--- [Leanne’s perspective]

  I stand around anxiously waiting for a few minutes, praying the higher-ups won’t find me before he comes back.

  After what feels like forever, he’s finally here.

  “So?! What did he say? Did he know him? Did he know where he was?” – Leanne

  “Slow down!” – Suspicious individual

  “Sorry… I’m just short on time.” – Leanne

  “Right… Well, he wasn’t happy that I interrupted his class. That’s for sure…” – Suspicious individual

  “Okay, but did he know?!” – Leanne

  “More or less. He said he usually trains in the K-12 area, but he does train elsewhere on occasion too, so I can’t guarantee that he’ll be ther-” – Suspicious individual

  I cut them off and immediately start running.

  “Thanks!” – Leanne

  K-12 isn’t far from here.

  As soon as I get out of the alley and out on the street, I slow down.

  Running might put more eyes on me, and I’d rather avoid that.

  Especially when I’m this close to finding him!

  I quickly walk over to the K-12 section, all while making sure I don’t stand out.

  There they are…

  There’s a whole crowd of them, how am I supposed to know which one Gael is?!

  There’s gotta be at least 40 or 50 people training, plus their instructor.

  Do I have to find someone else to talk to them for me again?

  I can’t just sit around and wait a few hours for them to finis-

  Wait…!

  They’re scattering!

  Why?

  Do they finish earlier than the other group, or is it maybe just a short break?

  I’m not sure, but this is my opportunity to go talk to them without the instructor noticing.

  Lucky!

  I go up to a random one of them.

  “Excuse me, do you know who Gael Lux is?” – Leanne

  If Gael is here, he should know.

  “You’re talking to him.” – Gael

  !!

  Lucky!!

  “Would you mind having a quick chat?” – Leanne

  --- [Alex’s perspective]

  If I recall correctly, Isaac is in The Beast Hearts Guild, right?

  Where is their HQ again…?

  Oh no…

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  I’m sure Leanne told me, but…

  I forgot.

  …

  Uhh.

  Wait…

  It’s on the tip of my tongue!

  She made a terrible pun using the name, but what was it?!

  It was only a couple weeks ago, I got this!

  Come on, remember!

  I asked where The Beast Hearts were located, and said I’d probably find him there.

  Then she said…

  Uhh…

  She said something like…

  ‘So that’s where you’re going.’

  No, that’s not quite right…

  ‘So you’re going to… there.’

  No…

  Wait!

  ‘So you’re saying you’ll find him in…’

  That’s it!

  Ursa!

  Her terrible pun was ‘so Ursa-ing you’ll find him in Ursa’!

  Damn…

  That really was a horrible joke…

  --- The next day, in Ursa, outside the guild hall

  Just like The Red Knights, The Beast Hearts also have guards outside their entrance.

  There’s two of them right there, I guess I’ll just go ask them if they know where he is.

  “Sorry if I’m intruding, do you guys happen to know where someone called Isa-” – Alex

  One of them interrupts me and starts talking about something completely different; they clearly weren’t listening…

  “You there! We need your opinion on something.” – Guard 1

  “I’m telling you Paul, you’re going to regret this!” – Guard 2

  “Oh hell no. You’re the one who’ll regret it, Phil!” – Paul

  “We’ll see…” – Phil

  What are they even talking about…

  “So listen, we have a huge disagreement, and we need your help to settle once and for all who’s right!” – Paul

  …?

  What?

  “Phil over here seems to think that a high-ranking royal guard could beat a guild master in a fight!” – Paul

  “Oh, stop it with the disingenuous framing! We’re not talking about any ol’ high-ranking royal guard, we’re talking about the four lords!” – Phil

  “Whatever, same shit! I wouldn’t get my nickers in a twist if you referred to the guild masters as ‘just’ S-rankers, so why do you get so mad when I call them ‘just’ high-ranking royal guards?!” – Paul

  “Come on! That’s not the same thing!” – Phil

  “Yes it is!” – Paul

  “No it isn’t! Other than the guild masters, you could count the number of S-rank hunters on your hands! Meanwhile, there are tons of high-ranking royal guards!” – Phil

  “‘Tons’? Really?” – Paul

  “Okay… Maybe not ‘tons’, but there are a lot more of them than there are S-rankers! Most high-ranking royal guards are only around the level of an A-rank hunter, so pretending like the four lords are the same as them is disingenuous as hell!” – Phil

  “It’s not my fault that they’re the same rank. If they truly were as strong as the guild leaders, or the S-rank hunters in general, then why don’t they have their own rank?” – Paul

  “They’re only the same rank by technicality! In reality, everyone knows the four lords are on an entirely different level compared to the other high-ranking royal guards!” – Phil

  “But clearly not on such a high level that they need an entirely new rank! The guild masters are all S-rank. Do you know what S-rank is?! An entirely new rank to differentiate them from the A-rankers!” – Paul

  What is going on here?!

  Why are they squabbling like children, and why did they bring me into it?

  “Listen, I just want to know if yo-” – Alex

  “So who’s right?! Who would win in a fight, a guild master, or one of the four lords?!” – Phil

  “I don’t know, and as I keep trying to say, I just want to kn-” – Alex

  “Oh my god! Why are you even here if not to help us settle this?!” – Paul

  They’re really starting to get on my nerves!

  “If you’d just LISTEN, you’d know!” – Alex

  Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice…

  “Alex? What are you doing here?” – Isaac

  …

  Thank God he showed up…

  Now I don’t have to deal with those useless guards anymore…

  I try turning around, but just as I do, one of them grabs my shoulder and pulls me back.

  “Answer us! Who’d win?!” – Phil

  Isaac steps in, he’s clearly used to their bickering.

  “Please don’t be rude to Alex, he’s a friend of mine. Catch me up on what you’re debating this time. I’ll answer for him.” – Isaac

  “Good idea!” – Phil

  “Isaac? Really? He’s so biased! He always sides with you!” – Paul

  “That’s not true! He has sided with you plenty of times as well!” – Phil

  “Not nearly as often as he sides with you!” – Paul

  “Hey! Just tell me the topic, I’m busy, okay?” – Isaac

  “Fine… We’re talking about who would win between one of the guild masters and one of the four lords.” – Paul

  “Hmm…” – Isaac

  I don’t know if he’s pretending or not, but he seems to be genuinely thinking about the answer.

  “It has to be the guild masters, right?” – Isaac

  “Exactly! See? I’m right!” – Paul

  “Right? Hell no! He always sides with you!” – Phil

  “Don’t try flipping it around now, sore loser! You and I both know he almost always sides with you!” – Paul

  Isaac grabs my arm and quietly gets us away from them before they notice we’re gone.

  Finally, some peace and quiet…

  I was starting to get a headache from their constant shouting…

  “You deal with them a lot?” – Alex

  “Oh yeah… There isn’t a day that goes by where they aren’t yelling at each other. They’ve been going at it for years… When I first joined, I wondered how someone like them could get assigned as guards. They clearly aren’t paying as much attention to their surroundings as a guard should. But it didn’t take long before I realized why… Nobody wants to hear their constant bickering, so they were stationed outside where people won’t have to deal with them as much…” – Isaac

  I let out a chuckle.

  What a pair.

  “I answer their silly questions almost daily. Funny thing is, they still haven’t caught on to the fact that I alternate who I side with. Yesterday it was Phil, so today it’s Paul!” – Isaac