Arriving on the western outskirt of the first floor, Hiraya marveled at the sight of the modern type L-shaped house below as she was being carried by Minokawa. The house was painted white as durable shiny materials were carved on its wall, seemingly pebbles that gave the house a picturesque outlook.
Glass panes covered most of the corner as Hiraya gaped seeing the interior with several players walking back and forth as they indulged in their nightly activities. On a large pool beside the house, players, mostly girls rested on the bathing chair as disco lights dazzled through their skinny bodies. Monsters behaving like a human also enjoyed the ambiance as they dipped into the pool with some large monsters even playing in the forest that surrounded the Mansion.
The Arimaonga Mansion was big enough to cater to almost a hundred players and a few monsters.
With gusts assaulting the players below as Minokawa gradually descended into an open area, the players became wary of potential invasion with monsters and started building a protective wall. Their late-night fun was halted by the sudden arrival of a massive Bird.
It took no time before their vigilance immediately died out as they saw Lily with the other guild members hop off from Minokawa's back as he lowered his body. Commotions started to build up as they witnessed Lily covered with blood as she was being carried by the group. Immediately notifying the players to call for a specific person, the group rested Lily's body on the emptied bathing chair.
The players flocked to the area as they formed a circle around the chair, their worried eyes wandering on Lily's miserable state. In no time, a woman barged into the crowd as she squeezed her way into the congested players.
She sneaked a glance at Lily before she extended her hand. A large amount of mana exited her body as a butterfly-like monster appeared before her.
With a flap of its wings, specks of green particles descended on Lily's body, restoring her vitality as her internal organs gradually healed.
Lily finally breathed at a normal pace as she felt the pain start to subside. Still, the pain from losing her tamed monster would take a longer time to heal. After all, [Sage Turtle] was her first tamed monster…
With Lily now starting to recuperate, the woman with a small physique who summoned the butterfly glanced at the woman, and the 5 other A-grade players. She understood that the new faces were most likely their fresh recruits, her gaze then shifted to the woman who went with Lily to the Resurrection Hall.
"What happened, Vice Captain? I thought you just went there to escort the New Guildmaster? What happened to Captain?", the woman asked
The Vice Captain bit her lower lip, remembering the fight that happened. Helplessness brewed in her as she wasn't able to support Lily even by a little. In face of the monstrous SSS-rank players, her S-grade title was nothing but dust.
"She fought with the Captains of Sword Sain Guild and…", she paused as her eyes soared with rage.
"The Captain of that shitty Necromancer Guild", she added which caused gossip to spark in the encircling crowd. Mumbles carrying hints of anger resonated one after another.
"That Necromancer Guild?! They are still alive?!"
"Why won't they just disband? They should rot in hell!"
"Vice Captain, we have to kill them. We should not let them bring demise in this Tower again."
"Those traitors!"
Resentment grew in their hearts with their jaws clenching erratically. They had enough of past misery, they would not let it happen again.
"That… I will about that with Captain when she woke up.", she uttered before her face finally lit up as she looked at Hiraya who had her back facing the crowd. Her face was concealed by her golden hair as she sat beside Lily.
Opening her excited mouth up and down, the Vice Captain pointed her hand to Hiraya as she motioned her to stand and face the crowd.
Hiraya's golden hair fell on her waist gracefully as the cold breeze of the night blew. With Disco lights hitting her exposed beauty, the crowd turned agape at what they witnessed.
"Th---this, she looks exactly like the Empress"
"Gorgeous…"
They marveled at the sight of Hiraya as she glanced at them shyly. She was not used to public attention drawn to her so she avoided making direct eye contact. The Vice Captain then introduced her.
"She is Hiraya, the new Empress of our Arimaonga family", she muttered as she patted Hiraya's back, soothing her as she revealed a warm smile.
Hiraya felt the pat relieving her of her worries and shyness, as she finally raised her head, she met the inquisitive yet dazzling eyes of players who view her with awe.
"You can do it, Hiraya!", the other 5 A-grade girls supported her.
Now that she glanced at their eyes, Hiraya couldn't help but let out a soft smile as there was no hint of mockery, greed, or lust in their marveling gazes. They looked at her as if she was a respectable beauty.
With all the warm greetings from the players and their kind treatment, Hiraya unknowingly planted a seed of kinship with the players. A seed that would nourish her desire to be their new Empress.
—
A day later, Lily had recuperated fully as she now sat on the sofa facing Hiraya. They were in the main office with two lengthy sofas facing each other, a glass table in between them, and a rectangular heavy table in their North with an ergonomic office chair tucked in it.
It was the office of the Empress in the Arimaonga Mansion.
Sitting on the opposite sofa, Hiraya gazed intently at Lily as she started to release questions that had been on her mind for a day now.
"Why do you want to kill Alab that much?", she started
Lily, her mouth quivering as she lowered her gaze. She knew that Hiraya had built an undesirable friendship with Alab in the Tutorial, so she made sure to think wisely and choose the right words to make it less painful for Hiraya.
Moving her legs to the side as she raised her body, Lily stood walking towards the glass pane covering the left side of the room. Her somber eyes glanced at the players below who rejoiced at the enthralling pool under the radiance of the sun.
Looking at the smiles plastered on their faces, Lily began her long narration.
"There were once three large guilds in the Tower. The Sword Saint, Arimaonga, and the Necromancer Guild. At first, everything is about climbing the Tower as we aim for larger power. It was a competition but it was a fun one. The late Empress, your mother, climbed the higher floors with the leaders from the other 2 guilds. I was but a kid at that time and I didn't know what happened exactly but one day, I received the news. Your mother… she was killed by the leader of Necromancer Guild."
Lily paused her words as she started to be overwhelmed by her emotions. It had been a decade now but the memory of the late Empress' corpse being carried by the members as they fled into the Mansion was fresh in her mind.
Her eyes turned runny with tears as she clutched her chest. With her shaky breath and ragged breathing, her trembling lips moved up and down.
"Right after her death, the Arimoanga family launched a war with the Necromancer guild. It all happened in instant and I was too weak to help, I could only quiver in one corner as I watched them bring the member's deceased bodies back to the guild. I will never forget the pain in their eyes every time a member dies, and how their courage to extract revenge never ceased."
"Before I knew it, the war had ended with the remaining Necromancer Guild members fleeing for their lives. They all hid and delighted themselves while we at Arimaonga Guild continued to suffer from our loss. We lost members, sponsors, and S-grade players. Our strength had dwindled by a lot. Even to this day, we are recovering and now, the son of that traitor enters the Tower. I'm afraid another war will happen at a sooner time."
Pausing her tale, Lily shifted her gaze from the players below to Hiraya. Her watery eyes glanced at Hiraya as she begged.
"That's why we need you, Hiraya. We need you to lead us", she pleaded.