“So, we got power, water, sewage, beds – it is livable,” Shouri chose his words carefully as he spoke into one of his tuners.

  “No, that sounds great Shouri! I’ve been reading a ton of DIY articles during the descent, I’m super excited!” Emily’s voice came from the other end.

  “Well, at least that makes one of you. Elijah gave me no shortage of excuses as to why he couldn’t make it for at least a month. I think he’s trying to plead his case to his dad to give him a loan or something,” Shouri scoffed.

  “I mean, our guild treasury isn’t exactly bursting at the seams. If he wants to wire us some notes…” Emily trailed off.

  Shouri hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe. Either way, I think me and the girls might go big Scherzando hunting. The one we did before paid crazy well. I figure we could kill one per room we’d be set. We have ten rooms, six for the five of us Maestros and Miro. Unless anybody has a problem with sharing a room?”

  “Not that I’ve heard,” replied the lunar princess. “If I could make a suggestion?” she asked.

  “What’s that?”

  “I think since these rooms are gonna be our personal quarters, maybe let each party handle their own room and then we can all pool together to fix up the last four rooms plus Miro’s?”

  “Hmmm…” Shouri’s gaze rose to meet his trio of Resonators. They all sat around a table, watching their Maestro while he was on the phone. They didn’t give him a vocal response, but the look in their eyes told him enough. “Alright, I’ll make the announcement in the group chat and we’ll get to working on our room,” he decided.

  “Great! We’ll see if any good hunts are going on here in Kalanichi first before we head your way,” said Emily.

  “Cool, talk to you later Ems.”

  “See ya, Shouri!”

  Dropping the line, Shouri sighed and thumbed up his message to the group. While he took care of that, he spoke to his awaiting companions, “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s a great idea,” Pacifica said.

  “Si, they can make their rooms how they like, and we can do the same with ours,” Taika nodded.

  “What are we gonna do about the four spare rooms?” Rebecca asked.

  With his message sent, Shouri returned the tuner to his side and sat up in bed. “Honestly, I’m thinking we have Elijah reach out to whoever does the supplying for the MA Offices and get them in on this. I always feel better after getting a good night’s sleep there.”

  The three affirmative nods from his party were all the confirmation he needed on that game plan.

  “Now there’s only the matter of work. I think we hunt normally tonight, stop off at a store to get fresh bedding and cleaning supplies and that can be our night tonight,” he told the trio.

  “Sounds good, I’m ready to go!” Rebecca stood up from the table.

  “Ohhh we get to decorate! I’m so pumped!” Pacifica joined her fiery counterpart.

  “C-can we get dinner first Sho?” asked Taika.

  “Yeah, dinner would probably be good,” Shouri chuckled.

  After one hearty dinner, the group arrived at the hunting grounds. As usual, the place was utter chaos, but knowing that they were pre-registered thanks to their new status as a guild, the group decided to wander around.

  No matter the occasion, they could always count on the Maestro amenities in new towns to be the same; whether MA Offices or hunting grounds with few exceptions. Another thing that remained the same were the eyes on them, whether it was Rebecca’s striking reds and yellows, or the general air around Taika; they were turning heads.

  “Huh?” Pacifica took in the gazes of the curious Maestros and Resonators around them.

  “What’s up, Paci?” Shouri asked.

  “It feels different,” she noted.

  “How so?”

  The group came off the walking path and formed a circle off to the side.

  “There’s like this weird reverence from them,” noted the sensitive otter.

  “Not surprised, we got the same thing in Lyreann,” grumbled Rebecca, holding herself.

  “No no no Rebby, it’s like… hrm…” The otter’s brows pinched together, a sharp frown taking form. “It’s like…” she repeated, trying to find her words. “They don’t know we’re a guild, but maybe they can still feel it?” she spoke quieter as she said this.

  Taika turned back. “They think we’re strong?” she guessed.

  “Yeah,” confirmed Pacifica.

  “I guess that’s not too surprising,” Shouri chimed in. His three Resonators looked at him. “We trained under Ethereals for a month and have been hanging around monsters like Faith, or top competitors like Emily for longer. We’ve gotten used to being among some pretty freaking strong people. Stronger hunters like Cera and Saul aren’t the norm,” he reminded his group.

  “Ah…” the three understood the situation they were in, looking back at the crowds milling about before the main event.

  “What should we do then?” asked Taika.

  “Same thing we always do; go in, kill some Scherzando, get out, get paid,” the Maestro began walking towards the woods.

  The three girls exchanged a shrug and followed along. Without missing a beat, Shouri called out Famiglio Incendio for Rebecca as soon as visibility dropped, returning light to the group.

  Unlike their previous hunt in Lyreann however, Shouri joined the main hunter’s group.

  “Why?” questioned Pacifica quietly.

  “Intel, gonna see if anyone knows about any big Scherzando in the area,” he whispered back.

  “Oh you,” the hunt leader noticed Shouri’s group. “Uh, go with him,” they motioned to a pair nearby.

  The first thing Shouri noticed about their companions for the evening was how overdressed they were. Or more how out of place they looked.

  Of the pair, the Maestro was dressed like a butler, prim and proper as one would expect of the uniform he had selected. By his side was a cat-eared maiden, clad in the matching maid outfit to compliment her Maestro’s butler. The thing that linked them together besides the clear tuner in the butler’s hand was the blue berets the two shared.

  “Jenkins Kyte,” the Maestro introduced himself. “Accompanying me this evening is Katsumi,” he motioned to the cat by his side.

  “A pleasure to meet you,” she curtsied.

  “Null… null? Or maybe slashing. She’s an average thing,” Rebecca muttered her appraisal of the other Resonator.

  “Shouri Tomoshibi,” he greeted back.

  “Taika.”

  “Pacifica, nice to meetcha!”

  “Rebecca, charmed.”

  The butler nodded. “Katsumi, if you would kindly.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Shouri glanced at his tuner, noting the map updating. “Ah, guess that saves us some spells,” he glanced at Taika who nodded.

  “How would you like to approach this hunt, Mr. Tomoshibi?” inquired Jenkins, who glanced up from his own map.

  “Depends. Do you want to support or frontline?” Shouri shot a question of his own back.

  Curious eyes scanned the trio of Resonators that stood behind Shouri. A hum of thought as the butler appraised the party before him. “Katsumi?”

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  “I would not mind trying a hand at frontlining,” she replied.

  “Good enough,” Shouri returned his tuner to his side. “Lead away.”

  The two Maestros walked in tandem, their Resonators spread around them in a circle – Katsumi in the vanguard position, Pacifica and Rebecca handling their flanks, and Taika pulling up the rear.

  “I haven’t seen you in this region before – are you a traveler?” asked Jenkins.

  “We just flew in this morning, but no, we’ve uhh, moved here,” Shouri said.

  “I see. You are aware of the weather in this part of the world?”

  “Yeah, did my fair share of reading.”

  Jenkins hummed, though Shouri couldn’t tell if that was one of approval or dismissal.

  “Tell me,” Shouri decided to change the subject. “Have you heard of any big Scherzando sightings around these parts recently?”

  The butler cocked a brow. Another insightful hum. “About an hour out. No one has moved on it because it hasn’t approached the city yet. Quite the flat area, but uninhabited,” he replied. “Why do you ask?”

  “Need some cash, simple as,” came Shouri’s answer.

  “I see.” After a second of thinking it over, the butler dispensed with the useful information. “During tornado season, big Scherzando tend to appear after one goes through the area.”

  Shouri nodded. That was a good piece of intel, if nothing else that made the entire outing worth it. “We’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”

  Their conversation had to be put on hold by this point, as they approached the first nest of Scherzando for the evening.

  “Rebby, Famiglio Incendio, Rubato. Make sure Katsumi isn’t alone. Taika, let’s try Mente Offuscata, Rubato; any that try to get away pin them down. Pacifica, Ghiacclio, Rubato; just in case.”

  Jenkins glanced at the other Maestro. Rubato modifiers weren’t called too often due to the possibility of a panicking Resonator overstepping their bounds in battle should things break down.

  The three Resonators Shouri kept at his side were obedient if nothing else, they shuffled their ranks around, getting in position to support.

  “Right, Katsumi, prepare yourself,” Jenkins advised. She nodded and stepped forward into the clearing. The cat dropped down into stance, holding her hand flat as if mimicking a blade (and confirming Rebecca’s suspicion about her Slashing attribute.

  Without hesitation, Jenkins began calling spells.

  “Lanciafiamme, Piano Staccato; Ghiacciolo, Piano Staccato; Corrente Elettrica, Piano Staccato; Colpito da una Roccia, Piano Staccato; Foglie a Lame, Piano Staccato.”

  Five spells of the basic rotation of elements. Upon finishing the last spell of the quintet, Katsumi began her attack, back and forth she swung her arms; each time blades of different elements were unleashed on the horde of beasts. Her eyes darted back and forth, scanning for any beast that escaped her periphery.

  “Interesting technique,” commented Rebecca.

  “It’s unique, I’ll give it that,” Shouri nodded in agreement.

  Pacifica and Taika filled their roles assigned to them by their Maestro. Pacifica kept the Maestros safe from any Scherzando who tried to be cute and go around the blender known as Katsumi. Taika on the other hand strategically stunned Scherzando who were attempting to flee from the bloodbath.

  “That was good practice,” Taika beamed after it was all said and done. “It’s like controlling my beads in a way,” she told her Maestro.

  “Good, I’m glad,” he patted her back.

  Jenkins raised a brow but kept any commentary to himself. “Shall we move on?” he asked.

  “Girls?” Shouri in turn, questioned the Resonators.

  “I’m good,” Taika said.

  “Yup, let’s go,” Pacifica added.

  “Mhm,” Rebecca chimed in with a nod.

  With that, they proceeded on. The two Maestros walked on in silence, their Resonators back in the previous formation. “Let’s do this one.” Shouri flashed his tuner to the other Maestro.

  “There… is a lot there,” Jenkins pinched his brows as he noted the size of the pack Shouri was targeting.

  “Yeah, I’m gonna go buy bed sheets after this, I want money,” said the green-jacketed Maestro.

  “Are you certain we won’t be biting off more than we can chew with that one?” asked Jenkins.

  “I’d do it even if you weren’t here.” Shouri waved off the concern of the other Maestro and proceeded on.

  Jenkins hummed, watching Katsumi’s back as they moved forward. “If you insist,” he muttered, his grip tightening around his tuner.

  The train came to a halt just outside the Scherzando’s radius.

  “Let me take a peek at your spell list,” requested Shouri.

  “Sure,” Jenkins flipped the device around for his fellow Maestro.

  “Hmmm, okay. Go ahead and have her use Pasticcio in Accelerando, just boost whatever the hell I’m doing,” Shouri advised.

  “You… don’t know?” Jenkins asked.

  “Sometimes,” Shouri said while rising to his feet.

  “Taika, Fissare la Ombra, Rubato. Rebecca, make a perimeter of Mine Terrestri, Rubato. Pacifica, Loro Formato Lunare Lago, Legato.”

  “Right!” The three Resonators broke off. Rebecca fell to a knee and began laying down mines, the fire dancing across the ground in a circle, marking where the mines had been laid in their wake. Taika was the first to properly approach the Scherzando. In doing so she created a wave of shadowy arrows that instantly arrested the beasts’ movements.

  Finally, there was her. The otter that remained stubbornly by her Maestro’s side. She thrust a palm skyward, earning gazes that followed. Above the canopy of the quiet forest a ball of ice began to form. It grew larger and larger before finally, Pacifica allowed gravity to take over this production. With a wink and a giggle, the otter directed the giant space rock down, allowing it to crush the beasts trapped within.

  An explosion of dirt and ice soon followed, sweeping all at ground zero off their feet.

  Jenkins shook his head, Katsumi having rushed back to grab him before the chaos ensued. “Are you alright?” asked the cat.

  “I’ll live,” Jenkins grumbled. He glanced around and found his beret amongst the upturned dirt. A quick dusting allowed him to place it back atop his head where it belonged.

  “Sorry about that, it’s just such a fun spell.” Shouri stood a bit ahead with his three Resonators. They weren’t spared the chaos they had wrought, covered in dirt, twigs, and leaves. However, they remained upright and unbothered by the experience they just had.

  It was baffling that someone wielded such power so flippantly. “I’m sorry, but who are you again?” asked Jenkins, his gaze now full of suspicion.

  Shouri raised a brow; the nature of the question being lost on him. It clicked after a moment. “Ah! I guess it’s kind of expected for me to use that title now, huh?” He looked to his Resonators who nodded in agreement.

  He cleared his throat and stood straight. “I’m Shouri Tomoshibi, Guildmaster of Pruned Trees Re-Sprout.”