As Aeren contemplated the meaning behind human existence, he felt increasing pity for them and stood from his place.
"You look the same as before," Aeren responded to Nil as he closed the distance between them.
Nil fell silent after hearing his words but didn't pursue the matter further. She sighed internally but showed no emotion outwardly.
"Dark, open the door." When Aeren drew close enough to her, she commanded her spirit. It followed without question, and a dark portal emerged where Nil stood.
Aeren observed the gate and understood the meaning behind the portal. I could make this portal too. It's too simple... As he grasped the portal's creation principles, he chose not to create his own and instead entered before Nil.
Nil paused briefly, exhaled, and followed through the portal. Within moments, they both emerged on the other side.
Aeren waited outside and turned to Nil when she appeared. "Why are we at the Astoria estate?" he asked with confusion written across his face.
He had expected her to take them close to the Royal Palace, but she had changed their destination. Now they stood before the Astoria Estate—ruled by Aldric Astoria, Nil's uncle and current Count of Astoria Territory. Though Aeren could connect the relationship between Nil and this estate, he still couldn't understand why they had come here.
Nil observed the gate of her family's estate intently for a moment, then turned to Aeren with a smile. "I came here to finish some unfinished business."
Aeren also turned his attention to the estate gate where he could see people waiting in line. As he stood there, he noticed Nil walking ahead. Watching her from behind, Aeren wondered, We could have just entered through a portal, so why bother walking and waiting in line? He dismissed the thought and followed after her.
"I'm going to join the Astoria Knights and serve my estate, retiring from adventuring," a man named Warner announced his retirement to his party members with a quiet and relieved voice, but his party members looked at him in shock.
"What will happen to us then? We're too young, and we'll lose our party leader if you leave," a boy named Fredric questioned his retirement. Two girls with noble features nodded in agreement, and all of them watched Warner with helpless expressions.
Seeing their faces, Warner couldn't understand what he had done to make them react this way. He searched his memory but couldn't recall anything that would make him so valuable to them.
"You're all mistaken about something. I'm retiring because you're all too talented for me to handle. You, Fredric—I've never seen anyone like you in my life. I know you'll all do well without me."
Warner spoke his honest thoughts, which only upset them more. They realized he wasn't wrong, and they couldn't argue because if they wanted to reach higher guild levels, they would need to leave Warner behind to discover the true value of their strength.
Even knowing this truth, Fredric still wanted Warner to remain as their party member and was about to speak when a new voice interrupted their conversation.
"I can be your new party member if you'll let me join you." Fredric, Warner, and the others turned toward the voice and saw a guy and a hooded lady. The man was smiling at them while the hooded girl remained silent but appeared interested in their discussion.
Fredric studied the newcomer and didn't feel suspicious about the guy, but the lady seemed questionable. "Who are you? And why do you want to join our party?"
Warner turned to Fredric but showed no expression while studying the stranger's reaction and behavior.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Aeren—I'm just looking to do some adventuring," Aeren replied, extending his hand for a handshake.
Fredric looked at the offered hand, debating whether shaking hands with a stranger was safe. After seeing Aeren's genuine smile, he decided to shake hands.
"Nice to meet you, Aeren." Fredric shook his hand and released it before continuing, "But I'm not sure taking you would benefit us. And does the miss happen to be joining us as well?" As Fredric spoke to Aeren, his gaze tried to peer through Nil's hood, but he couldn't see her face.
Aeren noticed Fredric's attempt to see through her hood, which was impossible since Nil was using her dark and light spirits to conceal herself. He also observed that the others were similarly curious about Nil, but he dismissed these minor details.
"Don't worry, she won't be coming with me. She has some business here she wants to handle, and I have nothing else to do. So I thought I'd try adventuring and see what that life is like." Aeren maintained his polite smile throughout his explanation.
Fredric could understand Aeren's reasoning but couldn't trust anyone simply because they appeared kind and smiled. He turned to Warner, who was also observing Aeren's behavior and reactions. Warner didn't sense anything suspicious about Aeren, though Nil still gave them cause for concern.
Warner nodded to Fredric, who was about to respond to Aeren when one of his party members spoke up first.
"No, we don't want people like you," a girl named Nina declared loudly, rejecting Aeren completely and refusing to let any stranger join their party of four.
Aeren turned to the girl who had spoken so bluntly and rejected him without reason. He stared at her briefly before returning his attention to Fredric, who also looked surprised by her action.
"Oh, I understand. I haven't even registered with the adventurer's guild yet, so I was hoping to find trustworthy people like yourselves who might give a newcomer a chance. But I suppose I was being too optimistic. I'll need to register first and then try to find a party willing to take me on. Sigh..."
Aeren sighed and looked genuinely sad. Seeing his authentic disappointment, they all began feeling guilty about rejecting him.
Warner could see Aeren's sincere request and recognized that he was young and telling the truth.
Warner turned to Fredric and addressed all his team members: "Let him join and support him in the future to reach where you all are, just as I've done for you. Consider that your last command from your party leader."
As the queue slowly processed toward the Astoria Estate gate, Aeren and the others continued their conversation, deciding about their new party member.
Fredric fell silent after hearing his leader's final command and had no choice but to accept Aeren. He turned to see the excitement in Aeren's eyes and could tell he genuinely wanted to join their party. Fredric decided he didn't want to disappoint someone so sincere.
"Okay, Aeren. I'm not sure about you joining our party, but we'll guide you on how people become veteran adventurers. After that, we'll decide whether you're a good fit for us or not." Fredric explained the situation, not wanting to raise Aeren's expectations before properly evaluating him.
Aeren's face brightened as Fredric finished speaking. "Thank yo—"
Before Aeren could thank him, a third party interrupted their conversation: "Why don't you join me instead?"