Chapter 191: Selecting Guides As Bride

Amber’s expression remained cold.

Even so, he couldn’t deny that Galithe had been a valuable woman.

She was an S-rank Guide, and her family possessed influence that could be useful. If she had married him, she would have strengthened his position as Commander of the Golden Wings, while her family connections would have given him access to resources and support that would otherwise require years of negotiation.

It would have been a practical marriage.

That was all.

And now even that advantage was gone.

The door opened again.

Darius had returned.

"There are twelve S-rank Guides currently listed as possible candidates," he informed him, standing a short distance away. "I’ve prepared their affiliations and backgrounds."

Amber glanced toward him.

"Who?"

Darius activated a holographic list.

The names appeared one after another.

"Celeste Ardyn, Sector One, Federation Strategic Medical Division. Family: Ardyn."

"Mirielle Quen, Sector Two, Ivory Tower of Guides. Family: Quen."

"Caelia Rouren, Sector Five, Association Guide Division. Family: Rouren."

"Nadia Orselle, Sector Six, Federation Diplomatic Corps. Family: Orselle."

"Lyanna Rohe, Sector Ten, Association Guide Research Division. Family: Rohe."

"Maris Daven, Sector Eleven, Federation Independent Guide Registry. Family: Daven."

Amber felt his head beginning to ache from the growing list of names, most of which he suspected he wouldn’t remember by the end of the day.

He lifted a hand to stop Darius.

"Enough. Arrange a meeting with them after I’m done with this matter."

Darius nodded.

"All twelve?"

"Yes, every one of them."

He closed the list.

The two men started walking toward the exit.

Amber had nearly reached the door when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a screen floating in the air, showing an entertaining scene that had widely spread even to the Federation. It was the scene of an annulment ceremony between the prince and a lowly Guide.

"Darius."

The Major General looked over his shoulder.

Amber turned slightly.

"The Novalis daughter."

Darius waited.

"She’s a Guide too, isn’t she?"

"Yes," Darius answered. "That is what was recorded in the Guide-Sentinel database."

Amber’s gaze lingered on the screen for a moment before he said, "Add her to the candidates I want to meet."

Darius followed his commander’s gaze and his attention settled on the screen, where a beautiful Guide was declaring her vow never to guide or purify the prince.

After a moment, he nodded.

"I’ll arrange it, Commander."

They left the conference room together.

***

Several sectors away, the atmosphere was considerably different.

The Dark Knight Organization’s temporary base in Sector Nine was loud enough to be heard from the corridor outside.

Their latest operation had ended successfully.

The contaminated zone they had entered had been completely dominated, the monsters inside had been eliminated, and their people had recovered enough valuable materials to make the entire operation profitable. Several sealed containers had already been moved into storage, while another group was sorting through the energy stones they had recovered from deep within the contaminated area.

The men were in a good mood.

They had spent most of the evening eating, drinking, comparing their injuries, and recounting the more ridiculous parts of the operation, although every version of the story somehow ended with Nykos taking most of the credit.

"Didn’t he finish half the zone himself?"

One of the men leaned back in his chair while another laughed.

"Half? You’re being generous. I stopped counting after he wiped out that entire corridor."

"That’s because he doesn’t know how to share work."

The men laughed.

Someone raised his cup.

"To the boss, then. May he continue doing everything himself while we stand around pretending we’re helping."

The room broke into louder laughter.

Nykos wasn’t there to hear any of it.

That was probably why they felt brave enough to say it.

"He did save us a lot of trouble, though," another man admitted. "We would’ve taken much longer without him."

"And we got more energy stones than expected," someone else added as he glanced toward the storage room. "Those alone will cover a good portion of our next shipment."

The atmosphere remained relaxed for a while longer before the subject of their departure finally came up.

"So, when are we leaving Gaia?"

The question caused a few people to look at one another.

Their organization rarely remained on the same planet for too long. Gaia was useful, but there were limits to how much activity they could conduct before the military forces began noticing patterns.

Their commander also preferred movement over settling in one place.

Amar usually handled those arrangements.

"Probably soon," one of the men said. "The supplies are nearly sorted, and most of the loot has already been divided. Once the remaining transactions are finished, there’s no reason for us to stay."

Another man nodded.

"That’s true, but haven’t you heard what’s been happening at the Association?"

The conversation quieted slightly.

"I heard something happened inside the island."

"Something definitely happened," the first man replied. "The news about the Admiral has already reached everyone in Gaia! I don’t know why, but the Association has been unusually quiet about it, so it must be true."

Someone else leaned forward.

"I heard something else instead. Do you know that a privately owned contaminated zone was broken into last night? I heard the Association came too late to stop the intruders, and they even let them escape despite cornering them!"

A few men turned toward him at once.

"Fuck, are you serious?"

"Not exactly. But that’s what I heard from a merchant who came from the Association while I was buying some beer."

A low whistle passed through the room, followed by a few incredulous laughs.

Then someone laughed. "Whoever did that has to be insane."

Another man started laughing too. "Or really good at making a fool of the Association."

"What’s the difference?"

That earned another round of laughter.

One of them leaned back in his chair, clearly enjoying the story.

"Honestly, if the boss came out now and told me it was him who did it, I might believe it."

Several people laughed again.

"Don’t say that too loudly."

"Why? It’s not impossible."

"It’s not. But have you forgotten our boss can’t step near the island at all after what happened two years ago?"

"Oh."

Someone frowned. They didn’t know what had happened back then. Most of them had only heard it from a senior member of their organization, never the full story. All they knew was that Nykos had attacked the Chief Master of the Association.

The man who had joked about Nykos broke into laughter.

"Fine, fine. You’re right. That would be too insane, even for him."

They laughed again, and the subject slowly shifted back toward their loot.