As they reach the camp, the Imperfect group is met with a crowd of people blocking the road, their cheers loud as the convoy gets closer. On top of the truck, Hao, Erley, and Moen smile, while Selth hides behind Moen—his presence unnoticed by the mundane humans of the camp.
Hao waves at them from afar, his voice barely audible over the noise.
"I missed you guys! It's good to be back!"
When the convoy stops, the group jumps down to greet everyone. Hao hugs several people, his usual bright smile on display.
"It's so good to see you guys! It feels like it's been an eternity!"
A heavy hand pats his back - Edwin, a tall, muscular man with shoulder-length black hair partially tied in a small ponytail.
"Where did you even go you little rascal?!"
Hao's smile widens.
"Edwin! Good to see you. Same old mission stuff, though Elias overdid it this time... We'll need your help later!"
Edwin nods solemnly, his thick arms crossing over his chest.
"Alright, come by my forge after the banquet.."
Overhearing their conversation, Erley asks.
"Banquet?"
Moen steps out from the truck, carefully holding Annie. Several people immediately call out in concern.
"Annie?! What happened?"
Moen shrinks slightly under the sudden attention.
"Uh- um. She's sleeping."
The worried faces relax.
"Phew... thank goodness you're all safe."
The cheers continue for another minute before fading into conversations, the smiles remain.
The crowd parts for Elias as he approaches. He approaches Erley - who stands relatively alone.
"You really hammered this thing together?"
Edwin looks sheepish.
"Yeah... I'm sorry it's a little rough, but it's the best I could do with what we had..."
Erley glances at his sword.
"It's fine, it worked for me, so that's good enough."
Elias interrupts, grabbing Erley's shoulder with forced cheer.
"Erley! glad to see you back!"
Erley offers a strained, shaky smile in return.
"Oh Elias! How... wonderful to see you. I really hope you've been doing good. I myself, have been fighting for my life in some ruins for the past couple days. Oh, wait, i almost forgot. I haven't eaten anything in the past couple days either."
Elias scratches his head.
"Yeah... i'm sorry about that, but i mean look at you. You are okay right? i knew you guys would easily make it back. Also we really needed to finish that mission before things got out of hand. Anyways i'll let you enjoy this moment, tell the rest of the group we'll meet up at the library later. I'll be waiting."
As Elias departs, Myora appears, leaning heavily on Hao as she carefully climbs down the truck with her heavily bandaged leg. The crowd immediately erupts.
"Myora! Your leg! What happened?"
She waves them off with a reassuring smile.
"Just made a bad call during an imp fight. Don't worry it'll heal eventually.."
Visibly relieved, they all gather around to properly welcome her back.
***
The library doors slowly open. Revealing Elias lounging at the round table, his chair tilted precariously backward as he reads.
"Took you long enough. Where's Annie?"
Myora limps forward with some effort.
"She's unconscious. There was a lot of people to greet. More than i remember."
Elias snaps his book shut sharply.
"Yeah a couple people arrived a bit after you guys left, apparently they came seeking refuge from up north. It seems they had been heading south for a while. Some of them died in the process, but since it wasn't too far away most of them managed to survive. Our food supplies are stretched thin because of them."
Erley interrupts.
"Why are they even greeting us? the new ones don't know us anyways."
Elias glances at him.
"I may have told them some stories about you all,."
Myora sits down, glancing at Elias with a sharp look.
"I hope you don't plan to send us to gather supplies right? We barely had any for our little mission."
Elias's expression darkens.
"No i do not plan to send you back to the ruins, not you. At least for a while. Now. Shall we start with the report. Myora?"
His voice is cold, anger simmering beneath.
"To my knowledge you guys should've raided a military base. Why is Erley telling me you guys haven't eaten in days?!"
The book in his hands creaks in protest.
"Did the military base not have any supplies either?!"
Myora exhales sharply through her nose.
"Chill out old man... Let's start from when we left camp, shall we?"
Taking a deep breath Elias listens as Myora explains what happened over the span of the mission. Erley and Hao sometimes interrupting to report on some of their own experiences.
After the briefing, Elias sighs.
"So you lost to a sergeant... At least is not that low of seat..."
He glances at Hao, coldness in his eyes.
"You're telling me a sergeant awakened, and suddenly became a monster? You mean an imp?"
Hao shakes his head violently.
"No no... He didn't really turn into a monster. It just seemed like it, he was still human, i think. But suddenly fire started swirling around him and- and."
Elias signals him to stop.
"Enough I've heard enough. We'll deal with him when we head down to Bournemouth."
Hao looks down, the fear stuck on his face.
"You don't understand Elias. Deal with him? There's a reason i called him a monster. He's far too strong for us to handle."
Elias holds up a placating hand. He concedes, his voice losing its edge.
"Alright, alright. We'll try to avoid Birmingham when we head down. Anything else i need to hear?"
As they turn to leave, Elias calls out.
"Erley, you stay. I need to hear more about your awakening. I'll answer some of your questions too, if you have any."
Walking back, Erley slumps back into his chair with a weary sigh
"Alright... But it's nothing special, really."