Phillander stared at me, fear playing across his features as I just looked at him, waiting for him to continue speaking. Cici had helped me calm down quite a bit, but I still had many problems with how things were, and the man in front of me. He was the fucking Guild Master, so couldn't he have just revoked Delvin's membership or something? Perhaps it wasn't that simple, but I guessed I'd find out here in a moment.
"You... were right." He said, finally speaking, so I just listened as he continued, "I was scared... terrified of that man, and his party. Despite my status, I am no match for people like that..."
I restrained myself from any snarky or clipped responses, and instead, focused on what Cici had told me. Still, I wanted answers to my questions.
"Couldn't you have just demoted him, or kicked him out of this guild? And if you truly were that afraid of him, why not tell someone? Why not tell the Duke?" I asked, giving him a piercing stare as I waited for his reply. He gulped, but to his credit, he composed himself, and began to speak.
"I did once threaten him with expulsion... and he threatened me with much worse. He also told me that he would know if I tried to tell someone about him and his party about any of my suspicions, and that he would be able to act much faster than anyone else could..." He said, and what he said next, I did not expect, and it did make me feel a little bad, "I have a wife, Mr. Crosse... and she's expecting our first child... I didn't want to take any chances... the thought of losing her, or worse..." He said, his body shaking, and I held up my hand.
"I get it. Family comes first." I said, reevaluating my opinion of the man.
He could definitely do with growing a spine, but I could at least respect doing whatever you had to in order to protect your wife. A pregnant wife at that, and I had no doubt that something like that wouldn't have mattered at all to a scumbag like Delvin. Hell, I'm no stranger to protecting my wife, killing for her. And like Cici said, not everyone is like me. This man, in my eyes, was weak, but in many common people's eyes, he was strong. Hell, his rank was higher than the Baron's had been, and people were terrified of him, as he had been the strongest person in the area at the time. The fact that the power disparity was so bad, and it struck fear in the hearts of so many people just trying to live their lives... I hated it.
"I do want to thank you, Mr. Crosse." He said after a moment, drawing my attention back to him, "Delvin was a horrible man, and even with my suspicions, believe me when I say that he was worse than I had ever thought... his whole party was. Arbigold... no, the world as a whole, is a better place without him. I don't have to live in fear that my wife is in danger. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."
The sincerity of his words, and the way his head touched his desk as he bowed to me... well, it did change how I saw the man quite a bit. Delvin was a man that could have no doubt killed this man in an instant... let alone what the asshole could and probably would have done to the man's wife. The mere fact that Delvin even hinted at violence towards this man's pregnant wife made me wish I could revive the bastard, just so I could kill him again. I honestly don't understand how anyone could end up that cruel and sadistic.
"You know, I've done some terrible things to protect my wife." I said, making the man look up at me, "I understand the want to keep your family safe. I would do anything... and I will do anything, to protect those I care about."
"I wasn't able to see your fight. My guild duties prevented me from going, but I won't lie... I wish I could have." He said.
"I may have... made it a pretty big spectacle, but I wanted people to see it. I wanted people to see what people like Delvin do when the power they have goes to their head, thinking they can do whatever they please, "I said, and then sighed, "I am a little annoyed that no one told me he was nobility... not that I care all that much, but that's still important information."
Phillander paused for a moment, seemingly considering something, before he spoke.
"I don't know everything. Duke Martin would know, although why he didn't tell you, I can't say. All I know is that his family exiled him from their house." He said, and that made me pause.
Apples usually don't fall far from the tree, so the likelihood that his family were pieces of shit just like he was seemed pretty damn high. The question I had was, what the fuck could Delvin had done to make a bunch of assholes think that he was an even bigger asshole? And why would Martin hide something like that from me? I liked Martin, and I figured he wouldn't do something like that without a good reason. Definitely going to ask him about that when I get the chance.
"Either way, Delvin's dead, and his party js basically on death row. This city is at least safe from them, and as long as I'm here, I won't put up with that kind of shit." I said, and that actually made the man give me the first smile I've seen from him thus far.
"I've heard you are powerful... to kill a man like Delvin, you would have to be. It's refreshing to see someone of your strength hold such ideals, even if no one knows much about you." He said, and I just nodded, giving him a small smirk.
"I don't tell people stuff they don't need to know. The only thing they need to know is that messing with me and mine..." I said, a dark look entering my eyes that made the man before me shutter, "Is heavily inadvised."
Phillander just nodded, accepting my words. I didn't hide my power. Why bother? If someone wanted to try me, let them. I had a wonderful wife, with more women most likely joining that dynamic sooner than I had ever expected. I wanted people to understand that I protected not just them, but those I cared about. Most of all though, I wanted people to understand what happened when you went after those I cared about. People just didn't need to know that I was a Primordial God to get that across.
We sat there for a moment in silence, Phillander giving me a complicated expression. I could tell that he both respected me, but was also scared of what I could do. I will admit that I had grown to not dislike this man as much I did previously. Cici had helped to set me straight on that, but I genuinely could tell that, whoever this man's wife was, she was the most important person in the world to him. I understood that feeling more than anything else. Soon though, Phillander began to speak once more.
"This conversation has been... enlightening." He said, his tone conveying his position as a Guild Master for the first time during this meeting, "Perhaps now though, we can move on to the reason I had you come here."
As he said, he reached into his desk, and when he brought his hand back up into view, he was now holding a silver chain, and attached to that chain, was an ornate silver amulet. I suddenly felt the excited feeling I held previously returning to me, as we were now getting back to the cool fantasy world shit that got my blood pumping.
"I'm sure Duke Martin informed you, but let me tell you personally. Not only did you save one of my Adventuring parties, and kill a creature that was a legitimate threat to not just other parties, but civilians as a whole, you easily qualified to skip a rank when joining the Guild." He said, before placing the amulet on the desk, and sliding it towards me, "That being said, because of your help, a threat to the people of this city that was within our own walls... and within this very Guild, I am raising your starting rank to the highest I can for a non member who is joining our Guild. Elias Crosse, I, Phillander Dewitt, welcome you to the Adventurer's Guild as our newest member. Due to your actions and contributions, you are skipping last Copper and Bronze. In the name of the Framework, I welcome you, as a silver ranked Adventurer."
I reached out, and almost with reverence, I delicately wrapped my hands around the chain, taking the amulet from him. Just as I did, a window appeared in my vision.
[Connection to Elias Crosse has been established. Welcome, Silver Ranked Adventurer.]
I blinked, not at all expecting the Framework message. Not once had I ever seen an item, or picked up an item that gave me a description, or any kind of information at all for that matter. Phillander seemed to anticipate my confusion, because the man smiled.
"Now that I have given you your Guild Amulet, please allow me to explain exactly what it does, and its importance." He said, and I gave the man my full attention.