Sancho Sanchez (1)

"Grandfather!"

Elias and the group abruptly turned to look at where the voice came from.

At the old village chief's door, a beautiful young girl with long brown hair tied into braids stood and waved her hand, her gentle and lovely smile capture everyone's attention.

She had a gentle and kind air around her, making anyone who looked at her feel tender and softhearted. Her curious blue eyes looked at them, accentuating her beautiful appearance.

She looked around Elias' age, fifteen to sixteen years old.

Seeing her, Harris couldn't resist the smile on his face and spoke.

"Alysa, why are you outside? It's already turning night, did you tend to those guests of ours?"

The brown-haired girl, Alysa, chuckled.

"Relax, Grandfather. I've tended to the guests already. I was just about to find you… but.."

Midway through her words, Alysa suddenly paused and looked at Elias and the group, her sea-blue eyes peering in curiosity.

Harris saw her look and smiled as though expecting it. He turned to look at Elias and the group before speaking with a bright smile.

"This is Alysa. My granddaughter. I've taken care of her since she was a kid, don't mind her curious personality. She's just like that, she means no harm.."

"It's alright. We don't mind at all."

Elias shook his head and reciprocated a smile on his own. He turned to look at Alysa and bowed slightly while pointing at his group.

"Also, Ms. Alysa… it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Elias Corleone. These are my seniors in the team, Donato, Taurus, Galilei, Junior, and Alexus."

"I-it's a pleasure to meet you people too."

Alysa bowed and was slightly flustered at his greeting. Inwardly, she berated herself for acting like this. She was easily flustered in meeting new people.

In front of the people in the village, she could act as her true self. But in front of new people, she was slightly afraid of being embarrassed.

Especially if said people were from beyond the village. She lived in the village most of her life, so she was curious and at the same time, shy towards foreign people.

Seeing her slightly flustered appearance, Elias smiled to ease her.

"Don't mind my granddaughter. She's just a shy person. In fact, let me tell you, back when she was a kid she was so shy and…"

Harris chuckled loudly and was about to narrate a story about Alysa.

"Grandfather!"

Aysa's body stiffened up and immediately shouted in a fluster. However, Harris ignored her and continued with a pleased expression.

"She actually did-"

Slightly in panic, Alysa immediately cut him off and tried to change the topic.

"Dear guests, it's already turning night, I'm sure you people are hungry. It's just in time to have dinner. I hope you can come into our house to stay for the night and have a meal!"

While saying that, she looked at Elias and the group with a gaze that seemed to be saying 'please, please' earnestly.

Elias couldn't help but chuckle seeing her situation.

"Thank you for your kind gesture, Ms. Alysa. We are indeed in need of a place to stay and rest for a while."

"See, grandfather? It's not good to keep our guests waiting!"

Alysa nodded with a sigh of relief.

Hearing her words, Harris coughed in embarrassment. He looked at Elias and the group before leading them to enter the house.

"That's right. Forgive me, that was rather inconsiderate of me. Come then, let's have a meal first, and let's talk about my granddaughter's childhood escapades on the table…"

Alysa, who was sighing in relief, immediately froze.

"Grandfather! Please stop embarrassing me further!"

***

The old village chief's house was rather simple in design. It was slightly large, but not too large. It had three floors.

Entering the house, Elias and the group immediately took notice of the two people standing near the table in the middle

At the same time, the two people also noticed them and slightly frowned before furrowing their brows in confusion and shock.

'A group of Rankers! One of them is young, while the five others emit a strong aura! Are they from a famous guild or family?!'

The two of them thought in shock as they looked at each other.

'These should be the Rankers the Village Chief mentioned, right?' Elias thought while looking at them curiously.

From their mana fluctuations and aura, he could faintly guess their strength.

They were at the same rank as him, D Rank. When one becomes a Ranker, one could have some sense of idea to know how strong a person is.

Oddly, he found them slightly familiar. But he was sure this familiarity didn't come from the memories of Elias Vito Castellano.

Seeing the two people's confusion, Harris immediately took it upon himself to explain the situation to the two people.

"Dear guests, these people are staying with the rest of us tonight. They have a similar situation to you two. They were exploring the mountains and forest and got lost in the process."

Hearing that, the two people's expressions immediately eased.

The two of them looked at each other before turning to Elias and the group, reaching out for a handshake.

"We didn't expect to see fellow Rankers here. My name is David, a Hunter. While this my partner is Francis, a Sorcerer. We've just become Rankers recently."

David introduced himself with a slight bow. While doing so, he pointed at the thin person beside him wearing glasses.

David was a tall man with bronze skin and a slightly hardened gaze while Francis was thin and had a rather expressive and small face.

'David and Francis… why are they here?'

However, Elias' mind was in turmoil and didn't respond in time. It took a few seconds before he snapped out of his daze and shook their hands.

"My name is Elias Corleone. These are my teammates or seniors, Donato, Taurus, Galilei, Junior, and Alexus. I hope we can get along."

David nodded and sighed in relief. He looked at them curiously and inquired about their situation.

"Likewise, Elias. If you don't mind us asking, It seems you people are teammates. I wonder what guild you are in…?"

"Oh, we're not in a guild. I can guess why you think that way though. But… our situation is a bit complicated to explain… I hope you can forgive us for not being able to say it."

Elias shook his head and explained with a difficult expression.

In this world, there were guilds formed by Rankers and they were heavily supported by the united-government alliance.

Seeing that they didn't want to talk about it, David promptly stopped probing any further and stayed quiet. Although they were new and curious, they were not socially inept.

After that short exchange, Elias looked at Harris and spoke.

"Mr. Harris, I hope I can borrow your phone or any device. I wish to contact my family to inform them of my situation."

Harris nodded and caressed his long white beard.

"Alright then. Alysa, could you bring my phone to our guest?"

Alysa nodded and immediately went to take the phone. After a few seconds, she returned and brought back the phone to Elias.

Elias reached out to grab it and looked at Harris and Alysa with an expression of gratitude.

"Thank you. I'm going out for a while."

After taking the phone, Elias waved his hand and told the group his intentions before leaving the house.

Donato and the rest nodded and decided to stay and exchange some small talk.

***

Outside the village chief's house, Elias had the phone on his ear and was calling a particular number.

The kind and genuine smile on his face was wiped off and replaced with a cool and cold expression.

At that moment, the number accepted the call. He immediately asked.

"Hello, is this Sancho Sanchez?"

[Hm? A brat's voice. Who the hell is this…]

"It's me. Elias Vito Castellano, the eldest son of Andolinio."