Chapter 63: Meeting the Team
A day later, in the headquarters. Marcus was preparing himself for an eventual meeting with the members of the Silver Vanguard. He dressed himself into something formal, a black three-piece suit, which is bought from the system. It will look unnatural in this medieval setting but he sure has the style or the drip.
Then, a knock on the door.
"Marcus, they are waiting in the office."
It was a familiar voice, belonging to Elaina.
"Okay, I’m coming out, wait," Marcus replied as he adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves, making sure everything sat properly.
He glanced at himself one last time, looking satisfied, he exited the room.
Elaina was standing just outside. And the moment she saw him, she froze.
Her eyes widened slightly, scanning him from head to toe like she was trying to process what she was looking at.
"...What is that?" she asked.
Marcus stepped out casually, closing the door behind him.
"What?" he said, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"That," Elaina pointed lightly at him. "What are you wearing?"
Marcus glanced down at himself briefly.
"This?" he said. "Just one of my clothes."
Elaina blinked.
"...That’s not ’just’ clothes."
Marcus waved his hand dismissively.
"It’s nothing unusual," he said. "Just something formal."
Elaina walked a small circle around him, still looking.
She had never seen anything like it before.
"...It looks... different," she admitted.
Marcus smirked faintly.
"Different good or different bad?"
Elaina stopped in front of him again.
"...Good," she said. "Very good."
She hesitated for a second, then added,
"You look... dashing."
Marcus raised an eyebrow slightly.
"...Dashing?"
"And handsome," she followed up quickly, her cheeks tinting just a little after saying it.
Marcus let out a small chuckle.
"Didn’t expect that from you," he said.
Elaina looked away for a moment.
"...I’m just stating what I see."
Marcus adjusted his coat slightly.
"Then I’ll take it."
He stepped past her.
"Come on," he said. "Let’s not keep them waiting."
Elaina nodded, but her eyes lingered on him for a second longer before she followed.
They made their way to the office where they are waiting.
"So there’s four of them huh, including the elf," Marcus asked.
"Yes, as I have previously said. Two of them are A-class while the elf and the warrior class is an S-rank."
"They are a bigshot I know," Marcus commented. "But the fact that they required help from me meant that they are not all-powerful."
"Oh they are powerful by our world standards," Elaina said.
Then moments later, they arrived at the door.
"I’ll introduce them to you one by one."
"Please do," Marcus nodded once and stepped inside.
The room was already occupied.
Seraphine stood near the table, calm as before.
Behind her were three others.
Marcus’s eyes moved across them.
First, the pink-haired woman. Long, soft hair resting over her shoulders, light armor, and a staff in hand.
Next, the red-haired man. Sharp features, short hair, and a heavy set of dark armor. A large sword stood beside him, almost as tall as he was.
Then, the platinum blonde woman. Long hair, a wide-brimmed hat, and a fitted outfit with a staff in her hand.
Marcus took it in quickly. They are just your typical medieval fantasy party members. But to think that this red-haired warrior has three beautiful ladies working for him, it’s kind of like a main character situation in the novels he read. But, it doesn’t matter.
"Let me introduce you Marcus to the Silver Vanguard," Elaina said, skipping Seraphine.
She stepped slightly to the side and gestured toward them.
"The pink-haired one is Liora," Elaina said. "Their healer."
Liora gave a small nod, her expression calm and composed.
"The red-haired one is Kael," she continued. "Frontline warrior."
Kael didn’t speak. He just looked at Marcus, arms crossed, his stance firm.
"And the platinum blonde is Selene," Elaina finished. "Their sorcerer."
Selene tilted her head slightly, observing Marcus with quiet interest.
Marcus nodded once.
"...Got it."
Then he shifted his attention to Seraphine.
"And you already introduced yourself," he added.
Seraphine gave a small nod.
"Then this is the full party."
Marcus stepped forward, stopping at a comfortable distance from them.
"Marcus Manfred," he said. "Founder of Atlas."
There was a brief silence.
The four of them looked at him, each with a different reaction.
Liora seemed curious.
Selene was studying him.
Kael—
Kael looked unimpressed.
"...You’re the one," Kael said bluntly.
Marcus raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That depends," he replied. "The one who did what?"
"The one who took down the wyverns," Kael said.
Marcus shrugged lightly.
"Yeah."
Kael’s eyes narrowed just a bit.
"...You don’t look like it."
Elaina immediately frowned.
"Hey—"
Marcus lifted a hand slightly, stopping her.
"It’s fine," he said calmly.
Then he looked back at Kael.
"What were you expecting?"
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
"...Someone bigger," he said.
Marcus let out a short breath.
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
Selene spoke this time, her voice smooth.
"Appearances don’t matter much in our line of work," she said. "Results do."
Marcus glanced at her.
"...Exactly."
Liora nodded lightly.
"We’ve heard quite a bit about you," she said. "From Seraphine."
Marcus looked at Seraphine briefly.
"...Hope it wasn’t exaggerated."
Seraphine met his gaze.
"It wasn’t."
Another short silence followed.
Then Marcus shifted slightly, his tone changing just a bit.
"Alright," he said. "You’ve seen me. I’ve seen you."
He gestured lightly toward the table.
"Let’s sit."
They didn’t argue.
One by one, they took their seats.
Elaina moved to Marcus’s side, already preparing to assist.
Marcus rested his hands on the table, looking at all of them now.
"Now, we have information about the current situation in the Kingdom of Felsis. We are here to share it since I believe you need information."
"That would be great, please show me," Marcus said.
"Selene," Seraphine called and Selene sighed.
"Listen, this is an eight hour old image that I am going to show you," she said as she raised her hand as if to perform magic.