Alice was stunned to see him like that and turned slightly red as her mind filled with various thoughts.
After a moment of examining what she had seen in Matt's eyes, she thought, 'Was it desire?'
'Could it be... Does he feel a desire for my blood? I... Should I tell him?' She thought as her heart beat rapidly. Still, she soon calmed down and stopped her mind from wandering back and forth in silly thoughts.
She took several breaths, and when she finished, she heard Matt's voice from the side.
"I'm ready now. Are we going out today?" he asked, startling her.
She had trouble seeing him but still nodded after calming down for a moment.
"We'll be heading out in a little while. Is Isla ready yet?" she asked hesitantly, and Matt nodded.
"She should be ready... Oh?" He said suddenly as he raised his sight.
"A message?" he asked, raising his hand to receive a small message from a messenger bird.
When he opened the small letter, he was surprised to see the guild logo.
'Are they calling me? It looks like several B-Rank hunters were called this time. It seems to be an interesting mission.' He thought as Alice looked at him.
"What does it say?" she asked doubtfully.
"I'm being called to the guild; there seems to be an important mission for the B-Ranks." He said, and she nodded at him.
"Maybe they mean the same one we're going for. So, we'd better hurry." She said, and soon after, Isla came out.
Then, the three of them headed to the City of the Bloody Dawn shortly after.
Being the most populated city of the three, it is also usually the most visited. Although it doesn't have big stores or major trades like the Commercial City, it is still a big draw for both living and small trade.
But as Matt made his way into the city, he noticed that there were very few people entering it this time. At least, not as many as the last time he was here. Maybe it could be because of the day, but an aura in the atmosphere made him believe something else was happening.
'Could it be because of the murders? According to Alice, there were also murders in some of the hotels.' Matt thought, looking from side to side.
Soon, they entered the city, and without wasting any time, they rented some rooms in a nice hotel and then headed to the guild.
The first thing they did was to get a rank for Isla, so after going through the whole registration procedure, she was awarded a C rank.
"That's pretty good, Isla. We can go as a group then." Alice said with a big smile as they headed towards where they had been summoned.
This time, it seemed they had summoned several B-Rank hunters to the guild. Many came and were interested, but when they arrived and heard about the mission, they seemed to turn around and leave, or at least those were the rumors outside in the main hall.
Matt, Alice, and Isla soon arrived at the office of one of the three Guild Masters. Something to note is that Alice now wore a red veil covering her face while her sword hung from her back.
It was supposed to be the outfit she had used to register under a false name.
"I'm Matthew Dietrich, I'm with my team, may I come in?" knocked Matt at the door, and soon the door was opened for him.
Some hunters were interested in knowing who this new B-Rank hunter was. According to rumors, he beat an instructor they respected for his great strength. Was he really that capable? And what's more, they said he was very young.
Therefore, they quickly went out to open up for him but were stunned to see two beautiful ladies behind him, one of them being...
"You... Rose One?!" they shouted in shock at the sight of Alice as they stepped back in fright.
Alice looked at them doubtfully as she heard them call her fake name but soon smiled, "I didn't expect to see a pack of clowns here." She said mockingly as she reencountered these guys.
They took several steps back but soon had to stop because the guild master's gaze was on them.
That terrifying power made them shiver, so they quickly excused themselves by bowing and ran off, leaving few hunters here.
Matt then walked in, and the guild master nodded to him, "I heard about you, Matthew. You're pretty good, but I didn't expect you to be good enough to lead the team where Rose One is. That's a lot better than I expected." Said the guild master and stood up.
"My name is Philip Baker, the third master of the hunters' guild in this city. You may call me Philip." he said, and Matt nodded, shaking his hand.
"I'm Matthew Dietrich."
After the introduction, Philip Baker stood up and pulled out a map, plus a mission.
"The map in my hand is what you are to investigate, and the mission in question is what you are dreads: the recent investigation of the murders. So, if any of you do not want to take it, then you may leave; we will refer the mission to the Kingdom for evaluation at a higher rank." Said Philip Baker to test the waters.
Several of the hunters present frowned. They were B or C Rank hunters, for the most part, and knew of the rumors that were spreading regarding that mission.
None of them wanted to risk their lives in such a way when there were clear examples that, with their current ranks, they could not complete such a mission.
That is why many got up and left, slightly surprising Matt.
In the end, only the three of his team remained there, along with one woman completely covered in black clothes. She looked tall, and according to Matt, this woman was powerful.
"I was hoping it would be you guys that would stay here, honestly, this time it's a bit difficult, so I'll say something else to inform you why everyone is leaving upon hearing it's this mission, I don't want you talented hunters to die." Said the guild master and took out some more papers.