Side Story: Ghost Mist Dungeon

"Anyway... I'm still grateful that you didn't pursue the matter against my team members in front of Lady Serie. As the team leader, I sincerely apologize for my initial rudeness."

During the team's rest period, everyone found places to sit down in the forest to recuperate and discuss the next strategy and tactics.

Clinton then deliberately went to the tree furthest from the group and found Galan and Lia, who then solemnly bowed deeply to him.

"Alright, alright, it's all in the past."

Galan simply waved his hand, looking completely indifferent.

Seeing how scared Pass had been by Serie earlier, he felt he had gotten his revenge and there was no need to dwell on it anymore.

After all, no matter how outrageous the other party is, it's only verbal and doesn't cause any real harm; at most, it just ruins an already bad mood.

Shortly after Serie left, the president of the Adventurers Guild rushed to the scene, gave a brief motivational speech, and then led the twelve teams to their destination.

Along the way, many people from other teams glanced at Galan as they passed by, discussing his relationship with Serie. Even his own team, including Pass, who had initially been verbally abusive, now looked at him with apprehension. He probably couldn't believe that the "connection" he saw was actually planted by Serie herself—this "connection" was terrifying.

If he had known about this relationship earlier, he probably wouldn't have dared to complain.

The other team members looked at him with complex emotions: confusion, surprise, curiosity... In short, none of their gazes made him feel comfortable.

To avoid these unnecessary interactions, he simply brought Lia to the very back of the group so that they wouldn't be stared at like monkeys in a zoo.

"... To be honest, I'll be frank with you too. I didn't come here of my own volition; Serie forced me to. So please don't blame me; I'm really frustrated myself..."

Galan ate the snacks that Lia handed him with a bitter expression, pouring out his grievances.

At first, he didn't understand why Pass was so hostile towards him. Later, on the way here, he learned a little about the reward system for this commission and then he understood why they were so resistant and hostile to accepting him.

Indeed, for an elite adventurer team that has honed its skills over many years, the sudden addition of someone would inevitably affect their cooperation. It's almost certain that his arrival, especially with Lia by his side, would become the biggest obstacle and destabilizing factor on their path of competition.

For these adventurers who live off commissions, the two of them were merely a burden.

"Who exactly is this Serie? Frog and Lancelot mentioned her when they were chatting before, but they wouldn't tell me... I feel like you're all hiding something from me..."

Lia dusted off the food scraps in her hands, looked at Galan, and asked in confusion.

She had noticed before that the people seemed to be hiding something from her, but she couldn't figure out what they had to hide from her.

"You don't even know Serie?"

Upon hearing her words, before Galan could even think of a reply Clinton exclaimed in disbelief.

"Young man... I'm genuinely curious too, what exactly is your relationship with Lady Serie? Well... if it's really inconvenient, just pretend I didn't say anything..."

Seeing that the Elven Girl beside Galan didn't even know that Serie was, he was genuinely confused.

What kind of terrifying background does this man have that allows Lady Serie to arrange a team for him and personally intervene to help him out of a predicament?

Could she be one of Lady Serie's disciples?

Impossible... If that were the case, the other party should be a Mage, but the Mana emanating from Galan is not even comparable to that of the Elven Girl beside him, and the person from the association who was in contact with him said from the beginning that the other party was a warrior.

Even if she were a disciple, given Serie's status, she wouldn't do everything herself, would she?

All Galan had to do was reveal his identity.

So why is that...?

He scratched his head in frustration, unable to come to any conclusion. Gradually, his thoughts began to wander, and he found that following his current line of thought, he actually felt like he was touching the answer. Could it be... could he be Lady Serie's lover?

The moment the thought popped into Clinton's mind, he couldn't help but tremble.

Yes, that's very likely!

I really can't think of any other possibility. No wonder Lady Serie was so calm when facing Galan... I see... I see...

It's a miracle that Pass, the lover who insulted and defied Lady Serie, is still alive!

Looking at the person engaged in that battle of wits, Clinton Galan, whose expression changed constantly, was also speechless. Was this guy thinking something strange? Did he think I was Serie's servant or something?

Although it feels about the same, at least it has more human rights than that.

It's not really a special relationship, just ordinary friends...

"Yes, yes, they're friends, I understand, I understand."

No, what exactly do you understand?

Seeing the other person's perfunctory nod, Galan knew that his relationship with Serie had definitely been misunderstood.

"We're really just friends, don't get the wrong idea!"

"I understand, it's really not good to talk about this kind of thing; it will have a huge impact on both of you. I swear, I will absolutely not tell anyone about it!"

"No way, what the hell are you swearing to?!"

As things became increasingly confusing, Galan also reached a red-hot level.

This guy seemed like a smart person before, how come he's so confused now?

He was so angry he wanted to punch him with a memory-correcting punch.

Things concerning Serie are no joke... If the matriarch herself finds out about some unfounded rumors, I'll probably be doomed.

Are Galan and Serie... really friends?

Seeing Galanria getting increasingly anxious about this increasingly complicated matter, she seemed to have some indescribable emotions welling up inside her, causing her to unconsciously lower her head and mutter something under her breath.