A day had passed since Aron and his faction left Galos Academy. Although moving fast they were still within the Galos region, despite this the members weren''t worried because not only did they have Aron who seemed capable of fighting an inquisitor but also Lady Rose who they of course knew.
Not much was exined as to why she was there, only that she was an ally. Jin made it an unspoken rule to not question Aron, so he had nothing to add on the matter, Evanora and Jagu were too simple minded to even care while udia was the only one who seemed curious as to what was going on.
First, he stops an inquisitor and then he allies with a Grand Mage who treats him as an equal? Being one to always think situations through, she couldn''t help but ponder this despite getting no closer to an answer.
Currently, it was still morning and Aron was seated casually in his quarters. It was neatly decorated and even had arge window through which he could see the outside of the airship while restingfortably.
The room itself was evenrger than the bedroom he had in his manor. The interior design however was quite simr, being rustic and olden in design as well.
He held a journal in hand that had numerous pages ripped out and was currently writing on a new page.
[A day has passed since we left Galos Academy, mant of the members are still curious as to why Rose joined us. I''m still cautious of her and I feel she''s the same towards me but so far we tolerate each other and stay out of each other''s way unlessmunication is necessary.]
[After a brief discussion, both she and I have agreed to head towards the city of Findel in the north. It is a rtively unknown city that will soon gain fame once the news of a possible ruin is spread.]
[However, our reason for going there is because almost all the new beast sightings had been reported from there, this made it the best ce to begin investigations and...]
Before Aron could continue writing his thoughts, a knock resounded on the door bringing him to pause what he was doing. He let out a sigh and ripped out the page before assimting the knowledge into his legacy ring.
Afterwards, he crumpled the paper and tossed it into the nearby firece as he made his way towards the door. There, he found udia waiting for him anxiously with some folders in her hands.
"Yes?" Aron didn''t show much reaction to seeing her, instead, it looked more like she had disturbed him for which she immediately bowed apologetically for.
It hadn''t been long since she knew Aron, but she could no longer see him asmoner. Despite being from a high-ss family she felt the need to bow and apologize for disturbing him. Aron had unknowingly built this image of himself; all faction members both respected and feared him.
"I came to inform you we''re now on a direct course for the city of Findel and also to give you the faction member index; it states everything you may need to know about the members..." udia exined while trailing off slightly. If it were before she was confident around Aron, but the inquisitor incident left a solid impression on her.
"Good work, this saves me the trouble of getting to know everyone on a personal level. If it''s updated regrly it will certainlye in handy. What?" After Aron expressed his thoughts, he found that udia was staring at him a little nkly.
"Nothing, you just seem... different today," she muttered in a low tone since she heard Aron speak in a very rxed manner which differed from the cold emotionless aura he usually held.<sub> </sub>
"I see. Anyway, have everyone remain on high alert, a day has now passed so we''re criminals. Normally, the academy wouldn''t bother sending arge force to retrieve students who simply left without permission, but our circumstances are unique. We may need to battle very soon," Aron exined but his eyes looked more annoyed than concerned which made udia feel a little tense.
"I''ll do just that..." She bowed once more and prepared to leave to carry out his instructions, but she was stopped by Aron''s hand appearing on her shoulder, he then leaned in from behind and whispered into her ear.
"Drop the formalities, bowing doesn''t suit you." His words were short, but the meaning was clear to udia. It was basically Aron''s way of telling her to rx and be as she was before.
Aron didn''t need subordinates, he needed allies. Individuals who delivered valuable assistance in one way or another. Individuals who could think and act on their own rather than pawns who needed to be guided every step of the way, so he could also focus on his own progress.
''Her confidence slipped once she realized just how vast our levels were, but she''ll recover, I think." Aron thought as he watched udia''s figure go down the hall from his room.
Meanwhile back at the Galos Academy airship docks, a group of individuals could be seen gathered.
At the front stood Lady Belle who faced them all with a beautiful smile on her face and a provocative outfit that drew all attention to her from men and women alike.
"Thank you all for epting my invitation for sponsorship. As you''ve already been told, a new ruin may be located soon and I wanted our academy to be the first to discover and explore it. I sent invitations to you all because I believe you have the potential of achieving this and so much more along the way."
"Whatever your reason for joining, I''m thankful to have you all here. Now, as you know, you''ll be split into two groups with one airship each to maximize effectiveness, Inquisitor Passil will also act as the supervisor for both groups since I myself won''t being due to my many duties here, sadly," Lady Belle exined as an excited look began to appear on her face.
"The first group will be led by Brutas Vonstein. The people assigned to this group are Esmeralda, Emilia, Henry, Sebastian…" Lady Belle continued to call out names, but it soon became apparent that this group wasrgelyposed of aristocrats.
"The second group will be led by Juliet Lamarck. The people assigned to this group are Scarlett, Sha, Mirai, Lucas, Anastasia…" Once again, she continued to call out names, but Brutas and the others of the first group frowned slightly at this.
Aside from Juliet and Anastasia, the rest weremoners and of another race. Most aristocrats despised elves, so this made it even more confusing as to why they had been present.
''Just how did she manage to convince those two…'' Brutas didn''t hide the displeasure he felt as he looked at Juliet and Anastasia, both who had rejected Lady Belle''s offer at the start. Just what was the reason for the sudden change of heart? Little did he know their reason for wanting to go on the expedition was the same.
Aron.