New members

"This is Claus, an elf."

Ian pointed at a tall blondie on the other side of the table.

"Hello, human lady."

"A what?"

Rosalyn inspected the boy for a second. He had long and pointy ears!

"He's here as an ambassador of the elf' village who resides in the Perennial Forest to sign an agreement with you."

"Sign a what?"

Ian took out a bunch of papers from under his cloak.

"Here is the contents of the deal. We've already gone through it once so everything is clear. Since I'm not of any position inside the Army, they sent him to proceed the same things with you as well."

"Y-yes?"

Rosalyn, already gaping and gasping, quickly skimmed through the papers that Ian pushed to her. The more she read, the wider her eyes became.

"...How in the world did you manage to do such a thing?"

If what was explained in this agreement true... Then it was simply amazing.

Ian pointed at a young girl. 

"This is Doris, a young mage. And this is Zal, another young mage."

The descriptions were too little. Rosalyn understood nothing about those mages but their names. However, it was still impressive to have found two mages and befriended them in that short span of time. If they were good enough, they would become great allies in the future. One looked like a teenager, too young to know much about magic, but her facial features showed how promising of a future she had. The other was also young, but the gleam in his eyes was enough to reveal his years of experience. 

Rosalyn then turned to the last new face among the crowd. Her brows knitted together as she looked at the little wolf on Ian's lap. 

"He is Lior."

Again, too little information. Did he find some pup in the jungle and take him in?

As if reading her mind, the little wolf stood at his hind legs and... waved a paw at her?

"Alright then, that must be enough. Now going back to the main topic..."

Ian held his hand out in front of Rosalyn. 

"Our payment."

"Yes? We never ever agreed on such a thing."

Ian closed his eyes, exhaling a deep breath. His face appeared exhausted and gloomy. 

"So you're turning me down like this... After everything I've done... Alright."

As if an alarm ringing in her head, Rosalyn sat up straight. Turning him down... Rosalyn bit down on her lip. Could she take the risk? This man could easily sell off his information to the others and reap benefits, yet he was taking her side for some reason. He had nothing to lose here, while she had many. 

"I'll pay you as much as you want."

She'd gained enough during this little journey.

"Boss??"

"Quiet."

Displeasure written all over their faces, the warriors of The Resistance could only watch the mere slave gobble up all the food their boss had bought while scamming her at the same time. Who did he think he was to request money from their boss like that? 

"Um, who... who are they?"

Similarly confused, the members of the mercenary group inspected the messy and dirty bunch of people who, by just peering at them, caused goosebumps to arise. 

"The Resistance Army, if I'm not mistaken."

Eleen had met these people before, so she had a slight understanding of the situation. 

"The Resistance? Aren't they the ones who want to go against The Empire?" Seeing Eleen nod, Doris pulled her body back a bit, lowering her voice. "Why are we meeting with their boss? Are you guys a part of the army?"

"We aren't." Not just Doris, but everyone else was also listening to Eleen, anxiety written all over their faces. "But I'm not sure about the future."

It seemed that Ian had an inkling about helping out this army, and he was already building up a strong connection with its boss. Seeing how Raven had nothing against it and even Claus was already aware of the situation, Eleen couldn't help but guess how the flow of their journey would shift from now on. 

"Ian!"

On the other side of the table, the nobleman, Alaric, reached a similar conclusion as Eleen. Pulling Ian's sleeve and moving closer to him, he hurried to state his objection.

"Do you know what you're doing? Helping out The Resistance is equivalent to becoming The Empire's enemy. Why would we do that?"

Who were they even to oppose such a force? What could a bunch of young people do to that great nation?

Nothing. 

Knowing the plot of his story well, Alaric knew that no matter what this group of villains did, they were always bound to fail. 

By shaking hands with this army, they were only marking their quick death. 

"I'm not forcing you guys on anything. You're free to leave."

Free to leave.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one said a thing. They were free to leave, but where could they go? 

"We're not declaring war against The Empire by simply striking a deal with those guys. No one will know who we are or what we'll doing unless someone among ourselves gives it away."

That too, was correct. They weren't officially joining the Revolutionary Army, and neither would they wear flashy clothes, run around the country, and shout that they were the government's enemies. So as long as no one snitched on them or they weren't in action, no one would know that they were secretly helping out these people.

"So... It's safe?" 

Alaric winced at Doris. No, it wasn't safe, it wouldn't be safe, and it was for sure that they would be exposed sooner or later. Since this was the story he'd created, and he knew how the logic of this world operated. There was no chance that such a cheat help for the villains could be hidden from the plot.

'Actually, how come I never knew that the Resistance army had a group helping them? maybe such a thing didn't happen before my transmigration... or maybe it was too insignificant to be shown in the plot?'

If it was indeed insignificant, then there was still hope to be safe from whatever would happen future, but he doubted that to be the case.

"I'm not sure about that."

Ian shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't even care. 

"I'm saying it now, but sticking with me might not be the best idea. You guys are free to leave, it's not like I'm your boss or something. Whenever you feel like you don't want to travel with me anymore, you can leave... Or tell me to leave. Both are the same."

Ian was telling them to leave, but he hoped that they wouldn't do so. Every single one of these people could be of great help to him if they were nurtured carefully, and he would make sure to prepare them for the best environment to grow. So, he hoped that none of them would decide to leave the group.

"Why are you doing this?"

Another question was asked, but this time, it came not from his group but from Rosalyn. 

"Isn't it obvious? I'm rooting for you to succeed."

"And why is that?"

"Maybe I too am an enemy of The Emperor?"

A slave stated with a wide smile. The mocking glares he was receiving from The Resistance members intensified. How could a nobody like him be an enemy of The Empire? How ridiculous. 

"Look, boy, this isn't a child's play."

Finally unable to contain his wrath any longer, one of the warriors stated his mind, voice roaring. 

"Am I a child then?"

Did he look that young? Ian made a mental note to check his face carefully once he found a proper mirror. It's a good thing to look young in the others' eyes.

"Are you mocking m-"

"I don't think it's the right time to be arguing with each other. There are more important things to take care of."

Ian cut the warrior's words midway through, leaving the already frustrated man even more enraged. However, before he could say or do anything, a sudden, deafening roar echoed in the surroundings. 

GRAAAAWWWLLL

CRASH

A huge shadow cast on the cafe. As the people rushed out, a horrific scene entered their visions.