Aurelia had gone to the town of Xerxia like she had planned and she made a beeline towards the guild as she had a private meeting with the guild master, and she was livid after she got answers to her question, presented by her eyes glowing as she glared at the man.
"He's what?" Aurelia asked in an even tone with an underline of danger as she glared at the guild master.
Brunes was sweating profusely as he is subject to the glare of the Matriarch as it took every single ounce of willpower for him to not jump out the window and run with his tail behind his legs.
He would rather right against a horde on monsters than be stuck face to face with the angry leader of one of the hero clans, at least the death will be quick with the monsters. In regards to the Matriarch, he has no idea what she would do to punish him.
Ever since Armaros and Shia had gone missing, and the site of battle had been discovered by some knights and adventurers, they had been documented as being MIA. Though many thought that the two had died, there weren't any concrete evidence, thought the field of destruction had caused many to think that they had been killed.
The mysterious adventurer killer that Armaros had told them about what a likely candidate for the situation, though, considering the fact that he had been spared the last time, him being attacked by the mysterious killer is still not something that many fully believe in.
In any case, even since he had disappeared Brunes had been feeling very nervous, and rightfully so since the Matriarch herself had told him to watch over the boy, and now he has disappeared, worst case scenario was that he was killed by an assailant alongside his partner during the quest.
She had to told him to keep the child safe and now he has no idea if he is alive or not, and because of that he was feeling very afraid and was thinking of ways to find out the child. Though all of the went out the window when she appeared in his office when he was alone and subjected to her glare as he informed her about the status of Armaros.
"We don't know what had actually happened. It was a simple mission that the two of them would have been able to complete without much difficulty, but when the knights reached there, the area had been destroyed and some of his armor was there. We don't think he was killed, but he is missing." Brunes said to the Matriarch as he hoped that she won't get mad and kill him.
Aurelia looked at the man as he did his level best to make sure that he didn't break down then and there. If he were to displease the Matriarch more than he already has, he won't even know that he has been killed until he was already dead.
"Do you have any way to find out his whereabouts or how he is doing?" Aurelia said as she looked at him.
"N-Not at the moment. I can use some mages, but it will be quite hard to find out about Armaros, I don't have that many resources to draw on." Brunes said to her as he hoped that she won't attack him.
"I see. If I remember correctly, he should have had a staff member who approved of his quests. How are they taking the fact of his disappearance?" Aurelia asked the man after a moment.
"Well, she was pretty sad after he hadn't returned and the place of battle was discovered. Though I did notice that she was much more relaxed today. She knows that adventurers are prone to die during quests, so perhaps it was easier for her to calm herself down. Though she doesn't believe that he had died last I heard about her." Brunes said to the Matriarch as he gulped as he watched her reaction.
"So she was sad yesterday and now she was suddenly more relaxed?" Aurelia asked him as he shrugged.
"Our staff understands and are used to adventurers dying during quests so she knows not to get too attached to them. Perhaps a good night's sleep was enough to calm her down." Brunes said to the Matriarch as she looked down at that.
She stayed silent for a few moments as Brunes thought if he had made a mistake by telling that to her.
"Tell her to come here and I want to talk to her alone." Aurelia said to him as he stiffened in response.
"Matriarch, you won't do anything to her would you, I sweat to you that she is a kind person." Brunes said to her as he knew Aria and didn't want her to get hurt.
"Now." Aurelia said with narrowed eyes.
"At once." Brunes said as he quickly left the room.
He called Rhia and told her to enter his room, only telling her that someone was there to meet with her. Of course, she is very confused at the sudden order but she doesn't say anything about it and enters the office after knocking and getting the permission.
Of course, she froze in place when she opened the door and found the Matriarch of the Dawnbringer Clan sitting on the couch of the guild master's office as the woman fixed her with her gaze as Rhia felt her body go rigid and unable to move.
"Enter and close the door." Aurelia said to her as Rhia did as she was told, spurred by the words of the woman.
After she had closed the door, Rhia turned around and her body locked in place when she saw the woman standing a few feet in front of her as she was shocked. She didn't even know when the woman moved as she immediately looked down and went on one knee in front of the woman.
That was the proper courtesy that should be shown to every leader of a hero clan, and their powers are also a testament to their position. The leaders of the hero clans are often the most powerful people in the entire human empire, and Rhia who is only a guild employee, can't stand against her.
She also admired the hero clans, but even she knew that she has to show respect to the people of the clan, lest she make them mad due to not showing the proper respect for their position.
"There is no need to kneel in front of me. I want to inquire about the adventurer Armaros." Aurelia said to her as Rhia froze once more at her words.
She remembered the contents of the letter of course, and of how he had told her he was attacked, and now the Matriarch of the Dawnbringers is in front of her as she felt really nervous and afraid. But she followed the woman's orders and stood up and looking at her.
"W-Well, he went on a quest three days ago with his companion but didn't return. The knights and adventurers then found the area where he had gone to and found that it was destroyed, for the lack of a better word. He has been labelled as missing." Rhia said to the woman who frowned at her words.
"I do not see any sort of sadness or loss, at least not an overwhelming amount, in your eyes. As the one who was personally responsible for approving the quests he took on, I would've thought you would be more sad about his status." Aurelia said to the girl as she fidgeted in place.
"W-Well, this is kind of normal for people in my profession. The life of an adventurer is dangerous and they can die unexpectedly, so I was a bit ready for that." Rhia said to her as she kept her voice soft.
Aurelia looked at the pink haired woman for a few more seconds before she closed her eyes and looked at her with her eyes glowing as Rhia felt fear.
"Do you believe me to be a fool to buy your lies?" Aurelia said to her which caused Rhia to feel fear.
"Wh-What?" Rhia asked in fear as she started to shake in place.
"It would be best if you revealed what you are hiding from me. Otherwise I will have to force if out of you, and you best pray that I do not resort to those measures because I don't think you will be able to endure my methods." Aurelia said to her as Rhia was shaking in fear.
'B-But I can't do that. Armaros trusted me with his survival, I can't betray his trust.' Rhia thought to herself as she is feeling fear.
"I-I don't know anything, Matriarch. Wh-Why are you even interested in Armaros? He was just a normal adventurer like the rest." Rhia said as she wanted to change the topic with haste even though she was feeling fear.
"Because I am the one who had sponsored him. I would naturally be interested in knowing about whether he is alive or not." Aurelia said to her which shocked Rhia.
'Sh-She is the sponsor that the guild master was talking about.' Rhia thought to herself in shock.
To be sponsored by one of the hero clans is something that many only dreamed about. But even so, she didn't know why she would sponsor him since Armaros wasn't that strong and his mana capacity was only above average, not enough to gain the attention of one of the hero clans.
Add on to the fact that he had been attacked, which made her more hesitant to reveal his survival to the woman, even if she is the Matriarch.
"I'm sorry to say this, but even if you say that. I-I can't say anything other than what I know." Rhia said to the woman as she gulped and looked down.
Aurelia looked at the woman and her defiance as she could give credit to the girl for refusing to reveal the information that she wanted. It was easy for her to discern the fact that Rhia knew something about her son, and even knowing that she is his sponsor didn't make the girl relent.
She raised her right hand and grabbed the chin of the girl and made her look at her as Rhia froze like a deer caught in headlights as Aurelia's eyes glowed in a golden hue as the girl saw two golden orbs in white spheres as she felt her heart beat faster due to the fear.
"It would be wise to be truthful to me child." Aurelia said to the girl as she stayed frozen.
Rhia opened her mouth slightly but didn't say anything as she closed them as even though she is feeling fear, she didn't say anything and Aurelia saw that she won't, as she can see it in her eyes.
'She fears me, that is true, but even then she is not willing to divulge the truth.' Aurelia thought to herself as she felt a bit impressed by the will of the girl.
"I see that you will not reveal the truth even now. Then, I will tell you something that even the guild master doesn't know, about why I am trying to find out about Armaros." Aurelia said to her as Rhia stayed silent and rigid.
'Something that even the guild master doesn't know? A torture technique of the clan that they used on demons? Some political secret which she will use to trap me?' Rhia thought in her mind s various reason popped up as she waited for the Matriarch to reveal the information.
"I am trying to find out about Armaros, because he is my son." Aurelia said to the girl as the employee froze in place.
'What?' Rhia thought to herself as her mind shortcircuited from the shocking reveal.
It took several moments for Rhia to fully grasp the connection between the Matriarch and the young adventurer she had been taking care of before she said the one thing that summarised all her intelligent thoughts.
"What?" Rhia asked in a soft and shocked voice as she gazed at the Matriarch.