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When Kaito sliced the Lizardman's head off, he heaved a sigh of relief when out of nowhere a warp portal appeared beneath him as he fell inside and was launched out from the other side as he fell to a wooden floor.

Thud~

"Ugh... that hurt quite a bit"

Kazemi commented in a slightly pained tone as he rubs his back to ease the pain from the fall.

"You've fought a Mutated Lizardman... and you can't even handle a small fall"

An elderly woman stated as she stood beside him with a mocking grin on her face.

"Hmm? Mabel-san... wait, does that mean that I'm back?"

Kazemi asked with a slightly excited face as he looked around at his surroundings and immediately recognize the familiar furniture.

He instantly stood up and raised his arms in excitement as he exclaimed in both relief and happiness.

"Cough... was your stay at the forest for just a year that bad?"

Mabel coughed to interrupt his celebration as she questioned him with a doubtful look.

"Yes, it was horrible... not having to talk to someone for a year... and feeling the constant death looming at your neck knowing that just a slight mishap could cause my death..."

Kazemi kept rambling about his experience as he complained and released all the pent-up frustration in his heart.

When Kazemi had finally finished ranting his complaints, he had only realized that there was someone else in their home.

"Ah, I-I'm sorry about that... I didn't know we had a guest"

Kazemi stuttered in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head with a shy look while glancing at the short old man besides Mabel.

"Hahaha... it's fine, it's fine"

The old man stated as he waved his left hand around while brushing his mustache with his right hand.

Mabel smiled as she invited the two to settle down as they nodded and sat down at a table as she served them some tea and peanuts.

They snacked on some peanuts in silence as Kazemi couldn't handle it anymore and asked the old man in curiosity.

"Umm... who are you exactly, old man?"

"Me? well... I'm a friend of Mabel"

"I see, and what exactly are you doing here?"

"Sigh... It seems that I'm not allowed in here, I'm sorry"

"A-Ah, No... that's not what I meant.. It's just that.. umm... well..."

Kazemi stuttered in panic and nervousness as he saw the depressed look on the old man's face.

Bonk~

Mabel came out of the kitchen and bonk the old man's head with an annoyed look as she sat down besides him.

"Stop messing around" Mabel stated.

"Hahaha... I was just joking... I'm actually here for you" the old man stated

Kazemi tilted his head slightly with a confused look before he thought of something and immediately covered his body with his arms as he stared at him fearfully.

"Don't you dare get near me, old man... I know magic"

The old man realized what he meant as a vein popped in his head and smacked Kazemi's head with an irritated look.

"That's not what I meant you brat"

Mabel cackled as she clutched her stomach for laughing too much and glanced at the old man with a mocking look.

The old man saw the situation growing out of control as he massages his head in frustration due to the misunderstanding.

"What I meant to say was that you will be joining my guild"

"...Guild?"

Mabel saw the confusion on Kazemi's face as she stopped laughing and regained her calm expression.

"That's right, I almost forgot that I didn't teach you about guilds"

She then went on to explain how a guild is a place where mages gather and form bonds with each other as they went on adventure to another adventure while earning jewels along the way.

According to her, there are currently three different types of guilds in Ishgar.

The Legal Guild is one that has been approved and registered by the Magic Council.

A Dark Guild is one that has not been approved by the Magic Council and is treated as a criminal organization.

An Independent Guild is one that is not approved by the Magic Council, but at the same time is not considered a criminal organization.

She continued explaining how there is a variety of guilds such as merchant, mercenary, treasure hunter, and even bandit guilds.

"I think I understand the gist of how a guild is... it's pretty much a place where mages can join and form bonds as they take on missions to earn jewels, am I right?"

Kazemi asked as he stared at the two old people in front of him.

"Yes, that's pretty much it from what I've remembered... I have no idea if the magic council had added something... after all, I haven't been to the outside world for such a long time"

Mabel answered unsurely as she turned to look at the old man for confirmation and he nodded in response implying that she got it all right.

Kazemi knew that Mabel was the one who asked the old man to invite him to his guild and he knew that she meant it for his well-being as he have been training for the past 8 years all alone with Mabel.

With him joining a guild, he'll get the experience of how a mage works and perhaps make friends along the way as well as earn some jewels.

"It seems you already know why I'm doing this, Kazemi"

"Yes, it's for me to know how the outside world works and perhaps socialize with peers of the same age as me"

"Sigh~ that's right, you have been mature since the moment you knew how to talk... I'm just worried that you would neglect your childhood"

Kazemi smiled warmly when he heard what she said as he couldn't help but reminisce about his past life.

He became a demon slayer at such a young age due to the incident with a demon slaughtering his family and because of that, he had to train every second and minute of his life.

He knew that he would be neglecting his childhood but he didn't care as he was driven by hatred and even when he became a 'Tsukugo' of the Water Hashira, the number of friends he had could only be counted by his hands, that's how little he had socialized with others back then.

Kazemi greatly appreciated the worries Mabel had about him as he decided that in this life, he would make as many friends as possible.

"Then, what about you Mabel-san... will you be joining the guild with me?"

"No, I will be staying here"

"What? then who will train me?"

"I will... I'll be using the magic 'thought projection' to train you"

Mabel stated and performed a spell as another Mabel appeared besides her in different clothing.

"You can call this other version of mine... Miko"