Clyde wasn't really expecting to hear anything good from Maethion. He only asked about it because he wanted to try it. But it turned out that Maethion's answer was quite surprising.
"You have e few things in mind?" Clyde asked again with raised eyebrows. Maethion could see that Clyde was quite excited about that. But he doesn't know why.
"Why do you ask about that, though?" Maethion asked with a frown on his face.
Clyde didn't answer right away. He still didn't know how much he had to open up to Maethion. Even though they had talked quite a bit and decided to be on good terms with each other, Clyde still didn't trust the Elf.
"I want to get stronger," said Clyde. He didn't lie about it. "In the mission, I carried out a few days ago with Samuel and his party, I killed one of the Archangel Uriel's envoys."
Maethion nodded while making an expression to show that he understood. Maethion of course already knew about what happened in the expedition mission to Ruin to retrieve the artifact since he was one of the Senior Council.
Samuel reported everything in detail to Vernik and Madri. Then the two of them relayed the information to Maethion.
Clyde could also see right away that Maethion knew what he was talking about.
"So you want to kill Celestials envoys again and get their power?" Maethion asked.
Clyde nodded briefly and firmly.
"I see you are quite greedy with power. Be careful, it can drown you."
"You don't have to worry about that," Clyde said. "So do you have anything I can do?"
"Yes. But I can't give you that mission for now," replied Mathion.
"Why?"
Mathion shook his head with a troubled expression. "Not yet. And before you ask why, no, I can't tell you why."
Maethion seemed to know enough about Clyde's character to question something he didn't understand. So before the question came out Maethion already said no as an answer.
Clyde just snorted. "Okay."
"But don't worry. I can give it to you when the time comes. And it won't take long because I know something is going to happen," Maethion said. "Then, I'll be going now. Enjoy your time with your sword. I guess you guys are missing each other, right?"
Maethion then walked away from the place leaving Clyde. Meanwhile, Clyde decided to stay here for a few minutes and enjoy the peaceful lake scenery.
Even though this lake always looked like a dark mirror reflecting the night sky above, Clyde felt that it still looked calming.
He paused here for a while thinking about his life before arriving at this place. Realizing that he had had an extraordinary adventure, Clyde smiled to himself.
"Maybe... I can write some kind of story out of all of this."
~~~
Several days passed without anything meaningful to Clyde. He just woke up, ate, then headed to the plains to practice.
During that time, Samuel and the rest of his party continued to make expeditions to the Ruin or one of the Celestial's domains. But they didn't ask Clyde to join them.
Samuel said that the Senior Council suggested that Clyde not join the expedition for now. The Senior Council said that he had helped quite a lot and could rest for a while.
However, Clyde was not convinced by that reason. He had already talked to Maethion and the Elf didn't mention anything about him having to rest.
So, maybe it was the decision of the other Senior Council members who didn't want him to join the expedition for some reason.
Clyde didn't say any further because that would just be a pain. After all, he knew that the Senior Council's decision was something he couldn't go against.
Samuel and his party members seemed to regret leaving Clyde behind. However, Clyde didn't seem to care about that because for him it was no big deal.
Clyde was just waiting for Maethion to arrive who said he would give him his own mission. But after three weeks, Maethion still hasn't appeared.
Clyde kept telling himself to be patient. He knew that Maethion would definitely come and give him the mission because he also wanted to get something out of it.
So Clyde just waited.
And finally, the green bird came back to him. Clyde who was in the plains stopped swinging his sword and stared at the little bird.
"Sorry for making you wait. Are you feeling annoyed for waiting so long? Haha."
Maethion's voice came from the bird's beak. Then came his laughter. All of that created a strange sight because the sound of laughter came from the beak of a small bird.
"What should I do?" Clyde decided to brush the weirdness off and get to the point.
"You must be looking forward to taking on that mission, huh? Unfortunately, you can't take it on your own."
The reply from Mathion made Clyde frown. "What do you mean?"
"I want to explain in more detail. But I can't meet you right now. You have to get at least three other companions to carry out this mission."
Clyde exhaled and looked away. He hates it. That means he has to interact with other people in this Fortress to carry out the mission.
"Is there no other way?" Clyde asked with a face full of annoyance.
"No. Remember, I gave you this mission in secret, especially for you. So at least don't make this any more suspicious by setting off alone.
I know you are strong enough to do that. It's not that I doubt your strength but I also have to secure my own position, you know?"
That was an argument Clyde could understand. Maethion was certainly no fool and created several countermeasures to overcome the suspicions that might be leveled against him.
"You have to find at least three companions before I give you the mission."
After those words left the bird's beak, the little green bird immediately flew away.
Clyde sighed. "This really sucks."
~~~