The trio went outside and greeted the group outside. They all seemed resolute, except Furor and were ready to leave. Everyone there, except Furor, seemed to have their attention on Elizabeth. She started speaking about the journey ahead, and the ten-person group nodded.

Since he would follow them around, he didn't see the point in listening to them talk about the places they'd pass through and instead began examining the group.

(“Hoh, an Albino?”) He thought to himself as he looked at one of them. It was a boy with white hair, pale skin, and characteristic red eyes.

(“Red eyes? Isn't it usually blue?”)

He looked about Tibaut’s age but was substantially shorter.

He kept looking through the group but that boy was the only one with anything notable about him appearance-wise. Sure some were tall and one lady there had a nice figure but he didn't spare them more than a glance.

As he looked around he felt something was missing.

…

…

…

(“Ah, Jake.”)

Right, him. If this was a group of the strongest in the parish, where the hell was he? He kept looking around but he was nowhere to be found.

Tina didn't seem to be paying attention either and was busy glaring at Furor.

“Hey, Tina.”

She turned to him annoyed and rolled her eyes. “What is it?”

“(Ugh, it seems that guy has her pissed off.) Where's Jake?”

She began looking around and realised he wasn't there.

“Tsk, don't tell he's late? No, that girl’s from his guild. So where is he?”

She walked over to the still-talking Elizabeth to satisfy her curiosity.

“(I mean, it's a legitimate question so she won't get mad right?) Hey Liz,” she tapped her shoulder.

Elizabeth turned to her. “Tina, I'm a bit busy right now.” Which she delivered in a snippy tone.

Tina decided to ignore the warning and continued. “Chill out, it's just a quick question. Where's Jake?”

“Yeah, where is he?” Another person in the crowd of ten asked. It seems they overheard them.

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“What do you mean, where is he?” A woman asked sarcastically. “He's at home recovering, do you idiots not listen?” She asked.

“Yeah, but he should be more than fine enough to leave the house.”

“Besides he’d still be useful, even if he was just limping.”

“You bastards, you want to overwork an injured man? No wonder this place had the dregs of adventurers.” She commented.

“Oi, what's that supposed to mean?”

Before the argument could get out of hand, Elizabeth raised her hand to get their attention. The instant her hand rose all the talking stopped and they turned to face her.

(“Does she have these guys trained like dogs?”) Tibaut wondered

“More importantly, he has been left behind in the case of an attack.” She added. “Given his current state, Mr. Bentley and I decided it wasn't worth the risk to bring him along with us. Also important to note is some of us here can't use magic and could be affected if he tried to use his magic in a tricky situation.”

“What a load of bullshit!” Furor said. He had been keeping to himself under a nearby tree but it seemed he took offence with what she said. “You feel like telling us this shit now, huh? What kind of sloppy shit is this? And you're supposed to be the one leading us?”

“Furor, we all already knew he wasn't going to come, due to his injuries. There was no need to tell you this information because it was obvious.” She responded.

He scoffed at her and quieted back down.

(“What's that dude's vendetta against Elizabeth?”) Tibaut wondered.

Elizabeth continued with what she was saying.

“He's probably just jealous of her,” Tina added.

“That's a bit childish, isn't it?” Lily said. “Is he still mad he became the third strongest in some backwater parish?”

“Third strongest?” Tibaut asked.

“You see before Elizabeth came here, Furor’s guild was considered the second strongest in the region. The only reason he didn't give Ezekiel shit for being stronger than him was some sort of weird respect he had for him.” Tina responded.

“Then why try to pick on Elizabeth? I feel she's just as, if not, stronger than him.”

“She is stronger than him,” Lily stated. “Though I'm not sure if Tina has come around to the same opinion yet.”

“Whatever you dwarf. But you wouldn't be wrong assuming they're both stronger than him. But I feel the real conflict comes from her being a pr-”

Elizabeth uncannily turned around to face her and stared directly into her eyes. She mouthed the words “Say that at your own peril.” and gripped her sword.

She felt a chill run down her spine and decided against continuing what she was saying. “Maybe it's because she was a one-person crew for a while,” she stated, with anxiety present in her voice.

Lily had also noticed Elizabeth and decided to go along with that idea. “Right, he must have been pretty jealous she made her guild be considered the second strongest with only her doing any adventuring.”

“He got mad over a reason like that?” Tibaut stated. “Some people, man.” He said in a dismissive tone.

The people gathered began walking and Elizabeth turned to the three.

“The least you could have done was listen to that last section.” She said.

“Eh, we're all going to the same place so why does it matter?” He asked.

She pinched his cheek and dragged him closer. “Because it could mean life or death. Besides, I talked about more than just our travel route.”

“Really? Like what?” he asked.

“The teams we will be splitting up into.” She responded. “Tsk, since you weren't listening we'll discuss this on the carriage on our way there.”