Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 249: Something to learn

Chapter 249: Something to learn

Having come to a consensus on their next course of action, Alex nodded in satisfaction as he remarked. "Apart from Andromeda and Ara, the others are allowed to take their leave now."

Nadia and Arwen quickly looked over, surprised to be dismissed so quickly.

Was that all?

Alex regarded each one briefly before repeating. "Your powers aren’t established and it will take a while to understand how to use it which means you are currently unable to make any significant impact. Focus on building yourselves."

Though his words stung, both Arwen and Nadia had to accept that he was indeed correct.

Unlike Victoria and Ana who had several years under their belt, their Powers were relatively newborn so it was indeed best for them to focus on increasing their strength and learning more about it.

So, albeit unwilling, the duo replied. "As you wish."

With that, they disappeared in a flash of black and white, leaving Douglas as the only one who hadn’t left.

"Is there a problem?" Alex probed.

Douglas remained silent for a moment before finally finding his voice. "If.. if we are indeed heading to Aragon for the mission, I would like to take a leading role."

"Oh?" Alex, rather intrigued by the request, inquired, "Why?"

"I have to fulfill my promise to Arthur and I’d rather not rest until I’ve done so. You don’t have to worry, I’ve had time to understand my strengths so..."

"It’s fine. When the time comes, I will assign you a suitable task. For now, you may withdraw."

"... Thank you," Douglas said with a bow before disappearing in a flash of black and white as well.

Now, only Ana and Victoria remained with the duo feeling rather nervous.

They feared that perhaps, due to their hidden competition during the meeting just now, Alex wanted to scold them for misbehavior.

So when Alex shifted his attention over, both quickly tensed.

"As you heard during the meeting, we need a source of income but we can’t just put our hands into anything. We need something that can be as mobile as us so we won’t have to worry about money during our travels."

Quickly realizing that their worries were unfounded, Ana spoke up.

"I have amassed a great amount of wealth over the years. I would be happy to offer it to you."

"Yes, master. Though my wealth may not be as flamboyant as the dragon, I believe it would be worth your while."

Alex nodded. "That’s fine but those resources are exhaustible..."

’And I don’t feel good relying on you guys for money.’ He couldn’t help muttering inwardly as he recalled a certain event that occurred when he’d first arrived in Krobridge.

Naturally, he didn’t say out the second half of the sentence and instead intoned. "So we need a means to keep a constant flow of income. We are indeed a powerful organization, considering the growth potential of each one of us but sometimes, attacking power is not enough to do what needs to be done. In the grand scheme of things, we obviously won’t be able to use it as we please, so...

"Money, power and connections." Alex listed with his fingers as he continued. "We need to ensure we have enough of these three things for each location we head to. It’s easier to bribe a man than force the truth out of him using violence."

"Understood." Both Ana and Victoria bowed in tandem.

With that, Alex added. "Now come along. I require your knowledge to help me understand something based on the business idea I have."

"As you wish."

***

Nadia remained in her room, seated on the bed going over what happened during the meeting while looking down at the black and white seal etched on the back of her palm.

Currently still in Livermore, the group had gotten themselves a pub that took all of them and purchased suitable lodgings for each member to ensure they had their privacy... or at least as much privacy as such spaces could afford.

Letting out a sigh, she was just about to stand up when a knock at the door drew her attention.

She quickly got to her feet and moved to the door before asking cautiously.

"Who’s there?"

"It’s..." the person began in a loud tone before quickly catching themselves as they finished in a low tone. "Apys."

Nadia couldn’t help feeling slightly amused as she opened the door to find the silver-haired Arwen standing outside.

"Hi, Cassiopeia... no, wait, that’s too long. How about Cass?... Or maybe Cassie?"

"Forget about that and come inside, you’ll draw attention." Nadia grabbed the young girl and pulled her into her room before closing the door.

"Hehe, sorry, sorry." Arwen apologized as she awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

Nadia couldn’t help but wonder how she managed to remain the same despite the terrible ordeal she’d experienced from losing her home to dying and even coming back just to find out her best friend was dead.

Could she have remained the same if such happened to her?... Nadia didn’t believe so and for this reason, she admired Arwen even more.

Noticing Nadia’s gaze, Arwen inquired. "What?"

"Nothing." Nadia quickly shook her head before asking a question of her own. "What are you doing here?... Shouldn’t you be training?"

"Well, I would but come on, I’m so tired. We can do that later. For now, let’s talk about the others."

"What?" Before Nadia could understand what was happening, Arwen had already dragged her over to the bed and sat across from her.

"Okay, so I believe it’s safe to say Lady Andromeda is definitely Sir. Orion’s second in command."

"... You are already calling him that?"

"Of course. We have to get used to the new titles if we want to be successful during our secret missions."

"Even though they sound nonsensical?"

"Bah, what are names if not letters bunched together to form a word?"

"That... is correct." Nadia found herself unable to argue with the logic.

"I know right," Arwen remarked with an enlightened look before she continued. "I left the new guy’s room not too long ago and I have to say that he is quite the grumpy fellow..."

Watching Arwen ramble on, Nadia quickly realized that it wasn’t that the young girl was unaffected.

She indeed was but seeing her talk so much, it dawned on her that instead of wallowing in the mistakes and pain of the past, she sought out hope from looking into the future.

Perhaps there was something to learn from that... Nadia thought to herself.