Everyone shot Lily a dubious glare when Moku asked for help while Lily was absolutely baffled by his sudden betrayal.
She cried as Luna immediately pried him from her grasp. Moku let out a loud pyuuu cry as Luna felt its little tummy rumble.
"You idiot! You forgot to feed him?!"
Luna snapped, giving Lily a chilling glare before stomping off to look for a place where she could make the poor guy some food.
The moment Luna vanished with Moku in her arms, muttering something about steak and chicken cubes, the atmosphere in the room finally seemed to calm.
That was, until the receptionist cleared her throat.
The group turned in unison to the woman behind the desk, who had been patiently observing the entire exchange with the glazed expression of someone deeply questioning their life choices.
"I’m terribly sorry to interrupt," she said, her tone polite but firm. "But unless you plan to finalize your Guild registration, the fee must be paid now. Otherwise, I’ll have to ask you all to vacate the premises."
Leo’s jaw clenched. "Right. Twenty gold."
Rachel winced and muttered, "You know, considering we just traumatized a poor kobold plush and emotionally broke Leo, getting kicked out might be a mercy."
"I heard that," Leo muttered.
Lily raised her hand hesitantly.
"Um. I’ll cover it....?"
"Do we have a choice?"
Rachel asked with a half smile. Aria also nodded her head and remarked
"I think so as well but I would like to suggest going forward that we do not trust Lily with our own money."
Leo and Rachel both nodded in unison, wholeheartedly agreeing with the team’s Songbird.
Lily gave an exaggerated pout, hugging herself while mumbling,
"You’re all just jealous of my fiscal curiosity."
Leo said, exasperated.
"Just pay the damn fee."
She reached into her inventory with a nonchalant hum, and in seconds a neat little pouch of gold coins materialized in her hand. She set it down on the counter with an audible clink, tossing in an extra silver piece for good measure.
"There. Paid in full, with tip,"
she announced to which the receptionist blinked with surprise and confusion. .
"That... is not necessary."
The woman gingerly took the pouch, briefly inspecting the contents before giving them a nod.
"Very well. The Guild registration is now complete. What name shall I inscribe into the registry?"
There was a beat of silence.
Everyone looked at each other.
Leo was the first to open his mouth
"Like we agreed before, we are going with–"
Lily raised her hand again and interrupted
"I would like to propose our name be Moku’s Harem."
Silence followed by pointed annoyed glares. Even the mildest of them Aria frowned and with a cold look in her eyes simply said
Luna returned at that exact moment with Moku curled happily in one arm and a piece of jerky in the other.
"What’s got all of you on edge now? "
"We’re naming the guild,"
"Did Lily say something stupid again?"
"She suggested Moku’s Harem,"
Luna stopped mid-step.
Moku let out a soft burble from her arms. Lily reached toward him with a hopeful hand, but Luna stepped back protectively.
"No. You lost Moku privileges."
"He blinked twice. He clearly asked for asylum. This is exactly why we don’t let you keep a dog at home!"
Lily reeled back as if physically struck.
"He betrayed me... for jerky?"
"You forgot to feed him,"
Leo reminded, arms crossed and tone flat.
"That’s practically abuse."
Rachel leaned on the counter, smirking.
"It’s a miracle he lasted this long under your ’care.’ Honestly, I would defect too if I was him."
Lily pointed an accusatory finger at the group.
"You’re all being dramatic. It was barely noon!"
"You gave him a leaf to chew on, Dogs don’t eat leaves. They need meat."
Aria added with a rustle of her feathers
"It was a nutritious herb!"
Lily huffed, stomping a foot.
The receptionist, still holding the coin pouch delicately, cleared her throat again.
"Ahem. So... the name?"
Leo sighed, dragging a hand down his face.
"Let’s just stick to the original. We’re going with—"
Rachel offered smoothly.
Aria corrected at the same time.
"Team Leo," Luna said brightly from the back as she coddled Moku as if he was some sort of baby, her naming sense earning a strangled sound from Leo.
Leo groaned in annoyance.
Lily opened her mouth again. "We can still circle back to Moku’s Harem—"
"Absolutely not. Lily. Shut up!"
Everyone snapped together.
The receptionist blinked at the scene, eyes flitting from one speaker to the next like she was watching a particularly unhinged stage play.
It took a few moments for the bickering to dull down so that Leo could finally speak to the receptionist.
"Our Guild name is Chaos Pantheon"
The receptionist jotted the name down with a practiced flick of her quill, though her expression suggested she was reconsidering her entire career path.
she repeated aloud, as if by speaking it she could somehow make sense of it.
"Very well. Registration is complete. Once you have completed the final step, you will be officially recognized as an Official Guild."
Rachel furrowed her brows and with a flick of her tail, growled at the Receptionist.
"And what is this last step?"
The receptionist hesitated, clearly bracing herself before answering with the forced cheerfulness of someone regretting every decision that led to this point.
"The final step is determining your Guildmaster and Vice Guildmaster. The Guildmaster has already been marked as... Leo, correct?"
Leo nodded with a resigned sigh, clearly anticipating what came next.
"Then you only need to choose your Vice Guildmaster. Once that’s settled, the paperwork will be complete."
He didn’t even need to turn around as he sensed multiple foreboding gazes trained on his back. Since he was the guildmaster, it was only fitting that he chose the Vice Guildmaster. However, that decision was gonna be a pain in the ass to deal with as the girls stares were locked onto him.