(A/N: Bonus Chapter).
In the carriage outside the Association, Terese, Daggs and the guards were eagerly waiting for the return of the two who had remained in the building.
At first it had been silent, but soon, Terese started yammering Skullius' praises, going on and on about how cool he was, easily fighting against the might of the Association's evaluation officers and defeating them as if they were nothing.
Her indifference and apparent dislike towards Skullius had turned into infatuation so quickly, her mind completely erasing the memory of Skullius' 'exchange' with Alaris which ended in total defeat.
The guards wanted to discuss the matter too but unfortunately while on duty, they weren't allowed to gossip and giggle like little girls.
While they were trained professionals, they couldn't compare to what they had seen Skullius do. Most of them were mid-level fighters that Stylla and her brother insisted on taking while leaving much of the entire Family force back at the estate.
They had decent strengths of their own and only needed a few guards and the ones that were left for Terese were the majority.
Besides, there were Capital Service appointed to protect them within the City as well, though a few of them who insisted on moving with Stylla and her brother.
"I always knew that young man had potential! It turns out I was right! We've recruited a powerful man into the Family!" Terese said while laughing, this foresight of hers which she claimed to have gotten making everyone in the carriage nervous.
Young man, she said.
Always knew, she said!
We, she said!
The guards as well as Daggs swallowed the hypocrisy Terese was dishing out.
She was a child, they might as well let her revel in her spoiled nature.
Daggs sighed for the umpteenth.
He was genuinely scared of facing Skullius again.
Had he known that the man he had been escorting was even more terrifying than he thought, he would have declined Silrat's order to go pick him up.
By nature, he was a very fidgety person though he was willing to push through rough situations for good causes and no—
"Damn it!" Daggs almost ducked away from the window of the carriage before realising where he was.
"What is it?" Terese frowned as she gazed at him, clearly not appreciative of these continuous jump scares.
"Nothing, at all, Lady Terese," Daggs said in a hushed tone. "It's just that Master Festos and Master Silrat are coming out now."
Terese hurried to the window, her eyes bulging a she took in the figure of Skullius that descended down the steps to the entrance.
In her view, he looked much too cool and her young heart burned with the passion of infatuation.
She watched as Skullius and Silrat stopped at the base of the Guilds Association building, the Hybrids Luman saying something to Silrat as he then turned and walked away in the opposite direction with his hands in his pockets.
"Huh! Where...where is he going?! Why isn't he coming here?!" Terese cried out as Silrat approached the carriage and boarded.
She crawled over to the former Association Branch on the seat and shook him with her eyes bulging out in desperation.
"Where is Mister Festos going?! Why are you letting him walk off like that?!"
Silrat was taken aback by this attitude change. Was she really fawning over Festos now after seeing his display?
He sighed.
Just now Skullius had expressed haste. After inquiring from Rist what a Simmering Cloud was, the reward for the third mission he chose and without getting an answer as the lady had stated that information was not hers to divulge, Skullius had promptly asked Silrat to leave.
The former Branch Head wanted to tell Skullius to first get to know the many details attached to his new title including how many of his peers they were but Skullius was in a hurry.
Frustrating.
As tense he was now, the last thing he wanted was another problem.
Silrat gazed at the child beside him.
'You were a perfect....sockethole, as Festos puts it. Now I have to protect you too. Tsk.'
***
Skullius walked from within the crowds while following the trail that the carriage had come from before. He turned down multiple roads filled with many people going about their varied business, sensing their airs and mana types as he went.
The bright sun in the sky did not seize to light up all things. To ordinary people it barely had any effect and the little they could feel from it was all but positive.
For people like Skullius who were sensitive to minute changes in mana and energies, it felt like constantly being watched.
It was annoying.
'It shouldn't be a problem right? Alaris makes it clear that Mages do all kinds of crazy in this city, so this should be that strange,' Skullius thought as he entered into a crowded bar.
The name of the bar perfectly encapsulated the mood within, a plaque which hung from not having enough support to stand proud depicting it in a semi-pleasing font style, the words 'ALL DAY LONG' showing.
The commotion and hubbub within this establishment masked much of the micro activity happening within and this was exactly what Skullius was hoping for.
However, he did wonder how long all these people had been here. They looked tired but happy.
The party seemed to never end.
He blended within the drunk and drinking men and women, pulled out the Elimparidis Stone Staff and shot a milky ray that flashed for a brief second as it called upon the figure of a lime green haired girl who looked around confusedly.
"Huh? HUH?! Where am I?!" Yuyui called as she spun around before Skullius grasped her head.
"Where are you looking, you sockethole?" he said, garnering Yuyui's attention.
The girl looked pleased to see Skullius, at least in this form. Her opinion that her master was nicer when he looked human remained unchanged as she wore a big smile as she saw him.
Skullius grimaced as he pushed the girl through the crowd and exited the bar.
"What are you smiling for?"
"Oh nothing, Master. Why did you call me out?" Yuyui asked as the two walked.
Skullius narrowed his unseeing eyes as he looked down the street they had travelled when coming to the Association.
That presence he had sensed....
He hadn't been in the Association building for long so he hoped that he could find that man again.
He couldn't recognise which shop he had entered but if he hadn't gone to far, catching a whiff of his deadly presence should be possible with [Koten Machi].
This, he didn't share with Yuyui however as instead, he spilled what the glutton wanted to hear.
"Your plan worked. Let's get your appetite sated," Skullius said, not believing his own words.
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