Outside the cafeteria area at the Sharmeija Guild while the red-rank group is busy in Frits.
"Man o' man!" Teua shouts and rubs his belly. "There are some perks to being a Captain. Wasn't that fantastic, Consus?"
Consus stretches his arms back. "I did enjoy that meal. Thank you, Teua. I haven't had steak in a while."
"What do you all eat at Harmony?"
"Potatoes."
"… And?"
"Well, we might have more vegetables soon."
"So only potatoes?"
"We do have boar on some occasions."
Tasha walks behind the 2 grown-ups. She stares at the ground, unable to look up and thinks, "Why was I invited to join?! Captain could've let me gone do some training…" Her eyes lock with the red rose of Harmony on her former opponent's haori. "And he kept talking on and on about how to use my gift… I felt like I was being lectured! They were good tips. Why does a red-rank guild leader know so much?"
"Hahaha!" laughs Teua. "So Marie-Jane probably hates it huh?!"
"She's gotten used to it. But she's not the most pleasant when she's craving meat."
"So what? All the time?"
"Possibly all the time."
"All the time what?" Teua and Consus freeze. They both turn their head to the familiar stern voice. Marie-Jane has her hands on her hips. She taps her foot. "I'm waiting."
"O-Oh. Hi Marie. Done with your meeting?"
"Yes, Consus. Thank you so much for caring." She walks up to him. "I'm glad to see you kept still, like I asked. Do you know how much trouble I had looking for you?"
"W-Well, you see. An opportunity came up."
"Mhm. I heard. Where are our little opportunities?"
"Y-You mean the newborns?"
"Obviously."
"Okay… let me explain." Consus starts recalling what has happened so far.
While explaining, Tasha glances at her Captain. She notices him quivering a bit. "Is Captain nervous? I haven't even seen him this nervous when facing violet-rank animals."
In Teua's mind, "Thank goodness she's focused on Consus!"
"So let me get this straight," Marie-Jane rubs her eyes and head, "You allowed a red-rank from Sharmeija to take you on a tour?"
"M-Mhm," Consus crookedly smiles and nods.
"And then you somehow bumped into Teua and this girl."
"C-Correct."
"And that somehow led to a spar and our newborns being evaluated?"
"Y-Yes…"
"After I told you to sit still?"
"…" Consus nods. No words leave his mouth.
Marie-Jane lets out a huge sigh. "Honestly. It's fine. Their evaluation should be done. Where are they?"
"About that… I don't really know."
"What?!"
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Consus looks away from Marie-Jane as her eyes focus on him right in his face.
"What do you mean?!"
"I went with Teua… we allowed the red-rank member, who showed us the tour, to look after them."
"…" Marie-Jane starts rubbing her eyes and head again. "Teua."
Teua immediately stands straight. "Yes?"
"Are red ranks allowed to do tours?" Marie-Jane doesn't look at Teua.
"Not really, no."
"So, Consus," her voice goes deep, "You allowed a red-rank, who broke the rules already, to look after our newborns?"
"When you put it that way… it doesn't sound the smartest."
"No, it doesn't. Do you remember what Joseff told us about the newborns? One has amnesia. The other one wants to run away. And a red-rank is looking after them?"
"U-Uh…"
"Teua. Can you check where the red-rank is?"
"S-Sure," Teua leans down. "Tasha can you check please… I don't know how."
Tasha touches her wristband and a screen appears in front of her. She steps forward. "Ma'am. I can see on the logs the admission officer requested him to deliver a letter to the village of Frits. There is a note attached by the red-rank next to the mission… it states he took 2 newborns with him."
A vein appears on Marie-Jane's neck. Her neck creaks as she turns to face Consus. "They… are out?"
"T-They should be safe… that red-rank seems capable."
"Go find them."
"A-And what about you?"
"I need to unwind after everything I've been through. So," Marie-Jane walks towards Teua and grabs him. "I think Teua can treat me."
"Definitely!" Teua smiles, his teeth shining. "Whoa! I get to spend the day with Marie-Jane and Consus! What a wonderful day!"
Consus takes a step back. "S-Sure. Yeah. Unwind a bit, Marie. I will find them. I'm sure they are safe!" He turns and dashes away.
"Good. Come Teua, I'm thirsty."
"I've got a good drink for you."
"Good to hear. Now what was that 'all the time' about, hmm?"
"O-Oh…"
Outside the town of Frits, the group of red ranks are busy following a trail with multiple footprints. It leads towards a forest. Israr inspects them closer. He whispers, "I think we are on the right track. Stay behind me."
Kiran and Easton nod.
They continue along and Israr thinks, "If these people took this route, they don't want to be caught."
Israr hears something. He signals them all to hide in a bush. "You two, stay here. I hear something. Let me go alone for now."
Kiran nods. "Be careful."
"I will." Israr throws a thumbs-up and moves forward.
"I think this spot is good," says a large, muscular man. "There shouldn't be any animals around this area."
"Yes, Boss." Answer the 4 others around him. They all wear the same black attire, with the large man wearing gloves.
They all place their bags down. The large man, the boss, speaks, "You. Set a perimeter. We need to ensure no animals enter."
One of the men nods and moves into the forest.
One of the 2 female members with red hair speaks, "Are you sure we are not too close, Boss?"
"We've travelled a bit. But I don't want to move further. We might get into Sharmeija territory, or we could run into some animals. I don't know what rank animals are in this area."
"Yes, Boss. Understood." She looks down, and the large man rests his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry. No one will come for us, I made sure of it." He hears rustling inside one of the nearby bushes.
"Hey! Who's there? Come out!"
After a bit of time, Israr leaves the bush. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."
The large man examines Israr. "Dammit! Is that a Sharmeija member?! Why is he here? It must be fake… I need to be friendly." The large man sighs and smiles. "Whoa! I got a fright there. Hahaha. I thought some animal bothered our camping trip. Right crew?"
"R-Right," the whole group laughs awkwardly.
Israr bows before them. "My apologies! I'm investigating something and happened to come across you all. Where are you all from?"
"From the West," says the large man. "Taking a break from the city, you know?"
"I understand. Mind if I see some ID?"
"Under what authority? Can I see yours?"
"Of course." Israr takes out his ID and it displays his information. "Here. I am Israr of the Sharmeija Guild."
The large man investigates Israr's ID card. "A red-rank? So his uniform does match. And 5 years already…" He starts to laugh. "This guy got me scared for a second." His laughter gets louder. The others laugh as well.
"Is something the matter?" asks Israr.
"No. I am just, feeling sheepish that I was afraid and doubted you. Let me get my ID for you." The large man reaches towards his pocket. He has a jacket on, which covers his pocket. "I'll use the weapon here." The jacket moves, and Israr sees a sharp-tooth knuckle buster, with the teeth at the end being longer.
"That must be it!" thinks Israr. The bush to the left of him rustles.
"Boss, I found these two lurking while setting up the field." The energy analyser comes out, holding both Kiran and Easton. Israr's eyes go wide. "Oh no! They had an analyser?"
The large man laughs again. "Hahahaha! Well now, even more red ranks?" He stares at Kiran and Easton's uniforms. "More Sharmeija members? What? Did they send you all to get rid of you? Ahahahahah!" The large man turns to one of the female henchmen. "Create a silence barrier, like in Frits."
"Understood." The one without red hair claps her hands together. "Done."
Israr stands ready. "This has gotten out of hand. I need to get to those 2 quickly, but they all seem ready to jump me now. If I go there… the analyser might do something."
Easton looks at Kiran. He signals something with his hand towards the stomach. Kiran doesn't understand what the hand sign means, but based on the time they've spent together, he nods.
Kiran elbows the analyser in his gut.
"AGH!" he grunts.
Easton grabs his head when he tilts down and smashes his face on the ground.
"Huh?!" The other 4 look at the energy analyser. "What happened?!"
Israr jumps towards the 2 newborns and uses cable ties to tie the man's hands together. "Good job you two."
Kiran looks at the large man's hip, seeing the weapon. "Is that what we need to retrieve?"
Israr holds his arms out. "Yes, but be careful. He wants to use it. His hand is on it."
"Doesn't seem too difficult. There are only 4 of them now." Easton stands ready with a smile on his face. He smacks his fist in his hand. "I can finally let off some steam."