Meet up

B-bang!

A blast of energy surged through the land before it hit a huge boulder. Both exploded. Shattered pieces of stone showered the plain like rain.

"W-wow?"

Alaric exclaimed in joy as he watched his spell destroy the whole boulder at once. The others also cheered at his newly learned spell. Standing at his side, a white-haired man inspected Alaric's every move with keen eyes, from the movement of his body to the control of his mana.

"Not bad for a first try. Now, let's review your mistakes." 

"Yes!"

Zal flicked his fingers. In an instant, all the pebbles on the ground floated up and meshed together. The newly formed piece of stone flew back to where the original boulder was placed. In the blink of an eye, the scene was clear from any signs of a magic spell being cast. 

The spectators, Doris, Eleen, and Claus, gasped at the clean movement, also cheering their newest member from the heart. 

Such an action wasn't easy work. To gather all the small and large rocks, make them float, and mesh them together, casting multiple spells at once was required on top of precise control over all. This alone showed how talented and experienced this white-haired man was, the man who claimed not to be a mage. 

As soon as they got to know about his abilities and vast knowledge, Ian requested him to teach Alaric a bit of this and that until they reached their destination. Doris Alao joined them in their studies, and the three began their exciting magic training sessions soon. The whole plan proceeded way more smoothly than he'd expected. He owned most of it to Zal who was way better at dealing with people than Ian was. 

'Now, most of the problems are solved.'

Ian rubbed Lior's head as he watched the others move about. The past few days were harmonious indeed. The mages would gather together wherever they got the chance to rest to practice new spells. Eleen and Claus would watch them, cheer on any new exciting spell that was formed.

Kieran wasn't as comfortable around Zal. He even asked Ian a few times if it was alright to let this suspicious person travel with them. He could tell that since the white-haired mage joined them, the person who'd been following the group around didn't shown up again, so Kieran was increasingly suspicious. 

'Why can't he just relax a bit? None of us are important figures nor are we in a dangerous situation, so what is there to worry about? I should work on him a bit I guess?'

It wasn't good to be worried and alarmed all the time. At least for now that they were just random travelers, it was best if Kieran could be more relaxed. 

'Yeah, I have to talk to him.'

There were a lot of things between them that needed to be discussed. From the past to the present and the future. It was a good thing that Kieran followed Ian without questioning him much, but such a relationship formed on some past connections couldn't last long. And Ian had no intentions of letting Kieran go. 

'It'll be fine for a while so I'll sort things out with him after meeting with Rosalyn.'

The current most important task was gaining that woman's trust. 

'Rosalyn must be cursing at me right now.'

They were supposed to meet up three days ago but he wasn't even close to the designed location. 

'She won't wait for anyone more than a day, so I can't go to that place anymore.'

Knowing her well enough, Ian changed his destination midway through, heading to the city next in line for Rosalyn's journey, as well as the last place she'd visit. She's been absent from the army for too long. Despite this expedition being way too beneficial for her, she couldn't leave the army and be away for long. Aware of that fact, Ian designed a route where she'd only visit the most beneficial locations and return to the army just on time. He didn't forget to design a meeting spot for himself, though he already missed it. 

'We'll catch up on her tomorrow.'

If he were alone, he'd manage to arrive on time for the meeting or if he failed, he could move at night to reach their destination faster, but in this round, there was a group of children tagging along, so he wasn't as free as before. Once again realizing how everything he'd planned was getting ruined by unexpected obstacles, Ian let out a sigh.

'These kids better be beneficial for me in the future or all my efforts will be for nothing.'

He could only wait to see the results, though he held high hopes for them.

"Lior, are you asleep?"

Ceasing all his thoughts, Ian looked down at the baby in his lap. The child had been grumbling since earlier, complaining about the loud voices bothering his ears. After coaxing and caressing him a bit, he finally calmed down. Currently sprawled on Ian's legs with his eyes closed, he was letting out pleased purrs.

'He seems extremely tired these days.'

The little kid was going through a lot, wasn't he? At first, he tried not to complain about anything to Ian, but after a few days, he failed to hold himself back any further. The information rushing at him from everywhere was too immense, and processing everything at once was more exhausting than he'd imagined. Although Ian offered to him to return things back to normal, Lior refused, saying that he could manage things on his own. Despite his confidence though, the child appeared more and more tired each day.

He should be fine, right? Ian couldn't find any other way of helping him other than consistently staying at his side. He was such a disappointment as an adult. 

Ian stroked the wolf's cheek. The tiny face frowned a bit at the touch, ears flapping. 

"Yeah, alright, let's go to sleep together."

. . . . . . . . . . . . 

"This should be the last place..."

Rosalyn stacked a bunch of papers together. Before putting them into her bag, she paused to count them once again. None were missing. She sighed in relief as she took out another piece of paper. The paper was filled with names and dates which were strikes through. She drew a circle around the last name, indicating that they'd arrived at the destination but the monsters weren't seen yet. She couldn't help but wonder when they would show up this time.

'But that man didn't come for the meeting... Did he give up on our deal? Or is he dead?'

That young swordsman was with him, so Rosalyn doubted anything harmful could've happened to him. 

'So did he give up on us?' A sense of discomfort rose up her chest all the way to her throat. 'Maybe I offered him too little of a payment? If I knew that he would be so helpful... I wouldn't let him go so easily.'

But was she to blame? She had no clue that a random slave could turn out to be so immensely useful to her and to the army. How could she guess that a nobody like him could be a prophet? Rosalyn had seen her fair share of fake saints and prophets her whole life she'd learned not to believe such people so easily. And now, she regretted not treating that man better, but it was too late. 

And now, the uneasiness wouldn't leave her alone. 

'He seemed to be the type to keep his words... Maybe he'll come to find me at the headquarters?'

She neither knew where to find that man nor how to look for him, so Rosalyn could only wait and hope for him to show up. 

"Boss, it's lunchtime."

So her warriors were hungry.

"Alright, let's find a place to eat."

"Aye, boss!"

A few minutes later, everyone was lined up in front of a cafe. Leading them inside, Rosalyn stepped forward and strode in. 

"Oh, hay!"

As soon as she set foot inside, a familiar voice called out to her. Her body freezing, she followed the voice only to find a slim figure waving his hand at her.

"Ah...? I-Isn't she... The Boss?"

At his side, a golden-haired youth gaped. Even the swordsman in black was looking at her in shock. Standing in between them, a very welcomed face kept gesturing at her to get close. A bunch of people were surrounding him in which all turned to Rosalyn one by one. 

"...You came?"

Rosalyn was never happier to see a man. With large steps, she rushed to the bluehead, who was still hiding his face under a cloak. Seeing Rosalyn rush at him, Ian smiled as he spoke.

"Yo, miss, can you treat us to a meal?"

"...." Rosalyn halted midway. Hundreds of thoughts ran through her head in an instant. "Sure..."

Her eyes switched between Ian, the swordsman, that nobleman, and the doctor who accompanied them... Then moved to a young girl, a strange-looking blondie, and a white-haired guy with an extremely striking face. Were they also... a part of the people she was going to treat?