"Alright, since the pillars of our little rebel troop are here, let's start with the introductions. None of you introduce yourselves, please, I'll do it. Save our savior's ears from your wretched mouths." Ascalon began, scanning his eyes over the six other individuals in the meeting shack.

Aside from Daru and Lesha, there were four others.

Two were canid-type, male beastkin — though seemingly from different sub-races — the third was a short yet stocky and muscular human who looked like their fathers but was actually just a little older than them, and the last one was surprisingly of the same race as the face Daru wore to infiltrate the Kahsar Novice Grove.

Apparently, the beautiful female creature was called an elf and felt a hint of kinship with Lesha.

The two were very close, despite the contrasting tones of their skin.

"So, let me introduce you to these two…uhh…dawgs." The SS-ranker resumed after a brief pause, hurriedly looking in the direction of the now-scowling beastkin, hurriedly clarifying: "I said DAWGS, alright, not dogs. I'd be dumb to still not be aware of the differences of your sub-races by now, don't you think? Hark is a Kobold, and Borz is a Vorgr. There, happy?"

To Daru's astonishment, the scowl on the two beastkin's faces immediately changed into wide, toothy smiles, nodding in satisfaction.

"Correct-sah! Ascalon is truly smart-sah!" Hark said in a slightly childish, gentle tone.

"Hahaha! Indeed-gar! Why else would he be our leader-gar?!" Borz added in a rough and deep voice, in harsh contrast to his brat-like appearance.

Watching them, the short, stocky, father-like male human, apparently called a Dwarf as per Ascalon, laughed heartily, turning to face Daru.

"BAHAHAHA! Aren't they good little doggies?"

The cherry blossom-haired SS-ranker paled and then palmed his face, fully knowing what was about to happen.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY-SAH?!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING DOGGIES-GAR?! YOU WANT TO DIE, HALF-MAN?! HRRR…."

Luckily for Ascalon, the somewhat-recovered Lesha stepped in to help.

"Hey, Thrad! That's not a nice thing to say to our good little boys!" the Veshari reprimanded, turning to the two beastkin with a gentle smile the next moment.

"Hark, Borz, sorry about what he said, but let's get along, yeah? How bout big sister combs your gorgeous manes later, hmm?"

"O-Okay-sah! I'll just ignore the half-man-sah!"

"Yes-gar! I'd like that-garr!"

Ascalon had witnessed it many times before, but he still couldn't help but shudder every time he witnessed the mad beast swap personalities as though she were merely changing clothes.

'What the hell do you mean by big sister? You're the second-youngest here!' was the thought swirling in his mind.

Meanwhile, Thrad erupted in another hearty laugh, but chose not to further fan the flames.

The demoness in front of him might burst if he pushed his luck too much.

A few more moments later, the chaotic table calmed down.

Daru had a faint smile on his face as he watched the interaction, pleased to be learning a lot.

Only then was Ascalon able to continue.

"Sigh…Alright, let's continue. So, as you've heard, brother Onimaru. That guy over there is Thrad, and our wonderful smoking ho– err…elf here is Miss Aesyn. It seems her race is a distant cousin of the Vesharis, or something, since they both live in groves. All four of them are B-rankers and are participating in their own Sword Trials.

Needless to say, those are their real names, so…uh…if you're willing to share with us yours, then we shall refer to you by your name. If not, we'll keep calling you Onimaru. Your call."

Daru thought for a while.

From what his inexperienced brain could analyze, it would be useless for a Veshari to know his real name, even if they managed to escape the god-forsaken place.

What would they do with "Daru Finnley?"

He wasn't experienced enough to comprehend, so he decided it would be fine, and even more so for Hark, Borz, Thrad, and Aesyn, who had even way less of a business with his true identity.

They weren't fighting on the same battlefield and would probably not see each other again after leaving Limbo.

The only concern was…

Daru met Ascalon's gaze, asking decisively: "Are you with any of the Seven Sword Guilds?"

He was almost certain that the SS-ranker was.

After all, it was a well-known fact that the rich skyholders wouldn't pass up the chance to secure the loyalty of as many high- and top-rankers as they could.

There was simply no way Ascalon would escape the net. Not to mention, there was even a chance he was an heir of one of the seven.

He would be better called "Onimaru" if that were the case.

The cherry blossom-haired SS-ranker froze for a moment, caught off-guard by the sudden, blunt, and heavy question.

Thoughts flooded Ascalon's head, suddenly wary of Daru.

That's right.

They were from the same world, so after this, they might find themselves the enemy of the other sometime in the future.

However, answering with another question like "why are you asking?" would not only be rude but would also put distance and unwanted vigilance between them.

The hopefuls of Egress Haven needed and would continue to need every bit of cohesion and teamwork to escape this bland and miserable realm where one could not thrive, merely exist.

So Ascalon decided to answer without treading on eggshells.

He could only hope that the younger bladeborn would put the faction differences aside for now through his sincerity.

"Uhh…for now, no, and probably not in the future, too."

Daru fell silent, his gaze difficult to decipher.

His rather difficult-to-fathom actions made a corner of Ascalon's face twitch in unease.

"Uhh…"

Just when he was struggling to find words, Daru finally spoke:

"I see…Then I will tell you my name if you tell me yours."

Ascalon was dumbfounded for a moment due to the rather simple yet overlooked core of the request.

'That's it?'

"W-Well, my bad. You can call me Caleb, brother…?"

"Daru."

"A-Ah! Brother Daru! Alright, I appreciate the trust. Now that everyone knows each other, let's get to the planning."

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