16 The Marquis Joins the Team

CHAPTER SIXTEEN – THE MARQUIS JOINS THE TEAM

Scarlette looked at the man with a blank expression.

"It is not that I don't have a choice either because I recognize that man so I just take him along with me"

Scarlette nonchalantly said and Jeffrey stopped laughing when he heard the woman's reason as he looked at her with a confused expression.

But when he saw Scarlette's crimson-lilac eyes that indicate something, he knew that something is odd about the companion that she took in.

"You recognize that person? Who is he?" 

Jeffrey asked the crimson-haired woman and she nodded.

"He used the alias Ryan Wayne and he approaches me back at the guild when I am looking for a mission. I don't know why that person is here in the first place but let me handle this, Zenon"

Jeffrey looked at the crimson-haired woman as she speaks and he shrugged off.

"Since it's you then, I know you can handle it. If things are going out of hand, let me help you with this before it gets worst"

Scarlette looked at him as she said; "I know. Thank you, Zenon. I just want to know since he should be at his master's side, not here"

Jeffrey just nodded at her as he speaks; "Since this is something personal then, I'll just assist you if needed"

Scarlette felt relieved when Jeffrey said those words as she thinks about the mission on hand and the information that Jeffrey shared with her.

'A flood happens a month ago and something is underneath that place. A mass graveyard. The village is not recorded within the Empire. This mission seems tricky as I thought would be.'

Scarlette thought as she looked at Jeffrey and said; "We need to acquire more information in the Adventurers Guild in this city by tomorrow morning. We couldn't disclose any information that you provided since it would make things messed up in the process"

As she said that, Jeffrey agreed to her since that is the best course of action, as of now.

"Since you are doing some undercover investigation about this, why not joined us as well in our journey?"

When those words came out from Scarlette's mouth, the man looked at her as if he heard something that is not her usual thinking.

"A-are you asking me to join you at the mission? Is that an invitation?"

'Is this for real?! Am I dreaming or what?!'

He thought as he looked at the woman with wide eyes and Scarlette groan in annoyance.

"It can't be helped since both of us needs to cooperate in this case. This mission that I take, I just took it out of a whim because the rewards are suspicious"

She explained as she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"What do you mean?"

Jeffrey asked the crimson-haired woman with a confused expression as he looked at her.

Scarlette took the leaflet from her pouch and gave it to Jeffrey. She let the man read it by himself.

The auburn man took the leaflet and examined its contents. 

"You've got to be kidding me, right?" He mumbled as he looked at the crimson-haired woman and raised an eyebrow, asking if the content that he reads is true.

Scarlette looked back at him as if telling him an 'I-know-right' look and she crossed her arms around as she raised an eyebrow as well.

Jeffrey groans in defeat.

"Seriously?! A D-rank mission with the amount of 10 million gold coins as a reward?! Isn't this too much?!"

He exclaimed as he couldn't believe it! What kind of setup mission is this?!

Scarlette nodded and sighed.

"That's why I took it before someone else does. I am not after the reward but the mission itself. It's odd and I have a feeling that there is someone behind this"

Scarlette said and Jeffrey could only agree with her statement. He looked once again at the mission leaflet that the woman passed to him.

"Okay. I'm in and since you are looking for a place to stay, how about you and your companion stayed at my place? I have rented a house here in a meantime"

Jeffrey offered a place for Scarlette to stay while they are in the city and the woman just accepted the Marquis's hospitality as she nodded in agreement.

"By the way, where is that companion of yours?"

He asked and Scarlette only replied; "I left him at the rear entrance of the city with the wagon that I paid for since he got injured on the 'practice' that we had along the way here"

She explained and the man looked at her as he raised an eyebrow with a smug expression.

"More like beating him into a pulp for a warning if that is the right term"

The auburn man said in a deadpan tone and Scarlette just ignored him as she looked away.

'This woman sure knows how she could twist her words sometimes but I won't fall for it as I know what that 'practice' means and it's unfair that the other man got a privilege to have an intense lesson from Scarlette!'

Jeffrey thought bitterly as he slumps his shoulder and made an annoying sound.

"Could you please remove the barrier now, Zenon?"

Scarlette said and the man snapped himself back. Even though he wants to complain to the woman, he just complied as he once again made a chant.

[Barrier Enlightenment; Silencing Shield, Cancellation!]

As soon as he made a chant, the light that surrounds both of them had disappeared and both of them could hear their surroundings.

Scarlette's ears made a twitch when she heard something that caught her attention.

'Hey, someone is fighting over there!'

'Two adventurers are fighting at the rear entrance and the guards tried to stop them!'

'I heard that the one who started is a man with a bulky appearance and that person had a hammer as his weapon!'

'He is fighting the other man and it seems that he got injured in a process'

'The wagon got destroyed as well'

'Are you serious, Ryan?'

Scarlette thought as she took a deep breath to calm herself and looked in the direction where she left Ryan at the rear entrance gate of the city. 

'If what those people said is true then, Ryan is now fighting with someone else! I want to know who dared to make a challenge like this?!'

She didn't wait for Jeffrey to respond when she turned around and walk back in the direction where she came from. She made a run at full speed to check at Ryan.

"Wait for me, Scarlette!"

Jeffrey shouted as he made a run as well in full speed to catch up with the woman who just runs off in the direction towards the entrance gate of the city.

'This woman! Just run off like that! She is too fast and I can't catch up with her pace! Just what the heck happened?!'

He thought as he made use of his magic to catch up with Scarlette but still, he is far behind and it makes him frustrated.

Even though being a Captain of the Falcon Knights and had immense strength and combat abilities but when it comes to Scarlette, he is far more inferior than her.

He can't fathom the real strength the woman had.

Surely, the woman is the highest rank adventurer in the history of the Silveria Empire and probably, the only SSS-rank adventurer in the whole world.

He could sense the woman's massive aura that surrounds her but he knew that the woman is wearing something that could hide her true strength.

Jeffrey might be a Knight soldier but he is also a noble mage as he graduated from the Heaven Mage Academy in the Empire.

He is specialized in enchantment and he had a magic affinity to Earth and Wind.

He even used the advanced wind magic spell to catch with Scarlette but he is still out of her reach that made him even more frustrated.

'Aish! So unfair!'