Chapter 93

The moment we stepped into Gregor’s office, I was distracted by a Second System window popping up in my field of view.

⟬DON’T JOIN THIS GUILD.

Rew$@Q&^: &%*(%^#⟭

‘What the hell?’ I thought to myself as we sat across from the leader of the Lion Guild.

The Second System had rarely ever been so direct, and the reward was completely incomprehensible. Just what was going on?

Still, the Second System hadn’t led me astray, and I had no intention of joining the Lion Guild to begin with.

As famous and influential as they were, joining a guild when demons were invading and having my freedom restricted only seemed like it would be a poor choice.

‘Hmm…’ I wondered as I took a sip of the tea Gregor had laid out for us. ‘Maybe they can help, though?’

The Lion Guild really was influential, so shouldn’t they have already known about the demons? Maybe it was just above my ‘paygrade’, so to say, and the other leaders already had measures in place.

I took a glance over at Eve and Koise after Gregor mentioned me joining the guild with an offer I would’ve never imagined before my Awakening.

‘It’s funny to think I’m going to have to turn it down.’

Koise’s eyebrows shot up. The man looked impressed by the offer.

Eve, on the other hand, remained still and silent as a stone from the moment we sat down. She didn’t even move so much as a finger toward the tea.

It was a bit rude to deny the gesture directly to the guild leader’s face. She could’ve at least pretended to take a sip.

When Gregor focused on her, still hooded in the room that could have come straight from a Roman emperor’s palace, the atmosphere took a turn.

“Tell me, though,” he said, his eyes trying to bore right into her. “Who’s this?”

Koise and I exchanged a look.

Eve, of course, remained as still as ever.

Was she not going to answer?

“She’s—” I started to say.

“My name is Eve,” she interrupted, speaking calmly.

Gregor rested his elbows on his desk and clasped his hands beneath his chin. It didn’t take a mind reader to see he was waiting for her to say more, but she didn’t offer any other information.

Gregor cleared his throat. “Let me try that again. Why are you here, Eve?”

The chair, which had seemed luxurious and comfortable at first, felt like it was digging into me in all the wrong places.

“I was invited.”

“I don’t recall extending any such invitation.” Gregor gave Koise a pointed glance.

“Yet you still allowed me to enter.”

“Are you going to tell me you plan on joining the guild? What if these two stay? We can’t just have a random person, elf or not, walking around the guild.”

“We won’t be staying.”

“You speak for them now?” Gregor looked over to Koise. “You’ve fallen further than I thought.”

Something else was going on, something neither Koise nor I could quite figure out.

“Err…” Koise managed to get out. “She speaks for herself. I still have reports to make.”

Gregor leaned back, removing his elbows from the desk, and gave him a dismissive wave. “Don’t bother. It’s out of courtesy for a friend that I’m even doing this so gently.”

“What…?”

Then, Gregor looked over at me. “I apologize you have to see this, but it sets a good example for if you’re going to be joining our guild. Koise here came from nothing to be one of the most respected hunters in the guild.”

He pointed at Koise, who shrunk back in his chair. “He’s always been a bit hasty, but when he heard someone had killed three members of our guild, he threw an expeditionary force together and set out in pursuit.”

Finally, he put his hands up in a gesture of confusion. “Now he comes to me with the very person responsible, says he was mistaken, and somehow managed to lose the entire force in the process? What else would you call that but incompetence?”

He let the silence hang for a moment.

“Koise, I hereby strip you of your guild membership. Because of you, guild resources were wasted, and many of our members died.”

Koise nodded, gripping the armrests of his chair. “I understand…”

‘Was he already expecting something of the sort?’ I wondered to myself.

“I don’t feel like playing your game right now,” Gregor said to Eve. He looked back over at me. “As it just so happens, we have a free slot available in the guild. What do you think?”

Despite the tea, my throat felt sticky and dry. “I appreciate the offer, but there are more pressing things I have to see to.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Naturally, I made no mention of how one of my Systems was practically screaming at me to not join his guild. I’d have to figure that out later.

“What could possibly be more pressing?” Gregor asked. “Supplies for… Karfana, was it? I can have those sent today.”

“It’s not just the supply issue. Sir…” I tried to show my utmost respect. He had to already know of the demons, but it was better to be sure, right? “Have you heard of the demon attacks?”

Gregor let out a booming laugh. “That’s what’s on your mind? It’s being looked into. What are you planning to do from that backwater city anyway? Join us, and you can play an active role.”

I couldn’t help but notice Eve’s scrutinizing look out of the corner of my eye.

⟬DON’T JOIN THIS GUILD.⟭

I’d already closed it once, but the Second System window popped up again, as if I hadn’t already seen the warning.

“I apologize. My home comes first.” It was better than telling him that a strange Second System was practically ordering me not to join him. Who wouldn’t understand wanting to rebuild their home, after all?

Gregor shrugged. “The offer stands if you change your mind.”

He looked at the three of us: Eve, who he’d just confronted and practically insulted, Koise, who he’d just kicked from the guild, and me, who’d declined his invitation.

“If that’s all, then you can leave.”

Led by our guide, we remained silent on our way back out of the guild until we were left in front of the entrance again. Following a moment of silence in which we all inwardly debated how to proceed. I spoke first.

“Sorry…” His being removed from the guild was my fault, in a way. It stemmed from self-defense, but I still felt guilty at that moment.

He shook his head. “No, I already expected this. I’m surprised he didn’t confiscate all of my possessions from the guild, to be honest. Gregor isn’t usually the type to go easy on people who screw up as much as I did.”

That aside, two things lingered on my mind from our brief conversation…

One, what on earth had been going on with the strange line of questioning toward Eve?

Two, why had the Second System been so insistent on me not joining?

There was also a lingering question of why Gregor had seemed so unconcerned about the demon threat.

‘Does that mean they have it under control?’

There was another question I had as well. I’d noticed it from the moment he left it out of the story, but Koise never mentioned our dragon-slaying feat.

“I wonder, though. Why did you include everything else but not mention the dragon?” I voiced my question.

Koise grimaced in response. “Gregor has been after a dragon for a while now. Maybe he wouldn’t have shown it, but I guarantee he’d have been upset that we accomplished it first.”

‘Ah, so he’s that type then, huh?’ I knew the type well—those who always wanted the greatest accomplishments for themselves, even if it meant claiming the work from others.

⟬Quest Complete!

Reward: &^$#*⟭

The Second System popped up with another message, telling me that I’d completed the bugged-looking quest it’d given me inside the guild.

As expected, the reward section was also bugged, and I didn’t feel any different.

“Personally, I’d like to know what was happening in there between you two. Have you met Gregor before or something?” Koise said, locking eyes with Eve.

She sighed. From the moment we stepped outside, she looked slightly more relaxed. I was just glad to be off of those damned cushions.

“Elves are never looked at too kindly in the other kingdoms. Is there much else for me to say?”

She was right. Though Alikr had been a member of the Association, that hadn’t stopped others from whispering about him and giving him open stares when they picked up and returned quests.

It’d just so happened that, in his case, he really had been plotting something.

Since we were getting everything out in the open, I decided to finally push forward with my next question as well.

“There’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask, as well. You haven’t really told us your purpose. A demon hunter, you mentioned, but who ordered it?” She’d been helpful in clearing the mini-dungeon, but why was she still tagging along when no demons were in sight?

She nodded. “It’s exactly as I said. I really am hunting demons. I can’t tell you who ordered it, but I can say…” she lifted a hand and pointed directly at the Lion Guild headquarters. “That place is under demon influence. Especially their leader, Gregor.”

‘What?’