[OP: ]
Eon, Rein, Quin, and that employee of the adventurers association was now riding a magical lift and they were going up, to meet the association branch manager of course.
Eon was quiet as he looked ahead and Rein and Quin were behind him, talking about something that confused the employee even more.
But Eon was just seriously looking ahead and the employee was sweating even more.
The situation was weird right now as the boy, this weird person quietly looked ahead with the two girls who probably didn't even know what was going on.
He was confused so just to try his luck, he opened his mouth and tried to ask "Um? Sir…"
"Rule 33, section 12, paragraph 45. You can't ask anything."
"But!"
"Rule 21, section 3, paragraph 3. You must never exclaim before the client."
"…but sir, I-"
"Did you study nothing when they were teaching all that? What's rule 18, section 6, paragraph 9?"
"T-that, sir, I-"
"It's to never discuss the rules in the presence of those who do not know anything about what they are, you fool."
And as soon as the employee heard Eon's strict-sounding words, he just quieted down and shut his mouth with a fearful face but Eon wasn't done with him yet.
"What is your name?"
"I-It's Cope-"
"Why are you a Balak you bastard? Why did the branch manager employ someone so incompetent and foolish?
Don't you know rule 1, section 2, paragraph 3?"
Eon had a strong dissatisfied look on his face as he looked at him but the look on the employee's face changed into a calm one and he firmly shook his head.
"It is to never disclose your personal information like name, identity, or anything similar. Sorry to have doubted you, sir. I was merely executing my master's orders under Rule 1, section 3, paragraph 5."
His sudden change of tone surprised Quin who was listening to the two's silent conversation but Eon still had the same calm face.
"Do not apologize. Your master was only exercising his given right and I was also only executing special rule 45. It is a rare procedure but you must already know it, right private lieutenant?"
The employee had a surprised expression as soon as he heard him say those words and a smile appeared on his face.
"Indeed, good sir."
He shook his head with a smile and pressed some buttons from the list of sixty buttons before him and the lift they were on sped up.
"What was that Lucifer?" Quin asked seriously with a curious expression but Rein tapped her shoulder and shook her head at her.
"Trust me, honey. You are better off not knowing some of the weird things this bastard of mine has stored in the deep depths of his unique mind."
She was looking straight into her eyes with a flat smile so the innocent Quin could only nod and looked back straight ahead of her as the closed view of the magical thing they were riding on, or were inside of, shook strangely and she felt as if something was pulling down on feet.
But it lasted only for a moment and then the doors of the small place opened up, and a new bright light blinded the two girls for a fraction of a moment.
"Let's go ladies." Eon requested after nodding at the employee that was bowing at them and stepped out of the elevator.
The two of them followed his lead with Rein walking at the very back with a bored expression and Quin walking between the two of them with a worried expression.
They were here just to help her and though she previously didn't know how she was going to meet with the branch manager of this place, Eon had said everything was already arranged.
She didn't know how he did it or what he was even doing right now but she at least knew that they were now going to meet the branch manager that her grandfather said was his good friend in his diary.
She knew that this person would be able to help her and the two of them were helping her meet that person so she only had gratitude towards her two mysterious but good friends.
So, the three of them walked inside the office that the door had opened to and they looked around as they felt a very subtle, warm but mysterious, calm yet strangely tense aura somewhere inside this office-like place.
"Welcome unknown guests." An old-sounding but strangely youth-baring voice rang all around the room.
"Please take a seat," the voice said and then the chair that was facing to the other side slowly spun and a person they were seeing for the first time, a person who himself did not have an aura, and a person who was not a human looked at the three of them, and focused his attention on the boy standing before the two girls, looking at him with a unique gaze for a moment.
He had pointed ears which was the most basic racial trait of the elves, his face was a bit wrinkly so it was clear that despite being an elf who lived for hundreds of years he was quite old; he was wearing a fine suit so one could say that despite his age he was walking with the changing trends; his green eyes were sharp and deep, just like the eyes those strong and experienced people who had seen their fair share of the world; and lastly, his eyes that were a deep shade of green had turned blue just for a moment as he was looking at Eon, so it was clear that he had just used some kind of appraisal skill on him.
But it was just for a moment and then there was a subtle confused look on his face as Eon walked forward and sat down on the couch that the mister sitting on the chair behind his desk was pointing towards.
It was strange and confusing so as Rein watched, his eyes turned blue for another moment but the look of confusion on his face just became more obvious when he failed to activate his skill on the boy again.
He didn't understand it and Rein just shook her head and sat down after Quin and the three of them looked at him.
"Strange…" he said under his breath and stood up from his place and walked towards the trio sitting on the couch.
But on his way, he tried using his skill again on three but just like Eon, he failed to activate his skill on Rein too.
"Hmmm?"
But Quin was different.
She didn't have a highly fortified mental defense like the two of them that could directly block the appraisal skills from working on them.
"Who are you?" He asked while looking at Quin as he sat down… but then he blinked twice, noticing something that had escaped his eyes from a moment before.
"That spirit aura… Yulious?"
His eyes widened and he focused his attention solely on her, his hands shaking and his heart pounding faster than before.
"H-hello!"
And then Quin stood up and shouted at him with a bow, sat down, and took out the diary and a ring from her storage space.
"Grandpa told me you were his good friend and that you can help me, sir Joy.
I was going to come here alone and ask you about everything but then I met these two good friends in the academy who helped me get here.
I was originally going to ask you about everything regarding this island, the academy, and the outside world as I had only lived with him on a distant island, but now that I have my friends, I think I won't have to waste your precious time.
And my friend Lucifer here said that grandpa dubbed me as his successor and he had a lot of money and all but I don't think I will be needing that anytime soon.
But grandpa said you would be helpful to me and I will know what that help was when I meet you, so…"
Well, Quin was here for help but what kind of help she wanted she didn't know herself.
She basically needed someone to tell her about the world and everything about it which she had no idea about but now she had her friends and they had seen enough of the world, from what she knew, that they were good enough to help her.
And she trusted them just like she trusted the person before her that her grandpa trusted enough to tell her to go see him.
The two of them were cool too and they liked them as her good first friends but… the association leader had a sudden sad expression on his face.
"Is he gone?" He asked in a low, sad voice while looking down and a similar sad expression appeared on Quin's face.
"Yes…" she answered and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became chill, as if someone had turned off the only fire burning in the middle of a frozen place.
"Haaa…" he sighed and the sudden cool atmosphere vanished as if it was never there.
"He was an amazing person, young girl." He said in a low voice, joined his hand as if praying, looked down for a moment, and then looked back up at the three of them, this time, warmly looking into Quin's eyes.
"Grandpa, was it?" He smiled at her and looked at the ring in her hand, as well as particularly at that diary that he seemed to remember very well.
"Do you want to know something about your grandpa?" He asked warmly and she nodded positively with a hopeful expression, and the two partners that came with her just sat back comfortably and looked at their happy friend with happy expressions of their own.
They were happy to see her happy and hearing about her old man was better from someone who personally knew him like this old elf than reading it from some book.
It was better if he told her, and he was the only one that can actually help her with the important matters so they didn't have anything to worry about… or so they thought until their talk was over, the two of them had bonded a bit, he had talked with the two of them for a while and both parties were pointing their spells at each other.
Things escalated suddenly and the one that summoned their spells was technically the old elf but, Eon was the reason that this old but fashionable elf who was telling the young innocent girl stories about his good friend with a warm smile, got so confused and stunned that he had no choice but to question the origin of his confidential knowledge that a 'normal' boy like him should never have.
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