My Guardian System: The Trader

"Hehe! I didn't expect you to come!" Oldman Barn grinned as he said it.

"I can't leave you. Besides, I think Miss Mona was right," Abel replied honestly. Also, deep inside, he thought that it would be much safer around a reliable ex-human than escaping alone.

Oldman Barn suddenly approached him. "Do you have a wife?" The old man suddenly whispered a question that could be considered out of the blue.

This stunned Abel. "Wha-!" He was somewhat taken aback by that unexpected question. And his face turned red in an instant. When he saw the grinning face of the old man, he let a sigh escape from his mouth. "I am still single because I realized early on the reality of life's difficulties. So I didn't have time to look for a partner."

Abel sounds so serious and made the old felt conflicted. The expression on his face expresses either pity or admiration to him.

"Heh~ Don't worry because people like you will definitely not be left behind by luck. I'm sure you'll find a mate too. Hehe." Abel didn't know if the old man was spouting nonsense or just encouraging him.

"Sheesh, you two, keep quiet!" Miles warned them.

"....."

"....."

The two people immediately turned quiet upon hearing her. They are currently in front of the passage of an underground tunnel at the riverbank, located on the north side of town. According to Miss Mona, this tunnel leads inside the rampart.

Abel has been in the service for almost a few decades and started living in this town when he was born. But he didn't even know that there was a passage like this on that side of the riverbank.

It was a good thing there weren't many monsters there, so they quickly got into the tunnel. The entrance is so small that it can only fit one person. It was blocked by a large rock at the bottom of the bridge so it wasn't very noticeable. The entrance itself was intentionally covered by a piece of plywood. Probably, to intentionally hide it.

However, Miss Mona widened her eyes a little bit when she noticed that the plywood on it had already fallen down. It seemed someone had passed through it just a while ago.

Although they were wondering, they thought that there might be people like them who were caught by the closing of the rampart entrance. Since maybe they knew about this passage too, they decided to use it. Everyone agreed with that idea without further discussion. Only Miss Mona was creasing her forehead and furrowing.

Regardless, they have one problem entering the secret tunnel. The entrance was dark and narrow. "Let's use this." At that moment, they heard Jem speak and produced a luminous object from under his jacket.

It was a luminous crystal that provided enough light. However, everyone seemed to be stunned. The crystal he was holding was a precious stone that is rarely seen.

Although they wanted to ask where he got that precious stone, it wasn't an important issue at this time and they needed to continue with their objective before some monster would notice them.

The crystal in Jem's hand was the emerald crystal he found inside the labyrinth. He handed it to Miss Mona because she was leading their way.

With the light of the emerald crystal, they entered the tunnel. They have to walk in line because of the narrowness of the space inside it. But, unexpectedly, its height is just enough for them to walk without having to bend slightly. Just that, the place is a bit smelly. But they don't care about the smell of the surroundings. Their attention was only focused on the front as they continued to walk.

Only the sound from their footsteps could be heard. Ever since they entered here, they have not heard the noise from outside. Walking in front of them was Miss Mona, who guided them. Miles followed her and behind Miles was Jem. Behind Jem was Abel and behind Abel was Oldman Barn.

"Be careful the road is a bit slippery here!" Miss Mona suddenly reminded them after they turned right. Just like she said, "Kyaa—!" Miles freaked out when her foot slipped. Fortunately, Jem caught her quickly before she fell. Everyone stopped walking and looked at Miles.

"....."

Miles stared for a moment into the eyes of her childhood friend who was also staring at her while grabbing her on her waist and across her back. At that moment, Miles noticed the magnitude of change in Jem's eyes. Its gentle and seemingly cheerful eyes were gone.

However, Miles suddenly felt a strange throb of her chest as she stared into the young man's eyes. Although the light provided by the emerald crystal was enough to illuminate their way, it was not enough to notice the slight reddening of the maiden's cheek. But Miles could feel the heat on her cheek.

Instinctively, "T-Thank you, Jem," Miles said her thanks stutteringly.

"It's nothing," Jem replied in a gentle and nonchalant tone. Even the expression on his face was unchanged. Although she was grateful for what the young man had done, Miles was a little discouraged by the unnoticed emotion from his reply. That it seemed only normal for Jem to touch her and it didn't cause embarrassment or any special reaction to him. However, "Be careful, the road is a bit muddy," she unexpectedly heard an additional reminder. Miles was secretly happy because of it.

"Miles, are you okay?" Her grandfather asked in worry.

After hearing it, Miles quickly fixed herself. "Yes, I'm fine sorry for the delay everyone," she said her sorry before the group decided to continue their advance. This time, everyone was careful with their steps, especially Miles.

They had already walked a few minutes and turned a few corners, but it seemed they had yet to reach the exit. "Miss Mona, is it still far?" Miles asked as she was panting. There was an indication of fatigue on her face and sweats were trailing from her forehead down to her face. It wasn't easy to breathe in this kind of enclosed place. Abel and Oldman Barn were also in the same state as her. Miss Mona herself was the same too.

Jem, on the other hand, had no indication of fatigue or difficulty breathing. His condition is still normal. Everyone no longer pays attention to its strange and immeasurable physical advantage as an ex-human. Though, they wondered if all ex-humans were like him.

"H-Hang on, we're almost there. W-We'll be at the spacious corner after another turn. And after that we'll be at the exit," Miss Mona replied as she gasped for breath.

Just as she said, after turning to a corner once again, everyone was surprised to see themselves in a spacious room. The size of the room in their estimation was about 40 square meters.. But they saw something unexpected that widened their eyes in that moment.