A few weeks passed as Laura's group won against the rat king. The people who used to be scared of her group cheered for her and welcomed her with open arms, which was weird but not disliked by her.
After that, the people realized they needed a new heir to the throne as the old Namskanian king was killed by Marouce and his soldiers.
"But who could fit in that role..." An old man said.
Hmmm...
"I don't want to be that guy, but the only idea I have in mind is Laura." Another person said.
"She may be a criminal, but she still fought for the people when it came to it!"
"I think she should be the new king!"
"Yeah!" A woman said.
Laura, however, really didn't want to be the king, but they didn't listen to her at all and just made her queen by majority vote. Swan tapped her shoulder, saying.
"You already have the properties for leadership. I believe in you, boss."
Clad, who was watching this from afar as he was eating a fruit, was quietly laughing when Jill walked up to him and asked him if he was alright, to which he replied that he was, but needed to train his energy back into peak performance.
And Jill asked him to go out with her, which greatly confused Clad as he asked her why.
"Don't you remember the thing you said to me that day?"
"..."
"Remember what?" Clad asked her, making Jill loudly sigh as she asked him to listen to her, as she recalls the event that led to what he said.
Around 6 years ago, at the Union's headquarters, Clad stood as he and Jill were getting prepared to go on another mission given by Andras, the captain of the organisation's group U, which was specialized in handling illegal and dangerous affairs. The two walked the white hallways. They were told they would meet their teammate at the exit, which they did as they ran into someone who didn't leave a smile on their faces.
"..Hendrick?" Clad said as he saw a black-haired, pale-skinned man with cat ears and red eyes, wearing the Union uniform, a white suit with the Union's symbol on the left shoulder.
"Heavens, I'm stuck with you fuckers again?" The cat-eared man said, snickering.
Hendrick wasn't a guy known around the Union for being a kind guy like his twin brother Oliver; if anything, he was known for being the complete opposite. He was violent and unpredictable, and oddly enough, was a follower of the church of the Sun, which made it even more surprising, as followers of that church usually are pretty calm and open-minded.
"Watch your mouth, Hendrick, you wouldn't want to end up in the emergency room again, do you?" Jill said in a serious tone.
"..."
Hmph!
"Whatever, let's get this shit over with." He replied with an annoyed tone.
Sigh..
"I'd rather be with Oliver than him, honestly," Clad muttered to Jill as they followed him out of the base.
A few hours later, the three made their way to the mission spot, walking the dark alleyway with only the electronic red exit sign barely lighting the place as rain poured down.
"Shit, why did it have to rain now? Now I can't hear a fucking thing other than this god-forsaken rain." Hendrick blurted out.
"The rain isn't that bad. You should stop whining about a little water, you feline." Clad remarked, which slightly irritated him.
"You!" Hendrick angrily said as he was about to punch him in the face for his comment.
"Both of you, cut it out, were here!" Jill said as they seemed to reach their destination.
The building wasn't very tall, but it did seem as if it hadn't been used in decades, as it had broken windows and fence. The three walked by the main entrance as it didn't seem occupied. Upon entry, they saw that the place was empty, only containing a few wooden boxes and statues, and could still hear the faint sound of the rain as they walked around.
"The captain told us there was an illegal trafficking of mana stones going on here, but it seems like they already packed up and left," Jill said. However, Hendrick felt that the rhythm of sounds around the area felt unusual and noticed a presence nearby.
"Someone is coming, hide!" He silently said to them.
As the three hid behind wooden boxes, the ground split itself open, revealing an entrance as five men in black suits walked out with bags containing blue mana crystals.
!!
"So they didn't leave the place after all." Clad thougth as he prepared himself to ambush them.