Smiling sweetly, Cassie spoke to the two, “Mother has things she needs to do. I have been stuck inside the city for too long. Mother agreed to let me leave, however, since she won’t be able to take care of me, she was going to assign people.”
Interrupted by a bit of grumbling, she giggled a little before continuing, “She wants to send a bunch of scary people with me. Only this would make things complicated for me. I can’t enjoy myself when there are magnitudes of mana weaving through the air. Suppressing not just me, but everyone and everything in the surroundings.”
Frowning deeply, “What is the point of going out if I am still being held prisoner. Therefore, I sneakily sent word to Uncle Mercury to find me some lower level, but amazing people. That was when he said he knew just the right people that even mother can’t deny.”
Hearing all this, there were a few reactions. Jessica was trying not to smile, everything she just heard made her want to sneak glances at Everblood. Nothing she said sounded like something coming out of Everblood’s mouth.
Saleh’s ears turned red as he was blatantly smiling. He knew teacher wouldn’t say anything of the sort, only what she said seemed to fit with the situation. Even her mother, a legendary retired elder, contributed to this.
Helga had a gloating expression as she smiled wantonly at Everblood. It was impossible to know if she was looking at the face under the mask or not. Neither of the three knew what reaction he was making. Nor could they know if Helga could see under the mask or not. Everblood stood stoically, as if nothing had changed.
After a moment of silence, Saleh spoke, “Where would we be going, is there any expected threats, period of time of protection, and finally rates your request offers.”
Cassie didn’t answer this time, before she could speak. Helga started to speak as an elder, she was more clear on the final details that would be shown on an official request. Cutting straight to the case, “This is just a site seeing trip, Saleh, you’re part of the Blue Wolf tribe. If possible, Cassie wants to go there. If that is inconvenient, you can take her south to a dwarven city.”
Turning to look at Jessica, “From what I understand, you are close to Beast. You should have been to many dwarven cities, so it would be up to you to decide. A place that might be a good place to go for a vacation.”
Returning to the collective, “This request is a bit complicated, essentially, you will be going to one of two locations. This can be something you can decide together. The reason you will be going, instead, is because there aren’t any large threats. In this way it can avoid a lot of targeting as no higher up would hire Grade E to protect a VVIP.”
Not waiting for them to say anything, she continued, “The period of protection will be rated, so you can enjoy pay regardless of how long it takes. This also means that until Cassie herself is returned to Mercury City or calls off the protection, you are to continue protecting her indefinitely. Finally, because of this, you will be moving anywhere from months to possibly years. Though the likelihood of the latter being dismal. By that point I will be free to come pick her up well before that.”
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Jessica couldn’t help but ask, “Need actual rates.”
Nodding slightly, Helga wasn’t upset at this directness. Cassie also seemed to like this, as her eyes shined as her dimples became larger.
“Twenty-five silvers a day. Since it is not clear on the time, you will be occupied with this. Since Cassie is not a graded being, you will be in a timetable of one to one. To ensure this doesn’t affect whatever timetable you’re on, on completion you will be given the remainder of your monthly balance. Most importantly, I will owe you a favor.”
As these words left her mouth, the expressions of the two changed drastically. Helga was a legendary figure because of being the one of two bystanders that went with Everblood to wipe out the royal family of a kingdom. Her interaction when dealing with the case of theft involving Azeban spread her name even further.
At the time, nobody knew any of this. It was only after she gave up her position and offered her mask to Azeban did her records get released. Before that, only the number twelve was known. Slowly, as her renown became well known, was everything tied to the twelfth elder. Thus, when Azeban became the new twelfth elder, the dispatching of Helga became well known.
It wasn’t always disclosed, some elders retired when they died. Never having their names spread out. Some died and had their name spread. This was something they decided themselves. It was more obvious a choice when they died, as everything in the will would be followed.
It was an active decision, partly because she simply had the strength to expose her identify. This could be seen by the fact that when she met Azeban, it was public. She took her mask off in public, showcasing her strength. Such a decision was very rarely seen. It wasn’t the first time for an elder to become public, it was however the first time an elder took their mask off in public like that.
To be owed a favor by such a person was insane. It was only now that Jessica remembered that Fred also owed her a favor, that could by extension means that if she took this task, she would have two favors owed by the twelfth elders. While one was the actual ex-elder, the other was just a member of their party. Even still, that was very appetizing.
First impressions were very important. Jessica and Saleh didn’t bother to leave to discuss it amongst themselves. Neither believed they could hide from an elder, so they just turned to each other.
Neither of them noticed Everblood sealed off the surrounding air before, blocking it from Helga’s sight. This caused her to frown slightly. Giving a deep look at Everblood, a little bit of shock could be seen in her eyes.
“What you think?”
Saleh thought for a moment, “I am leaning towards accepting. What about you?”
Frowning slightly, “I don’t like making decisions off first impressions. But I have to say I don’t think it would be awful. As far as I can see, Cassie doesn’t seem like the type to make protection difficult.”
“I agree. You’re in?”
“Mhm.”
Only when they were done did they noticed the inquisitive look in Helga’s eyes before noticing the reconnection of the surrounding air. However, neither of the two were shocked by this, knowing Everblood was far above them.
“We agree.”