"NO MORE MUSHROOM BOMBS IN THE LOUNGE!"
Guildmaster Ogi's voice echoed across Renga Town like a thunderclap.
Kazuki ducked under a flying cup as a mushroom-shaped creature he'd accidentally hatched skittered past, leaving puffs of glittery smoke in its wake.
"I thought it was a healing mushroom!" Kazuki shouted from behind a flipped table.
"It sneezed and blew a hole in the ceiling!" Aurelis snapped, her sword still sheathed but twitching with restraint.
"Oh, come on," Kazuki muttered. "I patched that up last time with slime paste."
Smile slither-hopped past them, chasing the mushroom bomb with a chef's hat and a ladle. "Come back! I haven't tested your flavor profile yet!"
Meanwhile: A Mysterious Visitor
Outside the guild, a cloaked traveler stepped into Renga Town. Their presence barely made a ripple—but to those with mana sense, it felt like ice sliding down the spine.
"This is the guild…?" the stranger muttered, gazing up at the partially smoking building. "The one he calls home."
A hawk screeched from a rooftop and immediately dropped unconscious from secondhand mushroom smoke.
The stranger pulled their hood tighter and kept walking.
Back Inside: Team Dynamics (a.k.a. Chaos)
The Philippine eagle—dubbed Taka—swooped down and snatched the mushroom bomb midair, tossing it into a bucket labeled "Maybe Dangerous?"
The king cobra—Kuro—curled on a sun-warmed counter, sipping tea from a teeny-tiny cup like royalty.
The wolf—Shiro—watched silently, head resting on Kazuki's boot.
Smile? Smile was somehow in six different places, playing cards with himself, cooking something unholy, fixing the floorboards, and reprogramming the guild's quest board to display knock-knock jokes instead of requests.
And Kazuki?
Kazuki was… thriving.
"This is the life," he sighed. "I got snacks, friends, pets that could flatten cities, and only a 60% chance of catching fire today."
Aurelis facepalmed. "You are literally the most powerful idiot I've ever met."
"And proud!" he said with a wink.
That Night: The Omen
Later, after the chaos calmed, Kazuki sat alone on the roof of the guild, legs swinging off the edge, eyes on the distant stars.
He didn't often get quiet moments like this.
"I wonder what Mugentsu's like," he said softly. "Sounds kinda spooky."
A puff of warm breath curled beside him—Shiro, sitting silently.
Then Kuro slithered up his shoulder.
Then Taka landed with a gust of wind.
Finally, Smile appeared behind him, disguised as a blanket.
"It's not the land that's spooky," Smile whispered, voice calm for once. "It's what's waiting for you there."
Kazuki didn't flinch.
He just smiled.
"Guess I'll find out."