"G-GENESIS!?"
After hearing their name, Denzel immediately wipes off his sweat and takes a deep breath before opening the door.
"Hi!"
Friendly, elegant and smart. Those are the first impressions Denzel had after seeing Meiren greet him.
"H-hello Miss-Miss uh…I'm Denzel! And this is my-my friends!"
He nervously steps aside to point at his friends who immediately stand to attention.
"Hehe, again; sorry if we're bothering your rest, we're just actually here to–"
"I-It's not a big deal. Mhm, not at all!"
Denzel is as stiff as a board, while mixing his words, which just shows his nervousness.
"I see, that's great! Although you already look fine, please take some more rest and relax."
Meiren then clears her throat and proceeds once again after seeing Denzel nod continuously.
"So, I'm actually just here to introduce you to a certain someone who wants to speak with you. But please, take our humble gift first."
Meiren hands over two baskets, one filled with delicious breads and the other filled with sumptuous fruits.
"A-ah, you don't really have to haha-"
As Denzel hesitantly takes the baskets due to his shyness, the individual who wishes to speak with him steps up.
–a few minutes ago–
"Eh? You will personally give that guild a visit?"
Meiren was surprised about Zephyr's action, Hywel as well.
'Huh? What's with that reaction?'
"Well, yeah…is something the matter?"
Meiren crosses her arms while thinking of something to say about the matter without coming out rude.
"Actually…umm…"
Hywel then taps her shoulder and steps up.
"Zep, I know that you only not care about the well-being of everyone but also perceives this as an opportunity to plant seeds for the future–"
'Where is this coming from?'
"–but you're now a Clan Leader. No, more importantly, you're an Abyss ranked hunter. The one and only in Navea."
Meiren can be seen slowly nodding beside Hywel. She then interjects as to continue what Hywel was trying to say.
"Lord {Fate Threader}, I don't want to sound like an entitled noble…but visiting a human ranked guild with someone your status would be quite an issue. Do not misunderstand! I know you already thought of it, but regardless…as one of your current and future advisors, I would like you to mind your status a little more."
Anastasia assumes a thinking pose.
"That…makes sense."
'Which!?' Zephyr is still trying to understand.
'I mean, status aside, we're all still both humans or hunters right!?'
"Zep, I know you're thinking that we're all humans and hunters, that we have no such difference. That's just the sort of person you are."
Hywel places his hand on his chest as he lightly bows.
"However, now that you've come farther than before, I would like people to know that you're not some hunter that can be bothered by just anything."
Zephyr sighs.
"I'm not bothered by anything though."
Hywel then smiles.
"Yeah, I know. As I said, that's how you always are. This time, however, please hear me out. I know you're already done with the other one (King Crow) and I bet you haven't mentioned anything about his blunder to get him back on his feet as soon as possible–"
Meiren then continues what Hywel is saying.
"–Now you're going to the other guild involved to raise your questions there which you haven't asked King Crow in order to boost their lost morale by providing us, top ranked guilds, the information we need. Did…did I miss out on anything, or am I right…?"
"....."
'Huh!? I haven't thought of it that far!'
Back when Hywel and Meiren are discussing the recent events, Meiren hypothesized that Zephyr will visit both King Crow and the human ranked guild with two separate approaches in mind but with the same goal of getting them back on their feet. Two birds with one stone– unfortunately, the mind of the great {Fate Threader} is not what they think it is.
"Hm. Seems about right. You impress me, Miss Merchant."
Hywel takes Zephyr's silence as proof that they're right. He then bumps his fist against his palm as he makes a proposal.
"With that said Zep, as a member of [Grim Fate], I can't let you, our great leader, to be seen as someone who is the same level as a human."
"Eh? What?"
"S-Sir Hywel, please don't phrase it like that."
Meiren clears her throat.
"Lord {Fate Threader}. Allow us to be your representative."
–Present–
The man who showed up in front of the small guild was none other than Hywel.
"Greetings, we are here to check if everyone is doing fine after the incident. Of course, we represent our most humble and caring Clan Leader, {Fate Threader}."
"{F-Fate Threader} is concerned about us!?"
Denzel shouted in surprise with a hint of delight.
"Of course, he would like to personally visit, but his overbearing responsibilities after becoming a Clan Leader are still in need of full-time management."
Hywel takes his time glancing at each of the members with a wholehearted smile as he talks.
Meiren added:
"That's right. And so we came bearing some get-well gifts for you. Although, we would also like your cooperation to identify the threat looming in the forest."
'W-we get to cooperate with him…with the legendary {Fate Threader} himself!'
"We will gladly cooperate! I will make full use of all I know to answer your question!"
As Meiren and Hywel expected, all of them seem thrilled to provide what they know.
After a while, the human ranked guild answered everything to their knowledge, however, they failed to identify the threat of Ajax. After all, it was Celaeno who they had a battle with. With that said, the guild managed to give Hywel and Meiren Celaeno's mastery regarding summons and the fact that he was called "Master" by a certain someone. To add, they relayed a message that Celaeno and Ajax were muttering while in front of them.
"So they're planning to cause a commotion. And what would that do I wonder."
Hywel then turns towards Meiren as they walk. It seems that they're already finished in their talk with Denzel and his little group.
"Hm? Well, I'm still processing. However, those people know that [Grim Fate] is currently residing in Telmaris and they even mentioned you guys. Then it's imperative for them to get your guild's attention into something…"
"Ho, that's a logical deduction. And? Where do they want us to focus our attention on?"
"Now this is just my instincts but…I think Alice's research is somehow involved with this."
Meiren then sighs.
"Also, there's this other hunter that defeated King Crow. We haven't really learned anything about him yet."
"Zep might already know how to deal with this, but it pains me that he's not relying on me."
"H-heeeh…" Meiren looks away, remembering how loyal Hywel is to Zephyr.
"I'm going back to our guild hall, thank you for today, Miss Meiren."
Hywel then bows his head with his hand on his chest. Meiren on the other hand just accepts his actions.
"It's all fine, Sir Hywel. Oh another thing before we split up."
"Hm?"
Meiren gets close and talks in a hushed voice.
"Since one of their goals is for you guys to focus your attention into something, they are quite confident that once [Grim Fate] takes action, they would know."
"So you're saying-"
Meiren nods once.
"They might have some sort of plan to relay the information from within Telmaris."
'A spy, or tracking magic. Interesting.'
The two then walk on different paths of the road as they bid their farewell to each other.
'I have a gut feeling that Zep is already making use of every useful tool he has.'
Meanwhile…
–Verspāla, City (Kingdom) of Nobles–
A city situated in the North Western part of Telmaris where every house and even the streets screams elegance, richness, yet vivid. Verspāla is currently in a state of competition where two opposing sides are deciding the fate of the town. A faction to turn the town into an independent state, converting Verspāla into a glorious kingdom where there would be a king and a queen. This ideology came from another region, a certain continent quite larger than Navea.
The other faction on the other hand, of course, wants the government to stay the same. The people of this faction are the current leading party of the city, but they know that it will not stay that way in the long term.
Their conflicts aside, a certain lady finally arrived at the gates of the noble city.
"Finally…"
She looks around, careful of her surroundings.
'I need to stay vigilant. The Institute has eyes and ears everywhere…what I need to do is to find her. But how…'
After thinking hard, Alice lets out a sigh and walks towards the guards, wearing clothes that fit a noble.
"Greetings milady, for our security may we know your family name and the faction you're supporting?"
Alice thinks to herself:
'Family name is a common question to ask, but now they're including the faction?'
"I'm a tourist. I go by the name Ellen Merrigold, and I don't have any faction to support at the moment."
"I see. Well you ought to choose one once you step into the kin– ehem, city."
Alice's eyes narrow down after catching the guard slipping up. She was then permitted to enter the city after listing her name and purpose of visit.
"Now then…I won't disappoint you, {Fate Threader}."
Their new member, Alice, then makes her way to discover Sophia's whereabouts in the city of nobles and find out what she needs help with.