The following day, Nobina was working in the guild, monitoring the finances. It had been a week since the goblin incident and they were barely managing to stay afloat. Thanks to the reserves and a bit of money from Eric directly, they managed to continue to pay adventurers for the quests that were coming in.

Due to the goblin incident, a lot of the quests involved gathering materials to refresh the stockpiles of the town. A lot of resources were spent and there was an increasing demand for materials to restore their stockpiles. They were still waiting for the reinforcements to arrive as well, as it was expected they would bring the desperately requested healing potions to refill the towns supply.

As Nobina was about to go over the income from the most requested quests, her Gaze bag glowed once more. A piece of paper flew out of it, landing perfectly in front of Nobina.

“You know. What’s the point of policy when you just… force the item out of the bag,” sighed Nobina.

She proceeded to pick up the piece of paper, reading it carefully. As she did, her expression got paler as her eyes desperately tried to deny what she was seeing.

“No… No… This can’t be…”

Nobina was staring at a piece of paper that was a poll. It asked what Nobina’s destiny should be and had six votes already. Three people wanted her to become a legendary writing adventurer. One person wanted her to become an influential and successful writer. Another wanted her to live a modest life as a small-time writer and adventurer without much influence. Last was a vote for people to comment on what it should be besides the three, but apparently there was no comment to go along with the vote.

She had focused on the word “influence,” as the implications of that was that this poll would influence her destiny. Part of her wanted to discount it as a sick joke, but soon she heard Lare call for her. It wasn’t a moment too soon either, as it stopped her from thinking too deeply about the fact that people were actually voting for her destiny as if she was some sort of character to them.

“Nobina. The reinforcements have arrived. Eric request that me, you and him gather to greet them.”

Hearing that, Nobina nodded and headed to the front. Once she was there, all of them, that being Lare, Sarah, Eric and herself, exited the guild to meet the reinforcements. The guild was closed temporarily and they all headed to the west entrance of the town.

There was a large amount of adventurers gathered at the entrance, many curious about the reinforcements. Of course, most of them weren’t there as the goblin incident was over and their presence wasn’t necessary. Many of the veteran adventurers had more important matters than seeing high-rank adventurers. However, the newer adventurers with nothing to do were excited to see who would have came to their aid.

From the distance, Nobina could see five adventurers on horseback heading in their direction. She wondered why there was only five of them, but Eric’s reaction seemed to indicate that those adventurers were a big deal.

“Hm… brining two S ranks and two A ranks is definitely something that Aunai would do,” chuckled Eric.

Her own eyes widened upon hearing that. As they all approached, Nobina could tell all of them were powerful. One wore a set of heavy armor that was highly decorated with medals. Another wore beautiful silver and purple robes that displayed the symbol of a massive wolf. After that there was someone wearing a rather professional-looking suit, something similar to her own world but more suited for the fashion of this one. Then there was one merely wearing leather adventuring gear, yet they had a massive hammer on their back. Lastly was someone wearing a guild outfit like Eric’s, only theirs felt a bit more basic given the design of it.

“Who are these people,” asked Nobina.

“This is Guild Master Aunai and some of her top adventurers. I guess it’s to be expected she’d bring the big guns for a request from me,” he chuckled.

Soon, the adventurers stopped once they reached Eric, Lare and Nobina. Eric and Lare gave a bow, making Nobina follow as well.

“Greetings Aunai,” said Eric, who straightened up right after he spoke.

“Hm… Is the incident handled?” asked Aunai, stepping off her horse. “This feels too… casual for a serious matter. Unless you’ve overestimated the threat and our presence wasn’t needed.”

“Yes… though there were… complications. The incident was far more serious than we thought,” he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

“Tch… I told you that you need to keep more high ranks here,” said Aunai, shaking her head. “Let’s speak more in the guild.”

With that, they all headed to the guild. Nobina could see many of the newer adventurers asking questions from the A and S rank adventurers. Three of them were more than willing to talk to them, telling them all about who they were and what they were about.

The one with the heavy armor with medals was Iron-Wall Exuten. He was an S-rank adventurer who had the Path of the Iron Wall. Nobina was surprised hearing that since it sounded like it was either a unique Path or a historical Path, though she didn’t know enough history to say which it could be.

Next was the adventurer with the leather adventuring gear and large hammer. Their name was Harden, and they were an A-rank adventurer with the Path of the War Hammer. Nobina wondered if their weapon was considered a war hammer since she thought they looked a bit different. His hammer looked comically large compared to something a normal soldier would use.

The last who was willing to speak was the one in a professional suit who’s name was Line. If Nobina didn’t know any better, she’d have thought he was a butler considering the manner he spoke. He even told them all that he considered himself a close supporter of Aunai, saying that his status as an A-rank adventurer was merely a formality. When asked about his path, he wasn’t as open to sharing it unfortunately.

The only one who didn’t speak was the adventurer in silver and purple robes, who remained silent. Considering the other three gave their rank, Nobina assumed they were the other S-rank adventurer. It made her wonder why they were keeping silent.

Eventually, they all reached the guild, where Sarah welcomed them all. Once inside, Eric helped escort everyone upstairs to the meeting room. Nobina was going to go back to her documents, but Eric requested that she join them while Lare went back to his work. She began wondering what the purpose of her being at the meeting was, but she wasn’t going to question Eric’s decision.

As everyone got settled in, Exuten immediately questioned Nobina’s presence there.

“Why do we have some random guild employee here,” he scoffed.

“Exuten,” spoke Aunai, showing an annoyed demeanor that didn’t fit the guild master title at all. “You have to stop thinking everyone is below you. Else Lila will humble you before you know it.”

Exuten eyes flicked to the silver and purple-robed individual for a second before turning back to Aunai.

“Whatever,” he sulked.

“Forgive him Eric,” Aunai, trying to give a proper smile. “Exuten was annoyed at the distance the trip took. The town location is rather far from the main road, so you can understand why it took awhile to get here.”

“I understand,” nodded Eric. “Truthfully, we aren’t in a position to handle sudden crises like this so…”

“That’s what I’m curious about,” said Line. “How can someone in an esteem position like Master Aunai need our help to handle goblins.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Before Eric could say anything, Harden cut him off.

“That begs the question of how many nests went active,” said Harden, keeping a professional demeanor. “Your message was the following. ‘We have one confirmed nest that is going to invade. We are confirming the status of the other nests as we speak. Ideally they don’t become active and your reinforcements helps up perform a culling. Else, we hope you get here in time to deal with any potential attacks.’ So… how many nest went active?”

“All of them,” said Eric.

His answer caused Aunai to stand up, her anger clear to everyone in the room.

“How the hell did you let it get this bad,” said Aunai. “What’s the loss of life?”

“Thirty-five adventurers, twelve guards, and no civilians,” he replied calmly.

Nobina wasn’t sure if it was how Eric said it that caused Aunai to blow up at him, but her immediate response was her flying across the table to punch Eric in the face. Nobina could tell Eric could have dodged it, but he merely allowed her to do it, resulting in him landing hard against the wall. It left quite a bit of damage, making Nobina worry about the additional cost.

“Pathetic,” she said, her voice cold. “A former S-rank letting so many potential buds die… What do you have to say for yourself Eric.”

Eric, who was slowly getting up, merely dusted himself off. There was a bit of blood on his face, but he merely wiped it off, and the wound itself seemed to close.

“There was interference from a demon,” he replied.

The mention of demon silenced everyone in the room. Aunai, hearing that, seemed to go a bit pale as she returned to her seat and sat down.

“Explain. Everything,” she ordered.

The next hour, Eric explained the whole situation. During this conversation, Nobina’s bag glowed once. This time, Nobina didn’t open it to avoid interrupting the conversation. She desperately hoped that it wasn’t another poll, but that might have been too much to ask. A few of them noticed the light but didn’t say a word. When Eric finished the explanation, Aunai had a grim look on her face.

“So… A demon interfered, but you don’t know why and they are still out there. Hm…”

Aunai turned to Lila, who wasn’t saying a word. Nobina wondered why she was still staying under her hood, but she wasn’t going to request that she remove it.

“Lila. Can you investigate the area that this incident took place in? In the meantime, we’ll check the three nest and make sure its all completely culled.”

Aunai looked at Nobina, smiling.

“Also, if this is the ‘so called’ hero of this incident, I think she should accompany Lila in investigating. Lila doesn’t like being with too many people and I don’t want you anywhere near Lila Eric. So the two of them can investigate the demon instead. As for the rest of you… Exuten and Harden will check out the south goblin nest and finish culling it. I’ll handle the north-west nest with Line. And… you are sure you covered the north-east nest?”

“Of course,” said Eric. “I didn’t anticipate the demon attacking the other raid party, so I made sure to clear it fully.”

“Well that’s at least one competent thing you did,” sighed Aunai. “Any problems with my request?”

“One question,” said Line, who seemed in thought. “Are you sure you want Nobina with Lila. I know your keeping Eric away from her because two S-ranks together isn’t usually a good idea, but…”

“Why is that?” asked Nobina. “Does she have something against S-ranks?”

“Well,” said Eric. “S-ranks, even if they are the nicest people to each other, tend to… want to test each other.”

Nobina began to laugh, shaking her head.

“Come on now. You’re telling me that if you and Lila were together, you’d want to test her?” asked Nobina.

“The other way around,” said Aunai. “Lila is the strongest S-rank in our city and I’ve told her stories about Eric. She’s been wanting to duel him for awhile. I’ve been telling her he’s long past his prime but…”

Nobina turned to Lila, whose hood was still on. It seemed they weren’t reacting to what Aunai was saying initially. However, she suddenly noticed a rather wide smile from Lila underneath the hood.

“I understand. I shall escort her in Eric’s stead,” nodded Nobina.

With the plan set, all of them began to head out. As she headed downstairs, Nobina’s eyes were on Lila the whole time. She was wondering what she would be like in the field as they walked, considering the only thing she knew was she was strong and she wanted to face Eric. Once they were in the lobby, Nobina told Sarah what they were going to do.

“Got it. Good luck out there Nobina,” waved Sarah.

With that, they all exited the guild. Immediately, Exuten and Harden wished the four the best as they headed off to the south nest. As for Nobina, Lila, Aunai, and Line, they headed towards the town’s west entrance. During their walk, they were approached by a few adventures who had questions directed towards Lila, Aunai, and Line. It was when they were close to the entrance that Nobina asked them for a moment. They waited a bit, with all of them curious about what she was doing.

Nobina opened her Gaze bag and pulled out a bouquet of roses with a card saying, “For punching Eric, my enemy.” She immediately felt like merely sliding the roses into her special bag and not giving it to Aunai, but it seemed that it wasn’t an option.

“Why am I getting flowers for punching Eric? Also, what flowers are these? They have thorns and I don’t recognize them,” said Aunai, who was suddenly next to Nobina.

“Oh… I guess the bag wanted to give you flowers?”

Eric had mentioned the bag as something that gave random items, but he didn’t mention the whole idea of the Gaze.

Aunai was confused, but she merely took the flowers and note.

“Uh… Thanks… I guess?”

She was looking at Nobina as if she was crazy to give her such a gift, making Nobina extremely embarrassed.

“Why,” Nobina spoke silently to herself.

Once all four of them were out of town, they followed the mission route the whole time. During their walk, Aunai had a lot of questions for Nobina regarding her role in the mission and her purpose in the guild. She had to be very careful not to reveal her secrets, but Aunai was clearly skilled in speaking. It felt as if a single slip-up would be noticed, putting Nobina on edge the whole time.

“Why so nervous,” chuckled Aunai. “I know being around S-ranks and A-ranks is intimidating, but a feat you preformed is worthy of making you an A-rank. If you want, you can join our guild and become one easily. I can arrange a transfer and...”

“No thanks,” Nobina found herself saying without thinking.

“Oh?” smirked Aunai. “Is Eric really someone you love working under? He must treat you well.”

“Well,” said Nobina, trying to find a valid excuse. “It’s… more so we are a family. All of us work together and understand each other… It’s hard to walk away from that.”

Hearing that seemed to cause Aunai to frown as she backed off.

“I see… I won’t press you any more about it,” she said with a hint of disappointment.

Nobina was surprised by the shift in attitude, making her wonder if family was a sensitive topic to Aunai. If it was, then it was another reminder that no matter how powerful one was, there was always something that could hurt even them.

Eventually, the group reached the first location, which was the area where the wolf-troll first attacked Mimiki’s party.

“Lila,” said Aunai.

She removed her hood revealing a woman who was part wolf. Some of their wolf traits included their hair and ears resembling a wolf, yet their face was human. Nobina could see the sharp teeth of Lila as she widen her mouth.

Lila gave a howl that echoed throughout the forest, causing Nobina to cover her ears. After that was done, they waited a bit before Lila shook her head.

“It was indeed a summon. No wolf has responded to my call.”

“Right,” said Aunai. “Let’s check the next spot.”

The four of them headed to where part of the raiding party was killed and the rest were captured. Once they were there, Nobina noticed how the site was cleared of everything but the goblin bodies. The bags and healing items, as well as the bodies, were retrieved by adventurers who were hired to deal with it. It was good profit, so they had the area cleared in a few days.

“Hm,” said Lila, walking all over the place. She seemed to be sniffing all over, trying to find something. Eventually she stopped, turning to Aunai.

“A demon was here. He went towards that path of fallen trees,” said Lila, pointing to the down trees leading to where Mimiki and the others were previously.

“So far everything checks out. This is where we split. Lila and Nobina. Investigate the site of the troll-wolf. We shall cull the nest. Once you guys are done, return to town and report to Eric. Got it?”

Both of them gave a nod. Once Aunai and Line were gone, Nobina turned to Lila.

“It’s good too…”

“Let’s fight,” said Lila, giving a big smile.

Nobina was shocked by the suggestion, considering that Nobina was nowhere near her strength.

“Uh… You’re an S-rank adventurer, so I don’t think…”

Lila took a step closer, her smile growing a tiny bit.

“You’re a hero, right? You have to be strong… Let’s fight.”

Nobina couldn’t tell if Lila didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing or didn’t care. Regardless, it didn’t take an expert for Nobina to know Lila would easily defeat her.

“People say that, but I’m not strong enough to be called a hero.”

Lila shook his head.

“You smell of power. Hm… It’s not like Eric, but you smell… like you can become way stronger than him.”

“You can… tell that by smell?” asked Nobina.

Lila gave a nod.

“I believe it’s called… instinct. I’m not the smartest, but I’m very strong. I love to fight to get stronger. That is why… I really… want to fight you.”

“Listen,” said Nobina. “We are on a mission right now and we don’t want to get in trouble from Aunai and Eric.”

Hearing that, Lila nodded her head.

“Of course. So we fight really quick and…”

“Can we do this after the mission back in town? We’ll do it in the training grounds where a healer can be on standby in case…”

“I get hurt,” smiled Lila. “You’re really smart. No wonder you work for the guild like Aunai. Ok. Let’s do that. We finish the mission really quick, head back, get a healer, and then we fight.”

Nobina wanted to tell her she had no desire to fight whatsoever, but she had a feeling she’d try to fight her regardless. The best she could do would be to merely delay it and beg Aunai and Eric to help her get out of this mess.

“Deal,” said Nobina.

Without even saying anything, Lila grabbed Nobina’s hand and shook it.

“It’s a promise,” she smiled. “Let’s get this done as quickly as possible! I’m so excited to fight someone who people call a hero.”

As Lila ran off ahead of Nobina, she gave a sigh.

“What did I get myself into.”