xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Psycho Circus Guildhall, 9:30 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Following an incredibly long day that culminated in Bernard declaring his intent to become the next guild master for Psycho Circus, the beanie sporting young man was instructed by his parents to come to a room in the guildhall to begin his training to be his father's successor. Inside of a room in one of the hallways on the bottom floor that was mostly empty, Bernard sat in a school desk in the center of the room with an impatient look on his face, resting his head on his hand that was propped up on the desk board.
"Any day now..." Bernard thought with annoyance as he tapped the fingers of his free hand in a sequence on the desk board. "Corvus? Vulp?" He said to himself as light particles emerged from his body, materializing his Celestial Spirit companions.
"What's up, kid?" Corvus said as he and Vulp looked up at Bernard in his chair.
"Nothing, just felt like not sitting alone in this cold ass room..." Bernard said towards his pets as Corvus flapped his wings to take flight.
"How's it feel to officially be a "big shot" now after yesterday's fun?" Corvus said with a smirk as he looked at his magical benefactor whilst Vulp moved towards the pacemaker needing wizards' legs, laying down on top of Bernards feet in a comforting manner.
"You tell me..." Bernard replied as he lifted his head up and lowered his hand down to pet Vulp under the desk, the fox Celestial Spirit wagging his tail in personal enjoyment from his master's action. "And I'm tired of hearing the word "officially!"' He mentally complained.
"So, what's a "triumvirate?"' Corvus said as he flew over and perched himself behind Bernard on the backrest of the desks chair.
"Basically, it means there's three "heads."' Bernard explained as he turned back to look at the crow Celestial Spirit. "My dad, my mom and me are the ones with the ability to make decisions in the guild now. By definition, it's supposed to imply we're all equal but in reality, the actual "distribution of power" is on my parents with my dad being the guild master and my mom as the show manager." He continued.
"Leaving you nothing to do still." Corvus stated as Bernard winced from the comment.
"...Ugh..." Bernard grunted in frustration. "Apparently, I'm supposed to be starting some kind of "training," which is why we're here." He said as he made a circle with his finger.
"The heck kind of training does a guild master need aside from administrative junk?" Corvus asked as the door to the room suddenly swung up, prompting everyone to turn their heads in the direction of the door.
"Good question!" Alfana said with a smile on her face as she walked into the room, dressed in her black robe, as two of Daphne's cat plushie servants pushed and pulled what appeared to be a whiteboard for drawing on wheels into the space behind her. '"What does a guild master do?"' She said as she walked over to the blank board, pulling out a black marker from her sleeve and writing down those exact words on it.
"...Morning?" Bernard said with a confused look on his face towards his mother.
"How are you, my boy?!" Alfana said with a cheerful tone towards her son as Bernard was taken aback by her positive attitude.
"Someone took their "happy pills" with their breakfast." Corvus commented as Alfana shifted her attention towards the crow.
"Look here, "wings."' Alfana said with a smile as she pointed at her face. "This is the look of a grown woman living the dream of running a business with her family finally happening. You have no idea how merry I am." She said confidently before turning towards the cat plushie servants. "Both of you can get back to work." Alfana said as she waved off the cat plushie servants as they both bowed towards her for a brief moment before beginning to walk towards the entryway.
"Least she didn't call me a bird..." Corvus thought with a twitch in his eye.
"I remember when they used to kiss my ass... A little over twenty-four hours ago..." Bernard thought with a sigh as he watched the cat plushie servants leave the room, still slightly upset over losing his position as show manager.
"Hey, don't be so glum." Alfana said as she noticed Bernard's relatively melancholic expression. "They still work for you too." She continued as Bernard locked eyes with the fortune telling show manager.
"Certainly doesn't feel like it..." Bernard said in response.
"Well, after this little lesson we're going to have this morning, you'll feel a lot differently." Alfana said with a confident tone as she grabbed the bottom of the whiteboard and flipped it over to its blank other side. "Now, the question was: "what does a guild master do?" Do you have any ideas as to how to answer this?" Alfana said as she pointed at Bernard.
"Only experience with guild master's I have is from dad and maybe Jose Porla's ghost... That last one isn't exactly a good example." Bernard thought as he scratched his face.
"If we're basing it on the bowling pin, I'm guessing it's to lounge around in their office and prank the guildmembers." Corvus said as he caught Alfana's attention.
"Incorrect. Also, not your question to answer." Alfana said towards the crow as he and Vulp raised an eyebrow from the comment before looking at Bernard.
"Guess all the questioning is on me..." Bernard thought as he looked at his mother. "I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure." He said, being as truthful as he could be.
"Fair answer. Allow me." Alfana replied as she turned around and started to write on the empty whiteboard space.
"That's not a real answer to that question!" Corvus exclaimed in a complaining tone as Alfana glanced back at the crow.
"If he doesn't know, he doesn't know. Simple as that." Alfana said as Corvus shook with annoyance.
"You're just showing bias for the kid!" Corvus said as Vulp looked at his fellow Celestial Spirit with an unimpressed expression on his face.
"Obviously, he's my son..." Alfana thought as she finished writing on the board. "Okay, here is the fundamental aspects of the role of a guild master." She said as she moved out of the way to give Bernard a clear view.
"Hmmm?" Bernard muttered.
Written in black marker on the whiteboard was three bullet points with one at the top of the board, one in the center and one towards the bottom. Next to the bullet at the top of the board was the word: "overseer," next to the center bullet point was the phrase: "public face," and next to the last point at the bottom of the board was the word: "equal."
"A guild master is an "overseer," a "public face" and an "equal."' Alfana said as she pointed at each of the bullet points with the marker in her hand. "Let's start from the top and work our way down." She said with a smile on her face towards Bernard as he raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, not what I was expecting..." Bernard said as he sat up and quietly looked at his mother.
"As a guild master, the job entails a lot of directorial work. One of the major jobs of the guild master is to dictate the "course" of the guild and to supervise its members. On top of that, it involves-" Alfana explained as she acted like a teacher before stopping herself as she noticed Bernard and Corvus both raised a hand and wing, respectively. "Already confused?" She thought with a raised eyebrow. "Thoughts?" Alfana asked.
"Shouldn't dad by teaching this?" Bernard said as Alfana's eye twitched.
"And couldn't he have just kept being the manager or whatever and do that first thing?" Corvus said as Alfana made a displeased expression from the line of questioning.
"First of all, your father is away right now doing something important." Alfana said with a disgruntled tone, answering Bernard first.
"...Like?" Bernard said, pressing further.
"Nothing you will have to deal with until you're in his position!" Alfana exclaimed as Bernard made a confused face.
"Shouldn't a "guild master" be teaching a class on how to be a "guild master?" It would stand to reason..." Bernard thought as he scratched his face.
"And as to your question, there's a major difference between my current position and Barney's." Alfana said as she looked at Corvus. "The show manager and guildhall operator job Bernard used to have only mattered in keeping the guildhall maintained and the show schedule upheld. As guild master, the job is more centralized on making sure those two tasks are pulled off." She continued as Bernard listened.
"So... Like a supervisor?" Bernard said as Alfana looked at him.
"Precisely!" Alfana said with a cheerful tone as she pointed at her son. "Being that our guild doubles as an entertainment group with multiple positions and roles, the guild master is in charge of making sure all of those roles be met to the best it can be." She said as she turned around and underlined the first bullet point. "Additionally, it's also important to note that the guild master also has to deal with a certain group of people." Alfana said as she reached down at grabbed the bottom of the whiteboard again.
"Solicitors?" Corvus said sarcastically as Bernard grinned for a brief moment, finding the comment humorous.
"No!" Alfana shouted as she flipped the board over to the other side again but instead of what was originally there, it now said the words: "Magic Council" on it. "These people." She said while slamming her hand on the board.
'"How did that get there?!"' Bernard and Corvus thought as they and Vulp's eyes widened in surprise at the different words on the board, unsure of how they were written there without Alfana having to do anything.
"Every wizard guild in Fiore is held under the banner of the Magic Council. They're the governing body that is in charge of keeping an eyeball or two on every single guild." Alfana said. "At the top of food chain lies the royal family of Fiore, followed by the Magic Council and then it's down to the rest of us." She continued.
"The "Head of State," huh?" Bernard thought as he remembered Hisui, the current princess and future queen of Fiore.
"The Magic Council decides the rules and regulations for all the wizard guilds that have to be maintained and followed. Notably, the more "unruly" a guild is, the more said guild is likely being watched by the Magic Council." Alfana said. "Currently, our guild is well under the radar of the Magic Council needing to come around and keep a "watchful eye."' She said with a smug look on her face.
"Gee... I wonder why that is..." Corvus said as he and Vulp looked at Bernards face, the young man just sitting with half-closed eyes as he looked at the board.
"I did do a very good job of keeping us from getting into any trouble... But then again, a lot of people assume Psycho Circus is an actual circus and not a wizard guild so it's a double-edged sword..." Bernard thought as he pondered his mother's teachings.
"I can tell by your face that you're thinking about the fact people don't regularly see us as a wizard guild." Alfana commented as Bernard locked eyes with her. "Truth be told, that does need to be fixed if our guild is to have meaningful growth. Which is why we need what again?" She continued as she looked at the whiteboard, flipping it back over to the bullet points.
"An "overseer."' Bernard said, reading off the board.
"Attaboy!" Alfana said happily. "Next, let's discuss this point." She said as she pointed at the middle of the board.
'"Public face."' Bernard said as Alfana nodded.
"This point doesn't necessarily refer to your father, it actually translates to all wizard guilds." Alfana said as Bernard and the Celestial Spirits looked at her. "Guilds have an inherent ability to affect the location of where they are situated. Question: in what ways do they do that?" She asked towards her son.
"By taking up copious amounts of land and erecting huge visual eyesores?" Corvus said with a smirk as Alfana angrily glared at him.
"No!" Alfana said as she proceeded to cock her arm back and throw her marker at the crow Celestial Spirit.
"Whoa!" Corvus exclaimed as he flapped his wings and dodged the incoming projectile.
"Hey!" Bernard shouted as he placed his hands on his head and ducked out of fear of the marker possibly hitting him.
"Stop giving answers to questions meant for him!" Alfana said with a loud and agitated tone.
"Jeez, mom! Calm down!" Bernard said towards Alfana as she looked at him briefly before taking a deep breath to regain her composure.
"Sorry... Vulp, you mind grabbing me my marker?" Alfana apologized before requesting the fox Celestial Spirit to grab her marker from the floor.
Looking at Bernard for confirmation, the beanie sporting wizard nodded for Vulp to help his mother as Vulp got up and walked over to where it landed, picking it up with his mouth. Walking back over, the fox Celestial Spirit handed over the marker back to the fortune telling show manager as she took the marker and wiped it off on her sleeve for a brief moment.
"Thank you." Alfana said with a smile towards Vulp as he went back to laying atop Bernards feet.
"Ass kisser." Corvus commented as Vulp turned his head back to look at his fellow Celestial Spirit with aggravation from his comment.
"Could you both not fight?" Bernard said towards his companions as they stopped looking at one another.
"Anyway... Bernard, your answer to the question?" Alfana asked as Bernard rubbed his chin with a contemplative expression.
"How do guilds affect their locations? Hmmmm..." Bernard thought as he tried to figure out a good reply. "Well... In the case of Psycho Circus, it's like you said, we're an entertainment group and a wizard guild." He said. "I'm guessing it's because our guild draws people to this town?" Bernard said with an unsure tone.
"Ding-ding-ding!" Alfana muttered with a fist raised high in the air. "The right step forward to "Answerville!"' She said as she reached the bottom of the board and flipped it over again with the other side now having a rather impressively drawn caricature of herself made in marker giving a thumbs up.
'"Is this a magic whiteboard?! How the hell are these things popping up on the side she's not even drawing on!?"' Bernard and Corvus thought as they and Vulp just continued to stare in bewilderment.
"A guild affects a location in a variety of ways but most notably in economic and social ways." Alfana said as she caught everyone's attention. "People come to towns with wizard guilds in them more than any other kind of guild and with those people, also comes "opportunity."' She said.
"Uh-huh...?" Bernard thought as he quietly listened.
"Wizard guilds in a town provide a small sense of security for the general townsfolk who aren't magically inclined individuals. Because of this, people are attracted to them more than smaller villages to move into. And the more people seeking a place to stay, the higher the likelihood of businesses to meet the needs of the populace getting formed." Alfana explained. "A solid example is here in Hemlock." She continued.
"Which is a business town. People for years have come here to make a living." Bernard stated as Corvus and Vulp looked at him.
"Fun fact: our town doesn't have a dedicated merchant guild." Alfana said with a smug tone.
"Why's that?" Corvus questioned.
"I believe my son has an answer to that." Alfana replied as she pointed at her son.
"A merchant guild typically has a stake in a majority of the businesses in a town. In most towns that have one, you need to register your "establishment" as a member of a larger scale merchant guild and then have to pay dues back to it. Typically, the merchant guild provides some services like workers and products for the businesses to sell but depending on the quality of the merchant guild you're affiliated with, it could make or break if your business goes belly-up." Bernard said as Alfana nodded along to everything he was saying.
"A major reason Hemlock works as a business town with no merchant guild is because of Barney and the loans he's given out to a handful of the places in town. There are some businesses affiliated with merchant guilds in Hemlock but there's also ones that are operating without needing to pay the costs that they ask for. A major reason people come to this place is courtesy of Psycho Circus and Bernard's father being a..." Alfana said as she flipped the board over and pointed at the central bullet point again.
'"Public face."' Bernard reiterated as Alfana smiled at her son. "So, in other words, I need to establish myself as one in town to help the guild... Well, I guess I'm off to a decent enough start after yesterday." He thought as he recalled his actions from the prior day.
"Correct!" Alfana said with a chipper tone. "Now, we're on the last of the topics: "equal."' She said whilst pointing at the last bullet point, Bernard raising an eyebrow while looking at it.
"This one I'm not sure about." Bernard thought as he listened.
"Question: when we talk about "guilds," why is it predominantly pluralized?" Alfana said towards Bernard while pointing her marker at him.
"Because if one sucks, people can leave it for another one?" Corvus said with a smirk, giving another dumb comment as Alfana put the marker down on the board.
Ripping off her robe to reveal her businesswoman-like combat attire, Alfana reached behind her backside and pulled out her trick weapon cane, clicking a switch on it and converting it into its shotgun form. Racking a load in the gun with the noise catching Bernard's attention, the beanie sporting wizard quickly wrapping his arms around Corvus behind him and then jumping out of the way as he leaped towards the ground, dodging as a beanbag round was now embedded in the wall behind the desk.
"What the hell!?" Corvus said in disbelief as Vulp rushed over to where Bernard and Corvus were to check on them.
"Mom!?" Bernard said in bewilderment as Alfana held her shotgun in her hand.
"I'm sorry but that bird was really getting on my nerves with the stupid comments!" Alfana said with a defensive and somewhat childish tone.
"Hey, who're you calling a bird, you milf!?" Corvus said with an agitated voice as he got out of Bernard's grasp and took flight.
"Corvus, stop! She's got a shotgun!" Bernard said as he got to his feet with Vulp looking at Bernard with concern for his wellbeing. "And mom, put the weird canes away!" He said towards his mother as she dropped her jaw in his direction.
"First of all, my canes are badass! Secondly, who do you think you are bossing me around?!" Alfana said with a defiant tone as Bernard bit his lip.
"...Because I'm the next guild master and I want to complete this whole lesson thing!" Bernard said with his arms folded as Alfana blinked a few times at him.
"...Good answer." Alfana said as she proceeded to adjust her shotgun cane back into its normal shape and smiled at her son. "Please, take a seat." She pointed at the desk with the trick weapon in her hand.
"God, this is exhausting..." Bernard thought with an eyeroll as he sat back in the desk with Corvus and Vulp assuming their original positions around him.
"Now, your answer for the question from before?" Alfana asked as Bernard scratched his face.
"Why do we use pluralization when discussing guilds?" Bernard thought as he pondered the question in his head. "...Because there's more than one guild in Fiore?" He said, giving an answer.
"And that is..." Alfana said with a confident look on her face as she took her cane and hit the top of the board, causing it to spin around and reveal a letter "A" with a plus next to it on the opposite side. "A perfect mark!" She said with a proud voice as Bernard's eye twitched.
"Okay, what the hell!?" Bernard exclaimed as he pointed at the whiteboard.
"You weren't even holding the marker that time!" Corvus shouted as Vulp even started to make an annoyed expression.
"Yes, this whiteboard is magic, now let me finish!" Alfana screamed in response to everyone's confusion over the whiteboard as everyone calmed down. "Within the overarching structure of the hierarchy of wizard guilds, there's a connective order called "guild leagues."' She said as she flipped the board over to the opposite side and the bullet points returned.
'"Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it."' Bernard and Corvus thought in unison as they tried to ignore the weirdness of the magic whiteboard.
"Guild masters have to work together to a certain extent within their guild leagues. This is to keep a sense of harmony that the Magic Council and the government wish to see. By maintaining a rapport between the guilds, it maintains the idea that everything is well and good and by forming a tightknit bond between the guilds in the league that said guilds are a part of, it could lead to substantial benefits." Alfana explained as Bernard listened.
"Like?" Corvus questioned.
"For starters, an establishing of trust and comradery. Additionally, it can lead to a passing of "favors" even." Alfana replied. "An example being the increase in potential work via guild requests." She said.
"...We don't tend to get a lot of those." Bernard thought as he bit his lip.
"Our guild unfortunately doesn't see a lot of guild requests come in. Part of the reason is the aforementioned issue with people wrongly assuming we're just a circus troupe." Alfana said as she spun her cane around in her hand. "A guild master reaching out to other guilds in the same league and developing a worthwhile relationship with the other masters could prove to be helpful with alleviating that problem." She said as Bernard raised his hand. "Yes?" Alfana said while pointing at Bernard with her cane.
"...Has dad been doing that to get some requests in for us?" Bernard asked as Corvus and Vulp looked at him.
"Full disclosure, yes." Alfana said with a headshake as Bernard made a surprised expression.
"...So, it's worse than I thought..." Bernard thought as he looked at the ground in a bothered manner.
"Now then." Alfana said as she pointed at the last bullet point that said "equal" on it. "What is a guild master?" She asked towards Bernard.
"An "equal" to the other guild masters..." Bernard said as Alfana nodded in agreement to his words.
"And with that, we have concluded the literary portion of your successorship training." Alfana said as she placed her cane on her shoulder. "Believe it or not, I was fully expecting the possibility this was going to take much longer. I wasn't sure you were going to answer all the questions correctly." She said as Bernard looked at her.
"What?" Bernard replied in confusion.
"If you had gotten the first question wrong, I would have ended the lesson there and make you wait until another time when you may have had the right answer, but you passed with flying colors." Alfana said with a smile on her face and a thumbs up with her free hand.
"Maybe I should have screwed up an answer on purpose so the next lesson wouldn't have so many holes in it." Bernard thought as he turned his head back and stared briefly at the hole Alfana's shotgun made in the wall.
"Now additionally, I would like to ask one final question, and this one isn't tied to the lesson per say." Alfana asked as Bernard turned back to look at her.
"Yes?" Bernard replied as the Celestial Spirits made faces of curiosity.
"Have you thought of any ideas that you would like to share with me or your father that could help the guild?" Alfana asked as she locked eyes with her son.
With the Celestial Spirits glancing in Bernard direction, the beanie sporting wizard scratched his face with his index finger as he reached his hand towards his back pocket. Placing his hand on his back pocket, Bernard made a confused expression for a brief moment as he reached over to the pocket next to it and noticed what he was looking for wasn't there as he shifted his hands into his front pockets and failed to find what was he was looking for.
"Oh no, where is it?!" Bernard thought as he was now starting to panic.
"Ahem." Alfana said, making a fake coughing noise, catching Bernard and the Celestial Spirits attention. "Looking for this?" She said as she held up a small black book in her hand.
"My idea book!" Bernard said as reached forward from the desk and plucked it from her hand. "Why do you have it?!" He said with a bewildered tone.
"I found it in the possession of a certain person in this guild who pitched me an idea yesterday that I found in this book on the eighty-ninth page." Alfana said with half-closed eyes as Bernard opened the book and flipped over to it.
"...The second guildhall?" Bernard said as Corvus and Vulp looked at each other.
'"Second?"' Corvus reiterated.
"I'll let you guess who pitched this to me. Their name rhymes with "Paphne."' Alfana said with an unimpressed tone.
"Daphne..." Bernard thought with an angry look in his eyes.
"Temper, temper." Alfana said as she caught her son's attention. "Dealing with her is my job... For now, let's discuss that." She said as she pointed at the book. "Why do you think we need a second guildhall?" Alfana asked.
"...You remember my animal show idea?" Bernard asked as his mother nodded in response. "I had a thought a while ago to downsize the Ultimate Carnival shows from two shows to one so I could make room for the animal show. But then I thought about it and-" He said until Alfana spoke up.
"And you realized that would cut into the guildmembers pay and you had a different idea sometime later that wouldn't make them lose a chance to perform... That it?" Alfana said as Bernard slowly nodded.
"Then I thought of the second guildhall idea..." Bernard said. "Another location for Psycho Circus would mean we could hold more Ultimate Carnival shows, operating in two locations would mean more audiences to entertain and more money being brought in, maybe even getting more wizards discovered who would be willing to join up. We could essentially "franchise" Ultimate Carnival a little bit." He continued as Alfana listened.
"Whoa." Corvus said as he looked at Bernard. "How'd you think of that?" He questioned.
"Would you believe me if I told you I thought ahead on a lot of this?" Bernard said as he turned back to look at the crow Celestial Spirit. "I even had a location thought up and everything." He said as Corvus and Vulp's eyes widened.
"Damn." Corvus thought, taken aback by Bernard's planning.
"I remembered how the Phantom Lord guild had a ton of sister guildhalls scattered throughout the country years ago from when we went to Oak Town so it's not like it's impossible to believe a wizard guild has more than one location. Oak Town was in desperate need of a shot of life to it, I thought; "what if Psycho Circus was here? Would it do something for this place?"' Bernard explained as he rubbed the back of his head. "That way there'd be a guildhall for me to hold the animal show without it affecting the other guildmembers pay too." He continued. "Course the idea is borderline impossible-" Bernard said until Alfana spoke up.
"I like it." Alfana said as Bernard turned his head back in the direction of his mother. "I'll discuss it with your father. Might be some "red tape" but we'll see if we can make it happen." She said.
"Huh?" Bernard muttered towards his mom.
"It was a solid pitch." Alfana said with a grin on her face.
"Whoa, wait a minute! What're you going to say to him?" Bernard said as he got out of the desk.
"Basically, everything you just said." Alfana replied. "I could care less if some newbie guildmember like Daphne pitches an idea that sounds good if she's only doing it for her own reasons. This is a good idea that was built around helping the guild and more people than that. You got my vote in our little triumvirate... That being said..." She said as she pointed her cane at the whiteboard, pointing at the each of the three bullet points. "You need to seriously think about how to accomplish all of these and figuring out how to make all of these relate to your animal show. That's your job now in this guild." Alfana said with a smile on her face.
"It looks like she's enjoying herself." Corvus thought with a surprised expression as Bernard silently looked at the board.
"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have to go monitor the practice sessions we have scheduled for today and then I have a client in need of a tarot card reading at one o'clock." Alfana said as she walked towards the door to the room. "Toodle-loo!" She said with a smile towards her son, leaving him and the Celestial Spirits as Bernard approached the magic whiteboard.
"You checking to see how that works? Because I am seriously curious." Corvus said as Vulp nodded in agreeance.
'"Overseer," "public face," and "equal."' Bernard whispered to himself.
"Jewel for your thoughts?" Corvus asked towards Bernard as he turned around to look at him. "You wondering about how to pull those off?" He asked as Bernard nodded.
"Sorta, but I'm also thinking about the second guildhall plan right now." Bernard said as he rubbed his chin. "I'm happy there's a possibility of it becoming a reality. It certainly means the second guildhall could definitely mean the creature showcase becomes a reality too... But there's a problem nipping at the back of my brain..." He thought with a worried look on his face.
"It's going to be expensive..." Corvus said.
"Yeah..." Bernard replied as Vulp nodded in similar agreeance.
"How much your folks going to spend to open up another guildhall?" Corvus said as he got off the backrest of the desk and flew over to Bernard with Vulp walking over to join in.
"...If we want to build another guildhall, it's got to be as good as the current one..." Bernard said with a serious voice.
"Well, the current one is nice because of one specific reason." Corvus said as Bernard made a disgruntled expression.
"And there's the nip..." Bernard thought. "The loan from Hisui and Arcadios." He said as Corvus and Vulp looked at their magical benefactor.
"That's going to be a problem..." Corvus stated as Vulp stared at Bernard.
"...To open up a second guildhall..." Bernard said, catching the Celestial Spirits attention. "We would need to get it approved by the Magic Council since they oversee all the wizard guilds, which would be a process." He continued.
"How long would that take?" Corvus asked as Vulp raised an eyebrow.
"Considering our reputation with the Magic Council is almost non-existent in a negative and a positive way... It would take a very long time..." Bernard said while rubbing his eyes with hands. "If we were to get this done in a shorter period, we would have to go around the Magic Council and the only way to do that is with connections... But I don't have-..." He thought until an idea formed in his head, an idea that made him tightly close his eyes in a bothered manner.
"Kid?" Corvus said as Bernard looked at the Celestial Spirits.
"...I have an idea..." Bernard said towards Corvus and Vulp as looked at them with eyes filled with frustration and concern.
As Bernard and the Celestial Spirits continued to talk in the room, Alfana walked into the main hall of Psycho Circus as the members congregated, some sitting at the various tables or at the bar and other's looking at the request board. Looking over, Alfana noticed Daphne watching one of her cat plush men dusting a wall whilst standing on a small ladder.
"Clean that wall like your life depended on it! Yes, yes, yes!" Daphne said with the same overconfident tone she normally exudes as Alfana approached her from behind.
"Daphne." Alfana said with an unenthusiastic tone as the glasses wearing saleswoman turned around.
"Ah! Boss lady!" Daphne said with a welcoming tone. "The guildhall is almost all the way clean, like you request-" She said until Alfana raised a hand and placed it directly over her mouth to shut her up.
"Listen to my words and shut up for a minute." Alfana said with a smile on her face. "Some of the acrobats are going to do their routine in the practice room followed by Kain and Abel and then the dance troupe. I want you to watch them, take note and then report back to me." She said as she removed her hand.
"Yes ma'am!" Daphne said as she saluted Alfana with the fortune teller waving her off to get to work.
Walking away, Alfana went to the other side of the guildhall and walked up the stairs, passing by members that she greeted before heading down the hallway to enter her office, now adorned with several accessories such as family photos of herself and her husband and son, candles and curtains to set up her fortune telling sessions and a small fridge in one corner near her desk. Walking over to the fridge, Alfana opened it up and pulled out a jar filled with pickled red beets before heading over to her desk, placing her cane down on it.
"Haaaa..." Alfana sighed as she reached into a drawer and pulled out a fork, opening up the jar and then taking one of the beets out to eat it. "Mmmmm..." She said as she chewed on the beet. "A few of these and I should be good... Nutritious little things." Alfana thought as she sat back in her chair.
Looking at the ceiling, Alfana placed her hands behind her head as she tried to relax.
"I took the job from him, and it only took twenty-four hours before he decided he wanted the higher position. Supposed to be looking after his successorship training too and he already has grasped the mental basics of being a guild master faster than I expected. Sickens me how I missed the last five birthdays he had and he's showing such a grown-up vibe." Alfana thought to herself as she lifted her legs and placed them on the desk. "Hell, he even made a substantial suggestion that could definitely benefit the guild in the long term... I should feel prouder as a mother." She thought before reaching over into another drawer and pulled out a Lacrima orb. "I know I gave the job to the other's... But I can't tell the future of my son, so I think I'll be a bit of an "overprotective" mom... Let's see, I think the sequence was four bumps, a pause and then four more bumps." Alfana thought.
Pressing on the top of the Lacrima in the order she memorized in her head, the Lacrima orb lit up briefly as an image started to appear on the glass whilst Alfana swallowed the chunks of beet in her mouth. Appearing on the glass was a muscular man with a massive mane of blonde hair with a red mask on his face that had a long tubular nose wearing a beaded necklace, a black shirt that exposed his six pack abs, a guild crest that looked like the head of an owl with paw prints in the eyes on his chest and a pair of leopard-skin shorts.
"Hello?" Alfana said towards the man on the screen.
"Ah, you the client who contacted our guild a few days ago?" The masked man said as Alfana sat up at her desk.
"That would be me." Alfana said with a casual tone. "Mascar, was it?" She said as the man nodded.
"The one and only from the greatest treasure hunter's guild in Fiore! Chimera's Paw!" Mascar said with a confident tone.
"Thought the "greatest treasure hunter's guild in Fiore" was Sylph Labyrinth?" Alfana questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"...Okay, that's just a heartless thing to say..." Mascar said with a slightly offended tone.
"Hey, don't be like that. Remember our arrangement, I paid you and your guild a portion in advance for this job." Alfana said with half-closed eyes.
"And you're paying top Jewel for it, madam!" Mascar said with a chipper tone as he pointed at the screen. "Got to admit, I wasn't expecting a job like this to enter our wheelhouse to be ho- Nariz! Lagarto! Be careful with the cages!" He said as he walked away from the Communication Lacrima.
"Hello? Hey!" Alfana exclaimed as she tried to get Mascar back on the screen, the masked man quickly walking back into view. "I want to know the progress your guild has made in the last three days." She asked.
"You gave us a quota. We're less than halfway towards it." Mascar said, giving Alfana details.
"I gave them a month on this... But at the rate things look, I haven't got much of a choice in the matter." Alfana thought while placing her hands on her temples. "Change of plans." She said as Mascar raised an eyebrow under his mask.
"Huh?" Mascar said.
"I'll pay what I promised but cut the list total in half and then send me what you got in one weeks' time." Alfana said with a serious tone as Mascar made a bewildered expression behind his mask.
'"One week?! We only just got started!" Mascar complained.
"...I could cancel our contract too, you know? And you fail to get the rest of the money I offered and then see if the other members of Chimera's Paw don't blame you for it because of that attitude that you're giving me." Alfana said whilst folding her arms.
"Guh! N-no, madam..." Mascar said with a concerned tone before shifting his head down. "Business lady drives a hard bargain..." He thought. "We'll get the job done." Mascar said as the Lacrima communication ended.
"Haaaa..." Alfana sighed as she put away the Communication Lacrima back into the drawer and took another beet out of the jar to eat. '"Clown Prince..." "Clown Hero?'" "The Heroic Clown of Hemlock?" Hmmmm... Can't keep calling him "Clown Prince" when he takes over. Got to find a better nickname for the boy." She thought to herself as she propped her legs up on the desk again before looking over at one of the pictures of her family, staring at an image of her son. "Hehehe..." Alfana chuckled as she leaned back in her chair once more.
UGGGGGHHHHH, I hated school... No seriously, being reminded of school just makes me feel sick. Yo, author, I'm taking a personal!
Author's Note: (Well... Okay then? I got nothing to say really. You read the chapter. I'll let you figure out some of the plot points I have placed :P)