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After they got together, everyone quickly introduced themselves.

Just like Crim anticipated, the blue haired warbeast girl was Jade, the character played by the physiotherapist lady she had become friends with. The red haired human lady was Jade’s coworker friend, as well as Lycoris’ mother and Ryunosuke’s wife. Her name was Sara.

Once a guild reached a certain level, its members gained the ability to teleport back to their guild house once every day.

When their introductions were over, they all used that ability to return to their guild house in Nebel, including the two new members, since standing around Valhalant to talk would not be very comfortable. There, the eyes of the pair lit up as they saw the house standing at the lake shore.

“Mhmmm, that’s a wonderful house…”
“But what’s this I heard about having to move away soon?”

They went to the terrace on the second floor, where they sat around a wooden table to talk. Eventually Sara brought up that question.

“Aye, indeed. Unexpected events have granted us ownership of a castle. We shall utilize it as our dwelling place, yet all matters pertaining to our guild’s administration shall transpire within the castle, once all requisite renovations are concluded.”
“Ah, so you won’t be getting rid of this place. That’s good…”
“Fear not. This place holds great significance for me, for it is brimming with memories. I’d never dispose of it.”

Crim had been unable to log out for three months, and for half of that time she had called this house home and slept in it every night. It held too much sentimental value to just discard now that she had a castle.

The memories of that time rushed back into Crim’s mind, making her feel emotional…but then she raised her voice in displeasure.

“By the by… wherefore must I sit on thy lap?”

For some reason, she was currently sitting on top of Jade’s lap. Meanwhile Freya was glaring at them on the opposite side of the table, as usually she was the one holding Crim like that.

Crim had never seen her childhood friend stare at her like that, so there was a constant stream of chills running down her spine the entire time.

“Well…I’m sorry, but seeing a girl I know start to speak like that is umm…you know, irresistibly cute.”
“Ugh… Alright, that’s it, I’m done roleplaying!”
“Noo, I’m sorry! Don’t stop, okay?!!”

The moment Crim said that, Jade hurried to appease her somehow. While that happened, Sara thought of something and raised her voice.

“I’ve been wondering… Who suggested Crim should roleplay like that?”

In response, everyone’s eyes turned to look at Ryunosuke, who was trying to sneak his way out of the terrace.

“…It was you, dear?”
“…………..Umm…I’m sorry…”

No words were needed for Ryunosuke to understand his wife was questioning the things he had made a young girl do, so he felt forced to apologize.

After that the two newcomers said they wanted to see the castle, so they went out of the guild house. But they had barely taken any steps outside when they recognized a familiar face.

“Ah, hello Crimmiee!”
“Hey, I told you not to run off like that… And yo, nice to see you.”
“Hello, Juna, and George. I can see you’re in a good mood today.”

It was a greeting Crim was very used to as well. The young girl was carrying a basket, while her brother chased after her while wheezing for air, and both greeted Crim.

Crim could not help but break into a smile watching the siblings, and returned the greeting in her normal voice.

“Crimmie, are those your new friends?”
“Yes, they are. The blue haired one is Jade, and the one with red hair is Sara.”

After Crim introduced them, the two squatted down so they were on the same eye level as the children, something that was second nature for them as nurses, and they greeted the kids.

“Nice to meet you, Juna, and George.”
“Hello you two.”
“Nice to meet you too!”
“H-hey there…”

Juna was full of energy, while George turned his face away and replied awkwardly. At least he was polite enough, so Crim felt a bit less stressed.

“Juna, where are you carrying that basket by the way? It looks pretty heavy.” Then Crim asked about the basket, which she had noticed earlier, especially thanks to the scent of freshly baked bread wafting to her from it.

“To a picnic!”
“A picnic?”
“Yeah, we’re going to the castle.”
“We want to hang out with the flowery lady!”

That explained everything to Crim. The spirit lady who tended to Castle Seyfert had befriended the siblings.

Well, I can tell she’s fond of children, considering how she acted around Hinagiku and Lycoris.

Crim found herself smiling as she thought of that hero of old, who was now tending to the castle and seemed to get lonely often.

“It’s rare to see Ludger going together with you though.”

There was also a man following after the siblings, their father Ludger. Usually he was tending to his store at that time of the day, so it was rare to see him outside like that.

“Well, actually this is also an outing for work.”
“How come?”
“That dryad lady at the castle is growing a rare and valuable medicinal herb in a section of the island. She’s letting me take some in exchange for helping her out.”

Saying that, Ludger showed his empty foraging basket, and Crim clapped once as it all clicked in her head.

“She also likes to watch over children, so I get to take George and Juna with me, and he gets to learn my craft while we’re at it. The other people in town are also glad that there’s a safe place for our children to play in now.”
“I see, so she’s getting along nicely with the townsfolk… That’s a relief.”

Da’at could tell everything that happened in the castle at all times through the vines there, so she could make sure that the children were always safe, and if there was an accident she was able to help right away.

There were also vast grassy plains where children could run around, and interesting ruins for them to play in and pretend to be adventurers. Giving the town’s children the best playground possible had been a happy side effect of building that bridge.

“And oh right, that also means I’ve expanded my store’s lineup, so come check it out sometime, alright?”
“Ahahah, sure, I’ll go visit one of these days then.”

Crim chuckled a little hearing Ludger find a way to advertise his business, but she would be glad to see what he had. Overall that was a pretty common sight in Nebel. But amongst those watching…

“Those NPCs act and sound really lifelike…”
“Yeahh… I’ve never seen the AI act so human.”

The two newcomers were rather shocked.

In the end they tagged along with Ludger and his children and they headed to Castle Seyfert. Crim would give the new members a tour of the castle, so they split off from the group, as everyone else went with Ludger to meet with Da’at Seyfert.

“Woah, everything’s so pretty here… I’ve never seen a castle occupy a whole area like this before either…”

Jade looked around in wonder, her emotions shown through her Warbeast features clearly, as her cat ears were folded flat against her head and her tail stood straight up, looking like a nervous cat away from home.

Sara was also surprised by everything she was seeing, though not to the same extent as Jade.

“Isn’t it really expensive to keep a castle of this size though?”
“Well…yes, around half of our guild’s savings have already been depleted on reparations.”

Sara could not contain herself from asking that question, and Crim replied without much concern. The game’s management had already given them a large sum of Points in exchange for permission to officially publish a video of their raid dungeon run.

More than half of that had already been spent on repairing Castle of Seyfert, and even with the help of the construction golem it would take over a month to finish rebuilding.

“Only half? I guess that’s how it goes with the most popular guilds…”
“I’m getting worried Sara, maybe we came somewhere that’s way out of our league…”

Crim was a bit confused by their stunned reaction, but she continued walking through the garden, where a path of limestone had been repaired.

The children would often play around there, so fixing the path had been a priority to make it easier to walk around there. That improved the scenery quite a bit, and coupled with the large castle further ahead made for a very picturesque scene.

“Maybe I could get my personal workshop in a big castle like that…”
“That would bring great joy. Indeed, it is we who will benefit most from thy labor, so I shall make arrangements for that promptly.”
“Huh? Wait, no, I didn’t…”

Crim immediately began getting a blacksmithing room built, while Jade desperately tried to stop that.

There were all sorts of blacksmithing and alchemy workshops, some basic and some extremely advanced, but an average player would need to work diligently for quite a while to be able to afford a decent one…usually.

But by the time Jade could get the words out to retract her wish, Crim was done getting it ready.

She had already opened the housing and territory management menu, selected the best workshop she could find, which was a five star atelier that included a forge, alchemist workshop, and a bedroom; and arranged for it to be the next installation to be built in a corner of the castle.

“…mean it…seriously..?”
“Ah…sorry, it’s already done.”

Saying that, she showed the map with the construction site highlighted.

It would be located in the southern side of the castle, where it would get plenty of sun and was one of the best places there. And it included two workshops and a bedroom.

“I could relocate it elsewhere if this spot does not suit thee…”
“No no no, if I complain now I’ll rot in hell for being too greedy!!”
“A-Alright..?”

Crim could only stare in puzzlement at Jade, who shook her head vehemently.

“Oh… aye, it comes back to me now. I nearly forgot that sewing falls within thy duties. I shall also arrange for a weaver’s workroom nearby.”
“”That’s not it!!””

Now it was both of the new members who felt exasperated.

“Sara, I think we really joined an insane guild!”
“Is this really what it’s like in the popular guilds..?!”

Everything felt like it was getting crazier around the two, leaving them even more shocked than before, but Crim just tilted her head in confusion, looking lost and puzzled like she often did.

Afterword:

Common sense for a top guild is madness for a regular guild.