The guild headquarters became a revolving door of messengers, envoys, and flamboyant adventurers claiming to represent noble-sounding guilds with equally suspicious motives.
A representative from the Silver Serpents arrived wearing a snakeskin cape and offered "unbreakable loyalty… in exchange for just a tiny bit of leadership influence, you know, minor decisions like war declarations and taxes."
Next came the Velvet Blades, who sent seven masked dancers to perform a "proposal waltz" — mid-spin, one of them tried to slip a spy crystal under the table. Lina incinerated it before dessert.
Iris froze time during one pitch meeting just to peek into a contract. "Ah," she muttered, flipping to the fine print. "If we sign, we legally become their battle mascots."
Kira threatened to fight anyone who said the word "alliance" without specifying terms in writing.
Meanwhile, Jax had accepted three invitations to visit other guilds just because they promised free drinks. "They said I could bathe in a wine fountain. I HAVE to at least see it."
In the midst of this chaos, MC paced the room while holding a literal pros-and-cons scroll the length of a scarf.
"I don't get it," he muttered. "Some of these guilds were ignoring us last week. Now we're the belle of the political battlefield."
"It's power," Ciel said flatly, arms crossed. "They smell strength, and they want to control it."
She leaned against the doorway, eyes narrowed. "You're letting the System make your choices. It's shaping how you think, what you want, who you trust. And all these 'offers' — they aren't for you. They're for your System."
Everyone went silent.
Even Luna, who had been quietly scrying the latest Cult movements, looked up.
"I don't trust these people," Ciel continued. "They want to link with you without knowing what that means. And frankly… I don't think you know either."
MC deflated slightly. "I mean, yeah, no. I definitely don't."
"But we do know one thing," Lina added, stepping forward. "We're stronger together. And maybe… if we're careful, an alliance could help us protect each other."
Ciel looked away. "Just don't let them chain you with pretty words and ceremonial cakes."
"Wait, cakes are on the table?" Jax asked, appearing from the ceiling.
That night, the guild sat around the war room (still the supply closet), voting on which guilds deserved a callback. The debate was heated, confusing, and briefly derailed by a very emotional monologue from Kira about betrayal and cake-based manipulation.
In the end, they narrowed it down to three potential allies, two guilds to absolutely avoid, and one they suspected might be a Cult front pretending to be an opera troupe.
As the moon rose, MC stared at the star map pinned to the wall.
"This is getting too big," he said. "We're not just playing the game anymore. We're becoming part of the system itself."
Ciel didn't respond. But for the first time, she didn't scoff either.
END OF CHAPTER 74