“Ah. A new day has dawned. The Goddess blessed me once again with new problems to deal with that I was supposed to not be involved with.”

The usual Zephyr philosophical (not really) morning routine speech right after waking up. He seems unusually energized despite just opening his eyes. He fixes his bed, brushes his teeth and finally about to open the door to get out of his room.

“Now then, let's see what kind of pain I shall deal with today.”

Upon opening the door, as usual, the beautiful and doll-like Anastasia is patiently waiting for him, carrying what seems to be Hywel and Meiren’s report regarding their conversation with Denzel and his guild.

‘Ah, the first one.’

“Master Zep, I shall be in your care again today.”

After bowing her head, Anastasia hands over the document she's holding.

“This is the report of Hywel and the other lady from last night. Please take your time reading it.”

“Mhm mhm…”

“.....”

Anastasia cannot help but notice something.

“Master, did you not sleep well?”

She takes a step closer as she was worried about Zephyr.

“E-eh? Well, I just had a little trouble sleeping haha. But that's nothing.”

“Is that so…”

Anastasia slowly looks down. She's quite despondent due to the fact that she thinks she's doing nothing to lessen her master’s burden. As a result, Zephyr lost valuable sleep. However, that is not the case.

‘Crap, I can't tell her I had a nightmare and woke up in the middle of the night and can't get a wink of sleep after. Only kids have those right!?’

Zephyr clears his throat and takes a step forward.

“Ana, I'm fine. Well, I'll be better when I have my breakfast.”

He then gestures to her to follow him to the pantry to prepare some breakfast as they finally have some stocks of fresh bread and various stuffings brought by Hywel and Meiren. Hywel is currently training his body elsewhere as his morning routine which is why he's not currently in Guild Hall.

‘Maybe I'll just forget all about it, yeah.’

Zephyr began having nightmares lately. Well, everyone is prone to have one and it's something someone would often forget once they wake up. However, Zephyr might have forgotten, but some details of his nightmares lingers in his thoughts.

‘Why would I even dream of a castle. Like I'm in a kingdom or something…what's more, it feels lonely inside since there are no people. And the outside is a mess.’

Zephyr shakes his head and drops his relic to the ground.

“Cantallone, can you call Hywel for me? We probably should have breakfast together.”

The loyal relic then goes out of its way to search for him as Zephyr and Anastasia prepare.

|Sunken Tower| - Star-ranked dungeon

Inside the temporary base of the Black hooded group, Celaeno seems to be preparing for an assault. His staff polished, his scrolls and enchanted items all aligned.

“I'm ready to go again!! My hands are all healed! Point me to the battle!”

Ajax roars for a fine duel.

“At ease, Ajax. Now I did say that you are needed to make another ruckus, but this time, you are under supervision. You only make a move on what I tell you, understand?”

Celaeno turns his gaze towards him which Ajax did not appreciate, however he just went with the flow and nods.

“Good. We're going back to the remnants of the hut and finish my research.”

“Huh? You're finishing already?”

“I am. But that doesn't mean I'm leaving. I still have a mission to uphold.”

“Mission? I'm not informed of that!”

Ajax shouted.

“Of course you aren't. Us pillars are given discretion regarding the missions imposed to us. Unless we deem it necessary, we will leave the details of it only to us.”

Celaeno then proceeds to walk towards the dungeon boss which is currently restrained. He then finishes it with only one basic fire spell.

“We're leaving this base before the GEO gets suspicious of this area. Move.”

As Celaeno and the rest of his members walk towards the exit, Ajax’s gaze turns into a playful glare.

“Sure. Anything you say.”

As they leave the dungeon, Celaeno stops for a moment as his surveillance birds notice something.

“Hm. Looks like they're finally preparing to deal with us. Things are going as expected, hahaha! Now then Telmaris, what would you do? Do you all even have an idea what our main purpose is?”

Ajax squints upon hearing his words. Not a long while, a few more hooded individuals have come. Celaeno turns towards them.

“Hm, reinforcements huh. Then…the Master really thinks that this research is absolutely important. I can't fail him now.”

“Hello there, {Second Pillar} Celaeno.”

A voice unfamiliar to him has greeted Celaeno without any title which makes him quite irritated. However, he's not rash. As he reviewed the individual in front of him, he can tell that he's someone who holds the same authority as his.

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“The Master mentioned a few years ago regarding the branches. Are you perhaps–”

“You're really quick to catch on. As expected of the {Second Pillar}.”

The man then removes his hood, revealing a man with long brown hair which is messily tied. He looks as if they're of the same age, but due to the manly beard the other one has which Celaeno doesn't, he looks younger.

“My name is Heimer Deucati. The Institute’s {Fourth Scholar}”

“Scholar? I see, so that's the title of the other branch. With that designation, that must mean you're talented. But here, I am the mastermind. Do you get what I'm trying to say?”

Celaeno firmly sets the hierarchy in the team.

“Yes, of course. I was instructed to assist you whatever the cost after all.”

Heimer then steals a glance at Ajax who has been eyeing him and his crew right when they have arrived.

“I must say you already have such a frightening companion. I believe we will achieve our objective–”

“[Grim Fate]. Should I say more?”

As soon as Celaeno mentioned the name, everyone turned quiet.

“Being confident is one thing, but overconfidence brings about unnecessary openings.”

Celaeno then proceeds to lead his crew onward with Ajax following behind them with a sneer after his last remark.

Going back to Telmaris a few hours after Zephyr reviewed the reports, he was confronted by his Clan members just outside the undergoing Clan Hall.

‘A lot of guilds from the gathering have already gone home huh…’

As soon as he looked forward, he saw some familiar faces.

“Oh, you're all here. King Crow too.”

King Crow flexes his arm, showing that he's all good to go.

“I'm all healed up and back on my feet! Fuhahaha, a true warrior always gets back up no matter what!”

“Nice, King Crow.”

David commented, followed by the clap of his guild mates. Jaina then approaches Zephyr.

“{Fate Threader}, I believe it's time we are briefed regarding the situation. One of our clan members was injured after all, so I guess we're not going to stand idly by.”

Hywel interjects. His expression is always the same, smiling like he never has any problems at all, with his eyes relaxed and closed.

“Please do not misunderstand. Zep is neither just standing by nor buying time. Before he moves, every factor should be thoroughly reviewed to achieve perfect results. I believe however that he had everything planned from the start, but please, act accordingly to what he expects of you.”

Anastasia follows his speech with a nod.

‘You guys are deciding what's on my mind again. How about we exchange positions!?’

Even with that on his mind, Zephyr is also curious about the recent commotions. He lets out a sigh and scratches the back of his head.

“Hywel, Meiren. Did you two already tell them about your findings?”

“Yes, Lord {Fate Threader}. We believe that person in question is the mastermind of this suspicious operation.”

“Any idea about their goal?” ← Zephyr

‘Eh? I thought he already knew…is this a test for me? I-I’m not ready! Well…’

“Apologies, Lord {Fate Threader}...I don't know if it matches up your knowledge of things but, I think it involves the research of Alice. That's all I can say for now.”

‘Oh. Yeah that makes sense. Wait, then why are they even threatening us– ah! They must think that we're holding that lady here and they intend to take her back!’

Zephyr unconsciously strikes a thinking pose.

As everyone was looking at Zephyr, all of them had the same thought: ‘He’s summing it all up.’ Everyone is finally disillusioned by him. With that said, all of them lined up like soldiers about to be given orders by their supervisor.

‘Err, what should I even do…[Shadow Core] is my best choice for reconnaissance as they're all composed of agile hunters. I'm also curious about what their leader could do. As for King Crow…nah man, I know a dude who's acting tough on the outside when I see one, you're staying along with your guild. Meiren's out of the question, she’s not a combatant after all. Sending Hywel would be overkill, same with Ana…well then–’

“Uhh, Jaina.”

All present members of [Shadow Core] then stand to attention, ready to receive their order.

“I'm confident that you and your members can sweep Fritz Forest in less than a day. Now I know there's looming danger and we don't know many of them are there, so if any of you run into something you know you can't deal with, just retreat and report back.”

‘This is one of the few tactics I have learned from Sophia when she wants to scout possible hazards from dangerous areas. Though, she'll only send Cleave (Grim Fate's assassin) as she alone is capable enough to do all the scouting. Ah…now I miss our little Cleave, where is she now.’

“I see. Leave it to us, {Fate Threader}. We'll bring you your desired results.”

Jaina confidently proclaimed. Zephyr then turns to Hywel just in case.

‘I did say overkill but, I already learned my lesson from our previous quest not to belittle what seems an important task.’

“I'm going to give them eight hours to return and report back. If they haven't done by then, Hywel, you are to move out.”

Hywel nods in agreement. Jaina then thinks to herself:

‘A mere eight hours. Considering that we have to do some regrouping, maintenance, and most probably, battles, eight hours are too short. In addition, Fritz Forest is vast. Wait…I see, he's also considering the time Hywel could make it in there. In his case, Hywel could at least get there in four hours at best. That means…it's a twelve hour countdown.’

“Meiren, King Crow.”

Zephyr then turns towards the two.

“Please stay at Gringar’s for the day.”

“.....”

“Wha-? Are you serious, {Fate Threader}?”

King Crow asked, although in a calm manner as he's identifying his purpose. He then felt Hywel’s gaze upon him. It's as if he's telling him to just do what Zephyr wants and don't get in his way.

“Oh, ah…there is actually something important to do there.”

‘There goes my habit of inventing random stuff at the heat of the moment again…’

Meiren did not show any rejection on her part. She takes a glance at King Crow who just lets out a sigh and seems ready to accept his part as well.

“Okay, since it's you who issued the order {Fate Threader}, I think being idle is worth doing.”

Darius then quietly chuckles.

“Also, I know that [Crow’s Nest] isn't fit for the job you've given to the fine lady’s guild. So it's understandable. When time comes for us to finally show what we're capable of, call our name!”

Zephyr nods immediately as he sees this as an opportunity to finally settle him down. Athy then points to herself.

“What about me?”

“Train with Ana.”

“Master Zep…”

“Yaaay!!”

Athy cheered joyfully.

And so, with everyone's job assigned, each of them went on their way to do what's to be done. As [Shadow Core] headed out, a new batch of travellers and hunters entered the city. Unbeknownst to everyone, among them were spies from Atlas. In addition…one of them was Vivianne who is about to return to her guild.

–Fritz Forest–

Thanks to his birds, Celaeno was able to witness their gathering.

“Given that he's the one who seems to be issuing orders, it must be him. Who would have thought that the infamous {Fate Threader} of [Grim Fate] looks more human than your average hunter. Though with that said–”

Celaeno grits his teeth.

“He sent one squad to deal with us and divide his forces within Telmaris. This will ruin the original plan. Damn you {Fate Threader}, you don't see us as a threat worthy of your attention.”

Celaeno then takes a deep breathe and turns towards Ajax.

“It's time to draw your weapons once again, Ajax. Telmaris has sent fresh blood for you to trample with.”

“Hah-Hahaha! Finally, I was starting to get bored to death! Point me to them!”

Ajax violently spins his spear. His eyes are screaming for another good battle.

“My hawk will lead you to them.”

Celaeno then adjusts his glasses.

“This time, kill them. Send their heads to their gates and let them know how much of a threat we are.”

Not only Fritz Forest, but Telmaris will be a battlefield. The day of confrontation…begins.