Meliae ran with several roots across the forest, and in the palm of his hand there were two women talking.

"Why would he try to look for the Empire?" Nadine asked. "He told us what happened with the rak and the infection. He spent most of the time unconscious or as a prisoner."

"He found another human. It was the first human after he met Silvano."

"Wait, are you saying he wanted to recruit him?"

"No, Silvano said that the guy talked like a crazy person with some massive ego. I’m thinking about the possibility of the Valein Empire having more humans."

Silas told them about Sesius' offer, but they weren’t particularly fond of joining another group as underlings. According to Cink, the valein won’t accept another group as equal; they would look for a way to incorporate them into their society even if they didn’t want to and try to stay as only allies. It was their nature.

"Yeah, but we all voted to stay outside, even Cink and the rest of the tribe council. No one wants to hand over leadership for nothing."

"I know it sounds impossible, but the back of my mind keeps telling me he could abandon us and join their army." It wasn’t a secret that Silas was weird, but they got used to his antics and relaxed attitude toward things by constantly comparing them to video games.

He proved himself useful by looking out for them dozens of times. But what about Silas' opinion? Maybe he felt out of place with them; time wasn’t a measure of trust or happiness, and Emily knew that from her own experience.

She appreciated Silas, but she was afraid that maybe she didn’t show it enough. "If he leaves us because I was too mean to him or because I didn’t tell him how much he does for us—"

"That is not your fault, Emily. If he feels like he doesn’t belong, it would be the fault of everyone, including me. I don’t think your worries are likely to happen, but if you think there is a real chance of him leaving us, then talk to him about it. The guy can be perceptive in battle or discussions, but on other social aspects, he’s super dense."

Nadine’s words help her to calm down.

***

After arriving at the capital, they went straight to the army base. They were the last two to arrive, everyone else was present.

"Welcome." Nora was the first one to greet them.

"It’s been a while since we all got together. How much World Stone have we found this time?"

"I was thinking about that; the miners found enough for you to fabricate another gate to the Rock. Could we do the same and establish a new settlement in another world, Silvano?"

In the past few months, Silvano helped take important materials across the three bases of the Pix-Dawn alliance, but he also tried to explore other worlds on a couple of occasions.

"Sorry, the only word I managed to reach was that strange swamp. I rather don’t go there any time soon." He didn’t want to talk about the creatures he saw, but Silas and Jacob, who went with him, agreed not to go anywhere near that world.

The door opened, and Valks invited them inside. Silas and Cink were sitting across the table. The discussion was something only they needed to know.

"Thank you, Valks. You can take your leave." Cink dismissed him, and Silas went straight to the point.

"As I informed some of you, we found more World Stone in the mines of the underground world. It is enough to build a third gate. Since we already have two gates connecting to Rock in the desert and then to the capital, we need to decide our next step."

"Don’t make us wait; you already have a plan." Nathan was sure of it. "Cut the bullshit and tell us what your idea is."

"You could say that with better language, but yes. What is your proposition, Silas?"

"Ugh, am I really that predictable?"

"Just say it, buddy. We trust your instincts." Jacob was the only one who knew, but he decided to stay quiet.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Mmm, a few weeks ago in the Rock, a small merchant group came. They sold us some things, but what we mostly wanted was information. I happened to be there, so I heard a rumor."

Everyone was watching with curiosity.

"The boss of the group said he heard a rumor from one of his business partners. In the city of Lorsaus, there is a group of mercenaries that are hiring people for a job. He didn’t know the details, but the client is supposedly a human with powers. The rumor is that a human is looking for something to combine with his power and escape from the System, back to his original world."

"That's a lie; who could have such power and speak so casually across worlds?" Nadine was skeptical.

"Yeah, you don’t have to tell me twice. It sounds like a complete lie, but they had something." He pulled a small rock from his pocket. It was a small medallion engraved with a symbol.

The most notable thing about the medallion was the color. He tossed it to Nadine, who couldn’t hold back her surprise.

"The hell, this is red, blue, green, and even World Stone!" She used her power to separate the metals. There were five in total. All of them were powerful and rare.

"Using powerful materials to make a point is one of two things. A stupid play or a bold move to call anyone with talent and the ability to recognize at his side."

The stones were too small to extract them and use them as weapons, but they served their purpose to call attention to those who knew where to look. The small merchant group was too weak and clueless to understand the value of this medallion, but Silas did. He bought the medallion and memorized the symbol.

"If they had a lot of rare metal to spare in invitations."

"Correct, Rebecca, this wasn’t done by a small group or as simple bait. I think a human is really trying to build an army of mercenaries to find a way back home." He had no further proof, but that was where the World Stone would come to play its part.

"I want to use this gate to open a portal close to Lorsaus and investigate this rumor. It could be a lie, but we won’t know until we look for ourselves."

Everyone seemed to understand the plan, but Emily’s heart felt the underlying motive. She bit her lip for a few seconds before asking.

"Why are we using the gate instead of Silvano just making a portal?"

Silas stood silent for a moment before looking down like a child trying to hide something. "Well, that could also work, but since we’re going to a city, we should try to make negotiations, and if we are lucky, we can make deals for other resources or install a new village."

"Is the city by chance part of the Valein Empire?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

Nadine was the only one who understood the tension in the air. She just spoke with Emily about the possibility of Silas leaving them to join the empire. It must have been a coincidence; there was no way he was planning to leave them, right?

"Are you really only thinking about the rumor? You don’t have any intention of looking for the army or asking about the captain you met?"

She didn’t hold back her worry; at this point everyone noticed what she was insinuating except for Silas.

"Why would I look for the captain? I told you he was going to arrest me for refusing his offer." He was still clueless about her concern.

"I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, partner." Jacob intervened. "Silas is thinking about doing this to make new allies under the cover of being another small group looking to find a place. He wasn’t going to go and announce our presence or reveal the existence of the Pix-Dawn alliance."

"Ah, I get it. You thought I was going to reveal our true identities. Don’t worry, I was planning to go with Jacob as traveling merchants. That way, we can escape if things go bad. I guess Silvano should come to secure our escape in case of a real emergency."

"No, I'd like to say it." She looked at Silas in the eyes. "If you want to leave to join the valein I won’t stop you, but I don’t want you to think that I don’t appreciate you!"

She took a small jewel from her bag. It was an emerald.

"Huh, I don’t want to leave the guild! Why would I join them? They are super strict; I can’t deal with taking orders from a superior I don’t even know."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"You don’t have any complaints about the guild or about the way I treat you."

"No, I guess you could treat me a bit better instead of mocking my thinking process, but that’s about it."

No lies; her worries were only an illusion born of fear and insecurity. She didn’t care to make herself look ridiculous; knowing the truth was comforting.

"Then take this emerald. If you have any complaints or if you think we’re taking you for granted, talk to me. You can’t leave until you give me this back."

"Heh?"

"Just promise you won’t leave until you give it back."

"Sure, sure, I promise. It's not like I’m planning to abandon the guild I helped found."

"You weren’t thinking we would let the two of you go alone." Nora stood up.

"You need protection. I can deal with any shady dealers or anyone who’s trying to bother us." Franco was in.

"You can't leave your tank behind if there are a lot of people going."

"I also want to go and see the Valein medical technology. I haven’t been able to replicate the healing capabilities of the bandages they used on your body. I want to learn more ways to heal."

In the end, everyone went on the expedition.

"I’ll talk with the council. I’m sure they are going to protest, but they don’t do anything outside the cities. All bark and no bite." Cink was going to cover for their absence as usual.

They made preparations and left other pix to cover their positions. It was like taking a vacation. After a week, they were ready to depart.

"I’m feeling the mountain world. I should be close to the city."

"Don’t open it too close. We need to hide the gate."

Silvano was using his power to locate the world and Nadine was making the gate. Nora coordinated the communication between the two of them. Their teamwork was almost flawless after they worked for so long together and found the city.

"Is everyone ready?"

Nadine constructed the portal, and they crossed it.