Starting a guild required a Guild Certificate and a 100,000 Col fee. Lillian gave it all to Argo, who completed the setup in under half an hour.
Kirito and Asuna had already left, apologizing, which Lillian accepted. He had no special thoughts about them—they were "protagonists" only by conventional label. Since the AOT, he had realized that the "protagonist aura" no longer mattered.
He'd read novels with similar rules. Many stories imposed a "Gaia-consciousness" restriction on time-travelers, preventing major changes to plot or character fates. Some used an invisible hand to correct deviations. Yet in Lillian's case, no such hand existed. Main characters were just people. If he wanted, he could kill the protagonists and the world would still run. There were no special rules here.
"Here."
Argo handed Lillian a small scepter. It was the guild's key object.
[Guild Leader's Scepter]
Note: Held by the guild leader; used to designate and move guild territory.
Lillian nodded in satisfaction. Opening the guild menu, he saw Argo had transferred the "Whatever" guild leader to him. The name was casual, and he didn't plan to recruit members—just a place to put a bed in the wild.
Looking at the member list, only he and Argo were there. Lillian thanked her.
"Thanks. You can leave the guild now."
"Hmm, so heartless," Argo said, arms crossed, eyes cold. "Once I hand over the leadership, you kick me out."
Lillian was puzzled. "You don't want to leave? There's no activity here. It's just a guild territory for outdoors. If you have no other guild, stay for now."
"Ha, plenty of guild leaders beg me to join, but that's just for free info. I don't care," Argo snorted. She didn't mention leaving, instead asking: "When I came out, I saw someone talking about the fourth floor portal opening… Did you clear the third floor BOSS again?"
"Mm."
Argo, curious, pressed further: "How? The third floor BOSS was the Nelius the Evil Treant—it can paralyze. How could one person beat it?"
"I never said I did it alone," Lillian replied.
Argo paused, then asked suspiciously, "You… have other companions?"
"Yes."
"…"
Argo's expression shifted from surprise to slight anger. Loudly, she asked, "Are they all orange-name? If not, why not just ask them to help with the guild? Why waste my time?"
"Uh, they're NPCs… can't do that," Lillian said, bewildered at her sudden anger.
"NPC companions?" Argo's anger morphed into astonishment, then awkwardness. "I knew it… You're a 'public enemy,' who else would dare be your companion? Hmph… only NPCs, how pathetic."
"You know, you're my companion too," Lillian said. "Don't exclude yourself from us."
"You dare say I'm not human?!"
"That's your own interpretation…"
"You—!" Argo flailed at him, but for some reason, she felt a strange sense of relief in her chest. Yet a new question immediately sprang up, and she asked, "Are there NPCs that help players fight BOSSes? I never heard of that in the closed beta."
"What's the NPC's name?"
"Kizmel."
"Kizmel… let me think…" Argo frowned, twirling her fingers through her curls. After a moment, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! One of the openers of that large-scale quest! She and another elf knight represented different factions, right?"
"Exactly, that quest."
"You chose Kizmel, the dark elf? Wait… that doesn't make sense…" Argo muttered. "She shouldn't be able to move freely with you. Outside mission tasks, she usually stays in the camp. Helping you fight BOSSes shouldn't happen…"
"Is that so," Lillian said quietly, intrigued.
"Maybe they changed the live version's AI? That would be a huge change… but it really shouldn't have affected her logic. Although… I did notice some NPCs in town seem dumber than in the beta. Weird."
Argo muttered to herself, while Lillian's mind slowly began to clarify things.
"Guess you're just lucky," she concluded. "Since that's the case, make the most of it and take down a few more BOSSes before she leaves. By the way, you've been hoarding the experience and Col from these two BOSSes… well, whatever. I'm done talking; I'm heading back."
"Wait," Lillian called after her. He hesitated, then said, "Be careful recently."
"Why?"
Lillian's expression turned serious. "The one impersonating me… I have a guess about their identity. But they're elusive, hard to find. If they target me, they know we're connected. If they can't get to me, they might go after you instead… small chance, but still something to guard against."
"Heh, I thought you'd say something else," Argo said with a smile. "Don't worry. My escape skills are top-notch in this game."
"I'm not joking. Don't roam outside too much. Wait until I find that person. And if anyone suspicious tries to lure you with 'valuable info,' don't fall for it—it's probably a trap."
"Alright, alright. Do you think I need you to teach me this? Haven't I earned the title of 'Top Informant' for a reason?"
"…"
"Hmph. You talk so much, but maybe you should worry about yourself. Walking around with a big orange name, who knows how many eyes are on you, you 'monster.' Stay alive—I don't want to suddenly inherit the guild leadership. Dissolving it would be a nightmare!"
Having said that, she left. Lillian watched her vanish and sighed. He hadn't warned her lightly—if PoH really did this, it wouldn't be impossible for them to target Argo.
And not just Argo—compared to her, Lillian thought Terusuke might be a more obvious target. Everyone knew he and Terusuke cleared the first floor BOSS together, and their joint fight on the plains was public knowledge. PoH could already have gathered a group; more people meant more potential threats.
"What a pain…" Lillian's eyes flickered with a cold light. "Better get that guy taken care of quickly."