They ascended the stairs and stopped when they reached the fifth floor, the topmost level of the Gardeners Guild building.
Within minutes, they arrived at a door with a wooden sign that read 'Guildmaster.' The receptionist opened the door and ushered them in. "Please, go in; the Guildmaster is waiting to see you."
Orion nodded and stepped into the room, with Prince Alden following closely behind.
As they entered the room, Orion and Prince Alden were instantly surprised by the individuals they found inside. Seated before them was High Prince Kael, dressed in a green robe similar to the one he had worn at the gathering earlier today. His transparent, shimmering wings were spread and softly pressed against the chair. Opposite him sat a man in his early fifties, dressed in light brown trousers and a shirt with a slightly rough beard under his chin. Like Prince Alden's own, his pixie wings were pressed against his chair.
Meanwhile, standing beside them was a mature woman dressed in a light yellow thigh-high dress adorned with a beautiful design, paired with black tights peeking out from underneath her yellow dress.
Orion and Prince Alden suddenly realized that the important meeting the Guildmaster was attending was with High Prince Kael.
High Prince Kael suddenly stood up and bowed towards Orion. "I apologize for my absence and for arriving late. Please forgive me," he said.
Usually, witnessing High Prince Kael bowing to an individual would be inconceivable, except for figures like the High King, the High Queen, or even the Princess of the Garden. However, when it came to Orion, who possessed equal, if not more extraordinary, status, everyone in the room saw nothing amiss in his actions.
"I heard that you had to leave because of an important matter you had to deal with, so there's nothing for you to apologize for, High Prince Kael," Orion responded. "Prince Alden has been doing an excellent job showing me around, so there's no need to worry."
Upon hearing Orion's response, High Prince Kael sighed in relief and straightened his back. "Right, it seems my younger fourth brother has done his best while I was away," he responded, shifting his focus towards Prince Alden.
Upon noticing High Prince Kael's gaze, Prince Alden displayed a wry smile, inwardly attempting to calm down his rapidly racing heart.
"If you don't mind, junior fourth brother, I would like to speak with you privately while Mr. Orion and the Guildmaster are meeting," High Prince Kael said.
Prince Alden opened his mouth to attempt to reject his first brother's words. However, noticing the fierce glint that briefly flashed through his eyes, he swallowed back his words and reluctantly nodded, agreeing.
"Sure, since senior first brother is already here, I might as well use this opportunity to inform you about the task that Mr Orion and I concluded so that you can plan how to proceed from there," Prince Alden responded, smiling wryly, his shoulders dropping low in defeat.
High Prince Kael shifted his attention towards Orion and nodded before doing the same towards the Guildmaster.
"We will be leaving you two for your meeting. I will return when we are done," High Prince Kael said before he walked towards the door, with Prince Alden reluctantly following behind him.
The door closed shut behind them as they exited the room.
"Mr Orion, please have a seat," the Guildmaster said, smiling lightly as he stretched his hand towards the comfy wide chair opposite where High Prince Kael was previously seated.
Orion nodded and took his seat. As he did, the Guildmaster and woman scrutinized his every move.
"Since this is our first meeting, please allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Alaric Cassius; I am the Guildmaster of the Gardeners Guild, and the woman behind me is Maeve, the Vice Guildmaster," Guildmaster Alaric explained.
Orion nodded in understanding.
His brief time within the Pixie Kingdom had already shown him the value of his identity, so he saw no need to introduce himself.
"How has your day been, Mr Orion? I hope your time within the Pixie Kingdom has been pleasant," Guildmaster Alaric asked.
Orion nodded. "It has. I've learned much about the Pixies and their Garden, things I wasn't aware of before," he responded.
"I see. It's clear that Prince Alden has done an excellent job showing you around while High Prince Kael was away," Guildmaster Alaric remarked with a smile, his gaze trailing to the two artificial Pixie wings on Orion's back and his new attire, all of which weren't cheap and weren't on him earlier today.
"Mr. Orion, I have a question for you, and I hope you won't be offended by it," Guildmaster Alaric added.
Orion narrowed his eyes at Alaric. "Well, it depends on the nature of the question, Guildmaster. I'm afraid I can't guarantee whether I'll be annoyed by it," he responded.
Alaric smiled wryly. "Very well, then. I'll just have to ask my question and hope you aren't offended by it."
"Mr Orion, I'm curious why you accepted this task. Is it solely to learn more about the Aegis of the Arctic Deity, or is there something else involved?" Guildmaster Alaric asked, his tone was serious.
"Yes, I accepted this task primarily to learn more about the Aegis of the Arctic Deity and other relevant matters, which I'm afraid I can't share with you, Guildmaster," Orion responded, his words sincere.
Guildmaster Alaric nodded thoughtfully. "Although you say so, I'm curious why, instead of directly asking the Aegis of the Arctic Deity about his identity, you came to us for this information. Does the Aegis of the Arctic ignore your questions as he does ours? Or perhaps, considering your relationship with him, he responds to your questions. Still, you doubt his honesty and seek confirmation from us, the only ones who know his true identity?" he asked.
Though Orion was slightly surprised by Guildmaster Alaric's deduction, he remained silent, seeing no need to respond to the question.
Witnessing Orion's silence, Guildmaster Alaric smiled wryly again and tactically changed the topic.