Nar and Sas look worried, even if Randy and Kat are here with me, they would think that I will somehow get into trouble. Seeing their reaction, Princess Siti promises that she will go to the castle right away to get the special permission. Of course, a king's order is respected, and even if someone wanted to object to it, the king can simply overrule it under certain circumstances, so the best way for Nar and Sas to legally enter the dungeon is to get permission from the king himself.
At the guild, Princess Siti tells the receptionist to call for the guild master immediately. In less than a minute, the middle-aged guild master comes running down, and Princess Siti wastes no time in explaining that she will issue an emergency quest for the guild, with Randy as the leader for this current quest. There are no objections from the adventurers, as they know how strong Randy is. Still...
"Kat, did you do something bad? Why are they staring at you?" [Diana]
I point my finger at a group of adventurers. They're staring at Kat, not because of her beauty, but because of the way they looked at Kat the same way I look at the villagers of the Aru village. Disgust. Not only disgust, one of them even look at Kat with strong intention to kill... I can't believe that Kat would do something bad, but I ask her anyway, and before Kat can answer, the other three with me intervene
"What does that mean? Kat, I thought you said they were treating you well!" [Randy]
"Well..." [Kat]
"Forget it. I don't want to work with someone who doesn't respect others just because of their race" [Randy]
"Same" [Sas]
"Randy, you are strong enough to enter and clear the dungeon, just bring Kat and Diana with you. I promise we will catch up with you as soon as possible" [Nar].
"Listen! Only a small minority of them reacted like that, most of them are friendly! Besides, think of Diana's safety first and foremost!" [Kat]
"Anyone who harbors hatred, no matter how small, will disrupt the teamwork, and since the monster we are fighting has a strong mirage affinity, they are likely to be affected and used, so I will not feel safe if you and Diana are with them" [Nar].
Nar, Sas, and Randy are really glaring back at them. The usually friendly Nar, the stoic but reasonable Sas, and the cheerful Randy all turn sour when they realize something is wrong. I'm not sure what happened, but
"I don't want to be in the same group as them! Kat is nice and I'm sure Kat will apologize if she did something wrong! I don't want to be with them unless they apologize to you!" [Diana].
"Diana, it's important..." [Kat]
"Nicely said" [Sas]
"Princess Siti, I'm sorry, but the three of us will enter first. I have no objection to you sending another group of adventurers to explore the dungeon as well, but I refuse to go with them unless they apologize for their behavior" [Randy].
Kat feels conflicted. She's obviously happy that we're with her, but she feels like this issue isn't something worth mentioning. I really don't know what's happening, but I continue to hug her tightly, shielding her with my magic as well. The way that person is staring, it's hateful and I don't want any of them to hurt Kat.
Randy apologizes to the guild master and others who didn't treat Kat badly, and quickly left with Kat and me. I also stick my tongue out at that hateful guy before I leave. Princess Siti apologizes to Kat and hope that that this experience wouldn't keep Kat from coming to Emas.
"It wouldn't. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness" [Kat].
"Well, let's just stick to the adventures of Amleth for now. The one escorting the opera house workers, do you know where they are right now?" [Sas]
"I do. I think we can form a team with them" [Kat]
"Then let's go go go!" [Diana]
We quickly went to the inn where the adventurers are staying, and as expected, my blessing tells me something is wrong, plus, they're missing two of their party members. As soon as I dispel THE THING and the mirage mana from them, their reaction is the same as other
"Oh my God! How could we not have noticed!"
"This is bad! It's been three days already!"
"We will accept this quest! We are ready to leave any time!"
"Good! Just tell us what happened in the dungeon while we go" [Nar].
They mentioned how their team tried to conquer the Earth Dungeon. According to them, they were met by a group of people with Northern Empire accents, and with them, a large multi-headed snake. They tried to escape, but they weren't lucky enough.
"I'm sorry, but why are they letting you escape?" [Diana]
This confuses me and I feel bad even thinking about it, but wouldn't it be better if they were all captured so that no information would get out?
"Good question, but I think it's easy to answer. If they can make people forget that nothing happened, then they can afford to let one or two escape. It will be far too suspicious if all of them are missing, sure, they can keep making people amnesic, but it's not a viable option in the long run. Someone will definitely notice if too many people are missing" [Sas].
"Besides, if you can get a hundred people in one day, but only once, versus ten people every day without limit, they will obviously choose the latter" [Randy]
Kat and I nod in unison. I hadn't thought of that, and when they say it like that, they're even scarier than I thought.
As soon as we arrive at the entrance of the dungeon, I can already tell that the monster is indeed inside. The guard guarding the entrance checks Randy's and the other's tags and confirms that they have indeed received an emergency request from Princess Siti, but unfortunately for Nar and Sas, rules are rules and a knight from another land should first get a special permission.
Before we enter the dungeon, Nar and Sas strengthen us all with their support spell. Of course, we are all grateful.
"Good luck and be safe" [Nar].
"If anything happens, just run. We'll come running even if we don't have permission" [Sas].
"I will! Thank you, my two brothers!" [Diana]