"Phew~" Jhin wiped the sweat from his forehead. Wrangling gumi was genuinely exhausting work — though thankfully, he had his own thods.
Through the glass, he spotted Kyaru, Pecorine, and Kokkoro clinging to one another in a trembling huddle. He gave them a casual wave. "When did you three get so close? Anyway, I'm going to shower. gumi's your problem now."
Kyaru instantly dropped her arms from around Pecorine, flushing. "L-let's get one thing straight — I was not scared. I just noticed you were shaking and thought I'd be considerate."
"We should probably go check on gumi," Pecorine said.
"You're right."
The three of them rushed outside — and found gumi passed out flat on the ground, eyes rolled back, mouth stuffed with deep-forest boar at, a wooden sign hanging around her neck that read: 'I AM THE IDIOT MAGE WHO ATTACKED MY OWN TEAMMATE.' They carried her inside without delay.
"Let tell you, Jhin is absolutely inhuman!" gumi, once she'd co around, continued eating the grilled at still cramd in her mouth while loudly venting her grievances to the other three. "Doing sothing like that — I'm a girl! How can he be so shaless and rough toward a girl? Didn't his parents ever teach him to be gentle?"
"I only have an older sister, so I'm sorry about that." Jhin had just stepped out of the shower and caught the tail end of her tirade, tossing back a reply without breaking his stride.
gumi froze mid-sentence. All the colour drained from her face, replaced by guilt and mortified panic. "Ah — I — I didn't know, I was just running my mouth, please don't take it to heart."
"I don't care about sothing that trivial." The complete nonchalance on Jhin's face only made gumi feel worse. As far as she was concerned, soone who could shrug off a comnt like that must have weathered plenty of real hardship growing up. That night she lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep — until she sat bolt upright, rembered the whole thing, and slapped herself across the face with tears in her eyes. "I'm the absolute worst."
Back in the living room, the atmosphere had grown slightly heavy. Jhin set the application forms down on the table. "Today is the day the guild officially cos into existence — stop overthinking things and get these filled out. And while you're at it, let's all put our heads together and co up with a decent na."
"M- first!" gumi blazed through signing her na at record speed, then proposed the na she clearly considered incredibly cool: "How about we call the guild 'Explosion Magic is Number One Under Heaven'?"
"Rejected. That is transparently self-serving. Go take your shower."
"B-but Explosion Magic really is incredibly cool." Shot down, gumi could only mutter under her breath as she reluctantly shuffled off toward the bathroom, casting longing glances back at the blank guild-na field on the form.
Kyaru had no particular desire to get any more entangled with the others than necessary, and no intention of becoming close friends with Jhin's group. She raised her hand. "I'm not very good at naming things, so I'll pass."
"Right, so the burden of naming falls on the three of us." Jhin tilted his head toward Kokkoro and Pecorine. "Do either of you have any ideas?"
"Master, what was the founding vision behind this guild in the first place?" Kokkoro said, folding her hands neatly. "Starting from the original intent might help us find the right na."
"That's a good point. I have a feeling Pecorine can already guess part of the answer."
Pecorine was surprised Jhin hadn't simply told them outright, and tilted her head in mild confusion. "I couldn't say for certain — but if it were , I'd want to wander the world in search of delicious food."
"Exactly right." Jhin nodded in agreent. "The founding vision of our guild is simple: travel the world with good companions, seek out rare and extraordinary foods, live at a leisurely pace — and take on the occasional quest on the side!"
"Quests are just a side thing? That feels a little unlike an adventurer's guild."
"Kyaru, you should know that dragon at is one of the legendary ingredients out there — slaying a dragon fits the adventurer's guild's ultimate purpose perfectly, wouldn't you say?" The mont food ca up, Pecorine launched into an unstoppable torrent of culinary knowledge and references, nearly drowning Kyaru in an ocean of gourt lore.
"Master, since both you and Pecorine love food so much," Kokkoro said with a thoughtful tilt of her head, "why not call the guild 'Gourt Hall'?"
The suggestion earned imdiate approval from both of them. Pecorine stepped forward and clasped Kokkoro's hands tightly, eyes sparkling. "Kokkoro — you truly have a deep understanding of the culinary arts. To co up with such a wonderful na!"
"Three votes in favour. Kyaru abstained. gumi would obviously vote against anything that didn't have 'Explosion Magic' in the title, so she counts as opposed. Motion carried — the guild shall henceforth be known as 'Gourt Hall'." Jhin swiftly wrote the na on the application form and tucked it away before gumi could sneak back and tamper with it.
By the ti gumi erged in her freshly dried clothes, the group made their way back to Landosol at a brisk pace, arriving just before night fell over the land, and presented themselves at the Adventurers' Guild.
Jhin handed the application form to the receptionist, who verified the contents, produced a stamp, and pressed it down with a firm thud. "And with that, your guild is officially registered."
"We currently have only one property left available for guild rental. mbers of Gourt Hall — would you like to take a look?"
Although Jhin had the Capsule House — a ho he could carry anywhere — it was mostly suited for use out in the wilderness, far from civilisation. Renting a place from the Adventurers' Guild for daily use wasn't a bad idea at all.
He turned to the others. "What do you all think — shall we rent it?"
"A guild still needs a proper ho base, doesn't it?"
"I'd rather not sleep outdoors every night."
"As long as I'm with Master, anywhere is fine by ."
"I just hope the living room is big enough for everyone to eat together."
"Unanimous, then. Could you please show us the property?"
"Of course. My na is Hanarin — if there's ever anything you're unsure about on your adventures, feel free to co find ." Hanarin introduced herself, exchanged a few words with her colleagues, stepped around the counter, and led Jhin's group toward the last remaining guild cottage.
The continent of Astraea was vast beyond asure, and Landosol, as the royal capital, was no small city. Hanarin walked at the front, leading the group for a good ten-odd minutes — out of the Western-style streets and into the quiet countryside, until they ca to a stop before a secluded little cottage.
From the outside, at least, it was hard to find fault with it. The triangular roof was covered in neat rows of fish-scale red tiles, and the building featured sothing resembling a castle tower — the whole effect was charming and whimsical, with enough space inside for all five of them to live comfortably without any trouble.
"Oh~ not bad at all." Kyaru had half-expected the last remaining property to be so crumbling, nobody-wants-it wreck — so the surprisingly appealing exterior caught her off guard. She stepped up to the doorway and ran a finger along the doorfra; the pad of her finger ca away coated in a thick layer of dust. "It's just been empty for a while — there's quite a bit of dust."
"Kyaru, open the door and let's see what the inside looks like."
"Got it!" Kyaru answered and pulled the door open — then imdiately clapped her hand over her nose as a heavy cascade of dust rained down from the fra.
And then she saw hell.
____
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🔥 New history: Oshi No Ko: Co-starring with Kana Arima
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