WARM WELCOME

I'm Marcus, the son of this town, which is called Medea, and one of the officials of the third branch of the headquarters.

We are not like other mercenaries, but more like an organization, we do work for a sum of money, we receive the request and direct it to the appropriate team, whether assassination, kidnapping, rescue, killing monsters, entering dungeons And others, we do not accept all requests, if they do not comply with our policy.

The name of the mercenaries is Estella, which means the star, so the principle of five is followed. We have five main leaders, five branches, each branch has five sub-headquarters.

I was appointed as one of the officials by Dara.

Although I was useless and despised, she saw qualifications in me, so I did my duties to the fullest in order not to disappoint her.

But .....

There is a problem, two weeks ago we received a request to attack a dungeon in one of the mountains, but all attempts failed, then I and the rest of the officials with some assistants inspected the place.

As soon as we stepped inside the cave a strange feeling invaded us, fear and weakness penetrated our bones, we were barely able to stand It was dark, whenever we lit a fire for lighting, the darkness devoured it, to no avail.

We were still at the beginning of the dungeon until a big monster attacked us. We could not recognize it because of the darkness. We thought it was the wolf with giant fangs due to its size.

We were wrong....

we realized it too late. in one moment, a meter-long giant jaw amputated the leg of one of the assistants, it's an armored insect, but giant?!

His screams filled the place, the jaw was toothy and blunt, his flesh was cut brutally and the pain was horrible, terror penetrated our hearts, we tried to fight that monster, but its shell was tougher than a steel bear.

We had to stop the bleeding of the injured and calm him down so that he would stop screaming.

Suddenly the ground started to shake We heard loud sounds of insects approaching.

They smelled blood.

We ran outside as the sound got closer and closer, we barely escaped.

We came back unscathed but the assistant is still bedridden, and the dispute between the officials has become intense.

We called the headquarters to ask for help from the commanders but they said they On a mission more than two months ago, and the worst monsters followed the trail of blood and tried to get out of the dungeon, all we did was surround it to prevent any creature from getting out.

What are we going to do, what will happen if they attack the town...

-"Sir , are you alright".

The voice of an innocent little girl, who does not understand the meaning of fear or anxiety, It's Amanda, one of our orphanage children .

she extended her hands to carry her. How can I refuse this angel's request? I carried her and answered her question.

-" Don't worry Amanda, I'm fine, how was your day?".

she said with big smile on her face:

-" We learned about magic and i answered the teacher correctly."

- "well done, you are so smart".

-"Haha... ah right, Sophie, Ethan, and Tyrone fight over who will become the leader".

-"Oh my God again??, I'm really going to scold them."

These children are the children of our orphanage too.

We have a small orphanage, in which we house, feed, teach and train them, we do not force them to become mercenaries, they can choose what they want to do when they grow up, but most of the children are affected by the five leaders when they see them during the visiting period, and they want to become mercenaries

just like them.

Who blames them, even adults want to be strong like them.

Huh, how much we need them now...

Amanda pointed her finger and said:

-"Sir, look it's Tyrone waving his hands."

-"What ??"

He was running fast towards me, panting heavily

-"Sir...sir...they are here...the leaders are here"

My prayers...have been answered

...

Wow, it's a big town, there are a lot of people.

Donelle smiled as she looked at my surprised expression.

-" It's called Medea, my hometown."

-"You were born here?"

-"Yes, and I was raised here before I became a mercenary..."

This explains her strange accent.

Is Horner from the Western Kingdom too? They both have the same tone.

-"...it's big, isn't it ?"

-"Yes, very big."

Not only that, but also modern, markets are everywhere, there are all kinds of shops, pharmacies, potion shops, there are even a lot of blacksmiths.

It's been a while since we entered the village, but I don't see the sub-headquarters.

I asked Donal:

- "Where is the sub-headquarters located?"

-"It's a bit far, enjoy the view of the village until we get there".

.....

- "Come on, get ready to welcome the leaders."

- "Look at Marcus, he thinks he's special just because Dara chose him."

- "Shut up, we don't want trouble in front of the leaders."

-"tsk shit"

I can hear them whispering about me, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm qualified and chosen for my talent.

- "Come on, kids, stop messing around, or I won't let you meet them."

Everyone was excited, especially the kids, this is a golden opportunity for them.

-"I will prove to Sir Edgar that I am special, and that I will be his successor."

Tyrone was so excited that he imagined becoming the next leader.

While Ethan looks at him with disgust, expecting what he was imagining

As for Sophie, she was smiling proudly because her target was Donelle.

Finally they arrived, and dismounted from their horses. Everyone was smiling.

But for these children, it gradually disappeared as soon as they saw another child with their heroes.

-"Who is this child?"

-"Welcome, nice to see you."

- "Hi Marcus, how are you?".

-" Hello Sir Edgar, please come in and rest and we will talk later."

It's a warm reception, they look like celebrities, but why are those kids looking at me so angry.

I turned to Donelle and asked her:

- "Are you popular in town?".

-"Not much. They know that there is a mercenary headquarters, but they don't know who it belongs to. We chose this place because it is far from the city's traffic. Why did you ask?"

- "Oh, I just saw a lot of kids waiting for you."

- "These are the children of our orphanage. I'll explain to you as we walk."

After she explained to Donal all about the place and the organization of the mercenaries, we went to lunch.

We sat at a large table with five other people, who were in charge,

They were chatting with Edgar and Elvis while Dara and the rest were feeding me

-"You'd rather eat more food, you weren't eating well while you were traveling"

Dara said as she put the piles of food on my plate.

Horner put a big piece of meat on top of the mound and said:

" Eat the meat, it will build your muscles."

-"Take Ridon, eat vegetables, they are good for your health".

" Donelle, stop pretending, I know you don't like carrots".

-"Oh, you exposed me...Come on eat it"

"Ugh, don't put food in my mouth without warning."

- "Oh, my God, are you alright? Would you like a drink of water?"

The food was delicious and the session was fun, but I was almost pissed off by the looks of others, especially Marcus.

After finishing lunch, Marcus stood up and said:

- "There is an urgent matter that we want to discuss immediately."

Edgar said:

-"Well, what is it?"

-" Not in front of the child."

Horner said in amazement:

-"Who do you mean, Raiden?"

-"Yes, that is correct, because what we will discuss is for adults."

Huh ,He wants to kick me out

- "Okay, I'll go and take a walk around."

Edgar looked at me apologetically, I said in a whisper:

-"It's ok"

I left, but then i chose a blind spot and sat in it, opening my little gate to spy.

All that mystery and tense mana, and you want me not to know what's going on? I'll find out in my own way, now let's listen carefully.

-"What is the urgent matter?"

- "Sir Edgar, we received a request for a dungeon in the mountain, but every squad goes, returns with heavy losses without accomplishing the mission. Six people died, and one of the assistants had an amputated leg and he is in a critical condition."

-" What kind of monsters are in that dungeon?".

donelle said .

-"We went to that dungeon, we didn't even go deep inside until giant armored insects appeared."

-"Insects?"

- "Yes, insects. Their shell is thicker and stronger than that of a steel bear. Their jaws are long, and the worst thing is that they follow the smell of blood and try to get outside."

Dara looked nervous as she said:

-"I want to see the corpses to run my tests".

One of the officials replied with a trembling voice:

-"There are no corpses. They were brutally devoured inside the dungeon. I saw their remains when i fell to the ground. They were torn to pieces".

said another while patting him:

- "His assistant is the one who survived, but he is in a serious condition, you can take a look at him."

Elvis looked puzzled as he read the reports about the dungeon

- "It seems that they will not be able to handle it, we must intervene."

Edgar stood up and said:

-"Dara, see the survivor and try to treat him if you can. Horner Donelle tomorrow explore the surroundings of the dungeon, but do not enter it. Elvis and I will discuss the plan, do you understand?".

-"Yes".

Marcus approached Dara and said with a sad expression:

- "I'm sorry, Ms. Dara, I couldn't have handled it any better."

Dara smiled and said in a soft voice

- "Don't worry, you did your best, and now excuse me."

Oh my God, what's wrong with that Marcus, his eyes almost stuck on Dara as he stared at her, and his smile after she spoke to him, it seems he's in love.

But it looks like they're in big trouble. I want to go and see the place. I'll ask Donelle and Horner to accompany them...

- "Hey, what are you doing here?".

huh?