—1 day ago, at the guild—
She had already reached the guild with Arian. They both had come a long way from Grandwood to Seora. She had used all of her magic at Grandwood on a yawn and some other beasts, thus looking so tired and exhausted.
While standing beside Arian, Liora saw two beautiful girls, one in white and the other one in a golden royal robe, coming toward them. She didn't know them, so thinking with herself, "Maybe they're Arian's friends?"
"Oi Arian, we've just come back from doing our quest." said the girl in white, looking delighted.
However, the woman in golden garments wasn't cheery. She didn't carry a smile like the white girl. Her eyes looked gloomy, bearing a jealous look.
"H-hey... Arian... I've just done the quest you told us, and by the way, who's that girl beside you?" said the girl in royal clothes, furrowing her brows.
Arian put a fake smile on his face, forcingly laughing while trying to look around.
"Great! But you're too fast. It's good that you've done it. And this woman is Liora. She helped me when I was struggling in Grandwood."
Liora didn't really care about them, but since they were Arian's friends, she couldn't act rude and ignore them. That was why Liora decided to talk with them.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Liora!"
"Oh! Nice to meet you too, Felicia here!" said the woman in white, still maintaining her delightful smile.
The royal woman, however, didn't pause her suspicious, jealous looks. She was glaring at Liora in a very strict manner. She began tsking, turning her face from Liora.
"Tsk... yeah, nice to meet you too Liora! I'm Elena."
Her voice wasn't gentle at all; her tone implied her great frustration.
"Thanks!" Liora responded, smiling and behaving friendly, "I hope we're going to have a great time with each other!"
"Huh? What do you mean Liora?" Arian suddenly asked, looking confused.
Liora took a deep breath, smilingly looking at Arian.
"I'd like to join your party."
"Heh?" Arian exclaimed. "What? You didn't tell that to me in the way. Why saying something like that now? Your level and abilities are far beyond mine. Why would you want to join my group? You can join more powerful groups and become a lot stronger."
"Please, I insist you let me join your party!"
"W-what? Really? We're just too weak. You should find a party which matches your capabilities. I, Felicia, and Elena aren't equal to you. Liora, come on, you have to join a group with high-level members and leader to grow even higher in MS rank."
"Why're you refusing to accept me? Am I not worthy enough to be beside you?"
"E-eh? No, no, no, there's nothing like that. It'd be an honor to have you beside us, but I'm just saying it for your own benefit. Joining us has no merits for you, you need to find a better party with more powerful members. We'd just be in your way; we have nothing to add to you."
"It's my decision!" Liora exclaimed, "I want to join you, Arian!"
She could hear Arian sighing, his expression becoming empty while his eyes getting closed.
"So, what's your decision? Do you plan to let me enter your party?"
"All right, all right... I accept you." Arian replied, as his eyes, which used to be warm and embracing, became bored and dull. He then turned his face to Felicia and Elena. "Hurry up, go take another quest. There's no time to waste."
"Yes, Arian!" Felicia stepped to the acceptance table and head to accept another quest.
"OK, Arian... I'm going now." Elena kept her deep suspicious stares at Liora while moving away.
Arian sighed, closing his eyes. Meanwhile, Liora started yawning, putting her hands before her mouth.
"Anyways I'm getting quite sleepy, and the guildhall has become so quiet now; guess I can finally use my room here. I will go upstairs to take a rest. See you tomorrow Arian! And thanks for accepting me!"
"Good night then..."
While moving to her room to sleep, she began thinking with herself:
"It's really a good feeling. I'm glad he accepted me. It's true that he's not powerful, but I could see his eyes. When he told me he also wants to kill Demon King, I could see his burning will. It's as same as mine... he's the one I've been seeking all this time. Arian... he's the partner I need beside myself to kill that monster. All of those so-called great adventurers and heroes are nothing but mere praise and empty words. They only have strength, but not the necessary will behind their intentions to follow me. Those are just some crying babies when it gets to Demon King. I need someone who would do anything for reaching his aims. I need someone like Arian, someone whose eyes would be determined and strong even if his intention is to kill Adin the Immortal."
─ ─ ─
"What's wrong with Ena? She used to have a gentle smile all the time, why was she acting so jealous all of a sudden? Hmm... anyway, that's too boring..."
Adin had sent Freya and Ena for another quest; he had to strengthen his relationship among the adventurers and search the world as fast as possible. He couldn't waste time, as he hated waiting more than anything else. Adin had to use Ena and Freya to speed up the process of getting information and establishing relations with knowledgeable people around the world.
Liora was one of those people whom Adin had decided to use. But still, he didn't want to have her in his group. Having someone in his party would mean he has to be a lot more careful about his own identity, while also concerning about Freya and Ena's real identity being revealed. That would be so troublesome, so he tried his best to reject Liora's offer to join Adin's party, yet he failed as Liora appeared so firm on her decision. Adin couldn't change her mind, and insisting more on refusing her decision would hurt their relationship, so he had no choice but to accept her in his party, notwithstanding it'd make things more difficult for Adin.
"Finally, she went upstairs to rest. I was getting bored of putting the same boring smile all the time..."