Passerby

One would've expected them to react shocked or confused but instead, Felix asked one simple question, "Is it going to be a problem?"

No. 12, closed her eyes for a bit, muttering something incomprehensible, "Shouldn't be… just some people injured by the side. It doesn't seem like a trap so we can just pass by them without any issues."

Gwen finally smelled iron in the air, she was also numb to the presence of blood. The world was already warped that this occurrence already had a pre-determined outcome, for Gwen's group to fully ignore the party. From the injured party's perspective, this unknown pair of carriages spelled danger, so they also wished for them to pass by without interfering.

As the carriage slowly neared, Gwen could see from the carriage's window that it was a group of twenty or so armed adventurers stacked to the brim with armor and weapons. They had their horses resting and their own caravans covered in a thick blanket, preventing those from seeing the goods inside.

A man wearing a striking red cape came forward by the side, trying to introduce himself, "I'm Gian Escar, the leader of this escort group. If it isn't any trouble, may I ask which of you was the esteemed Mage that drove away our assailants? I would be happy to-"

All of a sudden, a person wearing a green cape showed up and pulled back Gian, apparently flustered, "Captain, don't push it! We can handle ourselves. They have no obligation to help us out besides…" The person wearing the green cape pointed at the carriage's insignia.

Gian's polite attitude suddenly turned grim, his calm expression turned to one of shock and fear, he didn't even say anything else as he immediately ordered everyone that was resting to move out at once. Even though some were still gravely injured, they still pushed themselves even further after seeing the Aria family's insignia.

"We pay respects to the Aria family. To make up for our disrespect, we'll be willing to give up half our share."

Gian immediately waved his hand, "Bring them in."

A few injured people voiced their complaints. Despite their frail figures and torn armor, they still had the passion to fight for what they believed in.

"Captain, we worked for months on that!"

"Can we just give them something else? We'll bleed out too much if we give it away."

"Captain Gian, we can't just give half of it away. What about your-"

Gian raised his voice, "Silence! The Aria family deserves this much at least, what other force could drive away the demons?"

Right after saying this, everyone went silent. As powerful as the Aria family was, they were an essential core force for humanity. As tyrannical as they were, they also had a vital part in the world.

Gwen who was looking at the entire scene unfold finally realized just how much power her family's name held. Although she didn't mind taking it all away, it would be too troublesome to haul everything back. After weighing her options, she decided to let it go.

"You in the red cape… what's your name again?" Gwen poked out her head full of purple hair, her gothic dress made her seem formal and noble. Despite seeming to be an extremely young child, no one from the adventurer's group underestimated her.

"Gian."

Gwen looked at the covered carts and mumbled, "Yeah… I'm not my sister. You don't need to force yourself. Just give me an Artifact, a single one will do. Be it a Holy Artifact or a Death Artifact it doesn't matter."

No. 12 saw what Gwen was trying to do, she was trying to find something to make up for what she just took from her.

After hearing this, Gian sighed and expressed his clear gratitude. He immediately took out a small dagger by his waist and presented it to her, it was a low mid-tier quality Holy Artifact, and even though it was his best weapon, even causing envy from the rest of his party members, it was still a far cry from what Gwen had been accustomed to.

"So, I can use this one, right? It'll only let me skip 2 tiers," Gwen pointed at the dagger in Gian's hands as she asked No. 12.

"My lady, I do not have any right to give you permission. I'm but a humble maid. "You may act as you please," No. 12 had to play the part of a feeble maid to the outside world. She was tasked with safeguarding Gwen, but the details didn't matter, No. 12 took it upon herself to prevent as many people as possible from knowing about her presence.

"Ohoho!" Gwen cheekily covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers, devilishly grinning. "Well then Gian, I'll take this. Goodbye."

The young female maid right beside Gwen still had her mundane expression yet the air started feeling a little cold.

Gwen was closely examining the dagger she had just received as the two carriages moved on, leaving the adventurer group behind. The other servants within the carriage didn't speak yet their presence alone was enough for the adventurer group to understand just how lucky they were to be let off.

Gian was somewhat pleased with the outcome, "The children of the Aria family didn't seem that overbearing. I guess the rumors were greatly exaggerated."

The same man who wore a green cape smacked Gian on the back of the head, "That's the 5th child. Apparently, she's a lot more focused on magic and mana theory than anything else. We just got lucky, if it was the 3rd child or older then we would've lost our lives."

"I guess so. By the way, that Glimmering Dagger cost me quite a fortune, you know? Everyone, pay up! We're all bearing the cost on this one."

"Alright, Captain!" The cheerful mood came back to the adventurer group once the entire situation settled down. Although they were battered and bruised, they were all sturdy enough to heal right back up after getting some rest.