The D-Rank Guild Master of the No. 1 Guild

[Additionally, the scoring method for the manipulated round will proceed as follows.]

Soon, an announcement appeared on the electronic board.

First, individual rankings:

Considering the unfair matches, an additional percentage of points will be awarded to the first-generation rankings. This decision acknowledges that the second generation has relatively less experience.

Second, guild rankings:

The victory points for the first generation, who won against the second generation, will remain unaffected. However, if the second generation won narrowly (3:2), it will be treated as a draw, and if they won by a larger margin (4:1, 5:0), victory points will be awarded to the second generation.

Lastly, the results of the individual and guild rankings will be tallied and shared after three rounds.

As a result, the broadcasting booth takeover by the quartet ensured fairness in the sixth round and somewhat achieved harmony between generations, thanks to Runehan joining the operation.

Just before the players dispersed, Rudel stopped Runehan to ask him something.

“You really dislike me, don’t you? It was surprising that you participated in this plan. Did you join the team with me for the sake of fairness in the game?”

Runehan turned his head slightly to glance at Rudel.

“…It’s a misunderstanding. Anyone would feel uncomfortable seeing a doppelganger. The mistake I made towards you at the shop was just a normal emotional reaction.”

Despite having shared his feelings with his guildmate Garam at the Meadow Fortress, he was now denying it in front of Rudel.

“We don’t look that much like doppelgangers.”

At Rudel’s words, Runehan’s lip twitched slightly, forming a smile that was closer to a grimace.

* * *

In the darkness, the man faced another version of himself, a wolf. The wolf tried to devour him.

‘Ah, should I just die like this?’

Although he felt the softness of the bedding, he still felt like he was beneath the spectators, howling like a wolf and becoming an object of their amusement.

He thought he couldn’t endure any longer. Even in his nightmare, Unahar felt a sense of despair as he lifted his heavy eyelids.

“Hello, did you sleep well?”

First, a soft voice greeted him, then a familiar scent. As soon as he opened his eyes, Rudel was in front of him. The shadow of the wolf that had been gnawing at him vanished completely.

Unahar, whose complexion rapidly improved, worried about whether his face might be swollen or if his disheveled hair looked shabby as he got up.

He wanted to quickly check his appearance with a hand mirror if only Rudel would turn his head for a moment.

“…What happened with the battle?”

He was asking about the aftermath of his outburst as the wolf, but Rudel pretended not to notice and gave a different answer.

“We beat Meadow Guild. Oh, and there was something interesting at the end. I played a big part, so you should check it out.”

Rudel’s confident statement came after he had carefully edited out Unahar’s battle footage.

“So right now…?”

Unahar was about to head to the living room to watch the ‘Round Replay,’ but Rudel subtly blocked his way.

“If you’re feeling okay, want to go hang out at the shop? You asked for my day yesterday.”

Unahar was stunned. He hadn’t expected Rudel to plan a date and choose places to visit.

“Just give me 5, no, 10 minutes.”

Unahar’s urgent gaze darted from the bathroom door to the wardrobe and finally to the dressing table, and Rudel chuckled.

“Will 10 minutes be enough?”

“…!”

Unahar’s face reddened further.

“You can take more time. You haven’t even had breakfast. I’ll wait as long as you need.”

About 30 minutes later, Unahar emerged perfectly groomed and ready to go with Rudel.

Meanwhile, new content had been added to the shopping district: restaurants, karaoke rooms, and more.

In the plaza where the fountain stood, a grand piano had been placed. Its white body and exposed strings and hammers exuded a sophisticated atmosphere.

Even characters created with good looks hesitated to approach such an elegant instrument.

But a handsome man, whose elegance matched the piano’s, approached and sat in the seat that seemed made for him. The smooth, dust-free keys welcomed his touch.

“Can I play for you?”

“Sure, I’d love that.”

“But I haven’t practiced much, so it’s a short and simple piece. Don’t be too disappointed.”

“It’s fine. Your face will make up for it.”

“Huh?”

Rudel was unusually talkative today, and it was nice… Unahar’s hand, poised above the keys, trembled slightly.

When they first met in the first round, Rudel often made heart-fluttering remarks, as if it was just her nature.

But she hadn’t done that for a while…

Soon, the piano’s melody filled the plaza.

Rudel leaned slightly against the piano, closed her eyes, and nodded along to the melody.

The short performance ended quickly.

Unahar, who had been eager to play for Rudel, looked dissatisfied after finishing.

He didn’t like the performance. It was an easy piece, not particularly impressive, and he had hit the wrong notes several times.

Why am I like this? I wasn’t such a failure at my tasks before…

Unahar quietly muttered curses to himself.

“…”

Rudel’s gaze silently pierced through him.

Soon, they moved on and started walking through the quaint alleys of the shopping district.

As they spent a delightful time together, Unahar took advantage of the moment and tried to gently hold Rudel’s hand. However, Rudel’s hand slipped away more cautiously than before. Instead, he reached up and patted Unahar’s head.

Rudel wasn’t annoyed by Unahar’s attempt to hold his hand—otherwise, he wouldn’t have patted his head. But his expression was somewhat complex.

‘I cherish you like family, but my feelings aren’t the same as yours.’

Rudel intended to convey his feelings to Unahar gradually through his actions and glances throughout the day.

‘I want you to value yourself more. That wolf can’t bring you down. I’d prefer the confident and cunning version of you I met initially over seeing you wither away.’

Unahar, either pretending not to notice Rudel’s looks or genuinely oblivious, would turn his head or change the subject each time.

After spending some time at the shop, Rudel decided to leave.

“You need to train at least a little. Let’s go to the Taekwondo class. After the class, we can hang out again. Come on.”

Naturally, skipping scheduled lessons meant no makeup classes from the instructor NPC. Missing a session was a loss only to the characters who missed it.

“…What about Akata?”

The class wasn’t just for the two of them; Akata attended as well. But Unahar really didn’t want to see Akata on such a good day.

Feeling petty, he questioned Rudel about their promise to spend the day alone.

“I arranged for Akata to skip today so I could be with you alone. I explained everything, so don’t worry.”

Rudel recalled with a cold sweat the conversation he had with Akata earlier.

“I have a promise with Unahar, so would it be okay if I attended the Taekwondo class alone with him today? Please?”

Akata had thought for a moment before nodding gently.

Rudel thought the matter was settled, but then Akata had hesitantly asked,

“Does Unahar dislike me?”

Rudel, momentarily at a loss for words, replied after a short delay.

“That’s not it.”

Failing to come up with a suitable response, he ended up giving a deflective answer.

“Sorry for asking an awkward question.”

Eventually, the class ended, and the day was drawing to a close. It was the end of their date.

Rudel faced Unahar.

“I have something to confess to you. There’s something I haven’t been completely honest about.”

Shemarin and Blance, who had been part of the broadcaster assault mission with him, happened to be gathered, so Rudel had sought their advice about one thing.

The guild master’s ability to view the emotional states of guild members.

“Have you ever seen a guild master share that function with their guild members?”

Both Shemarin and Blance had shaken their heads at the time.

It seemed an unspoken rule that guild masters kept that information from their guild members.

But at this moment, Rudel made a choice that might be seen as ‘betrayal’ by other guild master characters.

[Emotion Status] In Love

“The guild master has this ability… I’ve always been able to read your emotional state.”

Rudel revealed the guild master’s secret to Unahar.

He had felt immense guilt for using this feature on Unahar, especially since he had once seen ‘lust’ displayed on Unahar’s status window.

So today, he couldn’t keep it to himself any longer. He couldn’t keep deceiving Unahar while rejecting him.

As expected, Unahar was greatly taken aback.

“You’ve been seeing this for a long time? That I’ve had impure thoughts about you all this time… Because of this damn system feature?”

Yet their relationship hadn’t changed, and Rudel had treated him the same as before.

And now, as Rudel disclosed this, his gaze was tender and somewhat apologetic.

‘…Is this a rejection of me?’

Unahar, quick-witted, understood why Rudel had accepted the ‘first and last date.’

But…

He didn’t want to accept it. No, he couldn’t accept it.

If he did, he would fall apart.

With his head spinning and ears ringing as if he were in a dizzying fog, he swallowed his fear and barely managed to speak.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying…”

He pretended not to know, desperately stopping Rudel from saying anything further.

‘Stay with me a little longer. Your presence makes the negative emotions disappear.’

If Rudel’s intention was indeed to reject Unahar’s feelings, Unahar wasn’t ready to face that reality.

“Can we talk about this later? When I’m ready… No, never mind. I don’t want that either. Just… let’s pretend this never happened.”

Unahar chose to escape the situation, stumbling over his words incoherently.

“I’d like you to turn off the emotion status viewing feature… if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Rudel saw a tear trail down Unahar’s now icy cheek.

After Unahar left, Rudel stood in silence for a long time.