"We have finished our mission." Noel and Anna stood in front of Shale, reporting.
"Mhm." Shale nodded and recorded their achievements and asked, "By the way, I apologize since I am talking about this after you just come back. I know that you're tired, but do you think you can go for another mission?"
"Mhm?" Noel furrowed his eyebrows.
"It's surprising to find you asking us like this, Instructor." Anna tilted her head in confusion.
"You two are currently the strongest pair in this generation. I don't know the extent of your ability, but considering you can handle an Advanced Level Demon, you should be able to do this mission. No, even if you can't do it, you two should be able to escape to get some help."
"What's the situation, Sir Shale?" Noel asked.
"Do you know Kirika and Lokhar?"
Noel and Anna exchanged looks and nodded. "Yes, we do."
"We sent them on a mission a month ago. But we still received no information about them."
"Aren't they spending their free time? I believe other than the requirement, we're free to do anything we want," Anna replied with a calm expression.
"The problem is… there is no proof about their mission completion when the time limit should be up a week ago. The place is not that far, so the letter should have arrived by now."
"!!!" Noel and Anna widened their eyes in shock.
"To be honest, I was about to send a letter to the Demon Banner Army branch around that area to notify them about their conditions. Although I know that candidates can die during the mission, we're not going to let you die easily. So, I'm trying to figure out what happens."
'Did Kirika fall into a trap at a time like this? Now that I think about it, the incident that caused numerous knights' deaths is only six months away… Don't tell me this incident is related to the Supreme Devil Organization?' Anna came to a realization. "I think we should take this mission."
"!!!" Noel was taken aback by Anna's agreement. Seeing how she agreed to this so easily meant she had some information about it.
Noel asked, "So, where is the area and what's the mission?"
"The mission is infiltration. This is the detail." Shale gave the mission information.
Mission: Heinsforth Warehouse Infiltration
Description: There is some rumors about the warehouse storing a mysterious substance. Investigate the rumor.
"This is…" Noel narrowed his eyes. "If you have this kind of mission, shouldn't you just have to give it to Captain Septa?"
Shale shook his head. "No. We are providing you with a wide range of missions to check your interest in the Demon Banner Army as well as your capability. For example, if you excel in espionage mission, you're going to report to Septa's squad after the graduation. If you focus on extermination, you're going to be under me and so on.
"In other words, these missions are the measurement on how you are going to be placed after graduation."
"So, that's why the requirement is to have five group missions and five individual missions. And the fact that we have a free time other than that…" Noel closed his eyes, understanding everything.
"Yes. It's all for your assessment. Don't forget that you are still an Apprentice Knight, so your talent has to be assessed first before becoming a full-fledged knight. Of course, don't tell anyone about this. You two can know it because I already know where you're going to be placed later."
"That's true." Noel nodded with a serious expression.
"I can understand the Individual Mission, but what's the relation with our specialty with the Group Mission? I mean, it's a group mission, right?"
"There are two!" Noel raised two fingers. "The first is to assess the group's overall prowess. For example, if one of them has a good martial prowess while the other one is good at espionage, they can see how good they are able to coordinate in a wide variety of mission, which reflects the group's overall prowess.
"The second one will be to influence the other party. Just like the first example, what if the first guy actually has a talent in espionage, but because he has been trained as the former, he never goes to that field, resulting in him not discovering his true talent."
"Ah!" Anna nodded in understanding. "I see."
"Well, since Anna said that we have to accept this mission, then we'll take it."
"Good. If it turns out they're fine, I'll still record your contribution. At the very least, I'll make sure that you finish a single individual mission for investigating your comrades."
"Understood." Noel nodded calmly.
"When are we going to leave?" Anna asked.
"The time limit is quite low, so we're going to depart three hours from now. I want to restock our supply and some other things."
"Understood."
"Then, please excuse us," said Noel to Shale as he walked away to prepare for their next mission.
Before Noel left, Shale called him. "Noel!"
"Yes?"
"After graduation, do you want to come to my unit?"
"Is that an order?"
"No. It's an invitation."
Noel furrowed his eyebrows. Shale actually scouted him because of his ability and judgment.
"There is a hidden reason why captains of Demon Banner Army has to take role as an instructor every year. It's also an opportunity to scout talented recruits for their own army."
"So, there is a reason like that…" Anna nodded in understanding. Noel obviously knew the meaning of this invitation. Shale had recognized his talent, even more than her who couldn't even receive his invitation.
However, Noel ended up shaking his head and said, "I apologize, Sir Shale. I am thankful for your guidance this whole time, but I have a squad in mind."
"Demon Relief Squad?" Shale narrowed his eyes.
"Yes." Noel nodded.
"Tsk. I guess I lose to that bastard, Raymond." Shale clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Anyway, do well with the rest of your missions. I will send a letter to that guy to take care of you or I'll snatch you from him."
"Thank you." Noel politely bowed to him before walking away.
