At this moment, Eileen’s heart was lodged in her throat.
The moment she recalled the rumors about Kate that Atia had told her earlier, her delicate body tensed up.
Kate was already an S-rank adventurer, while she was nothing more than the lowest-tier E-rank adventurer. If she fell into Kate’s hands, one could easily imagine what kind of fate awaited her…
“Miss Eileen, Miss Kate really came!”
Atia’s eyes were sparkling. It was as if she had completely forgotten all the grievances she had just suffered. She stood on her tiptoes with all her might, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of the youngest S-rank adventurer’s appearance.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried as a member of the dwarf race, she could only raise her line of sight by a pitiful few centimeters. All she could see in front of her were the butts of the big men in the guild.
“Atia, let’s go quickly!”
Eileen grabbed Atia’s hand and tried to head toward the back door.
Atia couldn’t quite understand Eileen’s behavior.
That was an S-rank adventurer, rarer than a panda! She was practically every adventurer’s ultimate goal. Why didn’t Eileen show even the slightest interest in Kate?
“But… Miss Kate is walking toward us right now.”
Atia said.
Although she was too short to see anything, she could still judge the direction Kate’s group was moving based on how the crowd was shifting.
After all…
They were standing right at the staircase leading upstairs.
Eileen turned her head and indeed saw Kate and her entourage walking straight toward them.
If she forcefully dragged Atia toward the back door now, this abnormal behavior would instead make them stand out as targets.
In just one second, Eileen’s brain spun rapidly. She considered no fewer than twenty emergency plans before finally choosing…
Eileen directly reached out and wrapped her arm around Atia’s waist. With her other hand, she supported Atia’s lower body and lifted her onto her shoulder.
Dwarves really did have their advantages. She was truly light, just like a small child.
“Ehhh?! Miss Eileen, y-you, what are you doing?!”
Atia instantly panicked. But afraid of falling, she could only tense her body and sit on Eileen’s shoulder.
“Didn’t you want to see Kate? There are too many people right now and we can’t leave for the moment anyway, so I’ll let you look as much as you want.”
While speaking, Eileen put on her hood and completely covered her entire face.
At the same time, to be safe, she deliberately tilted her body slightly so that Atia’s head would block her own face, doing her best to avoid revealing even the slightest flaw in front of Kate.
“Miss Kate, your visit this time has really helped us greatly. That A-rank magical beast has been far too rampant recently. Quite a few adventurers from our guild have already fallen victim to it. It has caused everyone in the guild to feel uneasy. Nowadays, not many people even dare to leave the city…”
Frank, the guild master of the Crisel Adventurer’s Guild, followed beside Kate and roughly explained the current situation of their guild.
Kate nodded while listening. “I’ve indeed received requests for assistance from adventurer guilds in quite a few cities across the principality recently. The movements of these A-rank magical beasts have indeed been somewhat unusual.”
“That’s right. I heard it’s because something went wrong on the Demon King’s side, causing magic power from the demon realm to leak out. I don’t know if it’s true or not…”
Frank sighed.
Magic power leaking from the demon realm wasn’t anything rare. It basically happened a few times every year.
In the past, the leaking magic power would at most spawn some C-rank or D-rank magical beasts. But this time, a large number of A-rank magical beasts had appeared out of nowhere, giving adventurer guilds across the principality a massive headache. The few adventurers capable of fighting A-rank magical beasts were running around the country dealing with these incidents.
The fact that their small city managed to bring Kate here was purely good luck. She had just finished dealing with an A-rank magical beast in the neighboring city a week ago and came over on the way.
“His Majesty the King has already sent people to contact the Demon King. I believe the truth will come to light very soon. During this period, it would be best to reduce the number of times E-rank and D-rank adventurers leave the city. After all, no one knows how many more A-rank magical beasts will appear before the demon realm gives an official solution.”
“Understood, understood. We will definitely keep Miss Kate’s reminder in mind. We have already compiled the locations where that A-rank magical beast has appeared. Miss Kate, please come with us to the conference room on the second floor first…”
Frank nodded repeatedly. His usual arrogant demeanor had completely vanished in front of Kate. He was now as obedient as a student, making the surrounding adventurers who were watching struggle to hold back their laughter.
“Hm?”
Frank had only spoken halfway when Kate suddenly stopped walking. Her gaze shot straight toward the crowd.
Frank’s heart instantly turned cold.
Could it be that some blind fool had offended Kate?
Hadn’t he posted a notice a few days ago telling these adventurers to dress properly today?
“M-Miss Kate, is there a problem?”
Frank asked cautiously.
Kate withdrew her gaze and shook her head. “It’s nothing. I just saw a somewhat familiar figure… I must have been mistaken. Guild Master Frank, let’s head upstairs first.”
“Yes, yes, yes. After you.”
Frank let out a long breath of relief.
Thank goodness. He had almost thought he was done for.
If he failed to properly host this living ancestor, his career would probably be over…
As for the familiar figure Kate mentioned, she had probably just mistaken someone for someone else again.
It was said that Kate had been searching for the scumbag who deceived both her feelings and her mother’s heirloom for the past five years. Almost every city she visited, she would search it thoroughly like plowing a field.
However, while that scumbag who deceived Kate’s feelings might be in Crisel, it was absolutely impossible for them to be inside the Adventurer’s Guild.
After all, the highest-ranked adventurer in their guild was only B-rank. Anyone capable of conquering this strongest adventurer of the principality five years ago must have been at least A-rank.
Only after Kate and her group went upstairs did the people in the hall gradually disperse.
“Wow, Miss Kate really is so cool!”
At this moment, Atia was still immersed in Kate’s unique aura of strength. But when she accidentally bumped into Eileen’s head, she discovered that her hand had gotten wet.
She looked down and only then noticed that Eileen’s hood was already soaked through with sweat.
“I-I’m sorry, Miss Eileen. Carrying me like this must be tiring, right? I’ll get down right now!”
Atia thought it was because she was too heavy and quickly jumped down from Eileen’s shoulder.
However, to Eileen, Atia’s weight was about as light as a small child’s. It didn’t require much strength at all.
What had made her sweat profusely was the moment Kate had suddenly looked in her direction earlier.
In that instant, she had already planned out where she would be buried after she died.
Fortunately, Kate didn’t seem to have recognized her. Only then did she finally relax.
It was a good thing she had completely emptied her body before coming here. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have just been her head that was wet right now…
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Now that you’ve seen Kate too, we can leave, right?”