Jomei

Jomei allowed the newcomer, who claimed to be a veteran of the frontlines, to speak if he so inclined. However, rather than offering any sound advice to the upcoming fight, which had not really been discussed much at all, he began to berate the 'heads of the guilds' for butting heads and hating each other. The man's arms, one bare and one with a long green sleeve, crossed about his chest, simply allowing the man to continue talking.. putting down the others for a display that, had simply not happened at this meeting in the slightest. Jomei had refused to acknowledge what happened at the last meeting, and no one here hinted at any of the arguments from the past. Macradon and Hestia had approached the 'veteran' to try and prove his accusations wrong to not much avail. "Enough!" Jomei shouted, in a deep, bellowing, and angered voice that most of those in attendance have never heard from him. "You claim to be a veteran, saying you've fought at past battles. I was not part of those battles, but I know of some of the players that were. Players disliking each other and butting heads have always been something between front liners.. but in the end, we all have the same goal, and none of the people sitting here in this arena have ever made me doubt that. They may disagree at times, but on the battlefield, they would never let each other get hurt. We all want to get out of here. Where the hell do you even get off claiming that people here are butting heads? Not a single person at this meeting tonight has disagreed with each other so far. Also, 'guild masters?' The only guild leader, that I know of, present here tonight is me.. and I was chosen to run this meeting because I have no hatred, no bias towards any of these players that I can call my friends and comrades. Most of the people at this meeting may not have been at which ever fights you were at when the game first started, but they sure as hell have been clearing more floor bosses than you ever have. And with these teams, we have not had another player die.. not in a long time." The man took in a deep breath through his nostrils, "The point of this meeting was to avoid these confrontations, to just get down to business.. but here you are, coming in and causing another disturbance. Yes, you're right.. butting heads won't get us anywhere.. But if you don't know any of these players, or have seen any of them in action.. then sit down, and offer any ideas that you may have after we share all the information we've gathered. We have a meeting to get to." Not long after Jomei addressed the disturbance, Zandra spoke up, taking the blame for what went down at the Guardian fight. "Zandra, no need to blame yourself. From what I hear, it was a tough fight.. despite the group numbers." The man turned to address the rest of the group, "But what Zandra says is right, the Labyrinth boss had minions with healing capabilities.. and because of a few minor mishaps, they were not able to counteract their healing easily, and the raid teams were left to only run their energy reserves dry. Luckily, you all came back alive, and I'm grateful for that." "So, we know of the boss room... A beach with rough waters at the bottom of a cliff.. its mountains with many large holes in it.. At the last meeting, it was suggested that these holes could possibly be for minions to spawn from. I definitely believe that to be true, and I feel the rough waters indicate that our big bad may emerge from the ocean itself.. and if what Hesita says is true and most of the ocean was choppy waves, we may be looking at quite the large beast that takes up most of our front. So we are looking at possibly being attacked at from all angles here. Snowfrost potions could be a good idea as also suggested, but personally, to match the theme of the floor, I feel as though we may be dealing with a strictly water based combat scenario.. though it would not be the first time a boss fight threw up for a loop with the unorthodox, so its always good to be prepared. Sadly, we don't really know much about the actual boss we will be facing.. but I can almost guarantee it will be some sort of a creature that will submerge itself in the water.. And that brings in the possibility of healing capabilities from minions.." Jomei looked up to a few of the newcomers, ones that he knew very well with a smirk, "Glad you finally decided to show up @Ruby, good to see you too @Kairi. Will both of you be joining the fight? @Macradon, same question to you.. I know you said you retired.. but figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Being we have a few newcomers, we may need to adjust some of the teams I thought up last time..."

As the ginger stood waiting, the first player that had approached was one that Jomei had seen around multiple times, but never had the chance to actually make her acquaintance. With hair that reminded the man of an ice cream sundae, @Neopolitan arrived and took a seat without any actual words to the ginger, and opened up a message screen. A curious brow rose over Jomei's single visible eye, before his own notification blipped, letting him know he had received a message. Reading over the contents, he saw that it was, in fact, Neo herself sending him a message. Jomei let out a small chuckle as he brought his eyes up to meet hers, "What you sent me really doesn't seem like it needs to be kept between us.. and it is only the two of us here.. you could have just said it." he called out to her in a friendly, yet questioning way. He then recalled the other few times he had seen her, where she also had not spoken, and a small pink hue heated up his cheeks, which he hoped could not be seen in the low light of the lanterns beside him. "S-Sorry. Didn't realize you were mute." he added, rubbing the nape of his neck sheepishly, "I will address what you've sent me once some more faces arrive, thank you." During his conversation with the silent lass, he did not even notice the looming figure that had stepped forward and stood a the top of the pit that was the stage. Her face lit by lanterns, Jomei easily recognized it as @Hestia. The ginger offered a friendly smile before she made her position on the front lines clear to him. Jomei responded with a friendly nod, "Of course. I appreciate you coming anyway. I may ask for a small bit of assistance in explaining the boss room, if you do not mind." @Zandra arrived approximately the same time that he was speaking with Hestia, descending the stairs and taking a seat back towards Hestia and Neo. Jomei offered a nod in greeting to the noirette, turning his eyes to another message sent to his inbox from @Calrex, whom he now saw coming towards the stage, taking a seat off to the side. Jomei grinned at the man, giving him a casual salute with two of his fingers. What Jomei did not expect next was a response from @Macradon, and quite a friendly one at that. The two players never had any bad blood, and he had only respect for his friend, but being the Commander of the KoTB Guild was "retired" and not present at the last meeting, he did not expect him to show up now. Deciding not to answer the message, Jomei simply waited for the man to arrive before Jomei shone a bright grin at the man "Macradon, great to see you. Glad you decided to join us." He wanted to get the meeting started shortly.. he just wanted a few more faces to arrive so no one would have to repeat themselves. His eyes caught the shadow of a man, his face still hidden under his hood, and just out of reach of lantern light.. Are ( @Itzal ) had arrived, and was standing ominously above the rest of them. Jomei simply nodded at the mysterious player in recognition before turning his attention to the others who began to approach. One of them was @Shield, who he glad to see had arrived at the meeting as well. Despite being a part in the reason they needed to cut the last meeting short, he was still an important part of the raid team, and had some information that Jomei wished he would share with the group. Jomei nodded in greeting to the man, before looking up to see a new face, one with dark hair who called him 'Green Guy.' @Mars, as he addressed himself, wished to join the fight.. and being he was apparently level 45, he had the skills to back his request. "Mars, pleasure to meet you, I'm Jomei. We could definitely use the extra help at this fight." Jomei's eyes rose to one final stranger ( @RyujinSeaLord ) who had approached the meeting. "A veteran huh?" Jomei said with a small smirk, "Well welcome, you are definitely in the right place. I am Jomei, nice to meet you." The man then turned to the rest of the group to address them and start this meeting. He saw a number of people still missing.. Itzal, Domarus, Ruby, Hirru, Beat, Stryder, Hikoruto name a few.. He really hoped his comrades words were true that they would show up after all, and that they would relay the information to them. "Alright guys, thank you all for coming. I know its getting rather late, but I think we have given it enough time from the last.. meeting.. to go finalize some plans for this fight." Jomei turned his attention to Hestia, "As a refresher for myself, and the rest of you.. Hestia. Would you mind giving an explanation of the boss room after your group took down the Labyrinth guardian?" he knew the girl was skeptical about rejoining..but he hoped his friend would at least share that information once more. He then turned to the other tank in attendance, "And Shield.. once she is finished, would you be able to tell the rest of the group about that guardian? And the struggles you went through with its minions' healing capabilities?"

A few days had passed since the raid team had been summoned to the first floor to discuss teams and strategy for the upcoming boss fight that would allow them access to the Twenty Fifth Floor of Aincrad. That meeting, however, did not necessarily go as planned, and a lot of members in attendance ended up playing the blame game, and no actual planning had gotten done. Hestia, who had taken the lead in bringing the group together, had discussed her ideas of how to move forward.. but was met with heavy opposition from Shield, Baldur, and a few other members who agreed with them. This backlash forced Hestia's hand to back out from the meeting, as well as the possibility of withdrawing herself from the fight that loomed on their horizon. After addressing the group himself, Shield felt himself to not be in a place to lead the group either, but suggested Jomei to bring the group together for any final planning. Jomei, despite being close with Hestia, made up his mind about the "trust" game Hestia and Shield argued about, hearing both stories and taking no sides. He would remain unbiased for the duration of this meeting and fight, to allow for the players to actually formulate a strategy to ensure their victory and, more importantly, their survival. The stage which the meeting had previously been help was empty, silent.. a much different feeling than that of the other day when all the players were present. The meeting place also had a much different feel as night had fallen over the Town of Beginnings, leaving the stage and stadium seating to be illuminated by lanterns attached to each of the surrounding columns, and tall lamps on the platform below. The ginger brought his hand upwards to summon his menu as he began to descend the stairs towards the main stage, composing a mass message that he would send out to all of the frontliners in attendance of the meeting, and then some that he hoped would change their mind any attend the fight. As Jomei added the different players to the recipient list for his message, he made a small note that the user name "Are" did not show up as an active players. His brow furrowed in suspicion, before shaking it off.. if it was something he had to deal with, he would. For now, he was just appreciative of the extra help. Tapping the screen to send off the message, the ginger found a spot on the wooden platform and turned, waiting for any other players to arrive. @Hikoru @Calrex @Zandra @Neopolitan @Shield @Baldur @Hirru @Beat @Ruby @Hestia @Itzal @Morgenstern @Hazado @Stryder @Anemone @Domarus @Macradon

There was not much feedback to the teams that he had suggested. Either the other players in attendance did not argue with them, or they still had to consider whether they would suffice or not. Before he could say anything else, the stranger's voice from the back, the boy who Zandra introduced as Are ( @Itzal ) spoke up, stating that he would only fight with a specific group of Zandra, Calrex, himself, and Domarus, and no one else. Jomei felt a tiny twitch of his lower eyelid before letting an audible sigh escape through his nostrils. "If Hestia, or another tank that could take her place, does not show up for the boss fight.. then those teams will have to be what he rely on to survive." His arms crossed, adopting a bit more of a serious look, "Zandra may have put in a good word for you.. but being I have been on the front lines for just as long as her, I cannot say that I have seen you at any of the boss raids.." Jomei said, very suspicious of the man hiding in the shadows. "However, since we need all of the help we can get, I will see if we could get a team of just those players put together." his eyes shifted to Baldur and Shield, "Same goes for the team that you suggested, @Baldur.. of course with the extra DPS players you suggested if they do show." He addressed both of the groups that would not take an ultimatum at the same time, "If you trust one another and know you will work best with each other, then I trust you will make the right decision and be helpful enough in this raid. You are all capable players, so you should all have no problem with that.. I am going to go speak with Hesita to see if I can change her mind to join us.. if so, we can return to having three teams, each with a tank, support, and a decent amount of damage dealers each.. I will send you all a message with the meeting place and time of the secondary meeting where we can get down to business and not attack each other. So if there is nothing else to discuss, I think this meeting is adjourned." Thread Complete @Hestia 73 Col 2 SP @Neopolitan 73 Col 2 SP @Domarus 72 Col 1 SP @Itzal 73 Col 2 SP @Calrex 72 Col 1 SP @Hazado 72 Col 1 SP @Jomei 73 Col 2 SP @Hikoru 73 Col 1 SP @Zandra 73 Col 1 SP @Baldur 73 Col 1 SP @Shield 73 Col 1 SP

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Jomei continued down the stairs from the temple like structure and back into the marble town square of Athenaia. The man kept his pace and expression all the way through the town, stepping onto the platform and warping for Taft on Floor Eleven. The all too familiar European styled city appeared before his eyes, the sun long set behind the mountains off in the distance, bringing the street lamps that lined the roads that players and NPCs walked daily to life. The ginger haired player kept to himself, following the path from the square to his home being muscle memory at this point. Finally reaching the front door of his house, Jomei retrieved the small brass key from his pocket and unlocked the entrance way, the comfort and tranquility of his home immediately hitting him as his shoulders slightly drooped, showing signs of exhaustion, and immense stress. Traveling through the illuminated hallway, Jomei walked into his living room where, to his relief, he saw the familiar blonde head of curls sitting, her bright, smiling face breathing a bit more life into him. Offering a weak smile, Jomei walked over to the couch his love sat at and set himself down beside her. Jomei immediately let his head fall into her lap, surprising her at first, but responded with the gentle touch of her fingers running through his ginger hair. "What the hell did I gotten myself into." he said through a very long, defeated sigh. Thread Complete: Jomei: 200 col 1 SP Hestia: 200 col 1 SP

Jomei's eyes lowered to the message that appeared in front of him from Calrex, approving of his methods for the meeting. With a small smirk, his eyes rose to find the bluenette, but saw he must have already taken his leave. His attention then shifted to the newer addition to the meeting who had introduced himself as Hazado. The man spoke words of truth, words that he personally found inspiring, and hoped that some of the others in attendance felt the same way. Opening his mouth to speak, Jomei was cut short by the return of his samurai-like comrade, walking forward with a face that looked quite sad. With Baldur's unexpected return, he revealed the true reasons that Shield and he did not trust Hestia any longer. It seemed to have stemmed longer from just the past battle, which now Jomei understood was that of the Scouting parties. From what he could gather from his story, Hesita seemed to not want to take orders from the others, following her own plans and strategies. The man tried to hide a tiny smirk, knowing that definitely did sound a bit like something Hestia would do. However, he knew that Hestia's goal on the battlefield was to always protect those on her team. Perhaps there was more to the story that needed to be said. He trusted Baldur told him everything from his view point, now he just needed to hear why Hestia thought this way, to possibly put her own team and others at stake just to defend her pride and not listen to the orders of another player. One statement stuck out from Baldur's statement; mentioning that Shield was not in this for selfish intent. A quick memory of the fight with Tesseleth flashed in his mind.. an exhausted Jomei, his energy reserves running dry. A voice called out from Shield, who was his party member during the fight, apologizing to Jomei for not focusing his energize on a teammate.. but on Beat instead in hopes that the two would land the last hit and get the item for themselves.. "We're all gamers. I'm a helpful man, but I can't hope to be the number one merchant in Aincrad if I'm not shrewd " As the quote played over in his head, he focused on Shield for a moment before returning his attention to Baldur. "I.. apologize for not being able to attend the meeting." Jomei said, politely bowing his head and shoulders to Baldur who stood just off to the side. "I won't hide that you caught me on one of my lazy days off" he ended with a bashful chuckle. Jomei turned his attention to those still in attendance, thinking over the teams that Hestia had initially set up once again. "I am going to speak with Hestia to see if I can get her to reconsider... However, if her decision is final then we may need to switch some teams around. Taking only those who attended the meeting into account, it may be best we form just two teams. The first team would consist of Calrex, Zandra, Hikoru, Domarus, Are, and myself.. If Ruby does show up to the fight, she will be part of that team. The second would be Shield, Baldur, Anemone, Neo.. If you are certain Beat and Hirru would be joining as well, then I trust they would do best with your squad as well.Same would go for Stryder if he does show. Thought on this?" @Itzal@Domarus@Shield@Baldur@Anemone@Neopolitan@Hikoru ((Note: I know we can't have 7 on a team. These proposed teams are merely for role play purposes))

The corner of Jomei's lips curled into a small smirk as Hestia brought up the sharing of their names during the Iron Guardian. "You're right, you never did ask for it." Jomei said with a small chuckle. Not many people knew his name, Telrenya and Zandra being the only two. It was something he definitely liked to keep to himself to protect his real world identity. At the moment, Jomei simply ignored the question, continuing on with their conversation. "Well then that's fine. If you don't think the two of you can settle things for awhile, then you do not have to. No body would make the two of you work together." Jomei let out a small chuckle, "Its ironic.. both of you are tanks, meant to stand your ground and not let attacks move you... In this case, both of you have your own plans and mindsets, and are not willing to budge for the other person. Just keep that in mind when you feel like everyone is against you." Jomei turned in his seat and placed both of his hands on each of Hestia's shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "Look.. being a leader is one thing.. you have the qualities of it, I can definitely see that. However, leading a group of people that look up to you and trust you, and trying to take lead of a group of veterans who have seen battle and many different faces lead them, is different. Its not meant for everyone and, in honestly, breaks many. I feel like thats the reason Mac won't be coming back to the front lines any time soon, and hell I wouldn't be surprised if this boss fight did the same for me. You should not take it personally, because you are still good at protecting those behind your shield.. and that is really what matters about you." He took his hands away and shone a brighter smile at her. "Oh, and the raid teams.. well.. they haven't been set in stone yet.. but right now, without you, we really don't have a second tank, so there is a good chance we may be cutting back to just two teams, especially if some of the players you mentioned in your original teams do not make it... I do ask you to reconsider coming though.. we really could use you in this battle. There may not be many second tier players going, but I am damn sure you can keep a lot of us third tier players safe as well." He placed his hands on his knees and pushed himself up to a standing position, "A lot of us still trust and depend on you, the words of a few should not make you think you have are wrong. So think about it, and let me know.. I'll be setting up another meeting soon to finalize all plans." As Jomei turned towards the stairs to leave Hestia to think on it, he looked over his shoulder once more. "Nick. That's my name." He showed one last smile to her, "See you soon"

The moment Jomei was fearing the moment he set out in search of Hestia, telling her his final decision. Which side to take, who to believe, and who to put down. "Embers, you know you are my friend. And I trust you completely." he said, not looking at her at first, but his voice friendly and sincere. "If you do not think you can trust them.. then you do not have to." He finally gave in with trying to convince her to change her mind on trusting the other players. It was not his place to try and change her feelings on a subject she felt so strongly about. "Just as if his group does not want to trust you, they can do the same... I won't lie to you, your decision to side with Hirru during the last boss fight was brave, and showed how large of a heart you have... but it was also what caused much of this. They feel that, after that.. the arguments during the frontliner meeting.. not working well together during the Labyrinthine fight just chipped away at that trust. However, like I said, you have many reasons to not trust them as well.. thinking they are out for themselves, that they will become the next Azure Brigade." "I trust you. I trust your decisions and you are a dear friend to me.. But I cannot take sides in this disagreement, for that is something that you would need to settle on your own with them."

Jomei kept his mouth shut on the topic of Hirru, for he was on the side that what he did was not right. In the real world, his actions would have still held a bit of treason, but they would have been much more understanding to protect a 'child'. In this world, protecting a lifeless avatar that represents a 'child' was a different story. Luckily for them, it ended up being a bit of a benefit, being that member of the Dark Elf Council retreated and made their fight a bit easier. However, that did not change the fact that he was willing to hurt his comrades who tried to take down a floor boss. That was where the mistrust for Hirru came. "I think I understand." Jomei said to Hestia in a soft voice after she had shared her final beliefs of why Shield and his team did not trust her. All of the pieces were coming together, from both sides of the story. What Hestia did not know was that Jomei already knew the situation, what happened at with Shield's team, and where this lack of trust came from. Lucky for him, Baldur had revealed the story after she left at the boss meeting. Jomei simply wished to hear his friend out and hear both sides of the story. Jomei took in a deep breath through his nostrils, gazing out in front of him and not towards Hestia. "Thank you, for sharing your half of the story.. Baldur... he already told me their side."

Jomei appreciated that Hestia was willing to go more into details about the Labyrinthine Boss that lacked many details at the boss meeting. The man placed a hand on his chin as he listened, thinking over the story and Shield's reasons for not trusting Hestia. From what he could gather, Ruby, Hesita, and Zandra found the boss, which had some sort of minions that would heal the big bad as well as make it harder for tank roles to do their job. Midway through the fight, after being uneventful in draining its health, Shield's team entered the fray, boasting that they were heroes. Jomei's brow lowered, a familiar voice boasting that he was 'The Hero of Aincrad' playing in his head... the voice of Zel of Azure Brigade. Slowly, as much as he did not want to admit it.. he began to put the pieces together, relating the two groups, at least from Hestia's story and what he already knew. The relations between them and Azure were becoming quite apparent. "So he doesn't trust you because your group retreated? Or because you didn't retreat fast enough?" Jomei was still a bit confused where the actual topic of trust came up in this.. because of the incoming players wanted to take care of it themselves, then they would have been happy with Hestia's retreat. However, that did not seem the case here. Jomei did not doubt that Hesita was telling the whole truth, but he suspected there was part of the story that he was missing.

Jomei noticed Hesita shift in her seat before raising up slightly, to which Jomei did the same. The girl wrapped her arms around him, apologizing for the loss of his friends. "I appreciate it, thanks." he said with a soft voice. For once, he did not react in an extreme way when Hestia brought up his 'guild dad' nickname, he merely smiled; for once, it feeling nice rather than weird. He knew all too well the pain of loss, especially the loss Hestia tried to relate with. He had friends who disappeared, comrades who died, and even killed another player or two.. he knew the pain all too well. But he could not dwell on that past anymore, and he needed to use those memories to push forward. As Hestia went back into explanation, he began to see into just why she did not trust that group together, why she related it to Azure Brigade so much. He remembered one of the past boss fights, where he himself had landed the last hit, and the memory hit him of Shield and Beat pretty much prepping themselves for that last hit that Jomei stole. Slowly but surely, he was beginning to agree with her. "Tell me... why is it that Shield says he does not trust you? What happened at that last fight that caused him to think that?" Jomei was almost at the bottom of it all, this last bit of information would hopefully help him make up his own mind.

"Well.." Jomei said shrugging his shoulders ".. it was all Opal running the show through Laughing Coffin.. It was more so their way of halting our progress, cutting down two of the most powerful players. However, you're not wrong about them being pricks.. even though those pricks were my friends." he said with a small, almost sad smirk. "I was there when they died.. I saw the regret in Oikawa's eyes, like he knew what he was about to do and didn't want to do it. I tried to stop him, but he was just moments faster than me. It was the first time I had ever seen fear in young Zel's eyes. And Opal.. well, she came out of the shadows.. cleaved Dom in two." It had been awhile since he had thought about that memory, which now came back to him as if he were watching it happen before his eyes again. Tears welling up in one of his eyes before running down his cheek. "S-sorry, we are getting off topic." he said, using the back of his hand to wipe the moist trail on his face. "You're right, we don't want that again. We don't need all the power in one guild, we want that power spread among the players. Nothing is saying that they will start another Brigade just because the group wishes to fight together. They know eachother's strengths and weaknesses.. they fight well together and trust each other. But you are right, turning this life into a business.. its no right when its people's lives on the line. But he will get whats coming to him if he continues to try and upcharge players. I promise that. The main point is, we need to all be on the same page for this boss fight, or else more people are going to die."

Jomei watched as Hestia pulled a notebook from her inventory, reading off the pages were some very basic information about Zelrius, Ssendom, and the Azure Brigade as a whole. His thoughts lingered for a moment on those two players; two players that he once could have called friends. "You're not wrong." Jomei said with a small chuckle. "Technically, all that information is right. Zelrius had the Dual Wielding skill, the same skill that Death Adder had.. He had killed players, though.. who, I am not sure. He... was an ass, that I won't lie about.. But he fought on the frontlines with all of his might. We knew that when he was there along side us, we would be fine. Ssendom.. Dom.. He had killed a few players, but it was because his love had been kidnapped. Dom only killed those players to save Meokka. He was a ruthless fighter.. but he was one of my closest friends, and I knew I could trust him. The Azure Brigade as a whole, as full of elites it was, the players in that guild all fought for the same goal as us; to get to Floor One Hundred and get us out of this game. The strength that the guild had.. it made plowing through bosses seem easy. I did not support all of their methods.. and, sure, it did not make them seem like the best of people.. but with how fast we were clearing floors.. it gave us a little bit of hope"

Jomei let out a small breath through his nostrils as Hesita seemed to break again. Guess it was time to just talk about how that boss meeting went rather than slowly work into it like he planned. "The front lines are not a forgiving place.. a lot of the members, myself included, we've had friends die, watched as other players were carved down in front of our eyes.. comrades, those we could not protect. A lot of the veterans.. they don't want to see those mistakes happen again. I am not saying that you would have made those same mistakes, but you haven't been on the front lines as long as some of the others.. mainly Baldur and Shield. I can understand them feeling a little cautious about having a newer member of the raid team taking charge setting up a plan without much input. And I don't know much of Baldur, but Shield is very.... one sided" he gave a small laugh. "There's not much going against him unless your plans somehow benefit him in some sort of way. Yet, as a comrade on the battlefield, I trust him completely with his role as a tank."

As almost expected, Hesita avoided eye contact with Jomei, what he could see of her eyes began to become glossy as tears began to gather along her lower lids. She exploded, not sure what went wrong and why so many people went against her battle plans. The man could not help but frown seeing a close friend like this, wishing there was more he could say to make her feel better. Most of the frontliners spoke their piece, and made it apparent that they were not changing their minds any time soon. However, before Jomei could gather a response, Hesita stopped herself.. remembering Jomei had asked about the guild, not the spectacle that was the boss meeting. "Embers" Jomei started off using her real world name to try and reach her, his voice soft, "I'm not blaming you. I'm not angry, I don't resent you.. I just only wished you would have let me know." He placed a hand on her shoulder, which was not currently adorned in armor as he was normally used to. "I blame myself for the lack of guild activity.. I've been so focused on joining the front lines again, and trying to plan this wedding with Estelle.. I haven't put my all into keeping this guild alive like I should have been." He let out a small sigh, "The point of the guild was to help people, and protect them... but it was also to get everyone up to par with the front liners so we could participate as a guild.. make a name for ourselves. And you were completely right in pushing quests and leveling on everyone. That's how it should be.. doing quests together.. going on adventures together." The small frown curled upwards into a small smile, "You were becoming much more of a leader of that guild than I was... I was honestly considering you for the leader of the guild if I were to step down."