Ah.
As if I could finally breathe again, I took a deep breath.
A deep and long breath.
'Lotus Guild.'
A name stuck inside of my mind.
So they were the ones behind the situation...
Dean grabbed my shoulder right as I was in my thoughts.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"...I'm fine."
I couldn't be any better.
"How's the sword? Is the grip loose?"
"Just as Sarah said, the grip is loose."
This was the first time that I felt it, but knowing what I knew, I didn't need to touch it to know that it was faulty.
I still tested it and as expected, it was loose.
"Hm...?"
Feeling the grip again, I looked at Sarah strangely.
"What, is there something wrong?"
My reaction seemed to have aroused Dean's panic as he frantically grabbed my shoulders and wrestled the sword from my grasp.
"Don't tell me there's no problem with this. If there's really no problem with this, then we're fucked since then we'd truly be at fault here. We'll have no choice but to pay them compensation. If that's the case..."
The more Dean felt the grip of the sword the paler his expression became.
Closely observing his expression, my brow unknowingly tilted.
'Could it be...'
"I can't feel it. Is there really nothing wrong with the sword?"
"No, don't worry."
I reassured him.
"There's a problem with the sword."
"Then..."
"It's just not very obvious. If you give it to an expert, they'll be able to tell."
"Ah, so it's like that."
Suddenly shooting me a glare, Dean smacked the wheel of the van.
"If you knew there was something wrong with the sword, why'd you react like that? You almost gave me a heart attack."
"No, I was just surprised."
"By what?"
"Hmm."
I briefly glanced at Sarah. She was sitting on her chair while silently eating her candy. Our gazes met for a brief moment until she averted her eyes away.
'...Interesting.'
"So, what is it? Don't leave me hanging."
"It's nothing important. I was just surprised by how well they've hidden the abnormality."
I was also very surprised by how much the girls cared for each other.
"Ah, okay."
Dean rubbed his mouth and nodded.
Turning my gaze back toward the front, I comfortably leaned back against the chair.
Right.
I was very surprised.
***
"You wait here for now. Only enter once I call you, okay?"
"Okay."
When I nodded my head, Dean looked behind him and whispered.
"There's a lot of important people inside at the moment. Only speak when asked, and make sure you don't piss anyone off. Especially Price's Manager. He might skin you alive if he sees you. I may be the Vice-director of Unit 2, but seriously, I can only help you so much."
"Yes, don't worry, but..."
I hesitated for a bit. There had never been the time for me to tell him, but now that we stood in front of the Guild's board room, I had no choice but to tell him about some of the things I learned from the vision.
Dean glanced at his watch as he hurried.
"Shoot, what is it?"
"About the culprit..."
"WestBom? What about them?"
"No, not them."
"What..."
"I'm referring to the real culprit behind the situation. I think I know who it is."
Stunned, Dean blinked his eyes.
"You, what...? What are you talking about? Are you saying..."
"Yes. I think there's someone behind WestBom."
"Elaborate."
Pausing for a moment, I took a few seconds to organize my thoughts. How should I go about this? ...He wouldn't just accept the fact that I had a hunch about the real culprit. That'd be lazy. I needed something more convincing.
Something that would convince him, and the others to look into the situation.
"I think the one behind the situation is the Lotus Guild."
"The Lotus Guild...? Why would they..."
That's when it suddenly struck him and his expression changed.
He held onto my shoulders.
"Tell me more."
"Actually, I had a nagging feeling for quite some time now that the Lotus Guild would try something in the near future. I mean, we did steal a big opportunity from them after all."
"That's true... With the way they do things over there, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. But that's a farfetched conclusion. I need something more concrete."
"The swords."
"The swords...?"
Dean cocked his head, seemingly struggling to understand my point.
I elaborated.
"The sword Sarah used. That's the greatest proof that someone was trying to mess with us."
"I'm not following."
"Do you still have the sword?"
"No, it's in the meeting room right now."
Ah.
Dean frowned and turned his head toward the meeting room.
"Do you need the sword to prove your point?"
"Yes, I do."
"...Okay."
As if he had made up his mind, Dean grabbed my shoulder and dragged me into the meeting room with him.
Even though I had somewhat readied myself for the scene that would greet me beyond the door, the moment I entered, my heart stopped as my eyes were drawn to the central figure in the room.
His mere presence loomed over everyone else in the room as if he were the sole person there.
So this was...
Evon Elsher—The Guild Master of Emblem of the Sun.
As expected. Just standing a few feet away from him felt suffocating. He wasn't even doing anything, and yet, everything seemed to move slowly around him.
Sat beside him were several other figures, of which, two were staring at me with unpleasant gazes.
Why were they staring at me like that? ...What did I do to them?
Ah, right. Could one of them be Price's manager? If so, it made sense. But why were there two people looking at me like that?
"Dean, hurry over."
The Unit 2 leader gestured us over with his hand. His expression was as stoic as ever. Greeting everyone politely, I stood behind Dean who took his seat.
Since I wasn't supposed to be here, there was no spare seat.
"If I may ask, what is he doing here?"
The man whom I presumed was Price's manager said as he pointed at me. He had short black hair and wore a nice navy blue suit. He looked like the ideal manager.
"Ah, I invited him over."
Dean gave a short explanation to the others, but it didn't seem to have pleased the manager who seemed even more displeased.
"You invited him over in such an important meeting? Do you realize how big of a mess we're in right now?"
"I know."
"No, you don't!"
The manager smacked the table.
"WestBom just issued a threat, claiming they'll hold a press conference in two hours, where they'll announce the cancellation of the deal we've been painstakingly negotiating for the past couple of months. If you're going to make a mess, don't involve us... you inept fuckers!"
"What did you just call me...?!"
Dean abruptly stood up from his seat, his eyes glaring fiercely at Price's Manager.
"You heard what I said. Are you deaf or something?"
"It's because I heard what you said that I'm asking you again!"
The situation was quickly escalating to a level that was beyond control as the two stood up and fiercely spat at each other.
But that was until a certain voice lingered in the air.
"The both of you, calm down."
The room fell silent instantly. It wasn't that Dean and the manager had given up on the argument, but from their expressions, it was clear they were battling to maintain their composure.
"The situation hasn't reached the point where we should be panicking."
Guild Master Evon's composure was something to envy.
Even in such a situation, he didn't seem to be rattled.
"They've only resorted to threats for now. As long as we pay the sum that they asked of us, we'll be able to mitigate the damage."
"We understand that, Guild leader. So should we go ahead and pay the breach? The money isn't that much anyway."
The man who sat next to Price's Manager, and was giving me the unpleasant eye spoke. He had a mane of thick red hair and was on the burlier side.
As his eyes lingered over the table where two swords rested, he tapped the table.
"I've already tested the swords myself, there's no real noticeable difference between the two. Let's just pay the fine and be done with things. We can't implicate Price for something as insignificant as this."
He eyed me for a moment.
What's up with this guy...?
"...After all, the fault lies with us."
"But what about Blue Daisy?"
The Unit 2 Leader spoke.
"Paying the cancelation fee is equivalent to admitting fault. The girls will find it hard to continue work if they're hit with such a problem. No other company will try to sign them."
"So? Aren't they the cause of this mess? Sarah Andler was it? Just take a look at her profile, she's never graduated from any academy and got accepted because of her looks. No matter how I look at it, we're at fault. The swords are perfectly fine."
"And are you certain of it? Can you guarantee that there's actually no problem with the swords?"
"Haven't we all tried them ourselves? Although none of us deal with swords, we should be able to tell if a grip is good or not."
"No, that may not be the case."
Dean shook his head.
"What if the situation is more than meets your eye?"
"What nonsense... Are we going to start with the conspiracy theories this early?"
The man erupted in laughter, his booming voice filling the entire meeting room as if he found the situation amusing.
"Can you let me fini—"
"Ridiculous."
Dean never had the chance to explain himself as the man cut him off, his smile fading from his lips.
"I get that you're concerned for the group, but we don't have the luxury of time to verify your conspiracy theories that may end up leading us nowhere. In a few hours, WestBom will hold a press conference on this issue. Even if you're correct, I can't jeopardize the reputation of one of my talents for an unknown girl group."
The man's eyes sharpened as he turned his focus on the Guild Master.
"That's enough said. Should we end the meeting here? I've got other things to handle at the moment."
Instead of answering, the Guild Master looked straight at me.
"Don't you have anything to say?"
Eh?
How did he know?
"You wouldn't be here if you had nothing to say."
Shivers.
My body shivered under the Guild Master's gaze, but I still maintained my composure. At the very least that was what I showed on the outside.
Inwardly my entire body was frozen solid.
"Guild Master? Why are you..."
"Let him talk. I'm curious about what he has to say. Liam Marken, right?"
"Correct."
He even knows my name?
"Go on. You don't have to be reserved. Lay everything out for all of us to understand. If you can convince me, I'll proceed how you see fit."
Huh?
Just what was going on here? Was the Guild Master really just asking for my opinion?
Since when...
No, now wasn't the time for this.
Exchanging glances with Dean, I nodded my head. Adjusting my breathing and fixing my gaze on the swords that rested on the table, I reached out for one of the swords.
"May I?"
"Go ahead."
"Thank you."
Feeling the grip of the sword, I jumped straight to the point.
"The two swords aren't the same."
The room fell silent and almost immediately a domineering voice echoed.
"What nonsense..."
My brows furrowed. Just who exactly was this man? He referred to Price as one of his talents... could he be the Leader of Unit 1?
What was up with him? Why did he seem to hate me so much?
Thankfully, he was shut down by the Guild Master who raised his hand. The Unit 1 leader's face contorted, but it seemed as though he couldn't bring himself to contradict the Guild Master as he simply shot me an unpleasant look.
"Go on."
"Thank you."
Nodding, I continued.
"The problem here lies in the fact that there actually is a problem with the sword. It's not obvious to an untrained person, but..."
I held the sword and gripped it.
"Without a doubt, there's a difference between the two swords. I was also skeptical at first, but when I received this sword and compared it to the other, I knew that something... No, someone was messing with us."
"Bullshit!"
The Unit 1 leader shouted, snatching the sword from my hand.
"Are you telling me that you can tell the difference between the two swords? You, who is a new recruit and a manager at that?"
He flipped it over.
"I don't feel anything at all. If I can't feel a thing, then what makes you so sure that there's something wrong?"
"...Because I've handled the sword before."
Vision this, vision that. They weren't all I knew and relied on.
For the past two decades.
I had lived and breathed the sword. I could tell at a touch that there was something wrong with it. It was second nature to me.
But that was exactly why I was so surprised by Sarah.
How could she tell when she had only handled the sword for a couple of years?
"What...? You've handled the sword? Why are you here then?"
When I simply smiled, the Unit 1 leader seemed even more pissed. He was just about to open his mouth again when the Guild Master spoke.
"Get to the point, what are you trying to imply here?"
I took a deep breath. It was only mere moments ago when his attention was focused on me, and once again feeling his gaze, I felt as though I was struggling for breath.
But I quickly recomposed myself.
Meeting the Guild Master's gaze, I slowly responded.
"This is no coincidence. Someone is purposely targeting us..."