“Good. Now that we’ve come to a conclusion, let me take you to the party you will be traveling with” Maria felt her body move at those words.

The elder was leading the way and opened the door with a jerking motion.

It instantly causes Suna to fall on her face. Since the door opened inwards, it felt Suna without any kind of support when it was pulled back. Nao just shook her head at her companion’s actions before she snapped to attention.

“The guild master is taking us to the group we will be traveling with” Nao nodded in understanding and took a step behind Maria. It happened naturally and no one paid any attention to them when they stepped into the adventurer’s guildhall.

It was difficult to navigate once again. The crowd had not thinned at all and the only one not seeming to have any problem was the old guild master. He looked to be in his element as he navigated through the crowd.

They were led straight to the other side of the hall that held a shutter door. Maria spotted the group near the door and instantly knew they were the ones. Their gear was packed but they did not look ready to leave just yet.

“Marcus, is your crew ready to depart?” The guild master asked and Maria watched the bulky man’s face turn at a neck-breaking speed. A smile broke out on that face and Maria braced herself.

“Of course we are ready. We will be departing at night. Ya know, for reasons” The voice was heavy and it echoed in the hall. It was a miracle when one turned their head to glare at him.

“That’s good. Marcus, here are the people I talked to you about. They will be joining your crew for this trip” Maria discreetly eyed Marcus’s female companion and gave their group an evil eye before she turned to Marcus.

She whispered something in Marcus’ ears which he ignored with a wave of his hand. He gave her a wide, beaming smile.

“It’ll be alright. I’m sure our new companions would turn out to be really profitable for us” Maria did not like the words being spoken.

Not that it made any difference to her for now. This was the choice she had been stuck with so this was the choice she was going to get.

“Marcus. Don’t you think this is an unnecessary risk to take? I’m sure the guild master would understand our hesitation and -” the Lady did not get to finish her words. Marcus just waved her concerns away with a self-assured smile.

He handed Nao a small communication charm and helped her learn to operate it. Maria did not get a chance to interact with him before they were ushered out of the guildhall with a ‘meet at the front gates at 9’.

Maria felt it was odd that they were being ushered out in such a hurried manner. The suddenness of it had not even allowed the guild master or Suna to be able to react.

By the time Maria came around it had been too late to go back. It was just better to prepare themselves for the journey ahead and they did have quite a bit of shopping to do.

“So, what next? Do we get our pantry list in order?” Maria asked as she snapped out of the dizziness.

Nao seemed to still be coming turned with what had happened in there to make much of a contribution.

“I-Ah yes. Yes, I understand. Here is what we need” Noknew the market well and took Maria through routes she had not even seen on the normal map. There were a lot of hidden passages in the city.

Maria was sure she would have never survived here alone. Every day she woke up to find Nao becoming more and more amazing.

“I will go and buy the vegetables. Can you go to the opposite store and stack fuel? We can’t be sure when we might need it.” Maria agreed without much fanfare.

There was not a lot Nao asked from Maria. So this small task felt like a big thing to Maria. She left without even hearing the requirement.

The empty fuel can be in Maria’s Inventory. She just had to make sure to get the same one from the shop. The brand was common enough to get anywhere.

That should have been what happened. It should have been a ten-minute run.

But somehow! Somehow, the store opposite the grocery was sold out. It had no bottle left and nothing in their storage as well.

It was quite a big blunder on their part and the shop owner did look apologetic. But there was nothing to be done for such a situation.

The shopkeeper did give Maria an alternative though. There was another store a small distance away from this store and the owner made a call to ensure they had her brand of oil there.

It was an extra trip but Maria did not mind undertaking it. It would only take an additional fifteen minutes anyway.

So she set out to do what she had to do. She almost ran to get to the shop faster and quickly picked up what she needed. And there was where she was it.

Well, ‘them’ would be more exact. It was Howl and Princess Neah.

They were dressed casually in an attempt to blend in with their surroundings. Maria would not have recognized them if not for her system’s warning.

[Warning. Subject Howl detected in the vicinity]

Maria had set this warning as a measure to avoid Howl. Maria had not wanted to accidentally drag her into their world after making sure she stayed out. Maria had never been glad to have made an in-the-moment decision than this.

“Are you alright, miss? You look a little pale. Also, are you going to pay for that bottle of fuel anytime soon?” Maria blinked her eyes at the man in front of her and quickly looked at the fuel in her hand.

She knew she had to pay for the purchase but her head felt rather slow at that moment.

“Here. Keep the change” Maria would have time to feel foolish about leaving her to change behind. They were behind on funds as it was.

But it all escaped Maria’s mind as panic overtook it. She had to get out of the market and lead Nao away as well. It was only a matter of hours before Maria and company will be out of this town.

Just a few more hours before Maria was free and she could not help but brace herself for the next few hours. They would suck but they were crucial as well.