The Anon Oriken spacecraft remained concealed from the naked eye while hovering above the Alien Village, which was being constructed with the help of a few adventurers, those who passed the profile check thanks to Alien Archive.
In other words, these individuals were those whose aim was to only explore the corners of the Dark Lands, gain experience, and sell materials for money—the unchanging driving force of society even in this world.
With that said, in exchange for their labor, Grey offered them an excessive amount of Ori Shards which Princess Quintella had collected upon slaying a few hundred low-rank monsters that were fortunate enough to be not part of the RMC-Operation Project.
"Thanks to Boss, we are saved. Aside from that, we've also received an abundant amount of Ori Shards to the point that the Adventurer's Guild would find it outright suspicious..." A man in his late twenties, whose hair was short and black, whose eyes were dim black like murky obsidian, addressed the other adventurers.
All of them—silent and inwardly scrutinizing each other's thoughts—were sitting in front of a serene bonfire after doing less arduous work compared to fighting with their lives on the line.
"But where is he though? He suddenly disappeared after informing us to rebuild and renovate this previous Goblin Village. Also, he's a strange Mutant among all I've seen in my years as an adventurer." This time around, it was a woman's voice, someone in her early teens with shoulder-length light blue hair and sapphire-like sharp eyes that depicted the cold breeze of a frozen sea.
With her gaze fixated on the crackling flames of the burning woods, the oldest among all the rescued adventurers, a thirty-five (35) years old man with a freckled face, short brown hair, and brown eyes, spoke to everyone, "I guess youngsters are all like that—curious here and there. For someone like me, that's not what's important, but rather the fact that we have been saved. By the way, let's introduce each other first."
"You don't have to since we already know you." The woman from earlier interjected before she continued, her eyes swept past the other young adventurers, "By the way, I'm Winter, sixteen, and from the South Lumenasia."
"You rude brat." The proctor adventurer from the Adventurer's Guild muttered to himself.
In this world that was divided by a mysterious, magical, and supernatural curtain known as the Mystic Veil, access to another nation was something too difficult and limited unless certain conditions were met, like being an adventurer or if there were royal conventions between rulers.
With this in mind, the Holy Empire of Lumenasia had several branches of the Adventurer's Guild in other nations, which allowed the registered adventurers to travel in foreign lands. In this case, the victims of the Trolls, Orcs, and Goblins that Grey and Princess Quintella slaughtered were all mere guests of the Earthfolks nation—Earthernshire.
Moving on, the six adventurers introduced themselves to each other, which then ended with a question...
"I wonder where are the others..? Did something happen to them?" The man from earlier, who referred to Grey as Boss, abruptly asked.
"I see. It seems our savior only trusts me based on what I've observed." Rahk, the proctor adventurer who oversaw some newbies, garnered everyone's attention.
With their inquisitive gaze, he then continued in all seriousness, "All of you don't have a home to go back to, do you?"
At that moment, the six adventurers apart from Rahk, which included Winter and Khan—the one who praised Grey—had their countenances painted with curiosity.
"Wh–what does that have to do with our situation right now, Sir Rahk?" Winter queried with a bit of surprise in her icy voice.
"Sigh, you brat. Since it will be difficult for him to communicate as a Mutant, our savior entrusted me with this job after observing all of you for quite some time."
The proctor adventurer then elucidated the matter that Grey entrusted him with, causing murmurs to spread on this cold night under the illuminating black sun.
"Huh? I don't understand. So it means the others with us either have a home to go back to or have a criminal record in the Adventurer's Guild, that's why he did not wake them up?" Khan muttered while the others only listened and pondered.
"Wake them up... What does that even mean? Where are they? Didn't we wake up in this place?" Winter found it difficult to understand the current circumstances, recalling that every one of them opened their eyes lying on this crude village with Grey in his original form waiting for them.
Knowing the existence of the alien object that was unfathomable in this world, Rahk interjected, "I cannot tell you that, but I am certain that they are safe. What's more important is your decision—would you continue being adventurers just for the sake of making a living? Just to make ends meet? Or would you rather serve under our savior as adventurers and join him in his journey?"
Khan, Winter, and the four others glanced at him with suspicious gazes.
It was then that Winter addressed a concern, "Sir Rahk, do you know you sound like a true fanatic? Did some sort of a cult save us? Speak properly! Savior this and that, that sounds ridiculous!"
"You rude brat! To begin with, our savior never told us his name, but he discussed this with me. Once your decision has been made, you'll instantly know the answers to your curiosities.
"If you are weighing the pros and cons about this matter, then I suggest all of you should do a little introspection before making a decision." The proctor adventurer said.
The six adventurers fell silent as numerous questions flooded their minds.
Where would we go back to after this?
What would change if we declined this offer?
What would happen if we become under the command of the one who saved us?
After some time, the decision had been made.
"I will do it, Sir Rahk."
"Me, too. This is my way of repaying him!"
"I'll go, too!"
In almost an instant, as though their informal convention was being monitored in real-time, they suddenly disappeared from where they were cozily sitting.
Woom!
***
Anon Oriken, Host's Headquarters.
"P–P–Princess Quintella?!"
"Wh–wh–what is the Princess doing here?!"
"Wh–what's with this situation?!"
Baffled to the extreme, even the eldest among these adventurers had his eyes widened and mouth agape, an indication that he, too, did not know that such a royal blood was living in this very strange place.
Everyone was surprised upon seeing the very existence that was declared a wanted for treason and desertion by the Holy Empire of Lumenasia.
"P–Princess, w–were you captured too? How are you?" Rahk asked, his head lowered.
"No, Sir Rahk. I've been with Mister Grey for two months now. By the way, we're not going to talk about that, but instead about all of you. You know very well that I am being hunted by the empire, my very own homeland for the sins I did not commit.
"With that in mind, considering your decision to follow Mister Grey on his journey, which also means following me, then you must know there's no turning back. Don't worry, with this briefing, you'll come to learn of my previous predicament."
After that, Grey, whose existence seemed to be temporarily ignored when they saw the Princess, transformed into his human form.
He then interjected as Princess Quintella looked and smiled at him, "Thank you, Sir Rahk. Anyway. Just as you've heard, I am Grey.
"Similar to all of you, I saved Princess Quintella, but not from mere mindless monsters, but from the very hands of her own uncle, Count Gildeus, who tried to kill her under the very orders of the Great Emperor."
Hearing this, the proctor adventurer, Winter, Khan, and the others looked at each other with incredulous eyes, their expressions myriad.
"The noble world... is too complicated. How can her own father ordered her assassination?"
"But I guess wealth and reputation are infinitely more important for them than their own blood."
"That's why I hate arranged marriages."
Princess Quintella did not mind the side remarks of some of them. Instead, Grey, who was observing her cold countenance, continued, causing them to be quiet, "Listen... From now on, you will answer to Princess Quintella, but if it's something that needs my immediate attention, then report it to me. But first, I need all of you for the construction of the village."
If there was one truth that Grey and Princess Quintella realized, it was that these people were never needed for the rapid and intricate development of the Alien Village because of the existence of Nano-AIs and Anoboids. However, if there was one thing that could NOT be transformed to become anything... It was the nexus of genuine human connection.
The discussion continued—from the initial plan to develop the Alien Village, to the possible remuneration that they would receive upon achieving their work, to the establishment of initial connection with the Earthfolks with Rahk's help, and up to the ways to send those who were still asleep back to their waiting families.
It would be arduous, but not impossible.
"I know everything in your sight at this very moment looks very peculiar. But you don't need to concern yourselves about this since you will be focusing on the development of the village, which materials are something I would personally provide.
"If there's any question, just ask it even if you don't see or feel my presence. Yes, I will hear it."
Hearing the certainty in their savior's voice, some of them involuntarily gulped, their thoughts of fright only known to themselves.
After some time...
"Okay, if there are no questions..."
Snap!
Grey snapped his fingers as the six adventurers apart from Rahk were instantly enclosed by a purple light and disappeared.
Woom!