It had been a day since he returned, and honestly, Rise almost felt it was surreal until he finally saw Kamille and talked to him. Everything was already clear then, but it only became clearer.
Now that he was alone again, Rise suddenly felt sleepy. It seemed all his excitement had finally calmed down somewhat. He blinked as he stared at the ceiling, a smile still lingering on his lips.
Perhaps, it's not too late to say thank you. Rise laughed and thought of who returned him to this point in time or who intentionally revealed the truth of the world to him.
No matter what your intention... Giving this opportunity to have a second chance is not bad. Not bad at all.
Rise's eyes then slowly closed, and his breathing became even in just a few seconds as he fell asleep.
That sleep was short, but it was already enough for him. Rise, as an experienced Esper on the battlefield, naturally had a more alert and keen perception than average.
He could be awakened with just a slight disturbance, and so when the gate's mana intensity surged, Rise was already preparing himself for the raid, even before Kamille sent someone to call him.
As Rise stated, he was serious about this raid; he never lied to Kamille or to himself as an Esper.
When he arrived at the reception hall, which was on the first floor, most of the guild members and personnel were already there. His gaze naturally landed on the man standing in front.
Kamille was now wearing his black coat, his expression serious and alert. While talking with someone, he seemed to sense someone's intense gaze dawning on him, and their eyes met.
Rise's eyes glimmered before he waved, smiling as he walked forward until he was already in front of Kamille.
While some still gave a disapproving gaze at him, no one really voiced it now. Everyone present was already entering the combat stage, and no one would want to provoke the Guild Leader's mood at this moment.
"Is it finally starting?" Rise, too, did not beat the bush and asked directly. If he were to be asked, he would also be eager for that action.
Kamille seemed to observe him for a good few seconds before nodding. "We'll only prepare some necessary details."
This included food and other essentials that would need to last for two weeks. While they could store more, doing so was useless. If they were not able to subjugate the gate in time before it evolved, food would be useless if they were already dead, right?
Rise nodded in understanding and did not ask more, letting Kamille continue with his task. He was always considerate and would not disturb the Guild Leader for his whims, as he understood what currently mattered the most.
He obediently stood by Kamille's side, listening to how he instructed the staff. Still, his gaze would sometimes fall on the members glaring at him from time to time.
Him being at Kamille's side was already a provocative action for them. It was especially so for Hayes, who had yet to figure out what Rise meant.
Rise would then smile at them, looking so well-behaved but irritating at the same time. He absolutely enjoyed those gazes, making himself feel superior. He had matured quite a bit, but he was still Rise; his nature was still there!
A few minutes later, most of the members that were included in the raid were called and assembled in front of Kamille and, of course, Rise, as he was beside Kamille.
Rise was also shameless enough to stand beside the Guild Leader, not leaving for a moment. It seemed as though it was naturally his place, distracting others but not being able to voice it out.
Fortunately, the Espers, while distracted and disgruntled at his presence, were still professional and chose to just ignore Rise and focus on Kamille's figure.
There were about twenty people, including them, who would venture inside the gate. The other members and the military would have to wait and observe the situation inside.
For Kamille, bringing more would only be detrimental to the raid, so he instead made sure the qualified Espers were included. There were 14 Espers in total, with 6 Guides. The Espers averaged B and A rank, with Kamille as the S-rank. Some were C, but they had useful auxiliary abilities like scouting or healing.
For Guides, it was mostly B, with only one normal A rank. This was a dangerous mission, and the association would not let any more than that. As for S-rank... that was actually non-existent. In this today age, for some reason, there are not yet any S-rank Guides in existence.
And so the studies only said that Guides' wavelength was unlike that of Espers; their ranks were ultimately different, leading to them only being A-rank as the highest.
"As I've said, this mission will be dangerous but also important." Kamille's voice reverberated throughout the room, being circulated by the air, magnifying his voice.
As the master of the wind, Kamille's ability to summon and use the wind at his disposal seamlessly was a miracle in itself.
His gaze roamed, and he looked at each of his members, his trustworthy comrades, and then shifted to Rise at his side at the last. Their gazes connected, and Rise met those eyes naturally and without any hesitation.
Kamille swallowed and continued, gazing at the crowd once more.
"Let's move..."
He was not someone who gave encouraging words when there was a mission; his mere presence alone was already a great encouragement. Kamille, as an S-Rank, exuded safety, whether through his authority or abilities.
Regardless, the members enthusiastically answered him and yelled energetically. Rise's mouth also could not help but raise. This kind of atmosphere... He never admitted it out loud, but Rise enjoyed it quite a lot.
After going through some final preparations and checks, the group finally stood in front of a huge gate with Kamille's lead.
Around the enormous and terrifying gate was an encirclement, from both the guild and the military.
Rise raised his gaze and stared at the gate. This was an evolving gate, and the mana around it was unstable and chaotic; surges of energy would flicker out of it from time to time.
It also appeared to be growing and expanding at a slow but steady pace.
Suddenly, his blood boiled. Rise was a fighter through and through; for him, the goal was still being with Kamille, but it was not bad to also let his inner beast be satisfied while he was at it.