"Please take us with you, Young Master."
"Young Master?!" Noel gasped and looked at them kneeling. It wasn't normal to do this if they just asked him to bring them, so this could only mean one thing. He asked to confirm, "Who are you?"
"My name is Elsa, a Spirit Magician under Earl Ezenholm."
"My name is Alanton, I work at financial sector of Ezenholm Family."
"My name is Ilzen, I'm the previous master of Ezenholm Family, Rancart, your grandfather's butler."
"…" Noel had expected this, but he was still quite shocked to see the people from his mother's family to be here. "So, what's the meaning of the mission?"
Alanton and Elsa trembled while Ilzen smiled, "It seems that you have realized it too, Young Master."
"It's kinda obvious. Instead of sending such a risky mission to the full-fledged knight in the branches, you're sending the mission to the headquarters so that the Apprentice Knight can take it. Other than an invitation, I can't see any other reason." Noel squinted his eyes as if he didn't like the invitation.
"It's the will of Sir Rancart. He wants to help you, but because you're in the Muivell Kingdom and he is in the Greenwood Kingdom, he can't do anything unless he's planning to create a war between the two kingdoms." Ilzen explained.
"Putting that matter aside, shouldn't you give me an explanation about your actions?" Noel glared at Ilzen before turning to Elsa and Alanton, reminding them about what they did previously.
Ilzen made a wry smile. "I apologize for them. They were just doing their jobs. Sir Raincart has told us to test you to see your capability. But since you are Sir Ardagan's son, you must be familiar with the concept of give and take a merchant usually uses.
"Hence, we're creating the mission for the repayment to test you. Alanton is testing your capability while Elsa is testing your willpower. As for myself, I'm trying to see your judgment ability." Ilzen explained the entire thing.
"…" Noel still couldn't believe them. He asked another question. "Then, why does the Ezenholm Family show such a support at this time? Why did you not do anything during the darkest hour?"
"I apologize, Young Master. But Sir Raincart has forbidden us from doing anything. It seems that your father, Count Ardagan, has instructed it that way."
"My father?" Noel furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding the reason for this action. If they wanted, his parents could simply leave the country and seek refuge in Ezenholm Family. They might lose their wealth, but with his father's skill, it shouldn't be that hard to get it back.
So, unless the Ezenholm Family rejected him because they didn't want to partake in this entire situation, his father should have no reason to go to Ezenholm Family.
Hence, the explanation was completely nonsense.
Ilzen understood the confusion in his mind and opened his mouth. "I believe, if you want to understand the whole situation, you should ask Sir Raincart himself."
Noel pinched the bridge of his nose. His mind was muddled and his heart had complicated feelings.
His original purpose here was to cross the border and go to the Ezenholm Family. So, he had no reason to reject this proposal.
But he didn't know whether he could trust them as well.
Ilzen seemed to be able to see through Noel's doubt and immediately took out the Ezenholm Family's emblem, presenting it to him. "This is the proof of our identity."
"…" Noel's eyebrows twitched. He could finally understand why Ilzen was the butler. The way he presented something he needed the most and how he answered all the questions while trying to lower his anger, it was clear enough he was very experienced in them.
Noel took a deep breath and said, "Answer two of my questions first and I'll consider it."
"I understand." Ilzen nodded.
"First, why do you use a mission to invite me? Can't you simply go to the Demon Banner Army?"
"That's not possible. First of all, the Demon Banner Army has their elite captains and their commander. If we're sneaking around, we'll be found out immediately. And the implication after that is severe. We can create a war between two kingdoms or simply make the royal family accuse our family.
"Hence, after Sir Raincart sent us here a few months ago, we've been trying to make a contact with you through this application. Alanton is in charge of the Demon Banner Army's branch that you'll most likely to visit before going to the border.
"Elsa is doing the same, but she has taken care of the last month's job, so it's Alanton's turn right now. As for me, I'm the one in charge of them, ensuring they don't make problem in this foreign land."
Noel closed his eyes, contemplating that answer. After he got enough answer in his head, Noel asked the other question. "Then, what's the task sent to you by my grandfather? How do you even get this information? You're not telling me that you're the one causing this situation, right?"
"Of course not. Our mission is simply to invite you to the Ezenholm Family. When we were crossing the border, it was quiet. But a month ago, this situation happened, so we investigated it.
"I mean, if we sent a mission without a time limit, it would just cause suspicion. Since a mission near the border was already suspicious enough, we didn't want to add more to it. Hence, this mission was the second mission we sent."
Noel took a deep breath, processing the information. "Alright. I understand the situation. It seems that I can only get the rest of the answer after meeting my grandfather. Also, you want me to take you in this mission? This is considered cheating."
"Sir Raincart can't truly help you much due to the promise he made to your father. However, it doesn't change the fact he wants to. Hence, the two missions are his way to help you, hoping this can ease your burden a bit. We'll be the one eliminating the Advanced Level Demons, so Young Master doesn't have to worry."
"Whatever. My goal here is to cross the border while doing the mission. But I still want to take on at least one Advanced Level Demon. If you reject it, then I'll assume that the entire conversation never happened," stated Noel with a serious expression.