For the next few months, I ruled my own corner of the world.

The Bounty Hall had been the most powerful force in the realm of Gold. That didn't change after we took over. I had been worried, even doubtful, that I'd have the sway to steer the entire organization. Truth be told, I probably didn't. I had Sylvie the Knight of Anomalies to thank. If it hadn't been for her interference, I could be facing assassins, coups, political rivals…all those sorts of unsavory things.

Well, I still did face one political rival. And that was Reens.

She had wanted to disband the Bounty Hall. That didn't change.

"How else do you justify everything we've done?!" Reens questioned Mr. Atlas and me one evening. It had been two weeks since we ousted the previous three leaders.

We were sharing a meal together in our private dining room, deep under the Bounty Hall tower.

I looked to Mr. Atlas and pursed my lips. He simply ate, in silence. I then looked back to Reens, who had grown indignant, even teary.

"I was willing to cross every line for this," she said, while fighting for control of her voice between frustrated gasps. "We've spilled blood. Sophia, please, you need to do the right thing."

To her, the only right thing was to get rid of this accursed organization altogether. And a few weeks ago, I would've agreed. I had hated the Bounty Hall with all my being.

"We're responsible for these people now," I sighed. My stomach knotted. I had no appetite left for the lamb chops and mashed potatoes on my plate. Nowadays our fare was rich; as leaders of the Bounty Hall we had no need to scavenge for food. Buffets would be arranged for us, if ever we asked. I think it helped me a lot, at least. Three nice, hot meals a day supplied a portion of the comfort of life back at home.

"At least for now," I continued, "we'll need time for everyone to get used to peace. When I leave, you and Mr. Atlas can do what you want."

While I was around in Gold, Mr Atlas would side with me, and Reens knew we outnumbered her. We were sympathetic to her cause, of course, and even supportive of it where we could align. We had restricted bounty rewards to just five per month, for the entire guild. We no longer took up new bounty request applications, and instead worked through our backlog, prioritizing the hunt of "justified" targets like murderers or traitors. We no longer accepted new members into our guild. But Reens wanted more than a half-measure. She wanted the entire bloodstained organization purged, completely and permanently. As soon as possible. During her short tenure in the guild, the mere idea of killing for money had grown abhorrent to her.

But we couldn't disband the guild now. Dozens of members – seasoned killers, many of them – would suddenly roam the streets, looking for safety and stability. Who knew what they'd do when driven by desperation? Who knew what would happen to us three?

And we still needed to run our prison. The Bounty Hall's cells contained criminals deemed too dangerous even by its own members. I despised the idea of letting them all go, or leaving them all to starve.

For one, Jack was now among the inmates. When it came to him, my judgment would just blank out, overtaken by an unparseable storm of emotions. Mr. Atlas assured me that keeping Jack in prison, for the time being, was the right call.

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I snapped back to reality. Reens and Mr. Atlas were both looking at me.

"I never doubted you mean well," I told Reens. "We'll figure something out. Something that works. I promise."

"Lore used to say things like that," Reens mumbled.

I stood out of my seat and headed for the door. "Don't compare me to him."

"Sorry," Reens said.

"It's whatever. Let's talk later."

As I exited, I met our maid outside the door.

"Please save my food," I asked her. "I'll finish it later."

She gave me a shallow bow. I left the floor, and climbed several flights of stairs to reach the dormitories. There, I found Tanin's door and knocked.

He opened a crack, and when he saw me, he opened wider.

"Mind if I visit?" I asked.

"My honor," he said as he made way for me to enter. "Something's on your mind?"

His room was windowless and modest, yet tidy. I found myself a spot on a bench opposite his bed.

"So you're pretty smart," I said.

He locked the door behind us. "That's a respectable opinion."

"If your goal was to optimize for the welfare of everyone in Gold, what would you do with the Bounty Hall?" I asked.

"Take a democratic vote?" He shrugged. "Let the bounty hunters decide the guild's future."

"Even if they want to keep killing?"

"There's no saving people here," Tanin said. "I'm sure you've heard of the reality of things. Every year, only 52 players will make it back to Earth. That is the absolute rule of this game."

I slouched down and waited for him to continue.

"You can't save anyone, Sophia. Everyone who doesn't make it back, will die. If not in Gold, then in Platinum."

"So there's no point in anything?" I asked.

"There's point in letting people live freely," he replied. "If bounty hunters want to cull the ranks, what good is there in stopping them?"

I tapped my finger on the wood of the bench.

"That wasn't the answer you wanted to hear," Tanin guessed.

"It really wasn't."

"What does Atlas think?"

"Atlas goes with whatever I decide," I complained. "He's too supportive, if that makes sense."

"I can tell. You really seem like the last thing he cares about."

"That's not good. I won't be staying long."

"He'll be fine with Reens," Tanin said. "That's what I think. You're sort of like his surrogate daughter, if you don't mind me saying. If he can surrogate a daughter once, he can do it again."

I smiled numbly. "Surrogate niece, more like."

"Is that it?" Tanin asked. "Well then."

I rose up and headed for the door.

"Oh, and before you leave," Tanin asked. "Did you get a reward for beating the previous guild leaders? Any sort of loot?"

"Yeah," I said.

"What is it?"

"Confidential, until I arrive in Platinum."

Tanin snickered. "Secret ace in the hole, I see. I'd do the same."

I left Tanin in his room. I continued to ascend the stairs until I reached the ground floor. The muddled light that seeped through the fog stung my eyes, for a split second. I headed out the tower and circled around to the small garden we had in the back. There, the guild had planted flowers of red and purple and white. I made my way over to one corner, where they kept a small cemetery.

"What do you think?" I asked. "What would you want me to do?"

I squatted down before a tombstone, one I had erected for Saber. Yesterday's flowers were still there, alongside her metal circlet.

Those last few weeks in Gold fled past, hectic and often confusing. It was a time of relative comfort, mixed with uncertainty and frustration. In that strange tapestry of days, there were moments of happiness, with Atlas. And even with Reens. Despite our differences, we liked each other well enough.

But the time soon came for me to leave everything behind. Before I knew it, my last Challenge in Gold had arrived.