Ellis was even reluctant to say anything. He didn't even want to interfere with what was going on.
Yosef grunted with heavy breaths. "Let—me go!"
"You don't know anything!" Stefan yelled. "Stop trying to act like you know her better than me!"
Yosef's feet weren't even touching the ground. His entire weight was being held up by Stefan.
"I was here before you showed your face," he said with his voice straining. "I was with Cerra from the beginning, you damned bastard, and you took her away from me. You're nothing but a sick boy lost in his head—"
Stefan pulled him back and slammed him again even harder than last time, caving his body deeper into the shelves behind him. It looked like he was suffocating Yosef by the way he was holding him.
"Vince—" Yosef choked as he helplessly grabbed Stefan's arms. "Help! Get this bastard off of me!"
Vince didn't move. His legs were still propped on the desk as if he was enjoying the show in front of him.
"I could kill you!" Stefan yelled louder. "You think you have a chance against me, just like those Falden soldiers?! You can't do anything!"
"You son of a—"
"All you've ever done was bring shame to everything Cerra believed in so don't you dare tell me what she knows!"
"And you have the right to speak for her?" he shifted his throat. "We gave you mercy and this is how you repay us? By taking away our captain—"
Stefan shouted and threw him across the room.
Vince stepped away as Yosef crashed into the wooden desk, completely breaking it in half. It was a miracle that none of the sharp debris lodged itself into his sides or abdomen.
Yosef painfully groaned, writhing around on the floor. Even if the excessive fat around his body would have protected him, the man had been thrown straight through the air with a heavy fall.
Vince stopped Stefan before he could continue.
Stefan stood over the broken desk with his fists clenched. There was still a look of unfiltered anger in his eyes.
"Come on, that's enough. What more do you want?"
"You want to know what I want?" he fumed. "I want this sack of worthless trash out of here, get him away from the guild as far as possible! If not, then I'll never come back here again. You can kiss your beloved seventh rank goodbye."
They watched Stefan turn away and kick the door right off its hinges. The adventurer behind learned to steer clear ever since Mave and her party came upstairs.
Vince poked around, clearing the wooden scraps from his carpet. "I assume you all have the same idea?"
Ellis sighed. "This happens every time we're with the guild. How do you guys find new ways to provoke him?"
"My only concern is losing a talent like Stefan."
"Then is it safe to say that Yosef is out of the question?"
"Sure." he glanced at Yosef groaning on the ground. "I believe the guild only has room for one captain anyways. I won't consider the damages as a courtesy."
Michael followed behind Ellis as they headed back downstairs.
"I hope to meet you again." Vince said as they were leaving. "You're a very interesting character, Michael Velo."
Michael didn't know Vince's intentions at all. He wasn't used to unnecessary attention, especially when he's been so careful about keeping his secret safe with the right people.
He joined back the roaring crowd downstairs. Some would even glance in his direction at the stairs regarding the thundering noise earlier. But Michael just decided to ignore their eyes and ordered at the bar.
Thankfully, they had normal drinks like concentrated juice for people like him.
A blaring voice came from the rails upstairs. Every adventurer in the lobby turned their attention to Vince standing proud and clearly. He was holding some type of contraption in his hands that must have echoed his voice throughout the building.
Vince talked about how thankful he was for everyone's efforts, as if he wasn't personally thanking Stefan and his party minutes prior. The food and drinks were completely compensated by the guild's funds from quests so everybody had the opportunity to have their fill. He also mentioned about their promotion and promised the great future was yet to come.
Michael thought he was dozing off during Vince's speech about companionship. He couldn't help but wonder if Yosef was still half-conscious in the office while everyone else admired the current captain.
Somebody sat beside him. "What're you drinking?"
It was that one female adventurer back at Almore. Michael didn't know what people's obsession was talking to him but now looking into her eyes, she could've been a young adult.
Michael shook his cup. "Orange juice."
"You're not from around here, are you? Pretty bold of you to become an adventurer at such a young age."
Michael drank his juice quietly, trying to match his sips to the blaring voice from above.
"I believe we haven't had the chance to properly meet." she held out her hand. "I'm Jule, what about you?"
"I can't talk to strangers."
She let out a small laugh. "You're funny."
Michael awkwardly stared ahead. He wanted to ignore the sword humming on his back.
"We're not strangers," she continued. "Well, not for long. Apparently your party has been a big deal in this guild. I'm sorry if I didn't recognize you guys earlier, and I'm sorry I made fun of your little leader."
Michael fiddled with his empty cup. "Okay."
"Why don't you look at me whenever you talk?"
"Uhh…"
She rested on the counter. "I hope to clear the air between your party and mine. We didn't mean any ill intentions back in Almore, even if that quest was a wreck to begin with. We're going to see each other more often so I don't want to be on the bad side of that little leader, especially if Stefan's there."
"What…do you think about Stefan?"
She looked surprised. "What do I think about him?"
Michael spinned his cup around.
"Stefan's one of the best we have, despite what people say of him. I give my respects when it's due."
"Did he really kill those Falden soldiers?"
"And he made them retreat. It would have been worse for us if he didn't show up but you didn't hear that from me."
An adventurer showed up behind her. His smooth blonde hair was swept to the side of his regal face and he didn't look any older than Jule. The man actually looked fairly handsome, comparing him to the rest of the other adventurers here. He had steel spaulders and bracers over his light armor, bearing a sword at his hip. It must have been one of her party members.
He caught Michael next to her. "Oh, it's that boy again! What's he doing here?"
"He's a part of Stefan's party," she answered. "Just thought I could warm him up before any trouble."
He studied Michael. "He's cute, it's a shame that you became an adventurer with that face."
Michael thought the sword on his back couldn't hum any stronger.
"Well, I think Vince is about done," Jule hopped off her seat. "We're going to join everyone else out back, do you wanna come?"
Michael thought he had other matters to worry about. He politely shook his head.
The adventurer leaned close to Jule. "Were you serious about that?"
Jule turned away. "Of course. We're all friends now, right?"
Michael watched them disappear through the crowd as she waved him goodbye. It was a weird conversation but he didn't think they were there to intimidate him.
He stopped playing around with his cup and squeezed back into the entrance of the guild. All the noise from cheering and yelling for Vince's sacrifices for the guild didn't really make sense to him. He didn't know where Ellis or Mave was, nor did he want to know about Stefan. The day had just started and he was free to do anything.
The moral right thing to do was head back to the house, get ready for more training from his party but he happened to have other ideas. Given that they were probably still holed up somewhere in the guild, it wouldn't matter if Michael had left on his own.
Michael headed down the steps and found an empty alley with no commoners passing by. He reached over his shoulder and unsheathed his sword.