After about thirty minutes, the Hunter came back, clapping his hands to grab the children's attention before speaking in a clear, loud voice. "Everyone, attention!"

  Everyone turned their focus to the man.

  "I know today's been a tough and frightening day. To compensate for it, the guild is going to pay each of you fifty silvers and provide a free meal at the guild's Cafeteria for the trouble. So, you don’t need to work anymore today. After lunch, we are going to head back to the city. You may go home and rest." The Hunter said, "Are there any questions?"

  Liam, sitting across from Nathan, was the first to respond, "I'd still like to work more. Can we go back to the site?"

  "Unfortunately not. The Knights have been dispatched to investigate the scene. So, the area is off-limits for now." The Hunter replied.

  Liam nodded, "Alright."

  Nathan and the children took the daily harvesting quest from the guild, where they worked as a contractor. One of the conditions written in the contract included compensation for the case where the guild was unable to provide a relatively safe environment for the Botanists to complete their jobs.

  "If there are no further questions, please come and collect your compensation and free meal ticket when your name is called. Also, please put your harvest baskets here." The Hunter continued in a loud clear voice. "After collecting your compensations, please go back to the wagons; we are going to leave immediately."

  The four Adventurers proceeded to distribute the compensations to the children.

  At approximately 2:30 pm, the wagons set off from the village. With the road south of the village now restricted, they were forced to take a northbound detour, adding significant time to their return journey to the Adventurer's Guild. The ordeal this morning had left the children utterly exhausted. Following lunch, many of the children succumbed to a deep sleep within the wagon. Taking the cue, the four Adventurers drove slowly, keeping the wagons safe and steady.

  Nathan remained vigilant, glancing at his sisters who were sleeping soundly, and thought, "The northern road could be dangerous, I need to remain awake, just in case." After all, this was where their father met his demise.

  In the next two hours, Nathan pondered over the recent events.

  "Grandpa said there hadn’t been any bandit attacks near the capital for decades. However, I just experienced one where I might have died, or worse. Something is happening in the Kingdom. Grandpa never cared about politics and perhaps that’s why he was wrong."

  "I just decided to forsake martial arts to focus on studying and get into Bluefield College. However, an Adamantium Ranked Adventurer wanted to take me as a disciple. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not to mention that I would have failed to protect Arielle and Ashley if Louis hadn't intervened."

  "Who is Louis anyway? Why is he trying so hard to make me his disciple? He seems to know about my left arm's injury too, since he demonstrated his skill without using the second sword hidden in his robe." As Nathan's right hand reached out to his scars, Nathan recalled what happened. Louis's demonstration was very luring to the boy because the master showed that Nathan could fight, and win, without his left hand. However, as he remembered how excited the other children looked when they got an opportunity to talk to the Adamantium Ranked Adventurer next Saturday, the boy continued to ponder, "There are many talented children out there without an injury like mine. They'd be more willing," Nathan remembered how many times he rejected Louis, "and have better future potentials than I do."

  Becoming the student of an Adamantium Ranked Adventurer was a dream shared by many. However, the more lucrative the opportunity, the more Nathan suspected an ulterior motive, "What does he want from us? What are his motives? We're fugitives from Urie. With Arielle and Ashley here with me, I don't want to take any more risks."

  Stolen story; please report.

  Recalling the earlier incident, Nathan baffled at even more questions, "Moreover, how did he know about the bandit attack and that I would be in that specific location? Or was it simply a coincidence?" There were four clarion horns near Nathan's worksite. So, Louis only had a one in four likelihood of chancing upon Nathan, who quickly concluded, "No, it couldn't be a coincidence for him to just head out into the middle of nowhere and pinpoint where we were. Is he collaborating with the Knights and hunting for us? But if he did not mean well, why did he save us?"

  Left with more questions than answers, Nathan wondered, "I'll just ask Louis next week and see how he reacts."

  Although Nathan was exhausted, the traumatic experience on the northern route kept him alert. He glanced around, noticing another boy with black hair sitting in the back who was also awake. With a sense of camaraderie, Nathan remained watchful over the journey.

  As the wagon passed through the North Gate and entered the city, the children stirred, having slept for nearly two hours. They started looking around and out the window.

  Liam, eager to spark conversation, turned to Nathan and asked, "Nathan, have you heard about the latest news about the crown prince's engagement?"

  "No, what about it?" Nathan replied, without a thought. His family had never been invested in politics, and lately, his focus on studies had left him somewhat out of the loop on current events.

  "The royal family had been at odds with the Redcliff and Greenleaf duchies after they refused to raise taxes, because many people are migrating from the royal domain to those two duchies. I heard the royal family was furious," Liam said. "There were even rumors that the royal family was threatening to attack them. You know, if a civil war happens, many of us would be drafted."

  "Oh my goddess. Isn’t that serious?" That caught Nathan’s attention. All his efforts to study would be for naught if he were forcefully drafted.

  "Right. Fortunately for us, the crown prince fell in love with the duke’s daughter at first sight, during a social gathering. He proposed to her on the spot." Liam's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as he asked, "Isn't that romantic?"

  Nathan asked with a shrug, "Sure. What was the Duchess's response?"

  "And the Duchess said yes! Ever since then, the royal family's relationship with the Redcliff Duchy has improved."

  "What about the Greenleaf Duchy?" Nathan asked. "Will they be the royal family's next target?"

  "The Greenleaf Duchy's currently busy defending the Kingdom against the Demon Realm. According to the news, there have been several skirmishes at the border; during which the duke's eldest daughter was injured in battle. So, I don’t think they will do anything for now." Liam said, "But who knows?"

  "Where'd you hear all this?" Nathan asked again, impressed by Liam's knowledge.

  "It's all over the news in the Kingdom. People are talking about them all the time. It's more difficult not to know." Liam answered, smiling at Nathan's flattery. "You should talk to people more, or better yet, just read the newspaper."

  Nathan smiled wryly and said, "I'll give it a shot."

  "Speaking of which, let me introduce my little brother. This is Gordon." Liam said, patting Gordon's back. They were sitting in front of Nathan, Arielle and Ashley.

  "William and Rey, my little brothers." Nathan introduced his "brothers" to them.

  Gordon appeared to be around Arielle's age. His tanned skin was typical of Botanists. With short dark green hair and Amethyst eyes, he looked very much like Liam except for his hair color.

  Gordon offered a warm greeting, "Hello," he said, his gaze scanning the trio before landing on William, who seemed to be around his age.

  "Hi!" "Hello." William and Rey greeted him.

  Many people worked at the Adventurer’s Guild without using their real names. It was understood that one shouldn't pry into others' personal backgrounds. This was true even for branches of Adventurer’s Guilds in remote farming villages. The children were bursting with questions, but they held back, and an awkward silence followed.

  Liam promptly introduced a new topic, suggesting, 'Hey, why don't we get a gift for the five Adventurers who saved us today?"

  Across from Gordon, the rosy-dark-red haired boy flashed a bright smile and chimed in, "Excuse me?" His Amber eyes shone with excitement. "Mind if I join in? I think that's a great idea."

  "Sure thing!" Liam replied, and the other children's interest was piqued.

  "My name is Roth. Nice to meet you." the red-haired boy greeted with a warm smile.

  "I'm Kevin, and I would like to join too!" The blonde-haired boy, who was about Ashley's age, chimed in.

  Now that seven out of eight children had joined the group, all eyes turned to the eighth child, the boy who found the hidden trail behind the cottage, and earlier declined the meeting with Louis. As usual, he was unwilling to join the group, trying to look away. However, this time, without a bathroom to escape to, he begrudgingly yielded to the group's silent persuasion, "Just this once," he said with a scowl, his Emerald eyes narrowing at Liam, "Name's Raymond," he said.