My Guardian System: The Trader

"S-Sister Ann, t-the rebels!"

"R-Rebels?"

"Yes, and they are blocking our way!"

"What!?"

There was a hint of panic when the coachman and Sister Ann mentioned it out loud.

Even Jem, who knew so little about the world, knew what that word signifies. The rebels. They were bad news. They were an anti-government group that refused to follow the existing authority.

But why would the rebels be targeting them? Even Jem could not help but ask the question to himself.

"R-rebels…?"

While massaging her swollen face, Hope, who was awoken untimely, muttered in disbelief.

Then, "Eh? L-Luc?" Meir, who also had just opened her eyes, mumbled with a hint of nostalgia.

The face of a familiar person greeted him. It was Luc, their supposed childhood friend in the orphanage when they were young. But weirdly though, why was he here? He left the orphanage when they were young when someone adopted him.

Although her voice was barely a whisper, Jem heard it clear.

He wondered if she was still half-asleep. She called him in a name he could not recognize.

Nonetheless,

Because of the sudden stop, her skirt uplifted, revealing her bare legs. It\'s not his fault to see them. Really. Honestly.

Jem was unaware of what was currently running in Meir\'s mind.

Meir thought it was strange to see their childhood friend here. She realized her vision was blurry. She blinked her eyes to clear it. When she looked at him again, the face of her childhood friend was not there anymore, however. In exchange, there was another familiar face.

Out of a sudden. "Eh! Why are you--!" she exclaimed while hastily pulling her body to get up. 

However, after pulling her body, she gawked. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed her skirt lifted a little above, revealing her bare leg\'s skin!

"Kyahhh!"

She instantly turned red. At the same time, she hastily pulled down her skirt. Then she glared at him with puffed cheeks, half-crying.

Unconcerned, Jem stared at her with his usual poker face. In his mind, he wasn\'t even craving for it.

Even though he experienced eating all sorts of beast\'s meat in the labyrinth, he still had a slight reservation as a human being. 

He chose to remain silent to not sound defensive.

Also, their current situation wasn\'t good.

Suddenly, "Do it!" They heard a command coming from outside

"??"

They blinked their eyes in wonder. They wondered what it meant. A second later, *Bam!* an explosion happened nearby that caused the carriage to shake terribly.

"Kiyahh!!!"

Since Meir was glaring at him the sudden tremble of the carriage almost caused them to kiss each other.

But Jem magnificently caught her shoulders before it happened. He pushed her away after that. Meir was flustered for a second before she realized they were in a bad situation.

She had many questions in mind, but for now, "Sister Ann, Hope, what was going--!" She called out and was about to ask when, "You guys, inside the carriage! Come outside, or we will force you to come out!" She was interrupted by someone\'s shout.

Based on the shout, it was coming from outside. It was demanding someone-- to come out! 

And that someone was no other than… them!?

"Hope what\'s going on?" She asked in worry.

"R-Rebels are blocking the road!"

She noticed Hope\'s face turned pale. Meir\'s heart sank upon hearing it.

"Rebels?" She muttered despondently. 

"Mhm," Hope slightly nodded. 

"What!" Meir was terrified after confirming it.

Leanne Hope turned her eyes to the person in front of her. "Sister Ann, what are we going to do?" She asked in worry.

"Hmm…"

The nun fell silent. She was thinking about what was going on. Why did the rebels come to block them? She did not remember doing any actions that could trigger their hatred.

Meir\'s eyes subconsciously wandered towards the person in front of her. \'Eh!\' As usual, he was wearing the same expression. He was calm even in such an emergency. Does this person even know what rebels are?

When there was no response coming from the people inside, "Dammit, are they trying to challenge my patience?!" An angry spat from the person who was riding the Airboat in the middle.

Currently, three Airboats are blocking the road connecting towards Mauve Town. Each of the Airboats had two people riding in tandem.

He must be the leader of the group.

Annoyed, he turned his gaze to the people riding the Airboat on his left. "Hey, Mags, are you sure there are those people in that carriage?"

"Yes, leader. According to the Locator, there are three of them," replied the person who was back-riding.

"I see. So three against six, huh. Alright, we have the number advantage."

"Uh, Leader. Isn\'t that underestimating our capabilities? Also, based on our intel, they were freshmen academy students only. So, even alone, it\'s easy to capture them," the rebel with the name Mags said with an exasperated expression.

The leader frowned after hearing it. "Ha?! They were freshmen academy students?"

"Yes!"

"Dammit, why did you just say that!? Alright boys, get done with it. We can\'t fail the lieutenant."

After saying it, he glanced to his right side. 

"You, go get them."

"Yes, sir!"

Before the two people who the leader sent to approach the carriage could walk half the distance between them and the carriage, they noticed people came down from it.

The two rebels who approached the carriage stopped on their feet and looked at those people while donning a smirk on their faces.

The rebel leader narrowed his eyes. Then a grin appeared on his face when he noticed that there were three youngsters among them. \'And a nun, huh,\' he thought mockingly.

"Hey, Mags, are those three the ascenders?"

"Yes. No doubt about it."

"I see. Hehe. That\'s good. Two beautiful young girls and one nonchalant boy, eh?"

The two girls were noticeably frightened. But they were still putting on a brave face, trying to hide their fears.

\'That\'s good, that\'s good,\' thought the leader. On the other hand, he noticed the boy in the group having a calm and expressionless face. \'Fufu. What a strange one,\' the leader thought again when his eyes landed on Jem.

"Hehe. This would certainly be a smooth mission," muttered the leader. Then along with the person behind him, they got off the Airboat. They walked forward and arrived beside the two rebels who he sent to approach the carriage. Upon arriving beside them, they notice the nun stepping in front of the youngsters.

"Y-you are the rebels, right?"

The rebel\'s leader knitted his brows before his mouth formed into a grin. "What do you think, sister? Hahaha!" The leader replied and laughed mockingly.

Hehehe!

The other members were grinning along with their leader.

Sister Ann frowned. Sure enough, there was a red bandana tied on their right arm. In that bandana was a uniformed insignia.

"C-Can you tell me what you need from us?"

Sweats were trailing on Sister Ann\'s face as she was trying to put on a brave face. But the rebels knew that she was acting only. It was easy to see through her facade.

Desiree Meir and Leanne Hope\'s eyes were warily swimming around the rebels.

The rebel\'s leader lifted his hand to the side, gesturing his men to quiet.