"Give this a try. Let know if this is to your taste."
The Guild Master’s voice echoed across the otherwise quiet room. Presented before us were several fancy dishes that I had seen for the first ti in my life. The dishes all looked exquisite, with the only critique being the portion size.
’Is this how I eat it?’
I used the chopsticks to pick up the dish. It looked like so sort of fancy sushi.
Putting it in my mouth, the taste exploded on my tongue.
It was neither too sour nor too sweet. Just the right balance between the two.
"How is it? It’s good, isn’t it?"
"Ah, yes."
Yeah, it was pretty good.
Unfortunately, it really was too small as I finished it in no ti. The server ca in a mont after, taking the dish away from as he closed the wooden door of the small room that we were in.
I put the chopsticks down, looking around .
There was a strong scent of wood in the air, mixed with so lavender. The lights above cast a warm light across the tatami floor as I adjusted my seating over the small cushion beneath .
"I’m glad that you find this to your pleasure."
Dabbing his lips with a small towel, the Guild Master put his chopsticks down.
He smiled as he looked at .
"I can tell that you’re hungry. Don’t worry. There will be more als coming soon."
Sure enough, the doors slid open and several servers ca in, providing us with even more food.
I felt a lot better then.
However, even though the food looked great, I couldn’t bring myself to eat more.
Not when the Guild Master was looking at .
In fact, I had been rather curious to know what exactly the Guild Master wanted from . It was a few days after the Congress, and things had yet to die down. Yet, he chose to directly call downstairs where a car waited for , bringing to this weird place.
Was he here to congratulate as well?
"I’ve received a lot of offers."
His words, however, were not exactly what I expected as I paused.
"There’s quite a lot of them. All of them are tempting. At the mont there’s a fierce bidding war between you and the top Guilds."
"...Oh."
To be honest, I expected this.
There was no way I wouldn’t know about it.
I didn’t have a manager, but I still had access to the news. Even if I didn’t want to know, unless I was living like a caveman, I was going to find out.
"You don’t look surprised."
"...Well, I kind of expected it."
"Haha, of course. You were quite impressive."
The Guild Master looked to be in an especially good mood today.
For a mont, watching his relaxed expression, I felt like relaxing myself. I felt like letting down my guard to eat the food that was before .
But I knew.
...I knew that the Guild Master was no simple man.
"The reason why I called you here is to talk about the offers. Since I’m the Guild Master of the Guild, I’m obliged to tell you about them. They’re all quite good. Have a look."
Reaching down the small wooden table, he brought out several papers and slide them across the table. At the sa ti, he picked up his chopsticks and began eating again, looking completely unconcerned as I looked at the docunts.
’Holy shit.’
The mont I caught a glimpse of the papers, I drew a deep breath.
The amount of zeros that I saw written on the paper were enough to make my head spin. Was this real...? I had to blink several tis to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, but it really was the case.
’Holy shit!’
I swore again inside my mind.
For just the briefest of monts, my heart skipped a beat.
Temptation crawled up the back of my mind.
And for just a mont, I started to consider the offer. I looked between each of them to see which one would benefit the most.
But then—
"Find anything interesting?"
The Guild Master’s words snapped back to reality, as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over , calming whatever fire had started to build up within .
"If you find anything interesting, please let know."
He casually brought the food to his lips and ate.
"....."
That was the mont I put the papers down.
"Are you planning on increasing my pay?"
The Guild Master smiled. Swallowing his food, he placed the chopsticks down and laughed.
"Of course. Have a look."
He passed several new papers on the table and slid them over.
I gave them a quick skim before closing my eyes.
’As expected, he was ready for this from the start.’
"This is an offer from the Guild. We’d like to extent your contract. While the terms might not be as great as that of the other Guilds, they’re still quite generous. I hope that you can take us into consideration."
"I see."
I smiled.
Because that was all I could do.
"Here."
The Guild Master slid a pen over.
"You can sign the paper with this."
"....."
I looked at the pen in silence before eventually picking it up.
In the end, I signed it.
I had no choice but to. From the mont I had revealed my secret to him, there was simply no way for to leave the Guild. He knew that as well and made sure to remind . This was the entire purpose of this dinner.
This was the Guild Master’s way of telling that he still held a leash on .
Honestly, it felt like shit.
I felt like shit.
Nevertheless, I didn’t regret my decision from back then. I had no choice but to do it, and it was also because of that decision that I was still alive.
’Yeah, it was a good decision.’
"Wonderful decision."
The Guild Master smiled, reaching forward to grab the papers. He gave them a quick skim before nodding.
"Don’t worry about the terms, they’re good. None of them are unfair."
I know.
It was for this reason that I signed without thinking too much.
Because I knew that so long s I held his best interests, he wouldn’t treat bad.
This was what kind of person the Guild Master was.
"Great."
Putting the papers away, the Guild Master looked back at , extending his hand.
"I wish for our happy cooperation."
"....."
I stared at his hand in silence before eventually reaching out for it and shaking it back.
"Happy cooperation."
***
The sky was bright outside, the sun casting a warm glow over the city below. Casually donning his dark gray coat, the Guild Master of the Severed Stars Guild stepped out of the restaurant, his gaze settling on the retreating figure in the distance.
Eventually, a dark SUV arrived to pick him up as the windows rolled down.
"How did the talks go?"
"...Pretty good."
The Guild Master replied while entering the car.
Taking off his top hat, he looked at the eyes staring at him from the rear view mirror.
"He’s getting there."
Mumbling such words, the Guild Master smiled while looking at the window.
The engine rumbled and the car began moving.
"...He’s slowly getting there."
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