Under EeDechi's leadership, the Last Defender of the Way adventurer squad once again shelled out a hefty sum of coins to take a teleportation array, arriving at a city on the border of Baharuth. On the other side of the border lay the empire's sworn enemy—Re-Estize.
They settled into a pretty pricey inn for the time being, where the cost for six people to stay one night was a whole gold coin. But EeDechi had cash to burn now, so naturally, she picked a nicer spot.
The innkeeper shot a weirdly suspicious look at the little twin girls they had with them. An adventurer leading two young girls around? Yeah, that was odd as hell. If the girls hadn't been so chill and friendly with EeDechi and the crew, the innkeeper would've pegged them as human traffickers and reported them to the sheriff faster than you can say "jailbait."
That evening, down in the inn's main hall, the Last Defender of the Way squad was gearing up to head to the city's Adventurer's Guild. An old dude in a long robe, with a beard streaked gray, stepped into the place. His eyes scanned each of the four adventurers one by one before locking onto Stella, decked out in her cleric gear. He let out a shocked yell: "Stella Famillion, is that you? My star pupil!"
Stella froze mid-step, turning to the old man. "Teacher?" she said, just as stunned. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Long time no see! You've grown into a real knockout," the old man said with a warm, fatherly grin, pulling an excited Stella into a hug. The two of them plopped down on some cushy chairs in the hall and caught up for a good while.
Turns out, the old guy's name was James Simon, Stella's former teacher. He wasn't just any old geezer—he was a high-tier mage who'd mastered 4th Tier magic, with a rare knack for both Arcane Magic and Divine Magic.
Not only was he a badass with spells, but he also held a big-shot position in the empire. On top of that, he'd once taught at Gaia's temple, where he'd mentored Stella for a decent stretch.
Stella wasn't the most gifted or accomplished of his students, but with her sweet looks, bubbly personality, and hardcore work ethic, she was a favorite among the teachers.
Too bad life threw her a curveball. Family drama forced her to ditch the temple and sign up as an adventurer to keep the home fires burning. James always felt like shit about it. He'd bankrolled her for a good chunk of time, trying to help out, but in the end, he couldn't drag her back to the temple.
He glanced at the beat-up, dark gold staff in her hand, its magic crystals looking worse for wear. Fishing a coin pouch out of the lining of his green robe, he handed it over to Stella. "Go get yourself some decent gear. Consider it a gift from your old teacher. Better equipment means bigger paydays, right?"
Stella shoved the coin pouch back to James the mage. "Thanks, teacher, but I've got enough cash now. I'm hitting the shops for new gear tomorrow. Our captain's a real sweetheart—she just dropped 80 gold coins on me as a paycheck!"
With that, she pulled out a linen sack, untied the drawstring, and showed it off to the old man. The drab gray bag was stuffed to the brim with shiny gold coins, glinting like crazy.
James let out an "Oh!" of surprise, tucking his own pouch away, and started catching up with Stella on recent events…
Though his beard was streaked with gray, the old man was still sharp as a tack. He struck up a conversation with Barrett next. The guy was a real chatterbox, hitting it off with Barrett, a seasoned adventurer. When they got to talking about the habits and quirks of some monsters, he'd crack up, his gray-streaked whiskers shaking as he flashed a few gleaming gold teeth.
After chewing the fat with Barrett, he moved on to Sean, shooting the breeze about this and that. Finally, he sidled up to EeDechi, all hush-hush, asking her to step outside the inn to talk about something.
Night was creeping in, the sky lit up with fiery red clouds edged in sunset gold. A few women balancing clay pots on their heads hurried down the street. EeDechi glanced at James and casually asked, "What's up, old mage?"
James furrowed his brow a little. Forget his mastery of magic—his age alone put him sixty or seventy years older than EeDechi. But this girl didn't have a damn clue about respecting her elders.
Still, his good manners let him brush off the annoyance quick enough. With a hint of probing in his tone, he said, "Adventurer captain, what kind of jobs do you and your crew usually take on? Stella's magic talent isn't exactly top-tier among her peers, and then she had to drop her training because of that family mess…"
Bit by bit, EeDechi caught the drift of what James was getting at. The gist? Stella's magic skills weren't anything special, yet she'd scored 80 gold coins out of nowhere—a payout way beyond her league. Was EeDechi just rolling in cash with nowhere to spend it, or had she dragged her team into some shady, dangerous shit?
The adventurer captain rolled her eyes. "How I spend my money's none of your damn business. These coins…"
She almost spilled the truth—that they came from the emperor—but then remembered Barrett telling her to keep it on the down-low. She switched gears. "They're from some noble in the City Alliance. I tracked down a dragon's treasure hoard for him."
If an adventurer had the guts to tangle with a dragon, they'd damn well better have some serious chops. James wasn't fully buying it, but he could tell from EeDechi's vibe and the way she carried herself—decked out like a straight-up paragon of justice—that she wasn't the type to screw around with bad business. So he didn't push the issue.
Instead, he switched tracks. "What do you think of that Sean kid? He ever pull any sleazy moves on Stella?"
Anyone with eyes could see Sean had it bad for Stella—no, scratch that, he was straight-up head over heels for her, bending over backwards to please her. He just hadn't manned up to confess yet, and Stella hadn't given him the green light either.
James worrying about Sean, a platinum-level adventurer, harassing his prized student? Yeah, that tracked.
EeDeChi nodded and said, "Sean is a bit impulsive. His vision isn't very ambitious, and he lacks inner strength, which can lead to setbacks in this materialistic world. He often acts on emotions rather than intelligence. However, he is honest and well-intentioned, with a Justice Value of 224, which is quite rare.
"As for their romantic issues, in free love, as long as both parties consent, the organization won't interfere. But if they want to marry, they'll need to submit a marriage application after turning 18. It's a formality that must be followed."
What? Marriage… application? Organization? James stroked his silver goatee. Even with his vast knowledge, he didn't quite understand what EeDeChi was talking about. It seemed a bit embarrassing to ask someone sixty or seventy years younger for clarification.
He tossed a few more words EeDechi's way, mostly about how Stella was frail and her family was dirt-poor, asking the captain to keep an eye on her and all that jazz.
EeDechi gave a half-assed nod, muttering "Yeah, yeah" like she was humoring him. James handed each of them a magic trinket after that, said he had to bounce for some old buddies' get-together, and took off from the inn.
Later, James promised he'd swing by the inn again to coach Stella on her magic. She waited like a chump for days, but in the end, the old man never showed his face again.