"Captain Gard? Lady Aurora? You guys got up so early."
Not long after Aurora took over the ownership of the mercenary group, Claudia came downstairs and saw the two people sitting in the hall, reaching out to say hello.
Aurora nodded and motioned for her to come over to have some food together. From her slightly tired face, she knew that she must not have slept well last night.
After all, it's such a big deal.
"Lady Aurora, I contacted the carriage last night. We will set off back to Rosewood Town after everyone has finished their breakfast." Gard quickly finished his breakfast and got up to go back to his room to tidy up his things.
Claudia looked at Gard's slightly lonely back in doubt. The tall figure in her impression seemed a little small at the moment.
"What's the matter, Captain?"
She didn't understand at all why her leader had become completely different in just one night.
"Boss, get your best dishes out here! Damn it! I feel so hungry that I could eat a whole cow by myself!"
Just when Claudia was about to ask Aurora what happened, the businessman walked down the stairs step by step with a loud voice, and with every step he took, the wooden stairs creaked, and Aurora could clearly see the fat on his body jiggling.
"Lord Rodrigo, it's great to see you so energetic in the morning."
"Oh, it's you Lady Aurora! Thank you very much this time, if it weren't for your help, I'm afraid we really wouldn't be able to survive this time." The merchant sat in front of Aurora with a sincere face, took out a bag of gold coins from his vest, and placed it in front of her.
"This is?"
"Lady Aurora, this is the token of my gratitude, I hope you can accept it."
A smile appeared in Aurora's eyes; this Rodrigo was indeed a sly old fox.
A merchant valued profits foremost. If she accepted the bag of gold coins, it would mean that the "friendship" between her and the merchant would end here. For a qualified player, this was not a good reward. What she needed now were his favors!
"I can't accept the money, Lord Rodrigo. If you hadn't saved me on the way... maybe I would have died long ago." She calmly pushed the bag of gold coins back to the businessman with a smile while sneering in her heart, 'Do you think I'm that cheap to get rid of, huh?'
The merchant's expression slightly changed as he saw the purse being pushed back in front of him. After a short hesitation, he gritted his teeth and forced a smile while taking out a gold badge from his pocket and handing it to Aurora.
"Lady Aurora, this is the token of our Starlight Chamber of Commerce. As long as you are in our chamber of commerce, you can enjoy VIP-level priority and preferential prices."
This was it!
Aurora readily put the badge in her arms, laughing like a fox in her heart.
Although the Starlight Chamber of Commerce was not a big chamber of commerce, it was the most suitable for the mercenary group that had just started. Aurora didn't want to be restrained by the large chamber of commerce and become a member of the mercenary group.
Aurora went upstairs to clean up as soon as she got the things she needed before leaving after a few simple words. She picked up the clothes Claudia had prepared at the hotel and walked into the bathroom, where she took a comfortable bath.
When everything was sorted and she went downstairs, Aurora found that they had already loaded some items into the carriage outside the door.
"Lady Aurora, are you ready... eh?" Claudia just put the dry food bought from the inn into the carriage and turned around to see Aurora coming down.
Aurora's appearance after cleaning up looked more refined and dignified. Her slightly wet goldilocks hair fell naturally on her shoulders, and her skin was fairer than that of the pampered nobles. On her slightly immature face, there was a maturity that did not match her current age.
A strange feeling appeared in Claudia's heart. She knew that Aurora's appearance was better than that of ordinary people, but she didn't know that she was this extraordinary. For a long time, Claudia couldn't take her gaze off the fair maiden.
"Lady Aurora, we are leaving soon, you should get on the carriage first!"
Although Gard was a little surprised by her appearance, he didn't stare straight at her like Claudia did, which was a little weird, considering that he was still a healthy man and Aurora was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. He didn't know why, but he couldn't see her in that way.
He patted Aurora on the shoulder and signaled for her to step into the carriage quickly.
After everything was ready, a mercenary slapped the horses and carriages with a long whip and began to slowly leave Forest Town behind.
This time, they took a safe path for safety reasons. This way, it was estimated that they would arrive in Rosewood Town in about two days.
Along the way, everyone sat in the carriage and fell into an eerie silence. The merchant kept fiddling with the gold coin in his hand. Even though he had wiped it to a new shine, he still did not stop his actions.
Gard has been staring blankly at the grassland outside the window, with occasional sadness in his eyes. Claudia lowered her head and looked full of thoughts, as if she were worried about what kind of ending the mercenary group would usher in after returning.
Aurora didn't let the sour atmosphere affect her in this situation, instead using the opportunity to study the system. After all, compared with the gaming system she was familiar with before, the one in this world has undergone some changes compared to the one she thoroughly researched before.
A day later, the mercenaries who were driving the carriage suddenly noticed a man in a black robe not far ahead, standing by the side of the road, waving at their carriage.
"Captain, there are people ahead!"
"Um?"
Gard poked his head out and really saw the man the mercenary said. He was hidden in the black robe, and he couldn't see his face clearly. He just stood silently by the side of the road and waited for them to come.
"Captain... this person looks so dangerous..."
Claudia frowned slightly, and she vaguely sensed an ominous aura from the man in the black robe.
"Leave him alone, we just need to go by ourselves!" Gard shrank back after giving an instruction.
But within a few minutes, the sudden braking of the carriage almost knocked them down in the carriage.
"Damn! Why did you brake suddenly!"
The merchant rubbed his sore forehead and cursed. Gard looked out of the window and saw the man in black robe who was originally on the side of the road actually stand in front of their carriage and block their way.
"It seems that there is no way to hide."
"What happened, Captain Gard?" Aurora couldn't help asking when she noticed that Gard's face was a little dignified, and then Gard roughly told him about the situation.
"I see... Just leave it to me."
Aurora jumped out of the carriage and walked towards the black-robed man in front of him. When she saw the appearance of the black-robed man, her guess was once again confirmed.
"Why did your excellency block our way, what's the matter?"
"Hehe...it's nothing, it's just that I'm tired of walking in this deserted place, and I just want to hitch a ride..." A middle-aged man's hoarse voice came from the black robe, "I wonder if it's convenient to give me a ride? "
Aurora shook her head and forced a wry smile. "Although I really want to help you, unfortunately our carriage is full of people. If you join, I'm afraid there won't even be a place to sit."
The man in black waved his hand, saying that he was fine standing still, but he just hoped to return to Rosewood Town and take a good rest.
Seeing Aurora reject him several times, the black-robed man's voice became gloomy. "Could it be that Your Ladyship is deliberately refusing to give me a ride?"
Following his words, a wave of magic power slowly emerged from his body, and the cold breath made the mercenary in the carriage tremble involuntarily.
"Your Excellency, it is really inconvenient for us! After a while, a carriage will appear from behind, with only a few people on board. Wouldn't it be much more comfortable for you to sit in that carriage than squeeze with us?" Aurora smiled and walked to the side of the man in black and whispered in his ear, "May the light of Harmonia's freedom shine in the direction of the palace's sword."
"!!!"
As soon as the words fell, the black-robed man showed a surprised look, and the pupils under the cloak suddenly burst into an astonishing light. Looking at Aurora in front of him, he stretched out his hand and pressed her shoulder. "May we carry the light on our backs to illuminate their direction forward!"
After receiving the secret password that was only known by the operative of the United States of Harmonia, the magic fluctuations on the man in black disappeared without a trace.
"Compatriots who bear freedom! If I had known that you were in the escort of that chamber of commerce, I would never have led woodrats to attack you! Does your presence here have new orders from the palace?!"
Aurora nodded and shook her head again. "I can't say anything about the palace's instructions. Your Excellency, just do your best to complete the mission of the palace and don't inquire about other things."
"Yes, yes, the instructions of the palace are above all else! Then I will leave now, and may the glory of freedom be with you!"
The man in black stood with one hand on his chest and tapped it on the shoulder three times before leaving in a cloud of black smoke. Aurora's eyes flashed with disgust, and she turned back to the carriage.
"That person is gone, let's move on." Aurora leaned against the carriage and closed her eyes to think deeply after speaking. The words of the man in black robe just now had completely confirmed her guess.
Rat Controller - Pittman
Now that his identity had been determined, the next plan slowly formed in her mind.
These two people must be removed as soon as possible; otherwise, once the caravan was attacked according to their plan, it would speed up the implementation of the United States of Harmonia's conspiracy against Briggit City.
Judging from the current progress, in a week at most, these two people would start targeting the passing caravans.
[Ding! Mission Triggered - The Beginning of a Conspiracy]
[Eliminate the culprit who attacked the caravan within a month]
[Rewards: experience +2000, silver coins +10, prestige +20, Pied Piper of Hamelin Ring]
[Failure: experience value -3000]
After the system prompt sounded in Aurora's mind, she briefly browsed the system to check the mission's status.
"Within one month... that's plenty of time, but the penalty is really ruthless."
The mercenaries drove the carriage forward again, and after about a day and a half, they finally entered the gate of Rosewood Town.
Looking at this familiar town, Gard and Claudia's hearts finally settled down. After experiencing this catastrophe, only in their hometown could they completely let go of their anxiety and fear.
The mercenary skillfully steered the carriage around the street, and finally stopped in front of a small wooden house.
"Lady Aurora, we've arrived in our stronghold." Gard jumped out of the carriage and patted the carriage. The other mercenaries quickly unloaded the goods from the carriage and moved them inward one by one.
While they were unloading, the merchant carefully moved down the carriage and pointed at the goods carried by the mercenaries with an angry look on his face. "Hey! Damn it! Can you not be so rough?! Oh my God! What if you put it down like this and break the contents inside!"
Aurora jumped out of the carriage and reached out to help Claudia, who was about to get off the carriage, looked back at the so-called stronghold in front of her and twitched her brow slightly.
The conditions were really bad... She looked at this dilapidated, airy wooden house, which couldn't be called a stronghold at all.
"Hehe, don't mind, Milady... Although it looks broken, it's still very comfortable inside!"
Gard scratched his head in embarrassment. With the commission they earned, they could only buy this wooden house. Originally, he planned to earn money to repair the wooden house through this escort mission, but he didn't expect to suffer a heavy loss that exceeded the gain. Not only did he not make any money, but he also lost a lot of brothers.