Chapter 68 New Leaf

Herkkiman, a small village north east of Venundarr that is in the middle of a forest. Most habitants are elves. Farming is their primary source of income.

"From what I gathered, Camilla was captured by the Protector." says by a frail looking elf.

"Are you sure Gerard?" says by a handsome blonde.

"My sources are reliable, Arthur." Gerard said. "What are we gonna do now? We can't even contact that Clyde bastard." he added.

Arthur didn't answer Gerard, he open his palm and look at the emerald gemstone he's holding.

He contemplates if he's just gonna use the stone to reach Clyde but decided not to since he really didn't fully trust him yet.

"...and what about the second prince? It won't be too long before Lavierre Kingdom discovers that Camilla failed." Gerard said.

At this point Arthur can't find any good reason to still pursue his revenge. His main reason was already captured and he's not stupid enough to challenge the Protector of Zirracania when even the three God's Chosen from Lavierre Kingdom chose not to.

"We lay low for now. I'll try to find a way to safely contact Clyde." Arthur said. 'I already came this far, I won't waste my chance to unlock the stage 3 of my God's Gift.' he added inwardly.

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"Good morning Leah, let's eat." Cleo said while preparing a hearty feast, that the both of them rightfully deserved after dealing with Camilla.

Leah forcefully nudge herself awake upon hearing Cleo's voice.

"Good morning, darling." Leah said while lazily help Cleo set the table.

The couple took their time savoring the dish. The stew was made from venison and vegetables that are currently in season.

After filling up their stomach, the couple went to meet up with Valerie.

"What's the plan now, Cleo?" Valerie asked.

Cleo's initial schedule consist of visiting Lion's Mouth but due to recent development it seems Alger took most of the members to his guild.

Those who committed petty crimes are given a chance to turn their back from banditry while those who committed heinous crimes like murder and rape are sent to prison.

Thankfully, Anna, Roark, River and Phraan are included in the former.

Anna and River were just a victim of circumstance and were exiled.

Roark only offended a noble while Phraan mostly used his skill to play pranks.

"What do you think of Hallows Guild?" Cleo answered Valerie's question with his own.

"Hallows Guild?" Valerie said. "They're a strong guild with a strong foundation and leader. They also own a lot of business establishments so gold is not a problem for them." she added after collecting her thought.

"I mean what's your instinct telling you?" Cleo said. "Even when they helped us, its only because Clyde knew Alger and if I'm being honest I feel an eerie aura coming from Clyde." he added.

Aside from the obvious eccentric magics of Clyde, he felt that he might be hiding more than meets the eye.

"I thought you said we can trust him back at the abandoned shack." Valerie said.

"I only said that since we have a common goal but what if that's not the case anymore?" Cleo said. "What about you Leah?" he asked the half awake red headed girl who's clinging on his left arm.

"Hmm?"

Cleo just moves on when he saw that Leah won't give an answer anytime soon.

"Nevermind that. Let's go meet with Anna for now." Cleo said. "Its been a while since we did a proper hunt." he added.

The trio went ahead to fetch Anna at the Hallows Guild. To avoid a certain old man they didn't stay a minute longer than necessary.

Good for him, Alger is super busy at the moment because of the restoration process of Venundarr. The skirmish destroyed a lot of business establishments and some residents lose their homes.

He saw that the Lion's Mouth members are fitting nicely in the guild. He almost felt like a proud dad seeing his son changing for the better.

Cleo is fine with this setup since sooner or later they might also join Hallows Guild. Since they will be newcomers, its better for them to already have an established connection from the inside.

Roark and company are forever grateful to the opportunity Cleo gave them. It turned out better than they were expecting, of course the same cannot be said to those that are currently being imprison.

Anna was the most grateful of the bunch for not only being recruited at the guild but she also somehow manage to exact her revenge to those Magus Guild members that used to bully her. She almost forgot the hellish experience she went through with Leah.

The party decides to hunt at the abandon cathedral. The journey will take them two days coming from Venundarr.

Cleo and Leah's goal for now is to try and reach their 3rd job as soon as possible and unlock the stage 3 of their God's Gift.

The pair didn't liked how powerless they were during the confrontation with Camilla. They need to be more stronger than they are now, its not everytime people like Alger will always come to their rescue.

Cleo was also bothered by Delmira's existence. He still can't figure out how she was able to sense his God's Gift when she didn't have Reaper's Eyes.

He also finds it absurd how overpowered the stage 3 of her God's Gift. He just hopes that both his and Leah's stage 3 are comparable to that once they got theirs.

After restocking basic supplies, the party decided to take a public stage coach to go to the abandoned cathedral.

They prefer to use personal horses, unfortunately the stables was one of the establishments that was affected by the skirmish between the three guilds.

"Are you guys familiar with the abandoned cathedral?" Cleo asked while waiting for the stage coach to venture.

"This is also my first time going there for a hunt but there's a small village near there. We can stop by and ask for information." Valerie answered.

"Before I forget, Alger said to keep this medallions with you at all times." Anna intervened.

Since Alger planned on recruiting both Cleo and Leah he gave them a medallion that they can use in Zirracania. So they will not be met by unnecessary hostility when visiting other places other than Venundarr.