First question I have… Why is this Guild branch located in the middle of a street full of bars?

Maybe they were built here first and the bars popped up afterwards? I guess that might be possible.

We stepped up to the guild building, which actually kind of looked pretty suspicious at first glance with the mean looking guys that looked like thugs hanging around outside.

Like this place looked more akin to some kind of gang's hideout than the Mercenary Guild.

Hmm… Actually… Now that I think about it… Us Mercenaries are technically a giant gang, aren't we? We're just more organised and much more numerous than the stereotypical gangs that you might find around.

I guess you could say that we're bureaucratic gangs? I dunno.

Our group of three walked past the other Mercs hanging around outside the guild, ignoring the catcalls that were sent our way as we walked past.

At least none of them were as forward as that stupid blonde pretty boy I guess.

The door slid open and we stepped inside, only for me to be immediately assaulted by the smell of smoke and spilled alcohol the moment I crossed the threshold.

Oh… Ok… This place also doubled as a bar… No wonder there were those guys hanging around outside and why this place was located in the middle of the bar district…

Now I have a hunch that some of those people weren't even Mercenaries but actual thugs instead…

Nah… Why would they drink at the Mercenary guild when they can go to another bar right?

Ignoring all that, we went towards the counter where I realised it was completely empty. Where the heck is the counter staff?

We stood in front of the empty counter and I even checked behind it to make sure there wasn't anyone sleeping under it or something.

There also wasn't a backdoor so I don't think it's a case of the staff being in the back office or something.

I gave the other two a look and Amber shrugged while Lea seemed to be busy searching the crowd in the bar.

We stood there for a good five minutes or so until someone holding a bottle of beer came up to us and looked us up and down.

I thought he was going to try and hit on us until he took a swig from his bottle before addressing us.

"You girls looking to become Mercs or something?"

Since Lea was the one that was signing up and it would be quite a mouthful for us to explain everything, I just nodded at him as an answer.

He then pointed at the bar, "Look for the bar owner then. He's the one in charge."

Huh? The bar owner? What, did he buy over the Guild building or something?

We decided to listen to his advice and headed over to the bar where we found one of the bartenders who had distinctly long ears like Lea does serving drinks behind the counter.

He even looked quite elegant too, which seemed out of place amongst the crowd of boisterous and rowdy Mercs that seemed to be indulging in their drinking at the moment.

I narrowed my eyes, "Is that another Alv?"

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Lea was quick to answer, "No. He is not."

"Eh? But… His ears?"

"He is not an Alv," Lea repeated.

Amber laughed, "Hahaha! He probably modded himself, Tera~ A human who went to a Gene Splice Clinic to give himself long ears like an Alv but still a human all the same."

"Not an Alv," Our Alv reiterated again.

I'm guessing she has a strong opinion against people who use Gene mods to give themselves the appearance of an Alv?

I decided that it was better not to ask and went up to the bar counter instead.

The Alv looking human noticed us and came over to flash us a smile, "New faces I see. What can I get you?"

"Looking to sign up as a Merc actually. Was told to look for you," I answered him curtly.

His eyebrow raised slightly, "A new Merc? Joining up here? Are you desperate or reckless? Or are you girls prostitutes who thought that this might be your ticket out of-- No… Sorry, no sex worker would have access to your gear unless they stole it and you look too comfortable in them for those to be stolen. You're not from around here, then?"

I nodded, "We're already Mercs, just signing up our newest member as one."

I then stepped aside to reveal Lea standing behind me.

The bartender's eyes widened slightly, "Are you an actual Alv?"

Lea looked at me and it took me a moment to realise she was waiting for my permission to speak.

Eh? You weren't doing this when we were speaking to that blonde idiot earlier so why is she asking for it now?

Nevertheless, I nodded at her to let her go ahead.

She turned back to him, "Yes, I'm a true Alv, not a modded one."

His eyes then drifted down to the collar on her neck and he let out a whistle, "I see now. But shiiiit, an Alv slave? You must be pretty loaded huh? Alright then, just give me a moment and I'll be right there. You can wait for me at the counter."

We stepped away from the bar and he pulled up his personal terminal to tap on it for a moment before putting it away.

A few moments later, a man went behind the counter and the bar owner switched places with him, the new guy immediately settling himself to making drinks while the bar owner followed us to the guild counter.

"So… A bar?" I asked as we walked.

He shrugged, "Hey, literally any Merc who comes here is already registered and if they captured any bounty targets, they'd much rather take them to claim the bounty outside of this system instead since others might try to steal their target from them if they brought them here. Or worse, have the target's friends jump them instead. Since there's nothing much to do, I just went ahead to convert most of the building into a bar instead to run a business at the side."

"Is that… Allowed?"

"Pfft, like as if a Guild associate would come all the way down here to shut me down. Maybe if they didn't want me to do something like this, they'd send someone else to be all the way out here in this godforsaken system."

So it's illegal then… Got it.

We reached the counter and he stepped behind it, tapping his fingers on the counter which seemed to start up the computer as the counter itself lit up and several screens popped up in front of him.

"Alright, let's get this done and over with. You want to register your new slave as a Merc that is part of your team, right?"

I nodded.

"Perfect. Let's see then."

A light shone from overhead to scan Lea and a window appeared in front of us showing her profile.

Interestingly, there was only her face, name and nothing else reflected on the window. But since no one reacted to it, I guess it's mainly because she wasn't a human?

"Alright, land-bound Merc?" He asked.

"No, I have a ship."

"Mmm… Name of the ship?"

"None."

"As in there's no name or is the ship literally named 'None'."

"No name."

"Oof… Some might see that as bad luck but what do I know? Anyway, any prior affiliations?"

I turned to Lea and she took a step forward.

"The Starseeders Association."

The guild staff raised an eyebrow, "What's that? Never heard of it."

"That's normal. It's an Alv thing so non-Alvs most probably wouldn't know. You don't need to put that in."

The guy made a face, "Ok, yeah… Sure."

I believe he realised by her words that she did not approve of him using Gene mods to make himself look like her kind but he chose not to comment on it.

"Alright… Let me just scan you as well…"

The light beam fell on me and my own profile appeared in front of me, causing him to whistle when he saw it.

"Gold ranked Merc? Sorry but I didn't expect that when you came to me."

"You wouldn't be the first one to say that."

"Right. Anyway, registration is all done. She's now a Copper rank level one Merc. I also placed her under you as a team member while I was at it so there's nothing you need to do on your part."

I nodded at him, "Thanks a bunch."

"Don't mention it. Anything else I could do for you?"

Amber grinned, "Yeah, you could first tell us what your house special is for a start."

He snapped his fingers, "Figured you would ask that, right this way, ladies~"

Godamnit… I guess we're really drinking here huh?

Whatever, it's not like we have anything else to do anyway. I just hope Amber doesn't drink herself to her drunken stupor again…