CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 16: SCENIC VIEWS AND HIDDEN WORRIES (3)

Early the next morning, the mission hall.

When Hannah walked into the compartment to distribute tasks, she immediately spotted the disguised Andrew and Christina. She froze for a moment, then slowly stepped back, glanced down the hallways on both sides, and only then walked in with an astonished expression: "Good morning, Miss Christina. Mr. Duru didn’t come along?"

"He..." Christina opened her mouth slightly as if to answer, but the moment she started speaking, her voice gave out, and she began coughing violently, completely lacking any composure.

Andrew had no choice but to step in quickly and said, "Mr. Duru had some business that required him to travel far. We probably won’t be able to see him for a while."

"And this is...?"

"Conrad. I’m a new recruit of the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group. Or rather, still under observation, so I haven’t been officially registered yet."

"The Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group has a new recruit? Well, congratulations." As she spoke, Hannah sat down in her seat, casually selected a few documents from her files, and passed them over—but only to Christina.

Andrew watched Hannah from the side, spreading his hands exaggeratedly.

"Oh, my apologies. Here’s another copy, which was originally prepared for Mr. Duru. Since he’s not here, I suppose I can give it to you instead." With that, Hannah extracted a few more documents and handed them to Andrew.

Andrew took the documents and began perusing them carefully.

"These mission options are relatively urgent and come with decent compensation. Of course, they can’t compare to your last mission. Personally, I’d recommend choosing one or two of these. As a benefit for being a Level 6 Mercenary Group, you’re allowed to pick tasks first. The remaining missions will be distributed to contracted Level 5 Mercenary Groups."

Christina glanced cautiously at Andrew beside her, then looked down at the list of missions in her hand and the accompanying introductions. Her eyes were blinking aimlessly, as though her mind was elsewhere.

After a while, Hannah asked softly, "So? Any decisions? Or is there a specific mission Miss Christina is interested in? I can give a deeper explanation."

Christina pointed to one mission randomly, saying, "This one."

"This one..."

"Wait. That one won’t do." Before Hannah could finish speaking, Andrew had already placed his own mission list in front of her, pointing to another mission and interrupting, "Let’s hear about this one."

Hannah was momentarily stunned, her eyes darting back and forth between Christina and Andrew.

...

"Miss Christina, is he really just a recruit under observation in your group?"

Christina hesitated slightly before nodding, then lowered her head and stole a nervous glance at Andrew, who stood some distance away.

Though Andrew stood far away, he could hear every bit of their conversation clearly. Naturally, he had to pretend he hadn’t heard anything. After all, humans aren’t supposed to have hearing that sharp.

"I think he’s a bit out of line. If it were Mr. Duru, it’d make sense, but him... I’ve never seen a mercenary, still under observation, who dares order the leader around like this. Maybe you’re too forgiving, so you don’t mind. Still, as an advisor to the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group, I’m obliged to give you some advice. You shouldn’t be so lenient on new recruits—otherwise, it might undermine our trust in the group."

Christina continued to nod lightly in response.

"So, should we go with the mission you picked earlier?"

"No!" Christina quickly interjected, "We’ll take the one he chose!"

Hannah froze for a moment, unsure how to respond. In the end, she could only spread her hands helplessly: "Alright, the mission he picked, if that’s what you insist."

Hannah left, obviously a little frustrated and uncertain about how to judge the situation.

"Maybe you shouldn’t have done that..." Christina softly said to Andrew.

"It’s fine. It’s just the beginning; they’ll get used to it quickly. It’s never been an issue before." With that, Andrew turned and started walking away.

Christina hurriedly chased after him.

"Let’s handle the formalities. I’ll register my alternate identity with the mercenary group so they’ll stop having so many complaints. At least, there’ll be a few less."

"Mm!" Christina nodded firmly and heavily.

...

"Sir, what are you trying to do?" The young lady at the adventurer guild’s service desk stared at Andrew blankly.

It was the same girl who had once tricked him into helping cheat. However, this time she’d swapped to a new persona. And crucially, she believed she was facing a completely different person. At least, she thought so.

"I... shouldn’t I leave my fingerprint?" Andrew asked, puzzled.

"Yes, it’s correct that you need to leave a fingerprint. But it has to be the right thumb, not the left," the young lady replied blankly.

"Why must it be the right thumb?"

"Because that’s how the rules are written."

"But I’m left-handed."

"That’s your problem. The rules only specify that it has to be the right thumb. They don’t mention any exceptions for left-handers."

"What if I don’t have a right hand?"

"If you don’t have a right hand, we’d suggest pursuing a different profession instead of becoming a mercenary. The adventurer guild not only opposes racial discrimination, but we also care deeply about the well-being of disabled individuals."

The young lady smiled, though her expression left no room for further debate.

Seeing that there was no one around except Christina, Andrew quickly tried to lean closer to say something. But unexpectedly, the young lady immediately stepped back and screamed, "What are you trying to do!"