Kyros and the others waited inside of the Guild Master's office. He kept his complaints to himself, but the place was a complete mess. Dog food crunched underneath their feet with nearly every step; fur almost covered the entire room, and the smells alone could've knocked anyone unconscious. How could anyone live under such conditions?

Somehow, Runa and Sarra found places comfortable enough to take a seat. Cailey and Kyros stood around awkwardly, waiting for the man in question to return.

And soon enough he did. The Guild Master of Wild Hunt, Serhan, stormed into the room. He yelled, "What is wrong with you people? How dare you release my dogs without warning, and then make yourselves comfortable in my office!"

"No one's comfortable in here," Runa voiced her disgust in the situation. She couldn't wait to leave behind the pound of a room. "You ever considered cleaning the place up? Opening up a window for fresh air to blow in?"

"And run the risk of them jumping out the window to their deaths?! No, thank you!" Serhan shook his head in absolute refusal. His dog mask performed complete three-sixties until he stopped it with his hand.

"With you as their master, it'd be mercy," Runa snarkily commented.

"What was that?!"

"Have a seat, please, Master Serhan." Cailey brought herself between Runa and Serhan. "We have someone we'd like to introduce."

The Guild Master collected himself and sat behind his desk. He cleared his throat and began, "So, who are you? Fresh meat? Welcome to Wild Hunt! I'm the Guild Master, Serhan!"

The air around the Guild Master suddenly changed. He seemed more professional and stern than the man that was down on his knees, crying moments ago. He exerted a type of pressure befitting someone of a leader.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Kyros Aleister," Kyros introduce himself.

"Where are you from?" Serhan rested his elbows on the table. Meanwhile, Cailey opened up the large window behind him. She had reached her limit with the horrendous smell.

"I'm from Soteria," Kyros revealed.

"Soteria? You've come quite a long way," Serhan noted. He rested his head in the palm of his hands. "Tell me, why'd you decide to leave your country to join our guild?"

"It was an order from my council. The council sent me out here to act as their envoy. They wish for me to increase the relationship between the Gardens of Eden and Soteria."

Silence met Kyros' answer. All eyes honed on him.

"That may be impossible, Kyros. The Gardens of Eden don't want anything to do with your country." Serhan informed the military man.

"I understand that. Runa made it clear to me that my mission won't be easy." Kyros revealed.

"And yet, here you are anyway, even though you could potentially be out here for the rest of your life."

"I'm prepared for such a situation." Kyros nodded his head. "I don't believe that every single person out there feels the same about Soteria as Wild Hunt seems to feel."

"Oh?" Serhan's tone suddenly went cold. Kyros felt a hazardous pressure from the Guild Master, Cailey, and Runa. Had he said something he shouldn't have?

"Isn't the fact that they choose to live out here instead of in your country proof enough that they hate it?" Cailey pointed out.

Kyros closed his eyes and nodded his head. He had much time to think about the Gardens of Eden throughout his tenure, exploring the vast lands. He met various people, learning bits and pieces about their livelihoods. Yes, they expressed their joy in living their lives freely, but, they all had something in common.

Protection.

The people wanted safety and sanctuary from the criminals and Varvara that raided their lands. Sure, specific guilds existed to protect the people, but from what Kyros had seen, there weren't enough around.

"They may hate it, but I know there are extenuating circumstances about their decisions to stay out here. I can understand their hatred, but I won't abide by their carelessness."

"And who are you to try and force others to see things your way?" Serhan wondered.

"Not force, persuade." Kyros corrected. The conversation wasn't going how he planned, but it was too late to press the brakes. He decided to keep going to get his point across to the Hunters. "I want to provide a better alternative for the Gardens of Eden. Soteria and the Gardens of Eden can remain separate, yet united."

Runa scoffed at the mere notion of Kyros' suggestion. It was a pipedream at best.

"Interesting idea," Serhan leaned back in his chair and enthusiastically clapped his hands together. Kyros was unable to catch if the man was sarcastic or not with his mannerisms. "You believe joining our guild will help you with your goal?"

"From what Sarra told me, Wild Hunt carries a lot of authority in this town, perhaps even in all of the Gardens. So, yes, I do believe that it will."

Stolen story; please report.

Serhan lunged forward, pressing his face against Kyros'. "You're an interesting fellow! You'll make a fine addition to the guild!"

"What?!" Runa exclaimed. She couldn't believe her eyes and ears. Had her Guild Master gone completely insane? Kyros was one of the worst possible people to allow into the organization.

"Yes! Congratulations, Mr. Kyros!" Sarra jumped out of her chair in joy.

"Wait for a second," Runa injected.

"Is there a problem, Runa?" asked Serhan, "do you have any objections to my decision?"

"I have plenty..." The blue-haired Huntress narrowed her eye and then returned to her seat. "Get him out of the room, and I'll explain."

"Very well," Serhan backed away from Kyros. "Kyros, if you may leave the room and head downstairs for a moment. We'll come back down once we make our decision."

"Sure thing," Kyros offered no resistance. He left the room and headed downstairs.

Almost immediately upon his departure, Runa stood up and paced furiously back and forth in front of Serhan's desk. She hadn't been back home for more than a few hours, and her guildmates already found a way to piss her off seriously. For months Kyros had been a thorn in her side.

It was one thing to force a temporary alliance with him back in Soteria. But now Serhan was going to allow him into Wild Hunt without prejudice? She wouldn't accept that outcome. Runa only allowed the man to follow them to Anemone Town because he never envisioned him joining the organization. Not if the Guild Master had anything to say about it.

"This is stupid, Serhan! Very stupid!" Runa complained. The man sat there in the chair, staring at her with his decorative eyes. "Why are you letting that man join our guild, our family, so easily!"

"He passed the physical exam, didn't he?" Serhan indicated to Cailey. "Why not let him in for passing?"

"Cut the shit!" Runa slammed her hands on the table. "Passing or failing the physical exam shouldn't be enough to determine if someone joins or not, and you know it!"

"Oh, you silly girl," Serhan stood from his seat and playfully poked the woman's forehead. She bared her teeth, and attempted to chew the finger, clean off the man's hand. "There's a bit more to my reasoning of letting him join."

"Runa, you need to calm down," Sarra suggested.

"Stay out of this!" Runa exclaimed, not bothering to turn back to face her partner. The grown-ups were talking, after all. Children needed to stay silent. "Care to explain your reasoning, Serhan? You didn't grill him as hard as you did me when I first joined!"

Serhan gasped, quite overdramatically as he placed his hand on his chest. He opened up a drawer in his desk and set a newspaper on it for everyone to see. The paper detailed the terrorist attacks across Soteria.

"Runa, how could I do something as cruel as to interrogate one of the saviors of Soteria?" Serhan asked.

Runa narrowed her eye and groaned in frustration, having immediately caught the sarcastic tone in the man's voice.

"If anyone needs an interrogation, it's you," Cailey pointed.

"Shall we discuss your time in Soteria?" Serhan suggested although everyone knew that it was more of a demand. Runa relented and sat back down in her seat. "I would first like to congratulate you both on the succession of your mission, and returning home safely. Those Acolytes must've been troublesome."

"You have no idea," Runa rolled her eye. If not for the fact that the Acolytes were Exousia, she wouldn't believe how three people could cause so much destruction throughout a country.

"Those Acolytes were scary, but Mr. Kyros and Runa teamed up to take down the leader!" Sarra announced. She wanted to make sure that the sung praises of Kyros resided in the hearts of Serhan and Cailey.

"That's another thing I was wondering about," Serhan said. "I'm curious about your relationship with that man."

"He's a souvenir," Cailey teased, recalling her conversation with Runa from before.

Serhan threw his head back and held his sides, laughing hysterically at the woman's choice of words. "Another souvenir from Soteria? How fortunate are we?"

"I'd say unfortunate," Runa sighed.

"This is a blessing, Runa. That I can assure you." The Guild Master informed his guildmate once his laughter ceased. "Soteria's trying to form a better relationship with the Gardens of Eden? How cute."

While they couldn't see it, Cailey, Runa, and Sarra could feel the man's sinister smile from behind the safety of his dog mask. Serhan never made his hatred toward Soteria a secret. The other members shared his distrust toward the country, but Serhan's was on another level.

That very hatred forced Runa to beg the question, "Serhan, why did you request for Sarra and I to take this quest?"

There were plenty of other Hunters that could've taken the mission. Not that she was complaining. She completed the quest and walked away with half a million Axia. She could live like a queen for quite a long time if she wished.

"We needed Soteria to owe us a favor. A huge favor," The Guild Master spread his arms out as wide as he could for emphasis. "We helped them protect their precious country."

"They repaid us for that though," Sarra stated as she pointed to the sack of coins on Runa's hip.

"That was only a small payment in comparison to what I want," Serhan dismissed the large sum of money as nothing more than pocket change. The man had big plans for the future for the Gardens. "Thanks to our assistance, the Lambros Corporation owe us a lot more."

Runa gritted her teeth, realizing that her Guild Master used them for some shady, under the table deal. She and Sarra nearly lost their lives in Soteria, and he didn't seem to care. That's not how Wild Hunt was meant to operate.

Immediately noticing the woman's frustration, Serhan came around from the desk and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Forgive me for not filling you in, but I assure you that I wouldn't order you to do anything that I'm not willing to do myself. You and Sarra made an enormous contribution to Wild Hunt."

Runa brushed off the Guild Master's hand. "I don't care about the mission anymore. That's over and done. My only concern is that Soterian you're allowing to join us. What if he's a spy?"

"I'm leaving you in charge of that," Serhan said.

"What?" Runa blinked in surprise, unsure if she heard what she thought she'd heard.

"You're in charge of keeping an eye on him. You two worked so well in Soteria, so it only makes sense to keep you two together for the time being."

"I refuse!" Runa shook her head.

"Runa das Meer, as your guild master, I command you to keep an eye on Kyros until I deem he is no threat to our organization." Serhan exerted his authority over his subordinates. It wasn't every day he'd pull such a tactic, but it was an exceptional circumstance that time around. He couldn't allow Kyros to walk around unchecked in his town. Sending unfamiliar faces to follow the Soterian around would only keep the man on his guard.

"Wait! There's no need for any of this!" Sarra objected to the idea of treating Kyros as an enemy. "Wild Hunt is a family. We shouldn't act distrustful towards family members! Mr. Kyros isn't a spy!"

"How can you say that with such certainty?" Cailey questioned the little girl.

"Mr. Kyros is my friend! He helped us take down the Acolytes, despite the terrible things we did to him at first! He doesn't deserve anyone's suspicion!" Sarra exclaimed.

"Be quiet," Runa set her hand on Sarra's shoulder. That was all it took to get the girl to shut her mouth. "If it's a direct order to keep an eye on him, then I'll do it until you're satisfied."

"We." Serhan corrected. "Until we're satisfied. You have your grievances about him joining us. You don't have the authority to refuse him, but I appreciate your opinion as much as anyone else's."

"You two are the only ones that know him more than anyone else in the guild. We do not believe he's a bad person. We're just cautious." Cailey added to help ease the tension in the room.

"I understand. Come along, Sarra," Runa guided her partner out of the room, leaving the Guild Master and Receptionist alone. Her plan failed. She thought Kyros would get kicked out of town once his allegiance with Soteria was revealed. But unbeknownst to her, the guild master preferred having the man around. Now there was no sanctuary left in Anemone. With Kyros around, the danger was soon to befall the settlement.

She dreaded the thought of that very day.