41. What is a Guild

“Nnnya…”

I gradually regained consciousness, drawn in by a pleasant aroma. Hmm, is this herbs? But why? I thought, pushing myself up. A big yawn escaped my lips, “Kuah.” I stretched and looked around, finding Reki sitting in a corner of the room, legs crossed.

“…Good mowning…”

I greeted him, and he glanced at me briefly, took a sip from a cup, and then replied. What was with that pause?

Oh well. My mind was still foggy from sleep, so I just continued to space out. Reki, perhaps thinking I wanted some tea, asked, “Want some?”

“Yesh. Herb tea?”

I asked, guessing from the smell, and he confirmed it with a nod. He then silently poured hot water into a teapot. A refreshing herbal aroma, something minty, filled the room. It was invigorating.

“You can’t drink it over there. Come here.”

He said curtly, seemingly finished brewing the tea. I hurriedly ran my fingers through my hair, got out of bed, quickly checked my clothes, and then hurried over to Reki.

“This is the only chair, so be careful. It’ll be a pain if you spill it.”

“Okii. Thank you.”

I was getting used to Reki’s way of talking. This was definitely what they call tsundere. Though his tsun was quite strong.

The cup he handed me was warm, the tea inside a perfect temperature. I blew on it instinctively, thinking it might be hot, but there was no need. Reki was surprisingly good at brewing tea.

The minty aroma filled my nose, clearing the fog in my mind. But it wasn’t too strong, there was a gentle sweetness, like honey, that spread in my mouth. It was delicious.

“You’ll be learning a lot from now on. Wake yourself up properly.”

I see. That’s why he chose this tea. Ah, there’s even chocolate! He’s thought of everything. I enjoyed my tea time, pondering these things.

“Well then, I’ll explain about Ortus, but first… do you even know what a guild is?”

I was ready for study time! But Reki’s words caught me off guard. Apparently, the lesson would be held right here in the nap room. He said it was quiet and comfortable.

Anyway, Reki was surprisingly insightful. As he’d pointed out, I didn’t know what a guild was. I told him this honestly, and he sighed, as if expecting it, “As I thought,” and adjusted his posture.

“A guild is simply a group of people. A group of people with a common goal. That’s why there are many of them, and their purpose varies greatly.”

According to Reki, it seemed like there wasn’t even a clear definition of a “guild” in this world. Their structure seemed to be constantly changing, growing, and even a handful of people could form one, so there were apparently countless guilds.

“That’s why it was decided that all guilds would be ranked universally. A novice guild is basically a provisional establishment. If they can’t complete certain tasks within a given time frame, they’re disbanded.”

So, what they called “regular guilds” were intermediate and advanced guilds. To go from intermediate to advanced, regardless of how long they’d been established, they had to be recognized by the country based on their achievements. Eh, so what about Special-grade…? Did they achieve something even greater?

“You’re pretty easy to read. Yeah, there are only four Special-grade guilds in the world. Stella, Annulus, Nemo, and this one, Ortus. To be recognized as Special-grade, you need to be acknowledged not only by your own country, but by other countries as well. In other words, you’re allowed to operate in other countries without being reprimanded.”

Conversely, if they caused any trouble, they’d be held accountable, Reki continued. That made sense. If they used their title as a shield to act recklessly, it would tarnish their reputation.

“Well, that’s enough about guild rankings and guilds in general. Next, I’ll explain about Ortus. This is the important part. Pay attention.”

Ooh, I wanted to start taking notes. Would I be able to remember everything? But I couldn’t afford to lose heart. I straightened my back and replied,

“First of all, Ortus is a ‘jack of all trades’ guild. There’s a chance we’ll accept any kind of request.”

“Any… kind?”

But wouldn’t there be some… unsavory requests? Like assassination? They certainly had the skills for that.

“There’s a chance, I said. It’s up to the guild members whether we accept it. And before that, the receptionists screen the requests, and the intelligence division investigates any suspicious ones beforehand.”

I see. I was getting a better understanding of Saura-san and Gil-san’s work. As a Special-grade guild, they must be flooded with requests. Saura-san and the others in the reception and administration department screened them all.

And anything deemed strange was then investigated separately by Gil-san and the others in the intelligence division, further narrowing them down.

Rejected requests were returned to the clients, and those accepted were posted on that huge board, he said.

I’d been curious about that board. I thought it was a bulletin board or something, but it was a request board.

Incidentally, apparently, requests were rejected by the scary-looking guys. Maybe that huge guy I saw briefly before. Nika-san, the one with the sun-like golden hair, his body and personality as bold as his appearance. It’s a secret that I think his nickname is cute despite his appearance.

They were in charge of rejecting requests, so the clients they dealt with weren’t the best, the type to make a fuss. And if it was a noble, someone good-looking and well-spoken would be dispatched. Ah, that would be Schlie-san or Kei-san, huh. So, there are troublesome people in every world. How exhausting…!

“The board is roughly divided by difficulty level. You decide which request is appropriate for your skills, take it off the board, and bring it to the reception desk. If they deem it acceptable, you can finally accept the request.”

So that’s why every guild had a lot of reception and administration personnel. It’s true that there were always a lot of people in the reception area. But there must be even more guild members.

The way you accepted requests and the general system were similar to what I’d read in stories. There were penalties for failing to complete a request, but depending on the circumstances, additional penalties could be added, he said.

It seemed like managing a large organization was tough. And Saura-san, the head of the guild, was always cheerfully handling everything. As expected, she wasn’t just anyone!

“So, that’s that. There are basically two types of work in our guild, or rather, in any guild. Those who run the guild, and those who accept requests. Saura-san, Tioris in the cafeteria, and myself, the medical staff, fall into the former category. Kei-san, Schlie-san, and the idiot oni are in the latter.”

But apparently, even those who usually went on requests sometimes had to help with guild operations. Capable people had to be flexible. It’s true that capable people can handle anything they’re given. Ahh, I’m envious.

Anyway, because of all that, I had to decide which one I’d be. Even if I was a child, I couldn’t stay in the guild without contributing. Well, I understood, and that was my intention, so it wasn’t a problem.

But you know, wasn’t that… obvious?

“…There’s no way a shrimp like you could go on requests, so naturally, you’re in the former category.”

Right! I knew that!!

And so, my general standing in the guild was determined in that casual manner. Now for the specifics!