The atmosphere between the three knight captains turned sour as Sol remained firm on his stance. Yolter and Pinema didn't divulge their routes either, so nobody knew where the others were heading.
Yolter thought to himself, 'Even if I knew their routes, I can't do anything with that information. I'll just have to go as fast as I can and hope for the best.'
He believed it would serve no use to him to know their routes, especially if one of theirs was faster than his. He also knew it was possible for one of their routes to be quicker, as his path didn't go directly north but instead went northeast and corrected straight to the objective around the halfway point. Even if he rushed the hornsteads, it would take a little under two weeks to arrive at the Orna Mountains.
The three captains shared empty pleasantries until Sol's squad finally arrived.
"It was nice to meet you both. Good luck on your journey."
Sol excused himself from the awkward atmosphere and headed to his team gathered around the carriage.
Everyone had changed from their formal uniforms to armor. Aron, Lapis, and Rex all wore the same light armor as Sol, the only difference being that Aron's armor was even lighter without shoulder guards and other parts he deemed unnecessary. Duncan was the only one wearing the heavy variant of the knight armor, with a tower shield strapped onto his back which he carried effortlessly. Nataly, being the only true mage in the group, was easily identified as such by her drastically different armor, which was essentially just robes designed in the style of the Royal Knights.
They all looked ready to go, but Sol couldn't help but notice something wasn't right.
"Rex, why are you carrying three large bags? Don't you have a spatial ring?"
Rex had a sheepish smile as he answered, "Well… I used to share a ring with someone, but we are no longer in the same squad. Will this be a problem?"
Sol was about to comment on how stupid that was, but besides the fact that it would be inappropriate for a captain to say that, he remembered what he read in Rex's profile and could somewhat understand why.
"It's fine. For now, let me hold onto it in my spatial ring to not weigh the carriage down. We need to get to our destination as fast as possible."
Rex nodded and handed over his bags.
As Sol stored them in his ring, he asked the rest of the squad, "Is everyone ready to set off?"
"Yes, Captain," Duncan affirmed while the rest nodded.
"Alright, let's go then."
Soon, they were off to the north. Aron, being given the driver responsibility today, drove the hornsteads out of the palace and the city, catching the eyes of many as the monsters weren't commonly used. The other two squads headed out in different directions, one leaving west, another east, while Sol's squad headed straight north.
Once they were far away from the city, Sol used [Muffle Movements], creating a thin barrier surrounding the carriage to cover their noises. Rex raised his head in confusion as he felt the skill activate around them.
"I know I didn't explain much besides the fact that we are heading to the Orna Mountains, so let me explain now. Our main objective is to retrieve a legendary material that we believe is near the border. We don't know what it is exactly, but we do have a general description: it's a bluish-white fruit that is growing off a tree made of ice. Once we get there, we don't have to wait for the other squads unless we determine we can't get it alone."
Aron yelled in shock, "Our first mission is to get a legendary fruit?! And here I thought we would be doing big league stuff a year from now."
Internally thankful he used [Muffle Movements] in case of eavesdroppers, Sol nodded.
"But remember, until we obtain the fruit, no one can know where we are going. We are crossing into orc territory. If they catch word of us heading there, we will face fierce resistance. If anyone asks, say we are going to Chilton to clear out a bandit encampment."
Chilton was a town that was right on the border between the two nations. While it was usually the job of the army and local forces like the Adventurers Guild to deal with such matters, it wasn't uncommon for knights to be sent to take care of it sometimes. This was especially understandable once they knew that this was a newly established squad, so it could be seen as a practice exercise for them.
The knights all nodded, understanding the seriousness of this mission, except for Duncan, who leaned back with a frown and let his thoughts drift.
...
Grand Knight Lawrence was in Commander Zaman's office discussing the three squads that had just set off.
"Zaman, did you really give him such blatant favoritism? On such an important mission too?"
Lawrence wasn't too happy with Zaman that he even dropped the formalities.
"What do you mean, Lawrence?"
"You were supposed to assign the north route to the most capable squad. I know he is your student, but he has no actual experience besides adventuring. They will now arrive three days before the other two squads. If they get caught by the orcs patrolling the border, they will raise their guard making it much harder for the other two squads so we can kiss that fruit goodbye."
"I don't see the problem, Lawrence. I did assign the most capable squad the north route." Zaman pulled six papers from his ring. They each had the name of one of the members of Sol's squad. "Take a look at the people on this squad. They have three peak B-Rankers, Sol, Lapis, and Duncan, so they don't lack in terms of firepower compared to the other squads. Next, we have Rex, who is a mid B-Ranker, but he is one of the most perceptive men we have. He will easily spot the orcs patrolling the border, so it's just a simple matter of walking around them. Lastly, we have Aron and Nataly, both are C-Rankers, but they have unique skill sets. Though I'll admit Aron's is less useful in this mission, Nataly's magic is extremely versatile. Remember, the objective is a fruit. Her nature magic might be vital in recovering it."
Reading over the documents, Lawrence's eyes widened in surprise. Even in situations outside of this mission, this team appeared well equipped for whatever may come their way.
"Commander… Did you select the members of this squad?"
Zaman shook his head, "Not one bit. It was all him." He tapped on Sol's paper. "The only input I had was when he asked about the other A-Ranker from the test, Itaya. I cautioned him against it only because we still don't know why she decided to join us. Speaking of which, how is she fitting in with her team?"
"All is normal. She is obediently following her captain for now. I'll let you know as soon as I find something."
"Please do. I'll contact Guildmaster Orion and see if he knows about her as well."