The room was simple, furnished with all the necessities: a bathroom, a wardrobe, and most importantly, a bed. Best of all was the view from the higher floor, offering a clear sight of the city streets below.
Such was the bedroom that Kyle had been given.
"This is nice."
Stepping out of the shower and tightening the towel around his waist, he brushed his dirty-blond hair back and stared down at the streets below for a long moment. He allowed himself to bask in the silence around him before walking back to the bathroom to do his skin care.
While he wasn’t extremely popular, he was getting there.
He needed to maintain his image.
A good image was always good.
But there was a problem.
"...Looks like I’ll need some makeup."
Kyle pinched the skin beneath his eyes. It was dark and sagging slightly.
"I’ll start looking like Seth at this rate."
There was a trace of amusement in Kyle’s voice as he applied light makeup to hide the dark circles, but beneath it lingered a quiet pain and exhaustion.
"H-ha."
Halfway through his motions, Kyle had no choice but to pause, bringing both hands to the sink as his hands started to tremble uncomfortably.
He didn’t experience any pain, but even if it was, he’d much prefer that.
’It’s happening again.’
The trembles...
This was what Kyle called them. He was still unsure what they truly were. They happened often, and he couldn’t stop them. Parts of his body would suddenly begin to tremble, as if possessed, forcing him into a state of total paralysis.
Ever since the incident, he had been experiencing these symptoms, only growing more frequent with each passing day. To the point that they occurred in his sleep, forcing him awake and preventing him from sleeping.
He thought it would only pass with time, but...
"It’s getting worse."
Taking several deep breaths, Kyle raised his head.
But as he did, his heart stopped.
"....!!"
Because a face stared back at him.
It was obscured, but the image was clear.
His entire body froze at the sight. Almost as if something or someone had taken over completely, rendering him completely immobile.
The face stared at him in silence, sweat dripping from the side of his face as he stared back at the face.
And then—
"....."
Everything returned to normal, the image fading as the mirror slowly clouded over.
But despite everything fading, Kyle remained rooted in place, the dark circles beneath his eyes growing even more pronounced as he blinked slowly and mumbled, "What was I doing?"
"Ah."
He reached for the makeup next to him and dipped his finger.
"...Skin care. I’m doing skin care."
***
Well, I expected something a bit fancy considering the Guild’s wealth, but maybe I thought a little too much.
’Is this really the right place?’
[Central Kebab]
I checked my phone to see if I was in the right location, but it really did seem to be the case. I’m not wrong...?
"...Ah, maybe it’s some sort of disguise."
I smacked my fist against my open palm. Now that makes sense... Why would the Guild invite us to a kebab shop for the Guild dinner? It obviously made no sense. Especially since from the outside, the shop looked like one of the lower-quality kebab shops.
Without any further hesitation, I reached for the metal handle of the glass door and pulled it open.
The moment I stepped inside, a heavy scent of char and spices washed over me.
I subconsciously frowned.
Tables were lined up along both sides of the room, with people seated on either side, laughing and toasting with one another. I caught sight of many familiar faces.
But that wasn’t what unsettled me.
What bothered me was the fact that this place was truly a kebab shop.
’They’re really going to host a Guild dinner here?’
I had to do a double-take, but looking around once more and seeing that they were truly eating kebabs, and with some beers at that, I decided to give up. I liked kebab too.
Approaching the nearest table, I pointed at one of the chairs.
"Can I sit here?"
"Ah, yes-Huh?"
Huh?
All of a sudden, it was as if everyone at the table had stiffened at once. A quick glance was all it took for me to realize what was going on.
’I guess they’re still in shock with what happened back in Malovia?’
"So?"
"Ah, that... Err." The poor guy looked at the others on the table, only for them to look away. In the end, he forced a smile. "Yes. Please... sit."
So I did.
I even ordered myself some kebab with rice.
"Make sure to add a lot of sauce. The white one specifically. I’m not very good at dealing with spicy food."
The moment I placed my order, I glanced around the room. For the most part, everyone present was a member of the branch guild. Those from the main Guild had yet to arrive, leaving me as the only one there from it.
There was no one that I could strike up a conversation with. Not that I was interested in talking with anyone.
In fact, I felt extremely uncomfortable.
’...So many strangers.’
Keeping my expression steady, I quietly hoped my order would arrive sooner as I scrolled mindlessly through my phone. I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at, my thoughts drifting far from the screen. I was just scrolling for the sake of scrolling.
’I hope my food gets here faster.’
"Does that page look interesting?"
"...?"
Turning around, a pair of emerald eyes stared at me. A bubbly smile greeted me a short while later as Catherine sat in front of me. The crazy bitch is back?
She then pointed at my phone again.
"That... I saw that you were looking at the same article multiple times. Is it interesting?"
I looked down at my phone.
[My Cold CEO is my baby’s...]
"I didn’t know you weren’t into that stuff. Is it good?"
"....Passable."
No, passable what?
I didn’t even know what it was.
"Should I give it a read?"
"Yes, it’s really good."
The bubbly smile faltered for a brief moment before she leaned back in her chair. When I glanced around again, I realized that everyone who had been sitting beside me just moments earlier was gone.
It was just Catherine and me now... and the many stares fixed on us from every direction.
"I’m honestly really surprised you’re into this stuff. I thought that you’d be really busy considering all the work that you have, but maybe I was wrong."
Leaning back against the chair, she fiddled with her phone.
"Is it the same with my sister? Is she into this stuff?"
"I don’t know."
"You don’t? Are you not very close to my sister? I thought you were."
"Not reall—"
"Tsk."
I raised my head. Did she just...
"Damn randoms."
Ah, so she was talking about a game.
"Ah, sorry about that."
Lifting her head, she quickly apologized.
"I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about something else. There’s this gam—"
Catherine’s voice cut off halfway as she turned her attention toward the door. She wasn’t the only one. People throughout the shop turned as well, and when I followed their gaze, a group I was all too familiar with stepped inside.
But when I looked at them, specifically the Section Chief, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by their expression.
The one that looked as though they had eaten shit.