In the depths of the dungeon, in one of various floors, a group of adventurers strolled throughout the area. Seven to be exact, they had just ended an important conversation and were about to leave when one of the group members stopped.

The auburn haired girl fidgeted, she ran her hand through her long hair, seemingly nervous. This gathered the attention of the rest of the group, for this reason the girl spoke, revealing her thoughts.

“Hey, Kiana. Are you sure we can trust his word?” she asked.

Kiana, the leader, raised her eyebrows. Her aegean blue hair fluttered as she turned towards the location where the meeting took place. The women's pair of similar colored eyes gazed at the direction.

“It’s fine, Erina. His insignia is enough proof,” Kiana replied. She moved towards Erina, placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Plus, didn’t you say the attack wasn’t meant to kill us? If he really had such intentions, the moment we approached him we would’ve been ambushed.”

The woman’s words of reassurance made the girl sigh. Erina shook her head, and slightly slapped herself with two hands. The impact was light, damage being minimal to the point where it wasn’t noticeable.

“You’re right! I’m worrying about nothing! Let’s get going!” she exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air.

“Erina does have a point, was the boy truly the correct messenger?” A man commented, touching his helmet.

“What are you talking about, Evan? Didn’t we send Colette to follow him? There wasn’t a single report containing any suspicious activities?” said Kiana.

She shook her head as if disappointed Evan couldn’t remember. In response Evan simply waved his hand in a dismissing manner, annoyed by her behavior yet didn’t make it apparent.

“Yeah right, last time I saw her, she was acting rather strange. Maybe the boy bribed her,” said the bald middle aged man, not joking around.

He seriously considered the fact the person sent to watch over the boy was bribed to not report his actions. After all, if you see a certain person acting suspicious after encountering a suspect, the chances of foul play could be at play.

“Don’t say that!” Erina uttered, placing her hand on her chest. “Colette would never betray us—“

Before she could continue defending the person known as Colette, the man interrupted her, tapping on his helmet.

“How are you so sure about that? If I remember correctly, you found her in the slums. I don’t want to stereotype them, but you know how people from there tend to be.”

“Well, it’s no good doubting your comrades, especially when you have little evidence. In the first place, we don’t even know if Colette made contact with the messenger. All she had to do is relay information, and make reports here and there,” Kiana explained.

The other four members of the group quietly watched the exchange, not adding their own opinions. The four of them stood there awkwardly, waiting for them to finish their conversation.

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“Ah, I’ve been wondering to ask this the moment we left, what family did the insignia belong to?” A young man asked in an attempt to change the conversation.

This seemed to work as they all stared at him, Kiana placing her finger on her face as she hummed, Erina shrugged whilst Evan shook his head.

“It was from the Nadeau family,” she responded, a sly smile on her face.

“Nice…?” The man who asked gave a thumbs up yet his response was hesitant. “Damn, never heard of a noble family of that name. I presume they aren’t very well-known?”

The young man scratched his head, trying to come up with another answer. Erina on the other hand mused about the family name, trying to see if she ever heard the name before. The same could be said for Evan yet he gave up rather quickly.

“I assume you know something going by your smile,” he said, gazing at the amused smirk on Kiana’s face.

“You could say that,” she replied with a vague answer.

“Ugh! Come on, tell us! You can’t leave us in suspense!” shouted Erina.

Erina began shaking Kiana in a playful way, attempting to make her spill the beans. However, all Kiana did was continue smiling. Soon Erina got tired and let her go, a pout on her face.

Now, with all the sudden movements and noise, monsters should’ve gathered in the area. However due to the actions of a certain person, he’s currently dealing with a herd of monsters with another student. Though it isn’t important, the current situation is more interesting.

“All right, I’ll tell you what I know.” Finally giving in, Kiana nodded, raising a finger. “The reason I know about the Nadeau family is because our employer, the Ballerini family, is familiar with the name,” she said.

“Huh? Really? I don’t remember ever hearing something like that from them,” Evan said, a bit confused.

“Well, that’s because you didn’t ask,” Kiana retorted.

“Oh.”

Evan gazed downwards in embarrassment, he shook his head, disappointed with himself. He originally thought his employer wasn’t going to reveal information to their employees hence his lack of pursuit for knowledge.

Erina was in a similar predicament, however she did ask yet was given no answer. This might imply her lack of authority within the group. As such she sighed, telling herself she’ll complain about this with her friend, Colette.

“I already imagined her response…” she mumbled to herself.

“Anyways,” Kiana began.

Once they heard her speak both of them immediately moved their gazes at her, way too interested in the situation.

“The Nadeau family is part of the five families most involved with the slave trade in this country,” she elaborated. “You probably haven’t heard of them because not many know the five families at all, only the government, and select noble families.”

“The slave trade, huh…?”

“The bizarre thing about them is their lack of slaves. From what I’ve heard, they hold a tiny amount of slaves compared to the other four. Unfortunately most other information about them is so hidden that even our employers have a hard time finding any else.”

“Then does that mean the boy works for them?” Evan asked.”

“Who knows? The insignia is real at the very least, but is that enough? I don’t know,” she said.

“We should get going, monsters are going to come here soon,” Kiana commented.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Right.”

And with that the group of adventures left.