The next day, at nine in the morning, in the Fairy Tail Guild hall.
The spacious hall was empty of customers at the moment. Ezreal was leisurely sitting at a table by the window, leaning on the table, sipping iced red tea through a straw.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow on him.
Mira, holding a clean rag, was wiping the adjacent table while chatting with Ezreal.
"Ez, for your first mission, going to a dangerous place like the Magic Beast Mountains, are you really sure it's okay?" Mira's tone was full of concern.
"For Viscount Chahar's 500,000 reward, I'll do my best." Ezreal gently shook the cup in his hand and said with a smile, "Mira, don't worry too much, my strength is quite good."
"I never doubt the strength of my comrades. Everyone in the Guild is well aware of your recent power increase, but sometimes, people grow arrogant because of power." Mira's hand trembled, and she stopped her actions, walking over to Ezreal and saying seriously, "The Asgard Mountains have complex terrain, a primitive and harsh environment, and many Magic Beasts, some of which can even threaten S-Class Mages. For hundreds of years, few have ventured there, and one wrong step could lead to a dead end."
"You have income from selling Hextech products. While 500,000 is a lot, it's not worth such a great risk for you. You are more opinionated, rational, and calm than most of our comrades in the Guild. I don't want to pry into what you're really going there for." Mira stared intently into Ezreal's eyes, her expression strange, with sadness mixed with concern.
"Come back alive." When she said this, Mira's expression was somewhat dazed, and sorrow seemed to spill from her eyes.
Noticing that Mira's emotions were a bit off at the moment, Ezreal could roughly guess the reason. He nodded and replied seriously, "I do have a reason I must go. Don't worry, I won't lose my life there."
Ezreal stood up and walked to the counter. He poured a glass of ice water for Mira, patted her on the shoulder, but offered no other comfort.
At this moment, Mira had just lost her younger sister, Lisanna. Although Lisanna was alive and well in another dimension, the siblings didn't know that.
In this parallel world of Azeroth, Mira and Elfman also lost their younger sister, and it was forever.
Lisanna, currently in another dimension, could provide some comfort to the siblings who had truly lost their sister.
Anyway, in two years, the Azeroth chapter would begin, and Lisanna would return. Ezreal wasn't planning on spoiling anything regarding this matter.
Let the kind Lisanna comfort her older brother and sister in the other dimension during these short two years.
Mira took the water glass, sipping slowly, her eyes somewhat vacant and hollow.
Ezreal remained silent, finding a corner to continue sitting.
Just then, the Guild's main door was pushed open abruptly, and a flurry of footsteps approached.
Marcus strode in, full of vigor. His usually neatly combed green bowl cut was slightly disheveled, and his usual crisp purple suit was gone, replaced by a comfortable black tracksuit, with a pair of light athletic shoes on his feet.
"Ez, I'm here!" Marcus shouted, walking towards Ezreal.
Ezreal looked up and greeted him with a smile, "Hey, Marcus, you look very different today."
"Just average." Marcus walked to the table, sat down, picked up the cup in front of Ezreal, took a big gulp, and then said, "This is for ease of movement, you know? The Asgard Mountains aren't a place to wear formal attire."
"Then why do you have to wear formal attire to drink at the Guild? Is it that formal!" Ezreal joked with a smile.
"Of course, I want to be cooler than Loki!" Marcus lifted his chin.
"That might be a bit difficult." Ezreal mercilessly struck him down.
Mira listened to them joke, her mood having calmed down considerably. She looked at Marcus and said with a smile, "Marcus, you've taken on the mission to protect Ez. Don't take it lightly."
Marcus patted his chest confidently and said, "Don't worry, Mira, with me around, Ez will be fine."
The three continued to chat, their conversation still revolving around the dangers of the Magic Beast Mountains and the current mission.
Not long after, a clear voice rang out in the Guild hall: "Oh, you two are so annoying, you came so early! Didn't we agree to leave at nine-thirty? This makes me look bad for arriving right on time!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Cana, dressed in a brown windbreaker, grey trousers, and a pair of thick, short boots, bundled up tightly, walking quickly towards them.
Her usually messy black hair was tied into a high ponytail, swaying with her steps.
Ezreal said righteously, "We clearly said to meet at nine, you're half an hour late!"
Marcus was stunned for a moment and asked, "Huh, is… is that so?"
Cana's expression froze. She patted her forehead and said uncertainly, "Did I drink too much yesterday and misremember? I thought Mira said nine-thirty."
"No, it was nine-thirty." Mira smiled, exposing Ezreal's joke.
"Die, you old hag!" Seeing Ezreal chuckling to himself, Cana immediately jumped up with a flying kick, but Ezreal nimbly dodged it.
Marcus, completely disloyal, hid beside Mira, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Seeing Cana continuously unleash Leo's Flying Kick, Ezreal quickly waved his hands and said, "I'm the client, you have to protect me! Hitting me violates the Guild's Mage code of conduct!"
Cana stopped her playful attack upon hearing this, huffed, "I'll spare your miserable life!"
"Thank you for not killing me." Ezreal scurried to the Guild entrance.
Ezreal said with a smile, "Alright, Cana, everyone's here, let's get ready to go!"
Marcus and Cana both nodded, and the three walked together towards the Guild entrance.
Stepping out of the Guild hall, the street was bathed in bright sunlight.
Ezreal stopped, raised his left hand, and snapped his fingers. The sapphire on the back of his hand glowed blue, and three fist-sized white vortexes appeared in front of him, then rapidly expanded in the wind, transforming into human-height white energy vortexes that slowly rotated.
A fierce aura emanated from the Dimensional Summoning gates. Three large purple Crimson Feathered Demon Wolves, flapping their fiery red wings, burst out, flew two circles in the sky, then slowly folded their wings and landed, quietly lying beside Ezreal.
"Ah! Monsters!"
"Magic Beasts in the city! Go quickly to Fairy Tail and ask for a Mage!"
"Get lost, these are Fairy Tail Mages. That young man is a Summoner."
"Oh… then it's fine, he's really handsome."
People on both sides of the street were startled by the appearance of the Crimson Feathered Demon Wolves, but seeing the Fairy Tail Guild door behind the Demon Wolves, they all lowered their guard.
Although the Fairy Tail members often caused trouble, the residents of Magnolia knew that they were a group of somewhat reckless but kind-hearted individuals. Apart from their daily mischief, their reputation was quite good.
"Wow!" Marcus and Cana couldn't help but exclaim.