"You’re planning on leaving the Guild? Hm? VILE - 1048? That’s... quite an ambitious thing you’re trying to look for. And with your team?"
At first, the Section Chief looked confused. But after a little thought, he seemed to realize something as he nodded.
"Actually, that might not be a bad idea. The situation is a little delicate at the moment with the Guild Master’s death. You should leave the place before things get too bad. And given your current reputation, it’s best that you stay out of this storm for now. This might also be a good way for you to improve your situation from the Malia incident. The internet and the papers do seem to have an agenda against you."
"Well, it’s not just me. Anyone that is successful generally gets treated the same way."
"Yes, but it’s also because you’re not that likable."
"....?"
I’m not? What nonsense is this?
The Section Chief lifted his head slightly, giving me a look that seemed to say,’You really don’t know?’
"You never stop for interviews. You’re always hiding or staying inside the Guild. Whenever fans come up to you, you immediately run away or avoid making eye contact, let alone speaking to them. To make matters worse, in the few interviews you’ve actually done, you’ve often done nothing but provoke people. And then there’s the incident your team caused in Congress. In other words..."
With his index finger, the Section Chief tapped the table once.
"Your reputation is the absolute worst. You’re scum in the public’s eye."
"....."
That...
"No, but it’s like..."
The words stopped there. The more I thought about it, the more I found myself unable to answer at all.
This...
"I hate strangers."
Talking to them. Seeing them. Interacting with them.
I hated it.
"There you go."
The Section Chief tapped the table again, reaching for one of the papers from the numerous stacks piled on top of his desk.
"That, I can tell. I’m pretty sure the entire world can tell. And that’s the problem."
"Ugh."
I scratched my chin.
There was a lot I wanted to say, but in the end, I decided to keep it to myself as the Section Chief nudged me with his chin.
"Give me your report. Let me sign it so that you can go."
Taking the document from my hand, he directly logged the details into the computer before handing it back to me.
"I’ll send it over. There shouldn’t be any problems for now. Try not to be away for too long. If anything happens, I’ll make sure to contact you."
"...Yes."
A part of me was glad that he had approved of this expedition so quickly. In a way, I was afraid he would try to stop me from leaving, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. I did, however, feel quite a bit of pity for the Section Chief.
Looking at his current state...
<i>’Even people addicted to drugs look better.’ </i>
His cheeks appeared sunken, and the dark circles beneath his eyes reached all the way down his cheekbones.
When was the last time he had gone to sleep?
’No, but seriously. This is really bad. As things stand, there’s a good chance he might quit or die by the time I come back. I’ll mention this to Zoey and Kyle before I leave.’
The Section Chief was the only person within the higher management that I trusted.
I knew there was more to the Section Chief than what he showed, but for now, he had always helped me whenever I needed it. In my mind, he was someone that I wanted to keep working with for a long time.
"I’ll be taking my leave."
I saluted the Section Chief, who waved his hand dismissively, his attention returning to the monitor as he sorted through the different files.
"Yes, yes. Do as I said. Don’t be out for too long. Keep yourself safe. Eat properly, and drink lots of water."
"....."
What was it with his sudden nagging?
One would mistake him for my mom if they overheard it.
"Oh, and if you need any mone⎯"
"You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?"
"Hm? What?"
The Section Chief raised his head, tilting it slightly as he looked at me. Seeing his innocent expression, I really wanted to toss all the documents piled up on his desk into his face, but I held myself back before promptly leaving.
As I left, I couldn’t help but smile.
<i>’...At the very least, the situation isn’t so bad that he can’t make a few jokes here and there.’ </i>
Yes, Section Chief.
Please remain like that.
I really want to work with you for a lot longer.
***
The Guild was interconnected among the departments. While most departments usually didn’t interfere with one another, they were still able to see much of what the others were doing. This was normal practice in most Guilds, as many of them needed to coordinate with one another based on their respective departments.
And for that reason, news of Seth’s departure quickly made its way to the other Section Chiefs within the Guild.
Counting the Section Chiefs from the Branch Guild and the five departments, there were ten Section Chiefs in total.
These were the ten individuals with the highest chance of succeeding the Guild Master.
Among the many Section Chiefs, Carmen Johansberg, the Section Chief of the Hoarding Department, was considered the one with the highest chance of succeeding the Guild Master.
"You sure he said that?"
"...That’s correct, sir."
"Ha."
A smile lingered across the Section Chief’s face as he listened to the report given to him by Secretary Kim.
"He’s become quite arrogant with his success. But I can’t really blame him. The Containment Department has been on quite a tear lately. I tried to ignore it because the Guild Master was present, but with him gone, I can’t leave this unchecked for any longer. I’m sure the other Section Chiefs agree."
The Containment Department’s momentum was quite high.
Enough to make the other Section Chiefs feel threatened by it. And at the centre of it all was none other than Seth Thorne from the Containment Department, whose meteoric rise had become impossible to ignore.
"He did suffer a little setback, but if he continues at this pace, things will be quite difficult when the voting comes. We’ve got to cut him before things get too big."
"That’s a wise decision."
The Secretary nodded. He took the opportunity to propose a plan. "If I may add, I can ask the’Guild’ to handle the situation, and⎯"
"There’s no need."
The Section Chief cut the Secretary off.
"That’d be too obvious."
The Section Chief’s attention fell on Seth’s leave permit, his eyes scanning the information provided.
"VILE - 1048, huh?"
His lips pulled into a smirk.
"He’s really going for that?"
VILE-1048 was quite a renowned anomaly. There were countless anomalies scattered throughout the world, ranging from the extremely strange ones to the overwhelmingly powerful. However, among them were anomalies that almost no information existed on them.
All that was known was that they were dangerous, and that searching for them was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Assuming one could even survive the search.
"Is he really looking for it, or...?" The Section Chief’s smirk widened. "I’m sure he’s looking for an excuse to get away from all this chaos. In that case, I’ll grant him a wonderful gift as well."
He turned to the Secretary.
"Tell them to spread the news everywhere."
The Secretary’s brows shot up as the Section Chief continued.
"Get it into every major news outlet possible. Let the news spread. Let them... all learn about his appetite."
Just like he said...
"See if he can afford to fail now."
I, indeed, like to eat a lot.