Endless Evolution: Last Star

"What...? The Twelve Branches already tried to recruit me? How come I don't know anything about this?" Adam was puzzled. It seemed to him that Osana was wrong.

However, the sly smile on her face showed that she was not.

"Adam, think about it this way. You weren't on very many missions compared to the usual K0 or K1-Phantoms, but the quality and danger of your missions are impressive. The fact that you defeated the Essence Thunder Demon is enough to get every one of the Twelve Branches to want to recruit you, or at least establish a relationship with you."

Adam tilted his head before nodding slowly. He realized that this was an unachievable outcome for most Phantoms.

"So... Are you saying Silvana refused them or just didn't inform me of it?"

Osana nodded.

"Adam, this is not just my assumption or guess, it is a fact, as the Rouzet Family sent a message to your Operator as well. I think you understand how I know this."

Adam gulped.

"And...? What was the response?"

Osana smirked slyly.

"Well, it wasn't me who sent the offer, but from what I know it was something like this:"

'I'm sorry, but my Phantom is busy with more important matters. He's fighting monsters and getting stronger.'

Adam's eyes went wide, then a satisfied smile passed over his face and a short, joyful laugh broke out.

"Hahahahaha, good, that's just an excellent answer!"

Osana's expression changed drastically. She didn't know what kind of reaction she wanted to see, but it was an unexpected turn of events.

"Khm, it looks like you trust Silvana and she knows you well enough to give such an answer."

Adam shrugged nonchalantly, showing that Osana was right.

"Look, it's not that I need the money right now, though that's not the most important thing. I don't want to be in the Branch Squad, since it means I'll have a captain whose orders I have to follow."

Osana cast a quick glance at him.

"But, you could be the captain yourself. Given your strength, someone from the Twelve Branches would agree to make you captain of one of their squads, well... when you were still K1." Osana muttered in a quiet voice.

Adam waved his hand.

"Pffft, even so, I'll do what the members of the great family say, won't I?"

Osana nodded.

This was one of the most important differences between the Branch Squads and all the other Phantoms. The Branch Squads were employees, at least one, but they were supposed to have a supervisor who decided what mission they would go on, what they would do there, and when.

The other Phantoms decided what they wanted to do.

The military and the mission department rarely sent a request for help to any particular Phantom, because they realized that sooner or later, after a well-deserved rest, every Phantom would be back at work and return to the Dead Lands.

Nevertheless, being part of the Branch Squad and working for the Twelve Branches was a desirable place for many Phantoms who knew of such an opportunity.

Almost everyone knew about it. Only a small fraction of the Phantoms came from the slums like Adam, so many Phantoms knew about the Twelve Branches from the beginning.

Moreover, the more often the Phantoms were on missions, the faster the great families contacted them. First, they would write to the Operators, but if they were rejected or ignored, they would contact the Phantom directly. Enjoy new stories from empire

Thus, a few more missions or just to let a little time pass and someone from the Twelve Branches would come to Adam, as he was a valuable Phantom.

Twelve Branches would have done it much sooner, but as Osana said, Adam was rarely on missions, considering how many missions he had and how long it took him to recover from each one.

Well, the quality of his missions more than compensated for the rest.

Osana smirked, staring intently at Adam as she liked his answer.

'The Branch Squads only have strong and talented Phantoms, it's necessary to maintain the status of the Twelve Branches and make missions effective with almost 100% success, but...'

Osana pondered as fragments of how Adam fought flashed through her mind. Not just on their last, joint mission, but on all of his battles.

After defeating the Plague Reaper, no, during the fight, Osana became interested in Adam. When they returned to the Citadel, she learned as much information about him as she could and of course, she watched all of his fights.

'But... that's the thing, the Branch Squads only have the strong Phantoms, not the strongest.'

Osana smirked inwardly, staring at Adam.

'He can work as a team, but he sure as hell won't obey and stand still at the behest of someone higher up. Good... I'm rarely making mistakes, but I still had a little doubt since I only had one chance. But... it looks like I made the right choice. Adam actually might help me.'

Adam wanted to ask something, but Osana beat him to it: "Also, there's something else you should know about the Branch Squads."

Adam tilted his head in confusion.

"Hmm? Is there anything else interesting about them?"

Osana nodded with a bitter smile on her face.

"As you already know, the heads of the families of the Twelve Branches are the Phantoms, which means there are often Phantoms among the children as well, for many reasons. Thus, some of the Branch Squads take in the offspring of the great families and train and protect them. They literally work as babysitters and bodyguards."

Adam rolled his eyes, he imagined how boring it would be to do something like that.

"Damn, I wouldn't want to be in those Phantoms' place. I guess they get paid well for it, but... fuck no, what's the point of being a Phantom if everyone's helping and guarding you?"

Then, Adam glanced at Osana and her sly smile. He remembered that Osana was one of them too, she was the daughter of the Rouzet Family and a Phantom.

Adam smirked.

"Hey, what about you? Was Golden Light Squad really the Branch Squad?"

Osana narrowed her eyes, a dangerous look passed over them as she leaned forward a little.

"No, I was never in the Branch Squads, let's just say... I'm a rebel. What other noblewoman would get down on one knee and offer a man in marriage herself?"