Third POV:
Late at night, when almost all resits of Magnolia were sleeping, a little meeting was happening in the new base for the Pentagon Cross Guild.
At the lobby of their old hotel, Bazz B and Liltotto walked into view from the hallways. The former walked into the reception counter and leaned back on it while the latter sat down on one of the dusty chairs.
"So, what now?" Bazz B asked, looking at Liltotto. "You have a plan? Cause I'd like to hear one."
"Me, too, actually," both jumped to their feat immediately, Bazz B's hand catching fire while Liltotto's mouth turned to jaws. "Woah, woah, woah! It's just me!" Askin called out, walking down the stairs with his hands raised in mock surrender.
"You say that like it makes a difference," Liltotto stated, glaring at Askin.
"Give me a break. Is this because I was one of his majesty's royal guard?" Askin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, it's not like I exactly wanted that job. I was part of the Sternritters just like you two."
"And you still took Yhwach's side," Liltotto added.
Askin sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Look, let's not pretend his majesty doesn't know what you two are up to. Me being here is why he hasn't sent Jugram and Gérard to keep an eye on you two. Unlike them, I'm actually willing to talk about surviving this mess. So... truce?"
The pair of other Quincy glared at him for a few moments before Bazz B clicked his tongue. "Fine," he extinguished the fire in his hand and leaned back on the reception table.
"Great!" Askin, sounding thrilled, walked into one of the dusty couches and sat down. Raising his legs, he rested them on the old coffee table in front of the couch and looked curiously at the two. "So... What do you two got? Cause I have nothing."
"We're in an entirely different world, have hardly any information, no contacts, no money -even if we take what little Tom has-, back to working with Yhwach, and have to live in this dump," Liltotto listed, her frown getting deeper and deeper. "The only upside I can see to our entire situation is that Tom said this world doesn't have Shinigami."
"So, we're somewhere between royally screwed and completely screwed?" Askin sighed, placing a hand on his forehead and leaning back on the couch. "Figures. Just my luck."
Bazz B, who had been quiet until now, spoke. "Hey, what do you think of the newbie?"
The other two raised their eyebrow at him. Liltotto was the first to answer. "An idiot who's in way over his head," she sighed and leaned back on her seat. "To be honest, itt actually makes me feel a bit better knowing someone even more screwed than us is around."
"Tommy seems like a nice guy," Askin shrugged his shoulders. "Though, honestly, I can't tell if he's the unluckiest person I know to be in his situation, or the luckiest person I know for actually getting his majesty to agree to his deal."
Bazz B groaned. "Look, the idiot is obviously just some idiot in trouble. I have nothing against him personally, even if he was stupid enough to swear himself to Yhwach. He's probably the only one that can help us set up in this weird-ass world. But, the big question is, can we actually trust him not to screw us over?"
Liltotto's eyes narrowed, seemingly agreeing with Bazz B. They had trusted Yhwach, and that nearly got them killed. Plus, she knew that Bazz B personally had a problem with betrayal.
"I'm personally gonna stick to Tommy, even if his majesty wasn't around," Askin stated, drawing their attention. "Look, you said it yourself, he's the only one that can help us set up. With all the paperwork we saw in that Magical Council building in the last town, there's no way that some people aren't gonna demand answers if we try to make it on our own. What are we gonna say? We just popped up from an entirely different world?" He asked sarcastically, and just as he suspected, he got no answer. "Plus, you two need to remember something. Whatever brought us here? It was strong enough to bring us back from the dead, and you two, if you died I guess? Never learned what happened to you two. Anyway, it brought us back, rendered his majesty himself powerless, and it did all that on whim for amusement! I don't know about you, but I personally don't want to test my luck and find out what it can do when it's pissed."
Both the other Quincy fell quiet for a few moments before Bazz B sighed loudly. "Dammit. From doing the bidding of one overpowered ass to another, huh? At least this time we don't answer to this one and we don't have to swear fealty to it."
"So, guess we're sticking to the Guild business, huh," Liltotto seemed exasperated, as if she had expected this meeting to end this way.
"Silver lining and whatnot," Askin got up from the couch and moving his neck around. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to catch some shut-eye."
With that, Askin left to the stairs and went back up to his room. Bazz B and Liltotto looked at each other before the former shrugged and the latter sighed. They both followed Askin's example.
First POV: Thompson.
"Man, I really should buy some supplies," I groaned as I sat on the dusty chair and heard my stomach groan.
It was early morning. Sleeping didn't come easy with the emotional breakdown and all that. Honestly, it could have been worse, I guess. I just hope that I got it all out of my system.
"You better focus on food first," looking at the large stairs at the side of the building, I saw Liltotto walk down. "I'm freaking starving."
"Oh, yeah, you must have it tough, huh," I commented, realising her Schrift must make things harder on her.
As if to emphasise on her point, a sound that I can only describe as 'if a shark can roar' came from Liltotto's stomach. She groaned painfully, walking closer and flopping down on one of the couches.
"Good morning," Askin yawned as he walked down the stairs. "You two just got up?"
"I've actually been up for the a couple of hours. Used that time to familiarise myself with the building," I admitted.
It was actually quite easy. I guess my Schrift helped me 'learn' the layout quickly. The building has four floors, including the ground one, with a front and backyard. The first floor is the lobby and a few offices, a kitchen, and one big room, which I assume is for meetings. The second and third floors are all rooms. The fourth floor was a club or something like that judging by the broken down games and the empty bar with the open balcony. There's also a basement, which I assume is meant for supplies since it's connected to the kitchen.
"Really?" Askin walked closer and sat on one of the chairs on the other side of the receptionist table. "So, do you think it's possible to repair this place?"
"Good news is that I didn't see or hear anything that shows that the Skeleton Structure is damaged, so I think we're good on that front," I sighed as I remembered what the stuff that wasn't in good condition. "Bad news is, the inside is a wreck. Most doors are completely fine, but the opposite is true for windows. There's some rain damage, though thankfully not from leaky ceilings, just the broken windows. Some drapes are fine while others are shredded. Every single carpet in this place needs to either be replaced or cleaned VERY thoroughly. A lot of places need to be repainted. And, certainly not last or least, the kitchen needs to be redone completely."
"What's wrong with the kitchen?" Liltotto asked, which figures that's the part she paid attention to.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing is damaged or anything like that. It's just that the paint job and design are really ugly."
Liltotto deadpanned at me while Askin snorted. "By the way," the latter said. "The mayor is almost here. I can sense he's around."
"Oh, thanks, I really should learn how to sense Spiritual Energy," I mumbled as I got up from my chair.
"What kind of Quincy doesn't know how to sense Spiritual Energy?" Liltotto raised an eyebrow at me. "That's literally the best thing we can do."
"The kind of Quincy that hasn't been a Quincy for even a week," I replied to her without shame.
My Schrift may let me learn stuff instantly, but I actually need a freaking chance to learn. I'm not just gonna know things.
"Hello! Anyone here?" Mayor Pickles opened the door -somehow. How he reached the handle to twist it open I will never know-, and looked around before spotting us. "Ah! You're up! Good, I was worried that I came in too early!"
"Good morning, mayor Pickles," I greeted as I walked around the desk and went to meet him.
"Morning, my boy!" The guy's cheery attitude was actually a bit infectious. "Here's the deed to the hotel. Just sign your name and it's yours. Don't forget to pay up, of course!"
"Yes, thank you," I took the deed and handed him the money.
"I hope things go well for you! Oh, and here's a few jobs for your Guild. Something small to start with," he handed me a few pieces of paper.
"Alright, thank you again, Mayor Pickles."
"Like I said, my boy, we appreciate our Guilds here in Magnolia!" With that, the Mayor turned around and walked out of the building, closing the door behind him.
I went back behind the desk and, thankfully, there was a few pencils in one of the drawers. "Can one of you two call the others real quick?" I asked as I began signing my name into the deed.
"Sure," Askin agreed, getting up from his seat and walking to the stairs. But, he stopped as soon as he reached them and placed his hand near his mouth. "Hey, guys! Tommy wants everyone here!"
I just deadpanned at him before focusing back on the paper. I heard several footsteps and looked up to see Bazz B walk down the stairs with Jugram and Gérard not far behind.
"Alright, everyone, today, we officially start taking quests," I stated, spreading the job papers in front of them on the table. "We're in need of money and reputation, so pick something to do for now. Oh, and by the way, every new Guild has to at least complete five jobs a week for two months. It's a way to guarantee that newbies are serious about the whole Guild business."
They all looked over jobs and Bazz B groaned. "These are all grunt work. Some of these are actual chores!"
"Yeah, because we're a newbie Guild," I shrugged my shoulders. "We have no name, reputation, or history to work with. People are obviously not gonna trust us with important stuff yet."
"So, what's the exchange rate for 'Jewels'?" Askin questioned. "You know, compared to the currency we're familiar with."
I rubbed my chin in thought. "If I remember correctly, then one hundred Jewels equals one US Dollar."
"... Wait, you're saying someone is offering a hundred and fifty dollars to find their cat?" Askin gawked as he pointed at a job paper about finding a lost pet with a reward for fifteen thousand Jewels.
I guess cat owners are weird in every universe.
"You think that's weird?" Liltotto pointed at another job. "Someone is paying thirty thousand Jewels to deal with a bear of all things."
"None of these look particularly challenging," Gérard stated in disappointed, holding a hand on his chin.
"Look, the more jobs we do, the better our reputation will be, and the better our reputation is, the better jobs we'll get," I explained to them. "I need to tell you a few things, first is that when you complete a job, the Guild will get fifty percent of the reward."
"Why?" Askin immediately... Well, asked.
"Because we're broke?" I replied sarcastically, motioning to the dusty lobby. "Do you actually want to keep living like this? We need the money as a Guild. But, don't worry. The more members we have and higher ranking our jobs become, the less percentage of the reward the Guild has to take. So, this isn't a permanent or long-term arrangement. Another thing I need to tell you is to tone down killing. I'm not telling you to outright stop, but don't do it unnecessarily. Monsters you can kill left and right, but for people or sentient beings? Please tone it down."
"If it's not illegal then why do we have to?" Bazz B raised an eyebrow at me.
"Because Guilds that kill are generally looked down upon. They're not illegal, like you said, but people are less likely to trust a Guild that kills over one that doesn't. The less people trust us, the less likely they are to send us their jobs. So, please, and I cannot emphasise enough on this, PLEASE hold back," I practically begged them while looking at one in particular.
"... Why are you looking at me?" Askin questioned before pointing at Liltotto. "She's the one that eats people."
"Because you're the one who's power is about being as lethal as possible," I replied.
Askin stared at me for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. "Fair enough."
"Okay, and lastly, I need one of you guys to stay behind to, you know, actually teach me how to be a Quincy," I mumbled motioning to myself. "I mean, as I am, I can't even use a common Quincy bow and arrow or even Blut. So, I need someone to help me with this stuff, and... Well, I'm just scared of bothering his majesty to ask him to waste time teaching it to me."
Askin raised his hand. "If I stay behind, does that mean less work for me?"
"No, I still plan to go out and buy stuff for this place so you'll have to join me," I immediately shot him down.
"Guess I'm taking a job then," Askin sighed and pointed at the paper with the missing pet request. "I'm taking this one."
"Good, take the paper with you and go to the location described in it. Ask around for directions, and remember to show them your Guild mark if they asked for proof," I instructed.
Askin nodded as he took the paper and began walking to the door while looking at it. "Maybe the bear can serve as a good meal," Liltotto took the bear job request and followed Askin.
"Guess I'll take this one," Bazz B said, taking the paper for a demolition job about destroying an old barn to make space.
"Heh," Gérard picked up a job for beating a few bandits. "Hope they put up a fight," he began walking out.
"Don't kill anyone!" I yelled back.
I know Askin had the most lethal power, but Gérard was a freaking monster. He might actually kill someone with his pinkie if he's not careful.
"I suppose this means I am the one to teach you the basics of Quincy abilities," Jugram commented after waiting for everyone to leave.
"Yeah, guess so," I mumbled getting up from the seat. "Thanks, by the way."
"You said you wanted to run a few errands, correct?" He asked and I nodded. "We should get that done with before we start your training. Since you are beginning from nothing, it would be better for you to have as much free time as possible to learn, even with your Schrift."
"Alright, let's go do some shopping, then," I walked around the reception table and stopped besides Jugram. "Should we ask if his majesty wants something?"
"I will know if he does," Jugram stated as he turned and began walking towards the door.
"Alright," I just decided to roll with it.
I won't lie, I'm kind of excited for my Quincy training.