Ch 197: Capturing the bad girl.

Noah minimized his presence as he got close enough to spot Bambietta Basterbine. By a stroke of luck, she had her back turned on him as she faced Captain Komamura, keeping him at a distance with a bombardment of red energy balls. Energy balls that would infuse themselves into whatever they touched, then make it explode from the inside, making any form of solid armor largely ineffective as a defense.

Bambietta Basterbine, the Explode, was a beautiful brunette with waist-long straight hair, black eyes, a great body shape, and a cocky attitude.

She also had a sick tendency to murder the men she had sex with, but Noah would make certain to break that habit out of her.

Bambietta was in the middle of mocking Komamura for having a dog's face under his helmet when she suddenly felt a swoosh of air and a tug at her waist.

"What the…" she exclaimed, only to see another person appear near Komamura. She recognized him instantly.

Lowering her gaze, she saw something in his right hand. Something she recognized as well, and she angrily looked down at her waist.

"Hey! That's my medallion, you dirty thief!"

"Yes, apologies for that. That was wrong of me." grinned Noah, leaning to the side to avoid one of Bambi's bombs.

"Captain Komamura, I will deal with her."

"Very well." nodded the Captain. During one of their previous meetings where Noah exposed in detail everything he knew about the Sternritter, Noah had expressed his desire to capture and reform this particular one, and the Captain Commander had agreed.

"Goodbye, little girl." said Komamura. "Next time we meet, hopefully, it won't be as enemies."

"Hey, Doggo! I'm not done playing with you!"

Noah raised an eyebrow when he saw Bambietta actually pout when Komamura used Shunpo to leave. Then she turned her attention back to him and studied him in detail.

"Now that I take a good look, you are more good-looking than in the picture His Majesty showed us. You will be a fun toy to play with, too."

"Eh? I'm flattered by your interest." snickered Noah, crushing the medallion in his hand.

"And you have mine as well." said Noah. "With that being said, Bankai! Shihai no Oza (Throne of Domination)!"

Seifuku, held in Noah's hand, escaped it and turned into a Black Throne with five hourglasses.

"Hell no! You're not doing that to me!" shouted Bambietta, alarmed.

She knew what his Bankai would do, but it was only now that she realized the danger she was in.

Her first reflex was to fly far away, and she tried just that, but even using Hirenkyaku, Noah was faster than her, cutting off her retreat.

She launched her Reishi bombs at him, but to her consternation, yellow blocks of solid light kept appearing, making the bombs explode well short of him.

"Zofiel (glaze of God)!" exclaimed Bambietta, activating her Vollstandig. Large wings made of the same red energy as her bombs appeared, as well as a red halo above her head.

"Get out of my way!" yelled Bambietta.

Noah felt hard-pressed by the high volume of bomb projectiles. He could easily have just evaded them, but constantly intercepting Bambietta and slashing at her to force her back and remain within the limits of his Bankai were seriously draining him.

Thankfully, he didn't have to maintain this for long, and fifteen seconds after Noah summoned his Bankai, a black chain burst from the throne and formed a shackle around Bambietta's left ankle.

"Damn it!" shouted Bambietta as she tried to get away again, and this time, Noah didn't try to stop her. But the chain did, gradually pulling on her as she went further away until she couldn't advance another inch.

"You have about fifty-five seconds of freedom left." smiled Noah…

…Only to be stuck in the back by two arrows and some kind of pink beam.

Noah cursed his lapse of vigilance as he immediately used Shunpo to move away, closer to his throne. A notification had appeared when he was stuck by the pink beam.

[You have learned Love Beam.]

Two more Sternritter were standing close. Pepe Waccabrada, the Love, was a disgusting pervert. He was dark-skinned, overweight, had a long white beard, and wore white pants, a wife-beater, a cape and sunglasses. He sat on a floating basket.

The Sternritter standing beside him couldn't be any more different and seemed to come right out of a Nazi pamphlet. Handsome, tall and slender, light blue eyes and long blonde hair. Jugram Haschwalth, the Balance, was Yhwach's second in command.

"Jugram! Pepe! Help me get out of this chain!" yelled Bambietta.

"It's okay. Noah, prove your love to me by releasing her." smiled Pepe.

Noah didn't move or answer, trying to gain a few more seconds for his Bankai to continue its work. When Pepe and Jugram realized that Noah wasn't affected by his Love Beam, Noah let his true feelings show on his face.

"So gross. I'd rather stick my head in a toilet than have anything to do with you."

"Do something, Jugram!" screamed Bambietta.

Jugram turned his head toward her, his eyes full of contempt.

"Pitiful. You bring shame to His Majesty with your incompetence, Bambietta. I should leave you to suffer the consequences."

"The fuck?" yelled Bambietta as she launched a single bomb at him, and Jugram countered it with a single Reishi arrow.

"That being said, he needs to be defeated. And since Pepe proved just as incompetent…" continued Jugram as he took the five-star medallion from his waist and raised it. 'Consider yourself lucky, Bambietta. I will kill you if you commit another blunder."

Noah watched warily as the medallion started to shine with a blue light, and prepared himself to go all out to kill him. If Jugram could steal his own Bankai and use it against him, that would be a massive issue.

[User does not worry. User is not an actual Shinigami, and User's Bankai isn't that easy to steal.] said the system.

Noah nodded in relief, even if his situation was still dicey with three Sternritter facing him.

The light from the medallion intensified… and then it shattered, surprising Jugram and Pepe.

Another hourglass turned, and a new chain connected the throne to Bambietta's left arm.

"Shit!" Screamed Bambietta, going all out in her bombing once again, targeting both the throne and Noah.

Noah weaved between the shots and created light shields to intercept some and give himself more room to move around. He still had to stay relatively close to the throne, and suffering intense fire from three people on the level of Shinigami captains wouldn't be easy.

Almost as soon as their coordinated attack started, however, Noah received reinforcements, in the form of Ren.

Ren was holding a chain in her left hand, dragging behind her an unconscious body. Noah recognized him as one of the two who could copy their opponents.

"Do you need a hand?" asked Ren.

"If you would be so kind. Leave the pervert to me, I don't want him to stain you." replied Noah, using a large Hole as a shield against Bambietta's bombardment.

"Perfect." smiled Ren, releasing the chain and letting the chained man fall to the ground. "Jugram Haschwalth, right? I want to see if your Balance will be able to overcome my Vairocana's anti-magic mandala."

"The Anti-Demon corps really had gotten too big for its breeches, to think you could go against us." declared Jugram, drawing his sword and turning some of his Reishi as a large shield.

A third chain bound Bambietta's left arm.

"Ren, are you taking souvenirs?" asked Noah as he used a few golden swords to start harassing Pepe.

"Yes. Fighting myself was interesting, so I want to keep him for a while. I will break him properly once we're done."

"I see. Well, I do not disapprove, but he's not setting foot on the Island. It'll be an issue if he starts impersonating people over there"

"Fine with me." nodded Ren, before suddenly appearing in front of Jugram and kicking him. Jugram blocked with his shield, but was still propelled far away, and Noah lost sight of both him and Ren.

Bambietta was flying around in a panic, trying to find an angle that wouldn't be covered by Noah's Hole to pepper him with bombs.

"Why will you not accept my love!" shouted Pepe, clearly frustrated.

"Shut up!" shouted back Noah, clearly disgusted "As soon as I'm done with Bambietta, I'll dice you up!"

"I am sure I can make you accept it if I increase my effort! Love Rop…" Pepe fell silent as a column a blue Reishi erupted around him.

Another column erupted around Bambi as well.

Noah could see more columns erupting all over the Gotei 13, around fifteen.

"His Majesty is recalling us?" exclaimed Pepe.

The mass of Reichi covered him, and retreated in a blink toward the center of Soul Society.

"Shit! Why couldn't I escape?" shouted Bambietta as a fourth chain appeared. She couldn't move any of her limbs now, and knew she was only fifteen seconds away from being enslaved by Noah's Bankai.

"Ren is going to be angry, her prize has been taken away as well." said Noah.

As soon as he mentioned her, she came back, and noticed the missing Lloyd.

"Tsk. A good fight stopping almost as soon as it started, and now this."

"I'll give you a good petting once we return home. Let's gather with the others and see if we have people to heal." suggested Noah.

Ren nodded and left immediately, searching for injured people to heal on her way.

The final hourglass turned, and Bambietta was absorbed into the Throne of Domination.

Noah recovered Seifuku and flew toward what the biggest cluster of Reiatsu signatures. He extended his senses as far as possible, but didn't feel any fight ongoing.

Reaching the group of captains and lieutenants, Noah saw the Captain-Commander. His left arm was in the process of being regrown by Asuna.

"Yhwach has retreated." said Yamamoto Genryusai without preamble. He looked very unhappy.

"Greetings, Captain-Commander. I am happy that you survived." said Noah, and the old man nodded.

Noah wondered why Yhwach had retreated. In the original fiction, his first attack stopped after he killed the Captain-Commander and left Sol Society in ruins. Maybe he decided to retreat and evaluate because too many of his Sternritter were dying too fast?

"So this is the guy, uh?" asked someone on his right, and Noah turned to see who had spoken.

The four Captains of the Zero Division had descended.

…

"Akeno, Jeanne, Alter. How about I invite you to lunch, as thanks for saving us in the dungeon and for giving us the Cores?" asked Jinah, with Jinwoo nodding behind her.

Akeno glanced at her two companions, turned back to Jinah, and nodded.

"That would be great, thank you for inviting us."

"Great. I know a good Korean barbecue not far from here. is it okay with you?"

"Yes, barbecue is good." nodded Alter.

"That's fine. I have experienced Japanese barbecues before, but not Korean ones. I wonder what kind of sauces and seasonings you use." said Akeno.

Following Jinah and Jinwoo, they walked for a while, then entered the restaurant and reserved a booth where they could talk in private.

The server came, carrying plates full of meat, veggies and a dozen sauces.

As they started grilling meat, Akeno turned the conversation to a subject she had on her mind since she met the Sung siblings.

"Jinwoo, Jinah, please forgive me if I'm being nosy, but I have been wondering for a while. Why are you both dungeon diving? To go through this kind of grueling experience, there must be something that drives you. Am I wrong?"

Jinwoo and Jinah looked at each other, and Jinwoo shrugged. "We really need the money. Our mother is one of the victims of the Eternal Sleep disease, and the hospital bills are expensive. I must also keep paying for Jinah's studying. Thankfully, today's windfall will let us pay for the rest of those studies, and for a few months of mother's hospital stay."

"With the weapons you gave us as well, and the…" Jinwoo looked around before speaking at a lower volume"…what we gained today, we will be able to improve our situation on the long term, I hope."

"Eternal Sleep disease?" asked Jeanne.

"Have you never heard of it?" asked Jinah with wide eyes.

"Please pretend that we lived under a rock for some time." awkwardly laughed Akeno.

"…Okay." dubiously said Jinah. "When dungeons started to appear, they leaked some of their mana to the outside world. Some people, about one in ten thousand, have an adverse reaction to that mana and fall into a coma. That is the Eternal Sleep Disease. Doctors have found a way to stabilize the victim using some of the crystals we sometimes find in dungeons, but there is no known cure."

Akeno nodded, more than ever convinced that Jinwoo was the protagonist of the original fiction.

"And your father? From what you told us, it seems he isn't present."

"Our father passed away ten years ago, in one of the first dungeons." said Jinwoo.

"You have my condolences." said Akeno with sympathy. Jeanne and Alter echoed her words.

"Thank you. It's been a long time, so his passing doesn't really hurt anymore." said Jinah.

"After we finish this meal, would you mind letting me see your mother? I am not certain yet, but there is a good chance that I could cure her."

"W-what? But that's impossible. Every doctor tried." blurted out Jinah.

"I am better than a doctor." shrugged Akeno.

Jinah looked at Jinwoo for a few seconds, disbelief fighting against hope. In the end, hope prevailed, and Jinwoo nodded.

"Well, there is no harm in letting you see her, I guess. But you don't do anything to her without us first clearing it with a doctor, okay?" said Jinah.

"Yes." smiled Akeno, turning over her strips of beef and veggies. "What can you tell us about the guilds? Which ones should we avoid or aim for? With myself, Jeanne and Alter being A-ranks, I guess it's only a matter of time, and not much of it, before we start receiving invitations."

"Do we even need to join a guild?" asked Alter.

"Well, if you wish to keep paying the 40% tax like we did earlier, you can remain independent." shrugged Jinah. "Members of a guild have a 10% rate, and guilds can reserve dungeons by paying the Hunters Association."

"The drawback of being in a guild is that joining one means obeying the orders of their leaders, and the Hunters Association is allowed to mobilize you in case of emergencies." said Jinwoo.

"What are the best guilds?" asked Jeanne.

"Maybe we should create our own?" suggested Alter.

"I'd rather join an existing one. It would be a good opportunity to again valuable advice from veterans and forge connections." said Akeno, already thinking about gaining strong allies to fight the Monarchs.

"Yes. One guild you should stay away from is the Blood Axes Guild." replied Jinwoo. " They got a bad reputation after stealing a few C-rank dungeons that other guilds had reserved, and there's some suspicions about the number of independent Hunters who team up with them, and do not return from the dungeon."

"I see. That one's off the list." nodded Akeno.

"You will probably aim for one of the top five guilds." said Jinah. "The first and largest is the Hunters Guild, not to be confused with the Hunters Association. The Hunters Guild has two S-Rank and three A-rank. Their weakest members are B-rank, I believe. One of the two S-rank is Cha Hae-In, who regularly makes magazine covers because she's a beautiful woman."

As she talked, Jinah quickly typed something on her smartphone and showed Akeno, Jeanne and Alter the picture of a blonde young woman in a mostly red outfit, a thin sword hanging from her waist. She was indeed beautiful.

"Second to them in power would be the White Tiger Guild, led by S-rank Baek Yoonho. They have many B and C-rank members, and the higher ups often accompany them into low-rank dungeons to escort them."

Akeno nodded. This sounded like the kind of guild she would like.

"The third ranked guild is Fiend. With one known S-rank and one A-rank." continued Jinah. "The Fiend Guild once was the strongest on Korea, until Baek Yoonho left with others to create the White Tiger Guild."

"This sounds like a problematic guild." mused Akeno. "A guild generally doesn't split up without a good reason, and if the White Tiger Guild helps their less fortunate members, I'm inclined to be partial to their side."

"Maybe." shrugged Jinah. "Next is the Knights guild. Although it had no S-rank member, that guild holds the highest number of A-rankers. There's nothing special to say about their behavior."

"And lastly, the Fate guild. Their leader is S-rank, and they are known for having a lot more mage-types hunters than warrior-types."

"I see. Thank you for the information, Jinah." said Akeno before dipping her first beef strip and tasting it.

"A bit too spicy for me, but not bad at all." nodded Akeno with a smile.

"That one is my favorite." grinned Jinah.

"Hey, Akeno. You aren't pulling our leg, right? You really believe you can heal our mother?" asked Jinwoo, sounding like he would break if Akeno said it was all a joke.

"Those who keep faith will be rewarded." virtuously smiled Akeno. "If you knew some of the stunts my friends or I have pulled, healing your mom wouldn't even raise your eyebrows. I can't guarantee success, but I am confident. And we won't let that lunch last too long, since you are both eager, understandably so."

Jeanne and Alter both nodded, their mouths full of grilled meat.

"Yeah, sorry if I give you the impression I want to rush you." apologized Jinwoo.

"We do not mind." shrugged Akeno. "What do you think we should expect, in term of salary or conditions?"

"There will likely be a huge hiring bonus, in the multiple billions Won, then a monthly pay of… maybe a billion won? Probably a minimum duration, mandatory presence for dungeon dives, and a steep penalty for breach of contract. But if you were to show that thing and prove to them that you could take that boss by yourself, you can essentially name your price."

"That's plenty enough money for our needs. Especially since the three of us will share the same apartment or house."

"You do not have a home yet?" asked Jinah.

"No. Solving this issue is the next thing on our agenda after paying a visit to your mother. For now, we have enough money to lodge at a hotel" smiled Akeno, mentally thanking Lilith once again.

Lilith, or at least, she assumed it was Lilith, had given them a bit of help by creating a bank account in her name, and giving her, Jeanne and Alter a credit card each.

"Ok." said Jinah. "So, let's speak about the System. What do you think is the goal behind it?"

"Systems are clearly created by someone or something. They are far too complex to be the result of some natural phenomena. So, we are being granted power. Or at least, we will, once we start gaining levels. But one does not grant power to someone else without a goal in mind. We are tools to fulfill some dangerous goal, one very likely related to dungeons." said Akeno.

" I really don't like the sounds of this." frowned Jinwoo.

"No one likes being a pawn in a chessboard." shrugged Akeno. "But that doesn't mean we can't use that power to improve our lives. I consider it as a trade. We do whatever the one behind it wants us to do, likely facing great danger. We are given power because whoever it is thinks we will need it. In return, we get to use that power to gain fame, influence, and all the trappings that go with being strong."

"I won't to do the bidding of someone who wanted us to gain that power by sacrificing one of us." decided Jinwoo.

"Jinwoo, I understand what you mean, but you shouldn't underestimate whoever is behind this. And maybe there was another way to win without sacrificing someone, and we missed it? What if the real test was for us to all refuse to sacrifice anyone?"

"Considering how ruthless and bloodthirsty the Lord was in the first two phases, it's very unlikely." pointed out Jinah.

Akeno nodded, and the discussion switched to details of the system, and what they thought they meant.

Akeno's case was different as that system had been assimilated to her own, so she didn't talk much to avoid revealing her peculiarities.

Once the meal was over, Jinah insisted on paying, and they headed for the hospital where her mother was being taken care of.

Akeno entered the room after the Sung siblings and saw on the bed a woman with long black hair, unconscious. She would have been beautiful, is she wasn't severely emaciated. A strange machine, with a large crystal floating in a container filled with a clear fluid, was humming beside the bed, connected to her via a pair of IV drips.

"Hi, Mom. I've bought a few friends." said Jinah, her voice loaded with emotion.

"All I need to do to start is hold her hand." said Akeno. "But since I suspect I'm going to end up healing a lot more than one patient today, some video evidence may be useful. Can you record it for the doctors?"

Jinah and Jinwoo both nodded and took their smartphones.

Akeno nodded and took their mother's hand, then activated Greater Healing.

Jinah and Jinwoo trembled as they noticed their mother's skin gaining more color, her features returning to how they were before she fell into coma. After half a minute, Akeno released her hand, and made a loud clap.

Jinwoo's mother opened her eyes suddenly, and started looking around, confused.

"Mom!" cried Jinah as she hugged her. Jinwoo was just beside her, tears of happiness flowing down his cheeks.

"We'll be waiting outside." smiled Akeno, leaving the room.

"This is the part of our mission I like he most." smiled Jeanne as they waited in the hallway.

"So do I." smiled Akeno. "And starting tonight, we'll get started on the process of you two being able to do that as well."

"Yes, Master." replied Jeanne with a blush. She was still unclear about the exact details but had learned enough since meeting Akeno to know that the process involved sex somehow. A lot of sex."

"Yes. We need to become as strong as we can, to deal with the Monarchs." replied Alter. She, too, was blushing.

"We need to collect information on that Jeju island, too."

After a few minutes, the door opened, and Jinwoo asked them to enter.

"I am glad that you feel better…" started Akeno.

"Sung Kyung-Hye." smiled Jinwoo's mother. "I am very grateful to you for getting me out of my coma. How could I ever repay you?"

"There is no need for repayment." replied Akeno. "We just became friends with Jinwoo and Jinah, and it didn't take us much effort to help. Just seeing them happy is reward enough."

"But still…"

"Could you instead call in the nurse, please? There are other patients to cure."

"Ah… yes." nodded Kyung-Hye, pressing a button.

"So much for keeping a low profile." muttered Alter.

"But it's worth it, right?" asked Jeanne with a warm smile, and Alter reluctantly nodded.

Twenty seconds later, a nurse came, looking curiously at the people present. But when she saw Sung Kyung-Hye sitting on her bed, she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands in abject shock.

She quickly congratulated her patient for waking up, asked a few questions and performed some superficial examination, then left to warn the doctors.

Once a few doctors came and performed the same examination, Jinwoo showed them the recorded video, and Akeno simply shrugged.

"So, can you lead me to the next patient?"

…

An hour later, Akeno felt drained as they left the hospital and headed for the Hunters Association's Headquarters. The fight in the dungeon, followed by healing hundreds of patients, had put a severe strain on her mana reserve.

"Can you remind me again why we are going to the Hunter's Association?" asked Alter.

"By now, all the big guilds must be aware of us, and they'll try to find and recruit us. But since we do not have a home yet, they will probably have people watching the Association's Headquarters." explained Akeno.

"I see." nodded Alter.

On the way, Akeno's smartphone pinged. She looked at it and spoke to Jeanne and Alter.

"Message from Song Chi-Yul. He's done the training quest. He complains that running 10 kilometers and the rest were harsh to his old body, but got to choose between three options: Recovery, three stat points, or a random loot box. He chose the box, and says a small box appeared in his hand and opened, transferring a small healing potion in his inventory."

"That sounds useful, especially the stat points." said Jeanne.

"Yes. Since we already have decent equipment, we should choose that option almost every time." replied Akeno.

Her prediction turned out to be accurate, as they didn't even have to reach the Association's Headquarters. Several people in business suits were camping outside, and upon seeing their prey enter the street, they started walking toward them. Some of them even started an impromptu race at who could reach them first without completely sacrificing their dignity by running.

When they reached them, Akeno smiled and gestured for them to stop.

"How about we chat in the cafe over there? It will be my treat."

The representatives of a dozen guilds immediately agreed, and they all gathered around a large table and waited to be served. Jeanne sat on her right and Alter on her left.

"Before we start the negotiation…" began Akeno after introducing herself and her companions. "I would like to thank you all for your interest. I will speak for the three of us, since we have no intention of splitting up. We are interested in joining an existing guild. Money is of little importance to us, as long as we have enough to sustain a comfortable lifestyle, and we are more interested in living conditions and relative freedom, and in securing our participation in the next raid targeting Jeju island."

The representatives nodded dubiously, although some were already getting pale. They had hoped to bag one of the A-ranks, btu hearing that they wouldn't split might put them out of their budget. Others were uneasy at the mention of Jeju Island. Korean had already raided the island three times, trying to reconquer it, but they all ended in costly failure. One S-rank Hunter had been lost during the last attempt.

"With that said, I propose to hear each of you in turn, clockwise."

They nodded again, and Akeno looked at the young man with thin rectangular glasses and short dark red hair sitting on Alter's left.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Choi Jong-In, the Guild Master of the Hunters Guild."

"We are honored that the leader of one of Korea's most powerful guilds came in person to meet us." nodded Akeno.

"Thank you. First, how did you hear about the upcoming Jeju island raid?" asked Choi Jong-In, frowning. He was the one planning and making preparations for it, and it was supposed to remain a secret.

"We have been entrusted with a mission. To take part in it, and to prevent the death of any S-Rank Hunter. But please, do not bother asking who gave us that job. I will not tell you."

Choi Jong-In frowned more. he really wanted to shake that smiling girl, admittedly extremely beautiful, and force her to tell him everything. But he could hardly torture her. But maybe he would manage to learn what she hid if he got her inside the guild and used friendship.

"I won't ask. Before the raid, if you can spar against one S-ranker and impress them, I will not mind adding you to the raid. But I will want to see how you perform as part of a team before that."

"That is fine with us." nodded Akeno.

"As for my offer… 18 Billion Won as a signing bonus for a one-year contract, 3.6 Billion monthly, minimum of one dungeon dive with the guild per week, and the guild will take 50% of the loot's value. And 18 billion as penalty for breach of contract.

That was about 25% above what most A-rankers earned, and Choi Jong-In estimated it to be a fairly good deal for them.

Akeno nodded, noting the details of his offer on a sheet of paper, and it was the turn of a man named Ahn Sangmin, representing the White Tiger Guild, to introduce himself and make his offer.

"I heard that the White Tiger Guild sends its high-rankers to low level dungeons to provide security to their less powerful members." said Akeno, not letting her face show what she thought of the practice.

"Hum, that is correct." replied Ahn Sangmin, thinking that Akeno and the other two might disapprove of the practice, thinking it a waste of their valuable time or below them. "The high-ranker make certain they return alive, and share their experience and wisdom with the less fortunate members."

"Is that the reason your leader split with the Fiend guild?" asked Akeno, still neutral.

"Yes. The Fiend's Guild Master refused to recruit anyone below A-rank, and wanted to force those already members of the guild to quit."

"Is a representative of the Fiends guild present?" asked Akeno.

"Ah, Yes. I am. I am Hak Seung-Won. A pleasure to meet you." said a tall and slender blonde man with thin glasses.

"Is what Ahn Sangmin said true?"

"It is. Once the guild reached the peak of its power, we didn't need the dead weight anymore. It is unfortunate that Baek Yoonho was too blinded by his principles to see that and stay."

"I see." said Akeno, suddenly smiling. "That's a good point in favor of the White Tiger Guild. We have principles as well, and we do not wish to associate with people who would abandon their comrades simply because they aren't as useful anymore. We won't accept any offer from you."

"Tsk!" uttered the guy, sending an angry glare at Ahn Sangmin as he left.

Akeno looked back at Ahn Sangmin, who looked both hopeful and relieved. The offer he made was a little less than Choi Jong-In's, but Akeno didn't care about a few billions.

One by one, the others made their offers as well.

"Thank you, everyone." nodded Akeno. She looked at her companions.

"I would say either the Hunters guild or the White Tiger Guild. I am inclined toward the latter." said Jeanne.

"Same here. I do not really care, as long as I can go into dungeons and fight." shrugged Alter.

Akeno grinned at Alter for a second before turning to Choi Jon-In.

"I am sorry, but I will accept Ahn Sangmin's offer, at least for now. Your offer is better, but money isn't really a motivation for us, and the kind of benevolence and mutual help Baek Yoonho demonstrated is something I want to support."

Choi Jong-In sighed, slightly disappointed, but not angry. He had lost, but at least, it was for good reasons. And he had a very good relationship with the White Tiger Guild and Baek Yoonho.

"Very well. The raid won't happen for a few months. I will ask Baek Yoonho for his opinion of you, and if he vouches for you, I will agree to your participation.

"Thank you." nodded Akeno.

Choi Jong-In and the others left, and Ahn Sangmin led Akeno, Jeanne and Alter into a car and into the guild's headquarters, a large building fifteen stories high.

Akeno carefully read the contracts, signed her own while Jeanne and Alter did the same, and were about to leave when Ahn Sangmin cleared his throat.

"That reminds me, Miss Himejima. You didn't give us your address."

"Ah, yes. I do not have any at the moment. We are sort of homeless. I was about to search for a hotel room to rent."

Ahn Sangmin's jaw dropped. How could A-rank people be homeless?

"Ah. That may be an issue, though. This is the break season, and hotels are typically full at that time. Please let me call them to see if they have rooms."

"…Please do, we'll appreciate your help." nodded Akeno, frowning. She could technically hide the Sanctuary on a building's rooftop or something, but she only had one of those, and she didn't want to risk it on a 'maybe'.

Ahn Sangmin made a dozen calls, but every hotel was completely booked. He then got a genius idea.

"Please follow me. I know someone who may help."

They followed him to another floor, and Ahn Sangmin knocked on a door.

"Enter." came a woman's voice. He opened the door and ushered them in.

They were now in a fairly large office with a single occupant. A young woman in her twenties, with large green eyes and long black hair. She wore a white shirt and a black tie.

"Sangmin? And…"

"I am Akeno Himejima. It is nice to meet you." said Akeno with a polite bow. Jeanne and Alter introduced themselves.

"Sisters?" asked the woman.

"Yes." replied Jeanne.

"I need a favor, Heejin." hurriedly said Ahn Sangmin. "Can you take in the three new A-ranks for a while? All the hotels are packed."

"What? Do I look like I'm a babysitter?"

"I'll ask HR to double your salary for the duration."

"Okay! But any damage they cause, I'll get compensated for. Same for food expenses."

"Yes. I'll pay from my own pocket if I have to."

"Ahem. We can procure the groceries, and I'm a good cook, if I do say so myself." smiled Akeno, amused by the woman's instant about face when money was mentioned.

"Good to hear. I'm Park Heejin, a B-rank. Let's get along!" said Heejin as she stood and bowed politely.