Chapter 142: The New Sub-Captain’s New Office

An hour had passed since the Squad Selection had ended.

The enormous tension Liam had accumulated throughout the entire day was finally beginning to fade, leaving behind an exhaustion that seemed to weigh down his entire body.

He was now walking through one of the hallways in the Sub-Captains’ wing alongside Lydia and Instructor James.

James was a few steps ahead, guiding them toward the new office.

"I hope you like your new space, Sub-Captain Liam."

Liam raised his gaze.

"I have no idea what to expect, but I’m sure I’ll like it."

Lydia walked beside him, looking around curiously.

Finally, James stopped in front of an enormous door.

He pulled out a card, held it against the reader, and the door opened.

"Welcome."

Liam stepped inside and froze.

The office was enormous.

Much larger than he had imagined.

The walls were decorated with shelves that occupied a large portion of the room. There were several pieces of furniture, a lounge area along one of the walls, and, in the center, a gigantic desk.

Behind it was a swivel chair that looked like it belonged in the office of some important executive.

There was even a television mounted in front of the couches.

Lydia slowly walked forward, her eyes scanning the shelves.

"It’s pretty big."

"Yeah..."

Liam replied.

Unlike her, however, Liam didn’t have much energy left to get excited.

After everything that had happened during the Selection, he felt like he could fall asleep standing up.

He walked over to one of the couches against the wall.

And dropped onto it.

"Ah..."

His body practically sank into the seat.

Lydia let out a small laugh.

"Are you tired, honey?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Liam turned his head toward the television.

"But this..."

He gestured around the room with one hand.

"It’s too much."

James smiled.

"Looks like you’re exhausted, but I hope you enjoy your new space."

Liam smiled.

"I am. And of course I like it."

He looked around again.

"But I still can’t believe this is my new office."

He paused briefly.

"Actually, I still can’t believe I’m a sub-captain of the guild now."

Liam lowered his gaze toward his hands.

"And let’s not even talk about getting promoted to Platinum Rank."

’When did all of this happen?’

◇◆◇

Lydia approached one of the shelves while James remained beside the open door.

That was when a laugh came from the hallway.

"Ha, ha, ha!"

Liam raised his head.

A figure appeared behind James.

Don Rouch entered the office with a huge smile on his face.

"So this is where the new sub-captain is!"

Liam immediately stood up.

"Don Rouch."

"Kid!"

Don Rouch spread his arms.

"I came to congratulate you personally."

Liam smiled.

"Thank you very much. Really."

Don Rouch stepped closer.

"You must feel incredible."

Liam let out a small laugh.

"Actually, I’m still trying to process it."

"I understand. I remember perfectly the day I was promoted to sub-captain."

Don Rouch reached inside his jacket.

"And that’s exactly why..."

He pulled out a small black box.

"...I brought you a present."

Liam blinked.

"A present?"

"Handmade by yours truly."

Don Rouch handed him the box.

Liam carefully took it.

He opened it, and his eyes lit up.

Inside was a ring.

It was made of an almost-white metal, extremely shiny. The Ace of Spades insignia was engraved on the top.

But what caught Liam’s attention the most was on the inside.

The initials.

L.D.

Liam smiled.

"It’s beautiful."

He took out the ring and slipped it onto his finger.

"What is it made of?"

Don Rouch smiled.

"Palladium."

Liam looked at it curiously.

"Palladium?"

"A metal from the platinum group. I usually use it to make white-gold alloys for my jewelry."

Don Rouch smiled broadly, showing off his signature white-gold dental caps.

"You know how much I like this kind of stuff."

Lydia approached and looked at the ring on Liam’s hand.

"It looks beautiful."

Liam raised his hand.

The light reflected off the metal.

"Yeah..."

He looked back at Don Rouch.

"Thank you very much."

"Don’t mention it."

Don Rouch gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"I hope we get to work together again. And if you need anything, you know where to find me."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

"Good."

Don Rouch began walking toward the door.

"Now I have to get back to my office. I’ve got quite a bit of work to catch up on."

James let out a small laugh.

"That’s what you get for coming to bother your new colleague."

"I’m not bothering him!"

Don Rouch walked out laughing.

"See you around, kid!"

"See you."

The door remained open.

Liam stared at the ring for a few seconds.

Lydia smiled when she saw him.

James crossed his arms.

"Looks like the other sub-captains have welcomed you pretty well."

Liam looked up.

"Really?"

"Yes. And not just them."

James pointed toward Liam.

"Every hunter you selected for your squad decided to work with you."

Liam remembered Jordan, Carol, Chuck, and Emily’s faces.

"That is true."

"Even those who had been selected by other sub-captains."

Lydia turned her head.

"Is that unusual?"

James nodded.

"A little."

"Why?"

"Because aspirants usually prefer to work for sub-captains who have been with the guild for years and already have an established reputation."

James looked at Liam.

"For a newly promoted sub-captain to get several aspirants to choose his squad over the other five isn’t something that happens every day."

Liam fell into thought.

’I guess that means they really trust me.’

The thought filled him with a strange sense of pride.

But he quickly decided to change the subject.

"James."

"Yes?"

"I have a couple of important questions."

James sighed.

"If you’re referring to the files on guild hunters who don’t belong to any squad, I haven’t brought them yet."

Liam blinked.

"Why?"

"I figured you’d be too tired to start dealing with paperwork today."

Liam smiled.

"That’s not what I meant, but thanks for keeping that in mind."

James raised an eyebrow.

"Then what do you want to ask?"

Liam sat back down on the couch.

"In a hypothetical situation..."

Lydia looked at her husband.

’Oh, no...’

Liam continued.

"If I wanted to buy an apartment..."

James began to suspect where the conversation was going.

"...would my new sub-captain salary be enough?"

Lydia’s eyes widened.

"Honey?"

Liam raised a finger.

"And one more question."

James was already smiling.

"Go ahead."

"If I wanted to buy it anonymously, could I put it under the name of the Ace of Spades Guild’s Sixth Squad?"

Lydia stared at him.

"Are you serious?"

Liam nodded.

James burst out laughing.

"I wasn’t expecting questions like that!"

"Yeah... I’m sorry, it’s just... it’s important."

"Of course it would be enough."

James wiped a tear from the corner of his eye after laughing so hard.

"Liam, with your new salary, you could buy an entire building."

Liam’s eyes widened.

"A building?"

"And probably more than one."

Liam stood completely still.

"Then..."

"Money shouldn’t be a problem for you from now on."

’This is incredible.’

James reached into one of the pockets of his bag and pulled out a card along with several documents.

"And yes. You can put properties under the name of your guild squad, following the proper procedures."

Liam took the card.

He looked at it.

Then he looked at the documents.

They contained the details of his new bank account.

An account associated with the sixth squad and the guild itself.

Liam felt his hands trembling slightly.

James smiled.

"What I’m handing you right now is power."

He raised a finger.

"And you know what they say."

Liam looked up.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

James smiled.

"Exactly."

Liam looked at the card again.

Lydia began laughing.

"You look adorable."

"Adorable?"

"Yes. Like a kid who just got handed a piece of candy."

Liam frowned.

"I don’t look like that."

Lydia pointed at his face.

"You’ve been smiling for a while now."

Liam immediately stopped smiling.

"No."

Lydia laughed again.

James did too.

"I think it’d be better to let you rest before you spend your entire new salary."

"I’m not going to spend it all."

James walked toward the door.

"I’ll bring you the files later."

"Thank you very much, James."

"No problem."

The instructor left the office and closed the door.

Liam remained seated for a few seconds.

Lydia walked over and sat beside him.

"What are you going to do now?"

Liam looked up.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

He took out his phone.

He unlocked it.

Opened the browser.

And began typing something.

Lydia watched the screen.

"What are you looking for?"

Liam smiled.

’Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.’

He typed the name of the company that owned the building where the two of them lived.

Then he pressed search.

"I’m going to do something."

Lydia tilted her head.

"What?"

Liam looked at the results appearing on the screen.

His smile grew even wider.

"Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time."

And Liam began to realize that his new position hadn’t only given him responsibilities.

It had also given him the means to change his life and accomplish his goals.