Hajin watched Senior Adjudicator Yenna close the final distance across the flagstones, calmly indexing the tactical disadvantages of her sudden presence.
An elite Ranker taking a personal interest in an unranked wanderer twice in a single week signaled serious bureaucratic entanglement, and guild politics always exacted an exorbitant price.
When she voiced her unsolicited counsel regarding the disposition of his salvage, he turned toward the trembling receptionist without removing the radiant crimson stone from the counter.
"I intend to retain the apex core for private cultivation," he stated plainly, tapping the mahogany counter with two fingers.
"And while we are settling accounts, my standing debt with this branch is already concluded!"
Hajin reached inside his coat, retrieved the folded slip of parchment stamped with yesterday's official guild seal, and laid the receipt flat upon the polished wood.
