"Master Gron… what are you doing here?"
To Gauss, this really was a rare visitor—especially showing up right at his front door.
Gron actually came out from his blacksmith shop?
The last time they'd met was months ago, when Grayrock faced a monster tide. Gron Bates had fought on the walls then too, but the situation was urgent—there'd only been time for a quick face-to-face, no real conversation.
Before that, every meeting between them had been inside the smithy.
And in Gauss's memory, Gron almost never left the shop—like a craftsman completely immersed in his work.
Hearing the voice, Gron turned.
When he saw Gauss's familiar-yet-unfamiliar figure, he went a little dazed.
The Gauss in his memory—the skinny, slightly introverted boy who desperately needed a job to survive—couldn't have been more different from the man standing here now.
Every gesture carried a calm composure that belonged to the strong.
"Come in first. Let's talk inside."
From Gron's expression, Gauss could tell he'd come for a reason. This wasn't a good place to talk, so he guided him in.
It was afternoon. Realizing a friend had come to visit, Gauss's teammates didn't stick around to eavesdrop; they scattered to do their own thing.
Gauss brewed a pot of tea in the living room. With a flick of prestidigitation, he adjusted it to the perfect temperature.
He hadn't tried to hide where he lived, so plenty of people knew this house was his. For Gron, finding him wasn't hard.
They drank tea and exchanged a few pleasantries.
Gauss deliberately brought up his old days working at Gron's shop to break the ice. Little by little, the relationship—faded by time—warmed back up.
"If you hadn't helped me back then, I might've starved."
It was an exaggeration, but for the original owner of this body, those first days in Grayrock really had been the hardest stretch of his life.
New place, no connections, half-baked hunting skills with nowhere to use them… and a steady job—even one that didn't pay well—had mattered more than anything.
Later, after "he" became an adventurer, Gron had still offered help and information. Gauss had always remembered.
He'd thought about repaying him, but from what he'd seen, the retired Gron Bates seemed content—running the smithy more as a way to pass the time than as a need. So once Gauss had found success, he didn't force himself into Gron's quiet life.
Gron hesitated, but in the end he spoke. He was never the type to hide what was on his mind.
Gauss sipped his tea and listened patiently.
Gron was here because of Blackwater Town.
One of his closest adventuring comrades had chosen to settle in Blackwater after retirement. The man found a partner there and had a son and a daughter. When the kids had their blessing ceremony, Gron had even gone to visit.
If things had gone normally, it would've been a happy ending—at least by an adventurer's standards.
But a sudden, unannounced war destroyed everything.
The fighting around Blackwater had started earliest—and the casualties there had been the worst. The local guildmaster and many local professionals died. Gron's friend was among the dead.
Before he died, though, he'd entrusted a coded letter to refugees heading toward Grayrock. Chaos delayed it; the letter didn't reach Grayrock right away.
Only after several twists did it finally arrive in Gron's hands a few days ago.
In the letter, his friend said he'd hidden his children in an underground safe room, and begged Gron to rescue them if he ever could.
Gron had already packed his bags and was preparing to go alone.
Then he heard Gauss and his people were back in town—and that they were also heading toward the Blackwater region.
So he came.
"So why didn't he send his kids out with the refugee group?" Gauss asked, confused.
"First, it was urgent. No guarantee they'd make it out safely."
Gauss nodded—fair. Plenty of refugees died on the road.
"And my friend… he had a nasty temper. Made a lot of enemies. By then he was badly wounded too—couldn't protect his kids."
"Better to leave them in the safe room. It's fully stocked—enough food and water to last a year."
"And when he wrote the letter, he probably never imagined Blackwater would fall this completely."
Gauss took another sip.
He understood the unspoken part Gron didn't say: the man likely didn't trust strangers. The only person he truly trusted was his old teammate, Gron.
"So, Master Gron… you want to temporarily join my team?"
"Yes." Gron nodded. "I saved up a lot after retirement."
"I know it's an outrageous request. The pay might not be enough, but I'm willing to offer everything I own as commission."
Gauss waved it off.
Money wasn't the point. But he still had to think carefully before deciding.
The entire Blackwater area had fallen, and the town itself was a monster nest now. Pushing deep inside to extract two children was risky.
Both Gauss and Gron knew that.
But Gron was still willing to abandon the peace he valued most for his friend's children. Gauss respected that—deeply.
A man who'd risk his life for a friend's kids would likely risk his life for your people too, if things ever went wrong.
Whether good or bad, everyone prefers friends who keep faith.
"Master Gron, you've done me a real kindness. I want to help." Gauss said honestly. "But I have a lot of people under me now. I need to discuss it with them before I can give you an answer."
If he were alone, he could follow his personal feelings. But now he had people—he had to consider their safety.
"Understood." Gron nodded.
He'd once been part of an adventuring squad too. He understood the burden of responsibility.
Gauss thought for a moment.
Overall, he didn't think the risk was extreme—especially since he now had a space spell, Any Door. If things went bad, he could reposition or extract fast.
"All right. We're set to depart tomorrow. Tonight we'll hold an internal meeting." Gauss said. "No matter what, I'll give you an answer tomorrow morning."
…
Near evening, Red Dragon Company's core members started gathering at Gauss's house.
His teammates. Torga's group. Ivan. And a couple of action-team leaders.
Gauss looked at Shadow, who had just returned after receiving word from the ravens.
"Back?"
"Yeah." Shadow nodded.
These days, Grayrock had been flooded with outsiders. Soldiers patrolled, but manpower was limited—you couldn't cover every alley.
With so many adventurers—good and bad mixed together—order naturally got messier.
"Nothing serious?" Gauss asked.
"Just taught a few thieves a lesson," Shadow replied.
Gauss sometimes went with her when he had time—being the town's "good neighbor," so to speak.
"Anything happens, contact me immediately," he added. He trusted Shadow's strength, but still reminded her.
He wasn't stingy with kindness to ordinary people—but teammates came first.
"Relax." Shadow nodded.
Soon everyone was present.
In the living room, Gauss had already prepared dinner.
After they ate, he moved to the main topic: the pre-operation briefing.
This mission—aside from some noncombat staff staying behind in Grayrock to process loot—would involve everyone else going with him into the monster-held Blackwater region.
Including everyone Gauss knew well, plus five action-team leaders and deputies in the 1–3 range.
He laid out the structure of Red Dragon Company's combat side:
Top: Gauss, the commander.
First Squad (Main Force): the core decision group—Alia, Shadow, Albena, Selandur, and Hephaestus. If Gauss wasn't present (rare), any of them could command the others.
Second Squad (Support): Torga's dwarf team—Torga (6), Bruno (5), Teb (4), Sean (3), Rick (3).
Action Teams: led by Ivan, with two 3rd-level leaders (Jeremy and Phoebe), three 1–2 level deputies, and roughly twenty-some seasoned adventurers—mostly newer recruits.
Jeremy, Phoebe, and the deputies didn't speak much. They mostly listened, curiosity bright in their eyes as they looked at their young commander.
After Ivan finished the standard agenda, Gauss said:
"Standard briefing's done."
"There's one more thing I want your opinion on."
Ivan blinked. This wasn't in the earlier draft they'd discussed, but he immediately responded.
"Captain, please speak."
Gauss briefly explained who Gron was and what he wanted.
Ivan read Gauss's intent instantly.
"If he helped you, Captain… then he helped all of us. We should help him."
"No." Gauss shook his head. "I'll take two people in. Too many would increase exposure."
That was partly saving face—truthfully, bringing a crowd would only create liabilities he'd have to protect.
And with fewer people, Any Door was easier to use for emergency extraction.
Ivan, thinking clearly, also realized it.
"I'll go with Shadow and Alia." Gauss continued. "Albena, Selandur, Torga—take the others and operate on the outer perimeter."
"Understood," everyone agreed.
Shadow's mobility would help locate the safe room. Alia could fight and also shapeshift to scout or escape if needed.
With Albena leading the main group, safety was solid.
The meeting ended. People returned to the mansion compound to make final checks.
…
The next morning, just after sunrise, a nervous Gron arrived at Gauss's gate.
After returning to his smithy yesterday, he'd started regretting it. He felt like he shouldn't drag Gauss into danger—like he was using an old favor as leverage.
But they'd agreed to talk this morning, so he came anyway.
"Morning."
"Have you eaten, Master Gron?"
Gauss was up early too. He brought him inside.
"I… I have."
"Gauss. I thought about it all night." Gron's face was rigid. "I shouldn't pull you into this. Forget what I asked yesterday."
"So you're going to enter Blackwater alone?" Gauss asked gently, smiling. "Even if you're strong, you can't safely pull two children out of that place by yourself."
Gron fell silent.
Gauss wasn't being harsh—he was stating reality.
Gron might be able to fight his way in. But rescue and extraction was a different problem.
"I can hire other adventurers," Gron said tightly.
"There aren't many around here who can do it," Gauss replied. "And they might not be willing to take that risk."
Gron didn't answer. He knew Gauss was right.
"I can help you, Gron." Gauss slid him a cup of warm milk. "And I'm strong."
"Stronger than you think."
Gron looked up.
Gauss continued, calm and steady:
"Let me take this."
"If I can bring those kids out, I will."
~~~
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