Hope

News of Jakob's contact with his contracted monster reached the ears of some council members. Some disregarded the news thinking it might be something he made up while other council members such as the representatives of the elves and the beastfolk carefully considered making contact with the young man.

With no foolproof solution in mind. Theradlium approached his daughter, Emphiria, one of Jakob's classmate. However, aside from the information about Jakob, Theradlium is about to find out about something else entirely.

"My dear, what do you know of this man named Jakob?"

The instant she heard Jakob's name be spoken, Emphiria's face flushed in which Theradlium stared in shock, utterly speechless.

"W-Who? J-Jakob? He's a good guy, I think?" she said, trailing off.

The longer he stared at his daughter, the more speechless Theradlium has become. This was because he had not seen his daughter act like that his entire life. 

Emphiria has always been stoic and stern about everything ever since she was little. And that personality and attitude just magnified after leaving Agartha. And for that same person to have made a 180 degree turn made it seem like the world is about to end.

For a long time Theradlium stared at his daughter. Seemingly lost in thought that his daughter has finally changed. However, it was not the best of times. After all, the matters about the invasion of Agartha's Demon Lord is at hand. They just don't have the time to leisurely enjoy life as they did back in the day.

"What am I thinking in such a crucial time?" Theradlium asked himself, "Y-Yes. About that man named Jakob. Do you know anything about him?"

His daughter's face is still flushed. The sight of her excited face made Theradlium uncomfortable. It was a face he is not used to seeing, after all.

After a few seconds of delay, Emphiria nodded her head.

"Yes. But only a little. All I know is that he is incredibly skilled and strong. He also came from… what was the city with the lowest talent again? That city where Sir Valter hailed from?"

Theradlium sparkled from the unexpected discovery and immediately grabbed her daughter's shoulders. This behavior surprised Emphiria as she had not seen her father act that way.

"Don't tell me. Is he the person who minimized the damages from the unseen attack a while back?" He asked, hurriedly.

"Yes. I believe so. That's why the leaders of their city voted for him to replace the person they are going to send to the academy instead." she responded.

All of a sudden, Theradlium breaks into a smile.

"There is still hope." he whispered, "Where can I find him? Is he in the dormitory?"

"I think so. I heard he doesn't go out much aside from buying some stuff he needs personally, so he must be in his room." Emphiria added.

Her father immediately gave her a concerned look. His daughter who didn't like the opposite sex has finally shown an interest in someone. As a father, he is thankful and fearful at the same time.

"Let's talk when I get back," he muttered,

"O-Okay."

Theradlium kissed his daughter's forehead and got out of the mansion in a hurry. Leaving his daughter speechless.

"That was the first time my father made that kind of face," she said to herself.

While thinking about her father, she remembered their topic which was Jakob. And almost instantly, Emphiria's face heats up and blushes.

"What am I thinking?-!"

Emphiria was walking along the hallway when she accidentally saw her reflection on the mirror. Her jaw dropped the moment she laid her eyes on her reflection. She did not realize she's that easy to read. And what's worse is that she must have made that face in front of her father. Which explains the strange expression he wore before leaving.

Emphiria's shoulder dropped as she slowly shrunk to the floor, hugging her legs out of embarrassment.

"N-No way! There is no way my father saw my face looking like this!"

Utterly embarrassed by the look on her face, Emphiria resolves herself to clear up the misunderstanding her expression might have caused upon her father's return that day.

Little did she know that her father, the leader of their house and the representative of the elves would return late that day. The day has just started for them and a whole lot of incidents are waiting.

*

I, Jehad swore to be the right hand man of Master Theradlium for as long as I live.

I have followed him back in our mother world, Agartha. In all my years of service, I have not seen him so stressed out despite the constant war against the minions of the Demon Lord back in Agartha. I thought I would never see such a sight. However, I thought wrong. 

Ever since the truth behind the Contract Dungeons have come to light. My lord Theradlium has lost his time to sleep. He would constantly ponder about the best solution for the problem.

After countless days of sleepless nights, fatigue and distress can be seen on his face. It is as if an elf, who is a member of a race known for their long lifespan, seems to have aged in just a short span of time.

Seeing my Lord like this broke my heart. Not only because he is destroying his health but also because of my powerlessness. Being unable to offer help especially when you are supposed to be the right hand man of the one you serve feels like my heart is being pierced with thousands of needles. There is nothing more painful than watching your master suffer knowing that you can do nothing but watch.

The longer I watch my master suffer, the harder it is for me to endure such suffering. I thought these days wouldn't cease. However, it all changed when the news of someone contacting their Contracted monster from the dungeons. And for that person to be quite acquainted with the young miss, my master was overflowing with hope.

For the first time in a long time, I have seen not only life but also hope in my master's eyes. He saw another way. Perhaps, the answer to the dilemma we are currently facing.

"My lord, it seems like you are looking forward to meeting this person named Jakob," I said as we rode the carriage to the academy.

My lord smilingly looked at me and said, "If he is backed by Master Valter then there is a high chance that he is the same person he was looking for all those years ago."

'The same person' the moment my Lord said those words, I recalled a memory from the past where someone was relentlessly searching for a missing person. And that someone was Master Valter. People called him insane for prioritizing the search for someone over his family. And when everyone thought that the search wouldn't end, he suddenly stopped looking and took care of his family.

If that is the case then the chance of that person being the same person we are going to be meeting is high.

I nodded and agreed. My Lord has always been right with things even from our past world. Doubting my master now would only bring nothing but division. And right now what the Misfits need is hope. And that hope will save not only the Misfits but the entire world from the invasion.

Ever since the news of the invasion and the information about the Contract Dungeons have been fed to the masses, everything became a mess. Although it was done for the sake of spreading awareness, the people, the citizens of this world did not take it kindly. And because of that, the discrimination against Misfits has started to resurface.

This world was very cruel to the very first Misfits in the past. Hunting them like animals and killing them like one. One could imagine their terrible fate the moment they are found out. I thought I would never see that day again, however, I fear it might not be long before those days return.

While we're on our way to the academy, we saw people joining in on protests on the side of the road. Most of them are commoners and only a few are nobles. It seems like they have come together against a common enemy. You will not see such a sight in the past, and now here they are.

Their gathering garnered a few carriages to a stop as they were blocking the road. And since they have come before us, I believe we wouldn't encounter such inconvenience. I thought wrong. 

As we pass by the gathering of protesters, one person amongst hundreds of them recognizes our carriage and announces it to the others. Making them all turn their heads to our direction.

"That is the carriage of the representative of the elves!"

They all swarmed around us like ants, completely surrounding us. Making the carriage put to a complete stop.

"We demand an explanation!"

"You brought them to our world! Leave!"

"Get out! Face us!"

"You knew about this all along, right!?"

"How dare you and your people!"

They spat all different types of undeserving words not only to us but also to my master. I could hardly keep my emotions in check because of anger. However, I held myself back from harming them knowing that it might bring even more trouble to my already troubled master.

I turned to my master and as if knowing what I meant by that look, he shook his head.

"You should know how it will turn out in the end, Jehad,"

"But, my lord. We cannot just allow them to say whatever they want."

"Still, we cannot just change their mind by force."

I nodded my head and turned to look outside the window as the soldiers broke the protesters away from our carriage.

The head of the soldiers passed an apology to the coachman since the people are still aiming for our carriage. And so, our stop came to an end.

I was glad that I managed to hold my anger back in, thinking that I wouldn't want to experience such an incident again. Having said that, we experience that again a couple more times. By the time we arrived at the academy, it was already late in the afternoon and the guards were completely caught off guard by our sudden and abrupt appearance.

I turned to look at my master and saw how tired and stressed he looked, so I did my job as the right hand man and asked the guards.

"Is the student named Jakob Reavers here?" I asked.

We have come a long way, so if we could meet with that man as soon as possible, we might be able to come back early after wrapping our business up. That's what I thought while asking that. However, the moment I saw the guards look at each other with surprised looks on their faces, I suddenly felt uneasy.

"I apologize but Jakob Reavers and his friend just left not long ago," one of the guards said, scratching his head, "this is the list of the students who left the academy." 

He then proceeded to show me the list of the names of the students and how long they will be gone. Quite smart for the academy to keep track of their students, however, that spells trouble for us.

Based on the list, Jakob Reavers will not return for a couple more hours. And by the time he arrives, it would have to be late at night.

"What to do?" I thought to myself.

We cannot just stay here in front of the gates while waiting, right?

While thinking about what to do, I turned around and saw my master talking to a person. They had a hearty conversation and before I knew it, we were offered a room to stay while waiting for Jakob Reavers.

"This is my right hand man, Jehad,"

My master introduced me and I bowed my head.

"Jehad, this is Master Bill, headmaster of the academy."

 He also bowed his head.

So this is the headmaster of the academy, he looks young and strong at the same time. 

"Thank you for offering us a place to stay while we wait." I sincerely thanked the headmaster.

"Not at all. You are guests of the academy, after all. So this is nothing."

I thank him with all my heart. I will never forget this debt.