Every train station in Rechel had a car rental beside one of the station exits. The government had made it so that both civilians and mercenaries could go everywhere easily; however, mercenaries would usually get a small discount.

When the academy principal had spoken, though, it'd be a different story.

"Ah, I've heard about you two from Mr. Burke," the owner of the rental, Daniel Rivera, spoke with a sweet smile that made Leon sick in the stomach. One had to respect mercenaries, but some idiots just tried too hard to be a bootlicker.

"Yeah." Neil grinned, a hand grasping the straps of his bulky duffle bag while another rubbing the back of his neck. "Mr. Burke booked a car for our mission, didn't he?"

"He did." Daniel turned and walked along the path between the neatly-parked cars. Sunlight glinted off their shiny surface. "Follow me."

Dragging his suitcase, Leon faked a smile and followed Daniel. "Yes, Sir."

Neil strolled beside him, looking left and right as if he were in a shopping mall. It wasn't long until Leon was a few feet in front of him.

Leon glanced over his shoulders. "You wanna get left behind?"

"But these cars... Oh, dear Aedifex!" Neil stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening as he pointed at a lone blue SUV. A humongous broadsword jutted out of its bumper, while a giant kite shield rested beside each of its headlights. It had wing-like rear pillars, big enough to cover a grown-up man's head and shoulders. "That's Garuda Eagle, isn't it?"

"Yes," Daniel replied; good thing he kept walking. "It's still an early version, though. Since it has both flight and combat capabilities, it needs a lot of fuel."

Neil grinned broadly. "Wow, they finally finished it!"

"I heard that you took engineering as extracurricular, Mr. Neil?" Daniel asked. "Any chance you were in the development team?"

"Before I graduated, yeah. My buddies promoted this project a lot, so I just joined them." Neil's grin faded as his gaze fell to the concrete floor. "It was fun, but I didn't have the patience for it."

"Well, that's understandable. Car development takes years and costs a lot after all."

And isn't as profitable as doing missions at the countryside, Leon added in his mind, struggling to retain his smile at Daniel's sickeningly pleasant voice. He glanced at Neil, who didn't even look bothered. Silly rooster head. At least he had resumed walking.

It took only about a minute for them to reach the destination - a row of SUVs. Approaching the silver one with the number plate "KR-1728-SL," Daniel pulled a key and a receipt out of his pants pocket and handed them to Neil. "Mr. Burke told me that you'll be driving."

"Yeah." Smiling at Leon, Neil pushed the "unlock" button on the key. A click echoed as the car's lights flashed. "Hope you don't mind, buddy."

You've been driving for years. You certainly drive better than I do. Leon sighed as he strode towards the trunk. "It's Mr. Burke's order. Besides, I'm not allowed behind the wheel unless there's nobody else."

"Oh, right. You're still 16 despite your looks and voice," Daniel commented.

Did he really need to comment on that? Leon opened the door and put his suitcase in the car.

Neil soon joined him and nudged him in his rib. "Be more subtle, bro," he whispered.

"Whatever." Leon headed towards the front door and opened it. Once he got in the car, he slammed the door shut and put on the seat belt.

Neil soon opened the door that led to the driver's seat, and Leon heard Daniel's annoyingly pleasant, "Have a safe trip!"

"Thank you, Sir!" After putting his wallet and mobile phone in the cup holder near the gear stick, Neil sat down and closed the door. Pushing the key into the ignition hole and twisting it, he looked at Leon. "You really suck at being subtle, huh?" The car's engine roared as the dashboard and the tiny monitor beside it lit up.

Leon crossed his arms over his chest. "That bootlicker too."

Neil switched on the aircons. "Well, that was kinda annoying, but keeping an eye shut wouldn't hurt."

"Yeah, got it."

Neil swiped and tapped on the screen. A map of Kraindr region appeared, with tiny words and lines with various colors across the monitor. "It'll take about eight hours to reach Dakan. We'll be at Shinon at lunch time."

Leon stared at the monitor and found a lot of green around Shinon. "I'll hunt for lunch."

"Why? It's not like Shinon is a wild region." Neil placed two fingers on the screen and then moved them apart. The map zoomed in, revealing several restaurant symbols. "See?"

"I can get free food from the forest, thank you very much."

After putting on his seat belt, Neil grabbed the handbrake. "It won't hurt to get a nice meal once in a while, bro." With a thumb on the button, he pushed down the lever.

Leon sighed. "Why should I spend money for food when I can get it for free?"

Neil moved the gear stick from P to D and stepped on the gas pedal. As the car moved, he looked around and steered the wheel. "Man, you're even stingier than in the past!"

"'Stingy' and 'Frugal' are different," Leon argued. "I am and have always been the latter."

"I'm kinda curious about how much you've hoarded from being 'frugal.' Also, what are you planning to do with all the money?"

Honestly, Leon hadn't really given that a thought, as finding cheap stuff and saving up just happened out of reflex all the time. Perhaps he'd buy his parents a new home and stuff, but would they still be there to enjoy the wealth?

"That's none of your business," Leon grumbled.

"You're no fun!"

"I know."

"Geez, cheer up, Leon!"

What the hell? Leon stared at Neil. "It's Leonhardt."

"Oh, come on! We're best buds, aren't we?"

"Since when?"

"Since we met! Along with Lyn, Ed, and Mimi!"

"Hmph." Folding his arms across his chest, Leon shifted his gaze to the road ahead and sighed. The car would soon hit the security booth beside the exit. "Now, would you stop spouting some BS and focus on driving instead?"

"Yikes!" Neil stepped on the brake and turned the wheel. The car swerved away from the booth.

Leon facepalmed. At this rate, he'd make a better driver than Neil.

Once the car stopped before the barrier gate, Neil opened the window beside him. The security guard shouted from the booth, "Be careful, Mr. Neil!"

"Sorry, Sir!" Neil picked up his wallet, fished a receipt out of it, and handed the piece of paper to the security guy. "Here."

After looking at the receipt, the security guy mashed the keyboard of the computer in the booth. As the barrier gate rose, the man said, "All right. Safe trip!"

"Thanks!" Neil closed the window and resumed driving. The car soon emerged on a main road.

Located at the western end of the Kraindr train line, Ereasicon had more trees and empty fields than buildings left and right. Many trucks sped along the road, transporting various goods from and towards the mountainous region ahead.

Leon had never done any missions on the outskirts of Kraindr, let alone the mountains. Sure, they paid a lot, but without the academy sponsoring the transportation, it'd net him less money. Moreover, with a lot of time and energy spent for the journey, he could only do one mission a day.

He wondered what lurked in the mountains. Perhaps a behemoth? Unlike a fiend, a behemoth originated from a GS who defied the almighty Aedifex and was very rare. With immense combat prowess and an army of fiends by its side, a behemoth could easily decimate a group of inexperienced mercenaries; however, if one could slay it, the mercenary trading centers would pay a lot for its body parts. Leon had once crafted arrows from a behemoth's bones, as part of the blacksmith extracurricular, and they could drill through multiple concrete walls before losing speed.

He looked at Neil, completely poker-faced although he actually wanted to smile a bit. The rooster head might have a few screws loose, but if Leon really had to team up, he wouldn't mind having Neil in the team. Working together with someone he'd known for a long time was certainly easier.

"What's up?" Neil asked, his gaze fixed at the road ahead.

Leon looked away. "Nothing."

"Thought you were looking at me just now."

"You need to get your eyes checked then."

Neil chuckled. "Sorry to say, but roosters have superb vision, so you don't need to worry about my eyes!"

Leon sighed, regretting what he'd just said.

"Seriously, bro, just drop that facade. Whatever you do, you can never hide that you're actually-"

"Shut up!"

Neil laughed. "Ah, okay, okay!"

Leon hissed. From now on, he wouldn't say a word throughout the journey unless it was absolutely necessary. Maybe he should sleep as well... No. Neil could always use another set of eyes, couldn't he? The rooster head might poke fun at him once in a while, but it would be better than him making an ass of himself again.

What a drag.