Greg Fou Seberg was grinning like a fool the entire time they were all walking with Serge. Their friend from the Republic was dropped off at the Capital with all the girls who were staying at Leon's estate for the five of them to pick up. Leon himself was prepping stuff for Deirdre's birthday while the girls, including Marie, would be going around the Capital with the birthday girl herself and would hopefully all have a good time.

Saintess help any idiot who tried to make a pass at that group.

That left Serge as the odd man out, which was fine for them since Julius and Jilk came up with a pretty good idea for him anyway.

"So where the hell are we headed anyway?" The man himself asked while looking around in clear bewilderment. The Capital of Holfort was very different from the one in Alzer, mainly due to the lack of any sort of vehicles. The streets were primarily littered with people actually walking or were traveling in carriages. There were the odd knight on horseback, but that was few and far between.

"It has come to mind that the Republic doesn't have an Adventurer's Guild, does it?" Julius asked instead. The question made Serge squint and look out towards the distance.

"I mean, technically it does. But it's more just a government registry of people who wanted to delve into dungeons for tax and liability purposes." He and the others knew all about that. Their Adventurers Guild was a joke. Little more than a clerk office with some overworked government employees who had to catalog what their country's Adventurers did and found. The dungeon where they found the Sacred Tree Sapling should have been discovered ages ago if there were competent people handling things.

"So it doesn't have a proper Adventurer's Guild then. With a full support structure, personnel rankings, party finders, notice and job boards, and other things." Serge grunted in agreement at Jilk's little jab at how Alzer did things.

"Then, as fellow Adventurers, it would be remiss for us to deprive you of such an experience then." Julius picked up the ball just as they arrived at their intended destination. "Welcome to the Central Holfort Adventurer's Guild."

Serge looked completely surprised at how busy it was inside. It better be, since it was the central office of the Guild itself. The best Adventurers, the most challenging jobs, the best rewards. All of it could be found here as long as you could actually hang with the kind of people there. They made way for a group of heavily armed men and women who looked like they were about to do a major job, not even noticing who they just passed by.

In the Guild, the line between Commoner and Noble blurs into non-existence. Even people like Julius and Jilk were just new Adventurers in their eyes. There were a lot of Noble houses who got their start as Commoners that did something significant enough to be given a title. That was how their whole Kingdom was founded after all. Even those who didn't do enough to warrant a Noble title still got a lot of honor and prestige based on their deeds. With all the extra monster attacks everywhere, a lot of Crown sponsored bounties and jobs kept everyone busy. It was a good way to get pressure off the Army without only relying on mercs.

"Ah, Prince Julius and companions! I have been waiting for you!" The Guild Liaison for the Academy was an old lady, a Commoner who was probably as old as Greg's grandmother now. Despite that, he knew that she had a legacy for being a hardcore solo dungeon delver back in her day. A woman who was so badass that she could have been an Earl and a retired Independent Knight by now if she were a man. She looked at each of them in recognition before finally settling her eyes on Serge, who was still looking around at the hustle and bustle. "Is this the young man you spoke of in your missive?"

"Yes, this is Serge Sara Rault. He is a good friend from the Republic of Alzer and one of the few there we've met who takes dungeoneering seriously." The old woman snorted at Julius' mention of the Republic.

"You think Adventuring in Alzer is hard now, try it about forty years ago." She said with a roll of her eyes, going further into her issue with the place. "Wouldn't even let me inside a single dungeon because I was alone and a woman. Please, I could snap one of their soldiers in half with my thighs back then."

"Wait, what exactly is going on?" Serge finally asked, looking between them and the Guild Liaison.

"It was a surprise." Brad told her when she raised an eyebrow at Serge's cluelessness.

"Right." She drawled out before shaking her head and turning to their friend. "Well sweetie, Prince Julius here has brought your name forward to be officially registered as an Adventurer in our guild."

Serge's shock was pretty funny to see. The Liaison then started going over all the rules and responsibilities of Holfort Adventurers with him in detail. The look on his face when she took out a stack of forms for him to fill up was even funnier. The whole talk about the bureaucracy of the Guild was going to take a bit so Greg decided to take a look at one of the job boards to pass the time. He saw a familiar face there and couldn't help but grin.

"Aren't you a bit too old to be looking at job boards?" He joked as he gave a hefty smack on the back of a large man with graying red hair. Glen Fou Seberg, Greg's grandfather and the man his younger sister was named after, turned to him and raised a brow. The veteran adventurer and Earl didn't look bothered by his grandson's strike at all.

"It's my retirement, squirt. I can do whatever the hell I want with it." The old Noble's gravely cadence rumbled as he regarded Greg. "What are you doing here anyway? The Academy is on break, right?"

Greg explained Serge's circumstance as well as why they were here with him. "Hmmm…it was smart of you to register him here then. If the kid is serious about Adventuring in the long term, he'll eventually need to properly learn the rules and courtesy around his peers."

"So, anything good?" Greg asked as they both turned back to the job board.

"Bah! Just monster extermination quests all the way down. All the escort or rescue quests have already been snapped up." He took a closer look and realized that his grandfather wasn't exactly being completely honest about the available jobs.

"There are a few investigation quests up." He noted and pointed at a few job requests from the Crown and other Nobles.

"Not my speed. I leave that up to the nosy people like the Atlee." His grandfather dismissed the requests with a wave of his hand.

"Greg! Serge is almost done with–oh! Greetings Earl Seberg!" They both turned to see Chris looking between the two of them in clear surprise. Greg couldn't really blame him considering his grandfather was already supposed to be retired.

"You're Arclight's boy, Chris, right?" Chris stood up straighter after being addressed and nodded in confirmation. "Thanks for looking after this lunk! Kid's likely to lunge off a cliff if he was left alone."

"Very funny gramps. Well, we gotta go. Don't die out there!" He waved the two young men off as they walked away and went back to looking over the job board.

"Was that really the appropriate thing to say to your Grandfather?" Chris whispered to him and Greg just looked at his friend and once rival with a tilt of his head.

"Yes? I mean, I don't want him to die out there." Chris blinked at his words and slowly nodded.

"Fair."

"So, we ready for phase two?" Greg asked as they reunited with the others. The Liaison just finished up telling Serge on when he would be able to pick up his official Guild Identification Card.

"We're not done?" Serge must have thought that registering him with the Guild was the whole surprise.

"Not yet. You see, a student's Second Year at Holfort Academy involves a Practical Exam wherein they have to gather a Party of up to eight individuals and make it past the thirtieth floor of the Capital's Dungeon." Brad helpfully explained to their friend. Greg decided to pick up the ball since this was a topic that he was pretty invested in.

"Since we're studying in the Republic for our Second Year, that practical exam would be waived for us and that sucks." He elaborated, not able to fully convey how upset he was that Alzer's Adventuring Class amounted to nothing more than amateur archaeology.

"Hence, we planned on doing the exam in spirit. That was when Julius had the idea to bring you along with us." Jilk continued the train of thought. "However, since only registered Adventurers can delve in the Capital's Dungeon, we needed to get you signed up here first."

"So that means that I'll be doing that exam with you guys?" The five of them nodded at Serge's question.

"Should we make it past the thirtieth floor, we will be considered as grown men in the eyes of Holfort." Julius said as he patted Serge's shoulder. "So, are you up for it?"

Serge's excited grin suddenly became a frown as he shook his head. "I didn't bring any of my Adventuring gear with me though. I don't even have my gun."

"Unfortunate," Chris said in mock lamentation even though they were all grinning at their friend. "I suppose we have no choice but to outfit you with proper Holfort grade adventuring equipment and weapons."

"Thankfully, we now have a pretty easy in with that now!" Greg suddenly cut in, suddenly having a great idea. He turned to where his grandfather was speaking with a few other Adventurers. "Hey gramps! I need a favor!"

"Earl Seberg is here?" Julius asked in surprise as the large man walked up to them with unusually silent steps.

"What do you kids want?" Greg then proceeded to explain what they needed with barely held excitement.

His grandfather nodded along and quickly agreed to help. "Fine. There aren't any worthwhile jobs here anyway. We can raid the family Armory for something he can use."

"Thank you, Earl Seberg." Serge gave his thanks in complete seriousness.

"If you want to thank me, don't get killed while having Seberg equipment." Greg couldn't help but laugh at his grandfather's joke. Serge didn't seem to get it and solemnly nodded instead.

They left the Guild and made their way to the Seberg Armory. It was located separately from the family estate, but his family thought it prudent to have the building as near the Capital's Dungeon as possible. As they traveled, Brad excitedly spoke up about something Serge never expected. "The delve to the thirtieth floor should give us time to talk about what has been developing between Serge, Miss Noelle, and Miss Louise."

They all got a quick chuckle when Serge seemingly nearly tripped on nothing when he heard Brad. "What the fuck are you on about?"

They all smiled but quickly realized that Serge was being serious. Uh-oh.

"Oh, is he one of those types of men?" Greg's grandfather quickly caught on to what's going on and made his own comment.

"Oh dear." Julius muttered as he and Jilk looked at each other.

"You don't notice how the two of them have been looking at you as of late?" Brad slowly asked as Serge's face quickly started moving through a number of emotions when he started to understand what they were implying.

"Louise is my sister!" Serge hissed at them in indignance. Greg blinked at his point and raised one of his own.

"You're adopted though." Serge just started to violently shrug at him in response.

"Ah, one of those situations. I had a friend that had the exact same dilemma." Earl Seberg spoke up about the development. They all turned to him and Greg's curiosity won out.

"What happened?" His grandfather shrugged before answering.

"Married for the past fifty years now and enjoying their retirement out south." They all then turned to Serge who looked like he didn't know what to think of the suggestion that he could be romantically involved with his adopted sister.

"So you'd be fine with Miss Noelle then?" Julius asked instead. Well, that would make sense if he wasn't comfortable with a relationship with Louise.

"Noelle is just my friend! Hell, her twin sister rejected me!" Oh damn, he already went for the other Beltre before?

"A true Power Move, then." Brad said with a nod of admiration. Serge looked like he didn't see it as a compliment though.

"It seems that Serge does not quite have a lot of experience with women." Chris commented with a teasing lit in his voice.

"I don't want to hear that from you five!" Serge quickly retaliated before scratching the back of his head. "Why are you guys pushing for this anyway?!"

"Would it really be so bad? To be with either of them?" Jilk asked with a gentle smile.

"Or both of them?" Brad added with a more devious smile and a wiggle of his eyebrows. With how those two acted around each other, Greg thought that it would probably take a miracle for them to agree to share a man.

"Take the advice of an old man, kid." His grandfather suddenly cut in, sounding a lot more serious than the rest of them. "Happiness has a way of suddenly flashing before your eyes and disappearing just as fast. If it's within arms reach, take it and never let go."

Serge still looked conflicted but it seemed that they got through to him a bit. "Can we just focus on getting me geared up for the dungeon!"

"Yep, my friend was like that at first too. You'll learn." Earl Seberg told him before they continued their way to the Seberg Armory.

…

Crash!

Clarice Fia Atlee could confidently admit that there was an immense sense of satisfaction as she punched through the wall of the manor that was supposed to be hiding one Zola Fou Bartfort. She, Angie, and Hertrude went back to working with Queen Mylene's people in regards to uncovering the Forest of Ladies conspiracy after celebrating Deirdre's birthday. It took a week of squeezing the information on her safe houses out of her children, but now they had been able to clear through most of them.

The defenders they encountered when they arrived was all the proof they needed that their target was there. Clarice had come to know more about the Queen's personal agents and it was little wonder that each and every one of them were veteran Adventurers. Even as an Alumnus of Holfort Academy, she was still mildly humbled at how quickly they took down their foes. A few sought to go after her instead of brawling with her companions. She quickly corrected their misconception that she was a weak link with well timed counter punches to their sides and throats.

"How dare you come into my home and attack my guards!" Clarice's breathing became faster when she heard the voice of the woman who had been tormenting the Bartfort family for so long. The woman who had apparently planned to marry off her Leon and have him die in a far off battlefield for the relief money. The woman who engineered a failed takeover of her future husband's lands. Zola took a step back and hid behind a make elf in a servant outfit when Clarice started stepping towards her.

Clarice didn't even need to look at a mirror to know what her expression looked like at that moment.

"Zola Fou Bartfort," Clarice slowly snarled out, disgusted that the woman still shared her love's name. Not for long, she hoped. "You are under arrest for conspiracy against a knight of the Crown and against the Kingdom itself. Your children have already given you up. I am personally very upset at what you tried to do to my fiancé's territory."

"That hair and that undignified way of fighting." Clarice clenched her fists tighter at the way Zola talked about her mother's fighting style. "The Atlee girl, then."

She noticed the elf protecting that hated woman and she narrowed her eyes. "Leon was at Elven Island and helped to try to uncover what happened on it."

"He is even sheltering the last remaining Priestess of your Dragon God." She added, hoping that the mention of Yumeria's survival would move him. "Please don't protect her. Even if Zola doesn't know what happened there, then she could still know the ones who do."

The elf looked at her impassively and shook his head. "I am not one of the defective ones who worship the Dragon God."

"What are you doing?! Protect me!" If Clarice was surprised when he suddenly moved away from Zola, it was nothing compared to the sheer panic of the woman herself. "Why are you doing this?! I loved you!"

"You only love the fact that I will never age until long after you die. My mother was among the dead in Elven Island. My siblings are among those still missing." He coldly told Zola, surprising everyone there with the additional information. He then turned to her and the other agents and raised a brow. "Honestly, it took far too long for you all to catch on to her. I am willing to testify against her and divulge all I know."

"Traitorous subhuman filth!" Zola shrieked before pulling a small knife from her sleeve and running at the elf servant. In a single moment, Clarice was there between them.

Crack!

"Did you have to break her jaw like that?" One of the agents flatly asked her as they inspected the now unconscious traitor. She just shrugged and smiled at the agent as they started to carry Zola outside for transport. The elf servant went with them while the others started combing the manor for any useful clues.

When she returned to the Palace, Clarice wondered if it would have been easier for everyone if they brought Anne in to just zap Zola into telling the truth. She could not find it in herself to suggest it to the Queen when she was debriefed, internally relishing how she was told that they would get the truth about her involvement with the Forest of Ladies by any means necessary.