’I’ve thought about it before, but there’s something weird about this Guild. R.W Tech, or whatever it’s called... and now they personally invited me? I’m really confused. Should I accept or should I decline?’
The answer was obvious to me.
I planned on declining the invitation.
Honestly, I was confused how the letter even reached my desk. It was a blatant poaching attempt. Was the Guild Master really that confident I wouldn’t accept?
’...Or maybe this is a way for him to test me.’
Whatever the truth was, I wasn’t all that keen on going there.
As of right now, I need to focus on my next task.
Gate.
I needed to figure out a way to create a Gate.
’Right, I also need to handle the Dock situation. With my newfound fame, I could probably pressure them into releasing my game, but I’m not going to do that.’
I had done a lot of thinking as of late.
This hadn’t been the first time that Dock had screwed me over. I was starting to get tired of all of this nonsense. Even if I did end up fixing the situation, who was to say something like this wouldn’t occur again?
Therefore, after a little bit of thought, I decided to do something different.
I planned on exploring my options. From platform creation to investment in rivaling platforms.
There were plenty of options, and with my newfound fame, I knew that I could now consider such options.
’I can probably even ask the Guild Master to help me, but I don’t want to be too indebted to him. Things are already quite uncomfortable for me in that regard.’
Standing up from my seat, I sighed.
There wasn’t much that I had planned today.
For that reason, I knew that I could focus a lot of attention on this matter. At least, that was what I had originally thought. However, not even a few seconds after I stood up from my seat, my phone suddenly vibrated. Pausing, I looked at the message that I had just received, and I had a hard time stopping my face from stiffening.
[Go downstairs. There’s a car waiting for you.]
Looking at the number, my expression turned even stranger.
’Why does the Guild Master want me to go downstairs? Don’t tell me he’s going to make me go to dinner with him again.’
Ever since coming back from the World Congress, he had been treating me differently. Well, he was already different before, but things felt even weirder now.
Though I was confused, I still followed the orders.
Raising my head, I looked at the others, only to pause.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"That..."
Mia stammered for a second before Joanna took over.
"Are you leaving, Squad Leader?"
"Ah, yes."
I put my phone in my pocket.
"I’ll be leaving for now. Since we’ve all been granted a week’s rest, you should all take advantage of it. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Text me if there are any problems."
Bidding fairwell to the others, I headed out.
’Just what in the world does the Guild Master want me to do now...?’
***
Clank—!
The moment Seth left the office, a strange silence followed. The silence persisted for several seconds until Ariel spoke up.
"I take it all of you were given some offers."
The silence persisted.
Nobody said a single thing, with Mia lowering her head in shame.
"Actually..." but eventually, forcing a few words out, she raised her head to look at the others. "...I’ve gotten multiple offers. I wanted to talk with the Squad Leader about them, but his face looked pretty scary."
"Same."
"...Yeah."
"Me too."
Bitter smiles filled the room as they all shared similar feelings. After the Congress, they had all received multiple large offers from some major Guilds. While a lot of their actions were due to Ariel, they were still able to display a good level of skill. Enough to attract the Oak Circle Guilds.
None of them were able to attract the attention of those from the big five besides Ariel, who received scouting offers from all of them.
Unable to hide her curiosity, Mia looked at Ariel.
"What about you? Are you planning on accepting any of the offers?"
"Nope."
Ariel shook her head, answering without much thought. Her fast rejection took everyone aback. However, before any of them could ask her to elaborate, Ariel spoke.
"I’m pretty satisfied here."
She ended the conversation there.
From the simple smile she wore, it really did seem that way.
Everyone appeared to accept her answer.
Everyone but Joanna, who narrowed her eyes slightly. For some reason, Ariel’s expression felt a little stiffer than usual.
’Am I seeing wrong?’
Joanna tilted her head, but eventually gave up when Ariel turned her head to meet her line of sight. The two looked at each other for a brief moment before Ariel’s smile widened.
Joanna blinked a couple of times before sighing.
"Well."
She looked at the others.
"...Let’s talk about the offers later. For now, let’s all get some rest. When the Squad Leader is free again, we can bring it up with him again."
***
Fully aware of my fame following the Congress, I had no choice but to wear a different pair of sunglasses than usual, ones that concealed my features and allowed me to head downstairs without being noticed.
’Still, this is way busier than usual.’
The Guild lobby was full.
Not just full, but it was packed. There were many people in suits, and even reporters. They all waited at the entrance, seemingly trying to force their way through as several bodyguards lined up the entrance, stopping them from entering.
"Please! Just let us see him!"
"We’d like to ask him several questions!"
"Just a few questions!"
"We would like to know what his next plans are!"
Seeing the hunger in their eyes and expressions, I felt my entire body shudder. Thankfully, none of them noticed me, and I managed to slip out without drawing any attention. Of course, this was mainly due to me taking a separate route that was exclusive to guild members.
’The car should be somewhere here. Where is it...? Where is..."
I stopped after I caught sight of a certain black SUV.
As if noticing me, the SUV pulled in my direction, sunlight glinting off its dark exterior before it came to a stop right in front of me. Slowly, the window rolled down, revealing a face I was familiar with.
"Get in."
"...."
I blinked, looking at the girl in the front of the car. Though she wore a pair of sunglasses, her features were hard to hide, and as she tilted her head down, revealing her dark eyes beneath the lenses, she spoke again.
"Are you deaf? Get on."
"...."
I still didn’t move.
No, I mean.
Why the hell would I move?
Especially when the one sitting in the car before me was none other than the star of the Obsidian Bastion Guild, Liora Halecrest.
"Ehm. I think you’ve got the wrong—"
"No, I don’t."
She cut me off before I could continue.
Then, the phone in my hand vibrated as I looked at the new message that appeared on the screen.
[It’s the right car. Have a nice meeting.]
Question marks popped up in my head again.
"Are you getting on or not?"
Lifting my head, the car door opened on its own as I looked at my phone again.
[Don’t worry. I won’t be mad.]
Why does this feel like a trap?