After resting for a while, they had finally gotten another assignment along with the reward from the previous mission.
A messenger came to their location, which was the Demon Beholder Group's member.
"You've received a new assignment. Immediately set off to the Silica Valley and receive the complete instruction from the Valley Master."
Paul nodded. "Order received."
"Also, this is your reward from the previous mission." He handed a letter before leaving.
Paul opened it and saw the reward. As expected, they received a quite amount of Gold and Contribution Points. Like Paul announced back then, Rose and Noel received the biggest reward while the others weren't that far off.
Normally, this would be the end of the reward. However, there was an additional reward attached at the bottom of the page along with the message.
'The Zero Squad will receive an additional 4,000 Gold and 120,000 Contribution Points.'
'This reward can be exchanged for various items in the Demon Banner Army Headquarters. The Demon Relief Squad can handle how they distribute it themselves.'
"Mhm? What is this additional reward?" Noel asked.
"It's from extorting that noble," said Paul with a smile. "The commander usually shared thirty percent of the reward with us in the form of money and points since we don't really need all the expensive stuff."
"I see." Noel nodded with a serious expression.
"Are you disappointed that we only get thirty percent?"
"Not really. It's clear that the reason why we could get so much from the noble is from the commander's prestige. In other words, he's the one who contributes the most, so it's already quite good to have him share thirty percent of the reward." Noel explained his thought.
"Indeed. Anyway, we'll be leaving in three hours. All of you are to pack up our stuff and get ready to leave."
"Understood." They nodded and immediately dispersed.
"Noel, Noel…" Anna tugged Noel's sleeve.
"Mhm?" Noel tilted his head in confusion before he remembered what they were about to do. "Do you want to go somewhere? Let's go then."
Anna nodded with a serious expression.
Without hesitation, both of them left and moved somewhere far from the group since they had an important matter to discuss.
After Anna checked their surrounding, she finally sat down and ordered some food.
"This valley is perfect for us to do it."
"That's true. We can easily find some cliffs around the valley." Noel nodded.
"But are you sure we're going to do it?" Anna asked again. Although she had agreed to this plan, she didn't know what would happen to these people. After all, the people around here were so caring. She felt bad deceiving them like this.
Surprisingly, Noel didn't hesitate to give the nod as if he had steeled his resolve. But that resolve turned out to be an arrangement made by the commander. "Yes. Don't worry about them. In fact, I've asked the commander to put me in the same squad using my second identity.
"Know those guys, they'll realize something is up. And after seeing them like this, I don't think someone will snitch on us. Though, I'll just give them my side of the situation, not yours. After all, you're the one dealing with the Royal Family, so if they know about it, it'll become troublesome for you."
Anna contemplated for a moment. It was true that these people would instantly realize Noel was Iadre just by looking at his build. And that would dispel their hatred immediately.
In the best case, they would even relate this incident to the reason why she became famous for destroying Noel's family. They would think this was actually the scheme created by their families.
Of course, the timing was important. He couldn't really just appear right after his death because the news couldn't be spread.
Hence, he was planning to train by himself for another month before making his appearance.
"I see. If that's the case, then how are we supposed to meet again? Well, if I show them my talent, it'll be easy for me to get dispatched to deal with something. It can be counted as experience, but it's hard to arrange the meeting between us."
"I have thought about it. We can't really meet too often, so I'm planning to arrange a meeting every season. What do you think?"
"That's easy, I guess. I can monitor the Demon Relief Squad's mission from my position, and I can justify my action with their hatred after killing you to ensure there wouldn't be any revenge."
"Yes. Just don't take a mission that is too close to our place because it'll arouse some suspicion. And I'm pretty sure you can cover the distance between two cities easily, right?"
Anna nodded. "With my current strength, it won't be a problem."
"I'm going to rely on you a lot." Noel sighed. He wanted to leave, but the Zero Squad would find him easily. Although they would suspect something, he didn't want them to get involved too much in this matter.
"That's the gist of the plan. Do you have any dissatisfaction? I can alter it a bit." Noel asked.
Anna looked down, contemplating the pros and cons. "I don't have any problem with the plan itself. And it'll be a perfect opportunity for me to understand the whole problem. Though, I'm pretty sure you're going to start making contact with the Third Prince, right?"
"Yeah. I'll try to find a way to do it." Noel nodded.
"If that's the case, how about we make a little competition between us?"
"Competition?"
"Who can get more information! Just like this squad's tradition."
"…" Noel shook his head helplessly. "The game is one thing, but being reckless is another thing. By making this competition, one is bound to be reckless. So, I don't suggest the idea."
"Well…" Anna scratched the back of her head. She just wanted to make this bad situation a bit more enjoyable, but it seemed Noel wouldn't budge.
Surprisingly, Noel added, "Though, I don't mind about the game. I know that I'm smarter than you, but you're by no means a fool. So, I'm sure you know your limit. But to prevent you from being reckless, let's change the rule of the game."
"What's the rule?"
"It's not about winning, but about not losing."
Noel was indirectly implying that they should get information at their own pace instead of pushing themselves to get as much information as possible. The latter would make them reckless while the former was trying to motivate them a little bit.
"The loser will be serving the winner during the information exchange." Noel smirked.
Anna also smirked. "I'm not going to lose. Prepare to be my butler."
