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

It was now midnight, but the characters were still moving. I felt so sleepy I could lose my mind, but sheer determination kept me in contact with the characters. This was my first task as the representative, and I couldn’t let anyone end up sleeping on the streets! I was determined to finish this before dawn.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door, followed by the sound of it opening. Though I didn’t turn around, I knew immediately who it was from the familiar scent.

Akata met my gaze and placed a cup of tea beside me. Clear water with ice floating in it, and the faint smell of peaches.

“Thanks.”

I took a big gulp and nearly spat it out.

“What the—? This is alcohol! And it’s strong.”

“There’s a drinking party outside. Aleon proposed it, and Shemarin pushed it through.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Some people are working through the night…”

Well, I had been so busy I had forgotten, but today was indeed a momentous day of freedom for the characters. No wonder the ones I’d been trying to contact weren’t responding!

“So, Rudel, come out too.”

“If I do, someone might end up without a place to stay and have to sleep outside.”

“They’re already all sleeping outside. Passed out drunk. Come on.”

Akata gently tugged at my arm. I stood up awkwardly and found myself falling into his embrace.

“Careful. You get dizzy staring at the screen too much.”

He could have just helped me up, but Akata held onto me for a bit longer than necessary. Feeling the contact linger, I shyly lifted my head.

Startled by his intense gaze, I instinctively pushed against his chest a bit.

“Let’s go.”

Akata followed me with a lukewarm expression, one step behind.

The outdoor tables were covered with all sorts of liquor and snacks. Someone had strung colorful lights around the tents, fluttering in the breeze like a festival.

“Welcome, Akata.”

Among them, Nahean spoke like a demon king with a wicked smile.

“We have some unresolved issues with you from the third quarter. We mixed the drinks with love, so if you feel even a little guilty, drink with all your heart.”

“I already apologized…”

The lined-up shots on the table were Nahean’s bullets, and the women from his subordinates group behind him were his henchmen.

Akata was truly trapped. There was no escape.

“Rudel, shouldn’t you intervene?”

Aleon, passing by, looked worriedly at Akata. I shrugged.

“This is Akata’s karma. And he’s grown up; he should handle it himself.”

There was no reason for me to take care of him like a child. Deliberately, I didn’t look back at Akata, instead drinking and chatting with Kanel.

About 30 minutes later.

“Rudel? Shouldn’t you check on Akata?”

Shemarin nudged my back as she passed by.

Reluctantly, I turned to look at Akata. He was thoroughly soaked in alcohol, his eyes unfocused, and swaying with a sloppy grin.

Despite being teased by the women from Nahean’s group crowding around him, he didn’t avoid them, being heavily drunk.

I stared blankly for a moment, then shook my head again.

“Why does everyone expect me to look after him? Akata can handle his own issues.”

“Well—”

Shemarin started to say something but closed her mouth. What was she trying to say?

“Akata, come visit the subordinates group’s dorm!”

“Yeah, it’s your first time seeing it as an adult, right? Check out how much it’s changed, okay?”

“Let’s go right now!”

The loud commotion reached Kanel. He glared.

“Rudel, don’t you think you should stop this?”

I was silent for about three seconds before nonchalantly turning my head.

No way that shy, socially awkward guy would actually go with them—

“Sure… I’ll go…”

“Really? Wow!”

I could feel the crowd moving away behind me, but I kept my poker face until the end.

Akata can handle himself. He’s an adult. He has the right to do what he wants.

As long as he’s not completely drunk…

Kanel, suffering from a headache due to prolonged drinking and the loud noise, decided to call it a night. When we returned to our villa, Lilith greeted us. Lilith hadn’t joined the after-party because she was watching over Gio, who was in a coma.

Kanel and Lilith went to bed first. Though I was exhausted, I just sat on the living room sofa, passing the time.

The clock ticked away.

When Akata still hadn’t returned past midnight, I finally decided to go find him.

‘I should’ve just said he was too drunk and brought him back! Why did I leave him?’

I had no idea why I was regretting it. I knew the people in the subordinates group were good and would never harm Akata.

Thinking about the women crowding around Akata made my legs slow down. My running pace gradually turned into a walk until I stopped in the middle of the path.

‘Even if they don’t harm him, there are still many things I wouldn’t want Akata to do…’

As I was about to start running again, I noticed something in the corner of the path.

There was a bench, and though it was hard to see in the dark, someone with tied-up hair sat there.

Akata was sitting alone on the bench, nodding off.

All my anxiety vanished. I stood there in bewilderment, staring down at him, speechless for a while.

When I nudged him, his eyelids slowly lifted.

“What are you doing here?”

Seeing his alcohol-glazed eyes made my heart pound. A joke slipped out of my mouth.

“Are you trying to lessen my workload by sleeping outside because I’m overworked from moving people?”

Akata let out a low chuckle. He leaned back against the bench, looking at me intently.

“You said you were going to the subordinates group’s dorm. Did you finish playing?”

I didn’t really want to ask, but I felt compelled to. This contradictory feeling, what was it? Was I always like this?

“I never went. I made an excuse and slipped away on the way.”

“Then why not go home? What are you doing here?”

Akata gave a sly smile, as if waiting for that question.

“I thought you might come looking for me.”

His eyes were still hazy from the alcohol. Despite his face being completely disarmed by drunkenness, there was an underlying fox-like smile.

I gave a somewhat irritated smile.

“Did you follow the girls just to make me come find you?”

He didn’t deny it, just smiled brightly.

“Does it annoy you?”

Akata never avoided my gaze, from start to finish.

But once again, I was a coward.

Just like before, I gave up holding eye contact for too long. I looked away.

Akata’s smile faded.

Feeling quite pathetic, I said something ridiculous.

“When you were a child, I never imagined you’d grow up this much.”

The image of him as a young boy still lingered, blocking my heart from going further.

As if to shut me up, Akata spoke with the most determined tone I’d ever heard from him.

“I, just like everyone else, was born an adult. But I was temporarily turned into a boy by Aria.”

His eyes, expression, voice, and even the intangible pull of his soul.

He was putting everything into persuading me.

“Please, let me love you.”

So I was willing to be swayed. By my own choice.

“And let yourself love me too, Rudel.”

Akata didn’t forget to appeal to me with that mischievous smile I liked.

Since he was a boy, his sudden actions and charming side often put me in tough spots, but looking back, they had also brought me much joy.

A light breath escaped from me, almost like a sigh. Akata’s eyes darted around, trying to decipher the meaning of my smile. 

Ultimately, I was persuaded by Akata. 

I let go of my reservations and embraced him. I’m not sure what pushed me to finally accept the feelings I had been ignoring up until now. Perhaps I was deeply intoxicated as well.

Before I could even touch him, Akata closed his eyes and parted his lips.

His gaze was disheveled in a way I had never seen in any game scene. It was rough, almost vulgar. All of it was new. It was something only I could see.

Every time I tried to pull away, Akata drew me back in. We kissed so many times that my head spun, and my breath came out ragged. 

When I came to my senses, my clothes were damp from the moisture rising from the bushes, and I found myself sitting on his lap. 

When Akata leaned in for another kiss, I stopped him this time.

“Let’s go home.”

“Can we finish this at home?”

“No, we’ll go to our separate rooms and sleep.”

He looked utterly disappointed, but I had no intention of indulging him further. 

It was my revenge for his teasing.

We quietly slipped into the villa, hand in hand.

“You’re back…?”

Lilith, who seemed to have just woken up, greeted us with wide eyes. 

Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I jumped in surprise.

“Uh, yeah. I found our kid. Now, let’s go to bed. I’m sleepy.”

I decided to keep this a secret from Lilith for now. 

It felt wrong to act like this when Gio still hadn’t woken up.

* * *

Lilith went into her private room but left the door slightly ajar to peek outside. 

Akata stepped up to Rudel and kissed her on the forehead. With a lingering look of regret, he waved goodnight.

Lilith saw everything.

‘…This is great!’

She jumped up in joy, happy as if it were her own affair.

She had suspected this would happen ever since she and Rudel returned to the game world together, especially after witnessing their passionate reunion.

‘Rudel will probably keep it a secret out of guilt for a while. But I’m really okay with it. I’m happy they’re together.’

Lilith closed her door and turned around.

Gio had been occupying her bed since the previous day.

Since being taken out of the glass chamber, he hadn’t moved an inch.

‘But he’s here with me.’

To check if Gio was alive, all she had to do was hold his hand and feel the warmth.

If she watched closely, his chest rose and fell with his regular breathing. Lilith would often try to match her breathing to his.

‘Gio will come back soon. I can wait as long as it takes.’

Just imagining living together, looking into his eyes, and holding his hand filled her with excitement.

Seeing Rudel and Akata earlier had made her feel even more restless. She didn’t return to the makeshift bed she had set up beside him but instead stayed by Gio’s side, losing track of time.

‘Ah, it’s raining again.’

Clouds gathered, blocking out the moonlight. Lilith watched the pouring rain for a moment.

Because the room grew darker, she didn’t notice it right away.

A large finger twitched for a brief moment.

Something made her feel like she had to look down sharply, as if someone had pushed her head.

“Ah!”

She exclaimed loudly, jumping to her feet.

“Gio!”

The sound of rain outside no longer reached her ears.

* * *

It must have been just about five seconds since I got into bed when someone screamed so loudly outside that I jumped up in shock.

“Lilith?”

But I knew from the sound of it.

It was Lilith’s scream of joy.

As soon as I realized, I kicked off the blankets and ran like a bullet. I flung open the door to Lilith’s private room, almost breaking it down in the process.

A sigh of relief escaped me, followed by a crooked smile.

Our silly girl.

My first battle companion.

And now, the beloved of a dear friend.

Gio had just woken up, holding Lilith tightly around the neck, his face already turning red.

Then, the door behind me was flung open again, this time almost coming off its hinges.

“Gio!”

Akata, with his red hair flying, rushed in and hugged him, almost knocking both of them into the bed.

Akata and Gio had been distant before, but after we disappeared right after the Champion Challenge, leaving Gio in the glass chamber with Akata, it seemed Akata had redefined the concept of family.

Now, Akata might like Gio the most in our guild, except for me, of course.

Though it’s mostly one-sided on Akata’s part. Gio doesn’t feel the same way…

Gio blinked his eyes.

“Who…?”

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

Come to think of it, this is Gio’s first time meeting Akata as an adult.

But Gio had always been perceptive, so he soon realized who the joyous man hugging him was. His eyes widened like saucers.

“Huh? Wait, you’re the kid?”

He always had a way of ruining the moment. The fact that his old nickname for Akata hadn’t changed made me chuckle wryly.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten Akata’s name.”

Even as I spoke, I quickly started operating the communication window.

I needed to call Unahar to come over if he wasn’t already asleep. Even if he was, he needed to wake up and get here.

“And that dark guy?”

“You mean Taggiros? That’s a long story…”

I wondered where to start and how much detail I needed to go into to explain everything to this idiot. Getting him to understand the current situation seemed daunting.

Despite the long road ahead, I couldn’t help but smile. Gio looked even more confused.

Well, by the time Gio finally understands everything, all the characters will probably know the whole truth.

Looking into Gio’s bewildered eyes, I felt the last missing piece of my life click into place, and I found satisfaction in the “reality” I had achieved.

– The End