korgar, just do not do anything outside the mission.”

“Complaining again?” Elara commented, not even looking at him. “You are getting paid. Bite your tongue and stop rambling like an old man.”

Silas let out a low laugh. “There goes Korgar’s temper again.”

Korgar stopped walking, slowly turned, and stared at Elara. He stood still in the corridor, blocking the way and forcing Mark and the group behind him to stop.

“I do not ramble.” His voice came out low, which only made the sentence even more absurd.

Elara raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed. “Of course not. Now move.”

Silas cleared his throat to hide a laugh.

“Can we please keep walking?” Alden rubbed his face with one hand as he watched the scene.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

This group was already clashing and they had not even stepped out of the guild yet.

Korgar huffed, turning back and resuming his path with heavy steps. Silas followed with a quiet laugh, patting the mountain’s shoulder as if trying to cheer him up, though that only irritated him further.

Mark watched it all silently.

He did not know if the group was efficient, strong, or experienced, but they definitely did not seem harmonious.

Maybe they were used to fighting and used to working together even while fighting?

Alden took another deep breath before continuing his explanation. “As I was saying, the duration is long, but the route is straightforward. We will leave through the east gate and cross the edge of the desert. After that, we continue toward the Principalities.”

“Do you intend to camp normally or advance at night?” Kael asked from behind, raising his voice for the first time.

“I am still evaluating.” Alden answered without turning. “Depends on the conditions. And on the group.”

Korgar muttered something no one understood.

Probably about not needing rest.

“As for the reward.” Alden finally reached the point he had been leading to. “The three of you already know what was offered.” He looked at Korgar, Silas, and Elara.

Korgar gave a grunt of acknowledgment. Silas merely smiled and Elara nodded lightly. Alden then looked at Mark, as if weighing every inch of his face.

Mark blinked.

Reward?

He had accepted the mission without even asking how he would be paid. Isolda had thrown him into it saying he needed to validate his rank and he simply followed. The reward never seemed important.

I mean, he doubted there was anything valuable enough to push him to move. His inventory was filled with so many items he did not even know where to start discarding. And his experience selling the dagger on his first day had left a deep impression of this world.

Poor.