Chapter 502: Unexpected Sponsorship [1]

"Hahaha! If it isn’t the newest star in the Guild!"

The woman looked to be in her mid-forties. She wore a dark blue cardigan with a red scarf neatly draped over her shoulders. As she turned to greet me, her light-brown hair swayed gently.

She smiled brightly.

"I’ve been meaning to meet you, but you’ve been dodging my invitations. I’m glad I finally managed to get you to come here."

I was on the 28th floor of the building.

The marketing department.

I’d always planned to avoid this place, but things changed the moment I received a certain message.

But more importantly...

’The stares feel very burdensome. Feels like I’m in a zoo all over again. Damn articles...’

Massaging my face, I nodded at the woman in front of me.

"Hello."

Judging by the title in the email I’d received, she was Rosa Madalyne, the Head of the Branch Guild’s PR department. Because this business didn’t just consist of taking care of anomalies and Gates, a PR department was necessary in order to manage the reputation of its members.

Aside from that, they handled another important thing.

"You’re here for the sponsorships, right?"

"I am."

"That’s good, but before that..."

Department Head Rosa spun around in her chair and pointed towards a certain office.

"Let’s go over there. I’m sure the stares around are starting to feel burdensome."

I’m glad you noticed.

"Thank you."

I was the first to enter the office. The Department Head told me she’d join me after gathering a few things, and as I took a seat, I looked around. The room was fairly spacious, with a soft gray carpet, bright overhead lighting, a monitor at the far end, and a large table with eight seats.

A stereotypical meeting room.

Leaning back in the metal chair, I tapped lightly against the armrest. I was curious.

’Just how many sponsorships did I receive, and how much are they offering? Should I receive them? The email also mentioned something about my squad...’

This was the first time something like this had happened to me, and I wasn’t quite sure what to think of it.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait for long.

Clank—!

Shortly after, the door opened, and three people entered the room.

"Ugh, I’m so tired."

"Thomas, did you manage to fill out all the reports?"

"No... I’ve still got several ones to finish up."

It was the Department Head and two men who seemed to be a little bit older than

me. Perhaps in their mid-thirties. While the two men carried two large boxes in their hands,

the Department Head carried a thin laptop with her.

As if they were already familiar with the room, they each took a seat and calmly sorted

through the boxes.

"Seth."

"Yes?"

I looked up at the Department Head as she sat opposite me.

"Let me introduce myself again. We’re part of the PR team in charge of our Section. In short, we’re in charge of all the ’image’ matters related to the members of the Guild, be it main or branch. Whatever plan you have for the future, it’ll have to go through us first. Oh, and if you fuck up, we’re the ones who clean up after your mess."

The Department Head seemed satisfied with her introduction as she took out a pair of thin, oval glasses and put them on. A faint smile crossed her lips as she opened her laptop.

Her fingers danced across the keyboard, and after a short while, she paused, her head lifting to stare at me.

"Not bad. I can work with this."

Words of praise suddenly flowed out of the woman’s mouth as she looked at me in satisfaction. What’s gotten into her all of a sudden?

"I think I mentioned it before, but I’ve been looking forward to working with you. Our Guild’s super rookie."

"Excuse me?"

Super rookie?

"There’s no need to be modest. We’ve all seen your feats in Malovia. We’ve also studied all of your achievements prior. You sure are something."

One of the assistants beside the Department Head spoke. He had short brown hair and green eyes.

Thomas Chamberlain? That’s what the name tag on his shirt said. The other one said, ’James Cole’. He was on the chubbier side and had blonde hair.

"A lot of the people in our team have been talking about it. Some say it was all luck, while others think it’s skills. Personally, I think it’s a bit of both. There was some luck, but you can definitely see you’ve got the skills."

Thomas seemed to be rather talkative as he rambled about all sorts of things. I just quietly listened to what he had to say and occasionally nodded.

I had no idea about what he was talking about, but I still occasionally added a few words of my own.

"Ay, stop talking already. We’ve got work to do."

The Department Head came just in time to save me. Checking her watch, she looked at Thomas.

"Quickly get me a cup of coffee. No, two..."

Thinking for a moment, she lowered her head and mumbled in a tone just enough for me to hear,

’Would two even be enough? I don’t think we’ll be sleeping tonight...’

My mouth twitched. What’s with the ’we’?

Surely not, right?

It turned out to be even worse than I’d expected. It wasn’t so much that I was receiving a flood of offers, but that there was simply far too much that needed to be handled. Especially when it came down to the upcoming ranking announcement.

"The chance that you might get ranked is slim to none, but that’s not really the point of attending such an event. One of the most important things when attending the event is to push your image out there. It’s also a great way to build connections. There are many high-ranking members of other Guilds, including officials that you can get in touch with, and even sellers that can sell you anything you need."

"Does that include fragments?"

"Fragments...? Well, I guess so."

The Department Head gave me a strange look, as if silently asking, ’

Why would you need fragments? Can’t you just request them from the Guild?’

I coughed, pretending to be oblivious.

Thankfully, the Department Head had something else in store for me.

"Well, everything aside. This is the last thing that I wanted to mention, and probably the thing that you were most looking forward to."

Reaching for one of the boxes on the table, the Department Head pulled out a few files and slid them across the table toward me.

"These are the sponsorships."

My gaze momentarily halted on the files and then the Department Head. Taking note of her expression, I paused. Why did she look so troubled?

"It’s my job to look through them and give you a rundown of the offers. I can say that they’re all great offers, but..."

But?

"One of them seems too good to be true."

"Pardon?"

"Have a look."

The Department Head slid one of the offers over to me.

Looking at the file, I didn’t hesitate and reached out for it. As I began reading, the Department Head’s crisp voice echoed in the background.

"I’ve gone through the terms again and again. I tried to find some kind of loophole or trick, but there isn’t one. Everything presented here is legitimate. This offer is several magnitudes higher than anything else you’ve received so far. But that’s not even the strangest part of it."

Pausing, the Department Head’s brows creased tightly.

"R.W. Tech."

My hand brows slowly rose as I looked at the numbers and the offer presented to me. This wasn’t just good. It was ridiculously good.

Just what sort of...

"In the history of the company, they’ve never sponsored anyone outside of one Guild. They’re known to only pick members from that Guild. And..."

Taking a look at me, the Department Head’s brows were even more furrowed.

"...You’re the first one they’ve chosen. The first person they’ve ever invested in who isn’t from Obsidian Bastion. One of the Big Five Guilds."