The elf woman sat in the middle of the room. Around her were some familiar faces just lying around and relaxing.
No matter how Keith looked at it, it was a weird scene. But the more Keith tried to pinpoint what was wrong, the more his brain pointed out that he was being ridiculous. And it even forced Keith to walk into the room.
Before Keith knew it, he was standing in front of the eld and looking down at her. The elf looked up at Keith with a calm expression on her face, her gaze not flinching away from Keith's.
"Ah, are you here because you miss your mother's comfort as well? Then come and be embraced by me. I will make you forget your mother and any other person you are missing."
The elf opened her arms as an invitation for Keith to hug her. Keith had no desire to hug the elf in his mind, but his body wanted to move.
Keith had to use a lot of self-restraint to keep his body unmoving and stoic. His cold expression made the elf frown.
"Why are you denying yourself my presence? There is no need for you to act this cold to me. Now come and melt into my embrace."
The elf called out once more, this time a little more forcefully. The air around Keith tensed up and it also started to try and push him toward the elf.
But Keith dug his foot into the ground and he refused to move. The elf was finally frustrated enough to stop her actions.
"S-So, what brings you here? If you are not here for motherly comfort, then what else can I help you with?"
The elf asked with a sweet voice. But anyone could see that she was getting visibly frustrated.
"I heard that my people were busy 'down here' instead of practicing their technique. So, I came down to fetch these good for nothings."
The people lying on the ground seemed almost unconscious. Their eyes were out of focus and they were not also unable to concentrate.
But somehow, one of the people had enough of a mind to look at Keith and sober up. As soon as one sobered up, everyone else did as well.
"G-Grandmaster, you are back? We will go and practice now. We are sorry for delaying our practice."
The students of the guild alliance quickly took their leave. There were mournful expressions on their faces when they left the room.
Many of the students even took one last look at the elf in the room, but Keith's blank expression forced them all out.
"Oh my. That was rather rude of you to do. These poor children have done nothing wrong to you. But you still forced them all out, huh? It is not good for your reputation to be angry all the time."
If the elf was surprised to know Keith was the grandmaster, then she did not show it on her face. Her eyes were gentle and as inviting as before.
Just looking at her was enough for Keith to feel something in his chest. But Keith could tell that his feelings were not genuine.
"You! How dare you use such vulgar magic in my establishment. Remember your place and act accordingly. You are here only because of Shinu."
Keith reminded the female elf in front of him. She bit her lip, refusing to answer.
Since this elf was from a specie that could not lie, she likely meant every word she said. But that did not make her decisions to be right.
Before Keith could say anything else, the door to the room opened and Shinu walked in. The dragon kit had gotten taller now. He almost went past Keith's hips now and he would soon overshoot Keith's height.
Dragons were tall by nature and Shinu had been quite a figure in the original game.
"Keith, when did you come back? Ah, are you here to meet my mother? I will introduce her to you right now."
Shinu sounded happy and satisfied. There was a small growl building up in his chest when he looked at the two people who changed his world.
Keith hated to be the one to break this happy atmosphere, but he needed to leave this room. The sweet smell in the room was getting on his nerves now.
"Shinu, I do not have time for an introduction today. I will come and talk to you later. First, I need to find Shinzou."
Keith could feel a small headache building behind his temples. He could not even reach up to rub his brows because it would be out of character for him to do so.
"Oh, master Shinzou went into town just a few minutes ago. You can catch up to him if you hurry."
Unlike everyone else, Shinu did not suggest that Keith call Shinzou back. But instead, the kid asked Keith to go after Shinzou. It made his mother and even Shimi freeze.
They wanted to ask the kid to take his words back. This was not something he should be saying to the grandmaster.
But Keith liked Shinu's frankness. This kid was fearless and it would come in handy in the future.
"I see. If that's the case then I will be leaving now. There is much that still needs to be done."
Keith left the room but his heart was beating painfully in his chest. Somehow, Keith felt a little sick right now and the sickening smell was still lingering in his mind.
Finally, a hand on Keith's shoulder helped him clear his mind. The touch felt familiar but it was not sexual.
"Hey, where are you going? I am so sad to see that you did not visit me even when you came back."
Clair's voice was calm and soft when she talked to Keith. Since there was no one around, Clair even let go of her mask of respect and decided to be her normal self.
Keith breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he realized that the person who called out to him was none other than Clair.
"Well, what can I say? You are a busy person and someone very hard to get hold of. You cut my calls off the last three times I called you."
Keith reminded Clair but her face did not crack.
"Then call me at a better time. Do you know how tough it is for me to handle all these sets on my own? Most of these people look at me and see a former slave. They refuse to even listen to what I have to say."
The more Clair spoke and recalled, the more she felt angry. It was Keith's turn to pacify her.
"I know you are irritated Clair, but most of this was your own choice. You were the one who chose to stick with me and stay in this guild alliance."
As soon as Keith spoke, he wanted to take his words back. He could not afford to let Clair leave the alliance. She was the only one who knew about Keith's secrets and she was also helping him out.
"Shut it kid or I will cause you some real trouble. Just because I am helping you out does not give you the right to annoy me...and of course, I will help you out. Grandmaster should not even have asked such a ridiculous thing."
Clair's expression went from annoyed to obedient in under a minute. It was all because Amelia was walking toward them right now.
The protagonist took one look at Keith and decided to join him.
"Grandmaster, you are finally back? How was your trip outside? Did you learn a lot? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Amelia asked the same question everyone else asked. But unlike everyone else, she did not give Keith a bad feeling.
His instincts also asked him to take Amelia with him when he went out to look for Shinzou.
"Amelia, you wish to help me? There is something I need you to do for me. "
Amelia was surprised but happy at the same time. Even Clair was surprised at Keith's words. But Keith ignored both of their surprised expressions and walked out of the guild's gate.
Both Clair and Amelia followed him without asking questions.
There were many eyes on Keith but he only had eyes for one thing - to find Shinzou and ask him what he did with the divine sword. There was no 'real' reason for Keith to seek Shinzou but his instincts made him do so.
There was unrest in the air that caused Keith to be unhappy with his current situation. He did not know why he was feeling like this. But Keith needed to reach the city right now or something massive would happen.
And that was something Keith could not allow to happen if he wanted to go home. Everything was for his desire to go back home after all.
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