Uncertain Future

Linda leaned back and nodded her head to indicate for Leo to continue.

"You see, I'm not sure if the guild already discovered this earlier, but the true purpose behind Namur's request was to rescue his daughter--"

For the next couple minutes, Leo opened up about his team's fruitless expeditions across the Frozen Plains. He explained how they eventually uncovered the spatial array and were later told the truth of their search request. When the revelation that the formation spell could not be activated on their side came to being, it forced the group to take a new approach.

"--We discovered another method to enter the Frozen Hell without being affected by its magical curse. It was then decided that I would make the journey.

"After entering, I encountered the mausoleum where I saved the chieftain's daughter and used the second spatial array on the other side to make it back. The rest of the details are in this report," Leo concluded simply. "If you wish to confirm parts of my statement, you can have someone analyze the copies of the arrays I've recorded here; I can assure you they are authentic."

Linda slowly frowned upon listening to the end of Leo's supposedly "true" account. Throughout most of the confession, she did not make any interruptions.

"And what exactly was the method you used to bypass the Frozen Hell's curse?" she asked skeptically. "Do you expect me to believe that you just somehow discovered a miraculous solution for your current predicament?"

"I have, uh-- a magic item that can provide me a specific type of protection against any sort of climate," Leo sheepishly admitted, aware of how unconvincing it sounded. "We weren't truly confident in its abilities, but one of Namur's servants actually risked his life to ascertain that it was indeed effective against the Frozen Hell."

"And what is the identity of this item? Is it with you now?" Linda probed.

"I..."

Leo eventually stopped himself. As of now, he was determining the necessity to reveal the phoenix feather that was held in his pouch.

Seeing this reaction, the reception lady made a small sigh. She recognized this look before, as she happened to have gotten quite familiar with it during her first few years at the guild.

Leaning forward in her seat, Linda decided to dispel the matter.

"Although honesty is considered the best policy for workers like myself," Linda patted her hand to her chest, "it does not mean that we will violate the rights our adventurers have to privacy."

"You mean..."

"Yes." Linda nodded curtly. "Whatever trump cards you or your group may have are yours to keep. Thus, if you find it inconvenient, I will not continue pursuing the matter.

"Furthermore, part of the reason this situation arose was because of our own guild's upper management. It is ultimately up to us to hold some accountability."

Although she didn't mention anyone by name, Leo suspected that she was going to have a considerable "talk" with a certain guild master. He was honestly quite curious as to what kind of character this individual has, and if he should offer some condolences.

"Then, can I go...?" Leo asked hesitantly.

"You may," Linda replied before picking up her cup for another sip. "I was merely shocked at reading the contents of your report. If most of what you wrote is actually true, then it would be no insignificant find once we verify them.

"This might just be able to elevate our guild to a higher standing."

Relieved that he wasn't going to be in any trouble, and even receiving some slight praise in the process, Leo stood up and bade to leave.

"Then, thank you for your understanding."

"Oh, please wait a moment."

Just when he put a hand on the doorknob, the reception lady called out unexpectedly, stopping him. Turning around apprehensively, Leo took great effort to not appear nervous.

"Yes, Linda?"

"I apologize, but I forgot to offer you some tea. Would you like some?" Linda surprisingly gestured to her tray with the empty cup.

"Uh, no thank you..."

After awkwardly stepping out of the room, Leo relaxed his tense muscles. Although things got a little weird at the end, he was happy that nothing too serious came out as a result.

----------

Inside her office, Linda continued sipping her tea as she read through Leo's report a second time. After a while, her eyebrows slowly began to furrow when she got to the details on the guardian golem with living characteristics and the elven artworks.

'Still, to think that a discovery like this would occur. First there was that Goblin King, and now an ancient mausoleum has been uncovered...

'I fear that this world is about to become more chaotic.'

Part of the reason she was handpicked as a receptionist was for her knack of prediction after assessing certain pieces of information. It was a skill that had brought her both benefits and sorrow.

"You better watch yourself, adventurers..."

----------

Three days later, in the late afternoon...

Arriving in front of an expansive gate, Leo and his friends were preparing to enter their group's first high-class restaurant. Previously, Alex, Judy, and Sarah had already discussed which three locations they wanted to eat for dinner. After doing a quick vote, they eventually settled on going to the most expensive one first.

Before coming here, the team (with Leo in the lead) had paid for reservations just two days ago. The establishment they were visiting was already renowned as one of the most popular eateries in Victoria City. Traveling nobility would often visit this place at least once during their stay in the city of guilds. And for those of lower status, so long as they had a large amount of money available, they could also reserve a table here.

"Ahhh, I can already smell the food." Judy tiptoed in her silky garments as she savored the scent wafting out from the building behind the gate.

As agreed upon, everyone came dressed in relatively fancy wear that had previously been prepared in these last three days.

Among the four, Alex actually already owned a formal suit inherited from his family, so he didn't need to go out and look for any specific clothing to buy. On the other hand, Leo had come to this city with simply a normal set of clothes, so he was forced to spend a generous amount of time on what he would otherwise commit to more important tasks.

Although being dressed in fancy wear wasn't stated as a mandatory requirement to attend this restaurant, Judy had once repeatedly stressed that they would inevitably draw many unsavory glances, from the guests and workers alike, if they came here in civilian clothing. Supposedly, it would impact the establishment's status in some way, as the place was commonly known to uphold high standards for the elite class. Any sign of inadequacy or mediocrity could be passed down through word of mouth by the rest of the attending nobles, affecting the restaurant's image.

Sure enough, on the day they made their reservations, a worker came to give serious suggestions on not standing out during their first visit.

Leo was actually quite curious on how Judy was aware of this information, as even Alex stated he never heard of such a thing from within his own family before they lost their standing. But in the end, he decided not to dwell on it.

As they waited to be let in, Leo tried using his finger to loosen his tight collar. He was currently dressed in a white shirt that was wrapped under a formal black jacket. From the waist down, his lower body sported complementary black pants and shoes that matched the color of his dark hair. When Leo visited a store to prepare for this occasion, using his limited knowledge of fashion ingrained by his mother, he made sure to buy a suit that wasn't particularly expensive but could still be considered decent enough to be passable for those in higher circles.

'But still, I really would appreciate it if I didn't have to waste my money on something like this,' Leo grumbled inwardly to himself as he thought about all the list of ideas he had for his magic core.

During the time they waited, Leo took the liberty to take a cursory glance at his three friends.

Alex, who was standing closest to the gate, wore a suit nearly identical to Leo's, save for some simple line patterns at the sleeves and a small pocket on his chest containing a white handkerchief. If one looked closely enough, they could notice small bulges of muscle that peaked through certain parts of his clothing. Despite not being equipped with any armor, Leo still felt that Alex had a bearing befitting a warrior.

Positioned behind the latter stood Judy, who came to the dinner wearing a two-part violet dress that was patterned with silky white stripes. Its upper shirt possessed no sleeves around the arms, and there was a matching short skirt below that reached just past her knees.

Unlike the rest of the members, Judy had made efforts to change her hairstyle for today; it was arranged into an elegant knot behind her head with a single thick strand that draped down to her neck.

Standing furthest away at the side, Sarah was seen twisting her arms together and staring her head down at the ground with her eyes closed.