After saying his farewells to the Commander, Sol left the office and headed toward the squad's quarters. On the way, he sent a message through his PAL, asking everyone to gather for a quick meeting. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed someone waiting for him.
"Saintess?"
Saintess Wendy stood calmly, her expression purposeful. She waited for him to approach before speaking. "Did you meet with Commander Zaman?"
Sol nodded. "I did. Before you say anything, let me thank you for helping me out. But I need to ask, why?"
"Don't misunderstand." Wendy replied, her tone firm. "I still think your plan to meet him is reckless. Trying to find your parents, especially your father, is dangerous and unwise. Originally, I planned to stay out of it and let you deal with the consequences. But after yesterday... you were about to leave the city, yet you came back to help, didn't you?"
Sol didn't deny it. "Yeah, I was. Who told you?"
"No one. I made an educated guess since you weren't in the palace when the attack began." Wendy crossed her arms. "By the way, I also heard you were the one who discovered and shared the dungeon rules. That helped us gain the dungeon as an ally."
"Speaking of which." Sol said, curiosity evident. "What kind of deal did we make with the dungeon? I was surprised to see the Shadow Crawler join the fight, but they were a huge help."
The Shadow Crawler had been instrumental in the battle. It had taken control of the shadow moon Sol created, allowing him to maintain his [Umbral Domain]. Without it, the blood moon created by Nisha could have regained dominance, potentially leading to catastrophe for the kingdom.
"It was Princess Valerie who made the deal." Wendy explained. "I only found out today. The agreement has many parts, but the main terms are that, in exchange for the dungeon providing monsters and ceasing to cause monster houses, the kingdom will reduce the amount of ambient mana we siphon to repair the city walls by half. The other half will be redirected into the dungeon to allow it to grow. Additionally, we must regularly supply the dungeon with certain resources. In return, we gain a powerful army of monsters. However, we must pay the dungeon sufficient mana and resources in advance for it to lend us its forces. Yesterday's help with the Shadow Crawler was an exception."
While Sol could see the benefits of the arrangement, one major concern nagged at him. "But wasn't siphoning the ambient mana meant to prevent the dungeon from growing stronger? Aren't you worried about it reaching S-Rank? Right now, only the plaza around the dungeon is harmful to ordinary people if they linger too long. But if it ranks up, won't the entire city become uninhabitable?"
If that happened, only B-Rankers or stronger individuals could survive in the city, and even they would suffer over time.
Wendy shook her head. "That's addressed in the deal too. Dungeons can control whether they leak energy and transform their surroundings. The dungeon has agreed to contain its energy as long as we fulfill our end of the bargain."
Sol relaxed at her explanation. If that were true, the agreement was a massive boon for the kingdom. Beyond the immediate benefits, if the dungeon ranked up without causing issues, wouldn't they become the first city in the world with an S-Rank dungeon? The advantages from that alone would be monumental.
"I'm glad it worked out." He said. "By the way, Zaman mentioned I couldn't use any Royal Knight resources. Why is that?"
Wendy scoffed at his audacity. "Did you really think I'd let you use our resources for something I still think you shouldn't do? No. If you're determined to pursue this, you're on your own. I've already done more than enough for you."
"No, you're right." Sol admitted, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "I didn't plan to use them anyway, but I wanted to hear it from you."
I just didn't expect you to be so brutally direct about it...
Still slightly annoyed, Wendy stepped aside with a huff. "Alright, get out of here before I change my mind."
As Sol walked past her, Wendy made one final request. "Sol, before you meet your father, prepare some measures against psychic energy. Even if you don't think he'll harm you, it's better to be safe than sorry."
Sol paused and turned back to her. "I will. I'm working on a way to protect myself, just in case."
In addition to his skills like [True Sight (Variant)], which shielded him against illusions, and [Invincible Body], which helped resist mental effects, he was refining his own psychic abilities. If he developed one of his psychic skills into a law technique, he believed he could resist, or at least detect, any mental manipulation attempts from his father. Though he doubted such a scenario would happen, he wouldn't go unprepared.
Wendy caught his confident expression and smiled faintly. "Good. Stay safe."
She waved him off as he continued toward the squad's quarters.
In the meeting room, Duncan, Nataly, Rex, Aron, Lapis, and Lazuli were already seated around the table. When Sol entered, his eyes briefly scanned the room, pausing on each face. Duncan was the first to speak, already intuiting the reason for the sudden meeting.
"So, you're leaving now, huh?"
Sol nodded. "Yeah. Now that the worst is over, I have to go."
"Won't you be in trouble if you just disappear? Are you really going to leave unannounced?" Rex asked, concern evident. Sol could become a wanted man if he left the Royal Knights without proper notice.
Sol shook his head, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Nope. Don't ask me how, but the Commander believes I'm going on a solo mission. If he asks, please keep yesterday's events to yourself."
Nataly looked disheartened. "Do you really have to go?"
The squad could function without Sol, but she knew it wouldn't be the same.
Sol sighed, meeting each of their gazes. With the exception of Lapis, who remained stoic, the others clearly shared Nataly's sentiment. He was sad to leave, but he couldn't waver now. Both he and Amber needed answers, and finding his father was the key.
"I have to go." he said firmly. "But I won't be gone forever. I don't know how long this will take, but I promise I'll come back."
While the squad remained solemn, Lapis suddenly stood up and declared, "Next time we meet, I'll be an A-Ranker, and we'll have our rematch."
Sol's eyes widened at her claim, but the next moment, he burst out laughing. Even now, her competitive spirit burned brightly.
"Sure, sure!" Sol said with a big smile. "I hope next time you actually make me work up a sweat."
"I'd pay good money to see that fight." Aron chimed in, already imagining the epic battle.
"Sis would win! Just give her time, she'll catch up!" Lazuli interjected, her clear bias to her sister shining through.
The previously somber mood quickly shifted into a lively debate as the squad began picking sides.
Noticing the uplifted atmosphere, Sol glanced at Lapis and gave her an appreciative nod. He could tell she had made her declaration intentionally to lighten the mood, and it had worked.
For the next half hour, the squad debated, joked, and laughed together until it was time for Sol to leave.