Guild Boss's Ambition

When she heard the name of Stone House, the president's smile suddenly stopped. She didn't say any more on this topic. I obviously noticed something unusual and I didn't dare to risk my life by asking her questions. Then, in a strange silence, she took me on a public carriage and took advantage of the twilight to go to her residence, my home.

……

……

The shaky signboard...

The sleepy shop assistant at work...

The deserted lobby...

The floors and stairs are in disrepair...

"This... this is the Adventurer's Guild?"

Although I was mentally prepared, I still couldn't hide my surprise after seeing the true appearance of the stone house. I pointed at the dilapidated store and asked a hurtful question even though I already knew the answer.

Hearing my rude question, President Ehard's expression froze for a moment, and then he forced himself to show a polite smile that belonged to the host: "I'm sorry, the environment is not very good, so I have to let Xiaolan make do with it for a while."

Xiaolan?

Although I didn't quite understand why I suddenly degenerated from Miss Lannong to Xiao Lan, compared with my just rude words, this change in address suddenly seemed unimportant. I looked up at the president who was forcing a smile for a long time, and I still couldn't utter a word of apology or comfort, because those unnecessary words were just another blade to hurt the other person.

I had no choice but to ask, "Can you show me the room?"

Fortunately, after hearing my request, her smile seemed to become a lot more natural.

"With pleasure! Please follow me."

She raised her eyebrows and tried to hold my hand again without any precautions. I immediately wanted to retract my hand and tried to step back to avoid her grasp, but the female knight's physical fitness had an overwhelming advantage, and in the end she still held my little hand tightly.

"Don't run away!"

President Ehard proudly raised my little hand to her nose and sniffed it, and I could only admit that her teasing action did produce an outstanding effect. As a mute virgin, I undoubtedly could not withstand this stimulation, which made my heartbeat accelerate by more than twice, and the blood instantly rushed to my neck, making my face hot.

"Damn, I'm definitely blushing like a woman right now!"

I angrily scolded myself for being so shameless while lowering my head, trying not to let the president next to me notice my embarrassment. However, from the constant teasing feeling coming from the palm of my hand, it seems that she has seen my expression clearly, and she has also intensified her teasing and flirting with me, which makes me lower my head even lower──

The spiral staircase of the stone house extends all the way to the third floor, and President Ehard took me to the second floor. Looking at the rooms on both sides of the corridor, I found that most of the doors here had an empty houseplate hung on them. As a store providing accommodation services, this stone house was undoubtedly in a very difficult situation.

"Here we are, right here."

After turning a corner, the president's daughter in front of me stopped and opened a door for me. Inside the door was a tidy small suite, which was at least three times larger than my small unit of only a little over a hundred square feet.

"A guest recently used this place, so it's relatively clean. You can rest here tonight, okay?"

The president held a key halfway in front of my eyes. I nodded to her with gratitude. "To be honest, the environment here is much better than the impression I got from downstairs. I think I should have a good dream tonight."

The president's expression froze for a moment, and then she smiled dejectedly: "The business of my stone house is really not very good..."

At this moment, I realized that I had said the wrong thing again.

Just as I was hastily thinking about how to comfort the failed businessman in front of me, she had already begun a deep and harsh self-reflection: "No, to be more precise, the situation of Stone House has become so bad that it can't be any worse. Not only has it been losing money for four consecutive years, but the business has also been getting worse and worse. The huge debt of 800 gold is even more terrifying than my monthly period. Even at the end of last month, the few remaining employees took the initiative to resign..."

Staring in amazement at the black hole that was about to solidify, I immediately tried to log in to my IQ. IQ did not disappoint me. He came online and said, "It doesn't matter. You are still young. You can file for bankruptcy even if your business fails. In life, it's better to be optimistic. The world will be bright and the future will be bright!"

"Bankruptcy? The sky is the limit? Hahaha...hahaha..."

After hearing my advice, which was more like a finishing blow than a comfort, President Ehad held her forehead with one hand, inserted her five fingers into her bangs, and let out a sick laugh. Finally, as if her voice had broken, she fell completely silent.

"Sorry, I'm a little tired and have to go take a rest. Please help yourself."

After she finished speaking, the Miss President turned around without even looking at me, walked out the door and closed it.

"Idiot—"

I made a sign to myself, with a huge and unspeakable depression surging in my heart. At this moment, I hoped that everything in front of me was just virtual data. Then, the mistake I just made could be regarded as meaningless, and the heavy burden of the blonde girl was just a simple game plot, but...

"What idiot designed an online game to be so ridiculously realistic!"

Ever since President Ehard left, I've become more and more upset and anxious. I know exactly where the feeling that bothers me comes from, but I don't know how to completely solve the problem. Furthermore, I can't even think of a reason for myself to get involved. The most urgent thing is that I should find a way to log out of the game as soon as possible!

but……

Just seeing the strength that is about to break, probably any man can't ignore it, right?

Since I had made up my mind, I slapped the dressing table, straightened my back resolutely, strode out of this comfortable and spacious room, then nodded heavily to myself and set a clear and definite timeline for action.

"Anyway, let's go find something to eat first!"

Gurgle, gurgle, my honest stomach made the sound in response.

……

……

12. Weird Body (Little Blue)

(Ulu-Lannon)

"I'd like one serving of tuna ramen, please."

“No tuna.”

"Then a bowl of fish and peanut porridge?"

“No peanuts.”

"Chicken fried rice?"

“No chicken.”

“Fresh fish sushi?”

“No fish.”

"Chicken Ramen?"

“No chicken.”

Looking at this waitress in front of me who had no qualifications, I couldn't help but feel unhappy. The hunger that gradually increased as time went by also made me feel unpleasant and negative emotions, and I couldn't help but complain out loud.

"We don't have this, and we don't have that. What on earth are you selling here?"

Hearing this, the waitress with beautiful white hair blinked her big eyes, and then began to answer my questions at the speed of a machine gun: "For example, beef broth ramen, beef fried rice, curry beef brisket, white wine stewed beef, five-spice beef, three-cup beef, fresh tomato meat sauce pasta, black pepper beef fried rice, beef burger, double beef burger, super beef burger, beef celery triangle cake, Portuguese beef stewed with radish, red wine rose steak, boiled beef and non-boiled beef, and other exquisite dishes."

After finally digesting the above paragraph of text, I immediately smiled bitterly for this Adventurer's Guild that seemed to be on the verge of falling into hell: "So beef is the only meat left for you..."

The three-no white-haired waiter nodded: "Well, it's cheap after all."

Ah──

From what the waiter said, is this stone house so poor that they can only eat beef?

I lowered my head and fell into long thought.

Probably because there were only me and four other guests in the entire restaurant, the white-haired waitress showed enough patience and just waited silently for my instructions. It was not until ten minutes later that she could not help but ask.

"So, what would you like to order, miss?"

"Well, it's decided!"

Taking my eyes away from the menu on the table, I nodded vigorously to myself and replied, "No, I want to eat out!"

"Fly, die! Get out!"

The next moment, I, the unexpected guest, was met with merciless and cold criticism. Facts once again proved that in the face of the huge pressure from service providers, even the cutest and most innocent girls cannot get an extra golden medal of immunity. Looking at the white-haired waiter's sharp eyes as if he was looking at garbage, I could only smile and turn back immediately, then hurriedly left the restaurant of the Stone House and walked out of the store.

As soon as I stepped out of the stone house, the scene that hit me was in stark contrast to the bleakness inside the store. The streets were crowded with people at night, and wherever I looked, there were always men of war holding swords and in military uniforms. However, the streets were clearly full of adventurers coming to consume, so why was the business of the stone house behind me so bleak?

I looked up and saw the answer.

An elegant and noble building stands in front of the stone house in a magnificent posture. The tall main body of the building is like an ancient tree. The emerald green as the main color of the decoration style vaguely brings a gripping sense of mystery, teaching it to become powerful because of the unknown, and also because it is full of infinite possibilities, it makes people curious about adventure.

It is called the "Tree of Life."

A male Khajiit warrior equipped with heavy armor and an axe...

A half-elf girl wearing leather armor and carrying a bow and arrow...

A mysterious man in black cloak...

The belly full of fat intestines looks like a rich man...

In stark contrast to the miserable state of the stone house, the Tree of Life, which also serves as the Adventurer's Guild, is flooded with visitors. People of all kinds of identities and statuses come one after another, fully demonstrating the vigorous vitality of this behemoth. On the contrary, the stone house is like a weak seedling that has been deprived of all soil nutrients by the giant tree and is gradually dying.

"President Ehard..."

Thinking about the scene that the blonde girl would see every day when she opened the door, the irritability that surged in my heart became stronger, but my reason was still alerting me, not letting my sympathy run wild. I said to myself: "Ulu, Ulu, don't think of yourself as an omnipotent God. You can't even fill your stomach now!"

After some thought, I crossed the wide street and stood under the huge Tree of Life.

"Anyway, I should eat something first, then find a job, and then get to know this strange world."

I muttered to myself, preparing to walk into the huge building in front of me, but just as I raised my right foot, a pair of skeletal hands grabbed my right hand. I was immediately frightened by the bones and forgot to scream. I just turned my head stiffly to look at the owner of the bones. Then, I saw a beautiful girl in white and a pair of pure white eyes that did not belong to human beings.

ghost?

Staring at that paper-white face, this term popped up in my mind, but I immediately dismissed this association because she spoke, her voice was like the frozen lake, fragile and cold: "You are very special, like a fickle human, and like an elegant elf, but if you look deeper, you are not those existences at all. You make me feel like myself, and what am I? Can you tell me the answer?"

Not human? Not elf?

Fairy? Mysterious Fairy?

Putting the words of the strange girl in front of me in context, the racial name provided by the system immediately popped up in my mind. However, I did not answer any of the answers, nor did I dare to answer any of them: "I'm sorry, miss, I really don't know what you are talking about? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Hearing my response, the pure white girl half opened her mouth, revealing a lost and lonely expression, then she weakly loosened her bony hand that was holding my arm. She said nothing, lowered her eyes, and brushed past me. At this moment, my heart suddenly ached inexplicably, and tears flowed down my chin for no reason...

As the girl walked away, the heartache became more and more intense. I held my chest in pain and half-knelt on the ground. I waited until the pure white figure completely left my sight and disappeared into the crowded street. Only then did the pain and tears finally stop.

"What the hell is wrong with this body?"

"What's the matter with that girl?"

There are too many unanswered questions and too many changes without reason.

In a state of loss, I completely lost the will to continue exploring the world. I just stared blankly and returned to the cold stone house behind me. At least, this place was already poor and penniless. I didn't have money to buy too many things, and naturally there weren't too many unfamiliar things, let alone too many inexplicable emotions.

"Why? Why has this body suddenly become so sad?"

Relying on vague memories, I returned to the room that President Erhard had arranged for me. At this time, I was no longer aware of my physical hunger. I was just too tired to continue thinking. So, I fell on the bed as if giving up and closed my eyes.

Just as the pure white girl left, an intuition was imprinted on my soul in an irrefutable manner. It was a force that could not be interfered with by normal logic. It insulted me, it condemned me, it told me...

"She is real, and the world is real."

and so……

"Enjoy the world, my Ulu, my children."

A gentle voice sounded in my dream, reminding me of a kind and hazy figure. It must be someone I have never met in my memory, and it must be someone I was once very familiar with, a person who belongs to this world!

I opened my eyes wide in shock, and saw my little hand reaching out to the window in the middle of the night, maintaining the movement as if trying to grab something important. Then, I dropped my hand, just like the pure white girl, my arm drooped weakly.

"who am I?"

I asked myself a question and let the clumsy system answer it.

"The player is a poor kid who lost his memory and fainted by the Xiaowai Lake. Your life story may be full of mysteries, or it may be completely blank. Now, you can explore this unknown new world to your heart's content. If you need any help, please call the system. The system will do its best to help within the scope of its ability."

Then, the beautiful electronic sound repeated the original opening remarks, and I smiled along with it, a bitter smile.

"Yeah, maybe I really have lost my memory."

……

……

13. I hate work the most (Erhard)

(Mener-Ehard)

The familiar chirping of sparrows came to my ears, waking me up again in the early morning from exhaustion. I was the woman who was most reluctant to get up for work in the entire city of Mopolis. But precisely because I was extremely afraid of work, I was more punctual and hardworking than anyone else. Once life lost its regular rhythm, the nightmare of debt would snowball.

I opened my eyes and numbly put on the only knight's light armor that was suitable for going out. There was still a lot of work waiting for me today, but the reward for the huge workload was only the declining performance.

Actually, what Miss Lannong said yesterday was absolutely correct. If I had abandoned this stone house earlier and went back to the capital to be a knight, my life would definitely be much more comfortable than it is now. I might even have made friends with a young and promising nobleman, and lived a life of eating, drinking and having fun every day, instead of staying in this mixed city, facing all kinds of weird people and things day and night.

My life is like a water tank with a big hole in it. No matter how hard I try, I can't fill it up.

The first bastard who poked a hole in the water tank was my father's father, my dear grandfather.

Just like I inherited the Stone House from my father, my grandfather also got everything in the Stone House from my great-grandfather and became the ninth Guild Master of the Stone House. Frankly speaking, as a magician, my grandfather is undoubtedly a top talent, but his management methods are tragically inversely proportional to his magical talent!