Meanwhile, the guild members surrounded the last troll. It seemed these creatures had two hearts, so it didn't die from a single blow.
"Werner, Asura, distract it! Vivien, I trust you with the final strike," I decided to leave the monster to Asura. I thought she would be offended if I took away her prey. "Kurone, help them."
Asura and Werner took on two of the troll's arms. With their swords, they tried to deflect its attacks and inflicted cuts whenever possible. Miriam showered the troll's head with a barrage of arrows, but its skin was too tough, and hitting a moving target from such a distance was almost impossible.
"Miri, shoot its ears to anger it toward you," silent commands were no longer new to the warriors, but the alien inner voice still scared them a bit.
Arrows flew into the creature, and it tried to charge at Miriam.
"Werner, stand on the left side of the enemy with Asura, and deliver a barrage of strikes to its arm when it attacks you."
The warriors followed the orders precisely. The troll swung its right hand, but the two warriors managed to block it together. Then the monster twisted and tried to swipe away the annoying bugs with its left hand, but the warriors managed to evade it.
"Miri, shoot the left side of its head."
The archer released a couple of arrows straight into the creature's ear. The troll shook its head and swung its left hand to cover its head.
"Vivien, attack!"
Vivien, who had been hiding low to the ground on the right side of the troll, stood up and struck the unprotected stony skin on its side. Now she was certain she pierced the troll's heart, and it collapsed to the ground with a loud crash.
"Phew, I got so scared. I'm glad everyone is safe," Vina sighed with relief as the last monster fell to the ground. "And they are amazing. I didn't think they would handle it so well."
The girl glanced at the guild members; everyone was intact and unharmed, though the warriors' weapons had suffered a bit from the powerful blows of the trolls.
"Hmm," Vina counted the people and noticed someone was missing. "Where's Krito?"
"Cough-cough," behind her stood a young man with two black swords.
"Hello, Krito."
"Hello to you too. What are we doing here?"
During the battle, I noticed that our merchant was nowhere to be seen. But someone warned Kurone about the troll. So she must have been lying somewhere from where she could see the entire battlefield. Occasionally, a glint of glass could be seen on the hill, and it was worth investigating.
"Vina, what is this crystal?"
"I... don't know what to say..."
"Are you spying on us?"
"I'm sorry, I needed to do it," the girl bowed her head apologetically. "I suppose I should give you the crystal and stay away from the guild?"
She placed the crystal in front of me and got up from the ground.
"I haven't dismissed you yet. First, I need some explanations. First, what happened at the Academy yesterday, and second, why did you leave Alfred's guild?"
The girl hesitated for a moment.
"You're... more perceptive than I thought. But why burden yourself unnecessarily? You should hurry back to your friends."
"I still have time. First, I want to hear you out, and besides, without your help, we'll face problems with this trial. So, why were you spying? I thought you were looking for a new guild."
"Yes, I just needed money, urgently. That's why I left Alfred's guild, that greedy bastard," Vina whispered the last sentence almost inaudibly to herself. "He paid a small 'salary' from completed contracts to all participants and funneled more than half of the money to the guild's needs, as he put it. True, new equipment and adornments only appeared in his possession and his two cronies'. And everyone else blindly followed him, believing in his righteousness. I don't know what those fools were thinking; he was just robbing them. And the last job brought us enormous money; if he had split it evenly, I would have received nearly two thousand gold coins, but he paid me only a hundred. That's when I had a falling-out with him. I thought, under the guise of his guild, I could gather trophies from the dungeons and sell them, even if it meant being on the run afterward."
"Well, it's a good thing we stopped you in time. Tell me, did Alfred give you this thing?"
"Yes, somehow, the crystal records whatever is seen through it. He promised me ten thousand for recording your battle."
"Is he searching for information about our trophies?"
"No, he's more likely interested in learning about your combat abilities. Perhaps he's preparing for a tournament."
"But still, you could have asked us. After the festival, I'm sure we could have given you a larger sum of money."
The girl lowered her head, and it seemed tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes.
"I needed the money urgently. My father is also a merchant, and I learned everything from him. He never took risks and earned decent money. Of course, we couldn't afford a castle or an estate, but we always lived in comfort. But when I entered the Academy, my father decided to earn more money so that I wouldn't feel poor among the nobles. And, in the end, he fell for some unreliable suppliers. He lost a lot of money and had to repay the debt, or he'd go to jail. When I returned to the Academy, I found a letter from my mother: they threw my father into a debt pit. I wanted to help him, and, of course, Alfred offered me a deal. I don't know how he knew everything, but he promised to pay off my father's debt if I brought him this recording. The most hurtful part was that it was exactly my share from all our contracts. I couldn't refuse."
Vina sighed deeply and straightened her shoulders.
"Now you know everything. And I even feel a bit relieved. Now Alfred won't get anything, and you won't be harmed. Please apologize to Katrina and Asura for me."
The girl tried to leave, but I stopped her.
"I haven't dismissed you yet."
"Do you want to punish me?"
I handed her the crystal.
"I can't offer you the money to pay off your father's debt, but I can give you this."
"What are you talking about!? He might use it against you later!! Don't be foolish. I'll find the money somehow."
"You don't have time for that. Take it; you need it."
"Thank you, and sorry that I couldn't help you."
"What!?! Are you going to abandon us?? Who will trade for us at the closing?!"
"But how can I look them in the eyes after everything?"
"And nobody will find out anything. I'll tell only Katrina and Asura. If they agree, others don't need to know."
"You're taking too much risk, do you realize that?"
"Of course. But there's no other way. Let's go; everyone is waiting."
"Krito, where have you been? Doing something bad to Vina?" Katrina placed her hands on her hips, looking displeased.
"Haha. No, she just got tangled up in a bush and couldn't get out."
"Ooo, who's calling her 'little one'!?" Vina kicked me angrily and smirked before running to the others.
She had a smile on her face, and this time, it was genuine.
We entered the cave, and the teacher greeted us calmly:
"So, you've defeated everyone, but it took you a long time. You have ten minutes, and I'll allow you to use the trophies from here to repair your weapons, if possible. Or replace your broken ones."
After pulling a lever, the teacher opened the entrance. Inside, there were numerous shelves with armor and weapons, just as the information had stated. Our warriors immediately started selecting their weapons. Alg and I didn't need replacements; our blades were much sturdier than the troll's stone scales. Werner picked up a decent short sword, almost identical to the previous one. I don't know if he did it on purpose or not, but his new sword seemed to be made of adamantite. Still, it's better if he keeps it to himself. Vivien couldn't find anything better than her spear and didn't want to part with the family heirloom, so she only took a few plates for patching up and found a good chainmail for her sister. Miriam was dissatisfied with her long bow. Sure, its shot power and range were quite good, but at close distances, she wanted to try herself with a short bow. On one of the stands, she found a finely carved bow and hung it on her back. I don't know if it will be convenient for her to walk with two bows on her back; it looks strange from the side. Asura chose several good-quality steel swords, seemingly planning to use all of them for repairing her own blade.
I walked along the walls and grabbed two items: a slightly rusty sword with a surprisingly well-preserved black hilt and a tall shield covered on the inside with dark metal and on the outside with wooden leaves. Upon seeing my choices, Vina only shook her head in disappointment.
"But why?" I asked.
"Krito, I don't know what you were thinking, but do as you wish. This is weapons, and if they rust, they're of little use. Age is not valued here."
"What does it matter? I chose these, and that's it."
"Comrade mages, you may not know much about this, but take weapons that look somewhat presentable, without signs of decay."
Ragni smirked and pulled out a sword she had noticed. It had a gilded hilt, precious stones, and an elegant form.
"Ragni, it's just a prop. If the sword looks pretty, it's probably a fake. Look for ones that resemble ordinary swords and call me if you find a master's mark on the blade."
In the end, the mages dispersed around the room and found a couple of good items. However, Seleria pulled out a lavishly decorated dagger. Although it was clearly not meant for battle, Vina let her keep it because the hilt was actually made of gold and could be worth a few coins.
After leaving the dungeon, we decided to rest in the nearest town until the next trial, which wasn't too far away. We waited for Ragni to take the loot to the storage. Asura and Vivien repaired their weapons, which cost a substantial amount of money, but I hope we won't encounter such problems in the future.
In the evening, I called Katrina, Asura, and Vina into one room. The guildmasters needed to know about my decision before handing the crystal over to Alfred.
"Traitors in my clan are punished with the full force of the law," Asura listened to the conversation and stood up from her chair. "But she is in your guild. I will accept any decision you make, although I won't trust her with my back anymore."
Asura left the room quietly, closing the door behind her.
"She's right; I betrayed you, and it's better for me to leave," Vina said.
"Don't be foolish. We still need your trading skills," I said.
"Krito!" Katrina even jumped a little. "What do her skills have to do with this? She's our friend, and her father needed help. We should help her."
"And, of course, you understand that the only way we can help her is..." I trailed off.
"Yes," the princess lowered her gaze. "Even if it puts our guild at risk in the future, I want to help Vina."
"And you agree to give the crystal to Alfred?"
"Yes."
"Thank you both, thank you," Vina cried. "I promise I'll repay you in any way I can. I'll work hard and make your guild the most prosperous in Verania."
"Alright, Vina, I'm looking forward to the results of our future collaboration," I said.