"Welcome back~ Are you here to look for another mission, Miss Elyra?"
Inside the bustling Adventurers' Guild, Elene smiled warmly from behind the wooden counter.
Her night shift had just recently started, and she was already perfectly used to seeing the beautiful elf lady who had been coming back to the desk for days now.
Elyra let out a long, heavy sigh in response, which left Elene looking completely confused by her sudden dramatic behavior.
"Have you by any chance seen that specific guy who wears the dark mask around here today?"
Elyra asked, leaning over the counter as her light green eyes scanned the room.
"Um... no, unfortunately, we haven't seen a single trace of him since the exact day he ran away from you," Elene replied, shaking her head.
"Sigh... I figured as much. Anyways, I am just here to collect my regular rewards regarding the gathering mission I have completed. Here are five fresh ears of a goblin."
"Alright! I will get straight into processing that for you right now!"
Elene took the materials and left the desk, returning after a few short minutes with a collection of metallic coins resting on a small velvet tray.
"Here you go, Miss Elyra, three silver coins and eight coppers. Thank you for always taking these low-tier subjugation missions on the board. Most of the local adventurers have been far too busy attacking bigger opponents in the dungeons, so they didn't even bother helping the village by killing those pesky goblins. If I were a bit stronger, I should have gone out to help you instead, ahaha..."
Elene said jokingly, watching as Elyra carefully took the coins and slid them into her cloak pocket before whispering a quick thank you.
Elyra then turned away from the reception desk and proceeded to sit down in a vacant wooden seat located right at the side of the busy lobby.
Most of the area was currently filled to the brim with rough adventurers who were loudly drinking ale or just chatting happily with their friends and party members.
Some groups were completely busy strategizing how to safely attack a newly discovered dungeon level, while a few single adventurers just sat chilling by the fire, entirely minding their own business.
She rested her chin in her hands, keeping her eyes fixed firmly toward the main entrance as she waited patiently.
'That mysterious guy will definitely come back here to collect his massive herb rewards eventually, I just know it...'
She remembered the terrifying moment she had last seen that black-cloaked figure, recalling how she had been aggressively chasing after him through the streets only to see him suddenly throw up bright red blood as his skin turned completely pale.
She couldn't help but feel a deep wave of guilt and worry wash over her heart whenever she thought about it.
"Wha... why in the world should I even be worried about a stranger like him?!" she muttered under her breath, shaking her head rapidly.
"I was simply curious about his tracking skills, so there is absolutely no reason to worry, right...?"
She accidentally said the words aloud, quickly realizing that most of the nearby adventurers were staring at her with incredibly weird expressions.
To distract them from thinking she had completely lost her mind, she suddenly let out a small scream and began frantically touching her hair, pretending she had seen a bug so they would look away.
She let out a dry cough, quickly hiding her burning face beneath the shadow of her heavy hood, making sure to tuck away her long elven ears, which were now turning bright red right at the very tips.
'Damn it... that was so incredibly embarrassing...'
As she hid her eyes from the judging sight of the crowd, she had absolutely no idea that someone was currently walking right in front of her table.
The intruder's footsteps were so perfectly silent and light that nobody in the entire lobby even realized a new person had just entered the building.
The black-cloaked figure quietly glided across the floorboards, proceeding straight toward Elene's station at the reception desk.
***
'Phew... for now, I will just continue to keep my steps light and suppress my magical presence as much as possible, because that stubborn elf lady might still be waiting here to ambush me.'
Fainyx thought to himself, carefully utilizing a complex, multilayered stealth magic on his body before applying a swift-movement formula he had learned from Master Yong back in the day.
He needed to remain exceptionally cautious tonight, as he absolutely did not want a repeat of the terrifying medical emergency that had occurred the last time he visited this building.
"Lumi, no matter what happens while we are inside, you must not move a single muscle and you must not speak at all, alright?"
Fainyx whispered quietly into the fabric of his hood.
"Kyuu~"
Lumi offered a faint, obedient squeak from the dark fabric, curling up tightly.
Fainyx then finally pushed through the inner doors, stepping into the warmth of the building.
As always, the rowdy atmosphere of the place hadn't changed a single bit during the days he had been gone, but as his eyes scanned past the crowded adventurer lobby, his gaze landed directly on the one person he really did not want to meet tonight.
'It is that exact same elf lady from before... should I just bail right now and go back home to the mansion?'
He hesitated on the threshold, but then the thought of the massive amount of gold coins waiting for him in his reward pool flashed through his mind.
'No... I must not give up my hard-earned money over a small distraction... alright, let's do this.'
He took a calm step forward, and then another, heading straight toward the wooden counter while completely ignoring Elyra's presence.
It seemed his advanced stealth magic worked perfectly, because she didn't realize he was there even when his shadow passed right in front of her table.
'Yes! This is perfect, let's go ahead and speak to the same receptionist we met last time.'
He walked directly up to Elene's counter, stopping right in front of her.
Elene was completely busy writing down a list of supplies on her notepad, and due to his suppressed mana, she didn't notice his adult frame standing there at all.
'Oh, right, my physical presence is far too weak right now, so I should probably release the stealth spell before I scare her.'
He quietly deactivated the magic layer, and the exact moment his presence returned to normal, Elene stopped writing, suddenly realizing that a large, cloaked man had materialized right in front of her face.
"Oh... oh! My apologies about that, Mister..." she stammered, clutching her pen tightly against her chest.
"I am so sorry, I didn't realize your presence at all until just now."
Fainyx reached into his black cloak, pulling out a cheap piece of paper and a rough quill he had prepared for his adventurer persona. He quickly wrote down some common, casual words, deliberately avoiding the formal, elegant handwriting style he was forced to use back at the Nocte mansion.
[ It is perfectly alright, Miss. I am actually just here to collect my reward from the gathering mission last time... I am very sorry for not coming in earlier to check the board, as I was exceptionally busy with some personal matters. ]
"Oh! You are Mr. Fain, right?!" Elene's face instantly lit up with recognition, a bright smile breaking across her features.
"I am very happy to see that you are back safely~ To tell you the truth, we all honestly thought you had died in a ditch somewhere outside the city walls after what happened."
'That is an incredibly harsh and blunt way of thinking about your clients, miss...' Fainyx thought dryly, his face remaining deadpan behind the mask.
"Ah, and your guild rewards are already fully prepared and waiting in the back room, so I will go grab those for you right away~,"
Elene said cheerily, tapping the counter.
"Oh yeah, I just need to see your official identification card before we begin the process, as we don't want anyone trying to disguise themselves as you to steal the funds."
[ Sure. ]
He reached back into his cloak and held out the cheap iron identification card he had been given when he first registered at the building.
Elene checked the carved numbers, gave a satisfied nod, and told him she would be right back before heading up the wooden stairs toward the second floor.
Fainyx stood by the counter, waiting patiently for her to return with his gold.
But before he could even look around the lobby to find a vacant seat to rest his aching legs, he suddenly caught a sharp, familiar voice speaking from right behind his back.
"Hey, you! Why exactly did you run away from me like a criminal last time?!"
'Oh boy... here we go again.'
He slowly turned his cloaked body around to face the source, and his eyes landed directly on the elf lady.
Even though her long ears were currently hidden beneath her heavy green hood, her bright, piercing green eyes made it completely impossible for Fainyx to mistake her identity.
'Man... she finally realized I am here after all. Should I just jump through the window and run away again? But my gold rewards are just about to be handed to me... should I just stay put and listen to what she has to say for just a little bit?'
Before his mind could even settle on a viable choice, Elyra proceeded to walk directly toward his position, her boots clicking against the wood until she stopped just a few inches away from his chest.
"..."
She just stared up at his dark mask, and an awkward, heavy silence fell over the two of them as they stood motionless in the middle of the crowded lobby.
'Uh... what exactly does she want to say to me? Just standing here in absolute silence is starting to make me incredibly nervous...'
Fainyx thought to himself, keeping his mature face perfectly expressionless behind the leather mask.
But then, a sudden, long sigh escaped from beneath her green hood.
"Sigh... I want to offer you my sincere apologies for what happened last time..." Elyra said softly, her green eyes looking down at the floorboards in genuine shame.
"I originally just wanted to ask you a few simple questions about your tracing skills, but I kept aggressively chasing after you through the alleys and then "that" happened... I am truly sorry for causing you so much physical distress."
Fainyx was completely shocked by her words.
He had fully expected her to pry into his secrets or demand to know how he obtained such high-quality goods, but to think she had waited here for days just to offer a genuine apology to him.
He pulled out his cheap notepad and quickly scribbled a response.
[ It is perfectly alright, I forgive your actions. I also want to apologize for running away from you so abruptly... I was just... extremely scared of you at the time. ]
He couldn't think of a sufficiently logical excuse to explain his sudden flight, so he just settled on the simplest emotion.
Elyra blinked her green eyes in surprise, looking slightly offended.
"Uhh, why exactly were you scared of me? Is my face really that terrifying to look at?"
[ Yes. ]
"Sigh... I see," she pouted a little, shaking her head.
"Well, it is alright. Since we have both successfully forgiven each other for the past, let us become friends from now on. What is your name?"
[ Fain. ]
"Fain, huh? That is a very unique and short name," she said, her bright smile returning.
"My name is Elyra, and it is a pleasure to finally meet you properly."
She enthusiastically held out her slender hand, reaching out for a standard handshake, and Fainyx quietly reached out his gloved hand to accept the gesture, shaking it gently.
'She seems like a genuinely nice elf lady after all, but I still need to make sure I do not drop my guard around her too much.'
"But still, how exactly did you manage to locate those incredibly high-quality mana herbs?"
Elyra asked curiously, leaning in a bit closer.
"I spent hours trying to find that specific species in the outer forest after you left, but I had absolutely no luck finding a single leaf."
[ I was simply incredibly lucky that day. ]
'Well, you won't ever be able to find those herbs anywhere in this territory since I literally cultivated them inside the soil of my private Aetherium, but I am definitely never going to tell you that secret,' Fainyx thought with a hidden smirk.
As they were talking, he noticed Elene finally walking back down the wooden stairs from the second floor, but she wasn't alone this time, she was accompanied by a towering older man.
The newcomer looked to be in his late fifties, possessing a heavy, highly muscular build covered in thick iron armor, and a jagged, deeply intimidating battle scar ran straight down his left cheek.
"Thank you for waiting, Mr. Fain," Elene said politely, gesturing toward the stairs.
"Can you please come upstairs with us to the private office for a brief moment? We just need to officially reward you for the rare herbs, but this open lobby is... a bit too crowded for the high-value transaction."
[ Sure, that is perfectly alright with me. ]
The elf lady, who still hadn't left his side, looked toward Fainyx with an eager expression.
"Um... Mr. Fain, can we please continue our conversation after you finish your meeting with the staff?"
Fainyx pulled his notepad over and scribbled a playful warning with his quill.
[ That is fine, but for your information, I am absolutely never going to tell you the exact geographic location where I gathered those herbs. ]
He held up the paper, and Elyra let out a bright, musical laugh, waving her hands.
"Haha, don't worry, I won't!"
Fainyx gave a small nod, and then he, Elene, and the scary old man proceeded to walk upstairs toward the private rooms of the guild, leaving the noisy lobby behind.