It seemed that the girls were ready to burn each other with their stares.
"Please, stop!" Asura intervened in the argument. "You simply don't know anything! Rumy, you have no idea how humans and dragons live in the empire, and Aileen, you know nothing about the deeds of Nihelim. Put an end to this pointless dispute!"
The girls snorted and dispersed to different corners of the room.
"Well, it looks like both countries' histories have too many gaps. Anyway, we have little time and lots of work, so let's try to finish everything on time."
The remaining days until the New Year were spent in the blacksmith's forge. The guildhouse was currently under repair, and Asura's café was closed for the weekend. We had nowhere else to gather, so nobody was surprised by our absence. I only visited Katrina's room once to pick up something for her present.
Finally, the time for the grand celebration came. A huge Christmas tree was mysteriously delivered to the central square from Nodruna. No one saw how it happened, but rumors had it that dragons familiar with the rector brought it here late at night. The previous celebration was disrupted, so this time, the rector promised to make it twice as grand. On the last day of the year, at Asura's café where we gathered to celebrate the New Year, Feris arrived with a message from the rector.
"Hello, I'm here with important news," Feris politely bowed and greeted everyone.
"Is it about the guild?"
"Yes, the rector asked me to tell you that all the work is finished, and you can move in already. The furniture is lacking at the moment, but I hope it won't be a problem for you."
"But that's impossible! Only five days have passed, how did he manage to construct such a building?" I looked at the girl with skepticism.
"Um... he had the help of a good friend and a powerful mage. That's why the main construction was done so quickly. Well... I must go now," Feris quickly bowed and rushed away.
"Wow, moving into a new house on New Year's Eve!! That's so awesome!" Seleria even jumped for joy.
"Then let's go quickly!" I gave the command, and all the guild members rushed towards the Academy and soon disappeared around the corner.
"Happy for you," Asura said to her comrades who remained at the café, as they were not part of our guild.
"Asura!" Katrina appeared from around the corner with a disapproving look. "What are you still doing here!? We are all going, and you are coming too!"
"But I don't know..." Asura looked uncertainly at the princess.
"Let's go, leader."
"What are you waiting for?" The twins grabbed their GM by the arms and ran after the others.
"Well, at least take some food with you. These girls are way too reckless," Werner, who was arranging plates on the tables, set them aside and followed.
One of the secret passages was conveniently located just two blocks away from Asura's café, in the basement of an abandoned building. Passing through the door labeled "home," we found ourselves in the basement, which had become significantly more spacious and even had stairs to the lower floors. Now, there were wall-mounted lamps, which Seleria immediately lit, filling the room with a peaceful glow.
"Wow! It's bigger than our whole guild before!" Ragni ran from one end of the basement to the other. "Wow! There's even a ring for training and a laboratory down here! Let's go upstairs, come on, come on!"
Ragni dragged everyone upstairs, but at the bottom, Katrina noticed our trophies lying in the corner. Everything that was in our basement peacefully moved here – unsold jewelry and belongings.
"Mmm, it seems like everything's been moved," Katrina inspected the storeroom doubtfully once more. "But where are the Queen's Blades?"
"Come on, Katrina, let's go upstairs. I'll explain everything later," I nudged the princess upstairs and followed her.
The first floor was a richly decorated hall of considerable size, and opposite the entrance stood a magnificent staircase leading to the upper floors. Astonished by the grandeur of the interior, the guild members rushed outside.
The guildhouse had turned into a luxurious mansion. A four-story building made of white stone with exquisite reliefs on the windows. It was several times larger than the old house, of which only a part of the foundation with a basement wall, housing the entrance to the "Wayfarer's Path," remained. The gates that previously guarded nothing were now connected to a white stone fence surrounding the entire property down to the beach, which could now be accessed by a beautiful staircase.
"Oh, you are so fast, ho-ho-ho," a voice called out to us from behind, and the rector appeared at the gates. Instead of his usual conical hat, he wore a red-and-white cap. "Ah, the youth, the youth, always in a hurry. How do you like my gift?"
"It's amazing, Master Rector! And so quick that I still can't believe it," Katrina jumped with joy.
"Well, I have my secrets too. Here are the keys to the new castle, and, of course, I personally set up protective barriers around the grounds. Now you can let loose to your heart's content. Krito, I also took all your wishes into account. Here is the building's layout; there are rooms for all of you on the upper floors, and Miss Asura and her comrades will have theirs too," the rector winked at the warrior. "Yes, and I've also built an observation platform on the roof, so you can watch the fireworks from the front row. Happy New Year, everyone."
The rector handed me and Katrina some documents and waved goodbye, making a suspicious "ho-ho-ho" as he left.
"The rector is still such a mysterious old man," I evaluated the volume of the work done and the builders' capabilities. "He couldn't have possibly done it all."
"We have less than eight hours left until the New Year! And you all ran off, leaving the food in our café!" Werner brought us back to reality. "Think about the consequences for once."
"Oh, shoot! Let's run back!! Asura, can we take a few tables from your place for our rooftop?"
"Sure, just make sure to return them."
Together, we moved several tables, food, and decorations from the café. The girls began decorating the building while the guys set up the tables. I took Rumy aside and led her to a room on the first floor.
"I asked the rector to recreate this room as close as possible to how it used to be," I opened the door to the room. The walls were slightly different in color from the other rooms, and there was a single bed in the center. Shelves with books, including two diaries of the former owner of this room, hung on the walls.
"Thank you," tears welled up in Rumy's eyes. "This room is just like the one I had in my childhood."
"Also, across from here, near the staircase, is your brother's room, which looks just like this one. If you want, no one will occupy it."
"Thank you, Krito, but I can't agree to that! My brother was a very practical person, and he wouldn't forgive me if an entire room in my house stood unused."
"Well, okay, I would like this house to be our guildhouse while still being your home."
"You know, I'm already tired of the teachers' dormitory. I think I'll live here."
"I don't think anyone would mind. Let's join the others; I think it's time to give out the presents."
"Let's go, and thank you for such a gift."
When we went upstairs, everyone was already prepared for the celebration.
"Mmm, Krito, you're late! Open the champagne!"
"Yes, Your Highness, always glad to serve," I obediently started filling the glasses as Katrina crossed her arms with a sense of fulfilled duty.
"And my mom sent me a gift too!" Ragni pulled out from under the table a suspiciously familiar black bottle with a dragon-scale-like ornament. "Who wants some?"
"NO ONE!!!" Kurone, Grain, Katrina, and Levris shouted in unison.
"Eh, but it would be so much more fun this way," Ragni gestured toward Katrina's glass, but the GM's angry look stopped her. "Well, well, I'll wait until your vigilance weakens."