Late morning at the Guild Union's main headquarters in Forgedalk was a bustle of activity. The middle district was alive once again as the riotous aftermath of the Lamfell dungeon abated to a quiet simmering. Native and outworld adventurers crowded the quest boards and held last-minute strategy meetings at the standing tables before setting out. The receptionists on the front lines were working at full capacity.

One receptionist in particular stared at a recently received quest that was pending approval. She held the document just high enough to hide her mouth as it twisted with disapproval. A complacent archer, who stood in front of the desk, gave her a sly grin that was accentuated as she folded her arms over her chest.

Kaede's unsteady grip on the quest document caused it to fold in a number of places. She stared behind Anya to make sure nobody was within earshot, but the cacophony in the main hall made nearly everything unintelligible.

Anya raised an eyebrow and feigned a look of concern. “Geez, don't rip it. That's a high-paying quest.”

Evan, you sneaky bastard, Kaede thought as she continued to crumple the paper. She had to admit, using Anya as the messenger put him in a more favorable position, especially considering the archer's new guild status. Anyone with the rank of lieutenant had the authority to deal with certain guild affairs in place of the guild leader.

Kaede hadn't expected Evan to go this far, but it did make sense for Anya and Derek to leave Forward Earth and join his guild instead. In all honesty, losing two members wasn't terribly devastating for such a massive guild, but it was more about the principle. He was more bold and conniving than she expected. She could imagine Evan stifling his laughter with that stupid scarf he always wore as he continued to break established conventions.

But that wasn't what concerned her. Evan had decided to take another job hunting monsters along the way to La'abrine. Granted, it was a safe gathering quest with weak fodder monsters and no timetable, which meant it wasn't likely susceptible to the tampering of other hostile parties; but the scout seemed determined to run himself into the ground with work. A part of her admired it. After all, she prided herself on a similar work ethic, but adventuring was an entirely different beast of physical and mental exertion.

Kaede forced a smile that quivered up and down on one side. She noticed her respectful junior associate, Cynthia, stealing a glance at her. The young receptionist quickly hid her face behind a stack of files – the quill in her hand practically slicing into the paper as she carried out her work.

Anya spoke again in a mockingly professional tone, “The provider for our main quest has a personal wagon in reserve for us. I was hoping the arrangements might be finished in the next few hours.”

“Yes, I already know,” Kaede said. Her voice strained when she saw Anya pull a long document from her waist pouch. Another clever move on Evan's part. She couldn't imagine him having the audacity to make further demands in person.

Her eyes shifted to the side and observed an older man wearing a fine suit with remarkable buttons adorning the sleeves. On close inspection, one might notice that each of the six buttons depicted the engravings outside the Guild Union building. His thick, graying hair was combed back and his handlebar mustache trimmed to perfection. The man's barrel-like chest made it appear as if he was still in the prime of his adventuring days.

He stood at the base of one of the staircases, scanning the room with careful intensity. His eyes met Kaede, and he gave her a friendly wave that set her back to work.

Of course, one of the Founders is here, she thought.

There were three Founders of the Guild Union. They supervised everything mostly behind the scenes and ensured that adventurers received the appropriate quests and adequate compensation. The Founder present at the moment, Donovan Allard, was the most agreeable when distributing quests, but he was entirely no-nonsense about withholding them. Adventurers needed a minimum of broken bones and severe mental trauma to not get the jobs they wanted.

Kaede turned back to Anya and let out a heavy sigh. “Please, just, look out for Evan. He's going to get himself killed one of these days if he keeps this up.”

Anya casually rested her arm on the reception desk. “Aw, you worried about him?” She gave her an encouraging wink. “Well, don't be. He doesn't just have Kirie and Asa to keep him in line now.”

Kaede wasn't convinced, but she mostly ignored the offhand comment and read some of the list: cushions for the wagon so they wouldn't have sore butts after the long trip, a specialized pot and container for brewing tea, a few books on Tevilandis history and monster hunting along the coastal lands and some other provisions. She could pretty much guess which requests belonged to Evan. She understood the scout well enough, and he had probably already gathered some necessities on his own.

You damn fool. Kaede always looked out for the well-being of all adventurers, but their meeting the night before certainly didn't make her optimistic. She tried to convince herself for the second time that the extra quest wasn't much of a concern. Whoever, or whatever, was causing the quest discrepancies wouldn't suspect GRIM to have new members. Taking care of some extra complications probably wouldn't be much of an issue with Anya and Derek tagging along.

Evan somehow managed a strange balance of calculated risk and thorough planning. Dangerous, yet meticulous.

Whenever she saw Evan walk down the red carpet seeking another job, something about his presence lifted a bad mood or made a good one all the better. He always had a way to spark her curiosity. It wasn't his secretive nature, hard-working mentality or appearance that really drew her (after all, he wore his strange garb with the scarf most of the time), but the positive feeling remained the same. She'd hate to lose that impression if he got himself killed for some ludicrous reason.

“Oh, yeah,” Anya said. “Evan also wants Kirie and Asa's gear picked up.” She stopped herself for a moment, and then waved off her previous comment. “Y'know what, forget that. We'll pick it up. Kirie knows the order.”

Kaede felt her face heat up when Anya unwittingly gave her her answer.

Evan usually took on quests that involved benefiting others more directly than most other jobs. He was a bit reserved at times with his interactions, but his work always took into account the grievances of people and made the areas around villages and roads safer. She failed to recall any high-paying hunting quests placed in front of her that were focused more on glory and Reputation. That being said, many bounty hunting and dungeon quests still served to make the world safer, but they were more fixated on personal achievement and notoriety. The particular quest in front of her also had no Reputation reward since it wasn't officially ranked by the Guild Union.

Is it to keep away attention? Kaede wondered. Did you really plan that far ahead, Evan?

And the way he looked out for his party and how he viewed his guild was something she admired. He didn't oversee the guild in a business sense. On more than one occasion, he mentioned it as his 'home' rather than 'guild.' He treated Kirie and Asa more like family than guild members. She remembered their previous talk when he was dealing with his inner turmoil after the Siren Incident.

It would be nice if he didn't wear that stupid scarf all the time, she thought. But it was a classic example of appearances being minute compared to a person's other qualities. It was difficult to get a read on such an aberrant person. After all...

“Hey!”

Kaede jerked awake and stared at a shocked Anya.

The archer was looking her over carefully and frowned with genuine concern. “Sorry, did my jokes go too far?”

Kaede shook her head and collected herself from her tangent thoughts. “No, don't worry about it. Mental notes. Yes, I'm just making mental notes.”

Anya's frown deepened. “Um, okay?”

Kaede retrieved her quill and added an item to Evan's list that she thought might help on his main quest. If the quest provider, Bevka, was paying for it then she didn't see any reason to withhold what might be beneficial. La'abrine would be receiving increased demand for adventuring with the southern movement of Tevilandis's citizens. A bit of information in advance on the port city's inner workings and hierarchy might go a long way. She also knew a few people at the La'abrine branch and would put a good word in for Evan.

“We'll have it ready in three hours,” Kaede said when she finished. She leaned over the desk to Anya and beckoned her to move closer. She whispered, “And you tell Evan that he owes me for this. Going against my advice and giving me such a big list without any warning is rude and unethical.”

Anya's grin returned. She rested a hand under her chin thoughtfully. “What do you have in mind?”

“I haven't gone shopping for myself in a while. I could use a pack mule to carry my stuff.”

Anya laughed. “Silly Kaede. You need to take it a step further than that. I can give you some ideas.”

Kaede handed the list to Cynthia. The young receptionist gave her a swift salute and went off to deliver it to a messenger. There was a notable skip in her step as she departed.

“Alright, I guess you have some time,” Kaede said. “I'm listening.”

---

Alphonse removed his scarf as he felt another sneeze building up. It was becoming routine over the past few hours. He thought that he might be coming down with an illness due to the lack of sleep, but he didn't feel any chills or other signs of being under the weather.

The sneezes hit him three times in quick succession. Something definitely felt off, like a weird sense of foreboding that characters in stories were usually susceptible to.

He remembered hearing an old superstition about it. One sneeze meant that someone was talking about the person. Two meant bad things were being discussed. Three indicated love. And four prophesied some sort of calamity for the unfortunate sneezer.

Ugh, so someone is talking about me. He chuckled at the absurdity. It also meant that someone was in love with him if the myth proved true. Unfortunately, the latest fit of sneezes didn't seem likely in his opinion. Love required more interaction with others, and he felt that his involvement was far too focused on quests to afford room for such things like romance.

Though I certainly wouldn't be against the idea, he thought.

His mind drifted to the unfamiliar concept. There were no real opportunities presented to him back on Earth. The last few years were mostly spent preparing for the entry to Hovestile. The facility on Earth for the project had arranged them in small, confined groups for basic combat training and classes involving the typical functions of a game-type world. They had never figured out exactly how some of the System in Hovestile functioned, so they were left with the basics. Any spare time was spent refining his skill with a bow, essential swordplay and learning other obscure mechanics in virtual worlds from his more experienced peers who were mostly individuals who came from parts of countries that still maintained an economy where playing video games was a luxury.

Before that, he'd spent most of his time with his father in the mountains – to remove themselves from a collapsing society. And even further back, he had been too young to really understand honest romance.

Any other interactions simply didn't occur to him. A mix of nature and nurture had a way of molding a person in unique ways. This didn't mean it was entirely foreign to him though.

But it's mostly pointless for me right now, he finally concluded.

Alphonse replaced the scarf over his face and searched for anything that might shift his mindset. Unfortunately, the only thing that managed to grab his attention was the central district of Forgedalk. From his vantage on the hill outside the layered city, he could see some of the people milling about at the main plaza near the magnificent Guild Union building. He remembered that Emily and Liam once mentioned that this was their best opportunity for training. He hoped the siblings still stuck with it.

He turned his attention to the eastern district and wondered if he was able to locate where Ash's tea shop resided in the cluster of buildings. It would be a while before he could taste Kureha's tea again. They had bought a few boxes of tea bags, but it just wouldn't be the same without Kureha's knowledge and passion for proper tea brewing. Perhaps the tea shop might turn into a permanent meeting place for his guild when they returned. Ash did say he was welcome any time.

He raised his arm and sneezed again. He spit on the ground after the fourth one and shook his head violently. “Agh, shit,” he groaned. “So, someone is talking about me, is in love with me and will bring calamity. What a combination.”

Or it could be allergies, he thought. Please let it be allergies.

“Who's in love with you?”

Alphonse didn't turn around to let his companion see his discomfort. It seemed she had finished whatever magic exercises she was working on. “It's nothing,” he answered.

The catgirl stepped around him with her staff held behind her. She leaned forward and looked up at him with a mischievous grin. Alphonse would've expected the expression to fit Kirie more, but Asa pulled it off expertly.

“Who is it?” she asked.

Alphonse sighed. He figured Kirie would be more inclined to pepper him with questions if they were stuck alone together. He certainly didn't expect it from the more reserved of the two.

He had tasked Kirie with assisting Anya and Derek to finish the preparations for their journey to La'abrine. Anya was reliable with field work and monster hunting, but she seemed a bit absentminded when it came to more mundane tasks. Derek might have been able to handle it on his own, but it didn't hurt to have an extra hand to speed the process along. Kirie also said that she wanted to make a quick stop for herself. Alphonse couldn't deny his curiosity about her mysterious errand.

“Nobody is in love with me,” Alphonse said. “It's just some silly superstition from my world.” He explained the myth to Asa and wasn't surprised when she didn't respond with anything more than a blank stare.

“That doesn't make much sense,” she said.

“Yeah, I guess. But it comes from somewhere. Who knows?”

Asa frowned as she considered it. “A way to figure out someone's feelings or intentions. It would be nice if the signs were so obvious.”

Alphonse grimaced as her tone shifted. The catgirl fell deep in thought and stared across the open plains and farmland outside the city walls. He joined in the silence and observed the southern gate of the capital city. There weren't as many wagons near the wall compared to the days prior. Most of the terrified nobles and middle-class citizens with enough coin managed to leave the city immediately after the reveal of the dungeon in Lamfell. Some weren't fortunate enough to have stewards that could handle businesses in their stead, or some just didn't prepare for the possibility of leaving – so the city wouldn't just turn into a ghost town. Most students of the university, government officials and Spire spellcasters would also remain. The stragglers who feared the dungeon seemed to cut their losses in favor of safety, but it wasn't as if the southern lands towards La'abrine didn't have their own problems with monsters as well.

'Intentions,' huh, Alphonse thought. The catgirl reminded him that it was one of the main reasons he valued his perception stat so highly. His experience on Earth prompted him to tread this path, and life on Hovestile wasn't just about adventuring. Recent events and Ash's own abilities demonstrated its value.

Asa took a few steps back and leaned against one of the trees next to him. “Family shouldn't need those signs,” she finally said. “I mean, family should share everything, right?”

Alphonse didn't need to ask who she referred to. He thought the catgirls had dismissed the doubts about their mother, but that was an impossibility. They would always linger, waiting for when a stray thought or word unexpectedly spurred their reservations. Suspicion among family members didn't necessarily help when they were out in the world among strangers. He knew it well enough and empathized completely.

He watched as Asa rested her staff against the tree. She clasped her hands together and stared dejectedly at the ground.

Maybe I'm not qualified to say anything, Alphonse thought. But...

“We'll spend some time in La'abrine and get stronger,” he said. “Hopefully, things will calm down at the western border by the time we're done with our quest. There doesn't seem to be anything else keeping us from there. I have plenty of questions for your mother, but I have to put them on hold for now.”

He noticed Asa fidget with the loose sleeves of her healers robe. The hood lowered over her eyes seemingly on its own – as if it sensed her disquiet.

“That being said,” Alphonse continued, “I'm sure your mother has the best intentions for you.” The genuine confidence of his words forced Asa to look at him this time. He felt it more than saw. He kept staring at the clear sky. “She gave up so much for you to see the world. She knows it can be dangerous, but sheltering you from it forever isn't right either. She let you have that choice. I can't imagine her wanting to involve you in whatever affairs she dealt with in the past.”

Asa stiffened and turned away from him. Alphonse wondered if his words only served to add more to her distress.

He didn't know Rinka. He was plenty aware of that. A month of training and education from the catgirl mother didn't reveal much. What did fuel a bit of confidence was when they said their goodbyes at the Submerged Oasis.

“But, I could be wrong,” Alphonse said. He folded his arms and made a skeptical shrug. “Maybe she left a bit of a mess before she got stuck in the oasis. Now we're the ones cleaning it up. Yeah, I say we pay your mother a visit and give her a good scolding.”

Asa wiped at her face with the sleeve of her robe and only looked at him when she had composed herself. She removed the hood from her head and let her crimson hair flow freely over her shoulders to the small of her back. Alphonse watched as she brushed a strand of hair aside. She kept her hand up in a contemplative pose.

“Yeah, and she dumped me with some random guy who's terrible at pep talks,” she joked. “Best-mom-ever.”

Alphonse feigned a hurt look and recoiled from her. “So cruel. You had a choice, y'know. You could've stayed.”

“And wait a few more years for someone else to show up? Maybe never? That would be terribly boring.” She pushed herself away from the tree with her usual, composed grace. “You have a strange way of going about it, but you're absolutely right. Whatever Mother is doing is for our benefit.”

Seemed pretty normal to me, Alphonse thought. He realized this was probably the most words they'd ever exchanged in a whole conversation. When she allowed herself to be pulled deeper into a discussion, Alphonse could see the underlying facetious, playful nature that Kirie often showed so brazenly. He liked how natural it came to Asa.

“Not the best choice of words on your part either,” he laughed.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don't ruin the moment.”

“Just calling it as I see it.”

“Not when you're trying to make someone feel better,” Asa countered.

"Is that right? I'll keep that in mind-"

As if on cue, Alphonse felt another sneeze building up. He turned away before his head was wracked by the onslaught. It happened three times, again. He cursed under his breath. Whoever might be talking about him was getting on his nerves. Perhaps it was many someones.

“Maybe you're getting sick,” Asa ventured.

“And whose fault would that be?” He recalled the two evenings at the inn when the catgirls took up all the beds. Every time he ended up stuck on the cramped couch or in a desk chair. Afterwards, they had a long discussion about sleeping arrangements.

Asa puffed up her cheeks in a pout. “The beds had plenty of room.”

If that was the case, then Alphonse figured the catgirls should've just shared a bed and given him his own. Then again, the way Kirie sprawled out was enough to keep anyone away. But still...

Alphonse's mind blanked for a moment as he interpreted her words. Wait...plenty of room?

He stumbled to the side a bit as Asa moved next to him and grabbed his arm. She hugged close and rocked back and forth. Her blue eyes glistened as the wind pushed away the uneven shadows from the overarching leaves to reveal the sun.

She nuzzled into his shoulder and closed her eyes. “Yeah, Mother did alright with you. Thank you for the talk, Leader.”

Alphonse felt his heart skip a few beats, but her words immediately reminded him that he was the leader of GRIM. The guild was a family; that was how she viewed it.

He managed to compose himself somewhat. “Right, of course,” he said.

“Also,” she added. “You didn't give me any head scratches the second night.”

Alphonse swallowed hard when he remembered the first night at the inn. He just couldn't help himself at the time seeing her so relaxed. There was also that adorable feline behavior that came through her more human characteristics at times.

“Ah, so you were awake that time,” he said.

“I was.”

He glanced at her awkwardly for a moment, and her eyes bore into him expectantly. He slowly reached out and rested a hand on her head. Her body went rigid for a second, but she instantly relaxed as he switched between scratching and petting between her cat ears. She moved away from the tree so that her weight was pressing more into his body.

Asa let out a soft purr. “Perfect. That's a good human.”

Alphonse rolled his eyes. “Seriously?”

He wanted to say more, but his attention veered off when he saw a wagon approaching in the distance. It exited through the portcullis of Forgedalk's southern gate and turned onto the dirt road. He saw the familiar faces clearly. Anya and Derek were true to their word and finished the remainder of their preparations. Kirie stood peeking out the back with her axe planted between the two adventurers sitting in front.

Asa noticed them as well. “Looks like everything is set.”

Alphonse nodded. There was no going back now. He would have to rely on the people he left behind in the city to keep him informed when he returned: Ruslin, Ash, Kureha, Jin, Evelyn, Bevka and, hopefully, the alchemist and his assistant. He wondered how GRIM would grow if all sides fully cooperated.

They waited patiently for the wagon. Alphonse thought that Asa might let go of him once the passengers cleared the crest of the hill, but she stayed glued to him.

Anya jumped from the wagon before it slowed to a halt. She planted a hand on her hip and extended an exaggerated salute. “Greetings, cuties! I hope we aren't interrupting!”

Asa didn't loosen her grip on his arm. “Interrupting what? I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Woah, wait a second... Alphonse looked at the wagon and noticed Derek averting his eyes.

Alphonse pretended not to notice and addressed Kirie, “Everything go alright on your end?”

The catgirl didn't answer as she jumped down and strode towards him purposefully. She propped the handle of the double-edged axe on her shoulder and quickly entered his personal space. Her face inched closer and closer as her eyes narrowed further. She was uncomfortably close, and Alphonse found himself trapped as Asa didn't let go of him.

“I want head scratches too,” Kirie finally said.

Alphonse noticed that her voice was disturbingly calm. It wasn't until he looked at Asa that he realized his hand was still petting her. She let out a low murmur of disappointment when he removed his hand.

Ah, shit... he thought. Kirie was a powerful, intimidating warrior on the battlefield, but even she was prone to this kind of attention-seeking.

Anya cackled off to the side and gave them a sly look. Derek simply stared off in the distance.

Alphonse desperately sought a way out of the awkwardness. Thankfully, it didn't take him long to seize a new topic. “Wait, I just remembered.” He looked to Anya. “Did you finalize everything at the Guild Union?”

Anya flashed a wide grin and reached into one of her bags. “I sure did! Kaede said Ruslin would take care of the resignation stuff later.” She pulled out a rolled parchment and unfurled it dramatically as if she were about to cast a powerful spell with it.

Alphonse nodded approvingly at the title displayed in the heading. The first word 'guild,' was displayed, followed by a bunch of legal terms and conditions. At the bottom was Alphonse's already-prepared signature, followed by Kirie and Asa's. In the middle at the very bottom was the name of their guild: GRIM.

Anya brought her feet together at attention and gave another of her signature salutes. Derek opted to remain in his seat but also raised his hand respectfully.

“Thank you for having us, Leader!” Anya shouted.

“'Thank you,' indeed,” Derek said. His response was a little more controlled, but he gave them a half-smile and inclined his head slightly.

Alphonse returned the salute. He wanted to feign a stern professionalism, but the attempt to suppress his budding grin was a poor one. He was the leader of a guild – a guild that was beginning to grow into something more.

“Welcome to GRIM.”

He felt a tug on his free side and saw that Kirie had taken his free arm. His body shifted instinctively as she looked at him with an unreadable expression.

“Something wrong?” she asked. A shadow seemed to cast over her eyes as he pulled away a bit.

He shook his head vigorously as she tightened her grip and brought his arm closer to her chest. The heavy armor she wore pressed into him until it felt as if his blood flow would cut off. “Nope! Nothing at all,” Alphonse answered hastily.

“We shouldn't waste time,” Asa said calmly on his other side. “GRIM has a new quest.”

Alphonse felt himself being dragged along to the wagon. There was a noticeable tug to either side as the beastkin guided him.

Anya hid an impish grin behind her hand. “Well, aren't you popular.”

Alphonse sighed and gave her a deadpan look. “It's not what you think.”

It's a family atmosphere, he thought.

He was surprised when Derek joined in and supported Anya. He still made it a point to not look at them directly. “If you say so,” the big man said.

They're catgirls! Of course they like this sort of thing! Alphonse tried to convince himself, but knew it was fruitless. There was no point arguing such a trivial matter. Of course, Anya and Derek would misunderstand. He knew the catgirls better than anyone.

But he was starting to have some doubts.