"Don't you guys think... Our food is too little?"
Not just the food but everything else too, Doris added.
"We haven't taken any missions so, yes. We're poor..."
Poor.
Eleen's words resounded in everyone's head. Yes. They were indeed.
"You know..." Doris whispered into the doctor's ears with a fleeting voice, "I've been working for years so once I ran away from my father, I wouldn't lack in money at least for a while." She took multiple part-time jobs in secret, knowing that her life would turn into hell if her father found out. "But look at me now! Homeless and penniless!"
Were all her struggles for nothing? She still had a huge portion of her savings, but Ian told her not to waste them on food and travel expenses and keep them to herself. Even when she wanted to buy clothes for himself, the man would offer his own savings. Keep them for yourself, he would say, you can buy some jewelry later, it's the best way to save your money, he would offer. But judging by the situation... Could she really do that? It felt wrong to hide her money in such a situation.
"We'll take one or two commissions once we arrive at the town. We're close by, so don't worry."
Everyone looked at Ian who said that, disbelief written all over their faces. Wasn't he the one who refused every single commission using a not-really-logical excuse?
Despite having doubts, no one opposed him. They've been traveling together for around a month, and never has Ian's actions really posed them great danger. Even if they went through some hard times, none of them ever felt insecure or threatened.
Not knowing what was going through the youngsters' minds, Ian his schedule.
'We are late from our schedule...'
The whole situation with Lior and Zal was something unexpected that Ian hadn't considered while timing their journey, and now they were running late.
As if that wasn't enough, some stuff still remained to be taken care of. One very important one was the matter with Zal.
'I can only hope he can act well.'
Since he couldn't think of any other way to fool these children.
'Really, why don't I just declare myself as a prophet and tell them to listen to what I order? So troublesome...'
He grumbled again, yet didn't do anything to change his situation.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at a city. This one was the largest in the area as well as a famous contact point for mercenaries and also merchants, so a lot of people traversed this town every day.
Finally finding the contact point after asking around for a while, the group entered the fairly large building. Contrary to the other contact points they'd seen before, this one was brimming with people. The lower floor was used as both the reception area and a restaurant for travelers while the upper floor offered some rentes space for people to stay the night.
The group made their way toward the reception desk, where a young man was busy scribing down his notes. Upon seeing them approach, the young man raised his head, revealing his thin and tired face, as well as the dark circles under his eyes.
'Poor thing...'
Ian nodded at the overworked employee, pitting him in his heart.
"We are a mercenary group and want to see if there are any missions."
"Yes, may I see your identification cards?"
While the others took out their identification cards, Claus stood rooted to his spot, watching them in silence.
"Ah, should we register Mister Claus as a mercenary as well while we're here?"
"That's a great idea, Miss Eleen."
Hearing what he was waiting for, Ian beamed a smile at them before turning to the employee, "Please lend us a registration form."
"Ah, yes."
Just then, someone drove them aside with a slight push.
"Greetings. I'd like to join the mercenary guild."
Turning to the right, they could see a young man in wide, weird clothes. His white hair cascaded all the way down his ankles despite being braided and tied up, drawing everyone's attention to him. His attractive face and pale gray pupils added to his uniqueness, making it hard for people to take their eyes off him.
As if the clockwork of time hitting a stop, everything in the hall seemed to stop at the man's entrance.
"...Sir, I asked for a form."
"Ah, yes." Once the newcomer urged, the employee hurriedly took out another piece of paper, handing it to the white-haired man. Under the watchful gazes of the others, the man began to fill in the form in a relaxed matter, but paused once he reached one specific question.
Seeing the employee busy with others, the white-haired young man turned to the people beside him, who were also busy filling out a form.
"Excuse me, can you tell me how should I fill this section?"
"Ah, this is..." Eleen peeked at the paper presented in front of her face. "They require you to either fill in your name or give them a nickname. Anything is fine as long as it's not the name of some specific people, like the royal family or nobles."
"Oh, I see. Thank you."
The man went back to filling out the form, yet after a few seconds, he turned to them once again.
"My apologies. Do you know if it's necessary to fill in the date of birth part?"
"Hmm? I don't think it's too important, since a lot of people don't know the exact day they were born... Sir, if you're uncertain, would you mind telling us how old you are approximately so we can calculate a date for you?"
"Uh, about that..." The white-haired man touched his chin, his long eyebrows frowning a bit, "If I'm not mistaken, I must be around 30, or so."
"30?"
All taken aback, the group exchanged glances, but no one said anything. None of them was the type to easily speak with strangers, except for Eleen.
"Uh? But you seem much younger than that."
"Do I? I've heard that a lot, but I might actually be even older. Mana can sometimes be tricky."
Once the word 'Mana' was mentioned, Doris's attention jumped back to him.
"A-are you a mage?"
The white-haired man turned to Doris whose face was half-hidden behind Eleen, or rather, she attempted it to be but since she was the taller one, she couldn't hide herself properly.
"I can't yet consider myself a mage... but I do know a bit of magic." He then looked back at the paper he was holding, "So is it alright if I give a vague date?"
"I guess it should be fine."
While scribing down a few random numbers on the empty section, the mage let out a sigh-like chuckle, "Miss, you seem to know a lot about this procedure. Do you also work here?"
"No, I... I've been in the guild for a long time so I'm a bit familiar."
"I see."
The man scanned his paper once before handing it to the employee. The staff checked his info for a few minutes before returning with an identification card.
"Mr. Zal, right? Do you intend to work alone or would you like us to introduce some teams to you?"
Receiving the card, Zal cast a confused glace at the employee.
"I'm... not sure yet."
"It's alright, you can think of it and come back later. Um... Mister. Evergreen's number 1 fan? What about you?"
"Wait, why are you, hey, Alaric?"
"...Sir Calus I told you not to listen to young master Alaric..."
"B-but he said it wasn't important!?"
"Pffft, hahahaha I'm not alone anymore hahaha yeaaahhh~"
"I knew you were a wrecked one, golden human!"
"Ahem ahem," The employee cleared his throat with a few loud coughs. "So you already have a team. Alright, you can proceed to pick up a mission."
Ian interfered with the crowd.
"Actually, let's eat first before deciding on what mission to take."
As if waiting for his words, the group rushed to one of the tables at the far end of the hall, like a bunch of children heeding their parent's call. Walking alongside them, Ian suddenly paused and looked back.
"Sir, if the other chairs are full, you can share your meal with us."
"Oh, you are too kind. Then let me pay for the food."
"Sure."
The two of them walked side by side to the table. A soft smile never left Ian's face.
'He's a pro.'
Of course, he'd be. What else did he expect?
Soon after, the food was served. The group, which could be considered a large one, chatted while eating their lunch as they always did, but today, someone else was also discussing with them.
"So you want to be a mercenary as a way to pass your time?"
Zal gave a brisk nod.
"Right. I'm not actually in need of money."
The conversation flew by.
"Yeah, I would like to join a group, but I'm new at this so I'm not really sure."
Then again, people responded to him.
"If you're finding it hard, you can travel with us for a while until you decide on what to do next."
Ian gave a suggestion. No one opposed him.
"Really? Then I won't turn down your offer."
Everything proceeded smoother than he'd expected them to.