The party, together with Leonze, went to a tavern inside the city. The tavern was full of people, adventurers and merchants alike, who were looking for job requests or to sell their merchandise. They sat around a round table and ordered various drinks for each of them.

"So, is it true that you know of a way Syrenne can join the Merchant Union?"

Brittanya held her cup of ginger ale as she stared at Leonze with a stern look.

"Well, yes… But there is something else to it…"

Leonze averted Brittanya's gaze and sipped a red juice from his cup.

"I knew there is a 'But'. Shouldn't have gotten your hopes up, since he's a known scammer."

Jaegar closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Spit it out already! Do you know of a way or not?!"

Brittanya got up from her seat and glared at Leonze.

"Please calm down, Brittanya… You don't have to be so upset on my behalf…"

Syrenne reached out toward Brittanya as she frowned.

"I know of a way! It's just that there are… complications. Will you let me explain first?"

Leonze looked up straight at Brittanya. After a while, Brittanya let out a sigh and sat back down.

"Fine. Please explain."

Brittanya closed her eyes and drank from her cup again.

"Okay. So, here's the deal. You can get into the Merchant Union either by being from a renowned merchant family or doing something remarkable that the Union's brass recognizes your skills. Syrenne's not from a family of Merchant Union members, so that's out of the question. But for the second option, it's really quite vague, isn’t it?"

Leonze looked intently at everyone around the table.

"And? You're saying that you know of a specific way to impress the bigwigs of the Merchant Union?"

Jaegar glanced at Leonze with a raised brow.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! And it just so happens that I know that the Union is really into rare minerals. If someone can present them these rare minerals, the Union will surely recognize that person's resourcefulness. Which, by the way, is one of the traits they highly value."

Leonze smirked as he shared the information to everyone. Their eyes widened as they heard the words come out from Leonze's mouth.

"So where do we get those rare minerals?!"

Brittanya excitedly slammed the table while looking at Leonze. The other people inside the tavern stared at their table for a moment and then resumed doing their own business.

"Well, here's the complicated part…"

Leonze forced a weak laughter.

"Out with it already. I'm still not sure if I'm buying what you're saying."

Jaegar was squinting hard at Leonze.

"There is this rare mineral called Diamede. It's said to be harder than diamond yet malleable enough when heated, which can then be forged into a weapon of high quality. No one has seen this mineral for about half a century or so."

Leonze stared into his cup as he spoke.

"Why… is that...?"

Kryllo finally spoke up, as he already finished his drink.

"Its only source has been off-limits. The island of Galunes."

Leonze paused for a moment, waiting for everyone's reaction.

"Never heard of it."

Brittanya then looked at Jaegar.

"Is that even a real place?"

Jaegar glanced sideways at Kryllo.

"I… don't know… the names… of the… places we've… been to…"

Kryllo then stared at Leonze.

"You guys are hopelessly uninformed! Why are you even out here adventuring?!"

Leonze banged his head on the table.

"I've heard of the place, but only from hearsay and stories…"

Syrenne placed her hand on her chin as she tried to remember things.

"You really have what it takes to be a merchant since you take note of things like that!"

Leonze raised his head and tried to grab Syrenne's other hand on the table. Unfortunately, Brittanya was sitting between them, and thus she stopped Leonze's arm from even reaching Syrenne as she grabbed it midway.

"If it's off-limits, then we can't go there to get the mineral, right?"

Brittanya let go of Leonze's arm as she looked at him.

"I did say there were complications, right?"

Leonze rubbed the arm that Brittanya caught.

"This whole conversation has been pointless, then? I knew you're just pulling our leg or something. I've had enough dealing with you."

Jaegar got up from his seat and turned around.

"Did I say I was finished talking? You guys are really impatient."

Leonze shrugged his shoulders. Jaegar looked back at Leonze and sat down again.

"Hurry it up then. Trying to look mysterious and foreboding doesn't really work with you."

Jaegar rested his head on his hand with his elbow on the table.

"What if I tell you that I can get us to that island?"

Leonze smirked at Jaegar.

"How?!"

Brittanya leaned forward and her face almost hit Leonze.

"I-I have my ways. It's a trade secret, of course."

Leonze backed away from Brittanya's eagerness.

"Hmm. If Syrenne is okay with the fact that you're a proven scammer, then she should go with you. We can go on our way now and focus on my mission."

Jaegar sat up straight and crossed his arms.

"I actually told you guys this information because Syrenne was with you. If she was all alone, I wouldn't even have bothered telling her."

Leonze shook his head.

"You really are a jerk, huh?!"

Brittanya then grabbed Leonze by the collar.

"W-wait! I didn't mean it that way! I-it's because it's dangerous to go there!"

Leonze pleaded his case as he waved his hands at her.

"What do you mean?"

Brittanya let go of Leonze upon hearing his reasoning. Leonze caught his breath before speaking again.

"Since you guys are crazy and you want to hunt down monsters, I thought you might be interested. Word is that a huge, strong monster has been seen in the island."

Leonze then lowered his voice as he spoke.

"Wait… If this island has been off-limits… How could there be people who have seen this monster?"

Jaegar raised his eyebrow as he stared at Leonze.

"Uh… I did say I have way to go there, right? It just means that people still go there even though it's off-limits. When you restrict something, the more the people would want to do it. That's what I believe, anyway."

Leonze forced a weak laugh.

"So let me get this straight. The reason that people haven't seen this Diamede mineral is because of the huge monster lurking there. And not because the island is off-limits?"

Jaegar leaned forward toward Leonze.

"Hmm… Yeah, I guess."

Leonze nodded.

"And you told us this top-secret information because you want us to get rid of the monster, right? Then, people like you would be able to get the rare mineral again. Did I miss anything?"

Jaegar kept on looking at Leonze.

"No. That's about it, I think."

Leonze nodded again.

"Then, you're just using us?!"

Brittanya glared at Leonze.

"What's wrong with that? All of you get what you want. Your party gets to kill a strong monster. Syrenne gets the mineral that would let her join the Merchant Union. It's a win-win for everyone."

Leonze smiled at Brittanya.

"That's all fine and dandy. But there is still something bothering me about all this."

Jaegar then also glared at Leonze.

"And what would that be?"

Leonze looked at Jaegar.

"What do you get out of this? You're definitely not out here just to help us. As long as I don't know what you're after, then I don't think I can trust anything you just said."

Jaegar never removed his gaze on Leonze.

"I knew that you were going to ask. And it's not like I was hiding it or anything, since you've already heard me talk about it. I want information about the Legendary Artifacts."

Leonze smirked as he answered Jaegar.

---

That evening, the five of them planned to go to the docks. They waited until midnight to ensure that not many people would see them leave.

When they reached the place where Leonze made arrangements, they saw a small boat that had a single sail attached to the mast. There was also a lone person standing on the boat. They hid behind large boxes before approaching the boat.

"Hey, how are we supposed to fit in that small boat?"

Jaegar grabbed Leonze's shoulder.

"I never said this was going to be a comfortable trip! Just follow my lead and don't ask further questions. That guy manning the boat might get suspicious of us and won't follow through our agreement."

Leonze answered back in a hushed voice without looking at Jaegar.

Everyone then followed Leonze as he approached the boat. He then called out to the man watching over the boat.

"We're here. Let's sail out now before others see us."

Leonze directly looked at the man, who was wearing only a shirt and pants with a white bandana on his head.

"There have been reports about smugglers trying to get to Galunes Island. I'm glad I went undercover to catch you miscreants!"

The man on the boat smirked as he looked at the five of them.