Chapter 12 - A new home

We stared at each other for a few seconds, then I told him, "Yes, I would really appreciate joining your guild." His expression changed. He looked menacing. "What makes you think I'm not going to kill you or something?"

 I did think of that possibility, but it seemed unlikely. "First, if you really wanted to kill me, you probably wouldn't ask me such a thing. And secondly, even if this is just some sort of bait, it's my only chance to achieve what I want."

 "And what is it that you want?" 

I thought for a bit. Up until that point, I believed I wanted to save my sister and then focus on figuring out the secrets of magic, but I wasn't so sure anymore. At that very moment, I didn't seem to care about magic. The very reason I was going this far to become stronger wasn't to understand magic. 

"I want to live a peaceful life with my family," I said simply.

 "Why come here?"

 'Tsk, he's really gonna make me spill it out now?'

 "To become stronger," I replied, with a hint of irritation in my voice. The man seemed to have understood that I wasn't going to tell him much, as he didn't ask any more questions. "Let's go. Our meeting place isn't very far away."

 We started walking. I was super curious about what this guild would be like. A week before, I had no idea that guilds, academies, or even that echoes existed. I couldn't help but wonder if my grandpa knew about this but hadn't told me.

 'After I save Lili, I will find that damn diary.' I started to think about Lili. What was she up to? What did those guys do to her? I hoped that I would make it in time. She would have to hang on for a while.

 "So, what is the guild like?" I asked the man, so that I could stop thinking about my sister. "What do you mean?" he replied. "Uhm, like what are we doing, how are we doing, this type of stuff." He glanced at me and narrowed his eyes.

 "Why were you there? On the bench."

 "I wanted to take a walk. Now answer me." 

The man laughed. "What an interesting one I found! Fine. Our guild is made up of seven teams." I didn't know if that was a lot or not. 

"The first two teams are veterans or powerful members, and they take care of the dangerous stuff. Teams three and four are new members, and five, six, and seven are the kids we scout. They usually haven't been bestowed with an echo, so we help them in that regard, then place them in higher teams if they prove to be useful." 

I sighed. 'Again, this status bullshit. Looks like I can't escape it anywhere.'

 "By the way, what is this echo bestowment?" He looked at me thoughtfully. "Can't tell, sorry." 

I figured there must have been a reason why no one would tell me about it. I also figured from my fight with the blonde guy that this echo bestowment would grant me a huge power upgrade. 

Soon, we were at the guild's meeting place, or base. Apparently, everyone in the guild didn't have their own place, so they were all living there, according to the guild leader. That fact comforted me a little, knowing that I would be with people the same as me. 

The man told me to call him Boss. Everyone in the guild called him Boss.

 The base was a big house at the edge of the city, and beyond it was just a big field with flowers and rivers, and in the distance, I could see the forest. It was a nice view. 

As we entered the big house, I could see a lot of people there. They all looked like they were having so much fun. Some of them were in a corner playing some kind of board game, which I thought was kind of weird. Most of them were eating at a big table, and another group was in front of a TV. I had never seen one before, and I never thought I would. On top of that, the interior was so much cleaner and more beautiful than my house. 

Suddenly, Boss spoke. "Hey, people! I brought this interesting guy! Hope you get along!" Then he whispered to me, "You are in team five. Now go and make new friends." He winked at me. I got super excited and started to walk towards all the people as they started to gather around me. 

Most of them seemed about my age, but there were a few older ones that didn't bother to get closer. 'Those must be the veterans Boss was talking about.' 

Everyone started asking me a lot of questions, but I made sure not to reveal much about my background. I only told them that I was homeless and had no family. But a few were insistent about it, and it started to get on my nerves.

 "Now, how about you leave him alone for now. I need to show him his room. Juta and Hboy, he's your roommate from now on," I heard Boss say. 

Everyone became silent. I couldn't tell from their reaction who was Juta and Hboy. The leader gave me a sign to follow him. We went past the older guys and entered a long hallway. "Your room is on the third floor. Room number 7. Also, in case you are wondering, your roommates are also your partners for your missions." He handed me a key. "You better not lose this.

***

The toom, or house, as I could call it, since it was pretty big, was clean and beautiful. We had a small room that was connecting the bathroom and our three rooms, which were separated by a thick wall.

 Suddenly, I heard a soft voice behind me. "Your room is on the left." 

I turned to see a guy with his left eye bandaged and another skinny guy with a pretty round face that was standing out. I decided to keep my mouth shut. "Thanks. Also, my name is Akira. Nice to meet you."

 The guy with the round face spoke. "Nice to meet you. I am Hboy, and this dumbass is Juta," he said with his soft voice. 

"Sup," Juta said simply.

 "So, why are you called Hboy?" 

He frowned and said, "When I was small, I lost my memories. I don't even know why, so I ended up here. I didn't remember my name, and I thought Hboy would be a cool name."

 "Weirdo." I forgot to keep my mouth shut, but he just smiled at me. "I get told that a lot. Anyway, you should go get some rest. We will meet tomorrow." I nodded and entered my room without saying anything else. 

The room had a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. I had a lot of free space, and I was assuming that I was free to do whatever I wanted. But I had enough for that day. 

I rested my head on the pillow and fell asleep instantly.