"Okay, so who wants to get their Guild mark first?" I asked as I walked back to the Quincy.
Well, other Quincy, now, since I am one, too.
"The hell is a Guild mark?" Bazz B asked, looking at the stamp in my hand.
I raised the stamp to show it off. "Guilds identify their members with tattoo-like marks. They're called Guild marks and stand for the symbol of your Guild."
"So, you wanna brand us like a bunch of cows?" Liltotto asked, her eyes narrowing to a glare with Bazz B doing the same.
"No, no, no!" I immediately shook my head. "Guild Marks work as a sign of legitimacy! They're like a badge on your body. They're not permanent and can be easily removed in ten seconds, tops! Every member of a Guild needs one. Here, I'll take one myself!"
I looked at the bottom of the stamp and twisted the handle until the color turned blue. I then lowered my shirt slightly and placed the stamp on my chest right under the collar bone.
There was a warm feeling from the stamp. Nothing painful or uncomfortable, more like a towel that's been dipped in warm water. When I removed the stamp, I looked down and saw a blue mark of a five pointed cross where it was.
"See?" I showed it off before letting go of my shirt. You can still see the top of Guild mark over the collar of my shirt.
"I'll go first," Jugram stepped forward, causing Bazz B and Liltotto to look at him weirdly.
"Alright, where do you want it and what color?" I asked.
Jugram raised his left hand and showed me its back. "Here. Blue would be sufficient."
"Alright," I placed the stamp on the back of his hand. Since it was already on blue, I didn't need to change anything.
Jugram looked at the Guild mark on the back of his hand before nodding and stepping back. Askin stepped forward in his place.
"Might as well get this over with," Askin pulled the weird collar of his clothes aside and showed his neck on the left. "Here, purple," he requested, pointing at the side of his neck.
After I gave him that stamp, Gérard stepped forward next. "Right here and bright red!" He exclaimed, tapping his chest with his fist.
Gérard wasn't pointing at the same place I had my Guild Mark in. His was closer to the center and a little to the left side, where his heart should be.
After giving him his stamp, I turned to Liltotto and Bazz B, who were still glaring at me. "Look, we can stay here all day, but this is mandatory," I sighed.
Eventually, Bazz B groaned and stepped forward, raising his right hand and showing me his forearm. "Red."
I gave him his Guild mark and looked at Liltotto, who sighed in defeat. Like Bazz B, she showed me her right forearm. "Yellow."
With that, I gave the final member of my Guild their mark and took a step back. I looked at them and sighed at finally getting this done with.
"Okay, so... I guess we should pick up his majesty and go to Magnolia to set up our Guild base," I said, deciding to catch a ride to Magnolia as soon as possible.
"His majesty is already waiting outside," Jugram stated.
"... of course he is," I mumbled, placing a hand on my forehead.
Why would I question it at this point? He was probably watching me through the whole test and, honestly? I have a feeling that if I had gotten any of the answers wrong, he would have let me know.
In a painful way.
Walking outside with the other Quincy, I found Yhwach standing there with people staring at him. He had his eyes closed and was completely motionless.
When we got closer, he opened his eyes. His red eyes are as scary as the first time I saw them. "You chose Magnolia for our base?"
"Nyarlathotep's orders," I explained immediately, guessing he was angry that I didn't consult him. Yhwach gave a small huff but said nothing else. "Alright, we should go find a train to Magnolia."
"This world has trains?" Bazz B asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. Technology isn't THAT primitive here," I replied before I began walking.
Finding the train station wasn't hard. There was actually big signs on the road pointing to it and the other notable locations like the hospital and Mayor office.
Reaching the train station, I went to the reception and greeted the man there. "Hi, I'd like tickets to Magnolia?"
The man, a plain looking guy with glasses wearing a suit, pulled up a list and looked it over. "You're in luck. There's a train leaving to Magnolia in thirty minutes. How many tickets would you like to have?"
"Seven."
"Alright, that'll be Seventy thousand Jewels," I winced at the price but still paid the man. He handed me the tickets and pointed at the side. "Go to train number three and get inside. The train will leave shortly."
"Alright, thanks," I went back to the other Quincy and their king, though I guess it's OUR king now. "Come on, our train is leaving soon."
They followed me as I led them to our train and we got inside. Apparently, there's no seating order in the train tickets. So, we just picked a group of empty seats and sat down.
Each side of the train had three seats. Me and Askin took two seats besides each other. Bazz B and Liltotto took the ones facing us. Yhwach took a lone seat on the other side of the train, and Jugram and Gérard took two seats in front of him.
I looked around, making sure no one was in this cart with us before speaking again. "Alright, I need to tell you guys a couple of things about Magnolia. It's the home of another Guild called Fairy Tail. I want you guys to avoid it and their members."
"Why?" Bazz B asked.
"Because they're walking trouble magnets," I groaned, running a hand down my face. "Their Guild and its members are in the dead center of lots of problems in the future. I'd really rather not get dragged into their bullshit."
"Sorry to break it to you, but unless Magnolia is REALLY big, we won't be able to avoid them forever," Liltotto stated.
"I know, I know," I sighed, slumping on my chair. "Just avoid them as much as possible. I'll have to meet up with their Guild Master anyway to state weren't not here on any bad intentions and start a friendly, or at least non hostile, relationship with them."
"So, sit back and avoid trouble? Sounds like my kind of plan," Askin obviously liked the idea.
We just sat in silence after that. It honestly was pretty awkward. There was obvious tension in the air, at least from Liltotto and Bazz B. Jugram was returning the tension with his own. Gérard didn't seem concerned over them, and Yhwach plain didn't care.
"So... uh... Can I ask you something, your majesty?" I spoke up, trying to end the silence while waiting for the train to start moving. Yhwach turned his eyes to me, but gave no indication of refusal. "Does it... hurt? You know, giving me a piece of your soul and all."
At that, Yhwach actually turned his head to look at me with a raised eyebrow. Not just him, the others now where giving me weird looks.
"Refrain from asking his majesty personal questions, Vermillion," Jugram chastised, glaring at me and looking close to drawing his sword.
"It is alright, Jugram," Yhwach, however, looked amused. "For being the first person to ever ask that question, I shall answer."
Wait, what? I'm the first person to ever ask that? People has been taking pieces of his soul since he was born and not a single person asked if it hurts him?
"I feel no physical or mental pain or discomfort for giving my blessing. It simply feels as a if a part of has been stretched. Should I desire that part back, all I have to do is pull," Yhwach explained before closing his eyes and leaning back on his chair.
We fell back into an awkward/tense silence after that and it wasn't long before the train shook as it began moving.
I would have tried to start another conversation, but I didn't trust myself to not say something stupid again if I opened my mouth.