Chapter 714: Chapter 714: Guildmaster
"Alright, everyone, three, two...one!"
"WELCOME BACK!!!"
"Thanks, everyone. We really appreciate it," Smiled Aria gratefully.
"Yeah, sorry we didn’t drop by sooner. Things were pretty hectic once we got back, and after that, we just kinda wanted to take it easy for a while," I added with a wry smile.
"U-Um, yeah...thanks," Chimed in Cleo awkwardly.
Huh, even after all this time, she’s still not used to them? Well, unlike with our fellow X-Aces, she hasn’t really had the opportunity to get close with them.
Today’s the 5th of April, 2172, and we were currently at the Sinners Guild, attending a welcome back party that the Guild members had organized for us. Honestly, we really didn’t feel like coming, but since they took the trouble to set this up, we couldn’t refuse.
Cleo was especially apprehensive, but Aria and I managed to drag her with us. And honestly, I’m glad we came. It’s nice to see everyone again. And the best part is...
"You sure you don’t want the GM position back? Even with Tracy handling all the administrative stuff, it’s still kind of a pain," Sighed the new Guildmaster, Lector Nock, the Ranger who was a part of the very first party I teamed up with after I became a Hunter.
After we were summoned to that other world, the Guild needed a new leader. And while he’s a K-Rank, he’s also the most experienced Hunter in the Sinners Guild, so he took over.
And the Vice-GM is, uh...that Lancer guy who was in the same class as me and Aria in the Academy, uh...what was his name again?
<Wrest Kindt>
<Seriously, how many times are you going to forget his name?>
Heh, yeah, my bad.
Iqra, Damien and Ferna were also considered for the position, but the first two had zero interest in it, and Ferna was indifferent to it, as was Wrest. Apparently, once it was narrowed down to Wrest and Ferna, they decided to settle it with rock-paper-scissors.
Now that Aria and I are back, the expectation seems to be that we’ll take those positions back. But we’ve turned it down. We are going to remain as members of the Guild, but we don’t want the responsibility of leading anymore.
"Come on, you two, you really should take over again. It’s not like the roles come with that much work, thanks to Tracy. We even hired her a couple of assistants to help with the admin side of things," Remarked Wrest, staring at us hopefully.
"Nah, we’re good. Oh, I know, maybe Cleo can take a shot at the job," Suggested Aria as she glanced at Cleo with a grin, who immediately went pale.
"A-Absolutely not, not way!" She protested with a vehement shake of her head.
"You two are, by a massive margin, the strongest Hunters, not just in our Guild, but in the entire world. So, you should absolutely be the GM and Vice-GM," Pointed out Ferna.
"That might be the norm with most Guilds, but it’s not like it’s a rule that the strongest members have to lead," I responded with a shrug.
"Exactly," Aria nodded in agreement, before adding, "Plus, we do technically own the Guild, and isn’t it a business thing that the owners of a company shouldn’t be in direct leadership positions? Segregation of duties or something?"
"I don’t think that really applies here, but I can see that you two aren’t going to change your minds on this. Well, guess I’m stuck with this role for the foreseeable future," Lector sighed wistfully.
"Mhm, counting on ya, boss," I grinned, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"By the way, you guys planning on taking any Quests any time soon? The work’s kinda been piling up lately, it’s starting to become more than we can handle. So, it’d be great if the three of you could deal with some of the tougher Quests sometime soon," Chimed in Wrest with a wry smile.
"Well, we have been curious about the Mutants, we still haven’t actually seen one yet. Not counting pics and videos, of course," Responded Aria thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I think we’ll take on some Quests in a few days or so. We should probably take the time to learn more about the Mutants before that," I mused thoughtfully.
Hey, Ai, could you prepare, like, a presentation or something about Mutants, covering all the key points we’d need to know?
<Yeah, sure, if I have to>
<I’ll get to compiling and summarizing the information that the HUC has publicized>
Cool, thanks, I appreciate it.
<Mhm>
"Alright, that’s enough Guild talk, this is supposed to be a party, so let’s forget about all that for now and enjoy ourselves," Smiled Ferna, handing Aria, Cleo and me glasses of champagne.
"Yeah, sounds good to me," I nodded, before taking a sip of the drink.
"M-Maybe if I get really drunk, I-I can use this as an o-opportunity to get used to every a-at the Guild and be less a-awkward," Muttered Cleo, downing the contents of her glass in one shot before taking a deep breath and wandering off.
Good luck to her with that, it’s encouraging to see that she’s trying harder to get over her social issues.
"That reminds me, where’s Iqra? I haven’t seen her around yet, is she hiding somewhere? She is even worse than Cleo when it comes to socializing, after all," Mused Aria, looking around.
"Actually, she’s really come out of her shell over this last year. She’s not exactly outgoing now, but she can hold a conversation and doesn’t get all tense even around new people. Of course, there’s not much she can do about her natural stutter, since that’s a physical thing, but she’s definitely made a lot of progress. And she isn’t here today, something came up at the last minute," Lector informed us.
"What about Damien? Haven’t seen him around either," I chimed in.
"Well, I did text him, but...he responded with something along the lines of ’in the twisted game of life, each of our paths don’t run straight, so if our paths are meant to cross, they will’. In other words, no, he isn’t here either," Sighed Wrest in exasperation.
"Huh. Sounds like he hasn’t changed at all," I chuckled in amusement.
Comments