"HAHAHA, look at his face!"
"Pfff... Hahaha!"
Ugh... how annoying. They were all standing in front of me, making fun of my swollen face. Even though I was holding an ice pack to relieve the pain and swelling, it was still very noticeable. Suffice it to say that I couldn't close my eye completely...
"Oh, they really beat you up."
"I didn't like it."
"Look on the bright side, you'll learn something from this."
The good thing about learning things is that I don't have to get beaten up, this time it's the opposite. I let out a groan of pain as I took the ice pack off my face and left it on the bed. I remember them telling me that the bag was made with slime and other stuff, maybe that's why it's so sticky.
"There's nothing else for us to do here, let's get out of here."
With a sigh, I got up from the bed and followed the others, before being stopped by the goat woman from earlier.
"Wait! Even though the participant didn't win first place, this is the prize for second place."
Ah... Well, at least it's something.
"Pffff... Hehehe."
All my thoughts vanished as soon as I saw the others stifling their laughter, which ended up embarrassing me.
"Thank you very much."
I replied to the woman, picking up the second-place prize and then walking back with the others.
<<>>
"Hey, give me that."
"No, it's mine!"
I yelled at Anna, trying to take the things she grabbed away from her. The second-place prize was a basket full of fruits and plants, topped with a red bow. According to Ophelia and Miss Hyeol, some plants had healing properties or could be used in cultivation, even though they were the worst.
It didn't take us long to reach the sect, where the elders were waiting for us.
"It seems you didn't win."
"Something like that."
Ophelia and Hyeol stayed behind talking to the elder, while the rest of us went to our rooms, straight to bed.
"Ughhh... What an exhausting day."
"You can say that again."
I put the basket on the floor before falling face first onto the mattress. Now that I remember, they gave us this mattress a week after we got here. For a whole week, we slept on the floor. All that week, I missed the grass we used to sleep on when we were in the forest...
I slowly fell asleep, watching Oswin take several fruits out of the basket and carry them to the other side of the room to eat with the others.
<<>>
"Can you repeat that?"
"You're so stubborn... I'm saying that from this moment on, you will no longer belong to this sect!"
"W-What!? Why!?"
As soon as I woke up, I was called to Ophelia's office, where she and Miss Hyeol were waiting for me. I had no idea why they had called me, but as soon as I walked in, they said that I would no longer be in the sect from that moment on.
"You see, Conan, after talking with Ophelia, we agreed that it would be more beneficial for you to join MY guild."
"B-But I..."
"It's already been decided. Gather your things and say your goodbyes. Originally, today was the day I was leaving this sect, so I'll take advantage of that and take you with me today."
I don't understand... It's very sudden. I thought it was because I had lost the day before, but if that were the case, the others would have to be kicked out too. So why only me?
With no other choice, I had to go back to... Now that I think about it, what do I have? I already had the dagger I had obtained during my escape from the orphanage in my hand, but other than that, I had nothing else.
"Hey, Conan, what are you doing?"
Behind me were all the others, who seemed to be waking up.
"Yes, you see..."
----Ophelia's POV----
"Is this okay? I told you I could take him later."
"No, they'll throw a tantrum no matter what time or place."
The night before, we had already agreed to Conan's departure from the sect and his transfer to Hyeol's guild. The old man who had welcomed us earlier also opposed the idea of Conan being transferred so suddenly, but I ignored his words completely. After all, the sooner he goes, the better for him.
-BAM!-
Suddenly, the door burst open and several of the new children came in. It seems they didn't take long to find out.
"Hey, what's this about Conan leaving!?"
"Are you kicking him out just for losing a fight? None of us could have won!"
"That's right, this is unfair!"
Ugh... and I thought they wouldn't be so noisy in the morning. With a wave of my hand, I sealed each of their lips before speaking.
"Conan isn't leaving because he lost the fight, it's just better for him to be in the guild."
With great effort, Ghislaine parted her lips before speaking.
"Anyway, we won't allow it!"
"Huh!? Who do you think you are to decide that?"
Maybe it was because of her arrogant tone or because I was tired of talking about it, but I ended up raising my voice and letting a strong pressure fall on all of them.
Due to the pressure, all the children fell straight to the ground, unable to breathe.
"Ophelia, stop that."
"You're right, let me go."
Following Hyeol's words, I stopped applying pressure before sitting back down.
"T-this isn't fair..."
Ishhh... it seems I went a little too far. In front of me, many of the children kept their heads down, while others shed tears. Reading the atmosphere, Hyeol stood up and began to speak.
"Calm down, nothing will happen to Conan, it's just much better for him to come with me."
Exactly, that's what—
"Unfortunately, this sect doesn't have the resources to cultivate someone of his level. That's why I'm taking him with me!"
"Huh!? I have enough resources to raise him to a high rank!"
"See? Even Ophelia gets angry at her own incompetence."
-Schlack-
With a smooth movement, I placed the tip of my sword against Hyeol's throat.
"Okay, jokes aside, those are the reasons."
"That's better,"
I said, putting away my sword.
"Can't we do anything?"
asked the red-haired girl, whose name I think was Anna.
"It's best not to."
Hearing Hyeol's words, the girl nodded before getting up with the help of the others and leaving the office.
"All right, since everything is ready, I have to go prepare the carriage."
With that, Hyeol left and left me alone.
----Conan's POV----
"Send us letters!"
"We'll all be waiting for you!"
"Please don't forget us!"
W-wait, let me breathe! Right now, I was being squeezed by everyone, while they dirtied the clothes Miss Hyeol had given me earlier with their snot and tears.
"All right, it's time for us to go. Get in!"
Thanks to the lady's words, the others let go of me and I was able to escape their grip. I walked straight to the carriage, following her from behind.
"Goodbye!"
I shouted to everyone, waving my hand as soon as I felt the carriage start to move. They all waved goodbye to me, before we drove away so far that I couldn't see them anymore.
"Cheer up, Conan, this is the beginning of a more fun part of your life!"
Even though the young lady was trying to cheer me up, tears ran down my face. I could barely cover them with my hands as they flowed more intensely. The young lady just stroked my back.