The Extra's Odyssey

"….who…"

Groggily sitting up Leon rubbed his eyes.

He looked around in a daze as he tried to remember where he was.

The room had silver walls and a metallic floor. There were no windows, but the roof had a projection of an open sky to ease one's mind. Several AI bots were running around trying to fix the messy room.

"Did you have a good dream? You were sleeptalking."

"It was ..a…dream….?"

"Your expression is making me curious. Was it something important?"

"I was fighting someone. The battle never ended, but something unexpected happened at the end, I think. Honestly, I don't remember anything in detail, only that the ending was surprising."

While listening to him, Isabell passed him a cup of coffee.

Being in the same age group, going through the ordeal at the Gladiator Championship together, things like these helped Isabell and Leon get closer quickly.

Leon was still unable to get over the fact that someone he knew had been working as a member of the Aegis' secret unit for a few years already.

It made him wonder if he also knew Mr. Pepe.

'Hah, as if! What are the chances of that happening?'

Slurp-

He slurped the coffee while exploring such absurd possibilities.

"Yato, what are you thinking about the proposal?"

"I'm still not sure…"

The possibility Isabell spoke about was the offer Goliaths have given Leon: Becoming the face of Goliaths.

The majority of Goliath Unit's members have voted for the idea to enter the Guild and Mercenary business with an alias. It had many benefits as well as disadvantages.

Most of the members were famous in one way or another, and as such, only a few victi-cough a few options were available to act as the face of the cover they were planning on creating.

Leon was a rising star in Ward and had no background. He was the most suitable for this job.

"Don't worry, we'll handle everything else. You only need to deal with troubleso-erm important things."

Seeing the smile plastered on Isabell's face, Leon had an inkling that he was being duped to deal with troublesome things, however as a newbie in these matters he had no other choice than to believe his seniors.

Sigh

"When will the meeting start?"

"It should be starting in half an hour."

The answer came from his right.

Turning their heads, both of them looked at the wall on their right. A vertical line appeared in the middle of the wall and the wall split.

Stepping inside the room, Huntress checked on Leon.

"We'll be meeting a few guests too. Don't let them get on your nerves."

Leon nodded, slightly confused.

'Shouldn't I be meeting other members? Why does she mean by guests?'

Huntress looked haggard.

It had been two days since the failure of their mission. Huntress has been busy giving reports and meeting the higher-ups.

The news about a new Irregular had shaken the entire upper echelon of Aegis and Gaia. It did not help that this new Irregular knew and took advantage of Goliaths secret mission that only a handful were supposed to know.

Huntress grabbed a coffee and slumped on the couch.

Only two people knew about this fact on Aegis' side: Psychic had gone missing. During the last mission, after removing his limiter, there had been no further contact from his side.

Time passed as the three of them relaxed and it was finally time for the meeting.

Despite thinking that it was a drag, Huntress begrudgingly took out a mirror and made herself presentable.

They moved and went to the meeting room.

This place was one of the luxurious hidden bases of the Goliaths. It did not lack any facilities and was strong enough to hold out against a 5-star monster for a few days.

Tap- Tap-

Leon sensed the presence of a few people in the next corridor, and he turned to greet them.

Walking down the next corridor were Iris, her butler, a purple-haired woman, and a kid with long bangs covering his sunken eyes.

Crackle-

Schwing-!

Leon activated his stigma and unsheathed his katana without a moment's delay.

"Huntress, Seer, we are being raided!"

He raised his stigma output to the maximum and got ready to use his new skill at a moment's notice.

The skill was still not usable in combat, but he did not have the luxury of being picky in his current position.

Iris looked at Leon with a raised brow. She turned to Huntress and pointed at Leon.

Huntress massaged her brows and looked at Isabell, who was trying to suppress her giggles as she saw Leon getting ready to fight.

She immediately understood. Isabell had not told Leon about the guests.

Sighing, she told Leon to stand down.

"Yato, there's no need to be on guard. Umbra and Aegis have a non-aggression pact signed. They are here to discuss the matter of the incident two days ago."

"But didn't we raid them two days ago?"

"Fighting itself isn't prohibited, killing is. And as I said, they are here to discuss the raid itself."

Baffled, Leon backed down.

Before a conversation could start, Huntress turned away and went ahead to the meeting room.

She thought she had escaped when someone spoke next to her ears.

"Dark circles? Is that a sign of an overworked employee that I see?"

Huntress' eyes twitched, but she didn't answer back.

"Your hair is also not done properly, as if you were in a hurry. Don't tell me you were trying to hide them from me?!"

Iris simply walked beside Huntress and spoke to herself.

"tsk tsk, you should leave Goliaths and come under me. Where can you find a boss that will treat you so nicely?"

Those words brought a few memories back to Huntress and prompted her to refuse swiftly.

"I'm not working under you. Never ever!"

"Ah, come on! I might have treated you harshly, but that was back then. I've improved since then."

Leon who was looking at the fearsome Sword Maiden talking so casually had a weird expression on his face.

He leaned to Isabell and whispered.

"Do they know each other?"

"They are… friends?"

Isabell herself wasn't sure.

Huntress always refused to elaborate on their past, saying that they were only ex-classmates, while Iris would always act as if they were best friends.

Other than with Huntress, Iris never spoke openly with anyone else. This gave claims to her statement.

As the group interacted with one another, they finally reached the meeting room.

Screeech-

Opening the door, Leon found a large conference table in the middle of the room.

Looking around, he saw a few people already occupying some seats.

However, his gaze faltered when he a young man sitting at the head of the table.

"Gamma-rank"