- Episode 23
It was an order to summon none other than Estio to the headquarters. Ignis is a huge guild that has taken root throughout the empire. Most of the issues can be resolved by each branch, and on the contrary, in the case of a request that is difficult to resolve in that branch, the headquarters often came out with support. However, it was very rare for the headquarters to issue a summons order as it is now.
'Summon orders can be viewed in two ways.'
However, if the imperial pressure entered.
Second, if you are a person with powerful abilities that threatens to be managed directly by the headquarters.
There was no detailed reason in the order, but only a summons, but there was a bigger problem.
The 'Estio' had been missing for ten days from the date of his last mission. In addition, in the case of Viscount Fabien, whom he commissioned, all the family members blocked the gate for ten days and left the door out. I had no way of knowing what was going on. Even if I did this kind of investigation about him, only baseless rumors abounded, such as 'Viscount Fabien went crazy', 'My famous daughter Serarin fell ill with a serious illness', or that there was a mysterious murder case.
And at the end of the rumor, there was also talk of 'Estio', a guild member dispatched by Ignis. People recognized him as a monster.
'That friend is not someone who can easily hurt others!'
Hawk, who was delighted to have a good companion, was greatly embarrassed and ran here and there, but to no avail. These days, I felt like my head would explode because I didn't know the truth, but when I got a summons from headquarters, I really wanted to vomit fire like a dragon.
Rosalie, who looked through the eyes of understanding Hawke's frustration, handed him the paper holder he was holding.
"Chief of the branch."
"And why! What! If you even want to scratch my clothes."
"Estio-kun has returned."
"......!"
Hawk, who had exploded with anger on his face, became as tall as a stone.
"That... why now..."
Estio, who was standing holding the doorknob with a puzzled expression on his face with his stiffly raised head, came in. Hawk slammed the desk once more and jumped to his feet.
"Estio-?!"
"The return is late. I'm sorry."
"You really! No, now you, you."
Hawk didn't even breathe and ran to him after a month. The subordinate guild member, who appeared in ten days, looked so dirty that he remembered the day Hawke met him. The guild uniform, which was originally made of neat black and white, was very dirty as it was soaked with dirt and blood.
The cactus plant he was holding in his arms was annoying, but Estio didn't seem to be hurt anyway, so Hawk patted his shoulder with a relieved face.
"Good job."
"......"
Estio's dark blue eyes slowly turned towards him at the word he handed over without any questioning.
"...don't you ask about the progress?"
"Of course, we have to submit the mission report. Do you know how much shit we burned because you couldn't contact us all of a sudden? Hemorrhoids, which we thought were cured, recurred."
"Ji, the branch manager..."
At those words, Rosalie, who was standing next to her, brought tears to her eyes. As Estio just stared blankly without any reaction, Hawk coughed twice with a look of embarrassment.
"Hmm. No, this is over. Yeah, I'm glad you came back safely like this. You don't know how many times you lose great talents in vain because you deal with such a tough job."
Hawke thought he was genuinely lucky. Now he felt his headache subside a bit. After a long sigh, he suddenly noticed that the white fur monkey, who had always been following Estio, was nowhere to be found and looked around.
"Um? But where did your mate go?"
"If it's your partner."
"A white-haired monkey. Your friend."
Estio smiled slightly at Hawk, who called Neju a friend.
"He's got some injuries and is resting."
"injury?"
"Yes. Almost everything is going now, but just in case you don't know."
Hmm, Hawk nodded, stroking his ragged beard that had not been shaved for a few days.
"I'm glad it wasn't a serious injury."
In fact, it was a serious injury, but it only healed well with Neju's unique self-healing ability. Estio remained silent without needing to point out that fact. Hawk checked his expression, which looked strangely exhausted, and continued.
"For now, let's go in and get a good rest today. Please submit the report within three days."
"I'm sorry, but that's difficult. Captain Hawk Galatia."
At that moment, there was a person who seriously disturbed him by calling Hawk by his official name. Hawk felt a headache again and looked at him with bitter eyes.
"I'm giving a guild member a rest, just returning from a mission, what's the problem? Bernie Parker deliveryman."
Parker, wearing a delivery crossbody bag, flapped his wings once. Then his white feathers flew here and there.
'Angel?'
This was the first time Estio had seen the Joining tribe. His white feathers matched his emerald-colored hair, making him feel as if he were seeing an angel descending from heaven.
"'Estio' of the Galasia branch must go with me to the headquarters."
The non-human purple eyes turned directly to Estio.
"Right Now."
* * *
Estio obeyed the summoning order from the guild headquarters.
Next to him, Hawk jumped and jumped, asking why he was so carefree, but he dismissed the situation in one word.
'As long as you join the guild anyway, if you don't want to leave the guild, you can't argue with the headquarters' decision, right?'
In the end, Hawk groaned and helped him get straight to packing. He actually didn't have anything to bring with him, even if it was his luggage, but he packed a new backpack full of supplies that would be quite helpful for the trip, along with the amount of money converted into coins.
Knock Knock Knock Knock Down.
The sound of wheels rolling over rough ground was heard with a constant beat.
Unlike Parker, who was a joiner, Estio did not have wings to fly and needed a horse or carriage to move quickly. Growing up in a rural village, he had never learned to ride a horse, so his only option was a wagon.
Fortunately, there was no need to worry about this, and the guild headquarters provided him with a carriage for express transportation. This large, sturdy, and attached wagon with an attendant had plenty of room for Estio, Parker, and Neju to ride together.
'Thank you, Hawk, and I'm sorry.'
Estio leaned his head against the wall of the carriage and closed his eyes. I didn't really want to see the face of the delivery man Parker sitting right across from me or the glint out the window.
'...I'm glad I have a place to go to......'
It was more comfortable for him to distance himself from Viscount Fabien.
"okay!"
"......?"
Estio, unable to overcome the crowding fatigue, was just about to fall asleep, and the cactus sitting quietly beside him suddenly shouted. Estio turned his head slightly, and Ahur spoke to him with excitement.
"Ahem! This body finds out what Estio's problem is. Aren't you curious? huh? Are you curious?"
As if being quiet all this time was a lie, Ahur was babbling. She was so excited that she even shook her thorns. Estio thought for a moment that even a cactus branch could move if he did just that, Ahur stabbed him in the head.
"Estio is not very good at rejecting. Don't be too swayed by what other people do. Or no, if you don't like it, don't like it, why can't you say it! This cactus is my cactus, why can't you talk!"
"......"
"Why are you like this, Estio-sama?"
"it's nothing."
"Huh. You hid me!"
Ahur created a sectarian group that squirmed like an abandoned wife.
"It's nothing, too good."
"......"
"This is the conclusion I came to after thinking hard and not sleeping for 48 hours and 53 minutes!"
"......"
"Heh, I'm tired, Ahur."
Estio suddenly wanted to ask him if a cactus was originally a sleeping creature, but he suppressed it. And he slowly opened his mouth.
"...I'm sorry, Ahur."
Parker's eyes flew back and focused on him, but Estio didn't mind.
"Noisy."
"Yes."
Ahur quietly shut his mouth at the expression of his clear refusal.
"Is that just a conversation with a plant?"
Just as silence was about to flow in the carriage again, Parker asked with a curious look. Estio opened her eyes again and answered briefly.
"Yes."
"That's great. I heard that Estio-nim has the ability to read thoughts."
"Yes."
"Then can you read my thoughts now?"
The other party didn't even know that what he was saying was a very rude question. When Estio heard the question, he pondered for a moment whether he should answer it. He didn't seem malicious, but he was bothered to reply.
At that moment, Neju, who had been curled up next to her, opened her eyes. Parker, who felt threatened by the white fur monkey, who was ringing in his throat, gathered his wings to flinch, and Estio's dry reply came.
"'It's amazing. It's scary. Wow. White-haired monkeys are wild beasts, but what if they get eaten?'"
Even the exclamation was sternly spoken as if reading a Korean book. Parker's mouth widened as he looked at Estio, who literally read his mind as if he were reading a letter.
"'Really. Did I ask for nothing? It's so embarrassing......'"
"Ahh, I see! No, I'm sorry! Estio-sama. I've answered you well enough, so it's okay to stop reading."
"Aren't you curious now?"
"Yep. It's my heart even if I don't have to listen out loud."
Parker smirked and scratched the back of the head.
"Mom, she's a little weird."
Instead of responding to the cactus who entered into a strange situation play, Estio held a flowerpot in his arms. And with the other hand, he patted Neju's back, who had just woken up.
"Sleep more, Neju."
"〨."
"We still have a long way to go."
The white-haired monkey looked at him and the Zoin in turn. Somehow I felt negative emotions from Estio, so I opened my eyes, but now it looks okay again. Although Parker was a stranger, he was a member of the same guild as Estio, so Neju was also safe and spoke human language in front of him.
"What about Estio?"
"I slept a little too."
It was a lie. Because of these and other thoughts, her head was complicated, and even though she was tired, she couldn't close her eyes. Crucially, Ahur and Parker had slept away a while ago, so it was not the right situation to get a good night's sleep. Estio hid that fact and encouraged Neju.
"You look tired."
Neju opened her eyes and muttered.
"Yes. I'm tired."
"It's like that, right?"
Neju, who was wondering if she could be of any help, immediately turned to look at him with a brightened face.
"Neju will be the Estio pillow!"
- Episode 23
It was an order to summon none other than Estio to the headquarters. Ignis is a huge guild that has taken root throughout the empire. Most of the issues can be resolved by each branch, and on the contrary, in the case of a request that is difficult to resolve in that branch, the headquarters often came out with support. However, it was very rare for the headquarters to issue a summons order as it is now.
'Summon orders can be viewed in two ways.'
However, if the imperial pressure entered.
Second, if you are a person with powerful abilities that threatens to be managed directly by the headquarters.
There was no detailed reason in the order, but only a summons, but there was a bigger problem.
The 'Estio' had been missing for ten days from the date of his last mission. In addition, in the case of Viscount Fabien, whom he commissioned, all the family members blocked the gate for ten days and left the door out. I had no way of knowing what was going on. Even if I did this kind of investigation about him, only baseless rumors abounded, such as 'Viscount Fabien went crazy', 'My famous daughter Serarin fell ill with a serious illness', or that there was a mysterious murder case.
And at the end of the rumor, there was also talk of 'Estio', a guild member dispatched by Ignis. People recognized him as a monster.
'That friend is not someone who can easily hurt others!'
Hawk, who was delighted to have a good companion, was greatly embarrassed and ran here and there, but to no avail. These days, I felt like my head would explode because I didn't know the truth, but when I got a summons from headquarters, I really wanted to vomit fire like a dragon.
Rosalie, who looked through the eyes of understanding Hawke's frustration, handed him the paper holder he was holding.
"Chief of the branch."
"And why! What! If you even want to scratch my clothes."
"Estio-kun has returned."
"......!"
Hawk, who had exploded with anger on his face, became as tall as a stone.
"That... why now..."
Estio, who was standing holding the doorknob with a puzzled expression on his face with his stiffly raised head, came in. Hawk slammed the desk once more and jumped to his feet.
"Estio-?!"
"The return is late. I'm sorry."
"You really! No, now you, you."
Hawk didn't even breathe and ran to him after a month. The subordinate guild member, who appeared in ten days, looked so dirty that he remembered the day Hawke met him. The guild uniform, which was originally made of neat black and white, was very dirty as it was soaked with dirt and blood.
The cactus plant he was holding in his arms was annoying, but Estio didn't seem to be hurt anyway, so Hawk patted his shoulder with a relieved face.
"Good job."
"......"
Estio's dark blue eyes slowly turned towards him at the word he handed over without any questioning.
"...don't you ask about the progress?"
"Of course, we have to submit the mission report. Do you know how much shit we burned because you couldn't contact us all of a sudden? Hemorrhoids, which we thought were cured, recurred."
"Ji, the branch manager..."
At those words, Rosalie, who was standing next to her, brought tears to her eyes. As Estio just stared blankly without any reaction, Hawk coughed twice with a look of embarrassment.
"Hmm. No, this is over. Yeah, I'm glad you came back safely like this. You don't know how many times you lose great talents in vain because you deal with such a tough job."
Hawke thought he was genuinely lucky. Now he felt his headache subside a bit. After a long sigh, he suddenly noticed that the white fur monkey, who had always been following Estio, was nowhere to be found and looked around.
"Um? But where did your mate go?"
"If it's your partner."
"A white-haired monkey. Your friend."
Estio smiled slightly at Hawk, who called Neju a friend.
"He's got some injuries and is resting."
"injury?"
"Yes. Almost everything is going now, but just in case you don't know."
Hmm, Hawk nodded, stroking his ragged beard that had not been shaved for a few days.
"I'm glad it wasn't a serious injury."
In fact, it was a serious injury, but it only healed well with Neju's unique self-healing ability. Estio remained silent without needing to point out that fact. Hawk checked his expression, which looked strangely exhausted, and continued.
"For now, let's go in and get a good rest today. Please submit the report within three days."
"I'm sorry, but that's difficult. Captain Hawk Galatia."
At that moment, there was a person who seriously disturbed him by calling Hawk by his official name. Hawk felt a headache again and looked at him with bitter eyes.
"I'm giving a guild member a rest, just returning from a mission, what's the problem? Bernie Parker deliveryman."
Parker, wearing a delivery crossbody bag, flapped his wings once. Then his white feathers flew here and there.
'Angel?'
This was the first time Estio had seen the Joining tribe. His white feathers matched his emerald-colored hair, making him feel as if he were seeing an angel descending from heaven.
"'Estio' of the Galasia branch must go with me to the headquarters."
The non-human purple eyes turned directly to Estio.
"Right Now."
* * *
Estio obeyed the summoning order from the guild headquarters.
Next to him, Hawk jumped and jumped, asking why he was so carefree, but he dismissed the situation in one word.
'As long as you join the guild anyway, if you don't want to leave the guild, you can't argue with the headquarters' decision, right?'
In the end, Hawk groaned and helped him get straight to packing. He actually didn't have anything to bring with him, even if it was his luggage, but he packed a new backpack full of supplies that would be quite helpful for the trip, along with the amount of money converted into coins.
Knock Knock Knock Knock Down.
The sound of wheels rolling over rough ground was heard with a constant beat.
Unlike Parker, who was a joiner, Estio did not have wings to fly and needed a horse or carriage to move quickly. Growing up in a rural village, he had never learned to ride a horse, so his only option was a wagon.
Fortunately, there was no need to worry about this, and the guild headquarters provided him with a carriage for express transportation. This large, sturdy, and attached wagon with an attendant had plenty of room for Estio, Parker, and Neju to ride together.
'Thank you, Hawk, and I'm sorry.'
Estio leaned his head against the wall of the carriage and closed his eyes. I didn't really want to see the face of the delivery man Parker sitting right across from me or the glint out the window.
'...I'm glad I have a place to go to......'
It was more comfortable for him to distance himself from Viscount Fabien.
"okay!"
"......?"
Estio, unable to overcome the crowding fatigue, was just about to fall asleep, and the cactus sitting quietly beside him suddenly shouted. Estio turned his head slightly, and Ahur spoke to him with excitement.
"Ahem! This body finds out what Estio's problem is. Aren't you curious? huh? Are you curious?"
As if being quiet all this time was a lie, Ahur was babbling. She was so excited that she even shook her thorns. Estio thought for a moment that even a cactus branch could move if he did just that, Ahur stabbed him in the head.
"Estio is not very good at rejecting. Don't be too swayed by what other people do. Or no, if you don't like it, don't like it, why can't you say it! This cactus is my cactus, why can't you talk!"
"......"
"Why are you like this, Estio-sama?"
"it's nothing."
"Huh. You hid me!"
Ahur created a sectarian group that squirmed like an abandoned wife.
"It's nothing, too good."
"......"
"This is the conclusion I came to after thinking hard and not sleeping for 48 hours and 53 minutes!"
"......"
"Heh, I'm tired, Ahur."
Estio suddenly wanted to ask him if a cactus was originally a sleeping creature, but he suppressed it. And he slowly opened his mouth.
"...I'm sorry, Ahur."
Parker's eyes flew back and focused on him, but Estio didn't mind.
"Noisy."
"Yes."
Ahur quietly shut his mouth at the expression of his clear refusal.
"Is that just a conversation with a plant?"
Just as silence was about to flow in the carriage again, Parker asked with a curious look. Estio opened her eyes again and answered briefly.
"Yes."
"That's great. I heard that Estio-nim has the ability to read thoughts."
"Yes."
"Then can you read my thoughts now?"
The other party didn't even know that what he was saying was a very rude question. When Estio heard the question, he pondered for a moment whether he should answer it. He didn't seem malicious, but he was bothered to reply.
At that moment, Neju, who had been curled up next to her, opened her eyes. Parker, who felt threatened by the white fur monkey, who was ringing in his throat, gathered his wings to flinch, and Estio's dry reply came.
"'It's amazing. It's scary. Wow. White-haired monkeys are wild beasts, but what if they get eaten?'"
Even the exclamation was sternly spoken as if reading a Korean book. Parker's mouth widened as he looked at Estio, who literally read his mind as if he were reading a letter.
"'Really. Did I ask for nothing? It's so embarrassing......'"
"Ahh, I see! No, I'm sorry! Estio-sama. I've answered you well enough, so it's okay to stop reading."
"Aren't you curious now?"
"Yep. It's my heart even if I don't have to listen out loud."
Parker smirked and scratched the back of the head.
"Mom, she's a little weird."
Instead of responding to the cactus who entered into a strange situation play, Estio held a flowerpot in his arms. And with the other hand, he patted Neju's back, who had just woken up.
"Sleep more, Neju."
"〨."
"We still have a long way to go."
The white-haired monkey looked at him and the Zoin in turn. Somehow I felt negative emotions from Estio, so I opened my eyes, but now it looks okay again. Although Parker was a stranger, he was a member of the same guild as Estio, so Neju was also safe and spoke human language in front of him.
"What about Estio?"
"I slept a little too."
It was a lie. Because of these and other thoughts, her head was complicated, and even though she was tired, she couldn't close her eyes. Crucially, Ahur and Parker had slept away a while ago, so it was not the right situation to get a good night's sleep. Estio hid that fact and encouraged Neju.
"You look tired."
Neju opened her eyes and muttered.
"Yes. I'm tired."
"It's like that, right?"
Neju, who was wondering if she could be of any help, immediately turned to look at him with a brightened face.
"Neju will be the Estio pillow!"
