Chapter 203: Guild Associate

Next morning. 5:00 a.m.

Washing his face, Rewen got out of his room and walked to Michi's door.

*Knock*

"Are you up yet?" He asked.

Footsteps were heard and the door was opened revealing a young girl wearing a loose white T-Shirt and a comfortable shorts. Her face had a healthy blush befitting of someone her age. "Come in." She said with a sweet smile.

As Rewen was close to her, he noticed her hair was wet and fragrant."I could never shower this early." He said, before following her into the room and took a seat on a chair.

"It's a habit." Michi skipped over to the kitchen. 

Rewen tilted his head and saw her arranging the plates. "Did you already make breakfast? How early did you start?"

"It's a habit." Michi turned around smiling. "Let's eat."

***

An hour later.

Rewen and Michi were out in the streets. The streets were fairly crowded, although not as much as Rover City which was one of the biggest trade markets in the nation. One visible difference between both cities is the technological advancement. Besides that, Rover City had a much greater economy, living conditions, and employment rate. 

The weather was mild today and it was early morning. It was interesting to note that even in the early morning, there is a crowd. This is not a specific trait in just Jackport Town. Rewen noted that this was a sort of a "culture" in this world.

Rewen enjoyed taking a walk in the weather. Walking side by side with him was Michi who was continuously looking out for something. Why are they walking down the streets?

Short answer - Job hunting.

Even though they have enough to live off comfortably for a few months with the money they currently have and they would likely be working in the guild by the next month, is it productive to laze around doing nothing for an entire month? 

The job they were searching for is becoming a Guild Associate. Not a guild member.

The best way to describe the difference between them would be that a Guild Associate isn't an actual member of the guild and doesn't work for the Guild directly. He/she is not employed by the Guild itself but rather the people in the Guild. 

Maintaining a position in the Guild, usually high-ranking, is not an easy job to do. That's why most high-ranking members of a Guild build an unofficially subsidiary branch of the main Guild. That subsidiary Guild employs people just like the main Guild and works the exact same way as the main Guild.

People hired in that subsidiary Guild are called Guild Associates. 

Currently, because of the recent attack on Rover City by the infamous terrorist group, WestLane, thousands of people have migrated over to Jackport Town. This disrupted the natural selection process that a Guild Member Candidate has to go through making it difficult for the main guild to immediately take in Guild Members without proper checks. This is also the reason why people currently are temporarily looking for the subsidiary guilds controlled by the high-ranking Guild Members.

As they were walking, Michi suddenly stopped. "There!" 

Rewen followed her line of sight and saw a group of young people chatting among themselves.

"Are they members or associates?" He asked while walking towards them.

"They are associates." Michi immediately said. Last night, she contacted them online to see if they have some spots left to take in employees. They responded in an affirmative manner and told her to meet them today. 

Meanwhile, the group of young people also noticed two people approaching them. One of them stepped forward and stretched his hand towards Rewen. "I suppose both of you are interested in becoming associates in our branch."

Rewen shook his hand with his. "Well, that's the plan."

The guy lightly laughed, then shook his hands with Michi.

***

On a three-storey building. Second floor.

Rewen and Michi sat in front of a table on a comfortable chair. In front of them was a man wearing a business suit and a sharp sunglasses. With his dirty blonde hair perfectly trimmed back, he was pleasant to look at.

'Kinoshita Sora.' Rewen muttered the name of the man. Aside from pleasant-looking, he also found that the man was someone he was familiar with.

"T-t-the Envoy…?" Michi had seen the Envoy that came to Rover City a few weeks ago and had remembered his face. 'Could it be that he is also the high-ranking Guild Member to whom this subsidiary guild belongs?' She couldn't believe such a coincidence.

The Envoy, Kinoshita Sora, looked towards Rewen with a small smile. "I see that you have quite changed from how you used to be. It's almost, no, it's as if you are an entirely different person."

"Hope you have been in good health. Also, thank you for the quota." Although Rewen had a lot of questions, he responded accordingly.

"You're welcome. Well, I don't have much time so I'll cut to the chase. I know about the condition you are in. I also know what happened with Hase and Reza. I'm also aware of many things you yourself are not aware of. So, take this as some sort of advice from a senior. You are standing on a thin rope. Below you is the lava. One single mistake can lead to your demise. I can guarantee that."

"What?" Rewen hated the style of 'telling something while not telling anything at the same time'. "What do you mean by that? Please explain it step by step."

Kinoshita Sora got up from his chair. "That's all you need to know. Come again tomorrow." Saying that odorless smoke began to leak from his body. When the body was enveloped in smoke, the smoke immediately vanished along with the man himself.

"What!? Where did he go?" Anxious and confused, Michi proceeded to call the security.

Rewen remained seated on the chair. 'Standing on a thin rope and under me is lava? I guess wanting a rest in this world was a little too much.' 

***

Rover City's City Lord's Mansion.

The City Lord was calming down his wife who was still grieving about the death of their son. Just then, he heard a knock coming from the door.

"Sir, Madam Death Knight wants to talk to you." A servant said from the other side of the door.

"Wait here. Don't do anything crazy." The City Lord patted his wife's back a few times before leaving the room.

After a few seconds, he saw the red-haired Death Knight sitting on the sofa.

"What's the matter? Did you find them?"

"Don't jest. It's going to take some time to find them." The red-haired Death Knight nonchalantly said.

"Then why did you come here?"

"I'm sure that by now, you have heard of the recent conflict between the two terrorist groups."

The City Lord nodded. "I heard about it briefly." 

"Shouldn't you be doing something then?"

"Do what? My son just died---"

The red-haired Death Knight interrupted him. "You are a City Lord. The affairs of the city should come first to you. Anyways, forget that. Did your son participate in the competition hosted by the Exquisite Immemorial Palace?"

"No. Why?"

"No? Who participated in that case?" The red-haired Death Knight had a perplexed look on her face. According to her, there are not many talented members of the younger generations in Rover City. Together with his background, Mitsuo should have been the one to get a quota.

The City Lord's face turned grim at this question. Without any intentions of pushing the topic forward, he directly said. "Because that kid… Rewen or something got the letter from the Envoy."

The red-haired Death Knight was quiet for a long time, then opened her mouth. "Tell me about him."

***

In the inn,

Rewen sat on the balcony of Michi's room and absent-mindedly stared at the people. Some were families taking an evening walk. Some were couples holding hands on an outing. Some going to certain destinations using vehicles and others were locals talking among themselves.

"Here." A cup filled with coffee appeared in front of his eyes.

Rewen took the cup, then raised his head. 

Michi stood there smiling like an angel who descended onto the mortal world. At least that's how Rewen viewed her.

Sighing, he said. "At this point, you are just spoiling m- argh..." All of a sudden, his body went weak and he fell on the floor.

Michi panicked. "What's wrong, Rewen?" 

Rewen identified the source of his current condition. It was the same headache he occasionally experienced on Earth. Looking at the young girl shaking his shoulder, he could barely make out what she was saying. His five senses were slowly getting numb. 

'L..ten… car..f..lly… es… not… com... For… your sake… persevere…'

Just when his consciousness was about to fade away, he heard an unfamiliar voice speaking to him in an incoherent manner.

His senses slowly regained clarity. He had a single thought. 'I want to return.'