"Oh. Hello."
Stepping out of the elevator, Mark was blasted with near-frigid air.
'They should really turn the air conditioning down, this is insane.'
Or perhaps it was simply a byproduct of the cold man that stood before him—one of the strongest Humans in Kaedom: the Luikots Patriarch.
As Mark approached, the Patriarch couldn't help but crack a wry smile, despite his attempt at an iron facade.
"You're…"
"Alexander Luikots," the man replied as the two shook hands. "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Abbott."
Alex's grip threatened to break Mark's hand—who responded with as much force as he could muster. All it did in the end was protect him rather than form a counter-attack.
"Intermediate? No… Apprentice?" Alex thought out loud, though expectant of a reply.
"Something like that…"
"Not too forthcoming with information are we?" Alex lorded over him, his right eye subtly glowed. "You have traces of strange Mana. A pocket dimension?"
"Father," Ranni called out. "Please stop interrogating him. And don't start once I leave, I need to go change."
Alex sighed as he walked toward the couches of the open Penthouse living room—to which Mark followed behind, taking the seat directly across from him. Ranni stepped out of the room, leaving the two to their own devices.
"I've seen the information—about the Alchemists who may be able to cure Acute Mutation Disease," the air was stiff between the two.
However, it quickly softened as the Guild Master leaned inward.
"I'd like to thank you on behalf of the Luikots," Alex respectfully bowed his head. "You can't imagine how much this means for our family."
"It's no issue," Mark replied succinctly as if trying to brush off the encounter.
He was on edge. For one, this man was the pinnacle of Insight. He could strip information away from Mark with ease; information was Mark's greatest asset.
Not to mention Alex's revelation that Ranni had shared that paper. This was mainly why Mark had been lost in thought.
He had to tiptoe, carefully poking and prodding; he needed to know what Alex knew. Otherwise, he might end up giving away his advantage.
'How much did Ranni share with him? If he saw the paper, he likely guessed that I have some form of future sight or premonition…'
"No, seriously. You've done a great service for my family," Alex shook his head as he returned to a relaxed position. "Which I why I find your lack of compensation, or rather your lack of the desire to be compensated, very strange."
"Would you rather I pillaged the Luikots' vaults?" Mark replied.
"Strangely, yes," Alex chuckled. "At least then, I would be able to understand your motivations. One trip to our vault would have you set for life."
'He doesn't trust me either… do I come off as some mastermind swindler or is everyone just rightfully cautious?'
"I said when I signed the contract that I would make the Luikots Guild number one," Mark explained in half-truths. "Running off with an S-tier Item wouldn't really be advantageous for the Guild, would it?"
"So you wish to serve?"
"I assume you don't believe that?" Mark said, careful not to answer with a blatant lie; there was no way he could reply with a yes.
"Correct," Alex smirked. "Because if you truly were a Saint of Service, as you're leading me to believe, then you wouldn't have asked for a favor at a later time."
"Respectfully, I think you're looking too far in," Mark shook his head. "Being part of the Guild will better my life. That's all there is to it."
"I disagree," Alex's face twitched, though he leaned deeper into the couch to absolve the tension. "Life is not usually so black and white—especially people. Guilds are all about wealth and power. The two are interchangeable, and they are equally a corrupting force."
"I actually came here to use that favor, for the most part," Mark admitted.
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"My apologies, Mr. Luikots. I don't mean to offend, but I would prefer to keep it private between Ranni and I."
Alex immediately leaned forward, clasping his hands together in front of his face as he stared Mark up and down with a discerning glare.
"Aren't the two of you awfully familiar… Using her given name in a professional setting," Alex's muffled mumbles barely leaked through his hands. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"
"I assure you, here it's a business relationship," Mark uncomfortably scratched his head.
"Here? So you're more intimate outside of the Guild?" Alex asked, even more confused than before.
"Not like that. I meant to apologize for being informal earlier," Mark explained, though he sort of broke into a scramble trying to recover from such direct and misunderstood accusations. "Informal at the Academy and formal at the Guild. That's what I meant."
"I see," Alex nodded before leaning over the counter that separated the two. "Just understand this: if you hurt a single iota of Ranni's being, the full weight of the Luikots Guild will obliterate you. I will obliterate you."
"I… understand."
"Good," Alex popped back onto the couch, seemingly content with himself. "About the Academy… I know it's a bit early, but I would like to hear what happened to you during the Attack."
"Uh, well, it was mostly just like everyone else," Mark began to explain, barely recovered from the man's intense declaration. "I woke up in the middle of the night, killed a few Demons, and tried to seek safety."
"You didn't help Ranni? I thought the two of you were close," Alex questioned.
"The Middle Boy's Dormitory and Upper Girl's Dormitory are surprisingly far apart."
"Aren't you in Class 1-A?"
"I am, but I'm under a special set of circumstances that had me in the Middle Dormitory."
"Hmm, I see," Alex relinquished his pursuit, opting for a new angle. "Not 'everyone' killed Demons that day. Only a few at the top of each year actually managed to. Quite impressive."
"Ah, thank you."
"It's strange. The few I mentioned were so few that I could probably recite the names from the reports I've read," Alex went on, slowly building to a confrontation. "Your name wasn't on them, to my knowledge."
"I didn't report it."
"Why?"
"I've little interest in glory. The element of surprise is much more valuable.
"See, that's where my issues lie," Alex slyly smirked as he wagged his finger at Mark. "You're a giant bundle of closely kept secrets. That frightens me—because you're in my Guild."
"Ranni said roughly the same thing," Mark rebutted.
Alex sat in deep thought before speaking once more.
"I see what you're getting at," Alex nodded. "I will give you the benefit of the doubt, Mark di Abbott. You've done a great deal for the Guild, whether you know it or not."
"Thank you, I appreciate it, and I understand your worries. I won't break your trust in me."
A door far off into the distance clinked; the clinking of heels against marble echoed in the distance.
"I thought I told you not to interrogate him, Father," Ranni said as she approached.
The two stood up, watching as the platinum-haired beauty approached.
One gaze was of confused joy, the other of subtle emphatuation.