The Lord and his family looked at each other, some were admittedly annoyed, but Althea was careful so there was no just cause for them to act. If they acted now, then they’d be unreasonable. Further, they could push away important talents.

To a degree, the number of elementalists a Town had also added to its reputation.

With power and potential, they deserved some voice in this.

After the couple left, one of Lord Pello’s sons couldn’t help but ask. "Can I come to that mission of theirs?"

He really liked that woman! Further, he was very curious what kind of mission they were sent to do. It must involve some treasure, right? Don’t ask him how he knew it; it was his intuition.

"What? Towards the undead? No way!" his mother said. "If you get that illness, it cannot be healed! Why would you want that!?"

The mysterious illness that those things spread was not explosive and was even slow-acting. However, once someone contracted it, it was just a matter of time before they died. It was why missions relating to them were so unpopular. There was no advantage except to reduce their numbers!

"Just send some of your people to monitor," Pello cut off the topic, and everyone quieted down. Then, after a pause, he spoke again.

"I heard that guy Erol is leading this caravan," he said, looking at his son. "Didn’t you have people planted around him?"

...

Speaking of Erol, the Info broker, he was currently finalizing the forces they’d bring to the Undead walls.

The area of the wall was a few days away on foot, and they would encounter various monsters and undead in that period of time. The forces he had to bring must be at least level 20 wth some level 30s.

This was quite a big operation. After all, level 30 was already considered a powerhouse at the town-level and mobilizing a few with one mission indicated its importance.

"How much are we getting paid for this?" one of his members, Paz, couldn’t help but ask. He didn’t see much money coming in, just out.

"Let’s just say it’s an investment," he vaguely said, purposely trying to appear mysterious.

Unfortunately for him, a lot of these men had been with him for decades, so they had an idea what really happened.

"So...they didn’t pay you anything," Paz said. It was a statement.

"..."

"Is the mission so important?" he asked.

Paz was pretty much his right-hand man and handled a good portion of the business. One reason was that he was a good-looking bloke and a lot of their businesses gained connections through that gift of gab he had.

"Yes, the intangible benefit is immense. The potential even more so."

He wasn’t doing it just because of the wine, and this wasn’t just about the money.

He had a feeling the plans they had been working on for so long could finally see a breakthrough.

Anyway, all he gave were very vague answers. Fortunately, Erol’s teammates didn’t underestimate his judgment either. As such, most of them had the ’cynical, but willing to wait and see’ attitude.

"As long as the boss covers our meals!" another team member, Engget, couldn’t help but add at the side.

At this, Erol laughed. "Of course! With me as your boss, no one will starve to death!"

The promise wasn’t that amazing in Alterra, but in this place, especially when heading to the desert, this was a heavy promise.

"Why don’t you call Maika and her group?" Paz asked, giving him a look. "With them, the mission’s safety factor would spike up."

Erol immediately looked awkward, a suspicious shade of red creeping up his ears. "They...just arrived from a long-term mission. Don’t bother them."

Paz combed back his blonde hair and grinned.

He would definitely bother them!

...

Erol and his people had been observing the couple as well as the Lord for a while now. They also knew the two had been invited to the Lord’s castle, and they also saw how the mood of the Lord’s children was not good after that.

And yet the couple went out unscathed, and there were no movements of hostility against them (yet).

These were people whose levels weren’t even among the highest in the territory, yet they could act so fearlessly against the Lord of a territory.

It was then that he was inspired. This deal was more than just goods, it could even connect with his mission.

He wondered if he could get them to help his cause somehow.

That said, there was also the possibility of them being recruited by the Lord. Erol’s instincts told him it wasn’t so, but he’d use their time together to pry.

Anyway, these thoughts were just in his mind for now. There was no place to mention this to the couple at all any time soon. He just had to make sure everything was perfect, so that his faction would be remembered in a good light.

Also...he’d like to have a few bottles of that alcohol. After tasting such a good thing, it was difficult for him to adjust. The ones he had been drinking—even the expensive ones—were just barely drinkable now!

Just as Erol was fantasizing about the taste of the alcohol, a warm breath blew next to his ears.

"I heard you’re going with that couple to the desert? Invite us."

Slam!

Erol, a 55-year-old level 30 man, found himself on the floor because of shock. He looked up to see a valiant woman around his age teasingly staring at him.

"M-Maika?"

Maika gazed at his stupid self. "You dislike seeing me that much?"

"You might not know this, but we actually came with them," she said. They had parted ways even before they entered the town, so only those involved knew it.

The couple actively didn’t want to be deeply associated with a local before they investigated the state of the town.

This implied quite a few things, the most prominent of which was that they were open to deal (or make deals) with the territory!

At the very least, they were opening avenues to move both above board and in the background.

In what way, in what form, in whose side, however, that was the question.

Maika looked at Erol deeply. "I can tell you now," she said. "They could definitely help us out."