Of course, there was opposition during this period. However, this opposition was meaningless to the Blood Emperor, who already controlled the Empire’s knights during his time as the crown prince. Using overwhelming military force, every aristocrat that was capable of opposing him was cut down like wheat before the scythe. The only ones who remained were those who pledged their allegiance to the Emperor from the bottom of their hearts, and thus it ended with the complete centralisation of power in him.

However, the Blood Emperor didn't just stop there. Many leftover aristocrats soon had their nobility revoked due to incompetence. Instead, capable commoners were given the chance to rise in status.

All in all, there were two main points that surprised people the most. First was that the national power of the Empire did not drop a single bit during the mass removal of aristocrats. Second was that the Emperor who had achieved all of this was only a boy one or two years past the age of ten.

It wasn't rare to see families that lost their nobility status. However—

"—Even now my parents still live the same lifestyle as before. Of course we can't afford the cost. That's why my parents ended up borrowing money from shady places."

Hearing this, the three of them glanced around at each other.

Although the three of them hid it well, feelings of anxiousness, irritation, unpleasantness and anger passed between them.

"—I have confidence in my magic abilities. I wish to join." These words had been said by a slender child holding a staff taller than herself.

The image of a small child with an expressionless face, who was holding her staff with both hands while standing before them, suddenly came back into the minds of Hekkeran and the others. Later, the image of their stunned faces after they saw the display of Arche's strength in magic came into view in their heads, resounding with nostalgia.

In the two years that went by, after experiencing numerous adventures and having survived adventures where even one wrong move would result in death, the money that they had gained was quite a considerable amount. However, Arche's equipment had hardly changed since the beginning.

The reason for that was finally made known.

"Is that for real? Should I go and have a proper 'talk' with them?"

"I think it's about time for your parents to hear the voice of God. No, no, perhaps they should meet the fists of God before that."

"I don't think their ears haven't been pierced yet, maybe I should start making holes in them."

"—Please calm down. It's already gotten to this stage, what I want to say is, depending on the situation I plan on taking my sisters away from my parents."

"You have sisters?"

Seeing Arche nod her head, the three of them looked at each other once more. Although they didn't say it out loud, but deep down in their hearts they started to feel that it might be better to give up on this particular request.

It was true that workers had a higher income than adventurers. However, the amount of danger they faced was also much higher. Although they tried their best at making sure the work they took on was as safe as possible, the chances of encountering situations outside their calculations was still quite high.

A single slip might result in a tragedy for her sisters. However, it was pointless to keep thinking along these lines.

"Is that so? ...Then let's put this topic on hold for now. We will let you handle your current problem... Anyway, back to our main discussion topic, do we accept the offered commission or not?"

Having said this, Hekkeran cast a cold gaze at Arche.

"Arche, I don't want to make it sound bad but you don't get a say in this."

"—That’s fine. For someone who’s in need of money, I can understand that my vote would be compromised because of my debt issue."

That was what they meant by being blinded by greed.

"—Truthfully, I had thought that I might end up becoming removed from this team."

"What are you saying? After having a magic caster as skilled as you join our team, it would be a huge loss for us to simply let you go."

This statement wasn't meant to provide any comfort. It was the truth.

Arche's innate talent. A pair of eyes blessed with miracles, had helped out Hekkeran's team multiple times in the past.

If a name had to be given to Arche's innate talent, the 'All-Seeing Eyes' would probably be the most suitable words to describe it.

Arcane magic casters were constantly surrounded by an invisible aura which wrapped around their body. However, Arche's innate talent allowed her to see it directly. Not only that, she was even able to see which tiers of magic the opponent was capable of using.

The advantage of being able to gauge the power level of opponents went without saying.

There was only one other person that Hekkeran knew of within the Empire that also possessed this ability. And that person was the Empire's highest ranked magic caster—Fluder Paradyne.

Although their eyes were the only things they had in common, it showed how gifted Arche was, since she was comparable to Fluder.

"To think that the Magic Academy would let such a talented child go."

"Exactly. To be capable of using the same tier of magic as me at such a young age is simply unbelievable. Perhaps it's possible for Arche to reach the 6^th tier in the future."

"—I think that would be quite difficult to achieve. However, I would be happy if the possibility exists."

Just as the previously broken atmosphere was about to recover, Hekkeran clapped his hands. Everyone's attention once more focused on the topic at hand.

"Now now, about the current request, do we accept or not?—Roberdyck."

"I have no objections."

"Imina?"

"Why not go with it? This is the type of work I've always wanted to do."

The work given to workers usually wasn't trivial stuff. Only a few days ago, they were still on the Kattse Plains exterminating undead. Work like that was quite different compared to what was offered now.

"In that case—"

"—If it's for my sake, please don't. Even if we refuse the offer this time I still have other ways."