"Phew, mission accomplished!" Gerald landed in a forest outside Auralba city walls.
He wiped the sweat off his forehead and sat down to rest. He pretended to be some great wizard, but he was actually extremely nervous the entire time. Luckily his acting skills were good enough.
Although Arthur Rosecloud might suspect something, he did not leak enough information for his identity to be exposed.
And since Arthur was the boss of the Golden Pouch Merchants, he had to be very intelligent, patient, and careful in his decisions.
Gerald predicted that one year was about the limit such a man could still be bothered waiting to get something he greatly desired, before resorting to more aggressive tactics.
Currently, Gerald was in need of a protector, so that he could grow as quickly as possible. After one year, if everything went according to plan, it wouldn't matter at all even if he was discovered. He would be already too powerful by then.
Although people knew how to use magic, that didn't mean it was widespread for combat purposes. Of course, there were battle mages, but they were rare and were highly valued.
Average people used magic more as an added tool for certain situations. As Gerald already experienced, it appeared most people didn't know how to cast spells in less than a second. And that made it unusable in most combat, especially in close quarters.
That, of course, didn't mean Gerald was invincible, far from it. He could maybe beat ten to twenty average men if he went all out, but then he would be completely exhausted and would be an easy target.
That's why he needed to grow fast, enough to be able to fly for at least ten minutes at a time. That was his goal for this one year.
Of course, establishing friendly relationships was a way better option and he already had a few ideas he could implement, to get close to the Roseclouds as himself, as Gerald.
As one smart Roman general once said; "If you want peace, prepare for war!"
It was a great saying, and it resonated with Gerald.
"Arthur will most likely accept my proposal, so for this one year, I should be all set! But then again, I'll need to get a few helpers for my plan, otherwise, it would be too suspicious…" He slowly got up after resting for a few minutes and turned back towards Geldern.
He still had his stuff and money there, so he should pick that up. Also, he had to give Arthur and Emily some time to think. The longer the wait, the better the effect. After all, a mystery is always attractive to people.
He spent the night in the wild, sleeping on top of a tall tree in the forest, and returned to Geldern late in the morning, where he, without wasting any time, went directly to his room at the Guild.
When he just stepped in at the front door, he heard a commotion inside.
"Go away Adelard! I already told you I'm not interested! Stop bothering me already, you freak!" It was Sera losing her mind, trying to avoid the annoying fly that was bothering her.
Of course, Adelard was, as usual, unable to comprehend the meaning of rejection. It was just a game for him, and the more resistance, the more he was interested.
"Hehe, Sera my love, you have seen how people treat you. They all void you like the plague, except me! I'll always be here for you," Adelard laughed, making the fat on his body jiggle.
Sera stomped her feet in anger, "That's because of you, asshole! You harras every person I'm trying to talk to! Leave me alone already!"
"What nonsense!" Adelard quickly refuted her and spoke with vigor and mockery, "Ah, but what about your previous teammate? He lost his arm and then swiftly dumped you because he felt useless! Do you still think he can protect you? You are alone and I'm just trying to help you! But you, hmph, you arrogant girl, we will see how long you can resist my goodwill!"
Gerald rolled his eyes when he heard him bark. 'Can this guy ever shut up? He is ruining my mood every time!'
But then Srera's eyes shined as she finally noticed Gerald. Seeking his help was her only hope of getting rid of Adelard, "Hey, Gerald! You are final back, where have you been?" She waved her hand high and ran towards the entrance, towards Gerald.
"Fuck! It's that cripple again! I thought he had already got eaten by wolves! Disrupting my plans once again, how dares he?!" Adelard raged loudly, making everyone in the Guild feel embarrassed for him.
Especially his bodyguards. They had to deal with his childish tantrums daily, and only rarely did he listen to their advice. Still, the leader had to try to calm him down, "Young master, please, just let the girl go. There are many other young ladies, that are much more attractive than her, she is not worth the trouble…"
But Adelard was stubborn, "No! I chose her and I'll get her!"
'I'll get her, but first I have to get rid of that eye-sore of a cripple! How can she even go for him?! He's a freaking cripple!' he roared in his heart.
Gerald sighed, he felt a headache coming his way. It seemed like the entire world existed just to slowly torture him.
"Hey Sera," he slowly spoke, "I'm just here to get my stuff, I'll be moving to the capital in a few days."
"Oh," Sera let out a sound of disappointment.
'YES! Finally! Haha, the gods must love me! When that annoying dog leaves, Sera will finally have to accept me!' Adelard felt like he was having a dream. He was just thinking of how to dispose of Gerald, but then the latter decided to leave of his own accord. What luck!
"Wana come with me?" Gerald asked casually. More than anything, he said it to take a stab at Adelard. The guy was seriously annoying him, so what was the harm in returning some of that frustration?
Immediately the good mood Adelard was in, vanished. "Fuck! I'll kill him! I'll fucking kill him!" Adelard's face turned red from anger and he was frothing at the mouth. Veins popped out of his head and his eyes filled with blood. He was quite terrifying to look at.
Two of his bodyguards had to hold him back so he wouldn't go on a rampage. It wasn't so that he wouldn't hurt people, but because if they let their young master do what he pleased, with his personality, he would probably get himself beaten to a pulp.
Ultimately the leader of his bodyguards had to smack him on the neck to make him unconscious. Then they unceremoniously carried him out of the Guild's hall, embarrassed to the max.
Sera followed Gerald back to his room.
"Did you really mean it? Inviting me to join you?" she asked hopefully.
Gerald shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, why not. But I have to tell you, I plan on focusing on alchemy and not on hunting, so if you refuse, it's understandable."
He then started rummaging through his stuff, gathering all of the items that he would sell before departing.
Meanwhile, Sera was in a dilemma. She liked to hunt, but she also wanted to be with Gerald. At the same time, she also wanted to be as far away from Adelard as possible.
'But… No hunting… Ugh!' She was having a hard time deciding, as her love for nature was quite strong.
"Can I tell you the answer later? I'm having a difficult time deciding," she ultimately said.
"Ah?" Gerald mouthed. He was currently carrying out glass beakers and vials, placing them in a wooden box, "Oh, yes, sure. Just tell me whenever. I'll stay in the city for a few more days."
***
In the city Lord's mansion.
"This is so humiliating!"Adelard grabbed a glass of wine and threw it at the wall. The broken pieces scattered across the room and the red liquid stained the pristine white stone. "That bastard did it on purpose!"
A guard slowly spoke, "Young Master, your mother is worried about your wellbeing. She does not approve of you mindlessly chasing after that common girl…"
Adelard gritted his teeth and threw a plate at the guard, screaming, "Shut up you useless dog! I don't care about what mother thinks!"
Beads of sweat poured across his face as he started breathing heavily. He slowly calmed down, but his eyes still glowed with anger. "I have a special task for Silent Tornado, bring it to me!" he ordered.
The guard sighed and tried to reason with the angry lad, "Young master, I don't think it's a good ide-"
"Shut the fuck up and do it!" Adelard roared at him.
"Sigh, yes, young master…" The guard slowly left the room. He was so sick of having to babysit this spoiled brat. But he had no choice, his family needed to eat, and he needed the money.
A few minutes later, a cloaked figure entered the room with the guard.
"Finally you're here, Silent Tornado! I have called you here-"
Silent Tornado sighed loudly, "I have a name, you know? You could use it sometimes…"
Adelard angrily rebutted, "If I say you are Silent Tornado, then you are Silent Tornado!"
"Lame!"
"You-!" Adelard's face became red as a tomato from anger. He was once again at the point of losing his mind.
"Tsk," Silent Tornado waved its hands, "Whatever, why did you call me this time?"
Adelard released the air from his nose like a steam engine, his anger somewhat relaxing. "I have a special task for you…"
He proceeded to explain the details of the task as Silent Tornado just stood there emotionlessly, listening to his orders.