The room was simple, but heavy.
Fragile light streamed in from two windows on the front wall. Directly in front of them sat a wooden table, strewn with scattered papers, some folded documents, and a thick file. Behind the table was a chair, and a man sat on it.
His face bore a deep, black scar—starting from his right eye and extending to his left cheek. He appeared to be middle-aged, neither too old nor too young. His eyes bore the weariness of experience… but deep within, something terrifying lurked.
It was none other than the Guildmaster.
His fingers gently pressed the edge of the file on the table—as if he were enduring some unseen pressure.
The entire room was silent. It seemed as if even the air had stopped breathing.
After a while, a soft voice broke the silence.
Knock… Knock… Knock…
There was a knock on the room door.
"Guildmaster, are you in? May I come in?"
The Guildmaster looked towards the door without raising his head. His eyes narrowed for a moment—as if he had already guessed who was outside.
After a few moments, he said,
"Yes, come in."
There was a heaviness in his voice that could shake anyone to their core.
The door opened, and a figure entered.
Dressed in a blue robe, knee-high leather boots, loose brown hair, and calm brown eyes. She stood directly to the Guildmaster's right.
"Master," she said, "I have something to tell you."
"Speak, Emi," the Guildmaster replied.
Emi sighed softly. Her eyes lingered on the Guildmaster's face for a moment—as if trying to read his mood.
"Some people have come to visit you."
The Guildmaster's face was clearly tense. Whatever his gaze rested on seemed to tremble slightly.
His fingers tightened on the table for a moment. The reaction was so subtle that hardly anyone would notice—except Emi.
After a few moments, he nodded.
"Okay, invite them in."
Emi headed for the door. As she left, she glanced at the Guildmaster once more. She sensed this wasn't going to be an ordinary meeting.
He slowly opened the door.
"You may come in."
Moments later, three figures entered the room.
Sofia was at the forefront—with deep green eyes and light yellow hair. Ishan and Kade stood behind her.
The Guildmaster looked at them and got straight to the point.
"Speak. What do you want from me?"
His voice was stern—but there was also a strange caution lurking beneath.
Emi interrupted slightly, "Master, can't you speak to them a little more gently? And let them sit down first—"
"Yes, yes, fine," the Guildmaster interrupted.
He gestured to the table in the middle of the room and the sofas on three sides.
"You can sit here."
Sofia stepped forward and sat on the sofa. Ishan and Kade stood behind her. The Guildmaster also came and sat in front of them.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop a little more.
After a moment of silence, Sofia began to speak.
"Did you know, four days ago, some people took a mission to kill Toto Saurus?"
The Guildmaster answered without hesitation.
"Yes. And because of that, a man's life was saved."
He said this in a normal tone... but his eyes flicked to Emi for a moment—as if he wanted to make sure she wouldn't say anything.
Sofia's eyes sharpened.
"It was us."
Hearing this, the Guildmaster's fingers clenched lightly on the table again.
Just a moment.
Then he returned to normal.
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
"And because of you," Sofia continued, "we were about to lose our lives."
The Guildmaster nodded.
"I know. And I promised you gold coins in exchange for that."
He looked at Kade as he said this.
"I already told this to your companion."
Sofia's anger erupted upon hearing this.
"So you've priced our lives at just a few gold coins?"
Her voice trembled with anger.
"Is that all our lives are worth? Shouldn't you apologize to me or my team for this?"
Her anger erupted like a volcano.
Tension filled the room.
Ishan and Kade remained calm, but their eyes also reflected disagreement.
After a few moments, the Guildmaster raised his hand, breaking the silence.
"Okay... calm down first."
He took a deep breath.
"You're right. It was my mistake. I should have gotten full details from the person who assigned the task..."
He paused for a moment.
As if he had something else to say—but he stopped himself.
"...I didn't notice."
Emi's eyes remained fixed on him.
He clearly felt—the story wasn't complete.
The Guildmaster bowed slightly.
"Please forgive me. I promise this mistake won't happen again. And in return, you'll be given gold coins—according to the actual risk of this task."
"Don't misunderstand. I was giving you gold coins before—because the risk was too great. A-Rank. But I sent you C-Ranks there. That's why I'm increasing the compensation to A-Rank level. But you misunderstood."
Sofia stared at him for a moment.
As if she were trying to read his face more than his words.
Then she got up and bowed her head.
"Forgive me too. I shouldn't have spoken like that. We narrowly escaped death... and then I took what you said the wrong way. That's why I misunderstood."
She paused.
"But please be careful in the future. A mistake like that could cost someone their life."
The Guildmaster said in a serious tone, "I promise, it won't happen again."
But his words lacked the conviction they should have.
Sofia raised her head.
"Okay. Now please allow us to leave."
"Yes," the Guildmaster said. "You may go."
Sofia, Ishan, and Kade had just turned when—
There was another knock on the door.
This time the knock was heavier than before.
Emi's face suddenly hardened.
The Guildmaster's eyes narrowed slightly.
A voice came from outside:
"Guildmaster... May I come in? Now?"
The room fell silent again.
The Guildmaster stared at the door for a few seconds.
Then he spoke softly:
"Come in."
And this time... for the first time, a slight uneasiness was clearly visible on his face.
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Thank You For Reading This Chaptar.
Author: Mohammed Zaid Saifi