Edward waited for an answer under the gazes of three unfamiliar pairs of eyes. They all looked surprised by his words. The first one to recover was the man with the muffin hat.
"So you were the temporary member the guild master talked about!" Edward tilted his head and asked:
"You didn't know about that?"
"Well, the guild master told us that he arranged a temporary member to look after and teach about the workings of a party, but he didn't inform us about your identity. Honestly, I assumed that it would be a newbie from our guild. You can guess that I was quite confused when the guilt master told us to come here, the mansion of Griffins, so we could meet with the new member." After a short pause, he added as he looked at Victor:
"I really wish our guild master could tell us that the temporary member would be nonother than the second son of Master Griffin." Victor shrugged:
"I told you that he was newly Awakened, and his Job was qi master. There wasn't anything else you needed to know beforehand, right?"
"... As you say, master." His tone gave away his disagreement. He returned to Edward.
"Anyway, since you introduced yourself, we should do the same, right? My name is Marcel." He then looked at the others, cueing them to introduce themselves.
"I am Barry. Nice to meet you."
"Nadia."
Edward could barely hear Nadia's voice despite the silence encasing them. Marcel continued:
"I am the leader and the bard of our party. This large guy here is a shield-guard, and Nadia is a tracker. We also have a witch and a warrior, who fights with a claymore."
Edward appreciated Marcel's comment on the warrior, which was a Job with a wide range of specializations. From what he heard, he can pretty much determine their roles.
Barry and the warrior were in the vanguard, Barry as the tank and the warrior as the attacker.
Nadia would mostly shine outside of combat, although she probably had mid-range attack options.
Marcel and the witch were supporters. Their Jobs were suitable for both strengthening their allies and weakening their enemies.
They were also likely to have mid-range attack options.
The witch probably operated with the role of a healer too, considering that there wasn't any healer in the party.
Edward also guessed Nadia and Marcel to be decent at close range.
'Two Red, two Green, and a Blue. Considering their roles, they are a bit lacking in long range and healing, but outside of that, they are well rounded.' While Edward was assessing the party in his mind, Marcel asked Victor a question:
"Guild master, we usually go out for our regular hunts every Monday, but it hasn't even been a week since he experienced his second Awakening. Is it fine if he skips the next hunt and joins us in the following?"
"I agree, it is better if he can train a bit more before going out. It is not like he will need to join the fights, but it is still better to be safe than sorry." After a short pause, he added:
"I will return now. Feel free to talk with your seniors, Edward. Oh, but please don't forget the party inside the house, you are the reason for the gathering after all."
They talked about when and where he should be to meet them, and what he should bring. After that, the trio left. As Edward was about to return to the house, he encountered someone.
"Can we... talk for a bit?" Asked the familiar girl with wavy light brown hair.
***
They were walking in the garden, their steps devoid of any hurry. The girl was in silence, though Edward had no idea why.
'She is looking nervous.' was all he could guess.
Lian Rane was the daughter of the head of a major guild in Calven, and their families considered each other as trusted allies.
She was also someone he might be engaged to in the future.
Although there wasn't anything officially declared yet, Edward had seen both families lightly pushing their relationship forward with various actions, like arranging outings for them in the disguise of "shared lectures". Although not often, they met on various occasions ever since they were teenagers.
This is why Edward could at least tell that she was acting unnaturally. She looked like she was about to say something, then gave up at the last moment. This happened multiple times as they continued to walk. In Edward's memory, that was the opposite of the way she would act. Despite being a silent person, he had never seen her hesitate to say what she wanted to say.
"So what you wanted to talk about?"
She stopped, and so did Edward. Her lips remained motionless for a while, then she spoke:
"You know that our families... wants us to be together, right?" Edward casually nodded. After a bit of hesitation, Lian asked:
"What is your opinion on this matter?"
Honestly speaking, Edward didn't develop any romantic feelings towards her, despite the efforts of their families. He wouldn't be sad if things didn't work out.
That said, he didn't have any opposition to what their families wanted. He never had a long-lasting relationship in his previous life, so it was something he wanted to experience in this new life. And he wouldn't hate to be with Lian.
"Well, I am not against what they wish..."
Before he could finish, she added another question in haste:
"Then what would you do if I loved someone else?"
Edward couldn't tell whether she was trying to figure out if he had any feelings for her, or if there was actually someone else she loved. Not that it mattered to him. It was a matter he preferred to be honest about.
"Isn't that obvious? There is nothing officially declared neither between us nor our families, so I don't have any ground to complain." Lian, who avoided his eyes so far, looked at him. He subtly smiled. "We've known each other for a long time, so you should have a good guess on how I would react. You don't think of me as a petty person that would bring harm to the one you loved, right?"
A breeze blew through the garden, making plants gently sway. As it hit them both, Lian shuddered. Only then, Edward realized that her dress was probably not sufficient to protect her slender body from the cold outside.
"Let's get inside before you catch a cold."
She didn't ask any other questions on their way back. Edward guessed her to be satisfied with his answers.
With his strong destiny, the protagonist piques the interest of a peculiar Divine Being. As the mysterious entity temporarily pulls this soul to have a little talk with the person who he enjoyed watching the life of, he realizes that the soul in front of him is completely unaware of many trials and tribulations brought upon him by his destiny. Telling him that he wanted to watch the life of this soul again, The Divine Being reincarnates him in a different world.
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