Chapter 89: From Capital To Mirare Town - Part 11

"It's an honor to meet the famed Lightning Blade—" Lynn said, shaking Sylvie's hand cheerfully before continuing. "—Your twin sister, Ms. Sc—Sylvia, has been such a great help to me. I'm always relying on her." You mean, you're always pestering her, right? Kurea thought while listening to Lynn. Meanwhile, Arezu wondered why Lynn was acting so formal without any hint of her usual audacity. "Thank you for always looking after my sister," Sylvie said, flashing a gentle smile that gave Lynn, Arezu, and Kurea goosebumps upon seeing someone who looked exactly like the ever-serious, sharp-looking Sylvia acting nice and gentle. "You're really the opposite of Ms. Scary-Sylvia." There it is, her usual audacity, Arezu and Kurea thought, along with everyone else who knew Lynn. As for the others with them, waiting for the meeting called on the third night of the expedition to begin, they included Lynn and Arezu's previous party members, Liz and Hannah, along with another person they hadn't seen before. "So you are Lynn and Arezu. It's a pleasure to finally meet both of you," said the guy, a bit shorter than Arezu, bearing short blood-red hair the same color as his eyes, and wearing silver armor paired with a blackened longsword sheathed at his side. "I'm Ellric, a new hero—" Before Ellric could finish what he was about to say, a smack landed on the back of his head, courtesy of Liz, cutting off his introduction. Liz then looked at Lynn and asked her a question in her usual serious, sharp tone. "I guess you already know that, right?" Lynn, in turn, just responded with a cheerful smile without saying a word, yet everyone knew what she meant—or rather, what she knew. So he was the new hero candidate Lynn was talking about, Arezu thought, remembering his conversation with Lynn about Liz and Hannah forming an adventurers party with a new hero candidate. Regardless, Arezu still couldn't figure out why Liz, Hannah, and Ellric were with a gold-rank adventurer like Sylvie. Noticing his wondering expression, Lynn casually leaned beside him and whispered softly. "I'll explain everything later, so look forward to it, Mr. Arezu." "I'd rather not hear any more troublesome things, Lynn." They thought no one noticed their conversation, but nothing about them could escape Hannah's watchful eyes and ears. "They're flirting again, aren't they?" Liz said, noticing Hannah's joyful demeanor. "They're not... Not yet..." Hannah replied, her eyes glimmering and her heart pounding in excitement. "What does that mean, Hannah?" After a while, the commander finally arrived and the meeting officially started. The meeting focused only on giving praise and gratitude to Sylvie for slaying the swarm of mid-level harpies on her own using an advanced-level mystic spell, Thunderstorm. Thanks to her accomplishment, the caravan avoided further casualties against airborne monsters. As for the fight against the swarm of cockatrices, the rear of the caravan suffered only minimal casualties and successfully wiped out the swarm without losing anyone or sustaining grave injuries. After the meeting, Lynn and Arezu headed back to their camp, and while eating their dinner of pizza and burgers, Lynn explained the circumstances regarding Liz and Hannah's new adventurers party. "Are you sure this won't lead to troublesome things, Lynn?" Arezu asked, feeling uneasy considering how Lynn tended to reveal things that were highly classified. "But you're interested, right, Mr. Arezu?" Lynn muttered, silently asking if she should continue her story. Curious as he was, Arezu nodded, telling Lynn to continue. But before she did— "This information might endanger your lives, so do you want to hear it as well?" she said, warning the four mage students, including Beatrix, who had just finished their meals. Not wanting to be dragged into troublesome things, Beatrix took her leave, going for a night stroll in the camp of the Crafters Guild. It was the same for Leo, Cliff, Senna, and Casey, as they thought their new teacher was indirectly telling them to leave, which forced them to visit the camp of the Magic Academy. Meanwhile, Arezu— "Where are you going, Mr. Arezu?" —decided to also leave for a night stroll, carrying his pizza and burger, after hearing that Lynn's information might endanger his life. "I'm just teasing everyone, so get back to your seat already," Lynn said with an awkward laugh as she grabbed the sleeve of Arezu's coat to stop him from leaving. "It doesn't sound like you're just teasing, so I'd rather not hear about it, Lynn." "Don't be a meanie, Mr. Arezu!" Unable to escape Lynn's clutches, Arezu gave up, sat back down at his seat around the campfire beside her, and ate his dinner, ready to listen to her story. "To explain why Ms. Sweet-Sylvie, a gold-rank adventurer and the famed Lightning Blade, is in a party with Liz, Hannah, and Ellric—who are obviously still copper-rank adventurers—I first need to explain her relationship with Liz, or to be more accurate, with the ducal house of Von Envier." Though she was a famous adventurer, Sylvie, along with her twin sister Sylvia, came from a lineage of elves serving the ducal house of Von Envier. In fact, Sylvie was the current head mage of Liz's noble house. "You're saying Ms. Liz employed their head mage as a party member to boost their strength for the Annual Caravan Quest?" Arezu asked, unsure where Lynn's story was going. "It's the opposite, Mr. Arezu. It was Ms. Sweet-Sylvie who requested to join their party." And how did you know that? Arezu thought, but decided to hold back his question as he listened to Lynn's explanation of why Sylvie joined Liz and Hannah's adventurers' party. Continuing the story—after Alex lost his divine gift and his right to become a hero candidate, the Von Envier family needed a new hero candidate to strengthen their position and influence in the Eileen Kingdom. "This led to that guy, Ellric, becoming the new hero candidate for the ducal house of Von Envier," Lynn said, pausing in her story. "But that doesn't explain why Ms. Sylvie wanted to join Han—" Arezu paused, remembering how Lynn threw unreasonable tantrums whenever he said Hannah's name without a proper honorific, then continued as if he had said nothing, "—Ms. Liz's party." "My, my... Are you not going to mention Hannah's name, Mr. Arezu?" Feigning ignorance at her threatening smile, Arezu urged Lynn to continue her story. "Well, to put it simply, Ms. Sweet-Sylvie wanted to protect that guy, Ellric. That's why she joined Liz and Hannah's party." "Why, though?" "Because Ms. Sweet-Sylvie is that guy Ellric's foster parent, Mr. Arezu." "Just how did you know that, Lynn?"