Since we didn't know what would come out of the Order of the Rose subspaces, we decided to open them one by one.
The first was the magician Lilith Marrone. «Is there a box...?». What came out was a small wooden box, big enough to hold a book or two.
«You can open it. There are no traces of other magic in it».
As soon as Versyl gave the go-ahead, Marrone slowly opened the box.
«Oh...»
«That is...»
There were restless murmurs from all the members as they looked over Marrone's shoulder to see what was inside. The content was very different than expected.
«There's some money, some fake IDs, and a photo...»
«Whose photo is that? Maybe from his family?»
«With the number of fingerprints on it, I guess so.»
What is this?
«Let's open the next one, then!»
Although the excitement had calmed down a bit, the others and I did not lose hope and resumed opening the subspaces.
«It's the same. Some money and IDs... And there's a weird pill here too?».
The pill found in the second box looked too familiar to Amelia and me. «It's a drug called Lethe's Blessing».
«...Do you recognize this, Miss Raines?»
«Yeah. Erases the memory of the person who takes it. An alchemist from Noark invented it, although it seems the royal family has also figured out how to make it.»
«This... could be useful someday. How many memories does it erase?»
«Hard to say. It seems a little different from the one I remember. Maybe they have improved it?»
«I see... They all have different sizes, so I guess the bigger the pill, the more memories it will erase. But I'll have to examine it further in my lab».
We ended up going through the third, fourth, and fifth subspaces, and before we knew it, the entire opening ceremony was coming to an end.
«...It's that Lethe Blessing pill again.»
«There seems to be some kind of poison here too.»
«That's a powerful acid used to destroy any trace of something like, say, a corpse...»
The sub-spaces that were meant to be treasure chests were sadly a disappointment. However, not everything in them was useless. There were even some Lethe Blessing pills.
«Mr. Kaislan, would you mind taking a look at this notebook?»
«It is... a list of spies sent by the royal family».
One element of the sixth subspace was a list of people operating as undercover informants for the royal family. Once again I was amazed at the absolute power the palace had as I read the names.
«From the looks of it, this is probably just a mere fraction of all your sources».
«There are so many... and you say this is just a fraction of them?»
«Look at this. The informants listed here are all centered around a particular noble. That suggests that the owner of this subspace was on a special mission related to that nobleman».
«Are you saying that all of these names are the undercover agents needed to carry out a mission... related to a single individual?».
«Well, it's just my guess», Kaislan concluded.
I couldn't help but agree. What other possibility could there be? «I've heard that the royal family has eyes and ears everywhere, but I never imagined it would go this far...».
Silence took over the room. Everyone present felt it: the magnitude of the power we would have to face in the future.
«In any case, this is good», I said when the silence became unbearable, trying to sound indifferent. «Versyl, I'll save this list. I may need to use it one day».
After agreeing to save the list, we move on.
«By fin we are in the last one».
His eyes lit up at my words. Although the opening of the subspaces had not yet lived up to our expectations, each of us wondered if this could be different.
«... This was your sub-space, right?»
We couldn't be sure if Six of the Order of the Rose was a commander, deputy commander, or just a normal member, but one thing was clear. That day, she had assumed the role of commander.
«It's another wooden box.»
Still clinging to hope, we all prepared to open the last box.
Money, ID, a Blessing from Lethe and.... a single piece of paper inside an open envelope.
«Oh, wow...»
It was an order issued by the royal family to exterminate the expedition team at the Ice Rock if they returned alive.
«We can use this.»
It wasn't a bad find.
***
Once we finished opening the subspaces, we all took out the equipment we had taken out of the maze.
«What are we going to do with all this equipment?»
«First of all, we need to be careful and take our time getting rid of the equipment we got from Noark. We can use the money for our clan fund in the future».
«That makes sense...»
In the end, they gave me most of the loot acquired during the expedition. They also gave me the authority to handle it as I pleased. Surprisingly, no one expressed any complaints. I was glad they placed so much trust in me, but at the same time it worried me.
Damn. It would be so easy to scam them all.
What if it was someone else sitting at the helm and not a good, responsible barbarian like me?
«Yandel, what should we do with the Order of the Rose team? If we try to sell it, it will surely catch the attention of the royal family».
«Ah, as for that, I think we should first scrap them and re-forge them. It can be dangerous to sell them, but the raw materials are too valuable to waste.»
Mystium was a metal as valuable as bow, so we would melt it down. As for ogre leather, grade five material, we could cut it into pieces and use it in other equipment. Of course, that wouldn't leave us much to work with. Even if we melted all the daggers, there would not be enough mystium to forge even armor, and most of the leather would be discarded in the reuse process.
«We can decide what to do with the raw materials later, so if anyone wants some for themselves, bring a compelling reason for the group the next time we meet».
The mystium would be perfect for making a shield for me, but as a leader, I shouldn't be greedy. The right thing to do was to use the money we raised as a group to improve the group. Although, to be fair, none of them seemed to care much.
«There's something else I wanted to ask you. I heard you founded a clan a few days ago... When would it be possible for us to join?».
«Ah, Versyl actually made a timeline for that, so she's going to go over that briefly now».
«Oh yeah? So when can I join?»
«You should be able to join in about three months, Miss Marrone. I think it would be best for you to retire from your current position due to friction with your superiors. But if you can think of a better reason, please let me know beforehand».
«Well, good! And what about me?»
«Sir Kaislan... you will be the last to join us. After all, you already have a fairly high position. We should wait until the royal family has lost some interest in us before you move out. I would say that coming together in a year would be the most natural thing».
«Ya veo... »
«Mr. Calla, didn't you mention that you were released from your clan not long ago? You should take a break for a couple of months and express your interest in joining another clan. In any case, there will be no other clan willing to accept you. You looked for another place to go, but you didn't find anywhere willing to take you in, so naturally you joined Yandel's clan, since you had previously met in another search. If you do that, it will seem as natural as possible and will not pose any risk of attracting suspicion».
«And if another clan accepts me... then what?».
«Then you ask them to recognize your previous position as deputy commander. If you demand a higher position, they will end up rejecting you outright. You can trust me. I used to work in Personnel Management».
James Calla said nothing in response, his spirit visibly crushed.
«Ah, y Sir Parav...»
Versyl's briefing continued like this for some time. It was quite impressive to see. Was it because he had the personality of a magician, the experience of a former deputy commander and came from the modern world? It was extremely efficient.
I wonder what kind of work he did on Earth.
The briefing came to an end and the next question was addressed to me.
«So how much does Ainar know about our situation?».
«Does not know anything. So be careful what you say when you meet her later».
«Ya veo... »
«Either way, the clan already has two members of the Mighty Seven, so once we unite... Well, I guess it won't be easy to avoid attracting attention, as much as we don't want it, hahaha».
«Hm, do you think you're already at that level, Parav?».
«Oh, huh. Not at all? No, I mean, he may not be that famous, but maybe just a hair behind? I... believe».
«I'm curious about the other member. Auyen Rockrobe, right? I had never heard of them. Are they trustworthy?»
Since the topic of our navigator had come up, Amelia responded instead. «It is trustworthy. I can vouch for him».
There were more questions of the same nature, but in the end the topic changed to the banquet to celebrate my promotion. I told them we were going to team up with Melbeth and moved on to the next step of our plan. However, since I couldn't explain everything in detail at the time, I just gave them a few general touches.
«No matter how many enemies we have, they all have enemies of their own. And as the saying goes, the enemy of our enemy is our friend».
Creating a clan and building the reputation of my noble house would protect us while we gathered more allies. That was the crux of my plan.
All to get revenge on those bastards who left us in hell.
***
Once the serious topics were exhausted, our conversation regained its lightest and most comfortable tone.
«What happened to you, Sir Kaislan? Were you questioned when you returned?».
«Not exactly. They asked me some questions, but I wouldn't call it an interrogation. They also didn't use verification magic».
We talked about what was happening in our daily lives.
«Miss Gowland, do you happen to have any medicine to help you sleep?».
«Yes I have. I'll give you some if you need it».
«Aren't you going to ask me why?».
«Well, the truth is that I can't sleep well either. Not since that day».
Some turned to others for help.
«Your name was Mrs. Marrone, right? What did you use to paint your nails?».
«Oh, are you? Why are they pretty? It is very popular among magicians today. Would you like to try it yourself, Tersia?».
Others took the time to talk about their hobbies. It was interesting to see. Just a month ago, before entering the labyrinth, we were all strangers.
I looked around before sitting alone on the couch in the corner. Unlike the banquet, there were no fancy dishes or expensive wine. We simply rented an empty building to chat with each other. Still, this was much more enjoyable than a dazzling banquet.
«I should go».
As always, the good times flew by. At dusk, everyone began to go out one by one. As I prepared to leave with Erwen and Amelia back home, the party officially came to an end.
Two days later, I left the house early, ignoring Amelia and Erwen's suspicious looks.
«Do you go to the library? So early?»
I had just remembered.
In three days we will meet at the place where we first saw each other.
There was no time written on the note. Ragna always seemed like the type to forget important details like that.
I sighed as I walked through the streets of District Seven, but finally reached the Ravigion National Library.
When I woke up in the body of a barbarian, I had spent most of my days here. By now, it had become something of a childhood home for me. However, as soon as I arrived, I froze. On the façade of the library there was a notice that it would be closed today.
...I never imagined this would happen.
And now what? Should I wait here? If I did, at least I wouldn't accidentally miss it.
Step step.
The sound of shoes hitting the pavement interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up to see a woman slowly approaching. As soon as we made eye contact, I couldn't help but shudder.
«Nice to meet you, Baron Yandel».
From her black hair to her black eyes and skirt, the woman was dressed in black from head to toe, apart from her white shirt.
«Please follow me. The countess is waiting...»
«It is wrong.»
«...Sorry?»
I stared at the woman, who was tilting her head in confusion, and then I simply said: «Today I am not a baron, but a commander. A few days ago I founded the Anabada» clan.
If you were surprised by my unexpected statement, you didn't show it. His response was simply a business smile. «I see. From now on, I will be more careful when addressing you, Commander Yandel».
«Thank you. For some reason, today I wanted to be a commander».
«Did you... feel like it? What do you mean by that?»
«Oh, don't you think a commander sounds louder than a baron?»
«...I see», he accepted awkwardly despite not clearly understanding the difference.
I decided to nudge him. «Do you happen to know what Anabada means?».
«As far as I know, it is a word from an ancient language that means 'a group of wild beasts'», was his immediate response.
«C-True... I guess you already knew that?».
He must have looked like a depressed barbarian who had just missed the opportunity to show off my knowledge. The woman pretended not to notice as she opened the closed library door. «Come this way. The countess is waiting for you». She walked in front of me and I followed her closely with a snap of my lips.
Step step.
Just from the first impression, I couldn't help but think it was Hyeonbyeol.