’This makes no sense. Of all teams, I’m with her…?’
No, no.
At this point, this felt like some sort of sabotage.
“Oh, you’re with the support team?”
The rat said as he peeked his head over to see my phone. He was a little too close for my own comfort, but I bit the bullet and pretended like I was fine.
“I’m in the support team? Me?”
He proceeded to point at the line of text right above the Group Leader’s name.
“See? It says support team.”
“Now that you mention it…”
It really did say that.
But what exactly was this support team?
“Seems like things will be a little rough for you.”
The rat looked at me with pity. What does… Why was he looking at me like that?
I suddenly didn’t feel so good.
“I’m not too familiar with it myself, but as far as I know, the support team handles any issues that Guild Members might face. So if someone gets injured or is dealing with mental health problems, it’s usually your responsibility to take care of it.”
“That’s…”
“Oh, and it also looks like our team is one of the teams that you will be supporting.”
“Huh?”
Our team?
I lowered my eyes to stare at the list of names beneath the group leader’s and my stomach churned.
’Fuck, his name is really there!’
I wanted to throw the phone away and curse the one who made the teams.
How can a coinci—
“Well, I’m not really surprised we’re in the same team. After all, those of the support team usually take care of several teams at once. So, although it says that you’re with our team, you’re actually with multiple.”
“Eh?”
Was this really the case?
Looking down, it really did seem like it as I realized that I was looking at the layout wrong.
“If that’s true, then does that mean I’ll have to go all over the place?”
“Errr, more or less. At least that’s what the support team usually does. Well, you go whenever they call you.”
The dimples on the rat’s face became more pronounced. He was enjoying this situation, wasn’t he?
My fingers started to twitch.
I was really itching to test my new ability.
“Has everyone seen their groups?”
Clapping his hands to recapture everyone’s attention, the Section Chief raised one hand high.
“If anybody has any questions or complaints, please raise your hand.”
I raised my hand.
I was the only one to do so.
I stood out.
And…
“Good, it looks like nobody has any questions or complaints. This will be all from me and the team leaders today. I hope to see you all tomorrow morning. I do advise all of you to get some good sleep. It’ll be a long couple of days.”
As he said this, the Section Chief grabbed one of the bottles on his table and waved his hand in our direction before suddenly leaving.
The Team Leaders followed right after.
“…..”
I lowered my hand and covered my face.
Some day…
I’ll definitely traumatize him.
My fingers twitched.
’I’ll make that bastard scream to the point where he’ll pass out if that is the last thing I’ll do!’
***
The tatami door slid shut behind him as the Section Chief stepped out.
“Uwa… That was tiring. I guess I’ll get some sleep after drinking a bit.”
He eyed the bottle in his hands and smacked his lips.
Following behind him were the other Team Leaders. Just as the door shut, a tall man with a short beard, bushy brows, and graying hair stepped closer to the Section Chief, his deep voice resounding through.
“Why’d you do that?”
“Hm?”
The Section Chief looked back and looked at the Team Leader innocently.
“Do what?”
“Cut the nonsense. Why’d you ignore that kid when he raised his hand? I also caught you staring at him a couple of times. Is something going on?”
“…Oh, that kid.”
The Section Chief’s face fell a little.
“It’s nothing big. He’s just someone I’m trying to get to quit.”
“Quit?”
“It’s a bit of a complicated story, but he’s essentially here because of Kyle. He’s a friend of his and spends most of his time in the office making games. He was also the kid who found the recent gate in the museum. Because of that, the Guild decided to give him a base salary and some benefits.”
“That really happened?”
The man raised his brow. As a Team Leader, he was aware of most of the things happening in the department, but this was the first time he had heard of something like this.
He had been rather busy the past few days.
“Yeah, it happened. And he’s now getting some form of base salary that will go on for practically forever. Don’t you think that’s a massive waste on our budget?”
“….You’re right.”
The Team Leader nodded quietly.
“That does indeed sound like a waste of our budget.”
“You know how important money is for our department. Though this may not be much, it can still add up, which is why I’m trying to get him to quit.”
“Mhm. That sounds reasonable.”
“Right?”
Fiddling with the drink in his hand, the Section Chief looked towards the other Team Leaders.
“I’ve got to go now, but enjoy your night, you all. I’ll go enjoy my drink.”
He raised the bottle in his hand and excused himself.
As he turned away, his lips curled ever so slightly, and in a voice meant for no one but himself, he murmured, “As if I’m handing that guy over to any of you…”
Although his actions were a little ’mean-spirited’, the Section Chief wasn’t worried about Seth quitting. It’d be a pity if he did, but he had seen people like him in the past.
They were rare, but they existed.
Psychopaths.
That Seth.. he was one such psychopath.
He was made for stuff like this.
***
The weather was cold.
Coming out of the restaurant, I tried to look for Kyle, but the moment I spotted him, I gave up on all thoughts of approaching him.
’He sure is busy.’
He was currently surrounded on all sides.
Not wanting to interact with them or gain any more attention, I turned my attention away.
“I guess I’ll head to the dorms by myself.”
This wasn’t really an issue since the dorms were quite close.
Holding onto his jacket and zipping it up, I began to move to the dorms.
“Hm?”
However, just as I moved, I stopped and looked behind.
Another group appeared not far from where I was. They were all laughing and chatting together as they headed out of the restaurant.
Staring at them, my eyes fell on a certain individual with brown hair and blue eyes. He was relatively short and looked quite handsome.
Even his smile was quite nice.
’How strange.’
I scratched the side of my neck.
For a moment, I thought someone was watching me.
’Maybe I’m being too paranoid?’
Thinking about it and everything I had gone through, I wouldn’t even be surprised.
“I guess I’ll go get some sleep and think about everything else later.”
I really was tired.
Turning around, I made my way towards the dorms.
However, right as I made up my mind, my steps paused. I was suddenly reminded of the scene prior. The one involving Zoey and sighed.
“Right, I should do that…”
I was indeed at fault in that scenario.
Not only that, but I also needed to get more snacks to feed Mirelle.
I could imagine what would happen if I didn’t feed her.
Making up my mind, I headed towards the nearest convenience store.
’Hopefully, it’s still open.’