Volume 1. Chapter 10. The Unmasking of Identity.

After coming out of hiding, Cindy immediately approached the little boy. She was curious about how the little boy could be in such a dangerous place.

"What are you doing here? Where are the others?"

Cindy was very worried about the three of them.

"Do you know him?"

Mansa approached Cindy and the little boy and wanted to make sure.

"We know this child. He and two other little boys ran away from slave traders."

Cindy told what Rii had said earlier, and it made Nita and Sara feel sorry for the boy.

"Where are your two friends?"

Cindy asked the boy again.

"We got separated when we followed you to exterminate the monsters."

Hearing that answer made Cindy panic, afraid that two of them would be eaten by the demon beast.

That conclusion was quickly disproven when Grit's group of traders arrived, carrying two other crying little boys in their arms.

Grit explained that they had gotten lost while chasing their friends, who had been following Cindy and Una.

"This is your payment,"

Grit gave a bag filled with gold coins as payment.

"Thank you, Mr. Grit."

Una received a small bag containing gold coins from one of the merchant's hands.

"Mr. Grit... are you sure you want to take them?"

Cindy felt anxious that the three little children were taken to the city of Leron and saw them in one of the Grit merchant's horse-drawn carriages.

"I was going to leave them at the orphanage, but after the experience they had. I changed my mind. Maybe their parents are in that city."

Grit told the reason he brought the three little children with him to the city of Leron.

After talking, Grit and his group decided to continue their journey before night came to them.

Cindy waved because the three children waved at her.

"We should also head back to the city of Norf."

Cindy nodded when Una told her.

"Wait, you said the city of Norf, right?"

Erik wanted to make sure his ears were not mistaken.

"We are adventurers from that city. What's wrong?"

Cindy told them and asked them again.

"Our current destination is that city. How do we get there together?"

Nita told and suggested Una and Cindy.

"We don't mind at all."

Una didn't mind it, and she agreed, not without reason. That made Nita and Sara happy because they had someone to talk to during the trip.

When night fell, Elia gave Vail, Rii, and Cini, who were tired of something, a glass of warm milk.

"What happened to you guys?"

Elia was so curious because they hadn't been seen since noon.

"It's a long story to explain, but we're grateful to have returned on time."

Rii said with a slightly short breath.

"Elia, we're back!"

Not long after, Una and Cindy returned, bringing the hero and his party. Erik's arrival surprised Elia, who was not expecting to meet her brother.

When Erik greeted Elia, it surprised them.

"What are you doing here?"

Elia was curious about Erik's arrival.

"Brother?"

They were all confused.

"Elia, is he your brother?"

Cindy asked curiously.

"When I was in the same orphanage, I called him brother. Because he was the oldest child among the children in the orphanage at that time until the guild master took care of us."

"I thought the guild master only had one child."

Cini was a little surprised by Elia's explanation.

"Elia, is the guild master here?"

Erik wanted to meet his adoptive father after five years of separation.

"He just returned from Hagon City and is currently in his room. Then, who are the three of them?"

Elia informed and asked and looked at the three people behind Erik.

"I almost forgot to introduce them to you,"

"Elia, the man with the cool armor, is the hero, Mansa. These two women are named Nita and Sara. They are sisters."

"What kind of introduction is that?"

Sara felt unsure about Erik's introduction.

Not long after, they heard the sound of an older man laughing, turned, and saw the guild master coming down the stairs to approach them.

"You still haven't changed... Erik."

The guild master stopped walking after getting close to them.

"The guild master himself hasn't changed either. Do I need to call you father?"

The guild master laughed and asked Erik not to call him father because it would ruin the mood.

"I have a question, but for now... please sit down."

"Elia, can you give them a drink?"

"Yes, guild master."

The guild master asked them to sit down and told his daughter to make drinks to entertain the hero and his party.

"Where are you going?"

Cindy saw Vail, Rii, and Cini, who were about to leave.

"We don't want to eavesdrop on the conversation, so it's better to go out and get some fresh air,"

Vail said that was the reason they went outside.

The guild master didn't think about it, but he respected the words and wishes of his three talented adventurers.

"Sorry for the long wait,"

Elia came in carrying a trolley with drinks and snacks—cakes and biscuits—enough for everyone.

"Where are the three of them?"

Elia again didn't see Vail, Rii, and Cini.

"They left, because didn't want to eavesdrop on the conversation."

Una explained why they weren't there.

"Alright, can you tell me the purpose of your coming to this city?"

The guild master started the conversation by asking why the hero and his party had come to the city.

"We were asked by one of the kings in the union to find out the cause of the disappearance of the summoning group in the special forest."

Mansa told the reason he and his party came to the city of Norf.

Mansa's words made Una uncomfortable, as they touched upon her identity as Nia Aghture.

"But weren't they killed by one of the followers of the ancestor while their the summoning?"

Said the Guild Master, who knew the rumors that had spread.

"According to the news, that's how it is... but the union did not find Nia Aghture's body. Because of that, the union decided for the hero to search for and bring Nia."

Erik explained that earlier, the union had sent several people to the special forest along with the second summoning.

"The union thinks that Nia Aghture is still alive and hiding something,"

Erik's words made Una scared, and Mansa knew that.

"What's wrong, Una?"

Cindy realized her friend was hiding something and only pretending everything was okay.

"Hero, where are you going?"

Nita was surprised to see Mansa get up from his seat and slowly leave the guild.

"Getting some fresh air. I haven't had peace like this for a long time."

Mansa said, hiding the real reason, that he realized something from Una's change when Erik discussed Nia Aghture.

"What should we do if the hero finds out?"

Rii wanted to make sure to get answers from his two friends.

"For now, it's better to act normally without thinking about anything."

Vail told them not to act suspiciously.

"Vail, earlier, you said he noticed your presence in the tree, right?"

Cini wanted to make sure Vail's previous statement was true.

"Yes, the hero really did know where I was even though I had suppressed my presence and was invisible."

Vail confirmed Cini's doubts.

"We should act like regular A-rank adventurers and not attract attention—"

"Attracting my attention, isn't that right?"

They were surprised to see Mansa approaching them with an annoyed face.

"What do you mean, we didn't—"

"Stop pretending to be stupid, and answer my question. You guys, are you the heroes summoned by the people with Nia Aghture?"

They were silent for a moment after hearing Mansa's words, not expecting their caution to bring disaster.

"...no answer?"

"Aren't you the three little kids who were with the merchant?"

They were surprised to hear Mansa's words. "How did you…"

Vail's right hand touched one of Cini's shoulders, asking his friend to stop talking.

"What makes you so sure we're the summoned ones?"

Vail's words made Mansa furious, clenching one of his hands and holding back the urge to hit them.

"We are not heroes, because that title is only given to people who have a knightly soul."

"While what we do is the opposite, running and hiding."

Not wanting to cause a scene, Mansa chose to leave after hearing Vail's words, which made him even more annoyed and angry.

Rii said, "If I were in his position, I might have beaten us up."

"He already knows our identities. Should we kill that hero?"

Cini said, offering a suggestion.

"It's better to avoid fighting between heroes. I need that hero to replace our position on the front lines."

Vail rejected Cini's suggestion to kill Mansa because it would harm them in the future.

"We should go back to the inn."

Rii said as he turned and started walking toward the inn.