113 Tragedy for the Royal Cour (1/2)
”It's already happening!”
That phrase surprised everyone on the streets. No one had a clue what the man was talking about, yet he was so serious and acted like the news was urgent.
The front door to the Adventurers Association swung open. In a flash, the man was already inside and narrowly missed the first few drops of rain that rolled over the city at frightening speeds.
”Everyone, get ready!” Zariff yelled from the reception area, making sure that every single person in the building could hear him. The hulking man ran upstairs and entered the conference room. ”Anything new?”
Around the large table sat a few lv. 30 adventurers who hadn't gone far from the capital, as well as Jack, Maynard, and King Leodoro. A town map was laying across the table for everyone to see; there were a few portions highlighted and drawn on, showing some kind of half-baked plan or strategy.
”No, he hasn't finished the autopsy quite yet. It's taking him longer than he thought,” answered Jack.
”So… Plan B?” asked Zariff.
Jack shook his head. ”No, plan C. I'm not sure if the king should fight just yet. We can all guess that he'd be targeted. We have two objectives during this crisis: one is to save as many citizens as possible and two is to make sure the king survives by the end of it all.”
”I'm surprised to see ya wanting to help the king so badly. Did something happen between ya?” Maynard spoke up, saying what most others were thinking.
There was no way Jack could mention the Chaos Syndicate just yet. According to what he'd heard from the king, Rydel, Maynard, Zariff, and everyone else, the Chaos Syndicate was a shadow organization that never acted publicly and never left a trace.
Once, a syndicate scheme was found and announced publicly in another country. The syndicate members managed to escape somehow and that nation's capital was engulfed in flames and burned to the ground within three days.
Since then, the public hasn't heard anything about the Chaos Syndicate, just the leaders who somehow get targeted or wrapped up in the syndicate's schemes.
Though Jack didn't want to directly face the Chaos Syndicate or force it to act rashly, he loved the thought of ruining the syndicate's plans.
”Nothing, just trust me.” Jack met Zariff's gaze, showing his unwavering confidence.
The branch chief shrugged. ”So be it. Just know that there will a lot of citizen casualties.”
Jack opened his mouth but no words came out. He looked conflicted and unsure of himself after all.
”I'll bear that weight and responsibility, so long as I'm living of course,” added the king. ”It's all my fault anyway since I'm the one who let that monster of a man in my Royal Court.”
The room was silent for a moment. Everyone stared at the young hero. Though they were all more experienced than him, Zariff has made this an official association assignment and chose Jack as the man in charge, with the king personally taking the role of co-leader as the man who ordered the assignment. So, whether they liked it or not, every other adventurer had to obey Jack's orders.
”Leo, are you sure you want to do this?” Zariff asked the king, searching for any kind of hesitation.
”Yes, it has to be like this. I accept the blame for letting Arnole taint my Royal Court, but his reputation will suffer just as much, if not more than mine. As the strongest member of the Royal Court, he's our champion. If the champion doesn't act to save the people, then why would the people declare him the champion?” reasoned Leodoro.
”Then, until this blows over, we'll have to tolerate each other a little longer,” added Jack with a smile.
From the outside in, it didn't look like the Adventurers Association was doing anything.
However, the north side of Reinolt City had begun to experience terror as it had never seen before. The pier was razed soon after the messenger had arrived at the association branch office.
Dozens of soldiers were rushing to the pier, but they were too late. They arrived to see a destroyed dock house and some tattered waterfront homes. The storm was still getting worse. The rain felt like small, icy pellets against the skin and thunder strikes covered the sky.