Regardless of the answer, Rise was only aware of one thing: they were a 'bit' fucked.
"Guild Leader!" Hayes and the others immediately welcomed them as they descended on the camp. Rise's eyes wandered, and he noticed that they were still in the same position as they left a while ago, albeit with some spreading some mattresses on the ground so they could rest more comfortably.
Oh, look at that... So calm, eh?
Rise sneered in his mind; these people were like that. They were not really the best team without Kamille, which was worldwide knowledge even five years later.
Initially, the group was still energetic when the two arrived, but upon seeing Kamille's somber expression, everyone immediately noticed something was wrong.
As soon as they set foot on the ground, Kamille let go of the somehow unwilling Rise and gathered everyone. He only waved his hand, and each of the guild members stood up, crowding in front of him.
"Did you see something, Guild Leader?" Hayes, the second-in-command, asked for everyone's curiosity.
Rise stood beside Kamille silently, not intending to say anything other than listen to Kamille's words, of course. After looking at the uneasy members, he shifted his gaze and returned to Kamille's handsome face.
Kamille's expression always seemed calm, but at this point, the seriousness that clouded within could not be hidden. His eyes roamed at the members; his gaze was piercing, almost scanning each and every one of them, making them anxious.
After a moment of pause, he sighed, seemingly worried. Even he admits that this group... would have no chance against the Viscount.
While he thought so, he did not have any attention to hide it. These members might not be the best, but they were still elite members of his guild.
"This mission is more dangerous than we assumed," Kamille started. His voice carried a kind of dominating air, comforting but intimidating at the same time.
Rise's eyes gleamed, filled with admiration, as he looked at the authoritative figure beside him.
Damn, Kamille is always attractive, whatever he does.
In the crowd, Rise's mind was the only one that could still admire Kamille's appearance, as though they were not about to face a very dangerous enemy.
Under the anxious gaze of the members and Rise's admiring eyes, Kamille continued. This time, he was more direct. There was no time to beat around the bush, and Kamille was not the person to do so.
"A viscount." Kamille did not mind the gasps and the faces that were gradually losing color from what he revealed; he just went on. "I don't know what happened, but we saw a Crystal Palace..."
Kamille proceeded with what Rise and he saw, as well as the unmistakable aura that belonged to a noble. After revealing this, he paused and fell silent again, letting the team members take in and process his words.
The crowd fell silent; a moment of despair seemed to be slowly descending on the members.
A Viscount... No, a noble was of a whole different caliber from the monsters. Kamille could understand the members' reactions. He admitted that, aside from him, these guild members would be destroyed by a noble in a matter of a few seconds; that was already a generous estimate.
The guild, while part of the higher-ranked guilds, was not part of the top three in the federation. Even making it to the top four was already stretching it, calculating Kamille.
Kamille's presence was the one making this guild afloat; that was a fact.
Rise crossed his arms, observing just how the light of hope was gradually being clouded by despair in those idiots' eyes. His eyes also landed on the guides, pale as a white sheet, only seconds away from crying.
Well, he gets it, but at the same time, he doesn't. Rise, in his time with Kamille, had his fair share of encounters with nobles, so perhaps, that was why he was taking this lightly.
Whatever that reason was, Rise was offended on Kamille's behalf.
Tsk, how dare they show their dumbass faces in front of Kamille? Don't they trust him? Rise was pissed, thinking that these groups thought a Viscount was more powerful than the Guild Leader.
His blazing eyes were like a sun, immediately capturing the members' attention. Hayes, who noticed it first, flinched, almost forgetting about the current crisis. The memories of Rise plummeting the wolves to the ground were more traumatizing than the mentioned of the Viscount, whom they had yet to encounter.
It then spread to everyone, until Kamille also got curious why they were looking at Rise, but when he turned to the latter, Rise was already smiling at him. Rise looked so innocent that everyone was speechless yet again.
Kamille's brow shot up, searching for any clue, but he did not see any amiss. Still, it was a good thing. At least, Rise managed to disperse the depressing atmosphere.
Thinking of this, Kamille could not help but stare again at Rise, astonished at how he did this. Yet he didn't have time to ponder more about this; they were in a pressing issue.
He went back to the topic, getting everyone on track.
Rise, on the other hand, clicked his tongue silently. He enjoyed Kamille's attention so much, and these idiots were stealing it from him.
His hot eyes were once again, poured in front of him, much more subtle this time. He did not want to steal Kamille's stage from him.
"Truthfully, this team won't be able to handle the Viscount." Kamille did not sugarcoat it.
The members, while some seemed to want to protest, stopped. That was the reality. They knew it themselves.
Rise suddenly fell into contemplation; something clicked inside of him.
An opportunity... something he was waiting for.
Kamille narrowed his eyes, pausing for a second, and exhaled; he appeared to have decided on something.
Rise's eyes were only fixated on him, observing the changes in his expressions.
"Even so, this is our mission. We can't let another S-rank gate emerge." Kamille said so, but even more, he did not want to regret anything.
As a weapon, the way he was shaped, Kamille's duty as an Esper was deeply rooted in his existence.
Unkowningly, Rise's hands were already clenched tightly, and his eyes also slid downward, falling to the ground.
"Do you trust me?" In such a situation, it was a heavy word. How could anyone trust their life to another?
Yet, for these people... It appears so easy to do so. Maybe, it was also his appeal or their trust in his ability.
With determined eyes, everyone answered. It was unknown if they did mean it, though.
For now, in such a hopeless situation, the weak had no choice but to cling to the stronger.