With the discussion concluded, all the guilds who have not pledged their allegiance towards Zephyr have finally left the hall. The three leaders along with Gringar share a table, while the members of the respective guilds stand behind their lead representative.
"Dungeon surveillance?"
Zephyr picks up a nut from the bowl in front of him as he processes things in his brain on why, of all requests, Gringar poses a surveillance to him.
"That's right. Don't misunderstand, Zephyr. It's not as simple as that– though that kind of warning is unnecessary for you I suppose. Alright, to be blunt, we want this request to have a success rate of 100 percent."
Gringar takes out a map of Navea which has numerous markings of areas where Gringar would like to be surveyed.
"The marked areas are where the locations of certain dungeons need to be mapped out. As for the reason, well, I haven't disclosed this back then due to lack of evidence but, we have received reports from neighbouring towns that those areas seem to be producing unidentified noise. They believe it to be monsters who have left their habitats, so if that's true, even in the slightest chance, we might finally get some clue about this phenomenon."
"So it's like hunting a mole in several holes."
Fiona crosses her arms as she looks at the map. The marked areas are not that far from Telmaris, however, one of each is quite far from each other. To be precise, what Gringar wants to happen is for Zephyr to assign each team he has at his disposal to a dungeon perfect for their skills. Since he can now dispatch at least five expeditions, counting the guilds that pledged allegiance to his future clan, this work would probably be expected to be wrapped up in just a week.
Zephyr thought to himself: 'Eh, if it's just mapping dungeons rather than actually fighting, then it wouldn't be so much of a hassle anyway. I might be able to have Gringar owe me one with this since he looks kinda desperate on this matter. Alright, I've decided, I'll pass this one to Ana!' His baton passing attitude strikes once again. He then takes a glance towards Anastasia who seems to be waiting for his orders.
"Point me where you want me to, Master Zep."
'Yay! I knew I could count on her. But, just to be on the safe side, I don't want her going to a dangerous dungeon alone (he's determined on not going), so I'll pick what I think is the safest.'
He takes a peek at the map to decide where he'll dispatch Anastasia.
'Oh, I know this area well. If I remember correctly, this dungeon here is called |Cave of Echoes|. That's a Rain ranked one, quite a drop for Ana's level, but Gringar's letting me choose anyway. And this is the safest choice-'
His finger lands on the marked areas of his choosing.
"Hm?"
"That's…"
"Master Zep, are you going to send me alone in there?"
'What? Why? What's the problem with the |Cave of Echoes|? I remember leisurely eating bread there due to how safe it was back then.' He then lets out a sigh (in his mind) 'Okay, I can't just leave Anastasia alone in this…this dungeon's safe anyway, so–' With his mind made up, Zephyr nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll come with you Ana."
Ana's eyes widened, her lips formed a smile after hearing his response.
"I'll be in your care again, Master Zep."
'{Fate Threader} is personally going in this one, so that must mean–' ← King Crow
'-this certain dungeon might just be the place we're looking for. The one that houses that certain monster, alright.' ← Gringar
"If that's the case, this area will be the main focus of surveillance. Those who want to go with them, please state your –"
"I shall go! Fuhahaha! There's no way I'm letting this chance pass by!"
King Crow didn't hesitate and volunteered to come. A certain person then raises her hand.
"Me! Me! I want to go too!"
It was Erika who seemed to be looking forward to be included in the group. Fiona, however, does a light hand chop to her head signifying her disapproval of her volunteer. She then speaks in a hushed tone.
"Erika! Mind your actions, you're in front of many important people!"
"Fiona, please it's one of my dreams to finally witness {Fate Threader} personally in action…"
"Then…I'll go too."
"Huh? Are you sure, Meiren?" ← Gringar
Meiren puts her hand on her chest as if preparing for a speech.
"Yes, I am here to become a person worthy enough to be included in the circle of outstanding individuals. Despite being a merchant, I have the attributes enough to fit myself as a hunter."
"C-Chief! You're so cool!!"
All of her subordinates praised her in unison which makes her blush and becomes embarrassed all of a sudden.
"Quit it! Discipline! Discipline!"
While they're all laughing at the current situation, the man in charge seems to be confused, as he realized that something's off.
"....."
'Am I just overthinking things, or are they talking like we're all going to death's door?'
With his brow raised, Zephyr just shrugged his shoulders as he thought that it's all going to be fine since he will be escorted by Ana, the girl whom he met before (Erika) and some strong looking ogre (King Crow). His gaze then turns towards Meiren who was startled with his glance. As a professional, she didn't show any sign of withdrawal, instead, she proudly stands still while keeping a strong posture.
"Don't worry about me, Lord {Fate Threader}. I'll make sure that I won't hinder the group."
'No, it's not like that. More else, I'm the one who's supposed to be saying that in front of you all.' He lets out an internal sigh.
"I just thought how wonderfully brave and responsible you are by seriously taking your role as your guild's leader. I admire it." 'She's so unlike me, I hope I had some of her courage and confidence.' He shows a thumbs up to her while thinking.
"....."
"Eh? Ah!"
Imagine being pressured by yourself to join so that you'll not fall behind despite not having the necessary talent and skills to keep up, but then you get an unexpected praise from the one who you are holding a deep respect for. With that kind of scenario, even though she's holding herself for professionalism, she got flustered, her face bright red.
"Eh, ah, erm-"
"Chiiiiiiiiiief!!! Congratulations!"
"SHUT UP YOU FOOLS!!" Meiren shouted back at them while shoo-ing her hands towards them.
"Fuhahahaha! You display such confidence despite knowing your talent is not the perfect fit for the task. Brave indeed!"
King Crow keeps on banging his hands together.
While [Crow's Nest] are all laughing, [Shadow Core] and Gringar quietly observing whilst smiling, Meiren is still in the process of shutting her subordinates up and composing herself.
'.....'
'Where did the professionalism go?'
While they're at it, Gringar finally asks Zephyr about the important question.
"Thank you for accepting our request. By the way, in order to make it official, have you already thought of the name of your Clan? If not, let's just announce it at the founding ceremony."
'Oh man, I only named our guild [Grim Fate] on a whim after having a bad day and realizing I have a dark future ahead of me.' Zephyr scratches his head and thinks a bit more. 'Well if you're leaving the decision to me, let's see…I'll just base it again on what I'm currently feeling, Hungry Human? Tired Loser?'
As he couldn't give an answer yet, they have decided to do the naming at their Founding Ceremony. The expedition, on the other hand, would be dispatched two days prior to their discussion.