Before she could even knock or announce her presence, a calm voice came from inside the room.

"You can come inside. The door is not locked."

The guild leader was not surprised, of course. Such a person would naturally be able to detect her presence when she was just outside his room. To invest so much money in such a strange mission, there had to be great power or a significant organization behind it.

And I will be the judge of whether that's good or bad.

Above all else, the peace and safety of the people living in the central region mattered the most to her. That was her responsibility as guild leader.

CREAK...

Leon watched her enter. He could tell immediately this woman in reddish-purple armor was not someone weak—probably the strongest person he'd seen in the middle domain so far. She might be at Seraphine's level, or even slightly above.

She was a tall woman with a high nose and prominent cheekbones. Beautiful yet possessing a warrior's face—strong features that commanded respect. She looked striking, especially with the natural confidence she exuded in every movement.

Her flowing red and purple hair was the most eye-catching part.

Also, for the first contestant to arrive so quickly, the guild is sure to be efficient with their commitment to advertise my mission.

Leon took a seat at the table naturally, not even slightly affected by her imposing presence. He gestured to the chair across from him.

"Please, take a seat. We'll be starting the interview for the mission."

The guild master, Aria, studied this white-haired, tall, and handsome young man carefully. He was completely unaffected by her presence—showing no nervousness, no deference, no recognition whatsoever.

And I can't detect his strength. Not even the slightest hint.

That threw her off considerably. Normally, when in certain presences, you could get some general idea of their power level through subtle cues—mana density, the weight of their aura, unconscious leakage of energy.

But from him? Nothing.

Either it's a technique to hide one's strength... or he's genuinely weak and just has money.

But the confidence in his calm voice, the steadiness of his gaze, the way he carried himself—all of it made her assume he was the former. A strong individual deliberately concealing his power.

That absolute calmness doesn't come from nowhere. You don't develop that without experiencing real danger.

Aria made a split-second decision. She wouldn't reveal her actual position as guild leader. Instead, she'd act as a normal contestant applying for his mission, exactly as he was assuming.

It's better this way. I can gather more information if he thinks I'm just another adventurer.

But there was one thing that put her slightly on edge. While she didn't normally like to flaunt her status, not being recognized—especially here in the central region, the literal heartland of the Adventurer's Union—was genuinely shocking.

I'm the guild master of one of the four main regional branches. A five-star adventurer, one of only a handful in the entire continent. In the past year, I've become even more famous, albeit not in entirely positive ways.

His complete ignorance told her he was foreign to this region and probably even the surrounding territories close to the central region.

An outsider with tremendous wealth. Interesting.

She would try to pass his interview first, then decide how to proceed after understanding his real motives or at least getting some idea of them.

As she took her seat across from him, Leon started the interview without wasting a second. He knew it was going to be hectic from this point forward, with candidates arriving continuously once word spread.

His first question was direct and unadorned.

"Introduce yourself. Are you skilled at finding information? Do you have connections within elite circles?"

Leon was being deliberately straightforward. He didn't want pretense or flowery language—just simple, efficient communication.

Two questions should be enough to select viable candidates.

Aria noticed immediately how the emphasis was on finding information and connections, both in the interview and in the original mission description. So she didn't try to be modest or understated in her response.

"My name is Aria," she began, using only her first name. "I'm a veteran four-star adventurer. I've been in this profession since I was fourteen years old—over a decade of experience."

She leaned forward slightly, her crimson eyes meeting his directly.

"I'm probably one of the best people to find any information in the entire northern region of the central region. And I have significant connections in the other three regions as well."

She paused for emphasis before continuing.

"As for my connections and influence, I sit at one of the top positions in the food chain throughout the whole central region."

She deliberately didn't mention that her mother was one of the council members in the Union administration, positioned just below the supreme leaders themselves. That was public information to most highly influential people, but this man seemed ignorant of these political details.

Better not to scare him off before he reveals his actual motives.

Leon listened in silence, his expression unreadable.

He only hummed slightly with a note of doubt, his tone carrying a hint of condescension.

The way this woman has boasted about herself, it's as if she fucking owns this place. I don't even believe half of it. She's not even that strong, if I'm being honest.

What Leon didn't realize was that his perception of strength had become severely distorted without him noticing. He'd recently dealt with a world-class monster— especially a Coreborn that had come from a higher realm and was lying in hiding for nine hundred years. If he hadn't encountered it by chance, Morpheus would have eventually destroyed the entire middle domain within the next century once it fully recovered.

But it was unfortunate for that creature. It met an anomaly by pure mistake.

Leon spoke with a nonchalant expression, his voice carrying that same condescending edge.

"Are you sure you're telling the truth? You don't look that strong to me." He paused deliberately. "You'll still get the five hundred gold coins as promised, even if you fail the interview. No need to exaggerate your capabilities."

THUMP!

Aria heard him clearly. For a moment, she almost stood up from her seat, her warrior's pride screaming at being called weak. She felt challenged, attacked on a fundamental level.

Her teeth gritted together. A slight vein showed visibly on her temple—a clear sign of her rising aggression.

However, she didn't act on the impulse. Instead, she forced a smile, though her lips twitched at the corners with barely suppressed irritation.

"I wasn't boasting," she said with strained politeness. "It was the truth."

If not for wanting to discover his true motives, I would fight him right here and now. I'd make him eat those words. I'd show him exactly how 'weak' I am.

Leon just waved his hand dismissively. "Sure, sure."

He paused, then nodded. "You passed the interview."

I do feel she's capable. Still don't think she's as impressive as she claimed, but she does have strength higher than that four-star wolf girl from before—Sylphia. Ignoring her boasting, she seems competent enough.

Aria felt genuinely hurt. She could sense through his words and body language that, despite passing her, he still didn't believe her claims.

I'll settle this humiliation when the time is right. Mark my words.

Now that the interview portion was complete, Leon retrieved a contract from his spatial inventory—one of hundreds he'd purchased when they went shopping previously with Seraphine and Loriel.

He took one out and wrote the specific terms in a couple of seconds with practiced efficiency, then handed it across the table to her.

Aria took the parchment and read through it carefully. It was basically a non-disclosure agreement with magical binding—standard practice for sensitive information exchanges.

She signed without any hesitation, barely suppressing a scoff.

I don't need to reveal anything to anyone anyway. I can come after him directly if I deem his intentions harmful to the region. Being a guild leader, my authority stretches far beyond normal legal constraints.

After the signing was complete, Leon stored the contract back inside his inventory.

Aria was internally surprised by his casual spatial manipulation—that was an ultra-rare affinity, or it could also be a treasure—but she immediately downplayed it in her thoughts.

It's nothing special. Plenty of people have spatial storage artifacts.

In actuality, they don't, and she knows it; only her mother and she have one, if she had been honest.

She was still upset about being called weak, of course. But she definitely wasn't being petty about it. Definitely not.

Leon's expression shifted then, becoming more serious.

"Good. Now that formalities are out of the way..."

He directly materialized images of both Seraphine and Loriel in the form of large, colorful, illusory screens floating in the air before Aria—perfect three-dimensional representations showing them from multiple angles.

SHIMMER! GLOW!

Aria's mouth opened slightly in genuine surprise before she closed it instantly.

Space affinity AND illusion affinity? And the control required to create such detailed, stable projections...

She realized how genuinely special this man was with his amazing, unique powers.

However, in her thoughts: Hmph! This is nothing particularly impressive. Of course, it's not because he called me weak. I'm just... objectively assessing his abilities.

A small part of her mind whispered that there might actually be a case where he was stronger than her, but she denied this thought completely and immediately.

Absolutely not. I refuse to accept that possibility.

Leon's voice became deep and serious, his entire demeanor shifting.

"See these two women? They are my companions. They've been kidnapped by a group of thugs from the central region, and I'm here to find them. I suspect the people who took them have high-level connections and are backed by powerful individuals while being powerful themselves."

His voice turned aggressive now, the atmosphere in the room dropping several degrees in temperature. His eyes became dangerous—predatory in a way that sent instinctive warnings through Aria's combat-honed senses.

For just a moment, she felt genuine chill, as if she were suddenly in the presence of a real apex predator.

What... what was that?

"You don't have to do anything except find their location," Leon continued, his voice carrying an edge of barely controlled violence. "I will take care of everything else personally."

Aria processed everything he'd said, and more than anything, she felt genuinely upset with herself.

The motive this man has is completely pure. He's here to find his lost companions. There's nothing sinister about it at all.

She was upset specifically because now she couldn't justify fighting him for calling her weak earlier—not when he was clearly a victim seeking help for people who'd been wrongfully taken.

Damn it.

The sheer amount of wealth he was spending, the urgency in his actions, the dangerous edge in his voice—all of it demonstrated how important these two women must be to him.

And some thugs from my region kidnapped them from somewhere and smuggled them in here. That reflects poorly on the security I'm supposed to maintain.

She felt sympathetic toward him, understanding his desperation. But after this was all resolved and his companions were safely returned...

I'm definitely going to fight him. No excuses.

Aria spoke clearly and loudly, her voice carrying absolute conviction.

"I will find those thugs in no time. Don't worry." She paused, then added firmly, "And I don't need any rewards for this. You just have to promise me one thing—you will fight me after I give you the information."

Leon heard her words and was genuinely perplexed.

Why does she want to fight me? That came out of nowhere.

But he accepted her terms immediately without questioning the bizarre condition. She seemed passionate about it, and he didn't particularly care about the reason.

I want to find both of them in this vast region as quickly as possible. I'd fight a thousand versions of her if it means getting that information faster.

"Deal," he said simply.

Aria stood up with a wide smile spreading across her face, her earlier irritation replaced by anticipation. She announced proudly:

"I'll be back in half an hour with the location."

Her eyes practically blazed with fiery determination as she exited the room.

SLAM!

Leon couldn't help but shake his head after she left, a slight smile tugging at his lips despite the tension.

"Hah. This woman... she really loves to boast."

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