They headed toward the Guildmaster's office, and Alan’s gaze flicked to the Vice Guildmaster's door. Noticing the absence of light seeping from beneath it, he mused, Guess Ais is bullying newbies with Sir Blake.

  Reaching the door of the Guildmaster’s office, Alan knocked twice.

  "Come in."

  Unlocking the door, Alan stepped into the room and glanced at Alisa. She wore a simple yet elegant long black dress. A delicate black net covered her shoulders and chest, while the asymmetrical layers of her flowing gown hugged her figure. Her figure was one that many women would envy, and her long white hair cascaded freely over her shoulders. She sat in her usual white chair beside the open window, with papers spread on the table in front of her as if it hadn't been cleaned in a year.

  "I was certain I could hear multiple footsteps. Guess my assumption was right, she said, glancing at Alan before shifting her gaze to the Head Knight. "Don’t you think you should have sent a messenger first before storming into my safe haven?" she remarked.

  "I had some urgent business, and Sir Solo Knight said he could arrange a meeting, so I ended up taking the offer. Sorry if I interrupted you in anything important, but—"

  "One moment, please," Alisa said, pressing a black-painted fingernail against her dark red lips. She turned her gaze to Alan once again.

  "When did you become my manager, Alan?" she questioned, slight frustration visible on her face.

  "It was urgent," Alan added, looking away from her. She is clearly frustrated. Ahh, she is surely going to chew me out for this, he mentally noted, letting out a quiet sigh.

  "And what is this supposedly urgent business that made you skip the formalities, Sir Vanir?" Alisa questioned, shifting her attention to the Head Knight.

  "The village of Arcek is about to be attacked by goblins." Vanir spoke up. He paused momentarily, observing Alisa for any reaction.

  "Continue… The horde must be big, what are the numbers? Alan wouldn’t have brought you here if the mission was easy," she said, her patience running thin.

  "It’s a horde of 10,000 goblins, Miss Alisa, with five Goblin Kings, and roughly half of them have evolved into Hobgoblins," Vanir spoke hastily.

  "So, your purpose of visiting is to hire my guild?" Alisa spoke as she stood from her chair and walked to the side of the table. "Well, what’s the amount Sir Viscount sent in my direction for our assistance, then?" she questioned, waving her hand over the table before tapping the corner, indicating for Vanir to place the money there.

  Vanir removed a golden pouch containing money and placed it on the table. "It’s 200 gold coins, Miss Alisa," he said in a reluctant tone.

  "200 gold coins! Her eyes widened. “Are you messing with me?" she questioned in a loud voice.

  "Regretfully, I am not," the knight replied, his head lowered in shame.

  "Do you think she will accept the proposal?" Rose Weeble whispered in Alan’s ear.

  "I am not sure about that," Alan replied, his eyes glued to the scene in front.

  "Don’t you have another way to pay her? You said something at the Adventurers' Guild," Adrian inquired, keeping his voice low.

  Alan pressed his finger to his lips, indicating Adrian to be quiet. "I am waiting for the right moment," he muttered, to which Adrian and Rose both simply nodded.

  Alisa took a moment to think. She looked at the proud Head Knight’s lowered head—an uncommon sight, something she might never see again. "I refuse. Two hundred gold wouldn’t even be enough to cover the expenses of sending a party to Arcek," Alisa said firmly. Looking at Vanir, she added, "Sorry if this isn’t the answer you were expecting, but my guild comes first for me.”

  "Alisa," Alan called out.

  Alisa looked in Alan’s direction, merely nodding to indicate he could speak.

  Alan took a step forward. "Is there any chance I could chip in with, three free hirings as payment?" Alan spoke up.

  "So, I won’t have to pay you for three of the future expeditions, huh?" Taking a second to think, she continued.

  "That would only be worth 400 gold coins at most. The normal pay for hiring the White Tiger Guild should have been at least 1,000 gold coins.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  As Alisa revealed the hiring cost of Solo Knight, both the Weeble siblings and the Head Knight stared at Alan with shocked expressions, bewildered at how an A-ranking adventurer could be paid an amount comparable to a low-ranking S-rank.

  "Don’t you believe in doing good, Alisa? The village is in need. I don’t think you’ll let them down," he said, crossing his arms. "But that’s just my belief in you. Feel free to trample on them if you desire," he added in an exaggerated tone.

  "You are trying to guilt-trip me into doing this," Alisa remarked with a skeptical expression.

  "I am telling the truth," Alan spoke with a firm expression.

  Letting out a sigh, Alisa moved back toward her seat. "I will assist the village of Arcek," she said, taking her seat back on the chair.

  "But only if the Head Knight reveals whatever he is trying to hide," she spoke in a serious tone, her gaze fixed on Head Knight Vanir.

  "I'm not trying to hide anything," the head knight said without hesitation.

  "You’re not?" Alisa replied with a neutral expression. "Then I suppose I won’t be able to help the village of Arcek. It seems my ability to judge situations is failing me," she added with a small smile.

  "You can’t—"

  Alisa raised a finger to her lips, cutting him off with a small smile. "If I can’t tell whether you’re lying or not, how could I possibly judge whether the risks of this mission are worth taking?" She rested her chin on her palm, propping her right elbow on the table. "And since you claim you aren’t hiding anything…"

  "I’ll tell you everything," Vanir interrupted, biting his lip. His gaze shifted toward the Weeble siblings.

  "Could you both please wait outside for a moment?" he requested.

  Adrian nodded in agreement, while Rose looked slightly surprised by the request.

  Guess I’ll step out as well. Wouldn’t want them to think I’m getting special treatment here, Alan mused internally.

  “How un-knightly,” Alisa spoke up. “Sending away the people who came to your aid. Do you have any shame Mr. Head Knight?” she asked in a mocking tone.

  "Miss Alisa, you must understand the position I’m in. I can’t reveal everything to just anyone."

  "Anyone?" Alan repeated, a slight irritation in his voice.

  "I…" Vanir hesitated, then looked back at the Weeble siblings and gave a small bow. "I apologize. I spoke without thinking. You may stay if you wish to hear the truth."

  "Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal, Sir Head Knight," Adrian replied, raising both his hands in a dismissive manner.

  "Just be more mindful next time,” Rose said with slight frustration. "And don’t we have a village to save? You’re all just standing around talking!" she yelled.

  "The village is only twenty minutes away from Alcia. A little conversation won’t hurt," Alan remarked.

  Alan briefly glanced at Rose, who looked like a predator stalking its prey—the only problem being that, instead of prey, she was glaring directly at him. Yeah, she definitely has a bone to pick with me. Don’t tell me she’s still pissed about that "kiddo" comment, he thought, swallowing hard. I need to be careful around her, he added.

  Clearing his throat, Head Knight Vanir tried to redirect everyone's attention to him as he began to speak.

  "The village of Arcek is inhabited by a tribe that previously lived in the Forest of Daedalus. Those tribal people were relocated to the village of Arcek by the previous viscount, Sir Mathias. However, according to the current viscount, the inhabitants are just some unskilled laborers that should be replaced, since he believes Alcia’s inhabitants would do a better job of taking care of the land. If the goblins trample the village as they continue to move in Alcia’s direction, it would make it easier for Sir Viscount to relocate and remove those people from the land."

  "People of Alcia would do better," Alisa added with a scoff. "I must say, the current viscount looks stupid to me. When's he getting kicked out by the king again?" She asked with a smug grin, clearly unbothered by her words.

  As Alisa's words addressing the viscount came out of her mouth, the Head Knight looked at Alisa with a shocked expression.

  Alan placed his hand on his head, astonished by Alisa's response. Does she even know what problems could arise if someone reveals this to the viscount? he questioned himself.

  "He's not getting kicked, at least not yet," Alan said. "And could you stop talking about someone of his position like he's some freaking child? It could get you executed."

  Alisa looked at Alan with a smile—a smile that made it clear she was challenging him. "He could?" she questioned.

  Alisa Blackwell [ Status report from 3 month ago ]

  - Race: Human

  - Rank: S-Rank

  - Age: 31

  - Class: Mage

  - Affinity: Light

  Stats

  - Mana Points: 33054

  - Strength: 1326

  - Speed: 2540

  - Dexterity: 2207

  - Health Points: 870

  Equipment

  - Weapon: Tier 6 staff

  - Armor: None

  Abilities

  - None

  Magic Resistance

  - Level 3 Resistance – Reduces the effectiveness of magic-based attacks by 30%.

  Defensive Abilities

  - Self-Healing (Level 3) – Can heal minor wounds immediately when activated.

  - Damage Reduction (Level 5) – Reduces 60% of all physical damage received.

  Special Abilities

  - Elemantis