Hey, what's up. It's me, Blaine. Wait, come again? You're really gonna say you don't remember who I am? Seriously, come on. Blaine Skia! Incredible adventurer and soon-to-be hero? Does that ring a bell? Psh, good, you better remember next time, you got it?
Anyway, I'm back from that damned dungeon. And now, I'm in the Adventurer Guild branch in Draila. Seeing how there were a bunch of strong golems in that place, I pretty much have to report it to the Guild Leader, Triance.
I'm right at his office door right now, actually. And so, I knock... A few seconds go by, and I eventually hear a sigh, followed by a 'Come in'. So, I do, to be greeted with Triance sitting at his desk, pretty much overwhelmed with paperwork. Damn, sucks to be him. I guess being a Guild Leader isn't that fun a lot of the time.
"Hey, what's up, Triance?"
In response, he merely sighed, "Blaine, we might be friends, but we're both technically working. So, at least act like I'm your superior, okay?"
"Oh, come on. It's not like anybody else is listening! Who cares if I don't refer to you respectively, or whatever?" I replied, obviously in the right, here.
"Either way, at least refer to me by my village name, Maple." Oh, right. For Elves, the respectful way to refer to one is by the name of the village they were born in. Eh, pretty interesting way of doing it, huh?
"Alright, alright. Fine, so, 'Maple', what's up with all the papers? You're pretty much drowning in it." Yeah, I wasn't even exaggerating, really. Triance is a pretty neat guy, but right now, he's far from it. "Come on, you've got paperwork everywhere, your hair's a mess, and you look like you haven't slept in days."
Sure, I might be joking, but I can't say I'm not a bit worried... I mean, after all, Hero's are supposed to be caring!
Triance laughed lightly in response, "Oh, please, at this point, you're just making fun of me."
"Hey, I'm being serious, you know! You look terrible, man." Geez, I really do get no respect here, even when I'm serious...
Oh, damn, he suddenly looks really serious-- I'm saying 'serious' a lot, huh? There's not really a word like it to use instead... pretty stupid, who decided that's how it should be?
"So, do you want to know the truth, or some elaborate lie?" Eh? What kind of question is that? There's only one answer to that, really.
"Psh, of course, I want to know the truth!"
"Don't say I didn't warn you... The current Demon Prince is planning to usurp the throne. Through aggressive force, at that. And, after that, he most likely plans to wage war with Draila first, seeing how we're the closest kingdom to them. I know you well enough that you won't be telling this to anyone, it could cause mass panic."
... Alright, I won't lie and say I expected that. I've been to the capital of Halega, the Demon Kingdom, a couple of times, and I've even seen the guy during a festival. He seemed like a really nice guy, like the type of guy who cared about each of his citizens. But his old man was even better, honestly. The previous Demon Lord was a pretty bad guy, honestly. He waged wars and pillaged other nations. He's the one that started the last Great War, actually. But Athlaos, the current Demon Lord, is the type of guy that only wants peace for his people and others. Instead of waging war and taking things by brute force, he issues peace treaties and trade routes with other kingdoms... Although, I've heard due to the growing population of Halega, a lot of lower-class citizens are starving. Oh, shoot, I've been silent for quite a while, damn.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Alright, incredible conversation right there.
"So, then, I get why that could stress you out, but why is the so much paperwork for you to do?" That was pretty much the only thing I could think to ask him.
"Reporting this information to the main branch and other branches of the Guild, requesting support from other nations, etcetera. His Majesty hasn't actually informed many of his commanders, only the general and a select few among the Magic-Knights actually know."
"Eh? How the hell do you know, then?"
"Blaine, you should know, but I'm a spirit user, I'm practically a master at collecting information, as a Guild Leader should be. Although, even then, His Majesty has the ability to see spirits, so collecting information through my usual method wouldn't work... I assume you know who Royce Thorne is, correct?"
Royce Thorne? I feel like I've heard that name before... Oh, yeah! He's a Knight Commander! And a pretty impressive one, to boot. I've heard he's as strong as The General, and his leadership skills aren't something to laugh at either.
"Yeah, I know him. What about 'em?"
"Among the Knights that serve under Royce are a group called 'Sense', they're all masters of reconnaissance, some of the best in the business when it comes to humans. I doubt anyone in the world would be even able to detect their presence, and not many even know they exist. They could be even here, and we wouldn't be able to even know..."
"Oh, damn... that's pretty creepy!" I mean, isn't it? A bunch of people that could show up anytime and be watching you from anywhere? Would definitely not like to meet them.
"I'm only joking about that last part, however. My spirits are my metaphorical eyes and ears, they're pretty much everywhere in the capital."
"Oh! So, Royce found out through these 'Sense' people, and you used your spirits to spy on them telling Royce about it all."
"Right you are, Blaine. Despite your looks, you're pretty intelligent." He smirked, with that same closed eye look he always had. Though I could have sworn he mumbled something along the lines of 'And even though I asked him for help, he's making me do all this work...'
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing. Nevertheless, how did your mission go? Exploring that newly discovered dungeon?" Damn, he completely ignored my question...
"Psh, it went fine... except for when I reached floor two. Get this, there were a ton of Golems. At least twenty! And not only were there a lot of them, but they were also super high quality. Like, not those kinds merchants sell to idiots who don't understand how golems work, the type you would expect a master-golem-maker would create."
"Really? It seems my problems just keep stacking on top of each other..."
I laughed, as one would hearing that, "You could say that again!"
>Chapter B.3, end.<