Wait! I'm not a Demigod, I'm a Gamer!

Chapter 27: Gunter

A few months ago before Yuuya and Sam had arrived in the capital, Gunter had been holed up in his office for quite some time going over several reports on his desk, most of them were incident reports. "Dumbasses, I told them to keep clear from Count Blanwen during that sky fish hunt." The man sighs as he stares at the angry comments, how his adventurers destroyed half his mansion during the hunt, the bill for the damages hiding right behind the sheet. Gunter groans in dread and decides to push it to the bottom of the pile and proceeds with the next letter. His eyes widen slightly in surprise at the name on the envelope. "Coleman? Haven't heard from him in ages..." With his interest peaked, he cuts open the envelope and unfolds the letter. "Dear Gunter, bet you weren't expecting to hear from me huh. It's been too long my friend, if only you could come by and visit. Autumn is about to give brith to our third child! Goddess I hope it's a girl, those boys need a sister to dote on, it would certainly give me a peace of mind." Gunter smiles, proud of his friend's ever growing family. He continues, "Anyways, that's not the main point, just wanted to show off." Gunter chuckles while muttering, "Fucker," before continuing. "The reason I sent this letter is because my village chief's son and his friend are coming to you, they want to be adventurers. I'm asking you to please watch out for them, they've been through a lot and they're very precious to everyone here. I'm sure in time they will become important to you too. I should say Sam, the chief's son, is a very intelligent man. He'll be a good fit, but his friend Yuuya, he's a bit...different. I don't want to alarm you, but he's not human." Gunter furrows his eyebrows in confusion, he decided to resume his reading. "You may see him as one, but he's not. He's actually a beast-man, although, I think he's something more. I'm not warning you, he's a good man. He saved our home and returned my family back to me after a bandit gang kidnapped them...I owe him everything. I don't even want to think what would've happened if he hadn't have come." Gunter bites his lip as he tightens his hold on the letter, worry filling his core. "Anyway, let's not get into that. My main point is please watch out for Yuuya and Sam, Yuuya doesn't understand the world like he's supposed to. Sam is teaching him the best he can, but the kid can only teach him so much. You gotta help him, he may be the kitsune from the prophecy." Gunter sits up straighter, the man caught off guard. "The prophecy? Shit." He continues to read, "I know it's insane and I wouldn't have believed it myself, but the kid full out changed into one, I saw it! He was like an angel delivering my family back safe and sound. He came back despite everyone here treating him poorly when we found out he wasn't human, even I was ashamed of myself." Gunter frowns, not liking the fact his friend treated someone badly even if they weren't human. Gunter never had any issues with beast-men, finding the race no different than humans. "The kid had nine tails and a glowing royal mark on his chest. Even if he isn't the kitsune, he's still worth protecting. My friend, I need you to trust me please. Give the kid a chance. If you find him untrustworthy then kick him out, kick him right out the Adventurer's Guild. If you do that though, you and I are gonna have some words then." Gunter laughs at the thought of his friend lecturing him with words and fists. "Gunter, Grim Thunder, please watch over Yuuya and Sam, they're good kids and I've got a feeling they're gonna do great things in the future. Come visit us when you've got the time or if you're looking for an excuse to get away from the mountains of paperwork. Sincerely your friend, Coleman." Gunter places the letter gently, thinking over his friend's words. "A beast-man that may actually be a kitsune...How interesting."
A couple days after reading the letter, and dealing with those nobles' complaints, Gunter gets word that a couple of newbies are registering to be adventurers. Amanda knocks on his office door before opening, "Sir, the rookies are taking the written exam now. Who should evaluate their physical exam?" Gunter is writing in a few documents, not looking up from his work. "Just two of them huh? Have Gregor handle it." Amanda nods and before she leaves, Gunter suddenly remembers the letter and asks out, "Who are the rookies?" Amanda pauses in mid step, not expecting the question. "Um I believe their names were..." She skims through the papers in her arms before pulling out two sheets, "Samuel and Yuuya." Hearing their names, Gunter halts his hand, the ink bleeding on the paper. "Samuel and Yuuya huh? Hmmm...On second thought-" He puts his pen down and clasps his hands together, smiling in interest, "I'll handle their physical exam. You focus on their written exam." Amanda nods, believing he would personally pick out an instructor for the physical exam, ignorant to his true intention. "It's best that I test out their skills. Let's see if Yuuya really is the kitsune." Gunter quickly begins to believe in his friend's words after seeing, and feeling, Yuuya's immense power, knowing full well the kid went easy on him.
That night after celebrating with the new recruits, Gunter returns to his office with only his desk lamp on and stares at the documents in his hand. Profiles regarding Yuuya and Samuel. He stares at the information, not believing most of the information on the disguised beast-man's profile. "You seem deep in thought, something caught your eye?" A woman's voice speaks out from the dark, her form hidden from sight. Gunter doesn't seem surprise, having been used to the woman's approach from before. He sighs and puts the papers down. "You could say that." He leans back in his chair, not the least bit worried as the woman steps out of the shadows. A woman in a black cloak with short black hair and brown eyes is revealed, she eyes the papers on his desk, her eyes widening slightly in mild surprise. "Hey I know those two, they're resting at my inn. Are they the ones causing trouble?" Gunter hums in thought before nodding his head. "Something like that. This one-" He picks up Yuuya's sheet and shows her, "He might actually be part of something big." She takes the sheet from his hand, observing it carefully. The sheet doesn't seem too peculiar to her, his face showing no malice, almost innocent like. "Is he a spy?" Gunter shakes his head and leans closer to her. "He may be the kitsune from the prophecy." She stiffens, her grip loosens on the paper allowing it to fall to the ground soundlessly. "You're kidding. THE kitsune?" Gunter doesn't say a word, making her question him more, "How is that possible? He's human-" "He's not." Gunter cuts her off, motioning her to hand him the paper. She quickly does as she's asked, wanting answers. Gunter points to the picture, right over his amulet, "I think he's using this magical item to hide his true form. He could be a youngling that hasn't reached full evolution yet, which would mistaken him as a beast-man." The woman stares at him, disbelief still evident on her features. Gunter continues, "Grace, I want you and the rest of the Twilight Guild to keep an eye on him and his friend, Samuel, for now. See what they're up to." The woman, Grace, nods and goes into the shadows, disappearing as if she was never in the room.
Weeks have passed and Gunter watched Yuuya and Sam carefully, waiting for any signs of foul play. He witnessed how Yuuya and Sam handled their very first quest, surprised that the man had healed an ill person, a skill not possible for beast-men. The Guildmaster was astonished when he witnessed how Yuuya ducked and dodged Damian's attack, not even casting his own magic against the man, only using it to catch his fire spears. He decided to step in when he saw Yuuya's panicked face when Damian charged at him with his sword. Gunter marveled over the kid's kind heart as he simply shrugged off the attack and even taught him and everyone around him how he used his own magic. He observed how Yuuya defeated Damian in the duel while protecting everyone in the process, unsure if he could've done the same. Gunter laughed at the times Yuuya would include Damian in their activities, having to separate his friends constantly when they would bicker. Grace would report back to him how Yuuya and his friends would come to the inn, chat with her about their day, even asking how her day went, and then go to bed. When Damian joined their little group, she had noticed, while using small magical items that mimicked common household items in the room to spy, his form was hidden in shadows, most likely to hide his true form from the new member. Grace was shocked the first time she saw Yuuya take down his human disguise and weirdly wanted to feel his soft looking fluffy tail. Even though the beast-man was hidden in the dark barrier, she could strangely hear Yuuya through the shadowed barrier, conversations between the beast-man and blue haired human about planning the next day's events, nothing that screams world domination schemes. Without even realizing, both Gunter and Grace have grown to care deeply for the boys, fretting over them when they would return injured, Yuuya reassuring them that he could heal them but haven't gotten the chance. When the trio decided to try the B-rank promotion tests, Gunter grew worried, not wanting them to get hurt or worse. He lost many adventurers to the undead, several by banshees. Gunter could see their determination and knew nothing he said would stop them. He chose to help them instead, not wanting to hold them back, but gave them a stern warning to turn back should things take a turn for the worse. Even Grace lectured them to be safe and provided some packed food for the trip. They wished them farewell and headed off on their way, not before Grace assigned a trusty informant to the young party, disguised as a coachman. He kept an eye on the group, listening closely to their conversations and their well-beings, especially on a certain disguised beast-man. After their quest was completed, the same coachman took them back home, noticing the change in atmosphere amongst the group. He also noticed how Yuuya finally slept on the way back, the poor beast-man having stood up for the entire ride the first time. The disguised coachman informed Grace on the situation who then reported to Gunter, he rubs his chin in thought. "Guess he knows the truth now...Let's double check that." He had joined in on the celebration, subtly hinting to the ombré haired man about Yuuya's true form, catching on the slight stunned look on his face. "That confirms it, good. Yuuya has another ally on his side." Gunter continued to watch from the sidelines, amused over the new group, Orion's Pax, debut.
Several documents regarding one quest kept piling on his desk, annoying the hell out of him. "Fuckin a, this bastard is slippery alright." For a month now Gunter has been getting reports on a thief stealing people's magical items whether they were adventurers, nobles, or even civilians with low cost businesses. It was suppose to be a simple D-rank quest, it was only one guy and he never harmed anyone. Every adventurer he sent would come back butt naked, having lost their own magical gear to the notorious thief. The issue had only gotten worse when the thief started to target members of the Magic Tower and the Royal Guard, the groups complaining to him about how inadequate his adventurers are at such an easy quest. "If they're so great, how come they haven't caught the bastard?" He questions sarcastically, knowing full well they would never stoop so low in catching a common thief. Only the thief will soon no longer be common. A letter flashes in a puff of golden smoke right on his desk, indicating the letter to be of high importance, straight from the Royal Castle. He groans inwardly and proceeds to unfold the letter, knowing the only times he receives a letter from the Royal family is when the country is under attack by large groups of monsters or from an enemy country, or on the rare occasion the Royal family themselves were under attack and need more protection. The letter made his face pale slightly before turning red in anger at the contents. "Fuck!" His body is crackling with electricity as he reads the letter. The Royal Vault had been broken in to and the relic, Grimoire of Luminosity, was stolen and the thief so happens to be the same man that has been giving Gunter a constant headache for the past month. The Queen herself is ordering the Adventurer's Guild to make this mission their top priority. The Royal Guard and the Magic Tower were also ordered to catch the thief and retrieve the relic back, something that Gunter refuses to allow happen. "Those stuck up bastards aren't gonna get the chance to walk all over us. We'll show them!" He grabs the quest paper and slams his door open, startling the nearby receptionists. The fuming Guildmaster ignores their stares and stomps down the stairs, heading to the ground floor. He sees everyone goofing around, Callian making a scene as he tries to clutch onto Yuuya while being dragged away by his party. Gunter slams his weapon to the ground loudly, gaining everyone's attention, "Listen up! We have a situation."
Gunter sighs tiredly, he expected most of his adventurers would throw a tantrum once they learned the rank level the quest was, but he wasn't expecting Yuuya to make such valid observations. The disguised beast-man was a lot more observant than he let on, having figured out the thief's tools quickly and came up with such reasonable theories. He suspected Yuuya and his party would be the ones to catch the notorious thief, smiling in pride at the thought of showing off to the other main groups. "That kid is a lot smarter than I thought." He jumps slightly when the door to his office is slammed open, Amanda is panting slightly as she yells out, "Guildmaster! We've gotten reports of strong fire magic released in the capital. We believe it's coming from the thief." Gunter frowns in concern and stands up from his seat, walking past the panicked girl, "Understood. I'll take care of it. Keep me updated should anything else change." Amanda answers in agreement as Gunter rushes out the door, his eyes widen at the tall whirlwind of fire in the distance. "Oh Goddess...Please let it not be who I think it is." When Gunter arrived at the scene, no one was around. Thankfully, no bodies were found, allowing the man to take a deep breath of relief. He looks around, trying to find any clues on who has released such a powerful attack. Although, the longer he looked, the more he noticed how only the corner of the alley was covered in scorched marks and burned wood, no signs of a struggle. Leading the man to the conclusion that the spell was released due to stress or high levels of anger. "I have a feeling that kid had something to do with this..." He looks up and notices the tall building having the perfect high advantage point. Gunter summons his magic to create a tall earth pillar, not needing to chant thanks to Yuuya's lessons. The pillar grows taller and taller until he reaches the top of the building, allowing him to step on the roof. The pillar dissipates as soon as he steps off as he surveys the capital, trying to spot any sign where the culprit. He sees a group of people surrounding an area, looking worried and scared as if something is occurring over there. Gunter follows his instincts and rushes to the scene, spotting Damian, Sam, and the Solarclouds standing off to the side looking at something with great intent. "What the hell is going on?" He questions while running up to them. His loud question startles them and they turn around to face him in surprise. "Guildmaster! What are you doing here?" Callian asks, concern laced in his voice. Gunter finally notices the man missing most of his armor, looking less like the sun's icon. He shakes his head inwardly, dismissing the thought, and leans to the side, seeing Yuuya pinning down a man that looks awfully familiar. "I got a report stating a man had unleashed a very powerful fire spell in the capital. I came to investigate. What's going on over there?" Gunter sees black veins covering the young man's skin, his breathing coming out harshly as he tries to hold on. His eyes widen as he realizes Yuuya was being cursed. He immediately goes into overprotective mode. "Shit-go get a healer! Callian, start chanting a light spell. Ivory, Matthew, go find some medicinal herbs now!" Gunter tries to go over to the kid, wanting to rip the pinned man to pieces for ever hurting Yuuya. Before he could, Damian and Sam stand his way, surprising him. "Wait! Don't go over there. Yuuya knows what he's doing." Sam pleads. Gunter opens his mouth to argue, but Damian intervenes, "I know how this looks, but trust him. He can handle this." Gunter stares at them, not expecting the pair push him away when Yuuya clearly needs help. He intends to move, but stops himself when he sees Yuuya gripping the pinned man hard, almost like he was ready to break the man's bones. He sees how determined the disguised beast-man looks, ignoring the pain with all his might. Gunter resigns and steps back, trusting Orion's Pax. He watches closely, waiting for any signs that Yuuya will collapse. Gunter blinks owlishly when he watches the pinned man surrender and the black veins disappear from sight, allowing Yuuya to relax. He continues to watch as Yuuya ties the thief and gets healed by Callian's light magic. Gunter allows Yuuya to be fretted over by his party members, the scene bringing back memories of the times he was an adventurer, how everyone lectured him for being so recklessly. "I guess we're more alike than I thought..." Gunter decides to make his presence noticed and stomps over to the group, right towards the disguised beast-man. Yuuya's eyes widen now that he finally notices him and stiffens upright when he stands only a few feet away from him. He glares at the nervous man and raises his hand, his heart breaks a little when he sees Yuuya flinch and shuts his eyes tight. Not wanting to make the disguised beast-man any more nervous, he places his hand gently on his head and ruffle the red locks. Once he sees Yuuya's eyes open again he says, "Don't ever do that again son. I don't want anyone to ever risk themselves like that. Got it?" He stresses while patting the stunned man's hair. Yuuya blinks quietly for a few seconds before giving him a smile that warms his heart and nods his head in agreement. When the thief yells out curses, Yuuya's mood instantly changes that brings a shiver down the Guildmaster's back. He watches from the sides along with everyone as Yuuya interrogates, barely containing his laugher at the squirming man hanging upside down. He narrows his eyes questionable when he sees the disguised beast-man pick up a random jewel, seeming to find it very important. Yuuya grabs the man again and asks, "Last chance, where. Is. My. Sword?" When the thief refuses to answer, Gunter can briefly see a hint of a smile on the disguised beast-man's face. "Okay then. My way it is." Yuuya snaps his head at Gunter, catching the man off guard. "Did you hear him? He refused to give up the location of his horde." Gunter decides to go along, wanting to see how this ends and nods, "Yeah, I heard him."
Turns out the kid had a trick up his sleeve, using the jewel to hone in on his sword's location, thus leading everyone to the thief's hideout. Gunter could only watch in amazement at Yuuya's work, idly wondering what life would've been like if the kid had gone down a dark road instead. Luck seemed to run out on the group as they stare at the massive door with several magic circles on it. Gunter is about ready to punch the smug man for laughing at their situation before noticing Yuuya stretches, almost like he's preparing something. "Yuuya? What are you doing?" Sam asks nervously. Yuuya doesn't answer and steps forward while saying, "Callian, Guildmaster. Could you set up a barrier?" Gunter looks at Callian, sharing a confused look, before looking back at the disguised beast-man. "Uh Yuuya? What are you doing?" Damian asks cautiously as Sam steps closer to him. "Yuuya, you're not gonna do something crazy again are you?" Sam questions, making Gunter sweatdrop nervously. "Yeah kid, you're not gonna do anything crazy right?" His prayers went unanswered as Yuuya looks at Sam with a vibrant smile and his fist up while exclaiming, "I'm gonna break down the door!" To say the man was surprised was an understatement. Gunter has never seen anyone break down a magical door with a single punch, his own barriers almost broken completely from the sheer force but thankfully Callian and Ivory were a huge help. He allowed everyone to look around at all the treasure inside, not the least bit worried of them stealing. Yuuya's loud voice draws his attention away from the pile of powerful spell books, seeing the disguised beast-man convincing Sam into taking back the necklace. He smiles warmly at the group hug, memories of his own adventuring days flashing before his eyes, how they always celebrated after each quest. As soon as he sees Callian putting on his found armor, restoring his look of the sun, he walks up to him, "Callian, call Amanda and inform her and the rest of the Adventurer's Guild that the thief has been caught and the quest is complete. As of now, Orion's Pax has the right to claim the reward unless you have any issues with this?" Callian smiles and shakes his head, "No sir, that kid did this all on his own. If his sword wasn't taken, we would still be wandering around the capital in our underwear." Gunter chuckles and continues, "Good. I want the Royal Guard notified as well. The sooner the fucker is arrested, the sooner we can rub this in their faces." Callian laughs and moves to exit the room before Gunter suddenly remembers why he went out in the first place and grabs Callian's shoulder. "Hey Callian, be honest with me. Did Yuuya had something to do with that large fire spell incident in the capital earlier?" Callian looks nervous for a second, only a second, before making his face go neutral, a transition that did not go unnoticed by the veteran, "No sir." Gunter narrows his eyes and speaks in a low voice, "I'm not gonna reprimand the kid, you have my word. I just need to know in case someone else out there is releasing powerful magic spells at the public." Callian thinks for a second, wondering if he should tattle on the kid, something that Gunter admires in the young man. Callian sighs, his eyes downcast as he answers honestly, "Yes sir, Yuuya was the one to release the spell. But he didn't hurt anyone! He noticed his sword was missing after the thief stole it and got very angry. Apparently the sword meant a lot to him and he couldn't contain his emotions. He let out a tall fire whirlwind in a back alley. He seemed to still have some control over it since it didn't hit us, it only swirled around the kid." Gunter nods, glad to know his suspicions were correct and breathes in relief discreetly. "I'll have to lecture the kid to mind his magic next time." Gunter says, "Understood, thank you for being honest with me. As I've said, Yuuya is not in trouble, I just need to give him a warning." Callian sighs and nods, knowing he did not sell out his friend and pulls out a case that resembles a pocket watch case, but inside lays a red rock with a strange symbol carved into it instead of a pocket watch. He speaks into the rock, "Amanda, it's Callian. We got the thief and found the hideout. Sending you the coordinates now, please notify the Royal Guards and the Magic Tower on the situation." While Callian informs Amanda, Gunter looks behind and sees the rest of Solarclouds looking through several piles of books, Sam and Damian having joined in on the hunt. "Any news on the relic?" He receives a chorus of nos and sighs, dreading over the future should they fail to find the important magical item. Gunter looks around, noticing Yuuya missing from the group, "Hey! Where's Yuuya?" That question seemed to have brought everyone's attention on the missing member, looking around for any signs of the disguised beast-man. "I don't know." "I could've sworn he was just here." "Maybe he went further into the room?" Gunter grows concerned, some of the magical items are cursed and can hurt or kill anyone should they touch them. Gunter walks around quickly, trying not to show his panic. His efforts go in vain the longer he looks, making everyone grow concerned over their missing member. "Sir? Is everything okay?" Gunter doesn't answer and moves past a large pile of gold, finally spotting Yuuya...holding a book...a magical book. He sees the disguised beast-man begin to open the book making him panic and yell out, "Yuuya don't-" His warning gets cut off by a blinding light, stunning everyone in the room.
Everyone yells out in pain as they try to cover their eyes. Once the light dies down, Gunter opens his eyes but only sees vertigo. "Fuck! I can't see." He vaguely feels a breeze by his side as if someone was rushing past him. "Yuuya? Yuuya! Wake up!" "Shit! He's out cold, his disguise is down." Sam's and Damian's panicked voices reaches his ears, their comments making his face grow pale. "He's unconscious and his disguise is gone!? Shit!" Finally his vision clears and he sees Orion's Pax on the ground, two hovering over their third member's prone form. Sam desperately tries to gently slap Yuuya's cheek in an attempt to stir the man awake while Damian hastily grabs a nearby cloak and covers the beast-man, hiding his tall ears and tail, but not before Gunter got to see a glimpse. Gunter looks behind him, seeing everyone still rubbing their eyes, and quickly walks over to the group, startling them in the process. "Guildmaster!" "Sir!" Gunter ignores them and checks Yuuya's pulse, relief fills his core as he feels the familiar thump-thump of his heart. Sam and Damian grow more nervous the longer Gunter inspects the unconscious man, jumping slightly when he finally speaks, "What happened? What was he holding?" The pair don't say a word for a few seconds, fear over their friend's safety silencing them. Sam finally finds his voice and stutters out, "Uh-uh he was holding this." Sam hands him the book, his eyes widening when he sees the dark violet covered book, the pages still emitting a soft blue glow. "The Grimoire of Luminosity! This should only react to those with royal blood..." Gunter stares at Yuuya's peaceful face, questions keep popping up in his mind. Voices behind him draw him back to reality, forcing him to act quickly. He grabs onto Yuuya's pendant tightly, making his friends try to defend him. "What the hell are you doing!?" Damian shrieks while gripping onto Gunter's wrist hard. "Please sir, don't hurt him!" Sam pleads as he tries to shield Yuuya's face and chest. Gunter sighs and pours mana into the pendant, praying the magic item would still function even if he was not the one wearing it. Thankfully, the pendant glows as it reacts to his mana and transforms Yuuya back into a human. Sam and Damian gasp as Gunter gently takes the man into his arms, still holding onto the pendant. "Follow my lead." He whispers to them just as the Solarclouds surround him in worry. "What happened?" "Did someone attack us?" "Was it a trap?" "Yuuya! Is he okay?" Callian pushes past his comrades and tries to grab Yuuya to pull him in his arms, however, Gunter pulls away while tightening his hold. "He'll be alright. He opened a cursed spell book and was knocked out. He'll probably wake up in an hour or two." Callian moves to try again, but Gunter sends him a glare, his eyes clearly telling him to back off. A shiver goes down Callian's eyes as Gunter hooks his arms under Yuuya's body, still clutching onto the pendant and lifts him up, using his elbow to hold his limp head up. The Solarclouds try to move closer to inspect the sleeping man, but Damian and Sam block their path. Damian glares at them as he says, "Back the hell up now." He growls out the last word and summons his fire magic in his palms. Sam gawks at him and uses his water magic to extinguish his fire, making the ombré hair man stare at him in betrayal as he speaks in a nervous tone, "P-please, don't get too close to him. The curse might still be lingering on him and uh it could...infect you! Yeah! Yuuya would feel terrible if he finds out that you all got infected because of him." Ivory narrows her eyes and tries to move past the pair, "If it's that bad then perhaps our captain should take a look at him." Callian nods and moves forward, but is stopped again by Damian. "He's fine! Our captain is the strongest man ever! No stupid book is gonna kill him so just back up!" Gunter leans to Sam's ear and whispers quiet enough to not be heard by the others as Damian screams at them, "Grab the book. Don't let anyone see what it is." Sam nods and uses his water magic to grab the book discreetly, concealing it his jacket.
It took a while for everyone to step away from Yuuya, but thankfully the Royal Guards appears and draws their attention away. "Master Livingtinstone, we were told that the thief was captured. Where is he?" Gunter turns towards them and motions with his head, "Right there." A couple of the guards see Jack still tied up, shaking in fear at the glares they send him, and grab him. The captain bows to Gunter while speaking, "Thank you sir, we'll take it from here." Before the captain and the rest of the guards turn to leave, a loud and commanding voice booms out, "Hold it right there Gunter." A man in a red and gold armor wearing a red cape held a golden symbol of a hammer and sword crossing over a butterfly steps forward. The man had slicked black hair, his yellow eyes glowing slightly in judgement. Gunter sighs before putting on a friendly smile and answers back, "Hey Farrimond, it's been a while." The man narrows his eyes and replies, "That's Commander Hawkcolt to you Guildmaster Gunter." Gunter simply rolls his eyes and moves to walk past him. "Right. Anyway I've got work to do. I'll leave the criminal in your hands Commander." Just as he walks past him, Hawkcolt grabs his shoulder harshly, halting his movements. "Hold it. We still need your statement." He looks down, noticing the unconscious man in his arms, drawing his interest. Before Hawkcolt could question, Gunter shakes his hand off and smiles threateningly at the commander, "I'll be happy to answer all your questions at a later time, but as you can see I have rather more important tasks to take care of. Please come by the Adventurer's Guild once you're done with things here. Excuse me Commander." Gunter moves forward and this time was not stopped. Sam and Damian rush behind the Guildmaster, nervously going past the other royal guards. Damian looks away from Hawkcolt, anxiously trying to avoid gaining his attention. Unfortunately, his efforts go in vain as the commander stares down at him. "Damian." Said man freezes in his spot, not looking at the man. Sam turns back, noticing his friend falling behind, and sees him shaking slightly as the commander continues to stare at him. "Damian, are you still putting on this act? Enough is enough. It's time you come back home and take your rightful place." Damian doesn't say anything, still not looking at the man. Sam watches the whole ordeal, questions filling his head. Hawkcolt sighs in annoyance and walks up to Damian, putting his hand on his shoulder while speaking, "Don't you think you spent enough time at that low grade Adventurer's Guild? You are a noble with the highest of duty to this kingdom. It's time you leave the Adventurer's Guild and come join the Royal Guard. Stop being such a child!" As he speaks, his hold on Damian's shoulder tightens to the point of leaving a bruise on the quiet man. Sam frowns at the scene and moves to intervene, however, Callian steps in first and grabs Damian's other shoulder gently. He gets up into Hawkcolt's face, pushing Damian behind him towards Sam's direction. "Commander! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I would love to talk to you about your work, but I must go ensure that Orion's Pax is handling everything okay. Their captain has fallen ill and requires medical attention and I was left in charge of them. Please pardon us." Callian pushes Damian and Sam out the door, both men looking back and seeing Hawkcolt glaring at them.
Gunter reaches the Guild with no issues and places Yuuya on a bed in a spare room. The moment he lets go of the Enigmas Amulet, Yuuya's true form is revealed. Gunter sighs in exhaustion as he wonders how the kid could hold out for so long when he could only hold for an hour at the most. Damian and Sam sneak in quietly and rushes to the beast-man's side. "Is he really gonna be okay?" Damian asks worriedly while Sam places his hand on Yuuya's forehead. Gunter watches the pair, smiling at their concern. "He'll be alright. The Grimoire of Luminosity is not a cursed item, it's actually a relic given to the Kingdom of Akruya during the Demigod wars. It was a gift left by the kitsunes to the humans in an effort to keep their hopes up. The book only opens to those with royal blood flowing in their veins, that's why the Royal family have been left in charge of it." Gunter leans forward into their faces as he smiles in mischief while his eyes show no funny business as he asks, "Now I wonder why the book reacted to Yuuya, a beast-man disguising as a human. You wouldn't know anything about this would ya?" Damian and Sam share a nervous glance before sighing. "Fine, you got us. Yuuya isn't a normal beast-man." Sam shakes his head and says, "He's actually the...kitsune from the prophecy." Gunter blinks as he waits for more information. The pair share everything to the patient man. Sam explains how Yuuya woke up in the forest, how they met, times when Yuuya was living in his village, the bandit attacks, the village kicking him out before inviting him back in, and how he shifted into an actually kitsune to fight against Orzahs. Damian also shares his side of the story as he explains how he discovered Yuuya's identity and the royal mark on his chest. Gunter listens closely, asking questions occasionally. It takes about an hour for the pair to recount everything to the calm Guildmaster. Gunter sighs as he pinches his nose, a headache starting to grow. "Um sir." Gunter raises his head at hearing Sam's hesitant voice. "Why are you helping us? Why did protect Yuuya?" Damian nods and asks, "Yeah! The Royal guard were there and so were the Solarclouds. You could've exposed him and us to them. Why didn't you?" Gunter sneaks a peek at the snoozing man before looking back at the pair, their faces full of suspicion. "I knew already." Sam's and Damian's eyes widen in surprise as Gunter continues to explain, "An old friend of mine told me about Yuuya's true form. I don't really have any issues with beast-men. I've met plenty of evil folk, some as different races, most as humans. Beast-men are no different. There are some good ones and bad ones out there. A beast-man even saved my life once, how could I hold a grudge against an entire race. I was asked to watch over him and his friend." Sam blinks owlishly as he puts the pieces together. "Uncle Coleman..." Gunter nods, "Yes, he was worried about you two. At first I was worried that Yuuya had ulterior motives, but the kid proved me wrong. I know now he's a good man, I'm sure you've figured that out too Damian." Damian looks down as he recalls how he handled the news before finally accepting it. "I do want to help him and you two. I was serious when I said I would watch your backs back when you became adventurers. You are members of this guild and therefore under my protection. I will not go against my word even towards someone like Yuuya, especially him. I've seen all the good deeds he's done for everyone, how he changed you two for the better." Sam and Damian look behind them as they watch Yuuya sleep peacefully, his ears twitching occasionally. Gunter places his hands on the pair's shoulders, drawing their attention, "You have my word, I will not say anything to anyone about this. Your secret is safe with me." They share a look before nodding, Sam smiling at the man, "Thank you sir. That means a lot." Gunter smiles back before tightening his hold on them as he gives them a warning, "For now on, no more secrets from me. I can't protect you if I don't know everything, understood?" The pair sweatdrop while nodding frantically.
Another hour goes by as Yuuya sleeps peacefully, his friends still watching over him. Seeing the beast-man in good hands, Gunter decides to leave them be and goes to deal with all the paperwork. He writes out his statement regarding the thief, minus Yuuya's...accident. After finishing up his report, the man sighs in his seat tiredly. "You seem to have had an exciting day sir." Gunter looks up and sees a man in a black cloak step out of the shadows. "You have no idea. *Sigh* Anything to report?" The mysterious man nods and pulls out a thick bundle of papers from his cloak. "It seems their story is true. The beast-man seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The villagers at Embermoor all said the same thing: he came from the Escal forest. He had saved the chieftain's son from a boar-wolf. No one seems to know where he came from before that though. We checked around the forest and we believe we found where the beast-man claimed to have woken up at. It's a small clearing with a lake in the middle, but there didn't seem to be any signs of some sort of ritual. I believe the Goddess summoned him to this world and placed him there. This is all speculation though and can really go with the beast-man's word." Gunter nods and asks, "What about the Orzahs incident? Did the bandit gang leader really use a multi-color summoning stone?" The man flips the papers before landing on one, "Yes, that did happen. We interrogated the bandits and discovered their group had raided an elf's home and stolen many items. Most of them were sold at the black market, but the leader kept the summoning stone." The man looks up from the papers, his voice going grim as he continues, "It was indeed a multi-color summoning stone. If that beast-man hadn't intervened, the entire kingdom would've been destroyed...Sir, is he really the kitsune from the prophecy?" Gunter takes a deep breath and nods, "It would seem so. I even saw the royal mark of the kitsunes on his chest." The man gulps and grips the papers harder. Gunter thinks for a few seconds before giving out a command, "Inform Grace what has happened here and tell her to inform her majesty of the news. It's time the human race backs Yuuya up for the upcoming events. I have a feeling they will be returning very soon and that kid is no where ready." The man bows his head and steps back into the shadows. Gunter closes his eyes before opening them up again and decides to check up on Orion's Pax. He heads to the door and opens it in time to see Sam and Damian hovering over the now awakened beast-man. "If it wasn't for the Guildmaster, we wouldn't have made it back here safely. Although..." "Although what?" Gunter decides to announce his presence, "Although they had to come clean to me." He smirks at them as they jump in surprise at his arrival. He closes the door behind him and continues, "Seems like you've been hiding something from me, son."