End of Dinners, Rise of Infamy

"But what if she continues to avoid the issue?" Alex rebutted. "Then it might never get resolved.

"In any case, the vibe she gave off today felt extremely worrying."

Leo, who was quietly observing the debate, suddenly got reminded of his own conversation with Linda.

"Hmm, Sarah may have a point here," Leo interjected after a short moment. "I mean, I get that it's a little risky, but it's probably for the best to let Judy withhold her secrets."

He raised his hand as the other person was about to protest.

"Alex, we're all a team that's operating closely together," Leo continued. "If she does show further signs of discomfort, we can always intervene. For now, let's just wait and show Judy we can respect her privacy. Perhaps then, she'll feel more comfortable in sharing her troubles."

Recalling his own discomfort when faced with Linda's short interrogation, and what the latter said afterwards involving the guild, Leo felt that it was more cohesive as a group to allow each member to have some autonomy, especially in regards to their past.

Sarah voiced her agreement, "Exactly. This seems like a sensitive period for her, so let's not put any further strain on our friend."

Alex looked at the two of them briefly before finally sighing in resignation, "Haah, alright. Guess I might've been a little too hasty back there. But if anything unexpected pops up, be sure to inform me."

"Of course. Don't worry, we're also concerned for her wellbeing."

Sarah and Leo nodded together as they reassured their team leader. With that concluded, the rest of the team eventually parted ways after completely leaving the restaurant's premises.

As he traveled alone in the darkness, Leo's thoughts began to wander.

'Sure enough, Alex is the kind of guy who always looks out for his friends. During that time, I wonder if he noticed anything else that disconcerted Judy.

'For now, I should probably stop distracting myself with that Wyman Brionne guy and focus more on other important matters. Hm, I do hope Austin isn't having a hard time...'

----------

On the next day in the city afternoon, the team eventually met together for their second dinner. And just like she had promised last night, Judy also appeared before them, this time carrying her usual attitude.

As agreed upon earlier, Leo and the rest didn't mention anything regarding the events that happened yesterday. They simply went about their get-together normally, acting as their usual selves. It appeared that it was the right call not to press Judy about the previous matter, as they could sense that their teammate felt quite relieved when she was with them today.

This time, the restaurant the group currently visited wasn't as high-end as before, being more on the moderate side in terms of size and expenses. The attending guests were also allowed to choose whatever they wanted to wear, so there wasn't a single complaint involving a dress code as the group members enjoyed their meals in a casual mood. With everything proceeding smoothly, the day passed by without a hitch, leaving everyone in a cheery mood as they headed back to their residences.

On the third and final day of the planned dinners, the team gathered for the last time around a relatively cheap eatery that looked almost like a stall. It's location was considered quite obscure, being hidden inside the dark corner of an empty street, with neither Judy nor Sarah having ever entered this section of the city before. Alex was actually the one who had suggested this place, saying that it would be an interesting surprise for the three of them.

Beginning to comprehend his friend's actions, Leo asked, "Hey, was this chosen intentionally?"

"... Eh? What do you mean by that?" Alex pretended to be oblivious. "Sure it looks rather ordinary, but the pastries this restaurant serves can rival just about any dessert I've ever eaten."

"Hoh, is that so?" Judy looked half disbelieving and half amused. Putting her hands on her hips, she fixed Alex with a shrewd stare. "Are you sure that's the only reason?"

"Heh heh. It's not like we weren't allowed to choose a cheap establishment in the first place." Alex dropped all pretenses and implicitly admitted without a hint of shame.

"My, I didn't think you had such a cunning personality." Sarah covered her mouth with her hand in a dramatic fashion upon witnessing a new side of their team leader.

"I didn't scam anyone," Alex maintained his innocence with a slight air of exasperation. "And none of you ever said that there had to be restrictions on which places to pick."

Judy rolled her eyes but ultimately decided not to complain. In hindsight, she probably should've expected this sort of outcome to occur, so the fault did somewhat lie with her. Anyway, she was never really hellbent on punishing Leo, so there was no need to reject this sort of scheme.

Leo couldn't resist chuckling as he confirmed Alex's intentions. It appeared that he still made an underestimation of the leader's kindness.

'Out of everyone here, Alex had probably been the least upset with my conduct. When there's an opportunity, I should find a way to return the favor.'

----------

In the late afternoon, Leo returned to his bedroom.

"It's a good thing I didn't have to afford too much this time," Leo said in relief as he plopped himself onto his bed.

'My expenses took a hit, but thanks to all the rewards and items I've received from completing just two quests, there's nothing to worry about. Though it wasn't a very long experience, I should really start on writing a letter to my family so they won't worry about how I've been doing as an adventurer.'

But for the time being, the real concern was focusing on the construction of his personal invention involving that magic core. During these last number of days, Leo had already finished developing the overall design and recorded down all the materials he required in preparation for building his device. The costs were recently calculated and he estimated that he'll still have more than enough gold coins remaining by the end of this endeavor.

In addition to having settled down a plan and blueprint, Leo also achieved a small improvement in his enchantment abilities. The countless hours he spent comprehending the magic core managed to grant him a tiny breakthrough.

Stretching his arms and legs while laying on his blanket, Leo then slowly pushed his body up and went to the room's desk where all his plans were clustered around.

"First I need to find a working area where I can try building my invention... But it doesn't seem like there's any open space for me to use."

His impression based off the time he spent traveling within the city of guilds was one that was typically crowded. From his days searching here, there wasn't a single securely accessible section of the city that was adequate enough to kickstart his invention.

Previously, Leo had once considered using an outside location, such as the nearby forest where he completed his first adventure, but the idea was immediately dismissed on the notion that there were too many uncertain variables. Not only would he have to travel back and forth to the forest frequently, let alone having to somehow bring along his materials inconspicuously, but there was no guarantee that some other individual wouldn't be able to stumble upon the place where he was working and steal everything that was constructed.

The hidden security in the city unfortunately did not extend to the outside perimeter.

Out of options, Leo spent the early night carefully analyzing his map of Victoria City to find a suitable spot he could use. Subconsciously, his eyes would occasionally sweep near the places he had already once visited.

----------

Within the dead of night, inside a large tower that was reinforced with magic runes, panic was ensuing as several individuals wearing robes were running around in fright. They were all esteemed mages, each a recognized member of the Mage Alliance.

Not a moment ago, the near unthinkable happened. An event that had never occurred throughout the history of the guild's founding in Bavalon's capital city has finally been achieved.

Several people desperately ran through the corridors as they went to report the terrifying news.

"We've got trouble!" shouted a middle aged man after pushing open the door to a random meeting room. "Someone has broken into our tower's magic vault!"

A few of the man's colleagues stood up immediately upon hearing this unbelievable statement. The rest of the other members were merely sitting in shock as they took a few moments to register this piece of information.

Shortly afterwards, several mages in the room started dropping their supplies as they began getting into a fluster.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Not wanting to waste any time to hear the middle aged man repeat himself, everyone in the room rushed out as they desperately attempted to find the perpetrator.

Suddenly, they heard rumbling sounds coming from above their floor.

"The roof! People are fighting on the roof!"

A random person's voice echoed throughout the current level of the building as screams of agony came down from the tower's rooftop. The other mages promptly used various spells to head up, not preparing for the sight they will see...