Unsealing Emptiness

Emory had many scenarios thought in his mind, and he had planned to counter every one of them. But he had not even imagined that the trio would be so uninterested in their talks! He was a Vice Guild Master for god’s sake!

He felt insulted since he was also a Rank-7 Mage with exceptional talent as he was also advancing as a Fighter. However, just a meager Rank-6 Mage dared to talk to him this way! Emory calmed himself down as Lucy followed behind the trio.

“W-wait!”- Lucy suddenly shouted at Blaze as the trio was going to the stairs. Blaze turned around, while Ozul and Raven just kept walking and did not stop.

Ozul had sensed some similar emotions that he had felt earlier from this girl, but those were actually directed towards Blaze and not him. He did not want that to change, and so he chose not to stay.

It was now Blaze’s problem to solve, and he was happy to keep things like that. Back to Blaze, Lucy could not find any words to say after they were left alone in the corridor.

“Um... W-what is your name?”- Since Blaze just kept glaring at her coldly, Lucy got nervous and started stuttering.

.....

“Blaze.”- Lucy was already wasting his time, and now she was dodging the topic, so he did not care about pleasantries.

“Oh! My name is Lucy. I work here as a secretary! Do yo-”

Just as she was introducing herself, Blaze cut in the middle since he was quite annoyed already.

“No, Miss Lucy. If you have something important to say, tell me already.”

Although Blaze knew what Lucy thought about him since she lost her cool only after looking at him, he did not have time for such things.

“...If you are busy, then that’s fine.”- Lucy gave him the eye smile, which anyone could tell was fake. Her eyes even started twitching at some point.

“Hmm.”- Blaze did not know why she suddenly changed her tone, but one thing was clear-he wanted to stay far away from this girl.

Only after Blaze had walked away did Lucy erased the smile on her face as she clenched her fists, mumbling;

“...Who does he think he is!?”

In all her life, Lucy was courted by others while she did not even glance at those people. But today, when she saw Blaze’s face, she was instantly captivated.

However, never did Lucy imagine that she would be ignored the same way that she had ignored others. Even after karma hit her, she did not realize that not everything goes your way.

When Blaze came down from the second floor, Ozul and Raven were waiting for him.

“Oh~ Aren’t you a heartbreaker~?”- Along the way, Raven teased Blaze to get some reaction out of him, but he was also someone that Ozul had selected-he wouldn’t break so easily.

The trio exited the Guild building and started walking on the streets. The test for the promotion would start the next day, so they decided to rest for the day since it had been quite a while since Ozul just lazed around.

The only good thing today would be that there had been some clouds here and there which blocked the annoying sunlight for the most part.

There was a good hotel just near the Mercenary Guild where most of the Mercenaries would stay, but Ozul decided to head back to the place that they had visited before.

Raven did not understand why Ozul was suddenly taking an interest in that place, but she would never object to whatever he says. However, out of curiosity, she asked;

“Is there something about that place that I don’t know?”

“I’m just interested in what that couple wants to achieve... And if my hunch is right, it will only be beneficial for me.”- Ozul calmly explained. Even though he still gave pauses in his sentences, it had declined to the point where those intervals were negligent.

He would also answer anything that Blaze or Raven asked these days. He would try his best not to eat his sentences.

About 20 more minutes later, the trio was back to the hotel that they had slept yesterday in. At this moment, they noticed that both the old woman and the old man were present behind the counter.

From a single glance, everyone would just think that they were a happy old couple. Even Ozul may have been fooled to believe as such if he could not sense the emotions to such an extent where nothing hides from him.

When the old man saw the trio entering from the front door, he was going to welcome them with his trademark kind smile, but his expressions immediately crumbled when he recognized the faces.

Before he said anything to them, the old man gestured towards the old woman who also hardened her gaze. It seemed that both of them had discussed how Ozul had simply seen through their facade.

Unlike any other arrogant person would do, the old man and woman seemed wiser and did not dare to act casual again.

They had seen the world and knew that there were some things that no matter what you do, you would not be able to comprehend. Underestimating a boy just because he did not exude Mana would only make them stupid.

Even those old foxes which had been living for centuries could not see through their actions, but a kid had just randomly figured everything out. How many more reasons did they need to put up their guard?

Though they may be cautious, the old couple was not scared of a boy.

“What are you here for, and who sent you?!”- The old man did not believe that a random boy would just come to their hotel twice so that he could mock their ‘acting’.

And the boy could also have the support of some big shot in the City. So he wanted to know everything before he acted.

“Oh, don’t worry. No one sent me... I just want to know why do you think that someone would send people after you?”

The old man stayed quiet and did not answer his question after he had realized his slip up. He had just assumed that someone had sent this kid, so his question also hinted at that.

But only now, he realized how revealing this question was if the kid really was not sent by someone else.

“What are you here for?”- The old man did not break his eye contact from Ozul when he coldly asked this question.

Ozul also noticed how the old man was nervously glancing at his wife behind him. To the surprise of everyone, Ozul had a small smirk on his face!

“Don’t worry; we are here only for a place to stay.”- He gestured towards Raven, who took out the Silver badges that displayed their identities as Mercenaries.

“How much was for... a day?”- Ozul innocently asked as if the tension in the air was not even related to him in the first place.

Though the couple had seen the badges, they did not believe that the trio was here just to stay for the day. If they were here for that, why did they not choose any hotel near the Guild building?

Although unwilling, the old man had no choice but to let them stay since the trio had done nothing wrong for now, and he did not want a fight to break out.

The couple may have some Magical Items to keep them safe, but in the moment of danger, anything could happen. Taking meaningless risks was stupid.

“If you want to stay for the day, 5 Silver Coins in total, which would cover your meals as well. You will have the room all to yourself until the next day.”- He explained everything professionally and went behind the counter.

Although Raven thought that 5 Silver Coins was too much, she did not say anything since Ozul was handling the situation himself and just tossed the Silver Coins on the counter.

“Smart. Aren’t you?”- Ozul complimented the old man after he saw through what he was trying to do.

The old man had intentionally increased the price so that he could see if the trio would accept or not. And just as he had expected, Raven had not hesitated before paying.

This little stunt just confirmed that money was not a problem for them, and they could have just stayed in the hotels near the Mercenary Guild.

It meant that the trio must have some other intentions, which caused the old man to put up his guard again.

“Oh, for the last time, don’t worry. If I wanted to harm you, do you think you would have survived till now?”-

Although Ozul had casually remarked, when the old couple heard him, they gulped as they felt the pressure that suffocated them.

Just from this pressure alone, they did not dare to doubt his words.

“...R-room No. 23, on the second floor.”-

The old man took out the keys and gave them to Raven before the trio walked away.