Amelia looked at William, rather, looked at the scroll his hand was holding. The red-headed boy smiled and presented the blank sheet of paper to Amelia.
Curious about what would happen next, she accepted the scroll and looked at it.
Suddenly, sentences appeared on the surface of the scroll. It explained William's purpose for coming. It also included the proper way on how to reply to William without anyone noticing.
William wasn't taking any chances. Since he was inside the Spirit Division, he knew that certain abilities could be used that would allow others to spy on their discussion.
Although he didn't mind saying his request out loud, he didn't want to make a scene and make the "leaders" of the Spirit Division think that he was poaching the talented students under their noses.
Five minutes later, Amelia handed back the scroll to William.
This was the magic scroll that Ezio had used to communicate with William when he was doing his missions. Only the person whom the user wanted to see the writings would be able to see it. Even the most powerful deciphering spells wouldn't be able to crack the special magic that was transcribed in the making of this scroll.
'Sorry, but I am not interested in joining your Knight Order.'
William sent his thoughts to the scroll and returned it to Amelia. The latter accepted it and frowned when she read William's question.
'Why?'
Amelia sighed and returned the scroll to William's hands.
'I don't want to get into trouble.'
The two exchanged the scrolls several more times until William finally understood why she was rejecting his offer.
'So your hometown is having some difficulty and you're worried about your family, correct?'
'Yes. A horde of Trollhounds led by a Class A Beast is terrorizing our barony. I have already sent a request to the academy for help, but the barony's commission was not enticing enough for the students. Besides, we just finished facing a Dungeon Outbreak and no one is in the mood to fight strong monsters.'
'If I accept this commission and succeed, will you join our Knight Order?'
'If you succeed and save my hometown, I will agree to join your Knight Order.'
'Very well, I will accept the commission, but you will have to come with us as a guide to your barony.'
After reading the last message on the scroll, Amelia nodded her head. She gave William the "I will go with you" stare which made the Half-Elf nod his head in acknowledgement.
Before leaving, William told Amelia that they would depart on Friday night to deal with the trouble in her hometown. Of course, the red-headed boy also reminded her not to tell anyone about what they had discussed, to which she readily agreed.
Amelia couldn't possibly turn down the help of the Commander from the Agorian War Sovereign. She even felt relieved that her constant worry about her parent's safety was about to be solved… that was until she met William again on Friday Night.
----
"Um, Lord William, where are the rest of your knights?" Amelia asked.
"They won't be coming with us," William replied. "It will be just us, My Mama, Dia, and Ragnar."
"Meeeeeh."
"Hisssss."
"Ruff!"
Amelia looked at William to see if the newly appointed Knight Commander was joking. However, the Half-Elf only gave her a smile filled with confidence. This made the green-haired lady massage her forehead in frustration.
"Lord William, please, this is a serious matter," Amelia said with a serious expression. "Lives are at stake. I would greatly appreciate it if you stopped joking around."
William blinked innocently and gave Amelia the "Am I a Joke to you?" stare.
Seeing that William was dead serious in completing the commission with just the two of them, Amelia felt like she had wasted her time. All the hope and excitement that she had felt while waiting for this moment vanished into thin air.
Of course, William could understand what Amelia was thinking at the moment. However, after careful consideration, he determined that it would be best to do this mission without bringing the rest of his Knight Order along.
The reason?
After consulting the system, William found out that Trollhounds were beasts that he could tame. Since that was the case, William was sure that he and the Trollhounds could have a dialogue for negotiation.
If the negotiation didn't work, it wouldn't be too late to bring his contingent plan into play and force them out of the region.
"I know that you are having doubts, so how about this. The two of us are going to check the situation first," William proposed. "If it really requires military intervention then I promise you that I will use the full power of my Knight Order to drive the Trollhounds away from your Barony. Do we have a deal?"
Amelia pondered for a while before reluctantly agreeing to William's proposal. She was really worried about her family and the townspeople who had treated her well during her younger years. If possible, she wanted to do everything in her power to return the care that they had given her.
William had accepted the commission earlier in the day and registered it at the Quest Hall of the Academy. They used the portal of the academy and headed towards the Eastern Regions of the Hellan Kingdom.
As a Knight Commander, William was given certain privileges and one of them was the right to use the portals for free. They used the portal to teleport to the nearest gateway to Amelia's hometown. However, it still took them two hours to reach the green-haired girl's hometown riding on Ella's back.
"It's more serious than I expected," William frowned.
Along the way, he found light traces of miasma that reminded him of the Dungeon Outbreaks that had happened recently. The flora of the barony were wilting and the ground was cracked and dry.
There was an oppressive atmosphere that could be felt in the mountains in the East and William had a hunch that was where the Trollhounds were currently staying.
"Let's meet your parents first," William said as he guided Ella towards the main gate of the town. It was currently closed and several soldiers were stationed on the town's wall. Torches blazed on the ramparts and illuminated the surroundings.
It was as if the soldiers were expecting a night raid and all of them looked at William, and his party wearily.
"Halt!" A man wearing silver armor shouted from on top of the town wall. "State your name and purpose for coming to Thornshire!"
Amelia poked her head out from behind William's back and waved at the man standing on the ramparts.
"Uncle Mark! It's me, Amelia!" Amelia shouted. "Let us in!"
Mark's eyes widened as he recognized the young lady of their barony.
"Open the gates and allow Lady Amelia to enter!" Mark ordered.
It was at that moment when barking sounds reverberated in the night. The soldiers manning the gates made a small opening for Ella to enter. William and Ella knew that now was not the time to dilly dally and entered the town in haste. As soon as the goat had safely entered the town, the guards closed the gate in a hurry.
Mark barked orders from the ramparts as the guardsmen loaded bolts onto their crossbows. William and Amelia exchanged a glance before making their way towards the ramparts to assist in defending the town.
A series of long howls from the Trollhounds echoed in the night. From the center of their formation, a giant Trollhound with dark-green skin, stared at the town wall with unrestrained hunger. It only had one thought in its mind and that was to break through the town's defenses and feast on the humans that were hiding within.