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

Yudirei remained defiant, glaring at me like prey even as I confiscated her wooden sickle and threw her out the window again.

Click. I firmly shut the window.

Despite confiscating all weapons, she kept making similar ones from somewhere.

Raising a child is truly challenging.

As I tried to press the wound on my neck with my sleeve, I felt Akata’s desperate, almost pleading gaze and moved closer to him.

“Did you sleep well?”

Wrapped in the blanket, Akata reached out and gently applied pressure to stop the bleeding on my neck. He smiled sleepily and used his other hand to straighten my red hair.

“That was the worst morning call ever. You didn’t let her in on purpose, did you?”

“Why would I do that?”

I asked, puzzled, and he looked at me with a mix of surprise and curiosity before finally averting his gaze when our eyes met.

Oh, he knows he overdid it last night? I thought he didn’t.

The longer the silence lasted, the more Akata’s face turned red, looking apologetic.

I turned my chin to the side and started gathering the documents I reviewed yesterday, preparing to head out.

Watching me move, Akata suddenly pulled me onto his lap and slipped his hand under my t-shirt. Startled, I realized he was just giving me a massage.

The back that had felt like it was going to break in the morning quickly loosened up.

“I’m sorry… for last night.”

Annoyance flared up within me, making my tone sharp.

“Are you mocking me right now?”

Despite my harsh tone, I couldn’t help but smile. I ruffled his hair roughly.

Then, I let out an involuntary groan as his hands worked their magic.

“That sound is sexy.”

Akata, with a slightly flushed neck, insisted on saying things that flustered me.

Startled, I stood up quickly.

“Get up and do your work.”

“Yes.”

Downstairs, we met Gio, Lilith, and Kanel. They had already had breakfast while we slept in.

Akata and I had a quick, simple breakfast together before heading to our village and Aleon’s village’s central hall and workplaces.

“See you later.”

“Yeah.”

I entered the office while Akata grabbed his things and left with Shemarin and Blance. They were going to inspect the new school construction site.

Shemarin’s design, an architect’s office with its peculiar curves and not a straight line in sight, was unusually quiet today.

I sat alone, poring over the design plans I had already reviewed hundreds of times.

How silently focused I must have been.

Suddenly, a cool breeze brushed the back of my neck.

But I hadn’t opened the window.

{Found you.}

When I looked up from my notebook, someone’s face was there.

It was a face I had never seen before.

But in this game world, there was no way there could be someone I had never seen. 

I am the representative of everyone here, and I have memorized the personal details of all 2001 individuals.

The woman had black hair. Even after closely examining her well-defined features, I couldn’t recall any familiar characteristics.

Yet, just by looking into her eyes, I instinctively knew who she was.

“…”

Even though I couldn’t read any emotion in her eyes, I could sense that I was in danger.

Nevertheless, I didn’t move a muscle.

In reality, there were many ways I could deal with her. With just a slight movement of my eyes, I could trigger an emergency alert throughout the entire game world.

Moreover, there was an alarm button installed by Akata under the desk, just 20cm from my hand.

(It was installed to prepare for unexpected attacks on me, the players’ representative. For example, from someone like Yudirei.)

I was aware of all this.

But I felt no urge to resist.

{It’s you.}

Oddly, she didn’t speak aloud. Instead, she communicated directly to my brain, bypassing my ears.

Since I didn’t possess such abilities, I spoke aloud.

“Yes, it’s you.”

When I instinctively realized who she was, a thought took over: I needed to let her win at least once.

I calmly closed my eyes.

Darkness engulfed me.

* * *

Beep.

While inspecting the locations for electricity and water installations at the school site, Akata glanced up at the status window above his head.

A message from Rudel had arrived.

**I’ve been kidnapped.**

**Film the search for me. Let’s make a big score.**

Frowning, Akata turned to Shemarin, who had approached him.

“What’s this about?”

It turned out that the message was not just sent to Akata but to all the major guild leaders.

Startled by their representative’s sudden message, the guild leaders who were scattered around began to gather.

At this point, Akata spoke up.

“That message wasn’t sent by Rudel.”

One by one, they looked at him.

In the silence, Akata attempted to contact Rudel, sending multiple messages. There was no response after the initial note.

Soon, another guild leader furrowed his brows and argued,

“What nonsense are you spouting? Who else but Rudel, obsessed with capital, would send a message asking us to cover her own disappearance? Who else could have sent such a note?”

“I’ll say it again. While it was indeed Rudel who sent the message, the situation itself is anything but ordinary.”

Shemarin nodded in agreement, starting to add something but then folding her arms and letting Akata continue.

“We aren’t so desperate for money that we’d stage something this elaborate. Even if this were true content, Rudel wouldn’t deceive the characters with such a ploy. The kidnapping is real. There’s someone unknown with Rudel.”

At that moment, Runehan, the guild leader of Meadow, was manipulating his status window and discovered something. He displayed a screen to everyone.

**[Population: 2002]**

There was one new person.

The guild leaders were agitated. The swiftest among them were already making progress.

“We activated the automatic cams the moment we read the message.”

Ifrea, the vice guild leader of Ice Castle, turned to leave.

“I’ll inform Aleon.”

They quickly abandoned their tasks and dispersed.

In the past, coordinating among guild leaders would have been impossible, but months of cooperation and daily life had made them adept at teamwork.

Roles were assigned, and search areas divided.

Akata ran alone to the central building’s office, the last place Rudel had been.

‘Rudel is the kind of person who wouldn’t alert anyone even if she were in danger. Who knows how this situation will unfold.’

The thought of Aria, the presence lurking behind their shadows, gnawed at Akata’s mind, filling him with an overwhelming sense of dread.

As expected, there were no clues left in the office. Only a pen rolling on the floor and an indentation on the document Rudel had last been examining.

Akata moved to the building’s broadcasting room. He initiated an emergency broadcast.

[“This is Akata from the leadership team. I apologize for disturbing your rest. I urgently request your cooperation.”]

The broadcast reached those leisurely enjoying the sea breeze in the coastal village, those studying computer science in the library, and even the subordinates group enjoying games in the arcade.

[“Rudel has disappeared. She has been kidnapped by an unknown entity.”]

For a brief moment, the broadcaster couldn’t contain his emotions, releasing a low sigh into the speaker.

[“At this moment, I am temporarily unsealing all unique abilities. Any actions are permitted as long as they do not harm other characters.”]

The proclamation was made without hesitation. For him, Rudel’s disappearance was tantamount to a threat to the very existence of their world.

[“Capture the kidnapper alive.”]

The automatic cameras of everyone started recording. The world seemed to transform into a massive, growling beast, rising heavily.

Encouraged by the guild leaders, another guild-wide scatter operation commenced.

Some time had passed, and they rekindled the spirit that had been ingrained in them since their inception. It was as if the entire game world had become the stage for a search operation that could be dubbed the first round of Ranked Season 2.

After a while, a figure flew up to the office window.

Akata, seated facing the door, sensed the presence behind him and slowly turned around.

“Yudirei.”

The girl’s unreflective black pupils captured the light as she perched on the window frame.

The interim leader, who had delivered a discreet request to the most notorious killer in the game’s history.

“Find and kill.”

What he handed to Yudirei was unmistakably her weapon that had been confiscated earlier—her axe.

The well-honed blade gleamed chillingly in the sunlight.

“We don’t need new characters in this world. Besides, I think I know who that person might be reincarnated from.”

There was no hint of past camaraderie or pity in him as he recalled someone from the past.

Yudirei stared blankly at his face, then licked her lips as if driven by an impulse.

“I like that face. I want to tear it apart.”

That fierce determination that had drawn her to Rudel was also present in Akata.

However, Yudirei’s gaze soon became rational. Thanks to Rudel’s efforts, she had grown somewhat through the game, showing a hint of restraint.

She revealed a small amount of reluctance.

“…Rudel will be angry.”

Akata shook his head decisively.

“No. This is my responsibility, so Yudirei won’t be blamed. Even if you end up killing her, it was my command.”

With a small sigh, Akata reaffirmed his resolve.

“Even if Rudel gets fed up with me and never returns, her life is more important to me.”