I waited after she left for several minutes without anything happening. Just as I began to wonder if she had actually gone to get the guild leader or simply ditched me, another receptionist came out from around the corner and got my attention.
“The guild leader has requested an audience with you. If you would follow me back this way, please.” She says with a smile as she motions for a doorway nearby the booths
I stand there memorizing her facial features for a moment before I begin to follow her.
After I get this whole guild card thing sorted out I think I’m switching my choice of receptionist this one. I don’t feel like wringing her neck in the first five seconds of talking to her.
“He’s just in here. Now, if you would excuse me.” She says as we arrive at a pristine looking doorway down a long hallway
She walks away leaving me standing in front of the door.
Creeeeeeeak
The door gives a loud long creak as I push it open.
None of the other doors creaked at all… I think this guy just has a flair for the dramatic. The door looks a bit too fancy as well.
“Ah, here comes out little huntress now!” An older man’s voice says as I open the door
The room is quite a bit brighter than the corridor so my eyes take a moment to adjust. When they do I am greeted with the sight of a rather comfortable looking room. The furniture is all well made, and some items even look as if they are from my world.
With enough money, you can even get stuff like this huh?
In the center of the room are three couches all facing a single round table that has several papers and a goblet of wine on it. Sitting one of these two couches is an old man with a long white braided beard and robes that have a tribal looking design to them and on the other the rude receptionist. Where the old man looks jolly enough that one might think he was drunk, the receptionist is stiff as a board with an expression that gives off the impression that she didn’t intend to stick around for this part.
“I heard that you called for me?” I ask casually not paying much mind to formality
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There are times where dignity will make people take you more seriously, and times like this where it will just make people think that they can take advantage of you. I feel I will get farther acting like his status doesn’t faze me at all in this particular conversation.
“Hahaha! You fear me just about as much as you must have feared that pesky orc! All the same, thanks for taking it down. That thing was traipsing about a popular hunting ground if you would believe it! With the festival coming up you can imagine that causing a bit of distress to merchants.” He prattles off as if it were the funniest story he had ever heard
A hunting ground?! I almost got killed so some food stalls could stay stocked during a festival?!
I shoot a glare at the receptionist, but she just turns her gaze away from me with a guilty look.
“On a more serious note, however, I must scold you a bit. An unrecognized rookie taking on a monster like that is suicide in any case. I don’t care if you were the best swordsman in your village or the top of your class at your magic academy, here you are still just a child that is learning how to walk. We don’t send rookies on quest like that because we are responsible for their safety. If the quest were posted anywhere I would have your status revoked and have you banned from the guild… but it wasn’t!” He says his jovial mood disappearing from his face
Until the last moment, it seriously felt as if I were a child being lectured about breaking the rules. Just as I was beginning to feel intimidated by his presence, however, his mood shifts back to that of a drunk fool.
“Sorry if I have caused you any kind of grief, but I needed to test my strength. I heard a rumor that it was about as strong as the competitors, so I thought it was a good way to measure myself to them.” I say attempting to retain my casual vibe
Admittedly it’s quite a bit more difficult to do so after being scolded. At first, I was attempting to act like a typical adventurer, but now acting so casually just makes me feel like a child in their rebellious phase.
“No, no, not at all. You did us quite the favor actually. We were just in the middle of discussing your reward before you came in.” He says waving his hand in front of his face in rebuttal
That’s… not really true, is it? I mean I knew that the receptionist was coming to tell him about it when she left and only a few minutes passed really. I can’t imagine they had much of a discussion about it.
“So how does a rise in rank sound? We obviously can’t raise you to the rank you would need in order to be able to face monsters like that again, but this should serve as proof that you can handle yourself against at least mid-strength enemies and monsters.” He explains with just a tinge of Juries conniving face mixed into his own expression
I get it now. So that’s how he wants to play this. By doing this he will have me totally in his control. He is rewarding me by lifting the punishment and making the rules more lenient for me in the future. At the same time, however, this serves as a bit of a threat. He is trying to say something along the lines of “If you break my rules again, not only will you lose your reward but you will be punished as well.” He doesn’t even have to give me anything this way. As the leader of the guild, he can throw ranks and titles like that around as he pleases. Something he said bothers me though.
“What do you mean enemies and monsters?” I question in a more serious tone