Chapter 263: Ride Home
As they were walking back to their cart Lucas turned to him and said. "I'll be sending Master Nancom with you." Lucas didn't explain why he would be doing this but Lake knew it probably had something to do with the annoyed feeling he had now that he was going to have to deal with Master Nancom while finishing the business in the Metal Domain.
Lake liked Master Nancom but he knew there was no way he would be able to do everything he wanted without sneaking away which he was sure Nancom would hold against him for a long time. This meant he would just have to do what he was told until the end which almost made him not want to go anymore.
Figuring opening his mouth would make Lucas stack something else onto him that he wouldn't enjoy so Lake just stayed quiet and waited for Lucas to start a conversation once the silence got old. "You never really mentioned anything about who could be leading the Demon Worshipers in the Metal Domain."
Lake could understand why Lucas was interested in this because the lack of obvious leadership was another thing he had found weird about the Demon Worshipers' plan. He was going to have to disappoint Lucas though because he really didn't know anything about the person who was leading whatever they were trying to do there. "I ran into a few people who were strong enough to be a threat but all of them were out in the open and after me so I doubt they were the strongest or most important people there."
"So you have no idea who or what could be hiding there?" Lake just shook his head and said. "There is no way to guess either without first figuring out what they are trying to accomplish." If they were after a Demigod they would probably have a Demigod running the operation. "It's fine since we won't be fighting them. I was just curious if you had any guesses or information you thought was telling that you weren't sure enough about to share earlier."
Since Lucas seemed like he wouldn't get mad if he started to ask a few questions, Lake went ahead and asked something he wanted to know so he could start on a plan for the next few days. "When will the people from the guild be leaving for the Metal Domain?" In the meeting the people who were sending armies had decided on a date but he didn't think Lucas would be sending them at the same time.
"You should talk to Nancom about that. I really don't care as long as you two don't start anything." Hearing it was kind of up to them to plan their trip back, Lake started to wonder if he could make it back to Wezz in the amount of time he had told them he would be back. If it was just him there would be no problem but since he had to travel back with Nancom it was going to take a while.
"Lucas, would you mind letting us take one of the nice carts?" If he was able to talk Lucas into giving him one of the guilds fastest carts the speed at which they would get back might still be before he failed to meet his return date. "Master Nancom will be able to get whatever he wants from the guild since I'm telling him to do something he might not want to do so you should talk to him about it."
Lake had kind of forgotten how Lucas operated the guild so when he heard the fact Nancom could take whatever he wanted with them he stopped thinking of it as a punishment. If he took the time to have a real conversation about what he needed to do, maybe Nancom would accommodate him.
...
"So what did he say when you spoke to him?" Tiff had already been thinking about the interaction with the person she thought might be Jon so she told the Temple Head what was going through her mind. "I don't know if it was him but I would have lied too if I was in a disguise. I tried to set up a meeting for tonight and even though he didn't respond I still plan to go."
"It would be nice if that was all it took, where's this meeting?" Tiff hadn't made a definite place or time and had said she would be outside the Alchemist guild tonight so she was a little embarrassed to tell the temple head and hoped there wouldn't be any follow up questions. "Outside the Alchemist guild tonight."
"Do you want me to send people with you?" Tiff appreciated the Temple Head giving her the choice because she didn't want anyone around because even if they tried to hide she was sure Jon would be able to see all the extra people and she was sure it would make him stay away. "No, I'll be fine going by myself."
"Alright." A minute passed in silence while Tiff thought more about tonight's meeting but the Temple Head said one more thing before they arrived at the base. "Dawn is going to be coming back tonight." Hearing this Tiff instantly started to worry about Dawn instead.
Even if the Demon Lord had stopped paying attention to who was passing through that area Dawn would still be a target since she was a person with Holy affinity. A short trip wasn't really something that was considered dangerous though because it took a while for the Demon Worshipers to track them down and all of the members of the 23 were fast enough to get back to base before that happened.
...
"Nancom will be coming down since I just called for him if you would like to wait to talk to him about your trip." They were standing in Lucas' office and while Lake needed to go and get some stuff ready, getting a chance to talk to Nancom was more important.
Soon after Lucas said this Nancom appeared in the office and said. "What's this about sending me to look for the people from our guild that are trapped in the Metal Domain?" Lake could tell Nancom wasn't happy and looked at Lucas to see how he would handle it. Seeing Lucas pointing at him, Lake turned back to see Nancom now staring at him with an annoyed face.
Lake wasn't sure what to say because he had never wanted to bring Nancom with him but knowing he couldn't say this without making Lucas mad he just started talking. "I have people there who helped me escape and I told them I'd come back to help. Lucas doesn't want me to go back by myself though because he doesn't trust me to stay neutral so you got roped into my plan."
"I don't think it's necessary for us to go ourselves even if everything you just said is true. We can just send people to go rescue the people that helped you." Lake was happy to see Nancom didn't completely dismiss that he should help the people who helped him but he could tell it was going to be hard to make up a reason that they needed to go themselves.
"I would like to go back myself since I'm also a member of the Fighters guild now and have been paid to kill Demon Worshipers." Lake knew Lucas wasn't going to be happy about this since he hadn't really explained that part of what he had done yet. "In that case you can go alone as a member of the Fighters Guild."
Hearing Lucas' voice Lake was aware that he seemed mad that he had joined another guild but what he said was more important to him at the moment. Since he didn't have to worry about Nancom slowing him down he would be able to go at his own speed. "In that case I'll be excusing myself."
Seeing Nancom start to walk away, Lake was about to do the same to get ready for his trip but Lucas stopped him. "Did you tell them you were a member of the Alchemist guild when you joined up?" Lake didn't actually remember and had to think for a while to find an answer he felt might be the truth. "I don't think they asked and I didn't mention it either, Why?"
"Because if they had known you were a member of my guild they are supposed to ask us before they let you join but to be honest at times like these I wouldn't be surprised if they forgot. I've heard member sign ups have been through the roof in areas where refugees are passing through."
Lake remembered how bussy the guild branch he had walked into had been and guessed it was possible that he had mentioned it and they had forgotten to get in contact with the Alchemist guild but he really didn't think so. Not really knowing what to say to Lucas, Lake said. "I have to get ready to go."
Seeing Lucas had lost interest in him and had already sat down at his desk and got to work, Lake headed for the stairs to go to his room. He needed to go up there to get changed into less fancy clothes and get his gear ready then he would kill time by reading a book on barriers till night to head to the meeting Tiffany had set up.
He was looking forward to finally getting rid of the dagger and while he didn't think he should go since Tiffany had somehow figured out it was him and showing up would confirm she was right, he stopped caring too much if someone figured out he could change his face. He could also just hide his face and not talk so she wouldn't know for sure which would get rid of her being able to be sure.
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