"This is your next mission." Clara placed down a piece of paper. Everything related to the mission was written on it.
Noel and Paul were the first ones to look at it, considering one was the one responsible for the group while the other was the squad's brain.
But surprisingly, Noel only took three seconds to look at it before stepping back, saying, "Rose. You should take a look at it first."
"!!!" Rose was surprised that Noel gave her a chance, considering his opinion was worth more than her. Although no one said it, they knew that Noel's plan was better than Rose's.
However, as the future head of the Ardagan Family, Noel had to know how to give his people a chance to develop their talents. If he was the one taking care of everything, he would die because of overwork.
Hence, he wanted to create an independent system where he, as the head of the family, was there to supervise them instead of doing everything by himself.
Rose doubted her power a bit, but since Noel had given her a chance, she chose to step forward, trying to understand the mission.
Rose furrowed her eyebrows for five minutes before explaining, "First of all, I'm going to brief you about the mission."
"This time, the mission will be a joint effort again. Our partner will be the Demon Barrier Squad."
"According to the information, the Demon Barrier Squad is having a few severe problems due to the recent demon's activity."
"More and more demons are coming out of their nest, wreaking havoc in a few cities nearby. The Demon Barrier Squad has been using all their strength to stop them, but because of their number, they have stretched themselves thin. If they overexert themselves, there's a high chance that one of the cities will be breached."
"Hence, our mission is to provide support to help them pass this matter." Rose paused for a moment. "In this case, we can provide three types of support. The first is the supply. This supply will include healing potions, so the Demon Barrier Squad will be able to last longer. There is also a possibility that we are being their errand boy to connect all those cities. The demons need to be strong enough to stop us, after all."
"The second type is to become their backup, providing a boost in their firepower. But I don't think this will happen since if they need more firepower, they will call other squads like the Demon Hunting Squad."
"So, that arrives at the last type, the additional structures such as forts or any fortifications. This is our core, so I think they want us to fortify their walls."
Clara closed her eyes, letting her subordinates discuss it. Of course, she didn't mind if they discussed it here since she wanted to see their improvements. They had experienced a lot during the expedition and some of them even felt helpless fighting against those demons. Their desire to improve became stronger than ever, especially after seeing Noel fighting on the front line by himself.
They didn't want to lose to Noel. So, they started improving themselves ever since they came back.
Paul asked, "In that case, what should we do? Should we go to them and ask them about our job?"
"That is normally the case, but… I think everyone knows that it is just the bare minimum. That's why we will go one step further." Rose's expression became serious as she declared. "We are going to bring some supplies for them. So, even if they need anything, we will have them in our storage."
Clara and Noel couldn't help but smile. Normally, they would come to them first to know about their role. Rose knew that nothing would change if she didn't improve. So, she thought one step further.
Though, there was a problem. Noel was the one to ask it. "Still, if we bring a lot of supplies at first, there will be a problem with the number of luggage. We might have to bring additional carriages, you see."
Rose nodded and said, "That's not a problem. We will only add one carriage. By looking at the situation, it seems that they have some problems with the injured, so we'll focus on bringing potions to help them. It should relieve some pressure from their healers as well."
"In exchange, there are two water sources in the area, one from the river next to this Moah Town and the other from the city's well. Food shouldn't be a problem as well since there are a lot of demons."
"With this, we should be able to compress our luggage into three carriages. With Iadre becoming a Spirit Master, our strength has been bolstered, so it shouldn't be a big problem taking care of three carriages."
Noel didn't raise any more objections after that explanation, indirectly telling everyone that he had agreed to this plan.
After some thought, Clara also gave her approval. She had seen Rose's improvement. As for the rest, they had to wait until the battle came.
Rose glanced at Paul and asked, "What do you think, Paul?"
"I don't have any problem with the plan itself. But the sorting will be a bit more difficult, so how many days do we have left before the departure?"
"We are leaving the day after tomorrow. We should arrive at our destination in seven days. Due to the amount of time we need to reach our destination, I believe bringing more medicine is better. Well, that's my reason" Rose explained.
"I see." Paul nodded in understanding. "Two days should be enough to prepare. Besides, our city is like storage, so we have everything prepared. It should be fine if we also open our squad's storage, right?"
Clara nodded as she stood, declaring, "The Zero Squad shall leave in two days. You are allowed to bring anything you need from the storage within your privilege. If the storage doesn't have any, you are to procure it by yourself. That's all."
All the people in the room pumped their left chest, receiving her instruction.
After receiving their order, they immediately scattered to do their jobs. Although it wasn't that visible, there was an improvement in the group. Without them saying anything, they seemed to have realized their own role and started working on it.
Jonathan and Ben approached Rose, discussing how many items they would bring. Stella and Paul also came together since they were the ones organizing their defense. If there was any attack from the demons, they were the ones responsible for commanding the group.
All that was left was Noel and Zion.
Zion looked at Noel and asked, "Well, my speed is better for you to use. So, I'll be supporting you. What should we do?"
"…" Noel shook his head helplessly. He said, "There aren't many things we can do right now. However, you should conserve your stamina because you have to run some errands on the way."
"What do you mean?"
"Before reaching our destinations, we are going to pass a few cities, right?"
"Yeah. There should be a total of seven cities on our way, in which two of them are under attack."
"I want you to start going around to check the last four cities." Noel raised four fingers, implying that the four cities were the most important.
"I see. The two cities are indeed the priorities, but the other two before it are important because the battle might affect them… is that right?" Zion asked with a serious expression.
"Yeah. That's the problem." Noel nodded with a serious expression. "Yeah. The people will panic once they know about the situation. After all, several cities have been impacted. And a lot of noble and wealthy families should have evacuated from the cities. That's why we need to check their condition to see whether the chaos is happening or not. One wrong move, there will be a lot of casualties after all."
Zion nodded in understanding. "Yeah. I can see that. In that case, other than those four cities, should I go around to look at the others after our arrival? No, it should be my job, right?"
"Not yet. We have to gather the information first. The Demon Barrier Squad will provide us with some information while you shall go around to confirm it and see if there are more."
"Only after confirming the problems shall you go to other cities. Although those cities are important, it doesn't change the fact that the main problem is the Demon Barrier Squad."
"I see." Zion sighed. It seemed that his improvement still couldn't hold a candle to Noel's brain.
But since he had understood his role, Zion said, "Alright then. I will make my preparation. I need a lot of things so that I can conserve my energy while moving around, after all."
"Sure." Noel waved his hand and proceeded with his own task.
…
Two days later.
Clara personally saw them off since this mission was the chance to see their personal growth.
Clara said, "I believe in you guys. Go out there and make those people from the Demon Barrier Squad feel ashamed for their lack of ability."
"Yes, Captain."
