8

Our guild was formed, at least in name. But there were still official steps to take, paperwork to fill out, and whatever else the Adventurer's Guild required. Bureaucracy, basically.

That's why we were standing in the middle of the bustling guild hall of Adventurer's guild, surrounded by obviously, adventurers. Some were as eager as us, laughing and grinning as they filled out forms for their own guilds. Others were covered in blood, hauling the carcasses of monsters toward the back counter.

At the front desk, Etsu leaned forward with his usual easygoing smile. "We'd like to register a guild."

The receptionist, a fair-skinned woman with neatly tied-back hair, nodded and turned to rummage through a drawer. After a moment, she pulled out a form and slid it across the counter. "Of course. Please fill this out."

Sounds easy enough.

"Thank you!" Etsu took the paper and rejoined us. He held up the form. "Alright, let's do this."

I had no intention of writing a single word. That was their problem.

Elias, predictably, was the first to snatch the paper. "I got this!" He sat down at a nearby table, pulling out a pen like he'd been waiting his whole life for this moment.

Renia huffed, standing beside me. "Hurry up. Rin's getting bored."

I wasn't, but I wasn't going to correct her.

Mini fidgeted nearby, peeking at the form but saying nothing.

After a few minutes, Elias triumphantly lifted the completed paper. "Done! Let's make this official!"

We turned back toward the counter only to find a long line had formed while we were busy.

Another hour of standing and waiting. Fantastic.

By the time we reached the front again, my patience had already died a quiet death. Etsu handed the paper back to the receptionist.

She adjusted her glasses as she scanned the form. "Let's see... You don't have any experienced members?"

"We'll recruit one soon," Etsu assured her, still grinning.

The receptionist looked doubtful but sighed. "Alright. Just know that having an experienced member would make things easier for you." She set the paper aside and continued, "You'll be provided with a guild quarters. You're responsible for cleaning and maintaining it. And at the end of each month, you'll need to pay a guild fee."

"Fee?" Elias groaned. "We have to pay just to exist?"

"You're adventurers," she said flatly. "You can make money by selling monster corpse or cores here. The higher the quality, the better the price. There are also quests on the bulletin board."

And with that, we were official.

Outside, the warm afternoon sun greeted us.

Etsu stretched. "Well, we did it!"

Mila smiled. "We're officially a guild!"

"We should check out our guild quarters first," Etsu suggested.

"Why don't we recruit first? I don't wanna go back and forth," Elias suggested. And free workforce for cleaning. Yay.

"That's fine with me. What about you guys?" Etsu asked, looking around.

"Fine with me too," Elias replied.

Mila gave a thumbs-up, while Mini just nodded.

"Alright, here's the game plan," Elias continued, grinning. "We guys will attract attention while you girls can stand there and look pretty."

Yeah, no.

"Got it!" Etsu replied enthusiastically, then cleared his throat. "AHEM, HELLO GUYS, WE JUST CREATED A GUILD AND WE ARE RECRUITING! ANYONE FROM EARTH SHOULD DEFINITELY JOIN US!!"

Mila giggled before joining in. "WE HAVE AN S-RANK AND AN A-RANK, SO YOU CAN COUNT ON US!"

These guys... They surely eat introverts for breakfast.

I took a step back. Then another. Then I turned and walked away because there was no way in hell I was participating in that.

Still, their method worked. A lot of heads turned their way.

Guess I'll take a stroll.

I wasn't sure where to go, so I decided to check out the sparring ground. Wandering too far would just get me lost.

The training area was still packed. Fighters clashed all around, but one duel stood out, a match between an elf and a beastman.

The beastman looked different from the others. Instead of just having animal traits, she was covered in fur from head to toe.

The elf muttered something, and a bright glow formed in his palm. A thin beam of energy shot toward the beastman.

She dodged effortlessly, her movements almost too fast to track. She jumped through the battlefield like she was gliding on air.

"Aren't they strong?"

I turned at the voice. It was Elora, the one who had invited me to her guild earlier. I hadn't even noticed her approach.

"They're members of my guild," she added, stepping beside me. "So, have you decided?"

"Ah… my friends made a guild."

"I see... That's a shame."

I hesitated. "If things don't work out, can I still join?"

"Yes, of course." I'd have to dissapoint them if she said no.

Nice.

"Alright. I'll be going now."

"Take care." She didn't look back as she spoke.

I continued through town, passing by stalls selling skewered meat, cakes, and fresh bread. The sight and smell made my stomach growl.

...Wait.

We don't have money.

What the hell are we eating tonight?

I then headed to the town square and found an empty bench to sit on.

Demons huh? Valor talked about freeing 33 or 37 something worlds from demon. So how do we even face the demons? They surely can't be here because they claimed this world to be safe.

I will think about that later. I should probably join the others now. To the Adventurer's guild!

---

Etsu spotted me first. "Rin! Dude, where were you?"

"Got blown by the wind."

"Man, you missed out on all the fun!" He grinned and slapped my back.

Sure. Fun.

"Did you guys recruit anyone?"

I expectations were below the ground.

"Yep! Three girls and one guy." Etsu grinned like he'd won the lottery.

That ratio is insane.

"Huh. Figured more guys would join."

"A lot applied, but we rejected most. They only cared about the girls."

Now it just looks like our guild only accepts girls… Well, whatever.

"Where are they?"

"They went inside the Adventurer's guild to get their name registered to our guild," Etsu wiped an imaginary tear and added, "The Empire is getting their subjects finally."

Before I could respond, I heard a familiar voice.

"Rin!"

Renia, of course.

She practically threw herself at me, arms wrapping around mine. "Where did you go? Renia was worried..."

"Just a stroll."

The others arrived soon after, the new recruits trailing behind.

Three girls. One guy.

One of the girls looked younger than us, still taller than Renia, though. Her black hair and brown eyes reminded me of Violet. Was I about to experience verbal abuse all over again?

The next girl was hard to miss. Horns curved from her head, and her pink hair stood out like a beacon. A cowgirl. How the hell did they recruit her?

The only guy in the group had long black hair and a nervous energy.

And then there was the last girl. Auburn hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her warm smile made my knees weak. Her eyes were impossibly gentle.

It was love at first sight. I'd let her ruin me chat.

Renia pinched my side, giving me a sharp glare.

Ahem. Joking. (Not really)

"Ah, he's the one I mentioned," Elias said. "Welcome back, Vice-Grandmaster."

That title makes me cringe.

"Yo!" The cowgirl waved. "So you're the Vice-Grandmaster? Nice to meet ya! I am Ruby."

"Nice to meet you. I'm June," the mature one said, a voice matching her gentle aura.

"Nova." The dark-haired girl's tone was sharp and uninterested. Yep. Definitely another Violet.

Elias elbowed the guy. "Introduce yourself, lil dude."

He flinched. "I-I'm Gyro." Second Mini.

I nodded. "Rin."

June smiled. "That's a nice name."

Oh lord have mercy.

Now with the whole gang here, we were ready to make our guild the greatest ever!

After a bit of cleaning first.

With that we headed to our guild quarters.

---

It took about another hour or so before we reached our guild quarters.

A two-story building on the outskirts of town. Vines wrapped around the stone walls, and the wooden sign above the door was too faded to read.

Mila clapped her hands. "It has character!"

"It has dust," Nova corrected.

"I've seen worse," Ruby added.

Etsu pushed open the door. The hinges groaned like an old man. Sunlight streamed through dirty windows, revealing a common area with a stone fireplace and a few worn-out chairs. A wooden staircase led to the second floor.

Renia wrinkled her nose. "Renia's not staying in this dump."

"Neither am I!" Elias sneezed. "Ugh, dust!"

Gyro covered his nose in disgust.

Etsu patted his head. "Even the lil dude's suffering."

Mini peeked inside. "...W-we can clean it..."

Mila clapped her hands. "That's the spirit! That makes three votes in favor."

"Only Rin's vote matters," Renia huffed.

…Then this place is shit.

"Why couldn't you get a better place?" Nova asked.

"Because we have no money," Etsu answered.

"Let's check the rooms first," Elias suggested, already heading upstairs.

The second floor had multiple rooms. Some had missing doorknobs, all had dust-covered furniture, but at least they were spacious.

Mila grinned. "I call the biggest one!"

Renia grabbed my wrist. "Rin stays with Renia."

Yeah, no.

"We don't even have food," Ruby pointed out. "Let's just clean two rooms and call it a day. One for boys, one for girls."

"That's it?" Mila pouted. "I wanna shower."

Ruby shook her head in dissapproval with a smirk "Humans can't go a day without showering?" She crossed her arms. "I haven't showered in two weeks."

"Yuck. That is nothing to be proud of," Nova scoffed.

"Is the water even running?" June asked.

"Well then, we'll clean 2 rooms and the shower if the water's running." Elias said.

And so, our noble guild, after hours of registration and travel, spent the next hour cleaning the rooms. We basically had no belongings to unpack so it was quick.

Etsu stretched. "We should take a quest tomorrow."

"Preferably one that makes us rich," Elias added.

"That'd be hunting monsters." Ruby added, wiping sweat off her forehead.

"Rin can fight, he is impressive" Renia said puffing out her non existent chest proudly. "Let him do it."

"Rin would rather not," I replied.

Mini, who had been silent for most of the conversation, suddenly spoke up. "...M-maybe we could do a simple quest first? T-to get used to working together..."

Mila nodded. "That's a good idea! Something small."

Etsu grinned. "Alright, first thing tomorrow, we get our first job!"

The excitement was there, but I couldn't help but feel that this was the beginning of a long, exhausting journey.

I sighed. "Great. Can't wait."

Renia hugged my arm tighter. "Renia will protect you, Rin~."

That's what I'm afraid of.