In an underground establishment hidden a good distance away from Poleria's Homestead, Foldo and Jorge sat together in an executive office with serious expressions as they discussed various topics.
Jorge had truly changed over the years, both physically and mentally. Physically, her features had developed similar to Portia. The baby fat on her face during her youth had all disappeared as she now looked like a capable young woman.
Jorge was now 21 years old, and her looks made it seem as if she now turned 18. Her formerly short-cropped golden-red hair that had been tied up was now styled into a lovely crown braid.
Her formerly cute face had become sharper and slender over the years, her sapphire blue eyes that once showed only resignation and unwillingness, were now calm like a placid lake, almost to the point of emotionlessness.
Her height had increased slightly, making her a rather tall woman. Her figure remained slender and not very explosive, but toned and well-maintained. Currently, Jorge wore a light blue long-sleeved blouse and a calf-length cream skirt that was made of stretchable material.
Underneath that were black stockings that reached up to her groin, and two female battle boots that she wore in case she needed to fight. Overall, Jorge really looked cute, but her expression would scare away any suitor.
Foldo himself had not changed much and looked almost the same as the first time Darius had come to see him in his office. He still had his thick white mustache, dark brown eyes, thick black lips, and an obtuse jaw angling into a light 'buttchin'.
He wore his trademark dark green tophat, a lovely white shirt with a tie, a long, greenish-gray jacket that was striped, as well as tailored pants that were also of a deeper shade of green.
As was part of his preference, he also wore white gloves on his hands and white loafers that reached his ankle. He was currently seated with his legs crossed in a gentlemanly manner, speaking to Jorge about the next moves of their budding faction.
Foldo held up a document to his face and read it while rubbing his chin. "It seems another noble house has decided to defect after having their assets seized by the Royal Faction. They followed the usual channels to reach out to us for sanctuary and a chance to rebuild."
Jorge had cold eyes that were unresponsive to this information as she had heard similar things many times over the years.
Foldo noticed this and smiled coyly. "And you know the name of the noble house? The Orion House."
Hearing the name of the family that had sent her to infiltrate a bandit group, Jorge's eyes flickered with life for a second but in the blink of an eye returned to being cold once more. Foldo sighed at his failed attempt to get this young lass to become more lively.
Nobody could have predicted that she would change like this after being trained harshly by him over the past 5 years. Different people all had their own responses to external stimuli.
One person could end up extroverted and playful, happy for having survived such torture, while another would end up introverted and reserved, keeping everything to themselves for fear of having to live through something like that again.
And yet Foldo was determined to bring back the old Jorge. As luck would have it, he had gained a trump card that was guaranteed to invoke some reaction from her.
He pulled out a missive from an unknown source and opened it. With a solemn tone, he spoke to Jorge about its contents.
"And finally, our master Darius Stone has sent a message over that he would be coming out of his seclusion soon. He wanted us to know that he would be passing by for an inspection to check on our operations over the past few years."
Once Jorge heard Darius' name, her eyes shone brightly. They became even more sparkling as her face flushed visibly when she heard he would personally come by.
The young woman pressed her palms on the table and leaned over to Foldo with a look of excitement. "Are you certain? It's not fake?"
Foldo smiled. "It's as real as it gets. The Young Master will be gracing us with his presence, so we'd best tie up any loose ends and present him with the fruits of our hard work lest he ends up dissatisfied."
Jorge nodded with a grin and rose to her feet. "Then what are we waiting for, shouldn't we begin ASAP?!"
Foldo also rose to his feet as he teased Jorge playfully. "What's the rush? He hasn't given us a precise date. It seems like you, young lady, are a bit too eager to see your crush after so long."
Jorge ignored his jab and grabbed Foldo before dragging him away. She was not a young girl who would blush or become shy after being teased about her obvious feelings.
She had gone through too much intense suffering over these past 5 years to care about such things. Rather, her mind was more focused on impressing Darius when he appeared, so that she might gain some of his favor.
Initially, Jorge hadn't felt anything concrete for Darius. At the time, it had been just a mixture of interest and gratitude. However, after having her eyes opened to the world, she – like Foldo – had begun to worship him, for the things he had shown her had been magnificent.
Thanks to him, Foldo was now a mid-tier Journeyman mage with the Ice element he had awakened from the onset and the Poison element which he had acquired after climbing to the next stage.
Jorge herself was a Journeyman rogue. She had received a Spark Potion from Darius' servant, Gunner, a few years back along with some much-needed skill manuals to help her use it.
Studying them, she had acquired the ability to control all small weapons within a certain range remotely, as well as the ability to blend into shadows with ease.
Darius had provided her with skills to better hide herself and manage her mental stamina when controlling her ability.
It was then that her feelings of gratitude had bloomed excessively into something else, something more. Since that very day, it had grown exponentially with no limit, finally reaching the current point.
Foldo allowed himself to be dragged along by the now smiling and excited young woman, an imperceptible smile forming on his own face.
