"Mayor... what are you trying to do?"
"Going straight to the point as always, Mr. Rhys Wilder. Why don't you take a seat first and we can talk?"
"..."
Rhys stared at the mayor's smiling face for a few seconds, and yet he might as well just be doing nothing at all. Rhys has not noticed it before serving in the Underworld Corps, but there was something really odd about the deputy mayor.
He was smiling while he gestured to Rhys to sit, yes. And by all means, the tone of his voice was incredibly friendly, and it has always been.
But Rhys was now realizing the type of friendliness the mayor had — it was the type of friendliness that could allow him to take any child in the park with just a single word.
And in this case, Rhys was the child, he had been from the start.
And as he finally took a seat, the mayor's assistant, Dan, quickly placed a can of soda in front of him; ice, still lingering around its cylinder.
Rhys probably wouldn't bat an eye on this, but the can of soda the assistant placed in front of him was the soda he had learned to like while he was in the Underworld Corps.
It was the first thing he drank after a long mission, after a good meal, or just to alleviate a certain thirst for sugar.
In short, it was his new favorite drink. And knowing it should be impossible unless they were a part of Rhys's circle back in the Underworld Corps.
"It's just a drink, Rhys," the mayor let out a small chuckle while Dan poured a cup of boiling hot water for him. Not even coffee, but just boiling water.
...Has he always drank that? – Rhys thought. He wouldn't actually know, as most of the time he visited the mayor, his head was entirely stuck on the floor; no confidence to really look at anyone.
"Now, I can see you've gained an entire life story down there with the suicide squad," the mayor squinted his eyes as he looked at Rhys's missing arm, "Care to tell me what happened there, exactly?"
"I... have a feeling you already know," Rhys could really only let out a sigh as a loud pop snapped in the air as he opened his soda.
"I was mortified when I heard what happened to your first crew," the mayor let out a very long and deep sigh as he shook his head, before taking a sip of his scalding hot water; even seemingly letting out a satisfied breath after he did so,
"Now you know why I was so against you joining the Underworld Corps, kid. And now you're even missing an arm... But I suppose you gained something far more valuable in return, no?"
"..." Rhys's eyes started to squint.
"A sense of camaraderie," the mayor let out a hearty chuckle as he leaned his back on his chair completely relaxed.
"Did you pay the Explorer Association so I could pass the exam?" Rhys finally asked as he looked the mayor in the eyes, "Why would you do that?"
"...You have 30 children?"
***
[Everyone, listen up!]
And true enough, Rhys did truly meet the mayor's daughter — standing in front of all the examinees on top of a stage the association seemed to have finely set up for all of them. And behind Hannah, was a vaulted hole that has been used by the Old York Explorer Association as an examination ground for all their examinees.
There did not seem to be that many examinees now compared to before they took the knowledge test — perhaps less than half of them.
[As much as you want to be here, I have absolutely no interest to be here and see your annoying faces,] Hannah lazily waved the mic she was holding as she looked at each of the examinees in front of her; her eyes, ultimately landing on Rhys.
"..." Rhys also looked at Hannah from head to toe, and he still could not see any similarity between the two. Hannah was quite... small, even more petite than Lina. Her clothes were neat and extremely professional, and yet her personality seemed the complete opposite as she groaned with each word.
[And you!]
And as if Rhys wasn't already attracting enough attention as it is, being the only Lowborn in the crowd, Hannah singled him out by pointing at him.
[I am watching you, 120. Do not do any of your hocus pocus in this test because people have died here.]
The other examinees that weren't already previously talking about Rhys were now surely talking about him. But as always, Rhys has learned how to filter them out as he only focused on Hannah. Just what sort of position did she actually have in the association for her to just do something like this, and none of the other staff and employees seemed to dare stop her?
[Anyway, as I said, I don't want to waste all of our time so...]
"!!!"
Rhys felt himself being lifted up in the air. And it wasn't only him, the almost 500 examinees felt themselves very slowly being lifted up as Hannah raised her finger in the air. And soon, they found themselves right on top of the vaulted Hole.
[...I'll change the rules and whatnot of the Exploration test. Originally, you'll be given a certain task, yada yada. But since I am short on time, I am just going to decrease the difficulty a bit and just have you survive down there.]
And as Hannah started explaining, the large hatch of the vaulted Hole began to slide open.
[Easy, right?] Hannah breathed out,
[You just need to survive for an entire month, moving from one area to the next of my choosing.]
"W...wait, one month!?" One of the examinees screamed as he flinched in the air, "What do you mean a month? I... We didn't bring any supplies because this was only supposed to last for a day!"
[Well, yes. 1 day for me...
...your time don't matter.]