The D-Rank Guild Master of the No. 1 Guild

With murmurs of admiration and surprise, the subordinates began whispering among themselves, stifling their laughter.

Meanwhile, I was left speechless.

‘Akata taking the penalty seriously is one thing, but why do I feel like I’m the one being punished too?’

The most awkward part was that Akata wasn’t finished yet.

“Back then, when I woke up and pushed Rudel away, I was afraid she’d think I didn’t like her. I’ve always felt sorry about that. That was my mistake.”

I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking the bombshell was finally over.

“So, I want to make amends now.”

Until Akata suddenly stepped closer to me.

My brief moment of relief was my mistake.

“I want to correct my mistake from back then.”

“You wouldn’t dare…”

I backed into the penalty jar, stumbling onto the table as it clattered behind me.

Those determined chocolate-brown eyes were now inches from mine. Akata, still holding my gaze, spoke again.

“Let me kiss you, just once.”

“No! Don’t!”

I know you’re technically my age, but this is not right!

The audacity of him, approaching so boldly, knees sliding between my legs, hands on the table, his face getting closer.

Why is no one stopping this? Desperately, I glanced behind Akata.

It seemed like I was the only one in an urgent, critical situation. Everyone else was watching, murmuring, and exclaiming in awe.

Someone, please intervene!

‘Kanel? My right-hand man, surely you’ll help?’

I tried to catch Kanel’s eye from across the room.

But even Kanel betrayed my hopes, avoiding my gaze and mumbling under his breath.

“This would make for great content for the coverage video…”

This point-obsessed idiot!

I realized I’d have to handle this alone.

Fine, it’s every man for himself in this world!

I considered pushing Akata away, but that would mean rejecting him again, and he was so delicate that I feared hurting him. My only option was to lean back as far as possible.

But Akata, undeterred, came closer.

His eyes were dazed, clearly not thinking straight. This is why alcohol is the root of all evil!

“…”

In the end, I had no choice but to block his advance with my palm just before disaster struck.

The warmth of Akata’s skin pressed against my hand. I couldn’t believe I was being cornered by this kid.

Sweat trickled down my forehead as I maintained this stance, but suddenly, Akata’s neck was yanked back.

It wasn’t me who intervened. If it were, I wouldn’t have handled Akata so roughly.

The person who pulled Akata back even threw him to the floor.

Thud!

Akata’s limp body sprawled across the wooden floor.

Behind him stood Unahar, his face contorted with rage.

“What are you all doing just standing around!!”

His anger echoed throughout the living room.

Seeing him with such a fierce expression was a first, even for me.

The remaining survivors at the party must have been utterly shocked.

This situation was bad. The atmosphere was completely ruined.

The end of the party, punctuated by a superior shouting at everyone like thunder, was unacceptable.

As the Guild Leader, I had to step in. I chose my words carefully before speaking.

“Unahar, I appreciate you trying to help me, but I was worried Akata might get hurt if I pushed him away too hard…”

Hearing my voice, Unahar’s angry expression softened a bit.

I briefly glanced at Unahar, then turned my attention to Akata, who I should have checked on sooner.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have been knocked out by the impact. He appeared to have simply fallen asleep due to the alcohol.

While the room was silent, the usually scatterbrained subordinates’ leader finally gathered his wits and whispered to Kanel.

“Instructor, how do we handle this situation?”

“Don’t ask me. I can’t solve everything.”

“At least give me a hint…”

“…Turn off the cameras.”

Nahean quickly ran to the cameras. The ‘Guild Coverage!’ screen flickered off.

* * *

The end of the party was disastrous. Unahar’s anger was over the top.

I thought the coverage special was ruined, but fortunately, checking later, the points earned exceeded our target.

Comments… I had to check those too. No one else could, so it had to be me.

Even if it took a lot of resolve on my part.

The general sentiment among viewers was something like this:

The love triangle between Unahar, Akata, and me was solidified.

Despite the fact that young Akata shouldn’t and probably doesn’t see me as a romantic interest, the viewers found it entertaining and wanted to believe it was real.

As a game character, I couldn’t explain the misunderstanding to the real world, so I had to accept it.

There were also murmurs that Unahar’s behavior was too harsh to be merely jealousy.

I knew Unahar tended to get melancholic this way, often without any particular trigger.

[Emotional State: Depressed]

Though he smiles brightly and gets along well with the subordinates, he hides this unstable side.

Unahar’s mental health isn’t in the best condition.

Fortunately, it was cooling time, a forced break from the intense wolf training, giving us a momentary reprieve.

Though Unahar has temporarily been tamed, it doesn’t fundamentally solve the issue of his damaged self-esteem.

If the wolf’s madness isn’t completely cured, he will never escape from it.

From depression… or from his obsession with me.

“Last night? I don’t remember a thing. I must have been really drunk.”

The next day, I subtly probed Unahar, but he acted like he had no memory of the incident with Akata.

[Emotional State] Annoyance

He had decided to stick to his stance of “I don’t remember.”

…It’s not that I’m denying or dismissing Unahar’s feelings for me.

Unahar tends to think of me as a deity and clings to me without any will to control his emotions or manage his depression.

Because of that, I don’t know what to do anymore.

I can’t reciprocate Unahar’s feelings, nor can I be his psychiatrist.

I thought entering the game would allow me to do anything and make progress.

But understanding the psychology of a game character… a person… is this difficult.

* * *

The source of considerable controversy, both good and bad, in the ‘Guild Coverage Special!’

The boy had a very good night by himself. The accidental drink of alcohol improved his sleep quality.

In his deep sleep, the boy dreamt.

The flustered movements and tender lips of Rudel were etched in his memory and appeared in his dreams.

For some reason, he felt very happy. So much so that he didn’t want to wake up…

Akata woke up with a start at dawn.

“…!”

Despite having slept for a long time, he felt strangely tired and achy, especially in his lower abdomen.

The 15-year-old boy, who had been tossing and turning, suddenly sensed something strange. He lifted his blanket.

“…?”

Akata’s face, initially filled with confusion, turned beet red.

* * *

After the drunken revelry of the previous night, most of the subordinates had passed out.

When I went down to the subordinates’ quarters early in the morning, only Nahean, who hadn’t drunk, and a couple of others with exceptional basic stats were up and about.

I was having a brief one-on-one conversation with Nahean when the passageway connecting to the main guild fortress buzzed and opened.

I turned around to see who had come down and was surprised by the unexpected person.

“Oh, hello.”

Despite a slight swelling, the red-haired boy’s beauty was still dazzling.

The ultimate social misfit of our guild.

He’s the last person I’d expect to come down to the subordinates’ quarters on his own…

As soon as Akata saw me, he lowered his head in a deep bow, his face turning crimson.

His reaction reminded me strongly of Unahar.

Why is he suddenly so shy around me? It seemed like he was avoiding my gaze.

[Emotional State] Embarrassment

Seeing Akata’s emotional state reminded me of the incident from last night.

“Do you remember what happened yesterday?”

Did he remember his drunken antics? If so, I’d understand why he’d be embarrassed.

“Huh? No, I don’t…”

“Then why is your face so red?”

“I… I don’t know.”

Akata, surprisingly, then approached Nahean instead of me. It seemed like he had something to say to him.

I watched them closely, my eyes wide with curiosity, as Nahean greeted Akata with a warm smile.

“Good morning, Akata! I heard you accidentally drank some alcohol? How’s the hangover? What do you need?”

Akata looked up at Nahean and, in a shy voice, said,

“I have something to ask.”

“Sure, ask away.”

“Can we talk in private…?”

“Oh, uh, sure!”

Nahean glanced back at me before leading Akata down the corridor.

…My expression must have clearly shown my confusion, prompting Nahean to check my reaction.

What could Akata need to discuss with Nahean, excluding me?

With Nahean gone, I had to continue the conversation with the subordinates’ second-in-command. However, my mind was elsewhere.

How long has it been since I introduced them as friends, and now they’re sharing secrets without me?

“I know more about things than Nahean does…”

The second-in-command, standing opposite, responded, “Of course, Guild Leader, you know more than our captain in every way.”

Only then did I realize I had been speaking aloud.

Meanwhile, Akata and Nahean had yet to return, their conversation apparently longer than expected.

I found myself unusually restless, fidgeting with my fingers.

I’m curious. Should I eavesdrop…?

No, maintain your composure.

Akata deserves his privacy…

“The preparations for the second-generation war seem complete. Should I copy these notes for you, Guild Leader?”

“Yes, please.”

Ding.

An alert popped up in my status window.

“Hold on, there’s a new announcement. Give the copied notes to Kanel instead of me.”

“Yes, sir.”

I glanced at the notification title and immediately frowned.