The city naturally looked unchanged, as it had only been 12 or so days since had Darius left and the news had yet to spread. Even if Garm was extremely fast, he would need to make a detailed report.
Not to mention that the Royal Faction would try and suppress the news for as long as they could in order to think up useful countermeasures for the current quagmire.
Darius entered the town with Gunner, the gate guards greeting him as they had long come to know of his name. Darius was notable, not only for his age and power, but the visual dynamic between him and Gunner.
Darius greeted back and rushed to the town hall first. He ignored all attempts to stop his moves by the secretary and forcefully met with the City Lord of Listo.
Nicholas was not angry or bothered by Darius' behaviors. On the contrary, he was instantly worried as he knew Darius to usually be quite a levelheaded and sociable person.
To make a gaffe like this, there something serious must have happened. Lo and behold, once Darius broke the news to him, Nicholas paled greatly but pushed up his spectacles.
"So what do you intend to do now, Baron Stone?" Nicholas asked with a sigh.
He addressed him by the title he himself had granted him, although he held little hope that the young fellow would stay because of it. Coming here to inform him personally could already be seen as an act of repaying that kindness.
"My goal is still to rebuild my noble family, and I have managed to acquire the location of a possible site to the Northwest. I plan to relocate there for the longest time." Darius answered calmly.
Nicholas frowned, but he had to ask."What about the Andrato Kingdom?"
Darius paused and then shook his head. "I'm still a noble of this kingdom… no, of Listo. The town has my full support, which is why I rushed back to inform you so you could make the necessary preparations."
Darius looked Nicholas in the eye. "My next step is to head to the capital and reclaim the rewards I've put up for the mission. I will then use those resources to cultivate some youths of Listo that have the most promise as the next generation leaders of the town."
"That is the best I can do outside of my own mission."
Nicholas nodded weakly, leaning back into his chair. "And I ask not more from you. Your current consideration is, quite frankly, more than enough. I'll spend the next few days quickly filtering between the most loyal and talented youths to send over to you."
Darius chuckled. "Don't worry about talent, I can turn a pig into a genius with my resources. Just send the ones with the best personalities and the most loyalty. Make sure to send only 10, as I can only support that many at a time."
Nicholas blinked with surprise before accepting with a nod. After this, he and Darius discussed more on this collaboration and the future of the kingdom before the fellow left.
Once done, Darius left with Gunner as they rushed towards the capital with their blink leap technique once more. He didn't bother to do anything else in Listo like see Carlton, for that fellow had nothing to give.
The rewards were kept safely in the capital headquarters of the Mercenary Guild, so Darius would inevitably have to go there to reclaim the things he put down.
When they reached Ando City, the duo entered straightforwardly. Already semi-used to the bustling nature of this expansive city, Darius navigated through the streets as he headed to the large building in the Guilds District.
There was still some notable traffic coming in and out of the Mercenary Guild, despite most of their men being dead in the Adept band of the Plains of Death.
People coming to check on the popular mission, seeing its current progress, and trying to redeem some rewards with the points they had accumulated. There were also new mercenary applicants who hoped to quickly get a mercenary license and take on the mission.
The design of the building was similar to the one in Listo, just expanded on a greater scale. Darius went to one of the counters and spoke deeply; "I'm here to see the Guildmaster."
The woman behind the counter froze with a typical industry fake-smile, wondering what to do. She quickly recovered when she realized Darius was an Adept due to his Mind Power, as she was an Amateur herself.
Not to mention that the fellow who trailed after him was an Adept as well. With utter respect on her face, she didn't dare to turn away two such powerful visitors and promptly informed the chairman.
The chairman too could not easily turn away such people, especially in recent times, so he called for them to come up. Darius smiled as he was led through the many floors of the building towards the top, Gunner simply maintaining his Earth's Guardian skill up since it raised his stats to the Adept level.
When they were led to the wide double doors that led to the Guildmaster's office, Darius and Gunner were admitted into a shockingly rather small chamber that was well-decorated.
It was the polar opposite of Carlton's wide office with minimalistic design and some workout equipment by the side. However, just because the Guildmaster was not a gym junkie, it did not mean he was a pushover.
From what Darius was seeing with Analyze, this fellow would likely be able to squeeze his head off with one arm like he was a piece of soft fruit.
[Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Displaying details accordingly.]
[Name: Lisbon Duerro
Race: Human
Class: Halberdier
Subclass: Fighter
HP: 5,616/5,616
MP: 1,122/1,122
Level: 51
Strength: 78
Agility: 45
Endurance: 72
Intellect: 22
Charisma: 7
Luck: 2]
Lisbon, the Guildmaster of the mercenaries, looked up from his desk at his visitor with interest. He made a small sound of surprise when he saw who it was, instantly recognizing the key characteristic of the youth who was taking the kingdom by storm.
With a smile, Lisbon gestured to the seat opposite him.
"Friend Darius Stone, please take a seat so that we may discuss any issue you have with the guild promptly."
