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

End of the Second Generation: Cooling Time

The final rankings have been tallied.

Each guild should open the notice below to check the results.

Additionally, the Agasa Guild has achieved 1st place in the guild rankings, and guild member Gio has secured 1st place in the individual rankings, earning the right to challenge for the championship.

During the third quarter preparation period, the Agasa Guild will proceed with the championship challenge. A separate notice regarding the championship challenge will be issued to the Agasa Guild, so please standby.

Top 10 Guilds

1st Agasa

2nd Red Monarch

3rd …

This quarter, we were also first. There was no miracle of a second-generation uprising.

Although it was unsettling that the Shemarin Guild was right behind us in second place, the second quarter game was already over, so it didn’t matter.

Top 20 Individuals

1st Gio

2nd Aleon

3rd …

4th Tian

5th Lesia

6th …

7th …

8th Akata

…

18th Rudel

Additionally, Aleon has dropped to 2nd place, and our Gio has taken the top spot.

It’s done. All we need to do now is win the ‘Champion Challenge’ game prepared by the system, and we’ll obtain the much-desired ‘Game Planner’ reward.

So our guild should be in a festive mood, but—

“Thanks to Unahar, it’s like a funeral…”

Lately, the atmosphere inside has been gloomy, like a rainy, overcast day. Despite being the honorable guild that secured 1st place, it feels as if we’ve come in last.

Come to think of it, with another quarter ending, the lowest-ranked guilds will soon be exiting the game. In reality, it’s almost like being kicked out of life.

“Damn this game, I have to overturn it.”

I reaffirmed the mission given to me once more.

You never know.

If I succeed in the Champion Challenge and gain the ‘Game Planner’ authority, I might be able to resurrect the deleted characters.

The game company probably keeps most of the data preserved, anyway.

Well, that’s something for the distant future, so I decided to put it aside and first went to find Kanel.

I had dragged Kanel, barely alive, from the round, determined not to let him die despite his severe injuries. The health potions I’d poured into him had done their job, and he now sat up lightly on the bed. As the blanket slipped down, his now unscarred chest was revealed.

“I’m fine. It was nothing serious.”

“It’s a little late for that to be convincing.”

It was amusing to see Kanel, who had been on the brink of death, now trying to downplay his condition. 

“I was so worried. Everyone else kept calling your name.”

Kanel, unusually embarrassed, scratched his cheek. He quickly changed the subject.

“Just talk things over with Unahar. I’ll rest a bit more.”

His calm demeanor reminded me of myself. Despite his injuries, Kanel showed no signs of holding a grudge or blaming Unahar. Instead, he asked me to look after Unahar, the very person who had caused his injuries.

Kanel, the victim, was more concerned about Unahar, the perpetrator. This was understandable, as Unahar had shut himself in his room, refusing even meals.

After finishing my conversation with Kanel, I headed straight to Unahar’s room. Lilith was standing by the door, nervously holding a tray of lovingly prepared food. Gathering her courage, she knocked softly on the door.

“Unahar? It’s Lilith. I’ll leave the food here, so please eat it after I leave, okay?”

Knowing Lilith alone wouldn’t be enough, I decided to add my voice. I knocked on Unahar’s door as well.

“Unahar, make sure to eat the food. I cooked it myself.”

This wasn’t a lie. I had personally cooked it, hoping my sincerity would reach Unahar. The food might not be the best, but it wouldn’t kill him.

It was impossible to tell just how deep Unahar’s depression ran from outside that room. Even the subordinates group, who had watched the raid through the screen, were worried. As empathetic people, they put off celebrating our top ranking and instead focused on Unahar’s well-being.

My mind was clouded with worry, barely functioning. Thankfully, the Champion Challenge notice hadn’t appeared yet.

Gio walked past me, holding Lilith’s hand tightly. Having fulfilled his promise to bring the Champion Challenge right, he had, in effect, received permission to date Lilith. Even though I was the one who gave that permission, it still irked me. 

I thought about tripping Gio again but decided against it. At least Gio was upbeat in this gloomy fortress. He didn’t fully understand Unahar’s situation but knew that Lilith was upset.

“Lilith, eat this. And… don’t worry too much.”

“…Thank you, Gio.”

With Gio following her around, Lilith’s mood lightened slightly. Currently, the two of them were responsible for maintaining the guild’s atmosphere.

Creak…

At that moment, from the far end of the men’s hallway, there was the sound of a door opening slightly, followed by the scraping sound of a tray being pulled in and the door closing.

I pretended not to notice and stayed on the sofa, smiling faintly to myself.

“Well, at least he’s eating something. It’s a relief he’s willing to eat what I made. Hopefully, it tastes decent.”

* * *

The meal Rudel had prepared was honestly bland and unremarkable, but…

Considering how hungry he was from not eating, Unahar cleaned his plate. It was the most active he had been all day. After finishing Rudel’s meal, he buried his head back into the bed.

He wished he could just harden and die right there.

He no longer wanted to participate in this game.

He felt trapped in a tiny box, no matter how much he banged and screamed, he could never escape. It was a transparent box, and countless spectators looked down on him as he thrashed about.

“I’ll trust myself one last time.”

That solemn declaration had led to this.

“I pushed a comrade to the brink of death. It could have been anyone else. It could have been Lilith… or Rudel.”

The wolf would have bitten anyone without regard in its frenzy.

If it weren’t for his fragile sanity, held together by his feelings for Rudel, he might have attempted suicide already. Though even that would have been impossible in the game.

“Rudel.”

Here he was, in shambles, wondering what Rudel thought of him now. Could Rudel still find his face beautiful?

Unahar’s only obsessive activity while holed up in his room was looking at his reflection in the mirror frequently.

Despite eating little and appearing gaunt, his face remained unchanged from yesterday.

“If only you were mine.”

He wanted to possess Rudel forcibly if necessary. He wished everyone around Rudel would disappear, leaving only him.

Even thinking of Rudel, his thoughts were far from pure.

In his current state, his mind was more twisted and corrupted than ever, surrendering entirely to his crooked emotions.

He recalled something he had kept in his heart for a long time.

“Every night… you visit Akata’s room. Is it still the same? …Even while I’m falling apart like this?”

It was the dead of night, a time when all guild members should have been asleep.

If Rudel had visited Akata for some unknown reason tonight, this would be the time he’d be in Akata’s room.

For the first time since his seclusion, Unahar quietly stepped into the dark hallway.

He pressed his ear against Akata’s private room door.

“…”

Silence. There was no sign of anyone inside.

It seemed Rudel, who used to check on Akata’s frail condition nightly, had stopped now that Akata had recovered.

Yet, even though Unahar had reached this conclusion himself, he couldn’t shake his lingering doubts.

True to his petty and small-minded nature, he couldn’t let it go without verifying it himself.

Impulsively, he pressed his weight against the door, pushing it open without a sound.

Inside, there was only one person.

But Unahar couldn’t turn away with relief. Instead, he approached the bed with wide, startled eyes.

“Akata…?”

Even though he was looking at a fellow guild member, he was struck with suspicion and bewilderment.

The red hair slipping through his fingers was real, not a hallucination.

Akata had been hiding this secret all along.

Unahar’s pupils quivered. His teeth clenched slowly.

Even as another man, he couldn’t deny it, couldn’t find any flaws no matter how much he tried.

Akata was a beautiful and striking man, more so than Unahar had ever imagined his future self to be.

At that moment, Akata, lightly dozing, furrowed his sharp brows and turned in his sleep.

Suddenly coming to his senses, Unahar quickly exited Akata’s private room.

“The fact that Rudel visited that room at night…”

Even though he tried not to think badly of Rudel, his foolish mind started conjuring all sorts of inappropriate scenarios.

“Even though I trust Rudel, even though I know these thoughts themselves are a grave mistake…”

Returning to his room, Unahar buried his head in his bed once more.