The hall of the Dawnbloom Guild was bustling with people, just like during the initiation ceremony.
Voices everywhere, people chatting, drinking, eating, and even a few breaking into minor scuffles in the corners. The entire hall was filled with noise and life.
At the very front of the hall, a huge banner hung proudly with the words:
"Dawnbloom Guild Carnival Members Selection Announcement!"
Staff bustled back and forth in their usual animal-themed headbands. Even Yui looked unusually busy, darting around with papers in hand.
I was sitting at one of the tables, having just finished my breakfast. Around me were familiar faces, William, Evelyn, Maya, Linus, and Bob.
"My heart is pounding... When are they going to announce it?" Evelyn asked nervously, placing both hands over her chest.
"Patience, Eve. It’ll be soon," Maya replied, trying to comfort her, though she looked just as restless.
"Why are you all so anxious?" Bob asked, still munching on his breakfast like nothing was happening.
Maya and Evelyn stared at him, stunned by his cluelessness.
"You don’t know what we’re doing here?" William asked, genuinely surprised.
"Nope. Mirinda just said she wanted to have a meeting today." Bob answered flatly.
"You’d better call her Guildmaster Mirinda in front of her," Maya said sharply. "Or be prepared to be impaled."
"Today’s the day the Guildmaster will announce the members for the upcoming carnival," Evelyn explained. "They’ll select based on merit and achievements over the past few months, like the one you get when completing quests."
I nodded. "So they’re choosing based on previous performance? Then I’m excluded, right? Since we haven’t completed any quests."
Yeah, that’s true. We haven’t done a single official quest since coming to this world. The goblin incident? That was just me helping out on my own. The Red Condor event? That was something Linus made into a personal quest. Technically, we should have zero points for achievements.
"I think Bob is excluded from the merits because of his rank," Maya said, glancing at me, "but for you... maybe not."
She sounded a little disappointed. Was she sad because I might not be selected? Or maybe I was just overthinking it.
Still, I felt relieved. I didn’t really want to be part of this carnival anyway. Bob, though? He’s an S-rank, he’ll definitely get selected. I’ll just cheer from the sidelines.
As we continued chatting, a familiar voice rang out beside us.
"Everyone look over here! It’s our ace! The almighty S-rank, Bob!" Lee said loudly, walking past our table. "He’s gonna bring home the victory for us this year!"
"Shut up, Lee," Evelyn snapped. "Why do you always start something every time you see them?"
Lee and his group just laughed mockingly and sat at the table next to ours.
"What’s your winning plan for this year, Bob the ass...oh wait, I mean Bob the S-rank?" Lee mocked with a sneer.
His group burst into laughter. Even some of the nearby adventurers chuckled under their breath.
Bob stood up abruptly and turned to face him. I quickly got to my feet too, trying to stop him from doing something reckless.
"Got a problem, man?" Bob said, staring him down. "Or are you just mad because you’re too weak?"
Lee slammed his fist onto the table and stood up, his face turning red with anger. His group stood with him, backing him up. The atmosphere suddenly turned tense.
All eyes in the hall turned toward us.
The surrounding adventurers began to cheer, grinning in anticipation.
"So you get angry when someone insults you, huh?" Linus said calmly, still seated with a glass of water in hand. "Then maybe you should learn not to dish it out in the first place."
Lee’s group turned toward him, surprised.
"Who the hell are you? Lee didn’t ask for your opinion!" Eddy snapped. "Back off if you don’t want to get hurt."
Linus stood up slowly. From his chest, a red badge glinted under the light, a Dawnbloom Guild A-rank emblem.
Eddy and the rest of the group flinched back, clearly shaken.
"He’s... A-rank? Is he also a new member?" Galon muttered, eyes wide.
A-rank adventurers were both feared and respected due to their overwhelming strength, and pretty rare. In this guild, only three members were known to hold that rank, Alice, Beltimore, and Ida. And now, standing before them, was a fourth.
"Tch! A-rank or not, you’re still new to this guild! Show some respect to your seniors!" Eddy snapped.
Mark, who had been silent until now, stood up slowly. He eyed Linus.
"You look strong. How about a little spar while we wait?"
"I’d be glad to," Linus replied coolly.
Oi, oi, what’s happening here? My hands were already full holding Bob back from starting a brawl, now someone needs to hold that guy too.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The hall erupted in cheers again. Chaos seemed inevitable.
A commanding voice cut through the noise.
The hall fell silent instantly. All eyes turned toward the source. Bob and I followed their gaze.
A woman walked confidently toward us. Her hair was a striking apple green, falling to her scapula in a smooth flow, tied in a small knot at the end. Her fringe framed her forehead, and her piercing eyes swept across the crowd. She wore adventurer’s attire covering her torso down to her abdomen, paired with fitted shorts that reached just to her knees. Several other adventurers followed behind her, all serious-faced.
"The group of justice is here already."
"Just a little more and I could’ve seen a good fight... what a bummer."
The other adventurers grumbled in disappointment and slowly returned to their own business.
"Ugh, she showed up," Wanda muttered with annoyance. Her group slumped back into their seats, clearly deflated. Only Mark and Lee remained standing.
"Selene," Mark said, glancing at the approaching woman.
Selene walked up to him, her eyes sharp.
"Can you control your group a little? They’ve been stirring up trouble way too often lately," she said, looking between Mark and Lee.
Mark turned his head, avoiding her gaze.
"They’re all grown-ups. I’m not their father."
"But still..." Selene began, clearly not letting the matter slide.
As she continued lecturing Mark and his group, I leaned toward Maya.
"Who’s that?" I asked.
"That’s Selene. She’s the one I mentioned before, I helped her with some of the quests."
"She has that ’childhood friend’ vibe if this were an anime," Bob said, folding his arms and nodding thoughtfully.
We were all standing now, watching as Selene continued to lecture Lee and Mark. Surprisingly, those two actually looked obedient in front of her.
Selene then turned to us. "I’m sorry for what happened. I’ll make sure they don’t pull that again."
"Hey, you’re not my mother," Lee muttered under his breath.
Unbeknownst to us, the group that had gathered here...
Me, Bob, Evelyn, William, Maya, Selene, Mark, and Lee...
These individuals would change the fate of the Dawnbloom Guild.