"So, we become counts or not?" Emma asked as the two of them could now see the capital in the distance.
"The head of the griffin family attacking us and then escaping is enough proof. But more than that, I am wondering what the duke would do." Zack replied as the two eagles were flying side by side.
"Forget about that. How did you know that the family head of the griffin family is a general of whatever thing you said?"
Instead of replying, he took the crystal sword from his inventory and pointed it at her.
"Eirias can tell which faction a person belongs to. As I told you earlier, this sword gives me buffs against those from the dark side but this continent is controlled by the light side. And since Alek is the head of one of 10 richest noble families, it is clear that he is a higher up."
"Either you are bullshitting or you are an expert in lore." Emma turned her head towards the capital as she heard Zack chuckle.
In reality, he was not telling any lies since all the information he had gathered was because of a faction guild called 'lore gatherers'.
The members of the guild had dedicated their entire lives to learning the lore behind Hikari. Many of the discoveries had been possible because of him.
'I wonder when they will make their appearance.' Zack remembered that there had been no official notice of them appearing.
They were a silver guild that had appeared out of nowhere without any prior notice. He could only wait for arrival since digging into such matters might cause a major change.
'This timeline changing business is stressful.' Zack sighed since one small change he made could make a major difference.
Fortunately, he wasn't overthinking things or he wouldn't have left his bed in the morning.
"Zack, I think the king is gonna end up giving another test." Emma suddenly muttered while staring straight ahead.
Following her gaze, Zack saw that Jonathan was standing at the top of the walls surrounding the city.
The king of Eizenburgh kingdom appeared to be smiling but his smile contained no humor.
This gave the two of them chills on their backs even though they knew that the king meant no harm.
"I got a full report about everything that happened from the duke a few moments ago. Though he praised you highly, he did say you cause major destruction." The king said with a light cough.
Zack and Emma realized that the praise Jonathan was talking about was not actually real praise.
"We just had a little misunderstanding." Zack did a fake cough as the king nodded.
"Since counts are only second to dukes, I need you guys to do a little favor. This time, it's a rescue mission."
"Why do I feel as though you are just using us to complete chores nobody else wants to do?" Emma suddenly asked as Jonathan raised his eyebrows.
"You dare question this king?" He asked in a cold voice as she raised her eyebrows in response.
"Yes, I do. Any problems?"
"None. This mission is actually important since the one being kidnapped is the daughter of a rather important minister." On the word daughter, Emma narrowed her eyes.
"I am ready to accept it." She immediately replied as Zack was taken back by her sudden change in behavior.
"If she is ready so am I. Not like we have anything else to do." He replied with a shrug as Jonathan smiled and waved his fingers in their direction.
[ Pearl Of The Henson Family: The daughter of the Henson family, Pearl Henson, has been kidnapped by members of an unknown organization.
She must be brought back to the capital while capturing the kidnappers will be a bonus.
Time limit: 20 days
Note: The kidnappers have been identified to be able to hear beasts easily. Traveling on foot is compulsory. ]
"So, what are the rewards?" After reading the quest, Zack gave Jonathan a sideways look.
"I swear on the name of the goddess of light that once you complete this quest, both of you will be granted the titles of count and countess and would be allowed to pick a single object from the royal treasury."
The king then gave Zack a look as though he was asking 'Good enough for you?'
"Any information that we should know?" Zack asked without saying anything about the rewards as the king nodded.
"We have the sketch of one of them created by the memory of Pearl's uncle. Here, take this." Jonathan handed him the sketch of a man in his thirties who had eyes that seemed to scream the world criminal.
"Then we will try to find her." Zack turned around and looked at Emma who nodded.
They then asked Daedalus and Icarus to drop them down and after landing on the ground, the two eagles went away.
"Do keep in mind that any attempts at aerial attacks have been detected by them!" Jonathan shouted from above before he decided that it was about time he went back to the palace again.
Zack on the other hand was wondering how difficult the mission would be considering that Jonathan had allowed them to pick anything they wanted from the royal treasury.
"Emma, I have a feeling that this quest is not just going to be a rescue mission but something more than that," Zack muttered as the hunter raised an eyebrow in reply.
"I have no idea how you know that but I will just believe that." She replied with a shrug before giving the quest another read. "We have to find the location and everything ourselves?"
"And that's why the reward is bigger," Zack replied with a sigh as he looked at the road in front of him. It was going to be a very long journey if they were going to travel across the entire kingdom on foot.
If they wanted to reach the edge of the kingdom on the east, it would take them around 45 days to do so.
The same was true for the remaining two borders of the Eizenburgh kingdom.
This meant that if they wanted to search the entire kingdom, it would approximately take them a few months, and by then, who knows what would happen to Pearl.
"He didn't tell us why he wanted that girl to be rescued though." Emma suddenly added which made Zack curious as well.
Jonathan had only stated that there was a girl who had been kidnapped and that they had to bring her back to the capital.
No other information had been shared regarding who she was except the fact that she was the daughter of the Henson family.
"So we are going got check the background of the Henson family?" Emma asked again while stretching her body for no apparent reason.
"Then I guess we will finally explore Hikari's world for all its beauty the nature lovers praise it for," Zack replied with a smile since the duo had been mostly dashing from one place to another.
Through the help of the quest, they would take the pace down a notch and would also explore the beauty of the place.
And all of this would start by getting to the village closest to the capital.
Read 𝓁atest chapters at fr(e)ewebnov𝒆l.com Only