The group thanked the manager for his assistance and accepted the key to Room 205, the Deluxe Suite.

Room 205 was a deluxe suite with a huge living room with an attached open kitchen. There was elegant furniture and decorations all over the place. The walls were full of abstract and modern art being displayed on a holoframe.

There were a set of stairs that led up to the second floor of the suite where two of the four master bedrooms were located with the remaining two being on the ground floor.

The large windows offered a view of the village, which appeared even more dull and void of life from this vantage point.

Mako, Iris, Erin, and Bill exchanged glances, a silent understanding passing between them. They knew that they were entering uncharted territory, and the events that lay ahead were uncertain.

Without wasting any time the group got to work. They didn’t actually bring any luggage with them, instead, the compressible suitcases that they had on them actually contained their gear and gadgets.

Iris took a deep breath and decided to break the silence. “Well, here we are. Let’s settle in and then maybe explore a bit more of the village before nightfall.”

Erin nodded in agreement. “I think that’s a good idea. We need to gather more information about what’s happening here.”

Bill added jokingly, “And who knows, maybe we run into those shadowy figures on our first night.”

Mako chimed in, his eyes determined. “Let’s stay vigilant, Remember this mission was bumped up to a D-tier mission. We don’t what we are up against and this is the military’s response without expending too many resources, we have to prove ourselves here.”

The group nodded as they realized that this entire experience was getting to their heads a bit.

Out of the four of them, Bill was the only one who had any experience of being in deluxe suites like this before as he often went to military parties and events with his father when he was little, but since his father was always so strict, even he never got to experience it fully.

So it was undoubtedly a fact that they were all getting carried away a bit by the premium treatment they were receiving after living life the way they all had lived so far, it was surreal, to say the least.

Mako had the worst of it out of all of them, as he was living quite close to the line of poverty for most of his life, especially after his grandmother passed away, leaving him all alone; however, he still had a strong mentality and knew that the mission was of greater importance than their temporary living condition.

It would be a terrible mistake for them to get cocky on their very first mission when it was of a greater ranking than any other.

The four of them each picked their own room and quickly changed into something more comfortable that would help them during the night if they were to encounter the shadow.

After they were ready, it was already evening with the sun about to completely set. The group decided that checking out the POIs that Commander Sable had mentioned where people had disappeared was a good starting point and split up to cover more areas.

There were three main locations where the most reports had come from, the village fountain located near the south corner of the village which was a tourist hotspot, Gateaux Chauds; the most popular restaurant located near the northeast corner of the village, and the Starlight Campground located right next to the forest from where the group came, filled with beautiful hills and scenic views.

Mako opted to check out the campgrounds which were currently closed so he would have to sneak in, but it was easily doable for him given his skillset. He wanted to go to the campsite because there he could also meet up with Nathan and Leon and get their reports as well about their observations so far.

Nathan and Leon were instructed to stay around the outskirts of the village and monitor activity from the outside while Mako and the rest managed things from within the village.

Nathan with his advanced perception and Leon with his speed were the perfect pair for this job. They should have circled around the perimeter of the village since the time they separated so Mako was quite keen to hear from what they had observed.

The rest of them didn’t really have a preference as to where they wanted to go and decided to just pick at random.

“Iris, I think we should go to the fountain and Bill could go to the restaurant” Erin proposed to Iris.

“Umm… Erin, why don’t you head to the fountain alone… and… I will accompany Bill to the restaurant,” Iris replied nervously.

Erin was not expecting such a response. It had been always her making the calls and Iris following her wherever she went, so this was a sudden change of pace.

“But, why?” Erin inquired.

“Uh… It’s just that… The restaurant is much bigger than the fountain, it would be better if I went with him so we can search the whole area quickly.” Iris quickly made up an excuse on the fly and crossed her fingers that Erin would just buy it.

“Umm… ok. You guys head to the restaurant then,” Erin said unsurely as she didn’t know what to make of Iris’s behavior.

It wasn’t that Iris was bound to follow her or anything, she had her own will to make her own choices, but after always leaving all the decisions to her, it felt weird for her to make her own decisions.

The group equipped their armor and concealed their weapons under their loose and relaxed clothing which was mostly loose trousers and a hoodie. They had learned their lesson after getting stared down by the whole village that they didn’t have to dress so extravagantly to show that they were rich.

Lastly, they each took a miniature communication device before heading out to their decided locations.

*****************

The night was filled with so many pretty stars; with very little light pollution in the area, the sky looked so much more beautiful and picturesque than in Emerald City that it looked like they weren’t even on the same earth.

Erin was the first to reach her destination, the village fountain which was basically a giant stone statue of one of the ten legendary warriors who enacted the absolute law to protect nature by ensuring there was always space for farmlands and villages.

The statue was quite old and the stone structure had been eroded quite a bit such that almost all the facial features and the finer details of the Legendary warrior had been faded making it very hard to recognize her. 𝙚𝙤𝙫𝙚𝒍.𝒐𝙧𝙜

Despite that, the fountain was still extremely beautiful and extravagant. It seemed that even though there were no tourists, this area was a hotspot for the villagers who had many different activities and stalls all around the fountain with families enjoying themselves.

It was definitely a great sight to see after what the state of the villagers and the village that Erin had seen, and she quickly mixed with the people enjoying themselves whilst still keeping a sharp eye for any suspicious activity.

Meanwhile, over at the northeast corner of the village, Iris was nervously walking alongside Bill as they made their way to the French restaurant that was supposed to be the most popular.

“So… are you going to tell what all that was about back there?” Bill asked teasingly.

“Wha… *ahem* uh.. I… Well I… *sigh* I just thought that the restaurant could be a perfect excuse, I mean we kissed and all but you haven’t even taken me out on a date yet.” Iris replied, completely flustered as all her nerves reached their peak.

Iris and Bill had both decided to hide their current relations from their teammates until things settled down and became a bit more solid which was why Bill was mighty confused when Iris completely blew it by telling Erin that she was going with Bill instead of her, even though he could easily manage the restaurant alone.

“Well, you are right about the date, but this was way too risky. What if Erin became suspicious of us, not to mention we are on a mission here, people have been missing,” Bill said softly but with maturity.

Iris sunk her head low. She already knew what she did was wrong, but in the heat of the moment, her emotions got the better of her, and Iris wanted to spend time with Bill and not feel so alone.

Bill was the reason her past memories and emotions had resurfaced but it was also Bill who was keeping her stable at this point. She was becoming paranoid at this point, trying to make sure this would never break.

“Alright, brighten up! We are one way or the other here so why not I treat you to that date you wanted?” Bill said charmingly trying to lift Iris’ spirits.

Iris’ face completely lit up at the thought of a romantic date.

“But… no more “US” stuff while we are on duty, okay?” Bill bargained.

“Okay…” Iris said while cutely pouting which resulted in her getting some head pats from Bill.

***************

Everything was going alright for everyone so far instead for Mako who was caught in something very dangerous.

“WHO’S THERE!?” Mako screamed as he heard weird screeching echoes from all directions yet no sound was being emitted around him.