Fate and the story of blood

Chapter 63: New Companions

"What!? You're telling me we're missing another person to create a fully-fledged party? How could this be, after gathering everyone we could..." Jackie said as she fell to the floor defeated as if the world was falling apart around her.

"We apologize if we've caused any miscommunication however, it is our institute's policy to require a party to have a minimum of five members and above to qualify for the benefits. You are still able to take regular quests set for your rank yet you are unable to accept those that are only for parties despite your capabilities. We humbly apologize and we'll do our best to assist you in any way if possible..." The receptionist apologized profusely as I tried to pull Jackie up from the floor while Eden and Julius tried to scavenge and think of anything they could in this situation.

"Well, it can't be helped that we're missing someone. We'd best bet not to bother them any longer, let's just set up a poster requesting a new party member or something. You do have something like that, don't you?" Julius asked of her as she lit up back from her state in response to the proposition made.

"That's right, please fill out a form and we'll make sure to display a request of a member for a party immediately. We charge a small fee to advertise it but rest assured that it won't be anything exorbitant!" She said brimming a smile while putting up a form for Eden to fill out and sign; his blank expression going along with his party's suggestions while doing what he was asked to.

Eventually, the four walked out of the mercenary's guild with nothing accomplished and as each thought about what they'd do in the meantime, it wasn't long until one of them proposed an idea for their evening ventures. Yet before she could even speak, she saw both Julius's and my faces eyeing her down with skepticism as from experience, no plan of hers ended up with happy endings; my mind quickly recalling back an event where she ordered us to attack from the rear where they wouldn't expect though we simply ended up stepping straight into the enemy's sight where we were left with no choice but to fight ourselves out of the carnage.

"Jackie... Are you sure you want to propose another idea? No offense but, I don't think I want something like the last incident to happen again. I doubt Julius and Eden would want something like that too..." I said toward her as the two agreed with the statement I made to the trouble-making party member.

"You say that like every single incident is caused by me, not all of it's my fault! You all just don't have what I envision, we would've been fine if we had a sideline guard anyway! Besides, I'm not proposing anything that could really get us in trouble, I just wanted to ask if we'd all like to take a break for today. Hasn't it been a couple of weeks since we got proper rest? This town seems like the perfect place to rest seeing as how peaceful it is around here!" She said while she looked around the town square to see businesses bustling and people chattering without having to care for immediate safety.

"That's right, isn't this place connected to two kingdoms directly? One being that of Tifal which is a bit far and out of the way yet is connected by roads and one is that of the Holy Kingdom toward the northwest. I have always wondered how their belief in their religion brought upon their power, I wonder if just praying and believing in a deity could bestow you power that could even rival magic itself. Nonetheless, I guess having a break once in a while wouldn't be a problem, isn't that right Eden?" Julius spoke as he directed everyone's attention toward the silent leader; his fine-featured face along with his great blonde hair, turned him into the spotlight and mascot of their party.

"Do what you want, I don't have any objections toward this proposition. As long as we don't overstay and play around too much before our next departure, you all are free to roam as you like..." He said as if he didn't have the slightest intention of joining in on the day of their break.