Garron's fingers tapped against the counter in thought. The guild wasn't lying, but they weren't telling them everything either.
His gaze shifted to the rest of the guild hall. The adventurers were trying too hard to act casual—murmuring among themselves, sipping their drinks, avoiding looking in their direction.
They knew something.
And they were afraid to speak.
Darin leaned against the counter, his lips curling into a smirk. "So that's how it is?"
Lena folded her arms. "We should find someone who's willing to talk."
Garron nodded. "Let's start with the rookies."
The weaker adventurers were always the easiest to shake for information.
The trio stepped away from the counter, scanning the guild hall for a suitable target. Most of the veteran adventurers were grouped together, their postures tense as they kept their distance.
That left the younger, inexperienced adventurers—newer recruits who hadn't yet learned how to mask their emotions.
And then Garron spotted him.
A nervous-looking boy, sitting alone at a table near the back of the hall. His short brown hair was slightly damp with sweat, his fingers gripping his tankard so tightly his knuckles turned white.
He had noticed them watching him.
And he was terrified.
Perfect.
The trio approached, their steps slow and deliberate.
The rookie stiffened, shrinking slightly in his seat. He averted his gaze, staring at the wooden surface of the table as if hoping they'd just walk past.
They didn't.
Garron pulled out a chair across from him, the legs scraping loudly against the floor. He sat down, resting one arm on the table. Lena and Darin remained standing at either side, effectively cutting off any escape route.
The boy swallowed hard.
"You were here during the subjugation quest," Garron stated, his tone casual—but carrying an unmistakable weight. "Tell us what really happened."
The rookie didn't respond.
His hands trembled around his drink. His eyes darted around the guild hall, searching for help—but no one would intervene.
Garron leaned forward slightly. "We don't have all day."
The rookie finally forced himself to speak, his voice hoarse. "I—I don't know anything…"
Lena exhaled sharply, folding her arms. "That's a lie."
Darin chuckled. "Come on, kid. We're not asking much. Just tell us—who really fought during the quest?"
The rookie hesitated. His throat bobbed as he swallowed again. "The knights… the adventurers… t-they all worked together…"
He's hiding something.
Garron narrowed his eyes. "And?"
The rookie clenched his fists, his breathing growing unsteady.
"T—that's all I know."
Lena sighed in irritation. "Pathetic."
Darin clicked his tongue. "Useless."
Garron watched the boy for a moment longer.
His fear wasn't normal.
This wasn't just the usual intimidation that came from standing before stronger adventurers. This was something else.
The rookie was terrified—not just of them, but of what would happen if he spoke the truth.
What is he so afraid of?
Garron leaned back, studying the boy one last time before standing.
"Fine. If you won't talk, we'll find someone who will."
The rookie let out a shaky breath as they stepped away from the table, but the tension in the guild hall didn't lessen.
Garron's scowl deepened as he and his party scanned the guild hall.
The rookie was a dead end.
But maybe one of the veterans would crack under pressure.
The moment Trinity Blade set their sights on Garreth Hask, a veteran D-Rank adventurer, the tension in the guild sharpened.
Unlike most adventurers who shrank under their gaze, Garreth didn't flinch.
He sat at a corner table, casually drinking from a wooden mug, his massive frame relaxed. The man had been an adventurer for over a decade, one of the longest-serving members of Dawnstead's guild.
He wasn't stronger than them, but he had experience and reputation.
And that made him their next target.
Garron strode toward him, pulling out a chair without asking permission. Darin leaned against the table, and Lena stood quietly, observing.
"You were here when the subjugation quest happened," Garron stated.
Garreth took a slow sip of his drink before glancing up. "I was."
Darin smirked. "Good. Then you can tell us what really happened."
Garreth set his mug down, his expression unreadable. "The guild already made their report. You should know that."
Lena crossed her arms. "That's not what we asked."
Garreth exhaled, shaking his head. "You're wasting your time. Just accept that things ended well and move on."
Darin clicked his tongue. "So that's how it is? Even you're keeping secrets?"
Garreth didn't respond.
But the slight stiffening of his posture was enough of a reaction.
Garron's gaze narrowed.
There it was again.
That same refusal. That same deliberate avoidance.
The rookie adventurer had been scared out of his mind. But Garreth wasn't afraid. He was choosing not to speak.
Which meant…
Something happened.
And someone didn't want them to know.
Darin leaned in, grinning. "What is the guild hiding? A noble? A secret weapon?" He leaned in, his grin turning sharp. "Or maybe they're just trying to protect someone?"
For the first time, Garreth's expression darkened. "Drop it."
Garron's jaw tightened.
Darin let out a short laugh. "Oh? Did I hit a nerve?"
Garreth's gaze hardened. "You're not getting anything out of me. So leave."
A heavy silence filled the air.
Nearby adventurers had stopped talking, their gazes flickering between the two parties.
Then—Garron scoffed.
"Tch." He stood, his chair scraping against the floor. "Fine. Have it your way."
Without another word, Trinity Blade turned and walked away.
The atmosphere in the guild grew heavier with every passing moment.
Adventurers who had been watching from the sidelines now shifted uneasily in their seats. Whispers spread like wildfire, but no one dared to raise their voice.
Garron was angry.
Darin was annoyed.
Lena, usually the calmest of the three, had crossed her arms, her brows furrowed in frustration.
No one in the guild would give them the answers they wanted.
Fine.
If words wouldn't work…
They'd remind everyone why Trinity Blade was Dawnstead's strongest party.
It started with a shove.
An E-Rank adventurer—a young man barely past his rookie days—made the mistake of walking too close to Garron.
A heavy, gauntleted hand slammed into his chest.
The force sent him stumbling backward. His boots scraped against the wooden floor as he barely caught himself from falling.
A brief silence followed.
The rookie froze. His breath hitched. His face paled as he looked up, eyes filled with panic.
Garron loomed over him, his tall frame casting a shadow over the trembling adventurer.
"Watch where you're going," he growled.
The young man quickly bowed his head. "I—I didn't mean—"
Darin let out a low chuckle. "Pathetic. If you're this weak, you should just quit now."
The adventurer clenched his fists, but he didn't say anything.
Because he knew.
Everyone in the guild knew.
Getting in Trinity Blade's way was a mistake.
The room had gone eerily quiet.
Veteran adventurers at nearby tables remained still. Some of them gripped their mugs a little tighter, knuckles turning white. Others slowly turned their gaze elsewhere, pretending not to see what was happening.
Nobody wanted to be next.
The fear in the air was palpable.
And Darin enjoyed it.
His lips curled into a smirk as he raised a hand, a small orb of flame flickering to life at his fingertips.
"You know… all this traveling has made my joints stiff." He tilted his head lazily, rolling his shoulders. "I could use a little exercise."
With a casual flick of his wrist—BOOM!
The fireball slammed into an empty table, bursting into flames.
Adventurers nearby jumped, knocking over chairs in their rush to move away.
The scent of burning wood filled the air.
Alina shot up from behind the reception desk. "Darin!"
Darin turned to her, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Oops."
The fire raged, crackling and spreading across the wooden surface.
Then, with a single movement—Lena lifted her hand.
A cold mist formed in the air.
The flames hissed.
In an instant, a thin layer of ice spread across the table, extinguishing the fire completely.
For a moment, silence.
Then Lena turned, her gaze lazily drifting toward a nearby adventurer holding a drink.
Without a word, she flicked her fingers.
A sharp crack echoed as the liquid inside his cup froze solid.
A second later—SHATTER.
The glass exploded in his hands, shards clattering onto the wooden floor.
The adventurer yelped, stumbling back.
"What the hell?!"
Lena simply smiled. "Oops," she echoed Darin's words mockingly. "Looks like you weren't holding it right."
The adventurer's fists clenched, his body trembling—not from pain, but from restrained fury.
But he didn't move.
Because he knew.
If he fought back, Trinity Blade would make him regret it.
The quiet tension in the guild was unbearable.
People wanted to act. They wanted to push back. But who would be the first to risk it?
The answer came when a single chair scraped against the wooden floor.
A middle-aged adventurer slowly rose from his seat.
He wasn't a high-ranker. Not strong, but experienced. And experience told him that if no one spoke up, things would only get worse.
Deep breath.
"You've had your fun," he said, his voice even. "That's enough."
The weight of Garron's gaze fell upon him.
A slow turn of the head. A flicker of annoyance in his golden-brown eyes.
"Are you telling me what to do?"
The adventurer hesitated—just for a moment—but stood his ground.
"I'm saying there's no need for this," he repeated, though his grip tightened against the edge of the table.
The silence was suffocating.
Then—Garron moved.
A single step forward.
The veteran flinched. His instincts screamed at him to retreat.
But he had already committed.
Then—a fist to the gut.
A solid impact.
The air rushed out of the adventurer's lungs as he doubled over, choking on his breath.
He collapsed onto his knees, coughing violently.
The guild fell into complete stillness.
No one dared to breathe.
Garron shook out his fist, unimpressed. "Weak," he muttered.
This wasn't just intimidation anymore.
Trinity Blade was making a statement.
The message was clear—nobody in this guild could stand against them.
The rookies? Powerless. They could only watch and pray they weren't next.
The veterans? Weighed down by experience. They had seen what happened to those who stood in Trinity Blade's way.
The guild staff? Restricted by protocol. Alina's hands were tied—she couldn't punish Dawnstead's strongest party without a legitimate reason.
And the only thing stopping Trinity Blade from going even further… Was the fact that they still wanted answers.
As the tension in the guild continued to escalate, one unspoken question lingered in the minds of many.
Why didn't the guildmaster step out and stop this?
Under normal circumstances, there was no way Trinity Blade would have been allowed to act this recklessly without consequences. Garron might have been one of the strongest adventurers in Dawnstead, but even he wouldn't defy the direct authority of the guildmaster.
And yet, the guildmaster was nowhere to be seen.
Alina, still seated behind the reception desk, subtly glanced at the empty office down the hallway..
The door remained shut, untouched since morning.
The guildmaster had left the town earlier that day, summoned to a meeting at the capital regarding the increasing monster activity in the region. He had warned Alina that he might be gone for an extended period, leaving her temporarily in charge of guild operations.
Which meant…
No one was here to stop Trinity Blade.
Alina tightened her grip on the edge of the desk.
The only authority figures in the guild right now were herself and the senior adventurers.
And none of them could challenge Trinity Blade directly.
They all knew how dangerous Garron, Darin, and Lena were when they lost their patience.
If anyone stepped in too soon, they'd only become the next target.
And so, as Darin's flames flickered ominously in his palm, the entire guild waited—
Hoping that someone would find a way to stop this before it went too far.
The oppressive silence lingered.
Adventurers huddled at their tables, not daring to meet Trinity Blade's gaze.
But in the far corner of the hall, where shadows stretched long against the wooden walls, a different kind of tension filled the air.
A small group of adventurers sat close together, voices hushed.
"…This is getting out of hand," one muttered under his breath.
Another leaned in. "We should stop them before they go too far."
"Stop them? Are you crazy?" A third adventurer shook his head. "You think we'd stand a chance?"
The group fell silent, their gazes shifting toward Trinity Blade, who stood in the center of the room like predators in a den of prey.
One of the adventurers lowered his voice. "Still… it's strange, isn't it? No one's telling them about her."
The others tensed.
"…Belle, you mean?"
"Who else?" The man exhaled sharply. "Normally, everyone loves to brag about powerful adventurers—especially if they're rookies. But ever since the subjugation quest, it's like the whole guild decided to keep their mouths shut."
A nervous glance toward Alina confirmed that even the guild staff was part of it.
"It's gotta be the guild's orders," another whispered. "If the higher-ups are keeping quiet, there's a reason."
One of them hesitated before murmuring, "Or maybe… they're protecting her."
The group fell silent.
"Protecting her? From what?"
"From them?"
Their gazes flickered toward Trinity Blade.
If those three knew the truth…
No one wanted to imagine what would happen next.
End of Chapter 27