Quietly Hiding that I am a Man chapter 64- Fake Guild

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“So, what’s the entrance exam?”

Both of them flinched at the same time.

Watching them whispering seriously, I couldn’t help but grow serious myself.

Rhea, as if making a firm decision, spoke in a solemn voice.

“Luna Guild has a long history… normally, you’d have to take an entrance exam so hard it would make you cry.”

“But this year, since it’s the guild’s 50th anniversary, we’ve decided to waive the entrance exam!”

Both of them smiled brightly, clearly relieved at their smooth improvisation.

I barely suppressed my laughter and frowned.

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you waiving the exam? I want to take it.”

At the boldness of the new recruit, the Rabbit Brothers started to sweat nervously.

Turning their backs to me, they whispered in low voices.

“She, she wants to take the exam! What do we do? We don’t even have an entrance exam! What if she cancels his application?”

“No way! We can’t let that happen. If we don’t meet the minimum number of members again this year, Luna Guild will be disbanded!”

After a long discussion, the brothers turned back to me.

Rhea, the older one, put his hands behind his back with a stern expression, and Remi, the younger one, followed suit, grinning awkwardly.

“Then, come to our guild house after your morning classes! We’ll have a very high-level exam ready for you.”

“Don’t be scared and not show up! You have to come! It won’t be that hard of an exam, so please come!”

With that, the Rabbit Brothers scurried out of the auditorium.

Even though they were pretending to act like seniors, their excitement at the prospect of a new guild member was obvious.

Watching them disappear quickly from view, I chuckled to myself.

They were so cute I could barely resist wanting to squeeze them.

‘Sure, Luna Guild is a crumbling, failing guild, but… maybe this time, things will be different.’

I headed toward the classroom through the bridge that connected to the auditorium.

The academy students, gathered in small groups, kept glancing at me. Ignoring their hostile gazes, I hummed cheerfully.

‘Because he is here.’

Before freshmen got used to campus life, they had to follow the academy’s pre-set class schedules.

Herbalism, Monster Studies, History, Magic, and Combat were all mandatory core classes.

The more specialized elective courses could only be chosen after the first semester.

Since it was the first day of the semester, the classes were presented in a slideshow format.

Some of the information I already knew, while other bits were new to me.

I smiled wickedly, and the Herbalism professor, in the middle of his introduction, flinched in response.

‘Jeanne will definitely be the top student this term. No one loves the lore of this world more than her. Just watch, you talented bunch. I’ll show you that you can top the class not through magic, but through sheer theory.’

After eagerly listening to all the classes with bright eyes, it was finally time for the guild activities.

The Etrance Academy had a unique way of operating—students would attend theory classes in the morning and spend the afternoon gaining practical experience through guild activities.

“The Flare Guild entrance exam is on the 4th floor of the annex.”

“Jupiter is by the Nameless Forest. Hurry up!”

As soon as theory classes ended, senior students in the hallway started directing freshmen to their respective exam locations.

I glanced around, wondering if anyone knew where Luna Guild was, and then I spotted a familiar face.

“Cedric, come on, just help us out once, okay?”

“Get lost. Don’t cling to me.”

“You jerk! Do you know how much trouble I went through to get that expensive defensive magic stone you asked for?”

A defensive magic stone?

Could it be the one Cedrick gave me when I went to meet Jerome?

I thought he had just given me something lying around, but it seemed he had asked his friend for help.

Considering Cedrick’s personality, I couldn’t imagine him asking someone for a favor, and as I mulled over this, our eyes met.

Looking just as shocked as I was, Cedrick quickly walked away.

“Se-Senior!”

As he tried to pass by, I grabbed Cedrick’s wrist.

He turned his head stiffly, like a robot. It was the first time I’d seen him this flustered.

“Do you know where Luna Guild is?”

The Etrance Academy was strictly meritocratic, and at least within the school, status held no influence.

While things might be different outside the Academy, inside its walls, even the children of noble families were required to use formal language when addressing their seniors.

For that reason, Cedrick, who was looking down at me as if finding it odd that I spoke so politely, frowned.

With a frustrated expression, he yanked his arm from my grasp and brushed off the spot I had touched.

“Do you even know who I am, grabbing me like that? Such disrespect… I can already see the dark future that’s waiting for you.”

“……”

“Well then, see you.”

With a smug tone, Cedrick left briskly.

I stood there, trembling with a clenched fist.

Honestly, I wanted to chase after him and ask, “Is that something you should say to your own sister?” I wanted to smack him on the back of the head.

Seeing me like that, one of Cedrick’s friends laughed and said playfully.

“Sorry about him, that guy’s always been socially awkward. If you’re looking for Luna Guild, it’s probably the log cabin behind the northern spire.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I’m Dylan, by the way. What’s your name? And who knew such a cute freshman was around? Anything else you’re curious about?”

Dylan leaned in with a cheeky smile, and I instinctively took a step back.

Seeing my reaction, he laughed again, adding more to his words.

“You don’t need to be so scared. I just want to clear the path for a junior like you, as any senior should.”

“Clear the path for what?”

Before I knew it, Cedrick had returned and grabbed Dylan by the scruff of his neck.

Dragged off by Cedrick, Dylan waved at me.

“Next time, you will tell me your name, alright?”

As they disappeared from sight, I waved back, feeling like I had just survived a storm.

Only after they were completely out of view did I finally take a step forward.

At the Etrance Academy, the guild system had three essential requirements: members, capital, and a guild house.

Guilds with more members typically received more quests, and the payment for completing these quests became the guild’s capital.

With the funds earned from these quests, guilds would expand and upgrade their guild houses.

Thus, the core of the guild system was fulfilling these three conditions to grow in scale.

Additionally, completing quests earned class points, which was why joining a high-ranking guild was beneficial for anyone looking to rise through the ranks.

But that wasn’t my goal.

I wasn’t aiming for success; I just needed party members to go farm Maya’s Stones with.

I didn’t want to stir up any trouble by joining Flare Guild, where Luke and Carlisle were.

‘That’s why I came to Luna Guild… But, is this really the guild house?’

A gust of wind blew, causing the log cabin, which seemed patched together with random planks, to rattle.

I looked at the sign, which seemed ready to fall off at any moment.

[ Lu□n Gu□ld ]

‘There aren’t even many letters left on the sign!’

I sighed as I surveyed the shabby cabin with a serious expression.

Well, it would’ve been ridiculous to expect a gleaming guild house for a guild with only two members.

Still, after seeing Flare Guild’s house on the way, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of deprivation.

‘It’s fine. I’ll just fix things one step at a time.’

I had barely steeled my resolve and raised my hand to knock when I froze at the sound of shouting from inside the cabin.

Mixed with the laughter of men were the tearful voices of twins.

‘What’s going on?’

Without time to think, I instinctively moved at the sound of something breaking. I opened the door and stepped in, scanning the situation.

I saw two frightened twin boys cowering on the ground, while a group of men stood around with cocky postures.

One of the men was nudging Rhea with his foot.

“This guild’s going to disband by next year anyway. So why can’t you just hand over the guild house already?”

“Th-that’s not true. We’ve even got a new recruit…”

“Ha, does that recruit even know? That this is a trash guild without a guild master?”

For the first time, a shadow of hostility crossed Rhea’s usually gentle face.

As Rhea, teary-eyed, tried to charge forward, Remi blocked him with an arm.

“We don’t have a guild master? Don’t talk about things you know nothing about, you idiot!”

“Brother, calm down!”

“There’s no guild master? That’s not true. Our guild master…”

Just as Rhea was about to continue his angry outburst, he suddenly fell silent.

He bit his lower lip hard and lowered his head.

The men, seeing his reaction, laughed mockingly. I, unable to wait any longer, spoke up.

“Sorry to interrupt your little group bullying session, but when do I get to take my entrance exam?”

The men finally noticed my presence and turned to face me.

An awkward silence followed.

One of them, who had been staring at me blankly, turned pale and pointed.

“J-Jeanne!”

Judging by his expression, you’d think he’d seen a monster at midnight.

I took a closer look at him, and his face seemed oddly familiar.

Narrowing my eyes, I searched my memory.

‘Now that I think about it, those slick eyebrows… He’s that scumbag, isn’t he?’

Derek Ratselk. He was the guy who had persistently pursued Jeanne at the 4th Prince’s birthday banquet, only to get humiliated by Cedrick.

To think I’d run into this guy again.

Derek, clearly recognizing me, laughed awkwardly, trying to act friendly.

“Here, we don’t go by status. It’s just about seniors and juniors. Don’t take it too personally, Jeanne. I’m just following the Academy’s rules…”

“I don’t care about those rules.”

“……”

“And I probably won’t care in the future either.”

At my cold tone, Derek visibly flinched.

Folding my arms, I glanced over the bunch of punks in front of me.

Judging from the atmosphere, it seemed like they were trying to kick out the twin brothers and take over the guild house for themselves.

The rabbit beastmen twins quickly hid behind me.

“You’re pretty, so I was going to let it slide… But that arrogant attitude of yours… Is it because you’re a Sacre? It really shows how poorly you were raised.”

At the mention of Sacre, my face immediately hardened.

The men who had been sizing me up laughed among themselves.

Folding my arms, I scoffed along with them.

My laugh seemed to catch them off guard, and they flinched.

“Ah… seriously.”

Jeanne was a Sacre, a people so feared that even beasts avoided exacting revenge on them.

Maybe that’s why, as soon as I heard that insult, my blood boiled.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t think of anything but repaying the humiliation I’d just been dealt.

The smile vanished from my lips as I stared at them with pure disdain.

“You really want to make me draw my sword, don’t you?”

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