After debriefing all of the involved parties, Edwin had decided that it was time to act.
He handed an earpiece to Raina, Reagan, and Ferrel.
『One for each of the leaders. Nova and Mune can go under Raina, Mariya and Sarena can accompany Ferrel, and the rest of you three can tag along with Reagan.』[Edwin]
He quickly reached into a bag that was kept hidden under his shirt and pulled some rings out.
『I'll give you all your rewards in advance. The people who are official operatives of the Kingdom will be compensated in the normal way. Look through the storage rings and keep an inventory on what is inside. It may prove useful in the mission. 』[Edwin]
He tossed them haphazardly in the air, but the rings all made it safely to their recipients.
Nova looked down at the plain looking ring with a small blue gemstone embedded into it.
『A storage ring…?』[Nova]
Edwin looked over with a twinkle in his eye.
『Of course. We must treat people who are helping us well.』[Edwin]
Nova nodded blankly.
He looked over at everyone else's rings, and found that Mariya had already put it on.
『...Woah, that was fast.』[Nova]
Edwin wasn't done talking, however.
『Quickly go and prepare all you need before you head off. Something is off about all of this.』[Edwin]
He had a troubled look on his face.
『...I will try to provide assistance as best as I can from where I am able.』[Edwin]
He opened up the door they came from, only to find someone unexpected.
『...Oh, did they let you go?』[Mune]
Kneeling at the ground was Zousa.
『Yes. I caught wind of the operation, and wish to join. I can somewhat combat blood energy as well.』[Zousa]
Edwin's eyes narrowed.
『...Nobody knows of this, how could you possibly have caught wind of it?』[Edwin]
Zousa looked up directly at Edwin before pointing at his yellow eyes.
They suddenly dilated and one of them turned black and red whilst sharing some similarity with a cat's eye.
『Though my mind and spirit returns, the demon's techniques and skills that have been carved into my body still remain.』[Zousa]
Edwin's mouth popped open a bit before slowly turning into a grin.
『...Interesting.』[Edwin]
He placed his hand on Zousa's shoulder and grabbed his hand, pulling him up, while slipping something in his hand.
『You'll be working with Nova's team. Go talk to them and have them debrief you. The location and other details will be sent to the leaders later.』[Edwin]
He slipped past and walked into the hallway.
Sir Fluffles, who had retreated into his space, was beginning to growl.
『...Grr…. Nova, this is the person you were fighting, right?!』[Sir Fluffles]
「Right. But he was being controlled. We can go forward and let it go. I didn't lose anything, so there was no harm.」[Nova]
Sir Fluffles persisted in the growling for a bit, before finally whimpering and calming down.
『...If you say so, Nova.』[Sir Fluffles]
The people from the other groups gave sideways glances at Zousa before flowing out of the room and following their respective leaders.
Before Reagan left, he glared at Nova.
『We're gonna have a talk after this, Nova.』[Reagan]
Leaving Nova with a goosebumps, he disappeared with the other three, who gave Nova looks of pity and sympathy.
He suddenly felt a pat on his back.
Turning around, he saw Raina look at him with a big smile.
『Don't worry. Nothing you could have done! If he yells at you, I'll yell at him.』[Raina]
She radiated a warm aura that made Nova relax again.
『Haha! You have Reagan as whipped as ever, don't you, ma'am? 』[Mune]
She playfully waved her hand.
『No, of course not! He just loves me too much! Haha!』[Raina]
They both laughed loudly, causing Nova to burst into laughter as well.
Amidst this rowdy crowd was Zousa, however.
He kept quiet, waiting for them to calm down by themselves.
After Raina laughed a bit longer, she suddenly turned her attention to him.
『Oh! Right, welcome to my team! I've heard all the details already. Don't feel guilty. Demons are rare and very difficult to combat, especially if they want your body.』[Raina]
Nova nodded his head, only half paying attention.
She reached up to him and scruffed up his hair, causing him to close his eyes and flinch.
『So, take those rings and look through them. Go ahead, everyone else left.』[Raina]
She sat down and leaned back casually, allowing Mune to rush to a sofa and put on the ring.
『NOVA! LOOT ITEMS!』[Mune]
He started to rip item after item from the ring, causing Nova to have an awkward smile.
『...Well...』[Nova]
He sat down on the opposite side of the sofa and started to look through as well.
He actually felt a bit excited, like a kid ripping through a Christmas present.
Zousa looked at the ring, but seemed uncomfortable doing anything with it.
Mune already had a pile of items in front of him, on the other hand.
『WOO! A TELEPORT CRYSTAL!』[Mune]
He lifted up a black crystal with moving white orbs in it.
Nova was scared by Mune's outburst, but he stared at the crystal in his hand.
『A what?』[Nova]
Mune took it and showed it off to Nova.
『A teleport crystal! You can use it to teleport somewhere randomly, but it's totally a free "get out of jail" ticket!』[Mune]
Zousa patiently watched as they looked through the rings.
For the most part, the rewards didn't stand out to Nova- mostly because he didn't know the functions of most of them.
There was a whole bunch of strange coins with sharp edges, a poorly made flip book titled "COUPONS", and a strange cyan emblem.
He quickly put them back in, before pulling out the last things in the ring.
He found 3 small vials of blue liquid along with a glass stopper at the top.
『...Mana potions?』[Nova]
Mune juggled them around, causing Raina to stare at him with slightly concerned eyes.
『Yup. Super handy. Don't drink them while topped up on mana though, same thing as eating Granny's food. Your mana veins will burst.』[Mune]
Nova nodded before Raina clapped her hands and put her hands at her sides.
『Alright! Is everyone ready, then?! We're going to clear this mission, then I'll take you boys out for some Lin dim sum!』[Raina]
Mune pumped his fist in the air.
『Yeah! I'm in!』[Mune]
Nova nodded his head, but he felt a bit anxious at the same time.
His train of thought was interrupted by a strange guttural growling noise.
『Huh?!』[Nova]
He quickly flipped over to the source of the noise.
Zousa was standing there with a slightly embarrassed look on his face.
『...I haven't had good food for a few years.』[Zousa]