On the opposite wall, a huge fireplace stands. The crackling flames that ignite through the burning woods radiate through the room. At the centre of the room, a round table stands, surrounded by four people.
Beside the fireplace stood a man with a massive physique, his arms crossed, looking at both of them. Because the light source is only from one direction, it causes shadows to fall onto all of them, making it hard for Eryas to look at their faces.
Then suddenly, Clara pulls on Eryas's jacket sleeve. He immediately turned his head toward her.
"Hey, can you help me close the door?"
Feeling the weight of the intense atmosphere, Eryas suppressed a laugh at Clara's request. He quickly closed the door, surprised by its weight, and joined Clara near the round table, where the serious faces of the people seated there became visible.
The tension in the room was palpable, each person's expression reflecting the gravity of the impending discussion.
One of the people sitting was a blonde-haired man with a lovely smile. He turns towards Eryas.
"You're awake, Eryas. Thank gods."
"Yes, it seems that you're fine too, Edward," Eryas replied, his voice tinged with surprise at the sudden revelation of Edward's identity.
Eryas turns toward the other members of the roundtable. On Edward's left is a man with short black hair, wearing the same city guard uniform as Edward. Opposite to him, there is a woman with a serious expression on her face. Her beautiful, long, black hair was tied into a ponytail.
The most noticeable thing about her is that she wears the royal military uniform. Two seats away from her, there is an old man whose grey hair is almost disappearing from his head. From the looks of it, the old man is maybe around his sixties.
After recognising everyone at the table, Eryas turns his gaze towards the huge man beside the fireplace. His hair was grey, and his face was fully bearded.
The man he is looking at is Greg, the owner of this place himself. Then Eryas heard Clara's voice beside him.
"Uncle, I've already brought the young man."
'Uncle? Is he your uncle? Well, that explains why she was here at the weapon workshop. She might be visiting her uncle until suddenly the explosion happens.'
Then Greg's voice sounded.
"Good. It looks like you still got it in you, young man."
Greg laughed.
"Take a seat. We were about to start the meeting."
Eryas took his seat next to Edward, Clara beside him. The expressions of the others had turned serious, signaling the gravity of the impending discussion. They were about to delve into a matter that could determine their fate, and the anticipation in the room was almost tangible.
The female soldier suddenly raised her hand and talked.
"Before we start. May I know why this young man joined us? Involving civilians will only put us in more trouble."
Eryas accidentally locked eyes with her. Hearing those questions stings him, but what she asks is the truth. Why did a random nobody join the meeting that seems essential? Right after that question was delivered, Edward's voice resounded beside him, and he immediately answered it.
"This guy has saved my life. Because of him, I managed to survive the assault of those dark creatures. He is also a capable fighter who will surely give us huge advantages in the upcoming battles."
The female soldier crossed her arms and slowly leaned back in her chair. Her face still shows the sign of dissatisfaction.
"Fine. I'm not gonna be responsible for what happens."
Then the city guard sitting beside Edward leaned forward, putting his hand on the table. He talked with a teasing voice.
"Relax a little, Emma. You know you'll get older faster with that attitude. Besides, the situation is already tense. We don't need you to add more fire to it."
Emma turns her sharp gaze at the city guard. Even if she is pointing her gaze towards the city guard, Eryas could still feel the intensity of it. He knows one thing: women and age don't mix well together. She immediately stood up from her seat with anger on her face.
"You're really pushing it, Caen," Emma retorted, her anger palpable.
But before the situation could escalate, Greg intervened, walking closer to the round table.
"Enough, let's not waste any more time."
Emma immediately sat back in her seat. Greg continued afterwards.
"We need to discuss the plan on how to escape from this place. As you all know, this veil of dust causes a distortion in space where we cannot simply walk out of here. We are trapped inside, and even if people from the outside manage to enter, they will also be lost in this thick dust fog. We cannot expect help to arrive. So our only option is to find the cause and settle it down."
Edward raised his hand and made a statement.
"Both Eryas and I already tried it. We tried to lure whatever or whoever the cause is in hopes of slaying it. But in the end, only the minions that come and greet us."
Hearing that statement, the old man sounded his voice.
"So it seems that the cause of it is an intelligent one."
He sighed.
"Even the mindless one gives us enough trouble to handle it. Back in the days, whenever the intelligent one appeared, we lost the battle immediately. The intelligent darkness creature is one of the things we need to be wary of the most…"
Eryas raises his hand, covering the side of his mouth, then leans closer to Edward. He whispered to Edward.
"Who is this old man?"
Edward leaned closer, replying in a whisper as well.
"He is a veteran royal soldier. He joins many wars against the darkness. He is one of the higher-ranking officers in the military. However, most of his tasks now involve only administration. He is a mage who could use four elemental magic."
"Wow, you do know a lot."
"No, he just told us before you guys came in."
"Ohh…"
After that, Eryas continued hearing the veteran soldier.
"I can help detect where the cause is, but I'm afraid I might not be very much of help fighting it."
Caen spoke with confidence immediately after that.
"Don't worry, old man, you just tell me where the enemy is and I will slay it. No worries at all."
Emma, who was leaning against her chair with her arms and legs crossed, looked at Caen.
"Well, I guess we already know the person who is gonna die first here."
Eryas switches his gaze between Emma and Caen. He sighed.
'What is the problem with these two?'
After that, the discussion continued smoothly. The seven people in the meeting devised a plan to tackle this problem. After everyone had already agreed on the plan, they left the room. Before leaving, Caen stopped Eryas and thanked him for saving his junior. He said that knowing another person he knew survived really relieved his heart. After that, Eryas talked with Edward for a moment. He is asking about how they both managed to arrive here.
Edward said that after Eryas passed out, two people were coming to them with weapons. Edward almost fought both of them, but stopped after learning that both of them were scouts sent by the people from the workshop. Then, both of them help carry Eryas back into the building. Eryas also didn't miss the chance to ask about Caen and Emma.
"Hey, what's the deal with those two?"
"Who? Ohh… just a lover's quarrels."
After that, Eryas left Edward, heading deeper into the building, while his mind wandered about what Edward said. His hand was rubbing his chin while his eyes were focused on the ground.
'So they are lovers? Hmm, doesn't seem like it.'
Given the situation, Eryas never had a quarrel with Helena before. Not even once. The worst he experienced was earlier at the cafe. But he wouldn't literally call that a quarrel.
'Well, maybe a little.'
As he was pondering the questions, he met Hars down the hall and greeted him. The old man started when he heard Eryas behind him. Both of them chatted about the assault for a bit before Eryas continued his strolling.
Because of his experience, he never ponders the other side of the relationship where people argue with each other. His relationship with Helena had been peaceful before, without any problems.
"But maybe that is a problem. I think I heard somewhere that a relationship without problems can sometimes break apart. The calm before the storm, huh. Helena…"
As he was mumbling, a voice suddenly resounded from behind him.
"Hoho, it looks like someone had a relationship problem. Need any help?"
Eryas was shocked; he jolted to the side at the sound of the voice. He turned and saw Clara following him from behind. He almost fell down the stairs that he was trying to descend. Eryas questions Clara, surprised.
"Wha…what are you doing?"
"Following you."
"Huh? Why?"
"You still didn't answer my question."
"Question? What ques… ohh, right."
The question she means is when she curiously asks Eryas with the rapid-fire question."
'I thought she had already forgotten about it. Even I forget it already.'
"I promise I'll answer it after we get out of this."
She immediately stops her steps and looks at Eryas. Noticing that Eryas also stopped his descent, he turns, looking at her.
"Whoa, that's a major death flag right there."
'What's wrong with her. Did she hit her head?'
Eryas immediately turns and continues descending the stairs.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on dying."
"Well, good then. I can't have my test subject dying before the experiment."
'So I'm a test subject now?'
With that, both of them continued walking down the stairs until they were on the floor, with only one room on it. The door to the room was slightly open. The sound of hammering can be heard inside. Eryas slowly pushes the door open and enters. He saw Greg was hammering on a piece of sword on an anvil. He was crafting a sword. Noticing Eryas, he stops hammering and looks at him.
"Ohh, young man. I've already repaired your sword. There on the table."
Eryas turns his head towards the sword on the table. He walks towards it and raises the sword in his hand. He turned the sword around and noticed that the chipped edges of the sword had been repaired, and now it is as sharp as it was before. And then he put the sword back on the table and said to Greg.
"Mister Greg, I have a request. And I will pay you handsomely for it."
Greg, who was about to continue his work, cancelled it. He looks at Eryas with an interested face.
"Well, go on."