"No, the opposite," Aiden shook his head. "I said you would be dumb if you didn't value my ability, but you did. That makes you smart."
"…how are you still alive with a mouth like that?" she asked with a little chuckle.
"In fact, my mouth is my best asset," Aiden replied.
"At the moment, no," she answered with a thin smile. "Your ability to loot monsters is not a common one. In fact, it's ranked among the highest for natural traits — a gift by the gods themselves."
"I didn't meet any gods so far, so I doubt it," Aiden said before sipping on the tea again. "This is delicious. Can I have the recipe?"
"Any candidate to pass the trial gets to request a single thing from me," she said. "Is this what you desire? My tea recipe?"
"It's just that good," Aiden answered her with a grin. "A fine compliment, no?"
"I don't have the sense that you are joking," she said.
"Because I'm not," Aiden said. "I would like the recipe to this tea, and even better if it came with the leaves."
The Guild Master froze.
"You are serious."
"I am. As serious as a heart attack."
"You are… strange," the Guild Master said with a frown. "If the tea is what you desire, then I would gladly give it to you. However, there is another matter — one that involves your future with my guild."
"About me becoming a disciple in the guild?" Aiden asked.
"About becoming my disciple," she emphasized. "I will train and guide you better than anyone else in the world."
"I guessed as much," Aiden said with a nod. "I apologize if this offends you, but I have no desire to take anyone as a master."
"You… refuse?"
"I do," Aiden said. "I came to this trial for a single reason."
"And that is?" she asked, still taken aback by his refusal.
"I wanted to meet you."
"You risked your life just to meet me?" the Guild Master asked with a frown.
"Well, it happened that way due to a big misunderstanding, but yes."
She was silent.
"A catastrophe is coming," Aiden began with a grave expression. "Have you ever been to the edge of the world?"
"I have, once or twice before," she answered. "There isn't much to see."
"There is not, and that's worse," Aiden said. "The edge is crawling."
"That cannot be true," she replied.
"It is, and I have seen it with my own two eyes," Aiden said. "I ran here as fast as I can, but it should be a matter of days before it reaches Argan — best case is a week."
"And you came to me with this information for what reason?" she asked without being convinced.
"If anyone can do something about it, then it would be you," Aiden said as he stood from his chair. "Oh, and there is something more. I've seen a monster emerge from the edge — one big enough to swallow Argan."
"What did it look like?" she asked.
"Uh, like a dragon," Aiden said and waited for a reaction. "A dragon is—"
"I know what a dragon is, but they don't usually come out of the edge of the world," she said with a cold voice. "If this is just a prank…"
"And why would I risk my life to prank you?" Aiden asked with a shrug. "You are pretty, but not enough to make me this desperate."
"You expect me to believe this?"
"I expect you to send that Shadowkin to find out the truth," Aiden said with a smile. "If there is nothing more, then I want to leave."
The Guild Master stared at him, her blue eyes seeking any kind of deceit in the man's demeanor, but she found none. In the end, she sighed.
"I'll look into it."
"Thanks!"
"You never had the intention to join the Seekers Guild, did you?" the Guild Master asked him with a frown.
"I actually do, and will," Aiden said. "But I don't want to do it as your disciple. That would probably get me killed."
"What makes you so sure?"
"A woman of your beauty is bound to have countless men obsessed over you," Aiden said with a shrug. "It's a world full of desire, after all. There is one thing I want, though."
"…and that is?"
"Your tea recipe."
[---]
After Aiden left the guild, the creature of darkness walked into the office to meet the Guild Master. He bowed as soon as he arrived.
"Did we recruit him, my lady?"
"He refused to be my disciple," she said while looking out of the window. "Instead, he took all my tea leaves and flirted with me twice."
"And you allowed him to live?" the Shadowkin asked. "Wait… your tea?"
"I did not sense any lust from him," the Guild Master said. "I wasn't sure if he was flirting or simply stating a fact. But that's not the main issue. He came here to warn us."
"Warn us of what?"
"The edge has awakened," she said as she turned. "For the first time since Vorun sealed the edge, it never moved an inch — but according to that boy's words, it did."
"He must be mistaken."
"If he was, then he wouldn't have risked his life to see me."
"You believe him?"
"I believe you," she turned toward him. "Travel to the edge of the world and tell me what you find — but be careful. A monster has emerged from the edge, according to his words."
"We would have heard reports about that."
"There is indeed a rising number of missing seekers near the edge," she said while rising from her chair. "This might be a catastrophe that involves the entire world. Do not waste time to investigate it."
"What about the kid? He is still crucial for our plan."
"I know," the Guild Master said. "I just have to find a way to win him over. Men are simple, and this one… shouldn't be any different."
"As fearsome as ever, my lady," the Shadowkin said while bowing his head. "I seek your permission to leave and undertake the mission you have given me."
"Permission granted," she said, and the Shadowkin was gone from the room. The Guild Master looked outside the window, and spotted the young man who had not only refused her, but also stolen all of her tea.