Chapter 815: Why? [2]

The Guild Master didn’t answer immediately.

For a moment, he simply looked at me, his hand resting beside the folder on his desk. Then his smile grew a little warmer.

"Isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to recruit you. I value your talent highly."

"Ah."

I slowly nodded.

"Is that so?"

"Of course. You’ve seen the Guild for yourself now. I’d like you to consider staying once your temporary assignment ends."

He spoke quite naturally.

So naturally that I almost believed him.

Almost.

I smiled back, keeping my hands against the armrests.

Well, the part about my talent was understandable. I was quite talented, and there were probably plenty of people who would like to recruit me.

But this felt a little different.

He wasn’t simply offering me a good contract. He was personally getting involved whenever something happened to me, and now he was taking my side without even asking what happened inside the Gate.

That was considerably more than I expected from someone trying to recruit me.

’You’re rather full of shit, aren’t you?’

My eyes narrowed slightly.

The Guild Master continued to smile.

He didn’t seem particularly bothered by the way I was looking at him. In fact, he reached for the cup beside his folder and took a slow sip.

I waited until he put it down.

"Then you must be quite disappointed with the impression I’ve made downstairs."

"Should I be?"

"Apparently, I’m rather difficult to work with."

"So I’ve heard."

"People keep mentioning it."

"Do they?"

"Yes, and I wholeheartedly agree with them."

A small laugh escaped his lips.

I watched him for another moment before leaning back.

There was definitely something he wasn’t telling me.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he planned on changing that anytime soon.

’Oh well. If he doesn’t want to tell me, who am I to force the matter?’

It wasn’t as though I could reach across the desk and shake an answer out of him.

Besides, whatever his intentions were, they weren’t causing me any problems at the moment. I was out of the hospital, my room was comfortable, and he didn’t seem particularly interested in asking about my abilities.

That was already quite a lot.

I would stay for now.

If something changed, I could think about it then.

"Alright."

I placed my hands more firmly against the armrests and started getting up.

Then I paused.

"Oh, right."

The Guild Master looked towards me.

"...Regarding the current situation, there won’t be any problems, right?"

"With the team?"

"Yes... They don’t seem to like me quite a lot. I think they’ll complain a lot."

"No problems at all."

He answered without hesitation.

I looked at him, trying to decide whether I should ask him to be a little more specific.

But his expression made the words stop in my throat.

He was looking at me rather warmly.

Again.

Not the sort of smile people gave when they were trying to recruit someone. Even when I stopped speaking, his attention remained on me, and he seemed quite content to let me sit there.

As if...

’No, that’s nonsense.’

I pushed the thought away before it could properly form.

Perhaps he simply smiled like that at everyone.

I mean, the rat was like that. If not for the fact that I knew him in advance, I would’ve likely have fallen for his charms.

’Fuck.’

The more I thought about the rat, the more I shuddered. Especially since I knew that he had come back and I had yet to see him since.

Just what was that rodent planning?

"Well, alright."

I adjusted the front of my shirt.

"In that case, I’ll take my leave."

"Get some rest."

"I’ll try."

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would get some good sleep.

There were still quite a few things that were bothering me.

I nodded towards him before turning and making my way to the door. His gaze remained on me as I left, and I resisted the urge to look back.

There was already someone waiting outside, and as I passed them, my steps slowed for a moment.

She held several papers in one hand, her attention shifting towards me the moment I walked out the door.

For a brief moment, we looked at each other.

Her gaze moved across my face before stopping on my eyes.

"....."

I wondered if she was going to say something.

She didn’t.

Instead, she stepped slightly to the side.

I gave her a small nod and walked past, feeling her attention remain on me for a few more steps before the door opened behind me.

***

Liora entered the office and closed the door.

Her grandfather was still looking towards the entrance. Only after she approached the desk did he turn his attention to her.

"Grandfather."

He smiled.

"Did you need something?"

"You didn’t tell him?"

His hand stopped beside the cup.

The room grew quiet.

Eventually, he shook his head.

"...No."

"Will you ever tell him?"

"I’m not sure."

He lowered his gaze towards the desk.

"I don’t think it’s the right time yet."

"....."

Liora remained standing.

Her grandfather reached towards the folder in front of him, straightening it even though there was little need to do so.

She watched in silence.

Then she slowly nodded and pulled out the chair.

The papers in her hand landed on his desk.

"This is our current progress with the pills for the fractures."

His attention settled on them.

"We’ve made a small breakthrough, but it’s still not significant enough."

"I see."

He picked up the first page and started reading.

Liora rested her hands in her lap while he went through the results. Occasionally, his eyes stopped on a section, and he turned back to the previous page before continuing.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the movement of paper.

"There’s progress."

He said eventually, breaking the silence.

Liora nodded.

"It’s less than I wanted it."

"But progress nonetheless."

"Yes."

She looked towards the report.

"We’re going to run some trials soon, maybe it could be of help to him..."

His fingers stopped against the page.

Then he nodded.

"I understand."

He read the remaining pages before setting them down. His gaze briefly moved towards the empty space beside Liora, then farther towards the door.

She noticed.

He seemed to realise that too, because he looked back at her a moment later.

A small smile returned to his face.

"In that case, keep going. If you need more funding, let me know."

"Will do."

Liora stood up.

Her grandfather kept one hand against the papers as she moved towards the entrance. He was looking through the first page again when she stopped near the door.

"Grandfather."

He lifted his head.

She looked at him for several seconds.

"...I feel like you should tell him."

"....."

That was all she said.

The door opened, and she stepped outside before he could answer.

For a little while, the old man remained seated, looking towards the entrance.

Then he lowered his gaze to the report.

He tried to continue reading, but after going over the same section twice, he slowly put the page down.

"I want to."

The words came out softly.

There was nobody left in the room to hear them.

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes closing for a moment as he let out a long sigh.

But...

"I’m worried about how they’d react."