Audaznimo was the main kingdom set up in Eastern Europe one of the supreme four kingdoms of the world, that title still remained theirs even after losing their defensive crystals because even without those crystals, no other kingdom apart from the other supreme kingdoms would be able to wage war against them and emerge victorious.
They still had the defense from their high walls and a large military force.
Other than Audaznimo, there were also a couple of other kingdoms scattered across the land, smaller kingdoms that could not hold up a candle to the supreme four, and after those kingdoms, all that was left was forests.
Forests stretching out across the lanes filled with vile beasts that no ordinary person would be able to deal with.
Merchants from different kingdoms usually moved between kingdoms to take care of their businesses and during those trips they would either get attacked by bandits and get their goods stolen or worse get attacked by beasts with special abilities, this was the worst because most of the merchants who encountered beasts during their trips never made it out alive, and those who managed to survive the encounter didn't do so without taking huge hits.
To put it simply, it was very dangerous for merchants and even other common folks to travel between kingdoms on their own, and this was the foundation on which the Adventurers Guild was created.
With the establishment of the Adventurers Guild, the count of merchants who were either robbed or got attacked during their trips began to slowly drop.
This was also a big win for a lot of people who were blessed with special abilities but weren't able to secure any good jobs, because now all they could do was join the adventurers guild, help out people, and get paid.
That said, the adventurers guild wasn't restricted to only those with special abilities, as long as you were up to the right age, and was sure you knew your way around a fight, you were free to sign up.
Other than escorting merchants to their destinations, they also took up other offers like hunting and killing certain high-tier beasts for the crystals but these kinds of commissions required the ranking of adventurers because there was no way a weak adventurer with little to no experience would be able to take down a Master tier beast or anything above that.
The Adventurers guild started out pretty small but with time they spread out across the nations and now had stations in the supreme four kingdoms and even some of the smaller kingdoms.
Their station in Audaznimo was stationed a little distance away from the north gate which was the main entrance to the Kingdom, and that was where Devon was standing now with his gaze on the dark-haired lady inside the booth.
There was a chubby-looking man by the side with Erina closing in on Devon from behind.
"Hey, Miss Evangeline, how's things going?" Devon asked as soon as he got close enough to the area.
"Oh, hey, Devon it's been a while." She said with a smile, but it didn't take long before that smile faded away.
"Hmm, is something the matter?"
He was pretty quick to read her mood and discover that things weren't exactly okay.
"Yes, this man here needs someone to escort him back to his village but all the adventurers are out taking care of different commissions so there's no one left to escort him, and he says he has to be back to his village in an hour to take care of business." She explained.
"Oh," Devon muttered before turning back for a split second to see Erina standing there.
"And I was told the adventurers guild in Audaznimo was reliable." The old man said before scuffing his shoes on the floor.
"Reliable yes, but we don't have infinite manpower," Evangeline replied.
"Um…how about I take care of it?" Devon remarked before turning his gaze to the old man. "How much are you offering old man?"
"Why are you asking me that you little brat, you know she's the one that takes care of that, are you sure you're an adventurer?" The old man questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, although he stopped taking commissions for a while, Devon here is a D-ranked adventurer." Evangeline addressed before leaning closer to Devon. "You know you shouldn't ask questions like that, I'm the one who provides the details you know that."
"Sorry."
"And how are you sure he can guarantee my safety? He doesn't look very reliable to me."
"Yeah, almost everyone gets that impression of him." She mumbled before leaning on the counter. "Don't worry, he's D ranked for a reason and that's pretty impressive when you consider his age, he went from F rank to D rank in less than a year. As long as it's just an escorting commission and you guys don't encounter any Unique tier beasts or anything higher, Devon will get you there safely."
"So, if I go with him and we encounter a Unique tier or worse something higher, I'm screwed."
At this point, Evangeline just couldn't deal with it anymore as she let out a sigh before shaking her head a little.
"Devon has a completed a total of ten escorting commissions and six of those were from here to your village Sunglow village those people made it back safely and he even did five of those solo." She articulated trying as much as possible to keep her voice calm.
"I don't know, sounds like he was just lucky." The old man said before crossing his arms.
Evangeline let out a deep sigh as she flung her head back before bringing it back up again.
"Maybe, but then again you have to make a choice, it's either you stay here and wait for the experienced adventurers who I'm sure won't be returning anytime soon or go with Devon who I have already told you will be able to get you to your destination safely."
There really was no choice left for him, if he wanted to get back to his village, then he had to let Devon be his escort.
"Okay, fine but if anything happens to me you won't get off lightly."
"Of course," Evangeline said with a clearly made-up smile as she slowly turned her gaze to Devon who was pretending to not be paying attention to their conversation while Erina just stood there observing everything. "You heard that Devon, go get ready and you sir, go get your things."
"I know, don't order me around." He grumbled before slowly making his way out of the area.
"That sounded like an order?"
"No, people like him just have this idea that they're up there so anything you say to them sounds like an order, it's something called inflated ego," Devon explained.
"I know." She said before turning her gaze to Erina who turned toward her at that time for the two to make eye contact. "Is she with you, Devon?"
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, this is Erina she's my um….I want to say friend but we grew up together in the orphanage so we're basically like siblings, and Erina this is Miss Evangeline I know you're already aware but she's in charge of handing out commissions here."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Evangeline."
"The pleasure's all mine." She said with a smile. "I'm sort of curious, is that dye on your hair?"
"Um….no, I was born with this hair color," Erina replied as she shook her head.
"Oh, that's rare, people don't usually have purple hair, I don't mean to pry but is there anything special about it?"
"Um….no, not really."
"Oh, I see."
"Looks like we'll have to talk later, Erina, I have to go get ready to escort that man back to his village, see you at home," Devon uttered before quickly running off.
He expected Erina to slowly follow him from behind, but after keeping her gaze on him until he was out of sight, she slowly turned her gaze to Evangeline.
______ _______
It took him a while to return to the booth, but now that he was out, he had his black hood on with his blade sheathed on his back.
He was expecting to find just Evangeline and the man he was going to be escorting in the area but was shocked when he found out that Erina was still there.
The old man was already there with everything he was moving out with in the big bag he had on his back now.
"What are you still doing here, Erina?"
"What does it look like? I just signed up for the adventurers guild and will be joining the commission as your backup." She said before raising the badge in her hand.
It was just a simple spherical badge made with silver plating and had the letter G stylishly designed on it.
'You have to be kidding me.'