The nanny managed to calm Mellisa down and the blonde coughed before she spoke.

"You all are beneath me, so you can talk to my representative Rosa for now. She will explain to you why we came here and what we expect from you."

The blond finally left and Rin let out a sigh of relief. He looked at ’Rosa’, and she looked in her mid-40s and much more put together compared to the spoiled brat from before.

Mellisa left the room and Rosa immediately gave a deep bow to Rin and Shelly to show that she was sorry for what happened.

"I apologize for the way our young lady behaved in front of you. She is...not the best when it comes to dealing with males. The disappearance of Kora has also put her on edge, so she is lashing out. Please find it in your heart to forgive her behavior."

Rosa immediately made an excuse to get Rin to forgive Mellisa and Rin decided to take the peace offering. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Shelly, on the other hand, looked like she couldn’t care less for the excuses. But even she decided to follow Rin’s instructions and backed down.

"I guess I can overlook the young leader’s actions this time. After all, our side is just as much at fault. So let’s put this matter aside and get to the important matter: You said something about a missing person?"

Rin diverted the question to the more important topic. Rosa shot him a grateful look and immediately gave him the details.

"We sent Kora here to try and persuade your doctor, Miss Reina, to come to our settlement. But Kora never made it back to our settlement and we got worried. So we decided to track her down. Her tracks led to this settlement but they disappeared soon after."

Rosa took a deep breath before she looked back at Rin. Her gaze was empty of any judgment, but Rin still felt judged by her.

"Did Miss Kora arrive here? And where did she go from here? Did you do something to her?"

[User Rosa had activated the ability- truth and lies. Your words are being judged.]

Rin was surprised at such an ability, but it did make sense why the others had left her behind to question him and Shelly.

Since Rin had nothing to hide, he told her the truth.

"Miss Kora did come to us, but Reina rejected her offer and Miss Kora left our settlement to head back home. The last we saw of her was her leaving our base."

There was not a single lie in Rin’s words which made Miss Rosa genuinely appreciate him. But at the same time, she felt frustrated because she had not gotten a single clue about the person she was looking for.

Rosa turned to look at Shelly next, hoping that she would be able to give Rosa some closure.

"Hmm, the last time I saw that outsider, she was alive."

Shelly started this quickly and Rosa let out a frustrated sigh.

"Both of you are telling the truth. I would like to apologize to you both for suspecting you in this case. As a gesture of apology, I would like to extend my help to you whenever you want it."

Rosa surprised Rin by such an offer.

Based on what he had seen from the members of Girl’s Battle Frontier, it won’t be a stretch to say that they all hated males and did not want anything to do with them. So Rosa’s offer came as a surprise.

"You...are offering me your help? Me, and not Shelly"

Rin asked to confirm this and Rosa nodded.

"It’s more of an offer to this settlement than an individual one. I can understand your surprise. The members of our settlement have likely not left the best impression on you. But there is a reason the younger generation is like that. The older generation of our settlement is much more mellow out and understanding."

That was nice to hear. This also meant that there was room for negotiation in the future with these people.

However...

"Won’t it cause friction in your settlement if you decide to help me?"

Rin asked and Rosa shook her head.

"There is no need to worry about it. Our supreme leader and next-in-line are both understanding people. They will welcome your alliance with open arms. How about we hold a meeting to discuss this further?"

Rin was surprised by this sudden offer. But it was not an unwelcome one.

In fact, having more allies meant that he could get more resources and a diverse fighting force. It would also help in the future tasks.

’Uniting major settlements under a single barrier was one of my tasks. And out of all the settlements, Girl’s Battle Frontier was a particularly problematic one. It’s nice to see this offer.’

What a stroke of luck. Rin had to grab it and ride this wave of fortune.

"I would be delighted to discuss this further and form an alliance."

[Rookie, what’s this?]

[( ╹ -╹)?]

[Are you harboring ambitions of becoming leader of an even bigger sanctuary? What is this power-flexing?]

[Anyway, this senior is here to remind you not to forget your KPI. Remember, work is first and everything else is second.]

The system reminded Rin about his KPI at the right time.

Calamity of the Rose was an event that took place in Girl’s Battle Frontier. There was not much detail about it at the point when Rin stopped reading but he was sure it had something to do with their next-in-line and getting betrayed.

’Huh...was that a detail that was mentioned? It must have been because how else would I know about it—’

[(≖_≖ )]

[Rookie, focus on the meeting. You are getting distracted now.]

The system reminded Rin and he immediately pulled himself back.

Rosa got up since it was time for her to leave.

"I will inform our leader and second-in-line about our possible alliance. If they are interested, then we will send someone to make the necessary arrangements."

Rin nodded and felt his mouth moving on its own.

"That sounds nice. But you should try to hurry. I have a feeling things are about to get bad at your base. You may need help with it pretty soon."

Rosa gave him one last look before she left. Rin heard Mellisa’s loud voice outside the room, complaining about this and that before it finally faded.