20 | Let's Form a Guild!
A bird Vi has never seen before wakes her up with its eager taps on the room's window.
It has black and yellow feathers, brownish gray legs, a black bill, and two remarkably long, blue plumes originating from its brow and extending backwards to almost twice the length of its body.
Her eyes widen in awe as the bird starts moving rhythmically, as if dancing at the sight of her. The plumes elegantly and fluidly sway with the wind and the bird's motion.
She remembers some depictions of hero avatars from legends with body ornaments resembling the little bird's plumes, which makes her smile.
"Such an amazing bird to be taken as reference for such important roles," she whispers.
When she realizes that Keen's
The morning light coming through the window almost reaches his pale face. His head is leaning downward by a fraction, making him look like an innocent gentleman waiting for his cherished subject to wake up and falling asleep himself in the process.
The bird on the other side of the window taps on the glass again, as if to recapture her attention, which makes Vi giggle. "You're a greedy one, aren't you?"
"Who is?" Keen opens one eye.
"You're awake?!" She flinches and covers herself with the blanket on her thigh. "Since when?"
He laughs softly and stands up haphazardly. "Just now. Would you have preferred that I woke up earlier?"
She waves her hands sideways defensively. She subconsciously reaches out to the holster placed on her thigh and finds the dagger back in its place. "Did you－Never mind…"
"Sure," he dismisses quickly as he heads for the door while he covers his face with the hood, "I'll be downstairs. Go and make your preparations. We're going to the Guild Hall later."
Before she can even say more, he is already gone. The beautiful bird also flies away after tapping a few more times on the window. She waves goodbye while smiling at the little creature.
Without even taking fifteen minutes, Vi joins Keen downstairs to order food.
"I'm craving for noodles," Keen sighs.
"What kind of food are noodles?" a waitress arrives with a board of menu on one hand and an order pad on the other.
He scratches the back of his head. "So noodles don't exist here, huh? That's sad. That's all I eat in the dorms."
The waitress shakes her head but still offers the menu to both of them. She looks like she's just in her mid-twenties and has good body proportions. Her black and white maid attire is what he remembers seeing in those fan-service animés he has watched before to soothe his mind before taking term exams.
"So you're a college student?" Vi nods while looking at the menu.
He nods once, then glances occasionally to see her reaction. He then hands the menu back to the waitress. "I'll take the best boar and cattle dish you have and two mugs of beer."
"Sure thing, Master." The waitress smiles cheerily.
Somehow, that remark made Vi annoyed. She then points at the menu to gather the waitress's attention. "I'll have this one, this, and oh, also this one!"
The waitress nods. "Noted, Master. I'll give you either coffee or tea while you wait. What would you like?"
"Coffee," she answers while leaning her back at the chair.
"Tea for me," Keen raises his hand.
The waitress nods twice, then leaves.
"You know you can call me Master as well. After all, I'm supervising you." Keen obviously implies that he saw Vi's reaction when the waitress called him 'Master'.
She remains silent with uneasiness about her.
◎◎◎
"You're forming a guild?" Elise leans closer to try and see his face.
Keen immediately steps back with his
"So the famous Elise really has an interest in the red-clad assassin." A red-haired Transfer with agility-considerate armor whistles. He retracts his long, double-ended sword to a quarter of its length and puts it on a holster on his right outer thigh.
Cassandra greets him. "Welcome back, Traveling Adventurer Rutherford. How was your trip to Abyss Mountains?"
"Hello there, Cassy!" He jogs towards the Guild Hall receptionist with a wide smile stretched on his cheeks.
Putting an elbow on the reception desk and flexing his muscles, he continues, "The Abyss Mountains is so cold and gloomy for a lone wolf such as myself. Would you like to come and join my journey?"
She shakes her head, insisting it is her sole duty to assist Transfers in managing their quests and rewards while staying in Topsy Town.
"Is he flirting with an NPC?" Vi raises a brow.
Jerud jumps from the stairs to Elise's side. "Everybody has his own preferences."
Vi sighs in disbelief, then walks beside Rutherford to continue their inquiry regarding the creation of a guild. "Anyway, regarding our request to form a guild…"
Cassandra deliberately ignores Rutherford and nods at Vi. "Regarding your inquiry, there's nothing much of a requirement other than a having minimum of three members, voting for a guild master, creating a guild emblem, and registering your guild name."
"Looks like you'll be needing at least one more member to form a guild," Elise smiles suggestively.
Keen remains silent.
Vi looks at him silently as well. She is aware that he doesn't want to drag any other person in his quest to collect his memory fragments. He's just allowing her to tag along probably only until she remembers her actual ability class which will then make her active skills accessible.
If forming a guild will be in conflict with his method and goals, he may as well just leave her be and proceed on acquiring the Traveling Adventurer permit alone just like this Rutherford guy.
Elise puffs up her cheeks while eyeing him, obviously suggesting that he consider her as his guild member. Jerud realizes this much, which makes him smile bitterly.
"I want to join your guild, mister assassin. Master…" Another presence enters the scene. The black fabric on top of her eyes, green scout robe she wears atop a black, revealing, pin bustier and skirt that stretches halfway down her thigh catch the attention of the Transfers in the Guild Hall.
"You…," Vi puts out her poisonous dagger. Jerud and Elise try to ease her sudden hostility.
"I'm Shina, a magus grandis ability class. I'm capable of adjusting to your stealthy tactics with ease," she smiles at Keen.
Rutherford turns to her direction with a suddenly serious face while one hand readies to draw his weapon. "What are you doing here, snake?"
"That's quite harsh, Ruthy," she giggles softly then gasps deeply, as if inhaling Keen's scent, "Fancy meeting you here. But I'm just a lone woman here wanting to be useful to an aspiring guild."
Rutherford clenches his teeth. "You have no right to be in a guild, you vile woman. You let my friends die in a boss raid."
Cassandra mediates between the two. She also signals Vi to sheath her weapon. "No fighting between Transfers is allowed within the Guild Hall. I request that you settle your quarrels either peacefully in here or however you like it elsewhere. Otherwise, you will be considered rogue."
Rutherford relaxes in her presence and puts his hand away from his weapon. However, he warns, "Don't take this woman in your team, red-clad. She will only toy with you and leave you to your deaths once she has taken all that she wants from you."
"Aren't you a member of Lion's Den guild?" Vi puts her dagger back to its holster.
Elise steps closer to Keen. "You know this woman?"
"Why is everybody worked up in her presence?" Jerud asks in confusion.
Rutherford taps Cassandra's shoulder to convince her he's calmed down. After she nods silently, he gives an explanation. "She's a skilled Transfer who has joined guild after guild during her three-month stay in Esprit. All the guilds where she came from either died in battle or became Insane. She leaves her guild the moment she has pillaged them. Resources, knowledge, and other things I'd rather not discuss in the presence of proper ladies in here right now."
"That's awful," Jerud clenches his fist.
"With you trying to join Keen's guild, Lion's Den guild…" Elise trails off.
Shina smiles and presents to Cassandra a scroll with Lion's Den guild's official stamp. "I went on with the proper procedure in leaving the guild. Here's my former guild master Eron's approval."
As the receptionist reads the contents of the scroll, Elise grabs Keen's arm and frowns. "Are you actually considering her as a guild member? And you still haven't answered me how you met her."
Vi answers in his behalf. "We raided the portal dungeon and got a rare item ahead of their guild."
"The Minotaur's Lair?" Elise obviously wants a detailed explanation.
Cassandra nods. "This is indeed a letter of approval from Eron. Shina is now free to request to be part of any other guild."
"I told you so," she giggles softly. Although blind, she turns her head precisely in Keen's direction. "I have both strong attack and formidable defense skills. I also know how to make potions and do transmutations which is useful if you want to be a successful merchant. I even have other skills under my sleeves which you will surely find entertaining."
Keen doesn't want this development. He's still drawing too much attention despite his efforts to conceal his real power. If he stands out too much, it may cause his System to be revealed in some way.
'What should I do next?' He struggles in his thoughts.
At that moment, his System announces the next goal.
[ Mission: Learn