A Daunting Past

"Why aren't you saying anything now? Where did your brave front go? Don't tell me, just the sheer mention of Amaradellis made you freeze in place?" Rose jeered.

Elgin, who was still conversing with Cecily inside his mind was brought back to reality.

"..No. In fact, I do plan on taking your offer. One stick of Amaradellis, was it? I'll do it. Just make sure to not play foul when I succeed." Elgin shrugged.

Cecily had assured him that it would be alright, and that there was something worthwhile waiting for him in the destination.

He could take this side mission up, can he?

Besides, he was curious about the supposed spirit laying in the peaks of Halle. Spirits didn't just appear out of nowhere.

This could be a jackpot if he was lucky.

"..I'll commend you for your spirit, but you're not going to succeed anyway. If you want to back down, no one will insult you." Rose examined Elgin's expression, but couldn't find a trace of panic in him.

If he truly knew what Amaradellis was, wouldn't he be losing his mind right now?

To keep this kind of composure.. Was he bluffing?

"I said I will take the job. Or are you scared that I will complete the task, and you'd have to admit that you were wrong?"

"Ha! If you do succeed, I'll apologize to you with all my heart and give you special perks right away. I'll gladly fulfill any request you make as long as they are logical." Rose said, sure that Elgin wouldn't be able to pass.

"You're going to regret saying that in the future.." Elgin smirked before bidding his farewells and going out of the building.

Now, only Rose and Sheila were left.

Out of a sudden, Sheila threw the guild's book log towards the crimson-haired woman, which was caught with a swift motion before the projectile could hit.

"You're terrible. Your ideas are disgusting. Don't think that I will forget this matter!" Sheila complained.

"Why are you so protective of him anyway? Is he someone you know? If he's just a stranger, then you're being overdramatic." Rose stuck her fingers in her ears, not wanting to listen to Sheila's loud noises.

"It's called sympathy, you dumbass! One youngster being forced to look for Amaradellis, a newbie, at that?! One guy?! You are crazy. I- I don't want to talk to you anymore, you are detestable."

Sheila knew that her long time friend, Rose, could be hard to work with at times, but she didn't think that it would be this bad.

She wasn't like this in the past. Or at least, things weren't this extreme. Although Rose's real personality was brutally frank and sometimes offensive, she could still be reasoned with.

But after those incidents happened.. She was forced to change.

Sheila was stressed.

She missed the old Rose.

The woman who was actually caring on the inside although she had a hot and fiery temper. The one who treated everyone equally, without minding their background. The one who regarded her companions as family and stuck with them through thick and thin. The one who would sacrifice every fiber of herself to help others even though she constantly spouted poisonous words on the outside.

The Rose Theadis that she knew changed.

Even until now, Rose still kept everyone in Valda safe, but the expense of her own strength. She refused to let anybody else meddle too much for the city's safety measures.

All of the hard work piled onto her back when it could've been distributed more evenly towards the other aspiring Adventurers. She doesn't need to handle everything, but she stubbornly made it so that all risky missions would fall upon her.

It was all because she couldn't bring herself to trust anybody else except Sheila. Not anymore, after the series of tragedies she went through.

Sheila knew that it was hard for Rose. But this wasn't the way to deal with the aftermath. She was hurting herself. Hurting everyone at the same time.

Could someone wake Rose up and return some common sense to her?

"Don't worry. I'll be tailing him, so he won't die. I just want him to learn a lesson or two. Do you doubt me that much, Sheila?" Rose's gaze became softer towards the end of her sentence.

The last question meant a lot for her. It contained a pleading tone, like she was hoping for the answer to be negative with all her might.

"I do, actually. Believe me, I doubt you a lot. It's because of how you act on a daily basis. How many times do I have to tell you that I don't like this? Rose, please."

"..Sheila, I-" Rose was about to retort back, but ended up lowering her head and turning around. "Ahh, you're way too noisy. Anyway, I'm going off now. Just leave that kid to me, I won't do anything weird to him. I'm not that irresponsible."

Wanting to follow Elgin's tracks before it was too late, Rose headed towards the exit.

"I swear to God, if I see him coming back in a disastrous state, you're going to face my wrath!!" Sheila exclaimed.

In response, she only got a small, almost unnoticeable nod from Rose.

Sheila shut her eyes and emptied a glass of water to ease her anger.

To her, seeing Rose like this was nothing abnormal. She was helpless and could only wish Elgin some good luck.

He needs it.

_

_

Contrary to how worried Sheila was, Elgin did not have a shred of anxiety left in him.

He was preparing his trip with a calm heart, venturing around Valda to

From the corners of his vision, he spotted a particular sign that had the words 'Blacksmith Olga' engraved on it along with a messily painted icon depicting crossed swords on top of a shield.

'A smithy.'

Elgin remembered his current set of items and felt like he could use an upgrade.

"I do need better weapons.. and armor." Elgin earned a good amount of income from his trade with the butcher shop, so he could afford a decent set of equipment.