"Mr. Shimo! Hello... Ah...?" Sera, who had intended to greet me warmly, suddenly widened her eyes and froze mid-greet.
It was probably because Lisbeth was clinging to my arm, her face beaming with happiness.
With her lust level reaching 10, anyone who saw Lisbeth would believe she genuinely loved the monster she was holding.
On the way to the guild hall, the way I, half-human, half-monster, was being clung to by Lisbeth seemed enough to attract everyone's attention.
Recently, the residents of Radia had gradually gotten used to my presence, and some had even started to greet me... but the way a monster like me was interacting with Lisbeth was still quite astonishing.
Moreover, Sera had witnessed Lisbeth's harsh words towards me a few months ago; this scene must have been utterly absurd and shocking to her.
"Ah...uh...ah, hello. Miss Lisbeth? Um, your relationship with Mr. Semo has improved?"
"Hello, Miss Sera. Hehe. Hmm...all sorts of things have happened ♡"
"...Um...Miss Lisbeth. Mr. Ars...ah, it's nothing." Sera briefly looked away, appearing flustered, then noticed the file folder in my hand and changed her expression, asking.
"Then, Mr. Semo! Judging from what you're holding, you're here to submit the guild's establishment application, right!?" Sera forced a smile, seemingly deciding to stop thinking about Lisbeth.
That's right. A wise decision, Sera. Even I'm a little caught off guard by Lisbeth's change now.
Although Lisbeth's attitude towards me has changed a lot recently, she used to care about what others thought...now she's completely adopting a 'this male beside me is my man~ I am this male's female~' declaration.
While this is the way I expected, I didn't expect her to show this state before I even said I wanted her to be mine.
"What terrifying female abilities. A person can transform to this extent..." I deliberately coughed lightly to cover my embarrassment, then smiled and handed the documents to Sera.
"Hmm, ah! Thanks to Sera, things were much easier! Thank you!" Sera took the documents and led Lisbeth and me to the inner reception room, then arranged seats for us.
Lisbeth, still clinging tightly to my arm, naturally sat down close beside me.
Lisbeth, with a happy expression, seemed completely oblivious to Sera's presence.
Sera, forcing herself to look away from Lisbeth, said "Please wait a moment" and went to the guild management window to gather some belongings before returning.
Then, without looking in our direction, Sera took out the documents and began checking them.
"Hmm... Name... Signature... Funds... All complete..." Sera carefully checked each item and flipped through the papers.
I had a feeling she was deliberately avoiding eye contact—was it just my imagination?
"The guild's name is... 'Beast Paradise'? A special name, isn't it? Does it mean anything?"
"Ah, actually, it doesn't have any deep meaning... After all, I'm a monster, right? It just means I'll work hard to build a guild like paradise."
Actually, it refers to a guild made up of my females, a guild that's like paradise to me! Lisbeth mentioned that many other guilds have names with a chuunibyou (delusional) style.
After hearing that, I thought I'd write down a few names, figuring they'd at least have some meaning, and be decent guild names, so I decided on them immediately.
"Heh. Is that so? Mr. Semo, you'll have to work hard from now on. Um, and..."
Seemingly not believing there was any hidden meaning, Sera understood my words and started checking the document entries again.
"...Okay! The documents are all fine! And, the emblem is this... Are you sure?"
The paper was slightly different from the other documents. Sera looked at the pattern drawn within the square frame on the paper and turned her gaze to me.
On the paper in Sera's hand was a U-shaped horseshoe pattern, completed with Lisbeth's assistance.
The inside of the horseshoe featured a unique design, slightly distorting the shape of my genitals to avoid detection, while the horseshoe itself was engraved with runes resembling magic circles.
Furthermore, at the top of the pattern, in a slightly different color from the horseshoe ink, was the letter '-H-', as if to seal the top of the U-shaped horseshoe.
Although instructions were marked on the edge of the paper, this was the only area where each member could freely engrave different characters.
I planned to engrave the letter H, borrowed from Horse, but the other guild members seemed to be preparing to engrave Roman numerals according to their joining order.
After reading the text and the instructions on the paper, Sera tilted her head and asked me.
"Hey~...you brought a really special pattern. What shape is it?"
"Hmm...something like a hoofprint...nothing special, just something I designed on the spot." After all, Esendia has monsters with long hooves, but no humanoid horse monsters...how am I supposed to explain this? "Hmm...you can't change it later, okay? You know it can't be changed, right?"
"Don't worry! I'm extremely satisfied with this design! Just carve it exactly as it is."
But this is the result of my hard work. Um...
Sera quietly watched me, nodded, and put away all the documents.
Then she took out a cylindrical container from her luggage, connected to a tube with a thick needle...wait.
Didn't they say they were going to draw blood?
Could that terrifying tool be...?
"Um, Sera? This isn't the blood-drawing tool, is it?"
"It's okay! It'll only sting a little!" Whew...I didn't expect to be stuck with such a huge needle in another world.
Sera ignored my trembling fear and used a very skilled technique to draw blood.
The size of the needle was indeed painful when it first went in, but perhaps some kind of magic was applied; the cap of the test tube glowed, and I didn't feel anything special before the tube was full of blood.
After drawing my blood, Sera smiled and removed the needle, speaking to me in a nurse-like tone:
"Don't push yourself today, drink plenty of water! And... your timing is perfect, the guild permit might be approved faster than expected. We just have a backlog of applications to process today."
That's good news. Now I just have to wait for the permit.
After submitting the documents and paying the hefty fee of 5 gold coins, the guild establishment application was complete.
Once the kingdom issues the guild permit and registration is completed at the Guild Administration Bureau, I will become the guild master, ready to welcome the females.
The thought of recruiting women to adventure with me already fills me with excitement.
After excitedly asking Sera for help, I left the guild administration office.
On my way back to my residence after completing the guild establishment application, Lisbeth, who had been silently holding my arm, suddenly spoke softly to me.
"…Shimo."
"Hmm? What's wrong, Liz?" Lizbeth blinked, as if making a decision, and stared at my face.
"Can I…join the Beast Paradise Guild?"
…Huh?
I was planning to persuade Lizbeth to betray Ars and join my side once the guild granted permission…did she offer it before I even asked?
"…Lizbeth. You…understand what that means, right?" Leaving the Madel Light Guild, which she and Ars co-founded, and joining Beast Paradise…that's tantamount to declaring her betrayal of Ars.
Faced with my question, Lizbeth closed her eyes and nodded:
"I know…what I'm saying…"
Lizbeth tightened her grip on my arm, holding me closer.
"Because…I've made up my mind." An unwavering determination appeared on Lizbeth's face.