"How did you know?"
"I heard about it last night! I was supposed to be in that meeting as a proxy of the guild but I was asked by an old woman to help her find her lost cat! I didn't know that it somehow ended up inside a rain ranked dungeon!"
'What the-? Don't tell me, you cleared it on solo!?'
"Hold up, proxy of the guild? Which?"
Athy chuckled as if she heard a joke.
"Fufu, come on now Lord Zephyr, don't act oblivious. Of course, from your guild [Grim F-!"
Anastasia's devouring aura gets unleashed once Athy was about to tell them that she's proclaiming to be a proxy of their guild.
"T-T-Time out! Time out! I was just joking, master!! Please don't eat me!" Athy curled up in a corner while covering her head.
"Err, Ana, come on, a child is prone to letting out a joke hehe. Be patient with her, okay?"
Zephyr managed to calm Anastasia down as always, though his words pierced Athy.
"G-gahk! L-Lord Zephyr…I have received some heavy damage…"
"Hehe. Oh, by the way Athy, I don't really mind if you tag along, but I think it would be an overkill if you do."
'I mean, Ana is already enough to deal with such a low ranked and safe dungeon, to add, we have that ogre-like King Crow and the rest of the [Shadow Core], also Meiren, though I don't know how she will fare in terms of fighting…as if I'm one to talk though. Why are they so insistent on going anyway?'
"Oh Lord Zephyr, for someone like you, I have no doubt that you see this as a mere pastime dungeon, but still, I would love to-"
"Hmm, hold on."
Zephyr thinks once again. It seems like his baton passing skill is activating.
'Isn't this my chance to get off the hook…? With Anastasia and Athy representing the Guild, then it would be no problem if I don't attend. I mean look at the weather, it's the perfect time to lay on the grass and take it easy. Tomorrow will probably be the same. Alright, I have decided!'
"Lord Zephyr?"
"Master Zep…?" Both Ana and Athy tilt their head as Zephyr unconsciously smirks after thinking of his grand plan. He clasps his hands and smiles at the two.
"I have thought of an idea."
"You're not going to leave me there alone with Athy right, Master Zep…?"
"....."
Zephyr sweats, it's as if Anastasia just read his own thoughts. It's time to adlib, one of Zephyr's mastery.
"Ana, do you trust me?" He asked her with honest and beautiful eyes.
"Yes, Master Zep. My whole life is yours to begin with." Ana responded immediately.
'Please don't, your life is your own.' "Then you do know that my decisions are always for your sake, for your own growth."
"Master Zep…"
"Ana, I'll leave Athy in your care."
Anastasia's blank and dead eye expression returns, signifying her dissatisfaction with Zephyr's response. Seeing her face, Athy can't help but feel attacked.
"Uwaaah! Master, why would you blatantly display your disapproval of me..!"
Zephyr takes out one of his rings and places it on Anastasia's palm. He then holds her hand and squeezes it.
"You know this right, the
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Anastasia holds the ring and keenly observes it. By the looks on her face, anyone could clearly see that she's going to treasure it and won't give it back anymore.
"With this I can always have Master Zep on my side…"
'PFT!! Ana no, don't use it like that. I mean, it also has limited use before it vanishes.'
Zephyr looks at Athy.
"Alright Athy, I hereby grant you a temporary membership of [Grim Fate]. Please watch over Ana, and she'll definitely watch over you too."
"....."
Athy took a deep breath as she clenched her fist. After a few seconds-
"YAAAAAAAAAY!!!"
'Athy, it's a temporary membership. Temporary, and I'm using it to pass the responsibility to you. What do you mean by yay?'
"Oh, also, have you cleared the star ranked dungeon you're talking about back then? How about the relics in there?" Zephyr asked.
"Ah, hehe. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I haven't cleared it, though– I have a perfect reason. You see, the old lady thought it was just a star rank but it's actually a blood ranked one! I got the cat out alive though!"
"I see, err, good job."
'Man, I thought I was going to see some new artifacts but oh well.'
After passing the time, as the night before the dungeon surveillance came, the party members have gathered inside one of the private rooms of GEO's quarters. Anastasia and Athy were the last ones to arrive as King Crow, Meiren and the rest of the [Shadow Core] are already inside, waiting.
"Oh, they're finally here- wait, who is this new hunter? And where's {Fate Threader}?"
"Master Zep has deemed it unnecessary for his assistance on this one. Though he situated a substitute, this little girl does not compare to him. Ah, she's a sorceress we picked up on the road."
"Ghuak!!!"
Athy just died in the corner due to emotional damage from her so-called master. Slowly reviving herself, Athy properly introduced herself and explained the situation.
"I see. If I'm being honest, that was a letdown, here I'm hoping to finally see {Fate Threader} in action."
King Crow scratches the back of his head. He then shrugged-
"Well, can't blame him if he saw this kind of dungeon run unworthy of his time, though I highly believe that he's on the case already. I received word from Gringar that {Fate Threader} has been studying this dungeon for a while now."
Anastasia nods in agreement.
"Master Zep also told me that he has some important matters to attend to before joining us."
"Oh!" Meiren interjected.
"So he's coming after all. Just going to be a bit late."
"I wonder what's up in this case. Why won't Zephyr just directly tell us what we are facing?"
David asked, however, the members of the party stared at him with their brows raised.
"Wait, when did you get close with {Fate Threader} that you are already casually calling him by his name?" Meiren asked.
"Huh? Wait, what? Is that the important thing right now?"
"It's because Master Zep doesn't just solve problems. He also wants everyone to learn something, for us to handle it ourselves, as he won't intervene unless his assistance is direly needed."
Anastasia proudly presented her (delusional) perception of Zephyr.
"That is why he entrusted me with this ring. Though I prefer it will not be used in this dungeon run, but this is an assurance."
"I see. Zephyr's foresight truly is something to behold, he always has a master plan in place. What a fearsome hunter…"
Fiona blurted Zephyr's name unconsciously, making her shut her own mouth while getting stared at by the whole party. Erika then pats her shoulder and does a thumbs up while giving off a radiant smile.
"Don't worry Fiona, we will surely be able to meet his expectations."
Fiona smiled back at her, making the atmosphere inside the room brighter.
Afterwards, they have discussed the necessary preparations for the run. Meanwhile, the so-called "fearsome hunter" is currently stuffing himself with some delicious cheese. (Zephyr trivia #1: Cheese or anything with cheese is his favorite snack.) As time passes by without any chaos, the day for the quest has finally arrived.
"It will be okay, right?" Zephyr mumbles to himself.
"They won't call me scumbag when they come back, right? I mean…if I go, I'll just be useless. So it's better if I don't…!" He stands up from where he is sitting and walks around their guild's lobby, going back and forth, thinking of the things that might happen after their return.
"Anyway, I think I should check on them before they head out, yeah? I should do that much."
As he was about to leave, he thought that he should stock up his arsenal, just to be on the safe side.
*Rummage* *Clank*
He brought at least ten relics with him before leaving the place. In the initial meeting with them back then, the party should be entering the dungeon after the sun has fully risen. But in the recent discussion, where Zephyr is absent, they have decided to do it earlier.
"So this is it, |Cave of Echoes| huh? It really looks like an ordinary cave on the outside."
"But it has a deep mystery looming inside…I have a bad feeling about this." David and Fiona then double checked their gears along with Erika.
"Hah, never would have thought that a hunter's gear would fit you, Reich's daughter." King Crow, with his huge axe, arrived at the scene, teasing Meiren as his first act.
"With all due respect, Lord King Crow, I have been trained as well to defend myself. We merchants are also endangering ourselves on the road by displaying our proud goods. So having the necessary skill to fight is a must."
"Fuhahahaha!" King Crow smirks.
"But then, you haven't experienced it right…a dungeon run."
Meiren squints, though not in a rude way.
"No…I had no prior experience."
Anastasia and Athy have finally arrived in time, just a little later than King Crow. Without further ado, Fiona steps forward as she was assigned to be the party's navigator.
"Alright, everyone…let's get this done and over. Into the |Cave of Echoes|."