The battle was over, and the team proceeded to gather the soul stones.

The three nobles, real MVPs of the day, were surrounded by members of the council and some members of the guild team.

Praises and compliments rained down, all of them were hypnotized by the combination of beauty, status, and power, enough to annoy a little Solaria who didn't participate.

"Why won't you join our guild? You're so strong, the Hunters need people like you!"

"Could you teach me this spell? It was an attack and a debuff? So cool!"

The three girls answered with little embarrassment, showing a faint sign of discomfort.

The leader appeared right in front of them and curtsied.

"Well, I understand that our contract was for this raid only but... You hear everyone, it would be an honor to welcome such amazing people in our guild."

The girls looked at each other, slightly bothered.

“Thank you for the offer, but we already have our agendas,” Freya answered and walked toward the table of Candace.

The leader looked at her, showing a little disappointment, and turned to Mercy and Zuri.

"You're not forced to answer now, we can still go to other raids, and if we can please..."

"You're so persistent." Hope positioned himself between them and gave him a dirty look.

"How many times do you need to get rejected to understand your lesson? This lady is with me, and this is a battleground, so please refrain from annoying everyone."

He walked forward, forcing the leader to step aside.

Mercy and Zuri took the opportunity to leave too, with Mercy giving an apologetic smile to him.

(What's wrong with this dude? You're just a D-rank, If it wasn't for these girls I would have shown you where you stand.)

The team kept gathering every soul stone, while Candace's group was chatting casually, mostly praises from the council members to the three girls, but strangely, none of them seemed pleased.

"B-rank, it was a B-rank Rift! Can you imagine?"Maxim was jubilant. "At this rate, you won't need a knight in any case! You were stronger than anyone!"

"T'wasn't that much, honestly, I think the level here is lower than normal," Mercy answered.

Maxim continued to fidget when Hope intervened again, but this time with a slight smile.

"You're just overreacting, it's true that it wasn't bad, but it's only a B-rank. We still have a long way to go."

"Eh? It's not ONLY a B-rank Rift, it's a REAL B-rank Rift! And why are you all smug? You're a D-rank man, you could never fight here without them!"

Hope frowned and grabbed him by the collar, releasing his aura.

"Care to repeat that? I thought I misheard you."

Mercy, Sunnah, and Lisa jumped and tried to separate them.

"Hope what the heck? Let go of him!"

"H-Hope..."

"Idiot, let him go!"

But the grip of the latter was surprisingly strong.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Maxim coughed and tried to struggle, their fight attracting everyone's attention.

"I said... LET HIM GO!" Mercy managed to snatch him from Maxim, who fell on his bottom.

Hope clapped his hands and laughed mournfully, under everyone's gaze.

"Sorry, I have a little difficulty joking around these days. I am not actually a D-rank anymore, but I still haven't done a re-evaluation. You became stronger, Lady Mercy, I'm glad for you. "

"... What the..."

"I'm worried about Peters, I'll be rooting for you."

He turned his back and started walking toward where they came from but stopped and glanced at Maxim.

"I challenge you to a duel if you insult me again, we'll see how you run this large mouth of yours." He turned his back and walked away, leaving the others confused.

Lisa tried to help Maxim to stand but let him fall again when she realized that he had been bodied by Hope.

Mercy facepalmed and turned to Sunnah.

"What's happening to him? Sister issues?"

"...I don't really know... Lady Mercy... he was very violent since he got to my house... Oh, I hope it's not because of me..."

"No, Don't mind him, T'just meant that I was right to keep him as far from Dora as possible..."

"You really should pick another knight... My lady." Maxim said while rearranging his collar.

***

Hours later, the group was outside the Rift.

Many Guild officers stood guard while waiting for the Rift to close.

Candace's group had said their goodbyes to the Hunters team and were preparing to leave.

Mercy looked at several soul stones in a vase and turned to Dora, anxious.

"All?"

“Yeah, poisonous like a vengeful woman’s wine.”

She sighed deeply and slumped into her seat.

After the Rift, their group had received their share of stones but it appeared that all the soul stones in their possession were linked to the debuff, a feast for Zuri and Dora but useless for everyone else.

The girl took five in each hand and burst out laughing.

"I'm so sorry, my friends, it seems that life continues to pamper me, kukuku, I'm so sad for you..."

“I saw you crying,” Mercy grunted as she stirred another vase filled with elemental stones.

The loot was half-satisfactory, but as long as they had Candace it didn't make any serious trouble.

“Are you sure we can have them?” asked Sunnah, pointing to the elemental stones.

The dean nodded, checking a map.

"Yes, the point of today's raid was to make you stronger, they won't need it anyway, so choose whatever you want... Well, except the soul stones."

"Booooo, I feel so bad for being so privileged..." Zuri complained, looking at Solaria.

Lisa jumped onto the vase of elemental stones and took several at once.

Maxim, offended by her act, was indignant.

“Could you show some respect for yourself? You didn't even do anything!"

“If you don’t want them, I’ll just take your share.”

"... That's why no one thirsts for you."

She put half of the stones in a bag and glanced at Dora, further away, refusing something to Iris.

“No one fishes me, I’m the hunter and have my standards.”

"Me too, maybe we could be good friends after all."

She looked at him from head to toe like trash.

They shared the remaining stones and headed towards the vehicle.

It was decided that their next stop would be Freya's mansion, a more suitable location for their training routine.

Everyone entered the vehicle, chatting casually.

Only Hope and Mercy remained outside, the girl with a concerned expression.

"Do you realize what you're asking?"

Hope smiled and glanced at the car.

"I think it's better this way, you want some time off too, don't you?"

"... Hope, you always make things more complicated. Dora said he didn't mind, you can join us now, there's no better place to improve!"

Earlier, Hope had announced that he would be staying with the Hunters' Guild, to continue his training as a wandering emissary.

From his point of view, that kind of training was much better than he expected from home training, a pretty terrible decision for himself.

Mercy was very annoyed because she wasn't allowed to tell him Candace's secret, but she was planning to create a situation to include Hope in the team, but it would all fall apart if he stayed here.

"Hope, I told you I still wanted you as a knight, so, please... Just... Why don't you ever listen to me? Am I that despicable??"

"This isn't about you, my lady." He slowly regained his confidence. "I'll never improve if I stay among the others, so let's do this: I'll train on my side, and you keep an eye on Peters, we'll meet again at the start of the new term, you won't believe how strong I'll be then."

He winked at her, very enthusiastic.

Mercy looked at the vehicle, a little sad, and shook her head.

"You know, this is going to sound weird coming from me, but... Sometimes it's better to focus on something other than power, everyone's... I think you're going to miss something if you don't join us now."

But unfortunately for her, every word she spoke fueled his desire to leave.

"I have but one word to say, my lady. I leave you on their side, but I will return when I am worthy again."

Mercy looked at him and smiled tiredly.

"...You're supposed to be my knight..." she murmured to herself and went back to the car.

The vehicle drove off, leaving Hope behind.

He clenched his fists, proud of this discussion, and walked toward the guild.

In the car, Mercy looked dejected. The others noticed and kept the silence.

They understood the pain she could be going through, but in the end, they also knew how problematic Hope was.

Dora stared at her momentarily and then looked at the landscape outside.

She didn't understand it yet, but soon Mercy's words would appear to be proven more than she had expected.