“Zone number?”
The cold voice, filled with authority, asked.
“Contamination Zone 009, My Lord.”
Hearing the number, the figure standing before the enormous glass window paused.
He had been looking down at the Imperial City while slowly swirling a cup half-filled with red wine.
He paused for a moment before continuing to swirl it.
“What caused it?”
“According to our analysts, the Eastern Region Marshal and his team went inside because of its sudden expansion.
According to the report he sent to the Queen, he said he did not know exactly what caused it.”
This time, the man turned to face the kneeling figure on the floor.
“Don’t tell me you believe that.
Find the cause and report back to me immediately.”
After saying that, he turned back toward the window.
“Leave.”
“Y…
Yes, My Lord.”
The kneeling man stood up, but his legs buckled, and he fell back onto his knees.
He dared not make a sound despite the severe pain in his knees.
Instead, he hurriedly stood up and left the room.
The door closed behind him, and silence returned.
The man gazed at the glittering Imperial City below.
For a moment, his expression remained unreadable.
Then his fingers tightened slightly around his cup of wine.
“Contamination Zone 009…”
He murmured the number, his eyes narrowing.
“Just what exactly caused your disappearance?”
Elsewhere in the same city, Rosie sat with her parents, feeling a little uneasy at the news that the Contamination Zone had dissipated.
“Mother, Father, do you think this has to do with Hazel?” she asked.
She is an F-class Guide.
Remember, how could she have the capability when she could not even manifest her spirit body?” her mother said confidently.
Though her father did not say anything, the fact that he nodded after Mother Xu finished talking eased Rosie’s troubled mind.
‘Why did she think an F-class Guide orphan would make any waves?
She just happened to be in the Eastern Region when all this happened.
It could not have anything to do with her,’ Rosie thought.
*** ** ****
Hazel did not sleep all night, but her spirit was still good the next morning.
She had just left her room when Jane also came out of hers.
“Hi, how are you doing?”
“Good,” Hazel replied.
“That’s great to hear,” Jane said, following behind Hazel.
At first, Hazel thought they were just going the same way.
But as she went to the kitchen to check for missing utensils, Jane followed behind her.
Then, when she left the kitchen, planning to return to her room, Jane was still following her, so she finally stopped in front of her door.
Standing at the entrance, she turned to Jane.
“Is something the matter?” Hazel asked.
“Well, I forgot to tell you one more thing when you first came.
So, I am your personal assistant, and I will be scheduling the time and number of people you would give guidance to,” Jane replied.
“So, I want to ask what time is best for you to give guidance, and how many Sentinels can you guide in a day?” she added.
Then, she handed over a tab that Hazel had not even noticed she was carrying.
“Here is the schedule the Imperial City gave for guidance and the number of Sentinels that can be guided based on the class of the Guide.”
Hazel took the tab, her eyes immediately scanning through the screen.
The guiding section was meant to be from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m., with just two days off.
Also, the number of Sentinels an F-class Guide could guide was limited to Sentinels at E-class before their mental health power decreased, and this would cause a severe headache.
Seeing this, she could not help but turn to Jane and ask, “What is the Marshal’s class?”
“SSS-class.”
‘SSS-class, and I felt nothing after guiding him?’ As she thought this, her thoughts returned to Simon’s certainty that she was not an F-class Guide.
‘I really have to do another test,’ she thought. Get faster updates on g.com.
“I will just give guidance to five Sentinels, with three being for Sentinels under A-class and the two for A-class Sentinels,” Hazel said as she handed the tab back to Jane.
“We would also follow the time stated by the Empire,” she added, to which Jane nodded.
“Are we also following the Empire’s arrangement pertaining to money?”
“How much?”
Jane immediately tapped on the screen of her tab, then began reading out, “For F-class Guides, 5,000 star credits; for E-class Guides, 10,000 star credits; for D-class Guides, 20,000 star credits…”
The prices only became more expensive as she read.
Like, just for guidance, how could it be so expensive?
Did they even stop to think that not everyone was rich or had a noble title?
‘How much are they even paying the soldiers?
No wonder most Sentinels are not able to get guidance other than once a year, with some only getting it three times a year.’
Jane had already stopped reading at this moment, only staring at Hazel’s expressionless face.
Hoping that she would not ask such an exorbitant price from the Sentinels here, since the majority could not really afford it.
“We won’t be using the Empire’s arrangement concerning payment.
We should go with a not-too-cheap and not-too-expensive amount,” Hazel added.
While Jane, hearing the first part, breathed out in relief, “Yes, I think so.”
“Let’s just collect 2,000 star credits for now,” Hazel said, to which Jane nodded several times, though she was wondering why Hazel said “for now.”
‘The price may be raised just a little after I do another ranking test,’ Hazel thought.
They had just finished talking when they heard voices from downstairs.
Jane headed down to attend to them while Hazel returned to her room.
She had just sat on her bed for some minutes when a knock sounded on her door, followed by Jane’s voice.
“The Marshal’s team members are waiting for you downstairs.”
Hazel stood from the bed and headed downstairs.
There, she saw Simon’s teammates all sitting at the reception.
Immediately after they saw her, the men stood up.
“Guide Hazel.”
“Guide Hazel, how are you doing?
We were so worried.
You slept for two days, scaring us all,” Louis began.
“Yes, Guide Hazel, we were planning to take you to the hospital if you kept on sleeping today,” Clide added.