BXBX NOVEL Chapter 77: Frontline
It\'s not weird everyone calls Olivia "Chibi" since even Emily would be considered short even when walking with Quartz, not to mention Olivia. It will make her short height even more obvious.
"Emily, can you start? If there\'s nothing important, I\'ll go back to my training," Zold asked, his cold voice cutting through the atmosphere, making everyone turn silent.
Quartz chuckled as she took a seat at the table. "You\'re always so serious, Zold. If you keep that up, no woman will like you," she said jokingly.
Zold replied with a serious tone, "Aunt Quartz, I have no time for women, not until I see my father again."
Quartz wanted to say something more, but Olivia chimed in, "Shut it, Quartz. You should know what Zold\'s personality is like. Not everyone likes to joke all day like you."
Quartz clicked his tongue with annoyance, "Just say you want a reason to berate me, Chibi."
Emily shook her head, knowing if she didn\'t say something, it would turn back into another round of bickering.
"Alright, first, thank you for coming and rejoining the guild, Quartz, Olivia, Zold. As the new guild master of Suzaku, I really give my heartfelt thanks. All of you left your jobs and quickly came here without a second thought."
"No need for formalities, Emily. It\'s just us here. Just get to the point. You should have known we would return here. If anything, I am sorry instead," Quartz said with a solemn tone.
"For once, what Quartz says is true. We should have been there for you."
Emily\'s heart felt warm because she knew what both of them really did; they said they didn\'t do anything, while all this time, they were making their way to the red region.
They had gone on multiple expeditions, fighting on the frontline, trying to find a way to locate the rest of the guildmates.
She then looked at Zold, who nodded back at her.
This made Emily smile; she also knew Zold had quit his job at the Association, just like her, since people who work for the guild cannot work for the Association.
"Alright, I\'ll skip the formalities then. As you know, since our guild will start operating again, we will soon have our first dungeon dive.
I already have a dungeon in mind and have also booked a slot for us; it\'s a category three dungeon."
"Category three? Are you sure, Emily?" Quartz asked.
"Yes."
"But there are only four of us. Even if you\'re confident in our abilities, we still need more people for a category three dungeon," Olivia chimed into the discussion.
"Don\'t worry, I am sure it\'s enough, Aunt. My brother will also join our next dive."
Olivia\'s golden eyes gleamed with interest. "Alex? Didn\'t you say he is a useless shut-in now?"
Compared to other members of the guild, Olivia knows Alex; she has taken care of him before as his tutor since Edward was worried about him.
Despite his ability, he always wondered why his son never got the best scores, and sometimes even bad ones, which made him send Olivia.
Emily chuckled, "He has changed now, Aunt. You will see when you meet him later."
They then exchanged a few more details about the dungeon, the monster there, and the items they needed to prepare. Emily also explained the change she would make for the guild and how they would take part in it.
Zold didn\'t offer any opinions, but after the discussion finished, he asked, "Emily, you haven\'t told us about category five. You told me you have a plan to go there."
Olivia and Quartz\'s expressions changed the moment they heard about it; they turned serious, their eyes sharpened.
They have tried so hard all this time, but they are barely able to make their way past the frontline.
They will need to fight hordes of monsters to reach that place, and it will turn worse as they get closer to the city. The category five dungeon they all want to enter is deep in the middle of it, in the nest of category five monsters.
"Yes, I can guarantee you we have a plan to go there, but I am sorry. If it were up to me, I would tell all of you. However, the plan is not from me," Emily replied with a solemn expression.
"Since you guarantee it, that is enough for me," Zold answered, then excused himself. For him, time is better spent doing something that can improve his strength.
After he left, Quartz asked Emily, "Can\'t you tell us anything at all? It\'s not that we don\'t believe you, but if you had seen what we have, you would understand it\'s hard to believe. The situation on the frontline is beyond your imagination, Emily. It\'s a real war."
"Believe me, Aunt, I have seen with my own eyes what happens when the dungeon breaks. I am not underestimating it.
All this time, while I worked for the Association until I reached two stars, I always looked for any information regarding the frontline situation there. I know what we need to face."
But Quartz still felt disbelief with what Emily said. After all, seeing it with your own eyes and reading information is very different.
We can easily read about a war between thousands of people against thousands of beasts, but witnessing it with your eyes is a different matter.
Even with her experience in many dungeon dives, the frontline is a brutal place where even S-class power users or four-star hunters can lose their lives at any time.
Seeing Quartz and Emily go back and forth, Olivia\'s mind instead thought of something else. After some thought, she asked a question, "It\'s from Alex, right?"