Chapter 515: A Pledge To ‘The World’ "They went missing in the Shadow Forest?" Medina frowned. "Are you certain of this, Ron?" "I only know what I’ve been told," Ron replied. "Layla said that the Main Branch of the Adventurer’s Guild is mobilizing multiple Rank A and Rank S Parties to the Shadow Forest to form a search party. "Of course, if we see demons, we also have to eliminate them. I’m frankly unwilling to go there, but Sean is a symbol of our Kingdom, we must at least try to find him, dead or alive." Carlo sighed. Just like Ron, he understood how dangerous the Shadow Forest was. A long time ago, they had been sent there for a scouting mission. Their entire group had almost perished. Since then, they had refused to take any missions that would take them back to that frightening place. "The Shadow Forest?" Fran tilted her head a little. "My Grandma said our tribe once lived there. However, the land got more and more corrupted, so we were forced to leave and migrate closer to the Elven Forest because it’s safer to live there." "Ron, let’s leave Alex and Fran here," Medina proposed. "That place is too dangerous for children." "I need to go with you guys," Alex insisted. "I have the sharpest Danger Sense among us. I can tell when it’s dangerous, and we can make a detour if needed. And Fran is very good at hiding. I doubt that the demons can find her if she tries hard enough." Hearing Alex put in a good word for her, Fran patted her chest in confidence. "I am the Hide-And-Seek Queen," Fran declared. "Once I start hiding, it is impossible for anyone to find me." "But..." Medina tried to argue. However, she had joined the children in playing hide-and-seek and knew neither Alex nor Fran were exaggerating. Even after cheating by using tracking spells, she had failed to find traces of Fran. "I hate to say this, but Alex is right," Carlo commented. "There are times when this little punk actually saved us from harm. Also, our mission is not to fight but to find the Hero Party. Having him around should not be a liability." Ron rubbed his chin, convinced by Carlo’s words. There were indeed times when Alex’s Danger Sense had prevented them from falling into dangerous situations, which was how he had become a permanent member of their party. "Alex, I don’t mind you coming with us, but the Shadow Forest is a very dangerous place," Ron stated. "I already told you about the time when we almost died there, right?" Alex nodded. "I know. You told me the story about the Shade Reaper. But I’m very sensitive to shadow-type and ghost-type monsters, so I can detect them if there’s one near me." "I’m also very good at scouting," Fran pointed out. "With Alex and me working together, we will be unstoppable." Ron, Carlo, and Medina smirked at the same time. "Wow." Carlo laughed. "I never thought that these two would get along like this one day. Is the world going to end tomorrow?" "You said just what I was thinking, Carlo," Medina said. "These two troublemakers can only work together when it benefits them." Ron pondered a bit while tapping his finger on top of the table. Both Alex and Fran were good additions to their team, but the incident back then still haunted his mind. Perhaps Carlo and Medina could tell what he was thinking, so they decided to give their leader more time to decide whether the two kids would be coming with them or not. "Fine, but I have one condition," Ron suddenly said after a few minutes of silence. "When we tell you to escape, both of you will escape. You must make a vow to ’The World’ that you will not break this promise. If you can’t make that promise, we won’t be taking you with us." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎 Alex and Fran glanced at each other before they raised their hands to make the pledge. The young man placed his hand over his chest. "I, Alex, vow before The World that if you tell me to escape, I will escape." The Fairy followed right after, her small hand trembling slightly but her gaze firm. "I, Fran, vow before The World that when you tell us to run, I will fly away to escape!" For people in Arcana, making a pledge to ’The World’ was very serious. Although there wasn’t any physical or magical binding contract that would activate whenever one made the pledge, everyone in Arcana took this seriously. After all, the Deities were real and they could hear and see those who called out to their names. "Good." Ron nodded. "Prepare your belongings and rest early. We will leave at first light tomorrow." After saying those final words, Ron stood up to prepare for their journey. Medina and Carlo also left to buy food and other consumables that they might need on their way. As for Alex, he took his savings and went to town to buy ropes, throwing knives, and other items that he might use when his life was on the line. On the other hand, Fran went to the roof of the orphanage and faced the location of ’The Star’ in the sky, praying for guidance and safety. The Fairies had this tradition because even with no moon in the sky, the stars would still be there to guide their way. When morning came, the Dawnseekers gathered at the Adventurer’s Guild to formally accept the Search Mission to find the missing Hero and his party members. "Is everyone ready to go?" Carlo asked as he sat on the coachman seat of the carriage provided by the Adventurer’s Guild. "Let’s go, Carlo," Ron ordered. As soon as the permission was given, Carlo whistled at the horses and led them to the North Gate of Arian City. The journey to the Shadow Forest was a ten-day trip, and frankly, The Dawnseekers believed that it might be already too late when they reached their destination. But they also theorised that if Sean and his party members had escaped, they would’ve likely headed to Aran City as that was one of the safest places in the kingdom. Their friends, the Dawnseekers, were there to protect them.