Chapter 362: 352 Plot Changes_2
"I’m Tia."
"I’m Tina."
"I’ve been wanting to see for myself the Reiger Brillhaut of the legends, who’s said to be a match for an entire steel-ranked adventurer team alone."
"He really is young, looking even younger than our devil of a team leader. It’s hard to imagine such a brat could be so strong."
The twin sisters introduced themselves in succession, adding some personal thoughts that were somewhat rude to Reiger, prompting a bitter smile from Lakyus.
Reiger didn’t mind; he just glanced at Lakyus’ hand extended towards him, reached out, and shook it.
Despite being only 19 years old and having stepped into the Heroic Domain, Lakyus’ hand was incredibly soft and delicate, not at all like that of an adventurer, but more like the pampered hand of a daughter from a wealthy family.
However, Reiger didn’t dwell on the feel of her hand and, after lightly shaking it, he let go quite decisively.
"The pleasure is mine, ladies of the Rose. I’ve long admired your group," said Reiger calmly. "Strictly speaking, you are all my seniors. There’s no need to heed Brian Angelos’ flattery, just treat me normally."
"That suits me fine," said Lakyus, giving Reiger a deep look without rejecting his proposition, and with a smile added, "I’m not much for empty formalities either. Since Mr. Brillhaut has put it that way, let’s drop the formalities and please, let me learn from you."
"We should have done this from the start," interrupted Gegran, "I’m sick of all those rigid etiquettes. Aren’t we all adventurers here? Why don’t we just get to know each other the adventurer’s way?"
"...Sometimes adventurers are precisely the profession that needs to observe formalities the most," Iveyer said, giving Gegran a sidelong glance and speaking softly, "You just find it bothersome, you brainless muscle woman."
The group couldn’t help but laugh.
"Are you guys prepping for a mission?" Brian noticed the fully armed appearance of the [Crimson Rose] group, and asked with some concern, "Such complete gear... it looks like it’s not an easy task."
Reiger, too, recalled the storyline of the original work.
He vaguely remembered that at this point in time, the reason why Lakyus and the others were in the capital Yeshtedge was solely because they had accepted a commission from the Gold Princess to eradicate a criminal organization known as [Eight Fingers] that lurked in the Kingdom Underground World.
[Eight Fingers] was a vast organization that dominated the Kingdom’s Underworld, involved in many illegal activities including but not limited to slave trading, assassinations, smuggling, theft, drug trafficking, bodyguard services, finance, gambling, and so on, a true criminal syndicate.
They had close relationships with nobility within the kingdom, cooperating privately with many of them, and as the kingpins of all illicit organizations in the Kingdom, they could be considered the embodiment of its dark side.
This massive entity that occupied the entire Underworld of the Kingdom even had a group of strong enforcers known as the [Six Arms], each of whom possessed strength no lesser than that of a steel-ranked adventurer, deterring many from making a move against them.
In the original story, [Crimson Rose] had been tasked by the Kingdom’s third princess to strike at [Eight Fingers] soon, to hit hard at this vast criminal organization and preferably wipe them out entirely, extinguishing the darkness of the Kingdom once and for all.
"Now that [Crimson Rose] is fully armed and mobilized, could it be that they are preparing to make a move against [Eight Fingers]? "
This was actually quite a risky undertaking.
Because adventurers typically operate through missions assigned by the guild, and under normal circumstances are not allowed to directly accept commissions from clients. The fact that Lakyus and the others had directly bypassed the guild to accept the commission from the Gold Princess was undoubtedly a violation of the rules, with severe cases potentially leading to punishment or even expulsion from the guild.
Not to mention, the adventurer guild had an unwritten rule against adventurers casually involving themselves in national struggles, and for Lakyus and her team to help the royal family eliminate an underground organization was an action involving national policy, also a violation of the rules.
If [Crimson Rose] weren’t one of only two steel-ranked adventurer teams previously available in the kingdom, with each member of the team being a precious and rare steel-ranked adventurer, the guild would never have turned a blind eye to this kind of behavior.
But because Lakyus was nobility with allegiances to the kingdom, and had a past connection with the kingdom’s third princess, in the original story, she still accepted the commission.
I guess it’s the same now?
"If that’s the case, it’s likely that Nazarick will have to get involved soon, right?"
Reiger thought to himself.
However, what came next from Lakyus’ remarks was something that caught Reiger by surprise.
"We’re indeed about to embark on a mission, a very tricky one." Lakyus exchanged glances with the members of her team, then said with a serious face, "You might not know, but recently, some very terrifying monsters have infiltrated the capital."
As Lakyus uttered these words, Iveyer, as if to coordinate, made some movements beneath his robe.
In an instant, the sounds around began to drift away, and a thin membrane seemed to envelop the vicinity, cutting off the nearby noise and all movements from this area completely.
"What’s this...?"
Brian sensed the change and reacted sharply.
"Don’t worry, it’s just the activation of a magic item," Iveyer said, "The upcoming conversation would be fine if people like you heard it, but if others did, it might cause quite a bit of chaos."
"That’s right." Gegran also nodded solemnly and added, "If you are aware, you can take some precautions. If the weaklings knew about this, it would likely only cause trouble, wouldn’t it?"
The ladies of [Crimson Rose] all adopted a grave attitude, making both Reiger and Brian sense the seriousness of the issue.
"Terrifying monsters have infiltrated the capital, you say?"
Brian instinctively lowered his voice.
Reiger furrowed his brow and looked toward Lakyus.
In front of both men, Lakyus explained the situation.
"This information is currently only known to the royal family and the nobility, not yet disclosed to the public, to prevent mass panic," Lakyus said. "We also learned of this through the mouth of the third princess."
"It is said that, about a week ago, a very powerful monster caused a ruckus abroad, attacking a human city in a theocratic nation and, after causing a huge commotion there, was repelled by a special unit dispatched by the chief priest of the theocracy and fled into our kingdom’s territory."
"Reliable sources within the kingdom’s high-ranking officials have reported that this monster has made its way to the capital and has hidden in the dark crevices of this city."
"Seemingly possessing not insignificant intelligence, it can summon and command lower-ranked monsters and the undead. After arriving in the capital, it took over the Underworld, defeating the [Eight Fingers] that had long been entrenched in the Kingdom Underground World, turning the leaders of the [Eight Fingers] into its own servants, becoming the King of the Kingdom Underground World."
"Both the royal family and the nobility have taken grave notice of this matter, sending troops repeatedly to scout or subdue it, but everyone who was dispatched never returned, bringing back only very limited information."
Lakyus said this with a stern face.
"We have received a secret commission from the kingdom’s third princess to investigate the [Eight Fingers]’s stronghold that is under the monster’s control, to gather as much intelligence as possible, and, if possible, to subdue that monster."
"Although adventurers are strictly forbidden from involving themselves in national affairs, this time the one that has enslaved the [Eight Fingers] in secret is a monster, and as adventurers who specialize in subjugating monsters, we have a duty to accept this commission."
"That’s why we’re preparing to visit the [Eight Fingers]’s stronghold mentioned in the last report sent back by the kingdom’s sacrificed troops, to confront that monster."
Such words caused Brian to frown deeply, falling silent.
Reiger also lowered his eyelids, with only one thought in his mind.
"It seems the original plot has changed."