319. Through the Grapevines

----------Delta-------------

"What did you say?" Monique put down her weapon.

Team 1 of the Field Service had just returned from dealing with a high-level threat in Delta. Minas Mar was busy even with the new Oathguard finally joining the subjugations.

The field generators and finally arrived not too long ago but the authorities were still hard at work setting them up. For this they actually prioritized other regions first, leaving Minas Mar to protect their part of the city for a while longer.

Monique didn't complain as it all worked in their favor. At this point, they were the most favored guild in Delta. They almost couldn't restock as fast as people bought their products at the turquoise Anvil.

Even with the additional alchemists they recruited, they could barely supply enough. Seth had left behind an enormous amount of uncommon and rare items, but even those started dwindling recently.

The whole city was gearing up and Minas Mar was raking in profits.

Wiping the sweat from her face and unequipping her armor she took two letters from Evee's hands. A messenger from the System Church had brought them while she was away.

One was from Simon and the other was from their lost blacksmith!

Simon's letter held a summary of the situation and the general info on what was going on with the kidnapped people. It was one of the more fantastical stories she had heard since the world went bonkers.

All survivors of the rebellion in the Theocracy's Stronghold were aiming for a place called Hope somewhere in the eastern No Man's land. From there they intended to go straight to Gamma, evading the forested southeast, and meet up with Princess Leana.

Seth's letter roughly stated the same things, but in less detail. It was more of

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm already on my way home. Make sure it still stands when I get back."- kind of message.

Additionally, to the summary, Simon also included Leana's plans. The Empire's Princess had already built a fortification at Gamma where the refugees could stay and be safe. Because of the sudden disappearance of the Zarkists and the empire's reinforcement she was ready to make a bold move.

She put together an expedition to travel toward the east and meet up with the stronghold's survivors. And then came the reason why Monique even got the letter.

She couldn't help but chuckle a little, as the Princess's intention was just too clear to her. Simon asked for reinforcement from Minas Mar, namely Yulecat's Fur. Of course, it was packed up as a favor, that the party could come and help their friend and Mina could help to save her boyfriend.

As a reason, it was mentioned that Ori Humas could not accurately travel through the pathwork gates of the system church. This was true, but Monique saw through all the excuses and guessed the true intention. The princess didn't need the manpower. Leana wanted Fin!

Of course, Monique was just joking about herself. She gave a heavy sigh. Being a tower master seemed so easy when Seth did it. It would become even busier when Mina and the others went to meet up with Seth.

How did Seth deal with all the stress as the leader of such an organization? The longer it went on, the more she felt that she really wasn't fit for this position. She wanted Seth back, too!

When Team 2, Yulecat's Fur returned from their dungeon run, Monique immediately called them and informed them of the situation. If there wasn't a fixed date for their departure to join the princess, Mina and Fin would have already rushed out the door.

Fin especially was euphoric on the chance to go and save Seth. He would finally realize how glorious and majestic she was when she saved his life like a silver knight on a white horse. And then he would spend a lot more time with her to play.

Mina obviously wanted to go save her boyfriend. Also, she didn't get any action in the last weeks because the said boyfriend had been kidnapped. The earlier they reunited, the earlier they could [redacted].

Seeing his sister like this, Mike couldn't help but agree. Although he always tried to deny that side of her, bad things could happen if she became desperate.

Bulko didn't mind joining an expedition. If he was honest, he had slightly missed traveling around lately. The only one slightly reluctant was the half-elven mage Lixiss.

But she became eager when Mike shared another of his reasons for going. While everyone else was busy getting hyped for the journey he had read the two letters. In passing, Seth had mentioned that he had finished their gear to level up his skills.

This meant if they went to meet Seth, they would be able to get new toys- their new equipment sooner and play around- test them out in the wild. The elf was immediately sold on going on this rescue mission.

Would these guys really be able to bring back Seth quicker? Wouldn't they rather hinder his return...? Monique could only shake her head. She could only hope they succeeded.

A few days later, the date when they were scheduled to leave Delta and port to Gamma's Starta village, the party was approached by Evee.

"Evee! Did you come to send Fin off?" the fairy greeted her.

"Yes, I came to see you off. But I also wanted to give you something."

The young woman brought out a golden plate the size of a manhole cover. It was covered in runic carving and occult inscriptions.

"What is this?" Fin said with big eyes.

"It's an experiment. I took some of the arcane gold from Seth's workshop to make it, I hope he won't be angry... Anyway. Can you take it with you?"

"Sure, but aren't you going to tell us what it is?" Mike, the party leader finally spoke up.

"It would be embarrassing if I told you and it ended up not working. It's an experimental thing after all. When you find Seth give it to him. He will know what to do with it and if everything works you are in for a surprise." she said mysteriously with a mischievous smile.

In the end, Mike agreed to take the huge plate with them.

--------------Gamma------

"My lady, they will be arriving soon." an officer informed the princess

"Okay, thank you for notifying me. I will be there shortly." Leana said with a serious expression.

Only when the door closed, and she had made sure that nobody could see her, did her face twist into a grimace of glee and joy.

"I knew it was a great idea to make this expedition. I finally get to meet Fin again! And we can travel together for several weeks. Finally! I wanted to cuddle her so badly for the last weeks!"

She jumped up, made a pirouette, and turned back to her all-serious self before leaving the room. She didn't care about the Zarkists that fled or Seth. She was only looking forward to spending time with the fairy.