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

“…….”

Strangely, just recalling that moment made my hands tremble and filled me with unfamiliar emotions. The memory of the boy gasping for breath and clinging to me as if I were his last hope was still vivid.

‘Akata’s awakening line: I don’t care if I die. But I don’t want Rudel to die. Is that right?’

‘For someone who falls in love easily, this is pretty heavy…’

‘It’s kind of weird. He talks as if he knows Rudel, even though it’s their first meeting… Did Akata know Rudel beforehand?’

‘That’s a pretty scary thought; maybe he’s just someone who falls in love faster than anyone else.’

I stared at the comment section, my face unusually stern, resting my chin on my hand. It’s different from how Unahar or Gio chose to follow me. Akata looked at me with a strange gaze, as if my very existence was the reason for his survival from the beginning.

I want to see Akata. Let’s sit by his bed and think this through.

* * *

As soon as I opened the door, Lilith was the first thing I saw.

“What are you doing?”

Standing on a chair, Lilith was stretching her arms upwards. When our eyes met, she got down from the chair, looking embarrassed.

“I was doing some yoga. The daily training task you assigned to us.”

“Ah.”

I had created it, but the workout regimen was quite intense, and all of us in the guild were having a hard time with it. We had to spend at least six hours a day in the training hall.

However, since Lilith’s stats were E-grade, I had given her a lighter training load, worrying her body wouldn’t be able to handle the intense regimen. While I didn’t mind pushing myself hard, I didn’t want to see Lilith struggling.

So, I had designed her exercises focusing on yoga and Pilates, aiming for her to be more of an agility-based character rather than a strength-based one.

“You’re diligent. Didn’t you finish today’s session already? Are you doing extra practice?”

“It’s nothing, really. Not just me, Unahar and Kanel do it too!”

“Right, except for that fool Gio.”

Knowing him, I had given Gio the hardest basic regimen. He would never do more than the minimum required.

I glanced at the red hair on the bed and remembered why I had come.

“Lilith, you can go rest now. Let’s switch. I’ll watch over Akata.”

“So, you’re staying up all night?”

“No, I’ll just stay for a little while.”

Lilith left, and the door closed slowly. Watching over the sleeping Akata had become familiar within a day, and I settled into my seat comfortably, as if it were my chair.

With time to spare, I decided to check Akata’s status window.

[Name] Akata / [Level] 1

[Gender] Male / [Age] 15

[Intelligence] High / [Murderous Intent] Moderate

* * *

[Stamina] 4 / F

[Strength] 3 / F

[Agility] 8 / F

* * *

[Ability Class] Pure Nature

[Unique Ability] Flame

[Potential Grade] S

“Haha…”

A small laugh escaped me at the surprising base stats. Even seeing it with my own eyes, it was hard to believe.

It was much worse than Lilith’s stats. Single-digit stats in every category? Unbelievable.

It felt like I had to raise him as carefully as if I were polishing a precious gem.

Just as I was cautiously planning his growth strategy,

twitch.

Akata’s fingers, lying on the bed, moved ever so slightly.

Watching Akata through the semi-transparent status window, I was startled and quickly closed it.

Soon, the sleeping boy’s head moved slowly, and his eyelids gradually lifted.

He finally woke up after two days.

Akata’s drowsy brown eyes lit up and regained focus as soon as he saw me.

[Name] Akata

[Health] 100 / [Emotional State] Joy

Just making eye contact with me changed his emotional state…?

“Aria.”

Akata whispered softly, as if just saying that name gave him strength, with a high and clear voice that hadn’t yet deepened with puberty.

I was taken aback and couldn’t find the words. My mind went blank.

Why was this stranger showing such overwhelming emotion toward me…?

And why did I feel so profoundly moved by his smiling face, as if my heart was melting…?

But moments later, the smile faded from Akata’s lips. The boy tilted his head, then slowly sat up.

Slowly, his deathly pale face moved closer to me, making it hard to breathe.

When I was trapped in Akata’s gaze, he looked into me too.

“Ah…”

A low sigh escaped Akata’s lips.

His eyes, which had been filled with joy, slowly twisted with encroaching despair.

Akata’s arm fell limply to hang over the side of the bed.

[Emotional State] Joy

[Emotional State] Loss

His emotional state changed quickly on the status window.

Accordingly, Akata’s expression darkened rapidly, but he still glanced at my face as if some attachment remained.

…It seemed he was still interested, even though I wasn’t ‘Aria.’

“I want to know your name.”

I was briefly flustered again, but my brain quickly resumed working.

“You’ve been unconscious for two days. How do you feel? Are you okay? You should eat something.”

I told Akata that I’d bring some porridge and asked him to wait a moment.

“Will you come back?”

Akata’s voice stopped me in my tracks.

I turned back, offering a small smile.

“I’ll come back. My name is Rudel.”

* * *

I carried the bowl of steaming porridge back from the dining hall, deep in thought the entire time. By the time I gathered my thoughts, I found myself standing in front of the door, momentarily pausing with the steaming bowl in hand.

Akata had studied my face closely, very intently.

He called me ‘Aria,’ then, realizing I wasn’t her, asked for my name, showing clear disappointment.

Who exactly is Aria?

Akata clearly saw this ‘Aria’ in me. When he realized I wasn’t her, he seemed deeply disheartened.

I rewound my memory to the cave, thick with the smell of blood and sweat.

[“I don’t care if I die. But I can’t stand the thought of you dying.”]

Perhaps the ‘you’ Akata referred to wasn’t me, Rudel, after all.

“Aria, Aria…”

Akata had definitely called me Aria back then, too.

From the comments, it seemed the viewers had also heard the name, but thankfully, they seemed to think it was just another common nickname, like ‘mademoiselle’ or ‘senorita.’

It was a common enough name, so no one else seemed to be questioning it—fortunate, if nothing else.

I kept replaying the recent events in my mind.

Characters are typically born with all their memories reset.

But Akata, uniquely, remembered someone named ‘Aria’ and seemed to have formed a deep bond with her.

…Just as I remembered my life in the real world.

“……”

Leaning against the corridor wall, I took a deep breath.

Up until now, Akata had been immune to my cheat abilities, and as a lower-level player, he had even awakened his powers.

But that wasn’t all there was to him.

Akata’s true secret was that he retained memories from before his character creation.

If so, could Akata have come from the real world like me…?

No, I mustn’t jump to conclusions.

I needed to approach this cautiously and assess the situation, all while staying under the radar of the game administrators.

Whether Akata saw another woman in me or whether the smiles he directed at me were meant for someone else didn’t matter.

These were all clues. Clues about the secret surrounding this game.

And the woman who resembled me so closely that Akata mistook me for her…

“……”

Perhaps my appearance before I entered this game was the same as my current one.

If that were the case, it would align perfectly with my memories of being an Asian in my previous life.

And Akata could have known the past me.

My mind was awash with wild speculations, full of suspicions but lacking concrete evidence. The quickest way to find out would be to ask Akata directly, but the problem was, I couldn’t do that.

“How can I ask him when the GMs have eyes everywhere?”

Asking outright was out of the question. Writing a note was also difficult. No matter how subtly I phrased it, explaining it in a way Akata would understand would definitely alert the GMs.

“Should I learn Morse code? No, the moment I start learning that, the GMs will be on high alert…”

“Let’s put this on hold for now.”

It’s a problem with no immediate solution, and with the ranking competition right around the corner, I couldn’t afford to spend all day agonizing over it. Just keep it in mind and wait quietly. Eventually, the opportunity will present itself.

After concluding my thoughts, I knocked on the door.

“Akata.”

As soon as I opened the door, I met Akata’s eyes, who was waiting for me in the same position as before.

‘To think this boy and I might have known each other in the real world…’

If it were true, I wondered what kind of relationship we had.

I tried my best to keep my expression neutral as I brought the food to him. Akata ate the porridge very slowly, picking at it as if he had no appetite at all, though it seemed like he was trying his best because I had brought it.

Watching his small bites, a thought slipped from my lips.

“Akata, you really are a benefactor to me.”

Akata’s brown eyes widened, but he said nothing. He was always so silent. At first, I thought it was because I wasn’t the person he wanted, that my words burdened him.

But he didn’t let go of my hand, which he held with his left hand. This boy was smaller than me, skinny, with delicate skin. Yet, the one thing that was larger than mine was his hand. His large, bony hand completely covered my palm. It was both fascinating and surprising.