Gensokyou's resident baking cat

"Yeah, Abierto really is a special case, a real piece of work. Being told I'm quite different from him is as far as I'm concerned... a compliment."

"Hmm, well before you go, I should probably explain how the guild ranks work. After all, your current rank is wood, but you don't have free, unescorted access to the City of Windows until you are iron rank."

"Promotion is earned through deeds. To rise through the ranks, you need to accumulate accomplishments. It doesn't matter how inherently powerful or weak a person is, their worth is only measured in what they've actually done. Each rank gives access to more guild facilities, training, and information. But also an increase in responsibilities."

"At wood rank the kinds of jobs you can take are things like helping out at the farms and fields around Sill, or the nearby woods. For copper you will find a lot of jobs that require travelling and transportation. At bronze rank you'll be expected to join local patrols against wild animals or roving packs on monsters here on Heist. And finally, at iron rank you gain the freedom to access the City of Windows. It's typically what you do in the city beyond that point that determines what ranks might await you after that. The ranks above that are Steel, Cobalt, and Chromium respectively. Sister Perinales is actually a cobalt rank adventurer herself."

"So the guild works off ranks based on what responsibility you have? That makes sense. Well, it sounds like an easy enough way to start..."

It definitely sounds like she needs to commit time to this whole guild thing, which is going to take some juggling. She does have a full-time job back home, after all... But then again, it might only apply when she's actually here in Sill. It's not super likely they'll go all the way to Gensokyou to drag her out for a mission.

"That seems pretty reasonable to start out with... Should give me a bit of time for combat training as well..."

Nyalter's fighting style is very instinctive, she probably needs to actually hone that and get some practice in. Just helping out and transport duty seems like a pretty simple way to start off at first, while she gets that done... And not too hard to keep up while also running her shop whenever she's at home.

"Well, thank you for the induction, Yarlania. I think I'm going to head back to the church for now... if the window to my world is safe to travel through, then I'll probably head back tomorrow."

The guildmaster isn't laughing herself, she does look like she wants to say something though, but every time she goes to speak, the guild starts laughing again.

Okay, she's had enough.

"Alright you lot! Show's over! Back to training with you before I start writing a training regimen for you!"

The crowd shuffles away, but by their demeanour they don't seem particularly intimidated, or even apologetic. Still, they do make some room for the guildmaster and the baker to finish chatting.

Actually, maybe it's just the Moriya gods that are a bit too full of themselves...

"Ah... I see. That kind of makes sense... I was wondering if your animal was human, but if a lot of you take human forms then I guess people wouldn't really be able to tell."

Are they gods? In a sense, the way it's described, they kind of remind her of Youkai, but less locked to specific human myths. But then again, Nyalter's not sure she knows what a Youkai really is either, despite being half-one herself...

"Well... maybe I'll ask her when I head back to the church tonight. But I guess it won't affect me too much either way, I was just kind of curious since you seem so different from Abierto."

Nyalter's too used to sweeping generalisations, it helps in Gensokyou with how many different species there are...

Having a Hollow God for a guildmaster helps too, of course.

But the reason why Heist felt like it was so lacking wasn't because the powerful people weren't there, it's because they're so spread out. It's a whole world out there, continents and oceans between them. Far cry from the cramped postage stamp that is Gensokyo.

"You'll find that our guild's most accomplished members aren't all born into great power. Some of our greatest over the centuries have been mere men and women from small villages, or the lower ranks of the cities. Farmers and hunters, seamstresses and harlots, a person's origin doesn't matter here. What makes an adventurer isn't their kin, it's their heart. The indomitable spirit that drives them."

Looking around, Nyalter might notice that the members of the guild really were all kinds. Sure, there were those rippling with muscles and covered in scars, but just as many were small and bookish, or plump and hearty. But if there's one thing that can be said to be common among them, it's the look in their eyes. It's like this woman's words have stirred their hearts, and made them stand with pride.

Yarlania stands, reaching out to shake Nyalter's hand.

Nyalter briefly cannot remember the word philosophy.

"It's a little more organised around here than it is back home, I think you've got... actual facilities and stuff... Back home, it's just that the powerful people go around sorting out problems when they arise. I'm not too active back there..."

Still, if the guildmaster is a Hollow Goddess (not that Nyalter has the faintest clue how hollow comes into it, she won't worry about it in that case), that would explain how she's able to run the place. This City of Mirrors seems very dangerous, so it seems like there'd be a lot of problems to wrangle.

With how many different kinds of guild-members there are around, Nyalter really is surprised that they haven't got more exotic members as it is. But then again, this is a really varied set of humans...

"Well... I'm Nyalter, as you can see from... this tag-"

She's holding the bit of wood, it says her name on it now-

"I'm... nothing special where I come from, but if it helps you, I'm a half-human. Maybe I'll be able to handle some things that the average human can't."

There is one thing on her mind though...

"I'm just curious about one thing... So, if you're a Hollow Goddess like Abierto... were you also an octopus before, or is the octopus thing just a him thing?"

It's just how specific the term Hollow God is, makes Nyalter think they're a more specific type of god than the general gods in Gensokyou.

"Remarkable. Your movements are clumsy, a lot of wasted motions, and yet you still cleared such a distance in so little time. You certainly don't move like a fighter, and yet there is potential..."

Yarlania beckons Nyalter to the desk, where she provides a glass and pitcher of water. She'd been taking down notes the whole time. Not just numbers and observations, but ideas for potential training paths as well.

"Well, if you're our first recruit from outside Heist, I muse say that you've set a pretty high expectation for those who come after you. Abierto and Perinales have once again surprised me with their resourcefulness."

She twirls her pen in her hands.

"Speaking of which, it's my understanding that you're not looking to start training right away, but rather you're looking to prepare for a few days first? While I don't think that's a bad idea, we should at the very least get you set up with guild identification. Not only will this prove your status as a member of the guild, but more importantly it will serve as your link to Heist through the city of Windows."

She snaps her fingers, and a tag appears in her hand, made of what seems to be petrified wood.

"It's just what I am... I would have figured that with everything going on around here, you'd have seen some non-human... Well, I suppose not too often."

It never occurred to her before this that a lot of members of the adventurers' guild might just be normal people. With how Sill exists on the precipice of such a dangerous place, the cat immediately assumed that it'd be a little bit like Gensokyou, or at least, feature many, many powerful humans capable of contending with the threats like Perinales can.

"Where I come from, I'm pretty weak, actually... Most people there can fly and use magic, so being able to punch things hard is... Never mind."

Not information that is useful to share right now.

"I've got some things to sort out at home, and I won't always be here doing guild business... but if this thing will allow me to come and go as I need then it's not an issue. I can get some things back home to help me with this... and train a bit with people to improve my combat abilities."

Nyalter smiles a little bit sheepishly, like she's been caught doing something that she shouldn't, is thick-skinned enough to not be full-on embarrassed, but can still acknowledge that she's done something wrong about it.

"I'm a bit out of shape right now... My stamina and fitness is kind of okay, but I'm weaker and uh- a bit slower than before..."