“…As we had discussed earlier, we have completed all the Trials up to the Advanced Stage in the Warrior Hall,” Alnea said in a solemn tone, with just as solemn expression on his face, trying his best to not let himself get distracted by the smug smile on Cecilia’s face. The same could not be said about the other Star Seekers in the hall though. Especially Vestia. For some reason, the more that Cecilia smiled, the more annoyed Vestia became…

  “Which means, I can now fulfil the promise that I made when you joined the team…”

  “Really?” Vestia said, probably seeking a chance to annoy Cecilia in return. “Great, where are we going next?”

  “…Are you dreaming, vixen?”

  “I am not. But I cannot say the same about you. Did you not listen to what Alnea just said?”

  “I heard it loud and clear. And he said nothing about taking you anywhere.”

  “That was the promise he made to me though. That he would take me wherever he would go… Are you going to make Alnea break his promise?”

  “…Once a vixen, always a vixen…”

  “…I am talking about Medals,” Alnea said, ignoring the two girls glaring at each other. “High Grade Medals to be exact. Back when everyone joined the team, I said that I will provide you with ways to get stronger. And though you redeemed some Low Grade Medals from me, the resources you exchanged with those tokens probably did not have much effect on your strength. But things should be different with High Grade Medals.

  “Although most of you—or rather, all of you except Yuri and Lia have already reached the Peak Stage, High Grade resources should still have considerable effect on your strength. Of course, if you wish, you can also redeem Intermediate Grade Medals from me. Or you can wait for a couple more months to redeem Top Grade Medals. But I would not recommend it. Vestia, how much ‘Stars’ has everyone accumulated until now?”

  “…Do you want to me to tell it you alone, or to reveal it in front of everyone?”

  “We are a team. Everyone has a right to know how much others have contributed to the team.”

  “…If you say so,” Vestia said, glancing at the Star Seekers with an amused gaze. “Let’s start with Ralph. Four Stars for completing an exploration mission, and gathering information about the clans active in the eastern part of the Black Desert. Three Stars for confirming a rumour about Fortune Spring. One Star for completing a collection mission. Five Stars for…”

  “That’s too long,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “There is no need to go into such details. Just give us the total Stars that everyone has accumulated, and how much they are left with.”

  “I was just clarifying, in case some people have doubts about how I calculated their contributions—

  “Everyone trusts you, Vestia.”

  “If you say it so directly, you might make me blush,” Vestia said, giggling at the serious look on his face, before continuing with where she had left off. “In total, Ralph has accumulated around four hundred and thirty Stars. And of those four hundred and thirty Stars, he has already spent fifty Stars to redeem five Low Grade Medals, so he is left with only three hundred and eighty Stars. Similarly, Norren has also redeemed five Low Grade Medals, but he accumulated around four hundred and fifty Stars, so he still has around four hundred Stars.

  “On the other end, Zain, Aren, and Fran, all three of them have earned a little over five hundred stars. Zain has already redeemed ten Low Grade Medals though, so he is left with only a little over four hundred Stars. Four hundred and seven to be exact. In contrast, Aren and Fran have barely spent any of their Stars, so they still have over five hundred Stars to their names.”

  “…That’s just because I took on most of the harder tasks, that took longer to complete. Otherwise, I would have earned even more Stars. And I redeemed ten Low Grade Medals because I wanted to broaden my horizons. With the Arcanas that I know, not even the most advanced Arcanas of the Lost City can be of use to me. Or I would not have earned the name of White Arcanist.”

  “…More like you were the one who spread that name in the first place…”

  “Huh? What did you say?”

  “Alright Zain, we know you have the most impressive collection of Arcanas among us. Now, let Vestia continue with tallying everyone’s contribution.”

  “…Alright.”

  “…Next, let’s talk about Karl, the person who surprised me the most. Given how afraid he is of death, I used to think that he would not take on any missions on his own initiative, and would only do the bare minimum for the team. Yet, he was surprisingly the most proactive one amongst us to take on missions. Although most of those were reconnaissance, and intelligence gathering missions.

  “In total, he has accumulated over six hundred Stars in contributions, and has redeemed only a couple of Low Grade Medals. Of course, his contributions still cannot compare to Cecilia and Yuri’s contributions to the team. Though much of that has to do with the Tokens that they contributed to the team, rather than the missions that they have completed. Especially Cecilia…”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Hey, what do you mean by that?”

  “I am just telling the truth.”

  “Who are you trying to fool? A Low Grade Medal is worth only ten Stars. And I have given only five Medals to the team. That means only fifty of my Stars come from contributing Medals. The rest, I earned on my own.”

  “Tsk. I did not know that you could count.”

  “…That’s it! I am—

  “Lia.”

  “…But she started it first!”

  “…You can fight with her later. Let her tally everyone’s contribution first.”

  “…Tsk. Fine. I will let her go for now. But only because you said so.”

  “…Thank you, Lia. And you too, Vestia. Stop provoking Cecilia.”

  “…She started it first. You saw it too. Just how smug she has been over the past couple of days—

  “Vestia.”

  “…There is nothing I can do when you look at me like that,” Vestia said, with a helpless smile on her face. Shaking her head, she chose to ignore Cecilia for the moment, and focus on her task. “Now, where was I… Right. Cecilia has accumulated over eight hundred Stars—

  “Tell them the exact number of Stars I have earned.”

  “…Nine hundred and thirty seven.”

  “…You call that just over right hundred?”

  “…In a sense, it is over eight hundred Stars.”

  “Lia, Vestia.”

  “Tsk. Vixen.”

  “…As I was saying, Cecilia has accumulated nine hundred and thirty seven Stars, and has never redeemed any Medals. Not that she could have—

  “Vestia.”

  “…On the other hand, Yuri has accumulated a little over a thousand Stars. And that is despite spending most of her time trying to coordinate Alnea with the rest of the team.”

  “…Tsk. Tell me, Yuri. Did you come to some sort of deal with this vixen?”

  “None at all,” Yuri said, shaking her head. “You know how our relationship is. How could I ever make a deal with her? And even if I did come to an agreement with her, would I not tell you about it?”

  For a moment, Cecilia almost believed Yuri’s words. That was until she saw the smile on the latter’s face. And just like that, the same words, which were sounding so reasonable just moments ago, did not seem so convincing in the very next moment.

  “You…”

  “…Ignore them, and continue with what you were saying, Vestia.”

  “…I have already revealed everyone’s contribution to the team…”

  “You are forgetting someone, Vestia.”

  “Right. Look at me. I almost forgot about you.”

  “I am talking about you. Tell me how much Stars you have accumulated. And don’t say things like you have never counted your contributions. I personally graded all of your missions for you. And I also made sure that you kept count of all of them.”

  “…Like I said in the beginning, I do not care about—

  “We are a team, Vestia. And as a team, everything must be fair. Or we might risk breaking the threads that bind us together.”

  “…You do not look cute when you become so serious,” Vestia said with a pout on her face, before breaking out into a smile. “But then again, your seriousness is also one of your charms.”

  “Stop trying to flirt, vixen, and just get to the point. Or are you embarrassed to talk about how much you have contributed to the team?”

  “…I was just trying to save some face for you. But since you wish to be humiliated, then there is nothing that I can do,” Vestia said with a scoff, before turning back to Alnea. “I have accumulated over twelve hundred Stars in contributions—

  “Impossible!”

  “Lia,” Alnea said, this time a little more solemn that before. “No matter what, we must trust each other.”

  “But that’s twelve hundred Stars!”

  “Twelve hundred and twenty three, to be exact,” Alnea said. “And I know where every single one of those Stars came from. Just as I know where every single one of the nine hundred and thirty seven Stars that you earned came from. Including the ones you earned by deliberately provoking other Wanderers to issue you a Blood Challenge, or the ones you earned by cheating information out from Martha.”

  “…When did you know…”

  “…On the day you went to Martha with Vestia. And it is not just you. I have kept track of everyone’s missions over the past few months. Not just to ensure that everyone was doing their part, while ensuring their safety, but also to ensure the fairness of our team. That is my duty as your Captain.”

  “…I am sorry. I got a little carried away earlier.”

  “You should not apologise to me.”

  “Forget it, Alnea,” Vestia said. “After all, she is still just a fourteen year old girl…”

  “…I am sorry,” Cecilia said in a low grumble, before quickly tearing her face away from Vestia with a huff.

  “…She may not be fifteen years old yet, but you are going to be eighteen in a couple of months. And you have been at the Peak Stage for over a year. Why are you still grinning like a little girl?”

  “Ahem. As I was saying, I have accumulated around twelve hundred Stars. That leaves just your contribution to the team…”

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  “…Should I say the Stars that I counted, or the ones that you counted for yourself?”

  “…Forget it. I will say it myself,” Alnea said, shaking his head, before glancing over the rest of the Star Seekers. “I have accumulated just a little over six hundred Stars—

  “That is only because you did not count the contribution of leading the team, and organising everyone. Not to mention the time you spent supervising everyone’s missions—

  “That is my duty.”

  “Then contributing to the team is our duty.”

  “That is different.”

  “No, it is not,” Yuri said, peeping through his Heart through her crystal blue eyes. “Just as leading the team is your duty as the team leader, doing things to further the interests of our team is our duty as its team members. So why should we earn Stars for our contribution, while you earn nothing for the things you did? Is this the fairness that you were talking about?”

  “…I thought you were on my team.”

  “I am. And that is why I am fighting for you.”

  “…Why can I never win against you?”

  “…Because you are a fool…”