Talking!

"Yeah, you mentioned this morning that Mark made a deal with his boss. Will his boss be getting any form of punishment for this?" I ask them as Dale turns the car.

"Yes. She was demoted by quite a few positions. There's a small group in the Government that thinks we should eliminate the Dryads and just take the forests for ourselves. We'd never do that of course. But anyway, the group bribed her into discovering what the Guardian beast of the forest is. So she used Mark to discover it. But rest assured she'll never work with any Drayds or other races for that matter again." Yuya replies.

"Then what exactly is going to happen to Mark now?"

"Currently he's awaiting his trial. He'll be asked questions in front of a Sensor, so he can't tell any lies. Then depending on that he'll either go to jail, or get fined. No matter what though, he's losing his job." Yuya says and I nod.

"That's all I can think of for now." I say causing Dale to speak up.

"Then how are you feeling? You did get hit by Abyss magic, right?" He asks.

"Yeah, the Abyss Armor cut me with its sword. But fortunately, I was able to recover. I fought an Ultra Elemental Slime Ruler before and got something that helped me out. That and I have a skilled Alchemist in my guild." I say, implying that Ramia made a potion to help me recover. I'm not sure how they'll react if they knew I was able to recover from a ring. Besides, it's not technically a lie. I got the ring from the Ultra Elemental Slime Ruler and Ramia is a very skilled Alchemist. The rest of the short drive is spent in silence. Dale parks in a packed parking lot in front of another office building. We get out and the two lead me inside. Yuya hides his ears with a hat as he gets out.

"Oh, Eric. You can take out your wings or anything else when we get inside. I know they can be uncomfortable to hide. Everyone inside either is a Lyna or knows of the Lyna world." Yuya tells me.

"No thanks. I wasn't born with them, so it's not uncomfortable for me to keep them tucked away." I tell him as we enter the building. Inside we walk past a receptionist. They don't say anything as we pass them. We pass by others at desks typing on computers. Others are carrying stacks of paper around or answering calls. "It seems busy around here." I say as we walk around someone rushing past us while holding two binders.

"It always is. Anytime there's a Dungeon or a conflict involving Guilds, we always have to record it. We're always taking calls from Guilds for one reason or another. It feels like it never ends sometimes." Dale says before opening the glass door to a meeting room. Inside I see Liz, Layla, Treena and two others I don't recognize. There's a man wearing a formal grey shirt and pants. He has dark brown hair and smiles when he sees us enter. The woman next to him wears the typical white button-up office shirt and a black skirt. I sit down next to Liz as Dale and Yuya sit on the other side of the table with the man and woman.

"Thank you all for coming. My name's Brandon, I'm the head of this states Lyna Branch. This is Mary, she's a Sensor who's here to let me know if anyone lies." The man says.

"I thought you called us here to talk about compensation for your men breaking the Pact between us?" Layla asks, a little too angrily.

"I did, and we will. However, I have to go over all the details first. It's the only way to accurately compensate you." Brandon says defensively. Layla sighs before motioning for him to continue. "So first of all, Mark entered the forest to find out about the Guardian beast correct?"

"Yes, he sent a messenger through just minutes before his own arrival. He showed up with a Sensor and eight soldiers. The Sensor held a Magic Sealing Gem and the soldiers used Fire magic. They sealed our magic before trying to burn us. If Eric hadn't been there then they might've succeeded." Treena says. Brandon looks to Mary who nods.

"Then after Eric knocked out the soldiers, Mark summoned the Abyss Armor. The four of you fought and slew it before Dale and Yuya arrived. During the fight, Eric received a blow from the Abyss Armors sword, is this all correct?"

"Yes, Mark grew irritated when we refused to open the gate to the Guardian beast. That's when he ordered his men to attack. Eric got hit before dealing the final blow to the Abyss Armor." Treena replies as Mary nods again before turning to me.

"How are you feeling now? You took a hit from Abyss magic, yet you look like you're completely fine." She asks me.

"Yes, as I've told Dale and Yuya, I fought an Ultra Elemental Slime Ruler before. I was able to recover thanks to what I got from it." I say and she nods with a smile. I see Liz turn to me with a smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Then I just have one more question. But this one isn't related to the case, it's just my curiosity. I've heard that Mark had signed a contract, complete with his mana circuits too. That stated if he died to the beast, you wouldn't be held accountable. Why did you not let the beast attack him?" Brandon asks.

"Because it breaks the Pact we have. We keep the beast behind the barrier while you visit. That's what was decided upon when we entered this. Now, had we known he'd try to kill us, then maybe we would've. But at this point, he hadn't technically broken the Pact." Layla says and Brandon nods.

"Okay, thanks for answering. So now let's talk compensation. Dryads, what would you like?" He asks.