The Author's POV

—Clang! —Clang!

Inside an enormous room, the sound of metal clashing against metal resounded across the empty space as a dull slim sword intersected a sharp, large broadsword. 

Upon clashing, a circular wave of wind pressure shot out from the intersecting point of the clash.

"Khhh…"

Letting out a groan, I stumbled back and stabbed my sword towards the ground to keep my body steady. Long live magical swords that could pierce the earth as if it were butter, they never get nicked from such weak stabs.

That was what I was supposed to say, but staring at the sword in my hand, I let out a depressed sigh. 

'Here goes another sword...'

Once I managed to steady my body, I realized that my breathing was incredibly heavy.

"Haa…haaa…"

"Hmm, you've improved considerably."

A leisurely voice reached my ears.

Lifting my head up, I looked at Waylan who was standing opposite of me with his broadsword hanging by the side of his shoulders.

'Damn you for lifting that like it weighs nothing!' I cursed internally but kept a smile on my face.

Wearing a thin smile on his face, he complimented me, saying, "Compared to a month ago, your swordsmanship truly improved quite a bit."

"Ugh, I'm still far from it."

Slumping down on the ground, I let go of the sword and tried to catch my breath. 

It's been about three weeks since joining the protection mission, and so far, everything had been calm.

But, of course, this was merely the calm before the storm.

I knew that soon enough the Duergars would attack.

This was why I chose to spend most of my time training with Waylan. 

Every little bit of strength was instrumental for me.

My life also kind of depended on it…

"Well, you've shown significant improvements over the last couple of weeks. Be glad that we had this much time to train."

"Yeah, I guess…"

Inferno was known to be an extremely sly and cunning organization. This meant, that, unless they made enough preparations, they wouldn't attack.

This was probably the only reason why they had still not made a move yet. 

On another note, our current location was quite well hidden, so it would take a lot of time and resources to find this place.

'Well, maybe before. Things are a bit different now…'

Sitting on the ground next to me, Waylan asked.

"How are the preparations on your side?"

"I'm ready. All that really matters is whether Jomnuk is ready or not."

He played a critical role in my plans.

If he suddenly changed his mind last minute, everything would be ruined.

Patting me on the shoulder, Waylan tried to reassure me.

"Don't worry about him. We've already talked it through with him. As soon as we hear something about the enemies, we'll immediately go ahead with the plans."

"Alright, that's all I need to hear."

Propping my body up with the aid of the sword, I slowly stood up.

Removing the sword from the ground, I turned to look at Waylan once more, "As long as Jomnuk follows through with the arrangements, I will take care of the rest. You can count on me for that."

"Well, I sure hope you do."

Similarly standing up, Waylan pointed his broadsword in my direction with a challenging look on his face.

"As we wait for those bastards to make a move, how about we continue our little spar. Every little bit of strength you gain will be of extra help for when you're going to clear the mi—"

TWIIING—

Cutting Waylan off was a small ringing sound.

"Give me a sec."

Rummaging through his pockets, Waylan took out a small phone-like device and answered.

"Hello?"

Because Waylan didn't put the phone on speaker, I wasn't able to hear what the other individual on the phone was saying, but judging from Waylan's facial expression, I knew that it had to do with the upcoming mission. His face steadily grew grimmer as he listened to the call.

"Alright, understood, we'll be there soon."

Hanging up the call, Waylan put his broadsword away and turned to face me.

An unprecedented look of solemn determination clouded his face. 

"Alright Ren, it's time for us to move. The information about the hideout has been leaked." 

"Understood."

Putting my sword away, I followed Waylan back into the hideout.

'Talk about timing…'

Right as we finished talking about the situation, the duergars suddenly decided to attack. Wasn't coincidental though. 

***

[Ashton City]

The outline of a cafe appeared in Kevin's vision. From the outside, the place looked like any regular cafe. 

Scribbled on a small blackboard standing outside of the cafe was a list of drinks and dishes. 

The clear glass walls made it possible to see through the cafe from the outside, and the plants and vegetation lining the place perfectly completed the structure which was in part made of wood.

It had a nice ambiance, its vibe and general atmosphere alone should have made it a popular spot.

Yet, things were different today. 

Looking around, Kevin found the place to be quite deserted.

'Amanda must've cleared up the place beforehand.'

As expected of someone with as much power as her.

With a single call, she could clear up an area.

Ding! Ding—

A small chime rang as soon as Kevin opened the door of the place. It was rather pleasant to hear.

The moment he stepped foot inside of the cafe, a heavy scent of coffee invaded his nostrils.

"Eh?"

Because there was no one inside of the place, it took little to no time for Kevin to spot Amanda.

Sitting in the corner of the room, next to the glass window, the gentle glow of the sun enveloped her perfect figure, enhancing her features.

Compared to when he had last seen her, Amanda looked a lot more beautiful.

However, that wasn't the only change.

She also looked a lot more mature compared to when he had last seen her. Gone was her cold looks and what replaced it was a calm one that looked as though it would remain unfazed even in the harshest of situations.

She truly had the aura of a leader.

"Over here."

Similarly spotting Kevin, seated at the back of the cafe, Amanda raised her hand.

Smiling, Kevin walked up to her and sat down.

"To think that it took over two weeks to schedule an appointment with you. Just how busy are you?"

"Do you want anything?"

Smiling slightly, Amanda passed the menu to Kevin.

Taking the menu, Kevin slowly went through the list of things.

Whilst he looked through the menu, Amanda put both hands on the table and went straight to the point.

"Kevin, why did you ask to meet me?"

"Hmm?"

Lifting his head up and remembering the reason he was here, Kevin's brows knit in worry.

Glancing around to make sure that no one was present, he lowered his head and whispered.

"Actually there is something really important I want to discuss with you."

"You don't need to whisper, this whole placed is owned by me. Apart from me and you, no one can hear what you're saying."

Amanda calmly said, much to Kevin's surprise.

"…must be nice to be rich."

Kevin muttered in a low voice as he landed back. Then, putting the menu down, he relaxed a little. 

Staring at Kevin opposite of her, Amanda once again asked.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Right."

Lifting his head and staring at Amanda straight in the eyes, Kevin softly said.

"You may not believe me, but…Ren is alive."

His heart skipped a beat. He didn't know how she would react. He didn't even know if he should tell her. But, he had to. He had to do something to help his friend.

"…"

Bracing himself, Kevin waited for Amanda's reply. However, as soon as his words faded from the atmosphere, Kevin was met with an awkward silence.

Seeing that Amanda's expression had not changed, Kevin thought that she didn't hear correctly.

'Maybe the shock was too great?'

He decided to repeat his sentence, for Amanda's sake.

"Ren is ali—"

"I know."

Amanda cut him off.

Crossing his arms together, Kevin repeatedly nodded his head.

"I know that it must be tough for you to swallow this piece of—huh? What!?"

Kevin stood up in shock and looked at Amanda who was still quietly sitting in the seat opposite to him.

"You knew!?"

"Yes."

Amanda nodded her head.

"I've known for about four months now."

"…what?"

Slumping back on his seat, Kevin absentmindedly looked at Amanda.

"You knew?"

He couldn't even muster the energy to say anything else. Amanda literally blew the wind out of his sails.

'But how is that possible? Amanda doesn't have the book or any similar means!'

It was then that it finally hit him.

'Was it right after he escaped the Monolith?'

According to what Ren said back on the book, once he escaped the Monolith, he was chased out of the human domain.

This meant that during the brief time he escaped, he had met up with Amanda.

Staring at Kevin's deflated face, Amanda shook her head.

"No, it's not what you think."

"What do you mean?"

Kevin frowned.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she replied.

"He did not meet up with me, I found out by myself."

"You found out yourself?"

"Correct."

Scratching the side of his head, Kevin tilted his head in confusion.

"How did you find out?"

"Secret."

Amanda shook her head with a small smile on her face. 

She couldn't quite say that she found out after stalking the guy that was taking care of Nola.

"Eh, come on…"

Obviously, Kevin was surprised by the answer as he leaned back in disappointment.

'This is too much to process… Shouldn't this have been the other way?'

Putting her black purse on the table, Amanda checked her watch. 

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"No."

Lifting his head, Kevin shook his head before letting out a long sigh.

"Haa…"

Although he was surprised by the fact that Amanda knew, Kevin quickly moved on.

This at least saved him the trouble of explaining how he knew.

Fiddling the with the menu in his hand, Kevin spoke up.

"Since you know Ren is alive, you also probably know that he is 876…"

Plap—

This time it was Amanda's turn to be surprised as she dropped the cup in her hand.

Fortunately for her, the cup was empty and nothing spilled.

Still, with wide open eyes, Amanda asked.

"Are you referring to that 876? That 876?"

"…Yeah?"

Kevin replied as he massaged his forehead.

'I thought she knew that… As expected of Ren, he just had to leave a massive mess…'

From her reaction, he understood that she had still not figured that part out.

He was just as shocked as she was when he found out that Ren was 876.

"Basically this is what happened…"

And so Kevin started recounting Ren's story to Amanda.

At least the information he knew. 

The more he talked, the colder Amanda's face became. But that didn't last for long as it disappeared just as fast.

For a short second, Kevin thought that he was hallucinating.

"…and that's it."

Once Kevin finished recounting what he knew about Ren, Amanda frowned.

Musing to herself, she bit on the edge of her sweater.

After a while, she said.

  "So, in short, the reason you contacted me was because you wanted to help in the future once Ren would try to come back to the human domain?"

"That's correct."

Kevin replied with a surprised expression.

He didn't even ask anything and she had already figured out his intentions.

As expected of Amanda. She truly was the daughter of the clan leader of the first ranked guild. 

Picking up the cup that she had previously dropped, Amanda gently put it on the table.

Putting her bag on her shoulder, she checked the time.

[4:34 P.M.]

It was almost time to pick up Nola.

Staring at Amanda in confusion, Kevin asked.

"Are you in or not?"

Standing up, Amanda nodded her head. 

"I'll help the best way I can." 

"…I see, I'm glad."

A look of relief appeared on Kevin's face as he leaned back on the chair. 

"With your aid, we might be able to help him out once he gets back." 

Unfortunately for Kevin, as he said that, he wasn't able to notice the complicated look on Amanda's face.