Upon entering the room of many bookshelves that lined the wall, a large desk sat in the middle of the room and a man with a sharp jawline and glasses glanced up at us before he set down the papers he was working on.

"Ah, Reiner? It’s not every day you barge into my office with an entourage. Unless it’s when you caused some kind of mess with another party, or clan," he said with a sigh while a smile came to his lips. "But I would have heard about it the moment it happened, so that isn't it," he added, while the hound snorted in irritation.

"Tch, I’m here for a reason," Reiner sneered while crossing his arms in annoyance while this man had already returned his attention to Reg and the others.

"So, I see. Well let me guess, you've been looking for new recruits, and now you found one?" He said with a chuckle, but he clearly noticed me out of the corner of his eye, much earlier than when I walked into the room.

"Sir, this wasn’t our idea… the hound brought this Xiao here, who knows where he pulled it from, but he claims he's the strongest man he's ever seen and wants him to be his permanent party member… We tried to stop him but as you can see, we had to escort him here… Talk the hound out of this nonsense" Reg explained which was clearly a cover up to maintain their status in the guild, however the man in glasses only shook his head with a sigh.

"Now, now… here in the guild we do not discriminate. The guild was established to be a place of equality even if that means granting amnesty to those with strength under the rule of Vectus’s Monarch. However, even so it has never had one of you in our ranks for obvious reasons. Tell me Xiao what’s your name,” The man asked with a sharp gaze of interest and caution hidden behind his glasses.

"… If you only knew,” I scoffed to myself before answering his question. “…Kazu,” I remarked as the man stared at me for a moment, as if studying me before he spoke once more.

"Kazu, huh? Well, I’m Antoris Vosse and from the internal injures still healing on Reiner I’d say you've given him quite the fight. It makes me curious how you ended up facing off to begin with." he said causing Reg and the others to look toward Reiner, who only sneered in response.

"heh, who cares. I’m telling you Antoris this guy is joining my party, if he doesn’t then I’m leaving this guild," Reiner retorted to which Antoris gave a small laugh in response.

“Will you now? The guild is the only sanctioned place in the entire world where a single individual can choose who he or she wants to be, can you live outside those boundaries Reiner? After all the guild is currently sanctioning you," Antoris asked which made Reiner's glare grow in anger.

"Tch, shut it old man,” Reiner sneered which left Antoris to return his attention to me.

"And you, are willing to join the guild, Kazu?" He asked only to get my flat response.

"The question is if you're willing to take me into your ranks with all your laws," I remarked to which caused his sharp eyes to narrow. It was obvious he was thinking of the consequences and repercussions, but regardless, he took a deep breath and spoke.

“A matter like this should include The Monarch of Vectus. However, as his Apostle and his representative in Vectus, I have the power to accept or deny you on his behalf. An act like this cannot be taken lightly so I'm sure you understand," he stated causing Reiner to give an amused snort, but it was expected.

“Hmm? Is it because you all think of me as a monster of the past… honestly it doesn’t matter to me what you do,” I remarked, but the look in Antoris eyes made me realize he saw something else.

"The past means nothing to me nor was I there to witness it. If it means anything I don't think of you as a monster Kazu, in fact you intrigue me, yet I find myself frightened under your Gaze despite the faint Aura you exude. Regardless of all that, I will consider your entry into the guild, under similar terms to Reiner here. A strict benefactor contract, which in short, is a contract that states the rules and guidelines for one who joins the guild and will be subject to Monarch laws. As you know cursed clans aren’t even allowed in the guild, however, under this contract you will be sanctioned by The Monarch of Vectus but you are also forbidden to act out against this sanction, should you do such a thing you will be trialed and possibly executed under Monarch law," Antoris said causing Reiner to snort in annoyance at the conditions he spoke of, clearly knowing them personally.

"… They said the same thing to me, just accept it. This old man is just doing his usual political garbage, I still have my fun with their silly rules." Reiner said causing Antoris to sigh.

"That’s because of me, Reiner. You’ve already been Trialed twice for breaking these same rules, and you will likely get another one if you keep acting out of control. Anyways I'm sure you understand the importance of this agreement Kazu, the contract will not be so lenient toward a cursed clan. The only thing left for me to do is to ask for your response, are you willing to accept our conditions?" Antoris said with a raised eyebrow to which I couldn't help but watch on with a bored expression.

"Sure," I said plainly not overthinking it after all Antoris seemed to be convinced that this guild consisted of strictly individuals who follow these rules, but little did he know The Red Manes had dug their claws into this organization long ago.

I simply had to make it look believable, after all that was why we came here.

“Then I will allow it, although this contract doesn’t complete everything in order to be fully official. You're also going to have to undergo the ranking tests," He explained, and I had already expected as much. “And since Reiner here has requested you as his permanent party member, he will be the one to guide you through the process, as your sponsor. Lastly a permanent party of benefactors for the guild often requires three members, if you are with Reiner, you’ll need one more member to complete the process,” Antoris added causing Reiner to click his tongue.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"I hope you plan on dealing with that bit Antoris, chances are nobody is willing to get anywhere near us,” He retorted, which left Antoris to chuckle to himself.

“… Well Reiner if you were a bit more approachable, then perhaps someone would agree to be your party member, however, you will need one before Kazu can even begin his ranking tests," Antoris explained while he pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. "If your lucky maybe Reg will look for one.” He chuckled to which Reg played his part.

"If it’s not a request GuildMaster, I rather not,” He muttered with a shake of his head while I returned my gaze to Antoris who simply chuckled at Reg's reply.

"It isn’t a request. Well then, I will leave you two to find a member for this party, since Reiner insists on having you as his permanent companion," Antoris said to me and Reiner. “But for the sake of not being harassed I will give you this document of your membership to the guild,” He added passing me a plate of white metal no bigger than the palm of my hand, a rectangular badge, a proof of membership to the guild. “It’s temporary of course until you complete the requirements and begin your ranking exam, however it is the symbol of your status as a guild member."

I accepted the badge from his hand, and placed it around my neck, “Alright I got it," I said flatly.

"I’ll prepare everything on my end, you two should start looking for a member," He said concluding our meeting before turning his attention to Reg. "Reg, if you are free, would you mind giving me a hand with a few reports." He asked to which Reg gave a small nod of his head in reply and everyone else began to take their leave.

That included me and Reiner who made our way to the ground floor of the guild hall. “Heh, I’ll never get those Red Manes, but we did fool Antoris,” Reiner said with a dark chuckle causing me to look toward him.

"He doesn’t seem so gullible to me. He seems rather cautious, I wouldn't be surprised if he suspects something is up, but you know him better than I do." I remarked to which Reiner scoffed in annoyance at my response.

"Who cares, we got this far. Now all we need to do is wait for our last member," He sneered.

I assumed this was the final member Theitus spoke of.

"Hmm? And where are they?” I asked, to which Reiner clicked his tongue and walked off.

"Tch, who knows. They’ll be coming, in the meantime we have other stuff to sort out." He remarked as we left the building.

The streets of Sura were busy, but Reiner still led us through the chaos with ease, or perhaps it was just the unsightly look of the both of us that made people move out of the way.

“Oi, buy us a room at an inn. We need a place to stay and a minute away from all these irritating people." Reiner sneered while he glanced around the busy streets with a dark gaze of annoyance.

"Haven’t you lived here awhile? Shouldn’t you have a place by now?" I asked to which Reiner clicked his tongue.

"Heh, I hate staying in one place for too long, at least with this guild I can keep myself moving around. So, no I don't," Reiner said leading us to the entrance of a large inn.

The moment he opened the door he was greeted with a rather large and comfortable lobby. A few patrons could be seen chatting away on the tables with drinks in hand.

Regardless, Reiner still approached the front counter where the innkeeper waited.

“Oi, one room for as long as I need it," Reiner sneered showing the man his guild badge of platinum plating, which was much different than mine.

“Very well, you’ll pay monthly, and any damages will be charged to your account. First month’s payment will be upfront,” he said before Reiner looked over to me, waiting for me to pay.

"… you really that poor?" I mused handing the man a stack of coins, provided by Reg, enough to cover our first month and the living necessities until I adjusted to Vectus.

Reiner couldn't help but let out a scoff, as the innkeeper passed us the key to our room. "Tch. I’m not poor, But I’m not doing everything," he said while turning away with our key.

I only gave a sigh as we walked up the stairs to the second floor where our room was waiting. "Well whatever, that’s what the coin was for," I said following after him.

"Heh, that it is," he added stopping at the door of our room and opening it to reveal a basic but clean room, that consisted of a single bedroom, bath, and kitchen where a living area was split by a short wall.

Regardless, after entering Reiner threw himself onto the couch and kicked his feet up onto the table. “Those Red Manes will have our other members papers ready when they arrive, all we gotta do is wait around,” Reiner said as he relaxed onto the couch.

"Fine with me, so tell me, you know quite a bit about the guild and Red Manes, what’s your connection?" I asked to which Reiner simply gave a scoff and a small chuckle.

"Heh, if you’re wondering if I have some loyalty to anyone, then no. I have no attachment to anyone, I look out for myself first. So, if you want to know why I'm here to begin with, I just found you interesting,” Reiner said as I sat on the couch opposite of him and leaned my back against it.

I supposed his reasoning was acceptable. Regardless I still relaxed onto the couch with a breath and a moment to myself.

However, Reiner wasn’t all too happy about it as he clicked his tongue and stared at me with an annoyed expression.

"Oi, don’t go ignoring me and why the hell does that face of yours never change!?” He sneered with a loud growl before I looked his way.

"… huh? Why do you care, or was I supposed to comment on your interest in me? Honestly, it’s getting old." I said to which he let out a snort.

"Tch, whatever. Just know back there in the forest, I could have won if I wanted to." He sneered which was an obvious lie.

“…That was your only reason to agree to help me out, right? To try and beat me. That and to figure out how strong I really am. Well let me tell you, your efforts are going to be wasted," I remarked with a sigh to which he clicked his tongue once again.

"Whatever, but I know for sure we're not done our fight. Not even close," Reiner sneered like he couldn't stand the thought of being defeated, which was honestly rather amusing to me, considering I had no intention of fighting him again.

"Is that so? Well, I can wait," I said flatly before I could feel an aura growing closer to the room we occupied.

One that felt familiar to another part of me. I couldn’t explain exactly what it was, but it seemed to tug on my senses in some way, regardless Reiner seemed to notice as well as his dark gaze narrowed.

"Tch, finally," He growled before the presence outside the door to our room kicked the doorknob off its hinges causing a loud thud and even louder grumbling to follow.

“Why didn’t anyone wait for, Lilith,” A feminine voice scoffed as they made their way into the room with a single glance at our new location, as if she could barely contain her annoyance.

Although this girl didn’t exactly look like she was capable of kicking in a doorknob, rather, she was short with long black hair that fell in front of her face, while ringed amber eyes looked around. The girl’s clothes were another story if I could call the long sleeved shirt that hung loosely over her skin acceptable but that was the only piece of clothing she had on aside from her untied boots.

I certainly did not expect this, and I didn’t forget about the door being kicked in, after all damages were to be deducted from my funds.

“… Another one…” I remarked to myself seeing for myself both of my companions were going to be quite interesting.

For a moment I wondered if I was experiencing a headache from today’s events or something of the like.