Meeting

In the Headquarters of the Adventurer's Guild in Obsidian City.

The inside of the meeting room was filled with awkward silence. As rare as it was, all the executives of the Guild were present in today's meeting. This was not a common occurrence as the Guild was not an organization united internally.

For a large organization such as the Adventurer's Guild that had branches all over the continent, it was inevitable for politics to emerge in its operation even in a branch like this. Decisions were often made with votes, resulting in factions forming among those with similar ideals to each other.

As a result, the air within the room turned tense and unpleasant. Of course, each executive had the right to forfeit their participation if they ever felt uncomfortable. With the power they possessed within the Guild, they could leave if they ever wanted to. However, with the Guild Master arranging for a summon this time, they did not dare to do so.

Everyone waited with baited breaths as they sat on their seats. The Guild Master rarely called for all of them to convene, but it was usually a serious thing that was the cause whenever it happened.

"Say, what do you think will it be this time?" Brig asked amidst the awkwardness. His appearance was that of a plump man that liked to eat. However, beneath that fat were undoubtedly rock hard muscles. Despite his looks, he was brimming with energy, waiting to burst out of his body.

He was not well-liked within the circles of the executes for his dislike of politics and frankness, but none of them argued with him upon hearing his question. It was quite true that what he said aloud was what they were all thinking about.

Some of them started to get impatient, fidgeting all over their seats. Who would it be this time? They wondered. The last time a meeting was called, an executive was taken out after all. It was only natural for them to feel uneasy. However, they did not have to wait long. Soon after, the creaking of the door echoed, and what followed that was the entrance of a plain looking middle-aged man.

Speaking of appearance, it could be said that he was normal looking. Absurdly normal if one had to describe it with his only distinguishing feature the white hair around his temples. However, none of the executives dared to underestimate or mock this person for looking like this.

That was because despite his looks, the deep and ocean-like aura he unconsciously manifested was so overwhelming that some of the executives started sweating in bullets. Upon the arrival of this normal looking middle-aged man, everyone stood stiffly all together.

"Greetings, Guild Master!"

Even after being showered with fear and reverence, the man's gait and steps remained steady. He waved his hands as he sat on his seat and said, "You're allowed to sit."

A stifling silence followed soon after. The Guild Master did not speak for a while even after arriving. The others in the room did not dare speak up and break the silence. While they were not united internally, that did not apply when the Guild Master was in the equation. They dared fight amongst themselves but not against this man. They could only wait as they looked at him.

"Have you all heard of the rumors going around for the past few days?" The Guild Master asked, his voice was as low as it could get.

It was then that everyone realized what this was about. It had already been days ever since numerous low-ranking adventurers came back to the Guild all bloodied and wounded. Sure, things like that happen from time to time. Injuries could not be avoided as an Adventurer after all. But with so many coming back looking all messed up like that in such a short period of time, rumors were bound to spread around.

'It's about the demons...'

According to the adventurers that came back, the beasts within the forest at the southern area outside the city had been contaminated. It was not often that the contamination phenomena occurs, but people would surely know when it was happening. After all, the infamy that the Demon race had garnered in this continent was just that massive.

Of course, measures were put in place in an attempt to hide the cause of the incident, but it was impossible for all of them to be silenced. Rumors had already spread before they could attempt to fix the blunder.

"Who was it that allowed for the Baron-class and Viscount-class cultivators to participate?" Asked the Guild Master once more.

Hearing this, everyone's gazes turned towards one person. This person was quite lanky and had a short stature. His eyes were fixed in a perpetual half-closed state, as if he was always sleepy. This person was the Vice Guild Master, Gene.

The executives did not know what to say about that question. If they said that it was the Vice Guild Master, they would be offending the second highest seat in this branch's headquarters. If they refused to answer however, they would be offending the one sitting in the highest position. Whatever they do in this situation would land them in a land mine for sure. They could only remain silent.

Brig sneered when he saw this. This was one of the reasons why he hated playing around with politics and stuff related to that. In this place, he was the only one who had the capability to speak his thoughts frankly.

"Guild Master, it's the Vice Guild Master that did it." Brig answered amidst the silence. "I was also quite puzzled about this, but I'm just a lowly executive and can't question the higher-ups."

Gene glared at Brig for a moment. The two had honestly never gone along together. Gene liked to use his position to push forward his agenda while Brig dislike doing so. It was not the first time for them to clash in meetings like this.

"Yes, it was me who did it, Guild Master." Gene admitted.

The Guild Master scanned him with his eyes for minutes without speaking, as if thinking about something deeply. If Gene had to say it, he could only admit that it was unnerving to be stared at by this middle-aged man for so long. However, with an excuse prepared in his mind, he straightened his back. He could not appear weak at this point, or he would be suspected with having ulterior motives.

The Guild Master finally relented and took his gaze away and demanded, "Give me a reason. A proper one. If I deem it not acceptable, you know what is coming. I'm pretty sure you all know that something weird is going on in the Kingdom after hearing all sorts of different eerie rumors for the past few weeks. Sending low-ranking adventurers in the forest after sensing something amiss was a mistake I did not expect from you all."

With the Adventurer's Guild spread all over the place, It was not difficult to gather information. Using ignorance as an excuse would not land this Vice Guild Master in a good place, they all thought.

With a gulp, Gene answered, "Didn't Guild Master say a few months ago in a meeting that the number of High-ranking adventurers in our area had been dwindling for the past few years?"

"That's right."

"I planned on using this incident to temper our lower ranking members and hope for the ones who made it out to ascend a level higher from their respective realms, or maybe use this instance as a reference for their future. Only by giving them hardships could they be considered experts after all."

"And what about the suspiciously high reward then?"

"Of course, it was necessary. The Baron-class and Viscount-class cultivators would not take a simple investigation job if the reward was too low after all. I needed to raise the rewards to entice them in participating, or else, all of this would have been for naught. But I must also admit that I did mess up in this matter and did not consider for demons to be involved in this matter. I will accept whatever punishment the Guild Master has for me."

Hearing his explanation, even Brig could only nod. He could not deny that his reason did make sense even if he did not like him that much. Although he felt that something about this was amiss, there was nothing suspicious about the Vice Guild Masters intentions. The other executives also thought so and could not find anything shady in it. It was true after all that their branch had been struggling about the numbers of their High-ranking adventurers in their area.

This mistake could only be attributed by Gene being muddled by the benefits and not considering the happenings in the Kingdom.

If all of this was not true or if done with ulterior motives however, then everyone could only sigh in admiration. It was a smart move for the Gene to say it like this. Not only did he cover his intentions with concern over the well-being of the Guild, he also took initiative in taking the blame for the mistake to make others feel his sincerity.

Whether it was true or false, the Guild Master could not punish him more strictly after having the others hear this. Or else, the Guild Master might be accused of punishing unjustly and taking out his frustrations on a member that only thought of the Guild. This would in turn put a blemish on his prestige.

The Guild Master could only sigh. Although he was suspicious, nothing could be done at the moment.

"Alright. You will be given your punishment at a later date. As for the rest, you can dismiss yourselves."

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief inwardly hearing this. It was finally over. No one would want to stay after that stifling feeling covering all over them the whole time.

Brig could also only shake his head in disappointment. He had been looking forward to what Gene would get for messing this matter up. But the Guild Master did not seem keen on giving him a heavy punishment for this.

And thus, everyone left the room without any delay.

--

Arun sat in his chair and leaned his body in its soft cushioning, giving him respite from the tiredness that he constantly felt from shouldering the responsibility of his position. He looked at the ceiling and reminisced.

It had already been more than two decades ever since he accepted the Guild Master's seat from his predecessor. From then on, he was able to lead this branch into becoming more prosperous. However, time was cruel. Prosperity would not last forever. While their foundations still remained solid, the number of their experts had been dwindling for the past couple of years with most leaving for the other branches.

The inside of the Guild was also fraught with internal conflict and possibly even corruption. It was not that he did not want to deal with it though, but it was because he could not. He still had something to do outside the guild matters after all. However, whatever that matter was, it was only something he knew of.

"Hah... I'm getting old..." He sighed.

"Tsk. What are you saying, uncle?" A gentle laughter echoed in the room.

Arun turned around and found a beautiful lady of gentle demeanor standing on the door way.

"Lienna, you're here. Where were you anyway? You did not even greet this old man when he came back to the guild earlier this morning."

"I apologize. I was busy."

"You don't have to lie to me. You were just bothering Rosalyn again weren't you?"

Lienna chuckled mischeviously, "Oh, my! I got found out."

"See? You can't fool me," Arun guffawed. The executives would have assumed that the world itself was collapsing if they ever saw their perpetually cold and terrifying Guild Master laughing so boisterously. It was fortunate that they were not here to witness this. "And so, what is it that you came here for?"

"You might already know of this since you had summoned the executives, but I feel the need to still remind you."

"Of what?"

"There's something suspicious about this 'Demon incident', uncle. You should be careful."

Arun went silent after hearing this. He put his hands on his chin as he pondered.

"So you also think something is suspicious about this, don't you? If even you think that something is up, then it must be true. To be frank, I also thought that something was amiss during the meeting earlier this morning."

"What is it?"

"The Vice Guild Master was acting suspicious. Although he would outwardly display a good, law-abiding persona, he is not the type to go out of his way for the guild. In fact, I know of the deeds he had done to solidify his position in the Guild with the surveillance of my spies. He is clearly someone who valued his reputation. But this time, he risked receiving punishment for the 'well-being' of the Guild. Don't you find that funny? He might fool others, but how can he deceive me?"

Lienna felt relieved inwardly after hearing this.

It seemed that she did not need to remind her uncle of this matter. He was after all a Guild Master for many years already. How could he not have a grasp over the politics and the subtleties happening inside the Guild.

"Then, I don't need to worry about you anymore, uncle," Lienna said.

"Of course, who do you think this old man is. You're still a few years away to be worrying about me."

Both of them chuckled as they jested with one another.

"I'll be going then. See you later, uncle."

The room was once again silent with Lienna's departure. The aura of a Guild Master was once more present within Arun's visage.

"Hidden guards." He called.

Moments later, people dressed in entirely in black from head to toe appeared. Oppressive aura came out of their bodies as they kneeled collectively.

"We are at your orders, Master!"

Arun looked on and admired such display for a while before letting out a command, "Watch Vice Guild Master Gene for me for a while. Let me know if you find something suspicious."

"Yes!"

The black clothed group answered all together before disappearing from the room.