Keith waited with bated breath as he watched Shinzou and Fushi have a stare-off with each other. He did not want Master Fushi to become his guardian since he was sure that he would die.

'No, don't. Don't feed me to the shark, Shinzou. I beg you not to agree.'

Keith was about to erupt due to nervousness as he watched the two in front of him. Why was no one saying anything all of a sudden? It felt like a whole conversation was taking place right in front of Keith but he could not speak their language.

It was not until someone subtly coughed that the two parties looked away.

"Fine, you win. I will allow taking control of the Grandmaster's safety this time. But if anything happens, it will be your responsibility."

Only Keith knew how he managed to hold his tears back at that time. Master Fushi looked at Keith like he was the food she could not help but bite into. Her eyes were shining as she took her place at Keith's side.

Meanwhile, Shinzou had a dejected look on his face as he walked down to join Master Hana instead.

But the most uncomfortable thing for Keith was the look on Master Hana's face. He could read barely hidden betrayal as well as hunger in Master Hana's eyes. She was not supposed to be scary but Keith still felt scared of her.

"Grandmaster, you need to give the signal to start. Everyone else is counting on you to lead us."

Clair's ended up being the one to remind Keith that he should not be dwindling back right now. Everyone else was looking at him now as well.

*cough* "Now that things are settled, let's head out. And Shinzou, this will be the only time I forgive you for being late. Next time, know your place and be on time."

Shinzou paled after hearing Keith's words. The grandmaster had been the one to issue the warning after all. No matter how good of a friend Shinzou was, he needed to still give the grandmaster enough respect

"Of course. I will not be late next time, Grandmaster. Thank you for your grace and guidance this time."

Keith felt hollow after the reply. He had done nothing to merit this much loyalty and enthusiasm from Shinzou. And every time Shinzou showered such an eager expression on his face, Keith felt his life get cut in half.

'I c-cannot let myself be found out to be a fraud. I will not only be killed but chewed and thrown out into the wild. No, that would even not be enough. Shinzou would feed me alive to the monsters.'

/////////////////////////////////

"So this is the town which had been taken over by the skinner demons? It looks rather ordinary to me. I cannot spot any demon in front of me."

Keith kept his eyes in front but his ears were engrossed in the conversations taking place around him. Since he could not openly speak, this was the only way for him to gather information.

And he had to whole heartily agree with what was being said in front of him. Even he could not spot the demons in front of him from the normal crowd.

But his eyes did move toward an incredibly beautiful danger who was dressed rather lightly for the autumn weather. Her breasts looked like they were going to escape her clothes and Keith could not help but check her out.

"Grandmaster, is something wrong? Hey, that woman-"

Keith's breath stopped as soon as he noticed Master Fushi looking in the direction he had been looking into. He was going to be found out checking something indecent right in front of everyone.

"That man, he's a skinner demon. As expected of the grandmaster, you managed to single him out even in all this crowd. Someone, hurry up and catch the man before he escapes."

Keith breathed out in relief as soon as Master Fushi took control of the situation. Once again, he had gotten lucky and things had ended up righting themselves.

'I cannot believe I had such a close call. Thank god that skinner demon was standing in the same direction because I could not feel him at all.'

Keith sighed in relief and opened his eyes. His eyes met the dancer's for a single second before a small smirk broke free on that attractive face and Keith was afraid that she would gesture something indecent toward him.

But all his fears turned out ot be unfounded since the dancer just turned around and walked away without saying anything to him in return.

"Grandmaster, thanks to your help we managed to catch a few skinner demons right off the bat. But we cannot keep on relying on your power to complete this mission. Why don't you head in to rest now and let our students do what they are here to do."

Master Hana was the one to suggest this. Her hands were placed on Keith's arm in an attempt to guide him toward the base.

Of course, the one who found a problem with this was Master Fushi. She quickly snapped her pipe on Master Hana's hand to make her let go of the grandmaster.

"I agree that the grandmaster needs to rest for the time being. However, since I am the grandmaster's bodyguard this time, I should be the one to escort him to his room. You need to be here to supervise, Master Hana."

Master Hana's beautiful face broke out into a pout. She looked at Keith with a begging look in her eyes which did things to him.

Keith knew he should not break right now and he could not afford to let himself be swayed by his emotions. He could not afford for his act to fall apart.

'But darn, it's difficult. I was never good with seeing a crying face in front of me.'

Keith was about to cave in when a student hurried over and spoke in Master Hana's ears. She frowned and her expression hardened the next second.

"I am sorry grandmaster, but it seems like a difficult situation decided to rear its head up all of a sudden. Master Fushi, I will leave the grandmaster in your hands now."

Master Hana looked reluctant to go and he even glared at Master Fushi to make her back down. But Master Fushi held her looks with a dignified expression.

Keith watched it all happen with a confused expression on his face. He also wanted to accompany Master Hana since she seemed like a gentlewoman. Keith was sure that she would not ask him uncomfortable questions.

"Grandmaster, we should head back to the hotel we booked now. I am sure the students will be alright since both Master Hana and Master Shinzou are present on the scene. There is no need for you to worry about their safety this much."

'No, I am not worried about the safety of the students, but rather, my safety. I feel like I would suffocate if I spend too much time with you.'

Of course, between his small crush on master Fushi and her being a stoic bitch, Keith felt like his life was being cut in half. He did not want to experience anything anymore.

Rest sounded like a good plan and Keith was sure he would be left alone in his room. And a hotel would be a safe enough place to also make sure no one disturbed him for the time being.

Of course, there were more than a few things Keith forgot to take into account. And the first thing was - this was an Ero MMO game. And as such, Keith should not be letting his guard down when he was with someone.

"Grandmaster, you should wait in your room until I call you out again. We cannot afford to let our enemies know where you are sleeping."

'Yup, I cannot allow anyone to kill me so young. I need to live a long life and I will do so even if I give up a lot to do so.'

Fine, I understand what I need to do and what my responsibilities are. Now scam if you do not want me to get angry."

Keith's heart beat painfully as he tried to keep his fear in check. He was the grandmaster so he could not afford to show emotions like these to break his facade.

Thankfully, Master Fushi did not stick around him for long or Keith would have had a hard time sleeping.

He had not even closed his eyes when the door to his room opened again and the dancer from before walked in. Her wide and attractive smile was still the same as before but Keith could feel the signs of danger that were heading his way.

"My, what a jackpot I hit today. To think I would get to meet the grandmaster and serve him. I am so happy today. Don't you feel the same, grandmaster?"

Keith waited with bated breath as he watched Shinzou and Fushi have a stare-off with each other. He did not want Master Fushi to become his guardian since he was sure that he would die.

'No, don't. Don't feed me to the shark, Shinzou. I beg you not to agree.'

Keith was about to erupt due to nervousness as he watched the two in front of him. Why was no one saying anything all of a sudden? It felt like a whole conversation was taking place right in front of Keith but he could not speak their language.

It was not until someone subtly coughed that the two parties looked away.

"Fine, you win. I will allow taking control of the Grandmaster's safety this time. But if anything happens, it will be your responsibility."

Only Keith knew how he managed to hold his tears back at that time. Master Fushi looked at Keith like he was the food she could not help but bite into. Her eyes were shining as she took her place at Keith's side.

Meanwhile, Shinzou had a dejected look on his face as he walked down to join Master Hana instead.

But the most uncomfortable thing for Keith was the look on Master Hana's face. He could read barely hidden betrayal as well as hunger in Master Hana's eyes. She was not supposed to be scary but Keith still felt scared of her.

"Grandmaster, you need to give the signal to start. Everyone else is counting on you to lead us."

Clair ended up being the one to remind Keith that he should not be dwindling back right now. Everyone else was looking at him now as well.

*cough* "Now that things are settled, let's head out. And Shinzou, this will be the only time I forgive you for being late. Next time, know your place and be on time."

Shinzou paled after hearing Keith's words. The grandmaster had been the one to issue the warning after all. No matter how good of a friend Shinzou was, he needed to still give the grandmaster enough respect

"Of course. I will not be late next time, Grandmaster. Thank you for your grace and guidance this time."

Keith felt hollow after the reply. He had done nothing to merit this much loyalty and enthusiasm from Shinzou. And every time Shinzou showered such an eager expression on his face, Keith felt his life get cut in half.

'I c-cannot let myself be found out to be a fraud. I will not only be killed but chewed and thrown out into the wild. No, that would not even be enough. Shinzou would feed me alive to the monsters.'

/////////////////////////////////

"So this is the town which had been taken over by the skinner demons? It looks rather ordinary to me. I cannot spot any demon in front of me."

Keith kept his eyes in front but his ears were engrossed in the conversations taking place around him. Since he could not openly speak, this was the only way for him to gather information.

And he had to wholeheartedly agree with what was being said in front of him. Even he could not spot the demons in front of him from the normal crowd.

But his eyes did move toward an incredibly beautiful danger who was dressed rather lightly for the autumn weather. Her breasts looked like they were going to escape her clothes and Keith could not help but check her out.

"Grandmaster, is something wrong? Hey, that woman-"

Keith's breath stopped as soon as he noticed Master Fushi looking in the direction he had been looking into. He was going to be found out checking something indecent right in front of everyone.

"That man, he's a skinner demon. As expected of the grandmaster, you managed to single him out even in all this crowd. Someone, hurry up and catch the man before he escapes."

Keith breathed out in relief as soon as Master Fushi took control of the situation. Once again, he had gotten lucky and things had ended up righting themselves.

'I cannot believe I had such a close call. Thank god that skinner demon was standing in the same direction because I could not feel him at all.'

Keith sighed in relief and opened his eyes. His eyes met the dancer's for a single second before a small smirk broke free on that attractive face and Keith was afraid that she would gesture something indecent toward him.

But all his fears turned out to be unfounded since the dancer just turned around and walked away without saying anything to him in return.

"Grandmaster, thanks to your help we managed to catch a few skinner demons right off the bat. But we cannot keep on relying on your power to complete this mission. Why don't you head in to rest now and let our students do what they are here to do."

Master Hana was the one to suggest this. Her hands were placed on Keith's arm in an attempt to guide him toward the base.

Of course, the one who found a problem with this was Master Fushi. She quickly snapped her pipe on Master Hana's hand to make her let go of the grandmaster.

"I agree that the grandmaster needs to rest for the time being. However, since I am the grandmaster's bodyguard this time, I should be the one to escort him to his room. You need to be here to supervise, Master Hana."

Master Hana's beautiful face broke out into a pout. She looked at Keith with a begging look in her eyes which did things to him.

Keith knew he should not break right now and he could not afford to let himself be swayed by his emotions. He could not afford for his act to fall apart.

'But darn, it's difficult. I was never good at seeing a crying face in front of me.'

Keith was about to cave in when a student hurried over and spoke in Master Hana's ears. She frowned and her expression hardened the next second.

"I am sorry grandmaster, but it seems like a difficult situation that has decided to rear its head up all of a sudden. Master Fushi, I will leave the grandmaster in your hands now."

Master Hana looked reluctant to go and he even glared at Master Fushi to make her back down. But Master Fushi held her looks with a dignified expression.

Keith watched it all happen with a confused expression on his face. He also wanted to accompany Master Hana since she seemed like a gentlewoman. Keith was sure that she would not ask him uncomfortable questions.

"Grandmaster, we should head back to the hotel we booked now. I am sure the students will be alright since both Master Hana and Master Shinzou are present on the scene. There is no need for you to worry about their safety this much."

'No, I am not worried about the safety of the students, but rather, my safety. I feel like I would suffocate if I spent too much time with you.'

Of course, between his small crush on master Fushi and her being a stoic bitch, Keith felt like his life was being cut in half. He did not want to experience anything anymore.

Rest sounded like a good plan and Keith was sure he would be left alone in his room. And a hotel would be a safe enough place to also make sure no one disturbed him for the time being.

Of course, there were more than a few things Keith forgot to take into account. And the first thing was - this was an Ero MMO game. And as such, Keith should not be letting his guard down when he was with someone.

"Grandmaster, you should wait in your room until I call you out again. We cannot afford to let our enemies know where you are sleeping."

'Yup, I cannot allow anyone to kill me so young. I need to live a long life and I will do so even if I give up a lot to do so.'

Fine, I understand what I need to do and what my responsibilities are. Now scam if you do not want me to get angry."

Keith's heart beat painfully as he tried to keep his fear in check. He was the grandmaster so he could not afford to show emotions like these to break his facade.

Thankfully, Master Fushi did not stick around him for long or Keith would have had a hard time sleeping.

He had not even closed his eyes when the door to his room opened again and the dancer from before walked in. Her wide and attractive smile was still the same as before but Keith could feel the signs of danger that were heading his way.

"My, what a jackpot I hit today. To think I would get to meet the grandmaster and serve him. I am so happy today. Don't you feel the same, grandmaster?"