Akuro makes his way down a busy road. Beside him, Isaka skips cheerfully, her arms wrapped behind her back as she hummed a sweet melody.

As the road nears completion, it reaches an intersection.

He pauses to glance around and ponder over the crowd.

This is the marketplace. Wow, man. I am and always will be in awe of this place. People from all around the Empire come here to buy stuff.

This is the most refined area of the city: the tall and beautiful architecture and the well-built pavement. And not to mention this fountain in the middle of the intersection.

He turns over to the right and continues onward.

They approach a stall—Behind it stood a man with an apron and gloves.

Akuro gestures to him and says.

  [Two ice creams, please.]

  [Sure thing!]

The man replies and then heads off somewhere.

Akuro turns his head to see what Isaka is up to. She was standing silently, looking all nervous and fidgety.

Akuro kneels to talk to her. He pats her head before saying.

  [Are you alright? Is something bothering you?]

She looked down at the ground and then up at him multiple times before replying.

  [Mister, I don't know what to call you. I know your name, but I don't know what to call you. Mom told me never to call an adult by just their name.]

Akuro giggled then said to her.

  [Well then, what would you like to call me?]

  [Umm... uhh... Akuro... San?]

With a smile, he replied

  [Hmm. Sure. Then I'll call you Isaka-chan.]

As she started to lighten up, the man calls to Akuro.

He stands up and turns to take the two sticks of ice cream from him; after giving one to Isaka, which she gratefully accepts, he pays the man.

They are now standing outside the door to Isaka's house.

Isaka proceeds to knock on the door, but Akuro stops her.

  [Can I talk to you for a moment?]

They both turn and sit down on the doorstep. Akuro prepares himself by taking in a big breath of air.

  [So, Isaka-chan. Let's talk about your Papa. Were you close to him?]

Hearing this, Isaka looked at him and said.

  [Of course. My Papa is my hero. I love him a lot. He goes off every day to help people. I cannot wait for him to come back...]

Akuro's soul shatters at that response. His head sinks in shame and sorrow. He criticized himself for what befell Mr. Aloz.

Isaka continues.

  [...Though he rarely has time for us, he plays with me on Sundays.]

Akuro looks at her and presses his lips against each other before disclosing her the bitter truth.

  [Look, Isaka. What... what I'm about to tell you is going to sting.]

  [Huh? What is it?]

  [*gulp* Your Papa... is not coming back.]

Isaka's face goes blank. She gets on her feet and questioning him.

Her voice trembled more with each word.

  [I'm sorry, but... he's dead.]

Her eyes open wide as her jaw gapes. Her chin shivers before she storms through the door—which, to Akuro's surprise, is unlocked.

Isaka runs through the door crying to her mom. Listening to Isaka's cries, Uroka enters the lounge. She gets down to embrace her weeping daughter. Akuro glances downwards.

He hears Uroka saying something to Isaka, but he was too far away to make sense of anything.

The only sensible thing he thought he could do was to leave them be—he closes the door and slowly makes his way.

On his way home, Isaka's sweet words resonate within him. He couldn't do that to her. He thinks of himself as the one responsible for the death of her father; the least he can do is be there for her in his stead.

He turns around and runs back to her house.

After knocking at the door, he hears someone approaching the door. It is Uroka. She opens the door wearing a very worrisome and grievous look on her face.

Akuro understands the look on her face with a single glance and proceeds to ask her:

  [Sorry to drop by unannounced like this, Uroka-sama. May I see Isaka?]

Her face twitched before gesturing at the door at the end of the lounge. It was next to the guest room they conversed in earlier. She then told him:

  [After you told her, she locked herself in her room. She is refusing to come out.]

Those words contain hints of anger. This is to be expected. Akuro told Isaka something Uroka might have wanted to delay.

However, Akuro was quick to pick this up.

He bowed deeply and apologized sincerely, regretting his decisions.

  [I am deeply sorry. It was unacceptable of me to tell her. Be that as it may, I would like to make it up to her.]

When he stood back up, his resolute eyes reinforced his statement, making his expressions reverberate inside Uroka. In response, she takes a breath then lets him in.

Akuro goes up to the wooden door and knocks it.

  [Isaka? Isaka are you there?]

There was no response. The first instinct to cross his mind is to lure her out with candy. No matter what he tries, it is all fruitless. He concludes.

People are attracted to truth, especially kids, right?

He decides to clean with her.

He turns around and sticks his back to the door while sliding down towards the floor.

He folds his right leg vertically and wraps his left leg around it.

  [Isaka-chan, you told me earlier that your dad is a hero. Well, you are correct.

  He was a hero right up till his last moments.

  He gave his life for others.

  He lived up to your expectations, something not everyone is fortunate of. He must be comfortable knowing that.

  And you see the people he saves. I am one of them. He sacrificed his life for mine. So, in the end, your Papa was no ordinary hero; he was a selfless hero.]

Akuro's voice brims with emotion as he speaks while leaning against the shut door. He hopes to get a reaction out of Isaka, but it is received with a desperate absence of a response, just like every other effort.

In a last-ditch effort, he attempts to use his trump card.

This is something he means from the bottom of his heart—the ultimate conclusion of his guilt.

He wishes to be there for her. Though he can't be there as her father, he hopes to be the closest thing. Words cannot emphasize his resolve.

  [The last thing, Isaka-chan, you said to me was... your dad plays with you on Sundays. Well, I cannot be your Papa, but I can be your friend. I can play with you weekly and, uh, cheer you on, alongside your Mama.

I know this is incomparable to what your Papa did for me, but it is the least I can do. Tomorrow is Sunday; I'll make sure to come.]

He is delighted as he hears an expectant mumble from the other side of the door.

Isaka has acknowledged Akuro's plead for closure. She expects him to come tomorrow.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

He looks up to where Uroka is sitting. She is silently sobbing in her chair. Akuro stands up to take his leave. Uroka collects herself then accompanies him to the door.

He bows her a farewell before heading his way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Next Day*

*The Valen's Guild House*

Akuro makes his way to the Guild planning hall.

Usually, whenever there is a Dungeon Raid, they plan the strategies in a room. This time it is unusual. They are making use of the massive hall in the western wing of the Guild House.

Akuro becomes anxious.

I have never been inside the hall. But let's be honest, I was employed only a few years ago.

As Akuro exits the western hallway, his eyes are favored by the sight of a glorious hall.

The hall has a massive crystal cupola supported by white quartz pillars. Each pillar is intricately carved with elaborate designs. Atop the dome waved a banner — a snow-white background with a roaring face of a mighty lion—the flag of The Nurtural Empire.

Akuro takes a moment to laud the radiance of the immaculate hall.

He stops at the entrance—two golden long and wide doors decorated by similar carvings.

As Akuro takes another step, the two doors *Thud* and open completely unassisted.

He proceeds towards the center of the hall. His eyes illumine from the pale-golden light reflected from the hemispherical ceiling and off the walls. An organic smile slips his face.

The hall seems as though it pertains to some decadent king. It feels too extravagant for a Guild House — especially when it's so neglected. It is so capacious that it could easily house more than several thousand people at once.

Despite the fact it is so luxurious and spacious, it is vacuous. It is utterly desolate. There is nothing except for a big round table dead center in the hall and its accompanying chairs. This makes the hall feel lacking, or rather bland, despite its luscious and unrivaled beauty.

His grin of admiration evolves into a face of confusion.

Huh? That's weird. I am right on time, yet I am the only one here.

Akuro confirms the time from the big clock mounted on the wall ahead of him. He is indeed on time, but there seems to be no sign of life in the hall.

  [Ah, you are right on time. Akuro-kun.]

A feminine voice mixed with the sound of heels traversing over marble emerges up behind Akuro.

He turns and greets Akane, the Guildmaster. She returns the greeting and makes her way towards the middle of the hall, where the colossal table sits. Akuro follows suit.

  [So, Senpai, why are we the only people here?]

  [Senpai?]

She responds, all confused.

  [Didn't I tell you to call me Akane?]

  [Um-uh.]

Akuro stumbles with his words as he was about to speak against the words of a superior.

  [Ya'know. It's impolite to call a superior just by their name.]

Akane stops, then lets out a giggle accompanied with a funny *Pfft*.

Going just by the monstrous amount of power Akane has, Akuro never expected her demeanor to be so friendly and charming.

Akane wipes her eyes after laughing and submits:

  [Alright, you win. Call me whatever you want.]

Akuro's brows rose with a cheery smile for a brief moment.

Akane continues:

  [As to why we are the only one here, I have to tell you something before the meeting begins.]

She signals him to sit down on one of the chairs.

Akane was the first one to take a seat. Akuro sat in the one adjacent to her.

Akane puts her arm on the back of the chair and turns around to face Akuro.

She opens her eyes and looks at him with worry.

  [Look, Akuro, news spread fast. People already know about the incident that occurred. Which means there will be nasty rumors about you. I want you to discard them all. Don't listen to them. At all.]

Akuro looks down. He feels ashamed.

  [It's my fault. I'm weak. I couldn't protect them. The only reason I am alive is that they all are dead.]

Akane gets up and pats Akuro on the back. She speaks:

  [Sometimes, being strong is a curse too. You are alive because you were weak.]

These words resonate within Akuro. If he had more strength, he would have stood back up after the Centaur slashed him. He would have fought, risking his life even further.

Akuro composes himself.

  [Thanks, Senpai!]

He nods and gets up.

Akane smile and walks around to the other side of the table.

The sound of the back door opening and closing makes its way through the hall. A man enters while dragging a trolley full of various instruments. His brows twitch upwards as he acknowledges Akuro.

Huh? Isn't that the guy whose entire squad got cleaned out? I feel bad for him, though how has he not been fired yet?

He pauses right next to the table and greets the Guildmaster.

  [President! How have you been? It's been a while.]

Akane responds to him lightheartedly and engages him in a conversation.

  [Yuuko-kun! It really has been a while. How are things back home?]

  [Hehe, you know... as always.]

As they continue to talk, Akuro tries to jog his memory to remember who that man is. Amid Akuro's battle against his memory, Akane calls him. He flicks out of his thoughts and makes his way towards the other side of the table, where Akane and Yuuko stand.

Akane introduces the two of them.

  [Akuro-kun, this is Yuuko-kun. He used to be a rank A strategist here.]

  [Nice to meet you!]

They both greet.

Akuro still didn't recognize him, so he says to him:

  [Sorry, I cannot recall your name. You must have left before I joined.]

  [I got married two years ago, so I decided to retire. Haha!]

  [Woow. You got married quite early in life; that's amazing.]

  [Ha. What can I say? It has its fair share of benefits.]

They both have a lighthearted conversation until suddenly Yuuko says to Akuro:

  [I heard your entire squad got killed.]

He spoke in an earnest voice.

Akane stops inspecting the tools on the trolley and shoots a glare at Yuuko. Yuuko completely ignores her. He wants to hear Akuro's response. Akuro feels very uncomfortable.

Experiencing the massacre was traumatic for Akuro, and Yuuko cornering him like that is putting a heavy burden on him mentally.

Even though Akuro is looking and feeling down, he asks him:

  [How do you know about it? You're an outsider; the news hasn't left the Guild yet.]

To which Yuuko answers:

  [President told me. When she contacted me to bring all these tools, she told me about your massacre.]

Akane quickly leaps out to silence Yuuko.

  [Yuuko, stop it. It is a sensitive subject, can't you—]

Akuro stops her. He says:

  [I will have to face the truth eventually.]

He raises his head and locks his gaze with Yuuko's.

  [They died. I failed to protect them. I was flung out of the battlefield and was left to die. I am only alive because some guy took pity on me.   And now that guy is dead because I am alive.

  I wasn't supposed to survive that, but I did, and I will tackle my feelings head-on. My regret will only fuel my motivation.

  I will try to make the world a better place.]

Akuro lifts his shirt to prove to Yuuko that he cheated death. The proof being the grievous scar on his torso.

Yuuko is left speechless. He realizes what he had done to Akuro. He should never have asked him such a question. Yuuko closes his eyes and bows deeply; he sincerely apologizes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thirty minutes have passed. Some Valens have arrived in the hall.

Akuro is helping Akane and Yuuko set up the items from the trolley to the table.

Thirty more minutes later.

The hall doors abruptly open wide; their motion causes the wind to flow towards the masses idling at the entrance to the hall.

As the wind ruffles through their hair, the people, who are all A-Ranked Valens, enter the hall with stern faces.

The hall was swirling with a combination of ominous and propitious aura. Their presence was captivating — The mere walk to the table has all the eyes fascinated.

Some peered with admiration while others with resentment.

Akane glances at them, then grabs a seat and sits down. The A-ranked Valens all did the same.

The table had thirty-one chairs, all of them now vacated by the A-ranked Valens and Akane.

In a few more minutes, more Valens arrived. The hall is much more lively now because it is packed with Valens.

The A-ranked Valens and Akane are seated at the table while all the other lower-ranking Valens are standing around it.

Akane stands up; to addresses the topic of today's meeting.

  [Ladied and gentlemen! We are gathered here today for a significant reason. That reason being: Clearing a dungeon of likes we have never seen before.]

After a brief moment of silence, everyone returned an affirmation in some way. Some nodded while others spoke.

She continues:

  [As you all know that our country, Milston, was only recently established as a center for trade between the Kingdoms of the Empire.

Before that, we were ignored by the Empire, so our country did not improve. We still are undeveloped. The Empire does not financially aid us at all. They only built the trade center and the Guild House, and not to mention they sent a few A rank Valens to show that they care about us.

But in reality, they don't. The Empire does NOT care about us at all. The ones that live near the trade center live a prosperous life, mainly because they are mostly nobility, while the rest of the country suffers.

But after this Raid, it all will change. We have identified an infestation of monsters in a nearby dungeon. It is unlike anything we have ever seen before. They seem to be guarding an unidentified object. Mages have picked up the signature of cursed energy, the origin being the same dungeon.

Now, this may not sound like anything mind-blowing, but the thing is, we also picked up heaps of unexplained power. Its complexity was incomprehensible. Now that is the reason we are gathered here.

We are going to take that object! It is guaranteed to grab the eyes of the Empire! We can finally develop as a nation!]

While Akane dispels the mist of confusion from the hall, all the Valens except for the A-rank Valens start cheering.

While the A-rank Valens were provided to the Milston's Division of the Valen's Guild by the Empire, they were treated like royals and did absolutely no work. Only the B-rank and lower Valens are native to Milston. This is why the A-rankers did not cheer at all.

Even more so, they looked annoyed by the fact that they had to be in the same room as these lower-ranked peasants. Their true personality was in light there.

They are nothing more than placebos placed by the Empire to give a false sense of safety to the people of Milston.

Some of the Valens know about this, yet they keep it a secret because it will only destroy their already weak country.

As the seated Valens continue to disdain their peers, Akane looks at them with a disappointed gaze.

  [Let's get on with the planning then!]

A few people, including Akuro, could tell that Akane wanted to break a few faces.

Akane proceeds to discuss the plan with the A-ranked Valen. The A rankers play a prominent part in the discussion due to their rank.

Meanwhile, the lower rankers silently observe. They can present their opinions, but the seated Valens would most likely discard the opinions.

After a while, as the plan approaches conclusion, a seated Valen leans on the table with a devious smile. He looks at Akane and goes:

  [I'd like to make a change in the plan.]

Akane realizes he is up to no good. She responds:

  [Ok... Go on.]

The current plan relies on the A-rank Valens.

They play a leading role in defending the attackers and acting as a decoy to draw the enemy away from the entrance so that the select few Valens can infiltrate the dungeon stealthily.

Now for the A-rank Valens, this is too much work. They would want to cut it as short as possible.

The Valen speaks up:

  [Instead of defending the group of attackers, I say, we should send small groups towards the enemy to aggregate them into leaving their position. When this happens, we, the A-rankers, will sneak towards the entrance and get the select few Valens to the dungeon entrance.]

This plan ensures that the A-ranked Valens had to do nothing but ride horses from one point to another. At the same time, it also increased the mortality rate for the decoy Valens.

This proves that the A-rankers are nothing but corrupt and selfish.

Akane could never make way for this proposal. She slams her hands on the table.

  [Are you out of your mind?? There is no way I am approving this!]

This response from Akane only seems to stiffen the A-ranker's sly face. He replies to her:

  [Oh?! Are you sure about that? Unanimously, I win!]

  [What are you talking about?]

Akane asks, all confused.

The Valen leans back his chair. He responds while waving a hand at the seated Valens.

  [Let's see what others say about this. Shall we?]

Akane looks at the seated Valens as they all nod in agreement to the new plan.

Akane's eyes open wide. Before she can say anything, the same A-rank Valen smirks at her and goes:

  [Told ya!]

  [N-!]

Her response was interrupted by the sudden uproar from the surrounding Valens, who just heard their death sentence.

A male Valen rushes up to the A-ranked Valen that proposed the death plan. The man looks scared out of his mind.

The man yells at him—his voice trembles.

  [What are you saying!? You are sending us to our death.]

The seated Valen shoots up, shoving his chair to the side. His head leans towards his shoulder as he gives the man a death stare before finally launching him off towards the crowd.

As he returned to the table, he stares at the man from the corner of his eyes and goes:

  [I am Baldr of the Ise! Don't even try unless you want to die!!!]

His voice reeks menace.

He walks through the crowd and out the gates wearing a solemn expression.

All the other seated Valens follow suit.

Sadness dawns over everyone present in the hall. They have no one to blame. Their participation in the Dungeon Sweep is mandatory.

Akane bangs on the table in defeat.

  [Damn it!!]

She is frustrated by these corrupt A-rankers.

*A Few minutes later.*

Even though the Valens have calmed down, the atmosphere in the hall is grim.

Those Valens who rank higher than average would be placed in the leading position in the bait squads, almost ensuring their deaths.

  [Alright, everyone, listen up! The four Valens who will sneak inside the dungeon has not been decided yet. Any candidates?

Oh, and we will not have any way to contact them. So if you die, you die. We will not be able to come to your rescue. If you cannot make it out before the given time, the mission will be called back!

So if you are willing to participate, raise your hand!]

Anticipation dawns over as no one raises their hand. Akane continuously scans the crowd.

Her eyes catch the attention of a fragile arm swinging in the air at the very rear of the crowd. She immediately takes notice and points at it.

The crowd dissipates where she pointed, and a shy female Valen is left standing with her arm in the air.

She tries to put on a brave act which is easily given away by her tremoring body.

  [I'll do it, Mam!]

She tries her best to make her voice as stiff as possible.

  [Perfect! We need two more people.]

Another voice emerges from the depths of the crowd.

  [I'll come as well!]

Everyone looks at the origin of the voice, a guy taking sharp breaths while sheathing a longsword.

  [Hm. Hm. You will do nicely! One more, come on!]

Moments pass, no one has volunteered. Akane repeatedly tries to encourage people to join, but it is to no avail.

A guy clenches his fist. A solemn voice is heard throughout the hall.

  [I'll do it!]

It is Akuro wearing an unshaken and resolute face.

  [I will be the third!]

Chapter 5 Fin~