My Scumbag System-Chapter 357: I Don’t Lend My Assets
The training grounds had finally settled into something resembling peace. Raphael and Marco lay sprawled in the dirt, too exhausted to keep punching each other. Jaime had moved on to meditation, which for him meant sitting cross-legged and flexing individual muscle groups while whispering motivational quotes. Juan remained unconscious on his folding chair, having somehow slept through the entire afternoon’s chaos.
I stood at the edge of the field, watching my guild recover from another day of controlled violence. My ribs still ached from the Necropolis. Probably always would, in that phantom way that reminded you how close you’d come to dying. The regenerator brace was gone now, but the memory of that tendril punching through my chest lingered like a bad hangover.
Carmen had already retreated to wherever Carmen went when she wasn’t making our lives miserable. Braxton had vanished too, probably to lose more money on horse races or whatever degenerate hobby consumed his free time.
Which meant I finally had a moment to breathe.
"Satori."
Or not.
I turned to find Celeste Vance approaching across the training field, her silver-white hair catching the late afternoon sun like spun moonlight. She moved with that particular grace of someone who’d been trained to walk like royalty since birth, every step deliberate, every motion controlled.
The Ice Princess of Valoria. Sister to the most powerful woman in the VHC. S-Rank potential wrapped in designer combat gear and an expression of polite determination.
Also, apparently, someone who wanted something from me.
"Celeste." I kept my voice neutral. "Training wrapped up early?"
"I was looking for you, actually." She stopped a few feet away, her periwinkle eyes studying my face. "Do you have a moment?"
"For you? Always."
We walked toward the edge of the field, away from the scattered bodies of my exhausted guildmates. The sun had started its descent toward the horizon, painting everything in shades of amber that made Celeste’s pale features glow.
"I have a request," she said once we were out of earshot. "My team is scheduled for a Gate clear tomorrow. C-Rank, standard dungeon. The briefing suggests a balanced ecosystem with a single boss entity."
"Sounds routine."
"It should be." She paused, and I caught the slight tension in her shoulders. The crack in the porcelain mask. "But..."
"You want Emi."
"She’s the most capable healer in the guild." Celeste met my gaze directly, not flinching from the edge in my voice. "I know she’s usually assigned to your team. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important."
Important. Right. Because everything involving a Vance is important.
The problem wasn’t Emi’s skill. The girl could keep a team alive through damn near anything, and her stamina regeneration trick made her invaluable for extended fights. No, the problem was something else entirely.
"Who else is on your roster?"
"Noah, obviously. Juan as our ranged support. Jaime for crowd control. Raphael for main DPS, and myself."
Noah Gray. The blonde bodyguard who looked at me like she was trying to decide between professional respect and something considerably less professional. Juan, who would sleep through the apocalypse if we let him. Jaime, whose enthusiasm outpaced his caution by approximately a thousand percent, Raphael who despite his issues is a genius when it comes to combat.
And Celeste. The target painted on her back so bright I could see it from orbit.
"No."
Celeste blinked. "No?"
"The answer is no." I turned to face her fully, letting some of the casual friendliness drain from my expression. "Emi stays with Alpha team."
"May I ask why?"
Because someone tried to kill you in the Necropolis. Because an A-Rank monster was specifically planted in a C-Rank dungeon and it went straight for your position. Because whoever wants you dead is still out there, and I’ll be damned if I let my healer get caught in the crossfire.
"You don’t need a reason. Just accept that my answer is no."
Something shifted in Celeste’s eyes.
"That’s not good enough."
"Excuse me?"
"I said that’s not good enough." She stepped closer, and the temperature around us dropped several degrees. Her Aspect responding to her emotions. "I didn’t ask to transfer to Onyx House. I didn’t ask to be rescued. I didn’t ask for any of this. But I’m here now, and I’m trying to do my job."
"Your job is to survive. Hard to do that if you keep walking into Gates that might be traps."
Silence.
Celeste stared at me, her periwinkle eyes widening slightly as the implications of my words sank in.
"You think someone will try again."
"I think someone already tried once. I think they failed because of circumstances they didn’t anticipate." I held her gaze. "And I think whoever planned that little surprise in the Necropolis isn’t the type to give up after one setback."
"So your solution is to keep me locked in the dormitory? To never let me enter another Gate?" Her voice rose slightly, frustration bleeding through the ice. "I’m a Hunter, Satori. This is what I trained for. What I’m supposed to become."
"What you’re supposed to become doesn’t matter if you’re dead."
"Then come with us."
I stopped.
Celeste pressed forward, sensing the opening. "If you’re so concerned about my safety, then accompany the team. Not as a primary combatant. Just as..." She searched for the right word. "A porter. Backup. Someone to watch our backs while we handle the main objectives."
A porter. She wants me to play pack mule for her Gate run.
The request was ridiculous. Insulting, even. I was the leader of the top-ranked guild in the academy. I didn’t do porter duty.
But Celeste was watching me with those analytical eyes, and I could see her brain working behind them. She’d studied me. Figured out my weaknesses. Knew that my paranoia about her safety meant I couldn’t just refuse without offering an alternative.
Smart girl. Too smart for her own good.
"If I come," I said slowly, "I’m not there to carry your loot. I’m there as insurance. If things go sideways, you follow my orders."
"Agreed."
"And Emi stays with Alpha team."
