Lux entered the library inside the city, while Colette and her friends headed to the Eternal Guild to meet with her big sister, Aina.
He had asked Emma to secure their inn accommodations in the city, while he met with two members of the Order of the Griffin that had been dispatched to Whitebridge City to help the authorities find the members of Twilight Rain.
After getting to the second floor of the library, he walked over to the Northeast corner of the room and pulled the candle holder, which was stuck on the wall, down.
A few seconds later, the bookcase in front of him moved to the side, allowing a single person to pass through it. This was a hidden path specially used by the members of the Order in order to hold their meetings in Whitebridge City.
The Half-Elf didn't hesitate and entered the secret passageway. As soon as his body passed through the room, the bookcase righted itself, making it seem that nothing had happened in the surroundings.
Lux then walked a long pathway for a few minutes before he arrived at a steel gate. The red-headed teenager knocked on it thrice.
"Password?" a voice asked from behind the door.
"Treat your password like your toothbrush," Lux replied. "Don't let anybody else use it, and get a new one every six months."
The gate opened wide, and the Half-Elf found himself inside a tavern filled with Dwarves who were either playing card games, drinking ale, or both.
Those who were near the gate gave him a side-long glance, but no one paid too much attention to him.
Lux then headed straight to the bartender who was busy cleaning a glass cup with a piece of cloth. The Half-Elf then placed the Token of the Griffin on the counter, which made the bartender arch an eyebrow.
"Third Floor, Room 13," the bartender replied. "May you have a good day, Sir."
Lux briefly nodded his head before climbing up the stairs. The bartender watched until his back disappeared from view before taking a golden locket from his pocket.
"Capture the people that are waiting for our guest outside the library," the bartender ordered. "Make sure none of them escape."
After giving his order, the bartender returned the golden locket inside his pocket and resumed cleaning the glass cups on his counter.
The moment Lux appeared in the city, several individuals started to follow him around. The Order of the Griffin was an elite unit that directly served the King. Usually, the members of this Elite Unit often handled "messy" problems, and it was their job to clean up the mess others had left behind.
Seeing that there were people targeting one of their Kingdom's Guardians, the Dwarves that were playing cards left the tavern, intending to capture the members of Twilight Rain who had noticed Lux's arrival in Whitebridge City.
—-
Third Floor, Room 13…
"Well, well, well… look who's finally here," a Dwarf with a curled up beard said with amusement. "The famous Half-Elf from Leaf Village. So young, and yet has the uncanny hobby of poking the hornet's nest. Boy, you won't live long at this rate."
"That's him?" a silver-haired Dwarf wearing spectacles gave Lux an appraising gaze. "Apostle Grade A. Not bad for an ordinary adventurer, but not good enough to contend against Twilight Rain. This Elf is as good as dead."
Lux didn't know how he should react at the two Dwarves' greeting. He didn't know if the Dwarves were praising him or mocking him for being stupid.
"What are you waiting for, boy? Go on and sit," the Dwarf that Lux had mentally given the nickname "Curly" said with a smile.
"Our time is precious, so please, don't dilly dally," the Dwarf whom Lux had given the nickname "Prick" commented.
Curly smiled before introducing himself.
"Well, newcomer, we are your seniors, so I will first introduce myself," Curly said. "My name is Galileo Darwin. Just call me Galileo. This impatient person over here is Charles Galilei. Just call him Charles."
"Lux Von Kaizer," Lux replied. "Just call me Lux. And this is my baby Slime, Eiko."
"Ei!" Eiko lightly jumped to introduce herself.
"A Slime huh? How peculiar."
"It's just a common blue Slime. Nothing special about it."
Galileo and Charles commented. After looking at the new member of their group, Charles immediately became uninterested, while Galileo had a complicated look on his face.
After a minute of awkward silence, Galileo coughed as he started to talk about why they were meeting Lux in Whitebridge City.
"Before anything else, let me ask you, Lux, what do you know about Twilight Rain?" Galileo asked.
"Aside from the fact that they're the bad guys? Not much." Lux answered.
Galileo nodded as if he had already expected this answer from the Half-Elf. Charles, on the other hand, just closed his eyes and didn't make any comment whatsoever.
"Twilight Rain is what you foreigners call a Dark Guild," Galileo stated. "It is an organization that is trying to sow discord inside the Gweliven Kingdom. Their leader was the previous king's uncle, who had tried to stop our current King's coronation by starting a civil war. Fortunately, he didn't succeed and had been in hiding since then.
"The problem is that he had allied himself with… Foreigners who have designs to usurp the current rulers of the land. Many of them seem to be very keen in staking their claim, not only in the Kingdom of Gweliven, but in the other Kingdoms as well."
Lux nodded his head in understanding. Solaians had come to Elysium in order to gain resources, as well as own a place where they could settle. There were people who wanted to work with the current inhabitants of the Elysium to create a mutually beneficial relationship, while others wanted to conquer the existing Kingdoms and Empires in order to become the new rulers of the Territory.
There were good and bad people in the world, and greed was the most common reason behind why these incidents happen in the first place. Solaians had long wanted to have their own lands and territories in Elysium, so it didn't come as a surprise to Lux when Galileo explained the current structure of Twilight Rain.
"The bulk of Twilight Rain is made up of Elysians—I believe that is the term that you Foreigners call us, yes?"
"Right."
Galileo smiled. He had long been fascinated by these visitors from another world, who were very similar to their own.
"Right now, the cleanup operation is proceeding smoothly," Galileo explained. "However, the members of Twilight Rain in this city are just part of their Branch Guild. This means that the Main Guild is still at large, which brings us to the next topic which is you.
"Lux, I don't know if you're aware of how dangerous this Guild is. After the two recent incidents, I'm sure that you are now starting to be considered as an eyesore for them."
Charles, who had stayed silent all this time snorted as he looked at the Half-Elf with a mocking gaze.
"Boy, it's best if you prepare a coffin for yourself," Charles stated. "Sooner or later, the Reapers will come for your head. If I were you, I'd go back to my world and lay low for a year or two until their rage subsides. Actually, it might be better if you stayed in your world for good. That is the only way for you to survive from the assassins who are after the bounty that will be placed on your head."
Galileo cleared his throat and knocked on the table to capture Lux's attention.
"Although my colleague's words are quite harsh, what he said is the truth," Galileo commented. "Twilight Rain has two assasination groups called the Reapers and the Slayers. The Reapers are composed of assassins who have reached the Initiate Rank, while the Slayers are composed of assassins who are already Rankers. Right now, there's a very high chance that one of the Reapers of Twilight Rain has already been dispatched to kill you."
"Although the King is providing us some support and protection, they can't be with us all the time. Make sure to always be vigilant, and keep a better awareness of your surroundings. Right now, you are not a match for an Initiate. So, take all the precautions that you can in order to survive their assasination."
Galileo placed a golden locket on top of the table, and pushed it in front of the Half-Elf.
"This locket is a special artifact that can negate three attacks from an Initiate. This is the life saving artifact that the Order has bestowed upon you, but remember that after three attacks, the effect of this locket will be used up. If you still haven't escaped by that time, I'm afraid that you won't survive for long."
Lux picked up the golden locket on the table, which had the design of a Griffin embedded on its surface, and appraised it.
—--
Golden Locket of the Griffin
– This protective charm is able to negate three attacks from an Initiate.
– This protective charm is able to negate twenty attacks from Apostles of any grade.
– Once either option is used up, this locket will lose its effectiveness.
—--
"Thank you," Lux replied before slipping the chain of the locket over his head so he could wear it on his neck. "I will always wear it."
Galileo nodded his head in satisfaction. "You are the youngest and tallest member of our organization. So make sure to stay alive as long as possible. I don't want to see you kicking the bucket anytime soon."
Lux smiled because despite Galileo's teasing words, he could truly feel his concern for him.
A few minutes later, Lux left the room as their meeting came to an end. He remembered being told that before he joined, the Order of the Griffin only had twelve members, which meant that he was the thirteenth member.
When Lux left the library, it was already very dark. Fortunately, a carriage had been prepared for him beforehand, and it took him to the inn where Emma had made reservations for their stay.
As the carriage trotted away in the night, a lone figure stepped out of the alleyway and looked in the direction where Lux was headed.
It was one of the Dwarves who had been playing cards in the tavern earlier. He had been assigned to ensure Lux's safety while he was in Whitebridge City.
A moment later, the Dwarf returned to the darkness of the alley. Since the coachman of Lux's carriage was one of his comrades, he didn't need to follow him back to the inn.
This was going to be a long night, and they still had plenty of rats to catch before sunrise.
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