I was somewhat surprised when we got to our destination, a big building in what I could tell was the nicer part of town. Angel Boy also informed me that they didn't share the space since the guildmaster owned the entire property.
I briefly wondered where they got the money from, considering the guild only had five members until I came along, but decided it wasn't my business. They paid off my debt with those deep pockets. That's all I needed to know.
Angel Boy gave me a quick tour of the place, showing off the dorms, multiple lounges, and the meeting room. There were even more rooms that I wasn't allowed in, which of course I was curious about.
"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that you haven't met the others yet and I can't tell you about that stuff until you truly become part of the team," he explained bashfully.
So the guild has secrets. Interesting.
"Sure, that makes sense," I replied, taking one last look at the forbidden doors before we moved on.
He brought me upstairs and that's when I finally met the other four members. They were all together in a large office lined with shelves of books and several desks in the center. Two men sat working at the desks while the other two, a man and woman, were sprawled across the furniture in the sitting area next to the desks.
The woman was the first to notice our arrival. "Milo! You're back!"
The next to speak was one of the men sitting at the desks. He never lifted his gaze off the papers he was working on, but I could tell he knew I was there by the way he tensed up.
"Did you level up your healing skill?"
Angel Boy went over to sit with the others, leaving me hanging in the doorway. "No. I was only in there for about thirty minutes before I got hit and had to leave."
"Those big guilds couldn't even protect their healers? Useless. We'll go with you next time so you don't have to rely on that trash again," the woman huffed.
"It wasn't all bad," Angel Boy soothed, "I recruited a new member for the guild. Everyone, meet Grey."
Four pairs of eyes turned to me, minus the man still obsessed with his papers. With four people staring me down, I felt even more nervous than before. Though, at least now they were no longer purposefully ignoring me.
"Hey," I said, waving one hand at them.
Immediately I started having an internal meltdown. All that time spent in the car telling myself I was going to be cool and all I've got is "hey?" If that's not the saddest self introduction, I don't want to know what could top it.
The other man on the couch started laughing, a big sound that filled the empty space of the room. It didn't feel good to know he was laughing at my expense, but at least it took some of the pressure off.
He got up and lumbered over to me, stopping so close I had to lean my head back to look at him. Actually, he was just that tall. A giant made of muscle and topped with a head shaved down to a buzz cut.
"The name's Gage," he drawled, slinging a heavy arm over my shoulders. I wobbled a little when he did, not that he noticed.
"I like him already. He's got battle scars." This was directed to the others, who continued to watch the interaction.
What? Oh, my leg. That's a weird reason to like a person, but considering how many scars littered his face and arms, he must've been able to relate.
Gage dragged me back with him, sitting me down on one of the couches. I just let it happen, knowing I couldn't escape the big man anyways. I still couldn't walk properly on the piece of plastic I was now calling my leg.
Angel Boy introduced the others. Willow, the woman who first greeted Angel Boy, was stretched out over two armchairs, curly pink hair draping over half her face. She grinned at me, but it didn't feel very friendly.
The other man who had yet to say anything was Victor. He had gone back to working after the initial excitement and kept his silence through the introductions.
I didn't mind much because he looked swamped. Not to mention the noticeable dark circles, mussed hair, and just how haggard he looked. Poor dude. As an ex-office worker, I felt for the man.
The last to be introduced turned out to be the guildmaster. I waited for his acknowledgement, half expecting him to just tell me to get out, but it never came.
Angel Boy tried to reassure me, whispering in my ear, "Don't worry, Ash is like this with everyone at first. Just give him some time to warm up to you."
Great. It seems my new boss is a bit of a jerk.
Ash looked up then and ran his eyes lazily over me in the way of someone assessing the value of an object. He dismissed me as quickly as he judged me, going back to his work, and, admittedly, I felt kind of hurt. I started to craft a mean nickname to call him behind his back when he looked back up, startling me.
Did he hear my thoughts? Crap, I guess that's actually plausible in this world. Am I going to have to start censoring my thoughts now? Probably. I wish too many people ill will. I'd definitely become the target of a mind reader.
"Milo," Ash reprimanded in a low voice, stopping my spiraling before it could get too far.
So it wasn't him reading my thoughts. Thank goodness, I was really starting to worry. Note to self, the guildmaster has good hearing.
It was then I noticed a small bird sitting on his head. It was nesting in his black hair and I was kind of shocked that this stuffy man was just letting it happen. It didn't fit his image at all.
I wanted to ask, but he already didn't like me. No need to purposefully draw attention to myself. And I really would have just let it go and pretended I didn't see anything, except the bird spoke.
"Ash, check out his stats. This newbie has absolutely no talent. He doesn't even have a good score on potential."
My mouth fell open. Magic healing powers, cool, whatever. A black hole portal that supposedly leads to a dungeon filled with monsters, I can accept that. A bird speaking so fluently? Yeah, that was not on this year's Bingo card. Well, okay, none of this was, but c'mon.
Ash was looking at me more intensely now. "Is something the matter?"
Oops, I totally gave myself away. I might as well ask since I've already given myself away.
"Um, sir, the bird?" I broached, taking care to be respectful. He scared me.
Willow was the one to answer. "What are you talking about? There's no bird here."
Angel Boy was looking concerned for me and the rest of them were obviously wondering if he had brought a lunatic to join their guild. Which, come to think of it, I haven't actually officially joined. They could still kick me out.
It was the guildmaster's face, though, that told me I had royally screwed up. There was clear shock there and I had to start questioning if maybe I was seeing things. Did I hit my head in that dungeon?
"He can see me? That's not good," the bird chirped.
The bird flitted down from Ash's head to land on the edge of the desk and the slight dip in gaze to follow the bird's trajectory told me I wasn't crazy. The bird was real, but for some reason the only people who can see him are me and the guildmaster.
Whatever's going on with that, I don't want to be involved. I still have no idea why I'm here and I've already uncovered one of the guild's secrets. Things were progressing too fast. Did I accidentally skip the tutorial? Why is it so hard right off the bat?
"Could he be like you, Ash? Someone from another world?" the bird tilted its little head. "I don't detect an accompanying system, though."
I'm sorry, what now?