Chapter 11

Pushing through the doors, I found myself in a somewhat small room. On the opposite side of the building were three stalls meant for receptionists, but only one was being manned at the moment.

On the walls to my left and right were large boards, with details of different missions the guild had posted. In a small village like Lockwood, there were not very many.

There were tables and seats to accommodate people should there be lines at reception, but the building was empty except for me and the receptionist.

Walking up the receptionist, a boy who looked a bit older than me, and said, "I believe I am owed fifteen silvers," holding up the bear head.

"It looks like you are," he replied with a friendly smile. "Are you registered with any guild?"

"No, I'm not."

"Alright. That just means we won't be able to track this bounty completion for you. In the future, should you decide to have your abilities evaluated by the guild hall, they will not be able to take this mission into consideration."

I wasn't entirely sure what that meant. I didn't know how the guild would evaluate my abilities, although I assumed it had something to do with what kinds of missions members of guild could take on.

Anyways, we continued our conversation. he asked me about the bear, characteristic and such just to confirm it was the same bear the bounty was looking for, as well as asking me questions about how I killed it, which I just said I used an axe.

I was given my silvers, and was on my way.

On the walk from the hall to the MEB building, I noticed two horses coming into town, with two men dressed in red robes with a gold trim. The robes looked vaguely familiar. As they rode past me, I heard one of them say, "So what was this kid's name?"

The other man replied, "We'll look tomorrow, Christoph. I have something I need to attend to first. Once we drop off our horses, go find an inn and get us rooms."

This seemed to get the other man, who I assumed was his subordinate, to quite down. I was interested in who they were talking about, but it was none of my business.

I entered into the MEB building, and sat down in the lobby. I hadn't been gone long, nor had I encountered Eva on the walk over, so I assumed she wasn't done yet. I didn't need to wait long, as 15 minutes later, she appeared out of one of the doors in the back of the room, with an undercast look on her face.

"No luck?" I asked

"Nothing. It's like the Gods hate me."

"Would a trip around the town, all expenses paid, make you feel better?" I asked, putting three silvers into her hands. I'm not sure why, but I was feeling generous, and I didn't like seeing her sad.

She chuckled a bit before saying, "Maybe a bit. I'll make sure you regret saying all expenses though."

Her verbal challenge did not receive a response from me, as I was focused on something else. As we were leaving the building, one of the men in red robes was about to enter. I got a good look at his face, this time. It was long and somewhat rectangular. He had long black hair that was slicked back, with green eyes. His skin was pale, and freakishly clear, no blemish in sight. But that wasn't what I focused on. I recognized the robes. They were the same robes Maximus had shown off to me before he left for Theria. Or, they were similar. These robes looked more intricate.

'What was a Therian mage entering an MEB building for?' I decided to start moving before he noticed my staring. The Therian Mage Association was the only magic organization in the world without an association with the MEB. Instead, they work directly with the Emperor. It didn't make any sense for them to be heading into an MEB building.

"Cai? You there?" Eva's voice dragged me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah sorry. Just got distracted by something. What were you saying? I think it was something along the lines of 'Thank you so much for getting me anything at all, because I certainly don't deserve it.' That's what I would be saying, in your position, at least."