“Explain.”
The voice came from the large table at the center of the first-floor parlor. About six people were gathered around the table that had caught Sarah’s attention the night before.
Ah, I’m doomed.
Belatedly remembering just how precarious her situation was, Sarah nervously surveyed the group. There was one middle-aged man, two women, and three men who looked to be around Enoch’s age.
They stared at Sarah without blinking, as though they had seen something they shouldn’t have. To exaggerate only slightly, they looked as if they had forgotten how to breathe.
Despite encountering quite a few people the day before, the only familiar face among them was Marcus, the man with the peculiar beard. Unlike the previous night, he was now trying to look rather dignified among his peers.
The people gathered around the table carried an unmistakable air of authority. Even without an explanation, they seemed to be silently declaring, We’re important people in the guild.
So they’re holding some sort of important meeting in the captain’s house this early in the morning?
Quickly piecing together the situation, Sarah obediently lowered her gaze to the floor.
“Wasn’t Cygnus supposed to never tolerate an immune?”
The one who took issue with Sarah’s presence was one of the three men who appeared to be around Enoch’s age.
With sharp, upturned eyes and a nose so perfectly straight it seemed almost cold, he had a face that could hardly be called approachable, even as a joke.
The only things softening his severe appearance were his short lavender hair and translucent gray eyes.
“I thought that was an immutable principle beyond dispute.”
With a sardonic sneer, the man raised his voice as though deliberately ensuring that Sarah felt the sting of his words.
“……This isn’t what was promised.”
His tone heavy with reproach, the man pressed Enoch for an explanation, then fixed Sarah with a glare that looked capable of killing her on the spot. His gaze toward the immune who had suddenly appeared was filled with unmistakable contempt and disgust.
“…….”
Faced with such naked hostility, Sarah understood at a glance just how badly she had stumbled into trouble.
“Well.”
In stark contrast to the man’s pointed demand, Enoch’s response was strangely detached.
Seated in the only chair by the window, Enoch was practically reclining as he gazed outside.
With his weight thrown back and the chair balanced precariously on two legs, he somehow looked even more lethargic than he had the day before.
It was doubtful whether he was even listening to the conversation, let alone participating in the meeting.
“I don’t recall making any such promise.”
His indifferent tone sounded almost irresponsibly unconcerned, as though the matter had nothing to do with him.
Keeping his gaze on the clouds drifting lazily across the sky, Enoch tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Disliking immunes was just my personal preference. I don’t remember ever making it a rule.”
Bang!
The man slammed his hand onto the table at Enoch’s utterly unconvincing answer.
With that single blow, the pride of the parlor—a massive table—didn’t merely split in two. It shattered into countless pieces.
It was impossible to tell what kind of force he had used to destroy it so completely, but fragments went flying throughout the parlor.
“Uh… He seems angrier than I thought?”
“Be quiet, you fool.”
The others, who had silently watched the blatant display of aggression, began murmuring among themselves.
Some appeared noticeably uneasy at the man’s excessive fury.
After such an overtly intimidating display, an uncomfortable silence descended over the parlor.
What kind of brute behaves like that?
Trying to distance herself from the icy atmosphere, Sarah clicked her tongue as she glanced at a splinter that had rolled to her feet.
At that moment, she thought she understood why the parlor had become so barren.
“Stop spouting nonsense and answer me properly, Enoch Soser. Why is there an immune here in the Cygnus Guild?”
The man who had just destroyed someone else’s furniture showed no sign of backing down as he demanded an explanation again. His hand shifted subtly toward the hilt of the sword at his waist, threatening to draw it if he failed to receive a satisfactory answer this time.
“Why? She’s here because she’s my slave.”
Had Enoch noticed the gesture, perhaps he would have responded with a little more tact. Unfortunately, his attention remained fixed on the clouds, making his response painfully blunt.
“What?”
“Captain, are you serious? An immune?”
This time, the others reacted before the man could. Though no one stepped forward, it was obvious that Enoch’s sudden decision had deeply unsettled them.
“Why would you do something like that without even discussing it—?”
Among them, a woman with the same red hair as Enoch spoke in a voice dripping with displeasure.
Before she could finish, the chair Enoch had been balancing on came down hard against the wooden floor with a loud thud.
“Discuss?”
Enoch cut her off.
Apparently irritated by that particular word, he stopped tilting his chair and tilted his head instead.
“Ha.”
With a low chuckle, Enoch finally shifted his gaze from the window to his subordinates.
Though he remained sprawled in the chair as casually as discarded laundry, the simple act of turning his attention toward them sharpened his previously languid demeanor. As his gaze swept across the faces gathered in the parlor, he radiated the arrogance and strength of a predator that had never known hunger.
“Who dares?”
Coming from him, even words that brazen seemed perfectly natural.
“Hah!”
“Captain, even if you’re right, isn’t that going a little too far?”
Who would feel good hearing something like that?
Even those who had remained silent frowned at his openly dismissive attitude.
“If you think about it, he’s not wrong. It was never officially a rule, but there was still an unspoken understanding.”
“That’s right. The Cygnus Guild doesn’t use immunes. Everyone knows that.”
“Why would the captain even need a slave? He doesn’t so much as lift a spoon himself.”
Once the complaints began, there seemed to be no end to them. Even so, the atmosphere had not completely soured yet. If Enoch had simply offered even a reluctant explanation for why he needed the immune, everyone probably would have accepted it and moved on.
“It’s obvious.”
The one who finally dragged the precarious atmosphere straight into the abyss was, unsurprisingly, the man who had raised the issue in the first place.
“After fooling around with every woman in the guild, now you’re dragging an immune into your bed too?”
Apparently having reached his own conclusion while observing the exchange, he gave a derisive snort and glared at Enoch as though at an enemy, his voice dripping with mockery.
“You have no honor—”
Bang!
Before he could finish, Enoch slammed his hand down on the windowsill.
“……!”
Thud!
The impact traveled through the wall and shook the entire house. The old wooden structure, barely holding itself together, creaked violently, and the clocks lining one wall fell like leaves in a gust of wind.
“…….”
“…….”
When the sudden commotion subsided, an oppressive silence far heavier than before settled over the parlor. Everyone who had been trading barbs moments earlier fell silent as if on cue, including the man who had been questioning Enoch’s honor.
And Sarah…
Oh, damn it. Are they seriously going to make me clean all this up?
Staring at the utterly wrecked room, she found herself preoccupied with a very practical concern.
Why do these guild people always end up breaking things whenever they talk?
Sarah let out a long sigh, already dreading the tedious work awaiting her.
If I have to clean all this up too, when am I supposed to go find Leniss?
“…….”
“…….”
Thus, with everyone in the parlor having fallen silent, the room became so quiet that even the breathing of the person beside you could be heard.
Only then did Enoch speak.
“Don’t get it twisted, Gideon.”
His utterly cold gaze settled on the man.
At the sound of his name, Gideon involuntarily flinched when his eyes met Enoch’s.
It was hardly a brave reaction, but since he wasn’t the only one frozen in fear at that moment, it didn’t stand out much.
“You’re the one freeloading on my land.”
The statement was so cold and merciless that even Sarah, merely watching, felt a twinge of secondhand sorrow.
“If you don’t like it here, leave. I won’t stop you.”
It was also a final warning to stop bothering him. Everyone in the room understood that the message wasn’t meant for Gideon alone.
“…….”
Contrary to expectations that he would erupt in rage, Gideon merely bit his lip in frustration.
“……One day, your arrogance will consume you.”
Leaving behind that rather poetic curse, he stormed out of the parlor. Even as he passed Sarah on his way out, he didn’t neglect to intimidate her.
“Filthy….”
The instant she met his sharp, dagger-like gaze, Sarah instinctively knew that life in the guild was not going to be easy.
“Is it ending like this again?”
“Haah… Can’t we go one day without fighting?”
With Gideon gone, the meeting completely fell apart. Muttering complaints, the others trudged out of the parlor without so much as a proper goodbye.
Marcus was the only one who stayed behind.
“Ugh, I can’t take this! Can’t you speak nicely for once? Did you really have to be so harsh?”
Smack!
Marcus rushed over and slapped Enoch squarely on the back without hesitation.
“You needed an immune urgently! Thanks to her, Seiyen’s life was saved! Why can’t you just explain what happened? Why can’t you talk?!”
The scene looked exactly like a parent scolding an immature child.
It was laughable, considering Enoch Soser was probably the oldest human not merely in the room, but in the entire world.
“What are you going to do if they really pack up and leave?!”
“Then I’ll think, ‘Oh, they’re leaving,’ and move on.”
“No way! You might be fine because you’re so great, but I’m not fine! I’m not!”
“Then you can leave too.”
“Ugh…!”
With responses like that, it was hard not to sympathize with Marcus’s frustration. Draped over the chair like a wet towel, Enoch stared vacantly at the clouds outside, looking like a man too lazy to do anything at all.
“Come on, talk to them properly later. At the very least, you have to talk to Gideon! His group is the most efficient and gets the most work done!”
Marcus thumped his chest in frustration, clearly worried that the guild’s most capable members might actually leave.
“Ugh, I don’t care. It’s annoying. You leave too. I’m tired.”
“Why is it annoying?! It’s your guild business!”
By contrast, the captain himself seemed utterly unconcerned. He didn’t so much as flinch, continuing to stare at the sky as though even breathing were a chore.
“Slave, the guest says he’s leaving.”
Ignoring Marcus’s protests, Enoch waved a hand dismissively, plainly telling him to get out already.
“Goodbye….”
Caught off guard, Sarah awkwardly offered a half-hearted farewell, unsure what else she was supposed to do.
“Fine, I’m going! I’m going!”
Realizing he could hardly remain after such a blatant dismissal, Marcus reluctantly left the parlor. He stomped away in protest, huffing and puffing as his irritation continued to mount.
“…Ugh, why is that damn depression acting up again?”
Overhearing his muttered words, Sarah tilted her head in confusion.
Enoch does seem a little lethargic, but is he really that depressed?
Thud.
With the last guest gone, only Enoch and Sarah remained in the house.
Putting aside her brief thoughts about Enoch, Sarah decided to seize the opportunity to leave as well.
“Master, may I step out for a moment…?”
What? Where did he go?
But when she turned around, Enoch was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, he had gone upstairs during that brief moment.
That was fast.
Left alone, Sarah was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to pretend she knew nothing and simply run away from Enoch.
Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang!