The following morning started a little differently than usual. Aiden was the only initiate to get up early and had been in the main room with the rest of the guild members.
He was currently waiting for Piers to come out of the Captain’s chambers, as he needed Piers to show him the Geshu Mountains region on the map.
Earlier, when Aiden had gone to ask about Piers within the Captain’s chambers, he found the door leading into the chambers slightly open, so he didn’t bother knocking.
When he pushed it open further, he saw Piers cuddling the Captain from behind, and they were both naked and snoring asleep
It was hard to understand the relationship between them. On one side was Piers, who though an adult, was only about three years older than Aiden.
On the other hand was Katherine, a tall and attractive woman who had at least a ten-year age difference.
The situation was awkward, so Aiden chose to sit outside and wait until they were both awake.
...
Arianna walked in much later and went toward Aiden, who was still waiting for Piers. She sat opposite him at the table.
There was a brief flashback that replayed in Aiden’s mind from yesterday when he had used harsh methods to make Liandrin speak. That thought weighed on Aiden’s chest, and now he felt the need to apologize.
"So about—" Aiden began.
Arianna was also about to speak at the same time: "I’ve been—"
They both stopped, and Aiden said, "You first." He was letting her speak first.
She nodded and then said, "I’ve been told about how it happened and how you found out about the possession and saved me. I am in your debt. Thank you."
A good part of Aiden thought she had come to him because she felt offended by how he had handled her yesterday.
Aiden simply nodded after she spoke, then said regardless, "I may have been a bit too rough yesterday. Accept my apologies."
She nodded too, and then Aiden asked, "Settling in alright?"
"I mean, it’s not the guild I would have joined originally, but its members saved my life, so I think I’ll love it here," she said with a smile on her face.
Although she was finding it hard connecting with the girls upstairs, which was why she came down in the first place.
Aiden smiled back, and they seemed to be getting into a conversation when Kayden stepped into the room from the corridor.
He glanced toward their corner at first but then proceeded out of the guild’s room. He wasn’t exactly feeling like himself at the moment, and being around Arianna right now felt like it would hurt even more.
At some point in Aiden’s conversation with Arianna, he asked about Laela. Arianna told him that Elena was trying to teach her a supplementary spell.
...
Eventually, Piers stepped out of the room, and Aiden called out, "Finally!"
Piers sat down beside him, and Aiden proceeded quickly with what he needed Piers for; to show him the mountain regions on the map.
Piers did as asked, and Aiden took note of it. Then Piers asked, "You want me to take you there?"
"Not at all. I can manage," Aiden said with a smile on his face. He had copied Piers’ transport magic technique not long ago, so he could go there himself.
"Is this a mission request? Perhaps I can come with," Arianna said. She hadn’t used her magic in a while and saw this as a good opportunity to get back into shape.
"It’s not a mission request, actually. It’s a request for Elena. I’m helping her get some stones," Aiden said.
"But it’s okay if you want to come along." Aiden could deal with this alone, but he didn’t want to come off as rude. Moreover, agreeing to her request also felt like a good way to further make amends for the previous day.
Then he asked Piers, "Is the captain... um... ready to be seen?" He wanted to know if the captain was clothed before he stepped into her chambers to make his request.
Piers figured that’s what he wanted to talk about and laughed for a moment, then said, "Yes, the captain is ready to be seen."
Aiden then stood up to go meet with her in her chambers.
....
Aiden had made his request to get the spell books allotted to their guild which contained supplementary spells, and the reply he got from the captain was:
"Aiden, darling, no."
That came as a surprise to Aiden, and then he asked, "Is there a reason I’m being refused the spells, Captain?"
"It’s simple, really. The spells each guild holds in their possession are priceless. I’m not just going to hand them over because an Initiate is making the request," Katherine said with a smile on her face.
It was an indirect way of telling him to climb further in the mage ranks and come back again to make the request.
Aiden understood her position and simply said, "Yes, Captain."
He was about to step out of her chambers when she said, "By the way, I’ll inform the others, but prepare yourself. You’ll join me in the A-ranked dungeon tomorrow."
Aiden nodded and replied again, "Yes, Captain," before stepping out of her chambers.
Too bad it was going to be a day after the expiration of his XP boost badge, but it was going to be XP-worthy regardless.
...
As soon as he stepped out, he gestured to Arianna to come with him, and like that, they both made their way out of the guild.
"Are you ready?" Aiden asked.
She nodded affirmatively, and then without warning, Aiden took her hand and whispered, "Transport."
Almost instantly, they both warped directly onto a mountain path in Geshu.
That took Arianna by surprise as she blinked more times than normal. Then she said to Aiden, "Weren’t you a fire mage?"
Prior to when Thamoryn sent her consciousness to sleep, she could remember from one of the last experiences Liandrin had with her body that Aiden was a fire mage who had a spell for special red eyes.
"Heh," Aiden smiled as his eyes took the draconian form. "Let’s go," he said without exactly answering her question.
He used his Dragon’s Sight to scan and penetrate through structures in hopes of finding a purple-looking rock.
He also knew his collector skill would highlight a rock of that high value; all he had to do was set his eyes on it once.
However, when he focused his vision ahead, he saw that there were some people far ahead. They were wearing guild uniforms with capes attached to their backs.
Then Aiden’s eyes widened with shock as he saw the symbol of a dragon breathing fire on the back of their capes.
These were mages from his home kingdom, Dragonhold!