Chapter XLVII

  As night falls, the camp gathers to finalize the rescue pn. Not far from the entrance to the underground, they’ve built a rge bonfire, around which everyone can meet. When Mercy joins the group, several people come to greet her. Conversations around Jerome reflect the group’s energy and determination to move forward with the rescue, making him feel satisfied with his role.

  From the corner of his eye, Jerome notices the arrival of Nero and Adar’s group. Seeing the five newcomers, Jerome raises his voice to bring order.

  “Hey everyone, let’s begin. Gather around the fire.”

  Hearing him, people begin organizing themselves. Staying in familiar groups, they form a circle around the fire. Its fmes allow everyone to see each other, while the crackle of the wood is drowned out by murmurs of conversation. Mercy stands by Jerome’s side, bringing a smile to his face. On her other side is Sab, and across the fire, Jerome spots Nero, his presence hard to ignore. For some reason, Jerome’s eyes keep drifting back to him.

  Feeling that everything is in pce, Jerome decides to start the meeting. “Alright, ready to begin?”

  Seeing people nod in agreement and sensing no objections, Jerome moves on to the first point he feels needs addressing—the group he’s currently focused on.

  “Great. First, I want to introduce you to the new group that’s joined us.” He gestures toward the group in front of him. Though he’s certain rumors have already circuted about these newcomers, it’s best to formally introduce them. Handling Nero, however, has been a challenge.

  The five exchanged serious gnces before stepping forward and raising their hands, acknowledging Jerome’s introduction. Strangely, they decide not to address the crowd directly. Instead dispersing among the group, to introduce themselves individually—except Nero, who remains where he is, staring at Jerome.

  Satisfied that the group won’t interfere with the discussion, Jerome continues. “So. As everyone knows. We’re pnning to rescue Mercy’s family and friends.”

  As he speaks, he looks at Mercy, who bravely holds a firm, determined expression while nodding in agreement. Supportive cheers rise from the crowd in response to his decration and Mercy’s presence.

  “With that in mind, we’ve gathered the necessary supplies, and we’re going to enter the underground to...” Jerome continues, feeling encouraged by the crowd's agreement. Until he’s abruptly interrupted.

  “Excuse me!!” Nero raises his hand from across the fire. Taking the pause, he asks, “Underground? What kind of underground are we talking about? Foolish of me, but I never actually asked.”

  Jerome realizes he hasn’t given the newcomers any details yet. Sab steps in, speaking in his usual deep, serious tone, “They’re old copper mines. Closed for decades, I think.”

  “Mines? Big ones?” Nero asks, and seeing several nods, he scratches his head and mutters, “Annoying, very annoying.”

  Jerome can’t help but think. Of course, it’s annoying—that’s the whole problem they’re trying to solve. Finding the people lost in these mines. Trying to regain the momentum, Jerome resumes.

  “As I was saying. We’ll enter the mines, and as we reach intersections, we’ll split up...”

  “What?!!” Nero excims loudly.

  Looking around, he continues, “You want all these people to line up and enter those mines, like a herd of mbs?”

  Nero’s half-surprised, half-mocking tone irritates Jerome. But the way he phrases the question also leaves him a little unsettled. They had already discussed this pn with Mercy. But now, for some reason, Jerome starts doubting whether it makes sense.

  “It’s the pn we agreed on before you arrived, Nero. I don’t think now’s the time to change it. After all, everyone’s already prepared for it,” Mercy says, her voice firm but showing signs of vulnerability, which is understandable given the circumstances.

  Before Nero can respond, Adar steps in. “Yes, yes, we understand that’s your pn.”

  The young man speaks, gncing at Nero as if seeking permission to continue, which Nero seems to grant.

  “It’s just that we thought a smaller group should go in first, you know, to locate the survivors,” Adar says, his voice clear and calm.

  “Yes, that makes perfect sense. Once they’re found, we can use everyone here to help,” adds the blonde young man from Adar’s group. As he nods, people around him begin to agree with him.

  “Yes, yes, that sounds like a much better pn,” says a woman from across the fire. Jerome takes a moment to realize it’s the girl from Nero’s group, but more people around her are also starting to change their minds.

  “We think it will be quicker. Otherwise, when someone finds the survivors, we’d still have to search for the rest of the rescue team,” Adar expins further. While Jerome notices a smile creeping across Nero’s face.

  “But that’s not the pn we agreed on,” Mercy speaks again, this time with a hint of distress, making Jerome want desperately to help her.

  “We understand, but it’s better to have a pn that brings real help than one that finds them quickly but doesn’t provide support,” Adar’s tone is friendly and understanding, making Jerome feel that the young man genuinely wants to help.

  Before Mercy can respond, Adar speaks again. “I know how desperate you are, but right now, we have to think clearly.”

  Jerome finds himself agreeing, at least a little. After all, localizing them quickly is important, but so is being able to help them once they’re found.

  “It’s just that the faster we find them, the faster we can help anyone in urgent need. Besides, we can’t be sure they’re still all together,” Mercy’s voice is so weak now that it breaks Jerome’s heart.

  “Oh, come on. All this fuss about speed now? It’s been a day already. If anyone was seriously hurt, they’re beyond saving by now,” Nero’s slightly irritated voice shocks more than a few people in the crowd. But while Adar whispers something to Nero. Probably trying to shut him up, Jerome finds himself agreeing a little with Nero.

  “Unfortunately, he’s probably right. We have to face reality,” the blonde young man adds, his expression leaving no doubt that he’s supporting Nero.

  Around the fire, people begin murmuring, agreeing timidly that Nero’s group might have a point.

  Jerome watches as Nero whispers something to Adar, who nods in agreement. A smile reappears on Nero’s face as he gnces in Jerome’s direction.

  “That bastard pnned this,” Mercy’s angry voice catches Jerome off guard, as it’s not the reaction he expected from her. But thinking about Nero’s group’s behavior, Jerome has to agree—it does seem like Nero is maniputing them into following his pn.

  “Besides, we can’t forget about the wolves!” Adar’s comment brings Jerome’s attention back to the young man.

  “The red wolves that caused this mess are probably still out there. If we’re all underground, we might get trapped if they attack again.” Adar’s revetion leaves everyone in silence, as it’s a danger they must seriously consider.

  “We’re so many...” Mercy starts to say, only to be interrupted by another voice.

  “I agree with Lord Nero,” decres the young guard from Nero’s group, confirming that this entire discussion was part of Nero’s pn since it was Adar, not Nero, who presented it here.

  “And who cares about your opinion?” someone beside the guard asks. The tone of the question suggests the guard hasn’t made many friends.

  “Careful!” says the girl from their group. “He’s Aden, the young son of the Lord of Riversong.”

  This leads to murmurs of recognition from the crowd until someone, in an old and tired voice, says, “Yes, she’s right. I thought I recognized the colors of Riversong.”

  With that, others begin to confirm the girl’s statement. Their earlier hesitation had been due to the unlikelihood of seeing a noble from Riversong here, accompanied by this strange group. With this revetion, more people begin to support Nero’s idea.

  “And I volunteer to lead the rear group... to protect us from the wolves,” offers Aden, receiving widespread approval. After all, who could refuse the offer of protection from a trained warrior, though Jerome can’t help but notice the odd way Aden had spoken of the wolves.

  “And I volunteer to help Mercy in the search for her family,” Nero says, looking directly at Mercy. “From what you’ve said, I believe you want to be in the group that goes in, right?”

  Despite several voices rising to convince Mercy not to do it, she responds firmly, “Yes, I’d be gd to go with you.” Jerome notices the strange, cold smile that briefly crosses Mercy’s face but convinces himself he’s imagining things.

  “I’m going with her,” Sab says, leaving no room for argument.

  Hearing this, Jerome can only follow up with, “Me too!”

  “Are you sure? I don’t think the two of you will be much help,” Nero remarks.

  “I’m an experienced scout. And you?” Sab retorts, his voice betraying irritation.

  Nero shrugs, seemingly not taking the question seriously. “Me? I have a mule.”

  Jerome looks to Sab, unsure how to respond to that. But Adar jumps in before he can even try. “Our mule is very obedient. It’ll let us carry supplies and, if necessary, rescue someone who’s in worse shape.”

  Jerome is surprised by this response. Though the idea is good, any pack animal would serve that purpose. Why should that be a reason to choose Nero for this mission?

  However, the remaining members of Nero's group began voicing their support, for the idea. Allowing them, to gradually swayed others in the crowd.

  "Good idea. I look forward to your help, Nero," Mercy said, adding her voice in support of the pn. She then turned to Jerome, continuing, "Thank you too, Jerome. And you, Sab. I'm sure everyone will do their best."

  This crified that the initial group would consist of Mercy, Jerome, Sab, and Nero.

  Nero listened to Mercy and sighed before saying, "Three to two isn’t bad. But..." Turning to the young blond man, he commanded, "Blondie, you're coming with us."

  To Jerome’s surprise, the girl from Nero’s group, speaks up, "Lord Nero! Seres! Surely he must go with you."

  Nero seemed to ignore the girl as he walked away. But two things became clear: one, the girl didn’t like the idea of Seres going with them; and two, this wasn’t the first time they referred to him as Lord—young Aden had said the same earlier.

  This cleared up a few things, such as why Nero was traveling with a young noble from Riversong. After all, a noble from the most powerful house in the region wouldn’t normally be so obedient to just anyone. Nero being from an even more powerful noble house expined that.

  But this left Jerome wondering exactly who Nero was, as he was clearly no ordinary person.

  "We’ll go fetch the mule and meet you at the mine entrance," Adar said when he saw Nero starting to leave.

  "All capable fighters, gather here! I need to know who we can count on," Jerome heard the young noble from Riversong shout as several individuals, started gathering around him.

  The blond young man and the girl followed Nero. Seeing that everything seemed to be settled, Jerome said to Mercy, "I guess it’s best if we go wait for them at the entrance." Mercy, looking a little displeased, nodded in agreement. So, Jerome, Mercy, and Sab made their way there.

  While they waited, Jerome felt the need to relieve himself. Fortunately, since Nero hadn’t arrived yet. He informed his companions of his intention. Before heading off to a more private spot.

  On his way back, he noticed Adar and the young noble a little distance away discussing something. Thinking they had finished preparations on their end. Jerome decided to approach and see if there was anything he needed to know.

  As he got closer, he could hear them speaking softly.

  "If he’s right, wouldn’t it be better to go straight to the fight instead of following this ridiculous pn?" Aden’s voice carried some irritation.

  "Are you crazy?" Adar nearly shouted before catching himself, lowering his voice. "I know, lucky for you and your men. You haven’t seen what that bastard is capable of. But this I guarantee..."

  Adar moved closer to Aden before speaking again, so softly that Jerome wouldn’t have heard him if he hadn’t approached. "The st thing you want is to be near when that fight starts."

  "You really think the danger..." Aden began before being interrupted.

  "The only danger here is him. You’ve heard of the only real challenge he’s ever had, right?" Adar said as Aden nodded in agreement, his expression a strange mix of fear and reverence.

  "Then why not end this quickly?" Aden asked, his voice tinged with confusion.

  "You heard him—there’s too much risk for the people here. And since I’ve seen him fight, I believe it. If the conflict drags on... he’s just too powerful, and there are too many people around." Whenever Jerome had heard Adar speak before, he’d sensed some hesitation in the young man. But as he said these words, Jerome could feel his absolute conviction.

  And Jerome had no doubt who they were talking about. This confirmed Nero’s influence over his group. How could someone be described as too powerful?

  "I get that he pns to control things better underground. But if he’s that powerful, why bring Seres into such danger?" Jerome overheard Aden ask, which made him even more uneasy. What did they think was going to happen down there?

  "From what I understand about how he acts. I think he pns to save the fools going underground, even if it means some risk." Adar’s response stressed Jerome even further. They clearly believed there was something dangerous in the mines. But for some reason, they didn’t want to reveal it.

  "Besides, Seres might be a fool sometimes, but he knows how to act when Nero..." Adar stopped talking abruptly and turned directly toward Jerome. Upon seeing him, his mouth immediately cmped shut.

  Deciding to get to the bottom, of what was happening. He goes to ask them, "What were you..."

  "Nero!!" Aden shouted. Following his gaze, Jerome saw Nero arriving with the rest of his group.

  All Jerome could do was mutter to himself, "Damn it!" He couldn’t believe anyone would tell him anything now.

  Before long, they were all standing in front of the mine entrance. "You all know what you have to do!" Nero called out. The other members of his group nodded, confirming once again that Nero had some kind of pn.

  "I trust you're ready," Nero said to Mercy, Jerome, and Sab. They also nodded in agreement.

  "Then go ahead," Nero excimed, gesturing toward the mine entrance.

  "Of course," Mercy replied with a smile as she turned to lead the rescue.

  Jerome followed behind her, reflecting on what he had just overheard. The dangers Nero believed were in the mine still echoed in his mind, as he continued to question who Nero really was.