"Can we go home now?" Sighed Rex, as he tugged on Ciel's sleeve.

"Huh? Come on, we gotta stay till midnight, that's the whole point," She responded in bemusement.

"But I'm sleepy..."

"You can sleep in extra late tomorrow."

"Fine..."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you managed to get him to come at all," I chimed in with a wry smile.

"Well, it wasn't easy. I don't usually force him to do anything he doesn't want to, which is most things, but I figured it'd be good for him to step out of his comfort zone every once in a while," She grinned sheepishly.

"Whatever...at least the food's good," He mumbled, before wandering off.

"I'm gonna stick by him, just in case he's thinking of slipping out when no one's looking. See ya," Smiled Ciel, giving me a wave as she hurried after him.

Today's the 31st of December, the end of the year.

It's a bit past 11:30 PM, and I was currently at a party being thrown by the Hunters Union, will members from all three Guilds invited.

Aria was off speaking with some of her friends from the Diva Guild, I caught up with a few of them too, and then ran into Rex and Ciel.

We were on the rooftop of the Union's building, which was super spacious. They were going to put on a fireworks show at midnight to kick off the new year with a bang, which I'm kinda curious about.

I've never seen fireworks close up before...in my previous life, I wasn't really interested when I was a kid, and when I was older, well...you know, I had bigger problems to worry about.

As for this life, I've usually just stayed indoors every new year, to avoid the crowds and stuff. But when the Union sent out the invites about a week ago, I figured, why not?

Aria was up for it too, so we decided we'd drop by. And I've enjoyed myself so far, we got here about an hour and a half ago, and it's been fun.

There was a pretty wide spread of snacks and drinks laid out, there was music playing, and the atmosphere was pretty vibrant and light-hearted.

"Hey, Kai, it's been a while. How have you been?" Isla greeted me with a smile, as she walked over.

"I've been good, life's going pretty great these days. What about you, Guildmas-...huh, actually, what should I call you now?" I replied with a wry smile.

"Huh? Right, since I'm not your Guildmaster anymore, I suppose it wouldn't make any sense to call me that. In that case, just call me by name, since we're fellow Guildmasters and all now. How does it feel, by the way, the role of a Guildmaster?"

"Well, it was pretty nerve-wracking at first, but I'd say I've settled into it at this point. It certainly helps having Aria by my side," I grinned in response.

"I'd be lying if I said I still wasn't a bit hung up on losing you two, but that said, I'm excited to see what the Sinners Guild accomplishes in the future," She remarked with a smile.

"Sure, but in the current situation, there's nothing to accomplish, what with no Dungeons having appeared in months," I pointed out with wry smile.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I mean, I don't think there are many who doubt that they will start appearing again, sooner or later. If this really is the end of our battles against the Monsters, great, but...somehow, I seriously doubt it's going to come to such an anticlimactic end," I mused thoughtfully.

"Yes, I'm inclined to agree," She nodded with a slight grimace.

"Yeah, I-...," I began.

"Oh, there you are, Kai!" Suddenly came Aria's voice, as she bounded over cheerfully, before adding as she noticed Isla, "Oh, hey, Guildmaster!"

"Hey yourself, Ariella. And I'm not your Guildmaster anymore," Isla reminded her with a smile.

"Huh, that's right...should I just call you Isla, then? That feels kinda weird, though...maybe Miss Hinger?" Frowned Aria uncertainly.

"No, don't, I don't really like being addressed by my last name. Just call me Isla."

Aria's right, that does kinda feel weird...she was our boss for quite a while, after all, so addressing her casually feels a bit odd. Well, guess we'll just have to get used to it.

"How are things at the Diva Guild these days? You have gotten a lot of new members, after all, so I bet the dynamics have shifted at least a little," I remarked curiously.

"Yeah, can't deny that. We've got a lot more men now, and some of our Hunters have been pretty resistant to it. On the bright side, Keira has steadily been getting back to her old self lately...but that also means she's been picking a lot of fights with the new male members," Isla sighed in exasperation.

"Huh, that's more or less the exact reason why Damien wanted to transfer to our Guild," I responded in bemusement.

Looks like he was right on the money.

"Mhm, that was another big loss to the Diva Guild, but I wasn't going to force him to stay, as much as I wanted to."

"I mean, you've got three new Aces, right? The former Guildmasters of the Paragon and Dragon Slayer Guilds, plus one of the four Ace graduates," Pointed out Aria.

"Well, yes. I have no complaints about Leed whatsoever, he's easy to get along with and doesn't cause any trouble. Jorin, on the other hand, is a lot more easily provoked.

Of course, he isn't to blame for the members of the Guild picking fights with the new male members, but the way he doesn't back down from confrontation just makes the tension worse," Isla sighed wistfully.

"To be fair, I was the same way. I definitely didn't back down when Keira picked a fight with me," I reminded her.

"That was different, she literally attacked you. Fortunately, we haven't had any violence, but the constant arguments are seriously getting on my nerves," She responded wearily, before adding, "Sorry to vent, hope I wasn't too much of a wet blanket. It was good seeing you two again, I'll catch you later."

"Mhm, sure, see ya," Smiled Aria, as Isla walked away with a wave.

"Yeah, later, Isla-...yup, definitely feels weird," I chuckled.

"Oh, not much longer before the fireworks start," Grinned Aria, as she glanced at the time.

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