Chapter 367: Another hard goodbye
Kellen felt like a kid waiting for his parents to come back from shopping. He was holding their spot because the coffee shop was full of people. Kellen didn’t know this, nor did Brent, but apparently it was tradition at the Saturn Guild that the day of a deployment to the front lines, the Espers and Guides who were going would swarm the coffee shop for the last ’good drink’ that they would have.
Kellen kind of understood what they were doing. Alcohol was the only thing that really traveled well to the front lines. Everything else didn’t have a good shelf life, or didn’t last that long. Tea was shitty, so was coffee. Canned drinks lasted longer, but were harder to get out there therefore, they were more expensive.
So, they were all in the coffee shop even at this time of the morning. Kellen had been shoed over here, Brent and Hill chatting away to each other after they had gotten Kellen’s order and Kellen sat back, watching them.
He was glad that they were getting along. He was glad that Brent was making actual friends, not just pretending to make them. He was also glad that Hill was making friends as well, for the same reason. He still felt a little...left out. Just a little.
Kellen didn’t want to dwell on the feeling that had been filling him up over the last few days, and instead turned his attention outside of himself and towards the people in the coffee shop. It was once he’d stopped staring internally that he realised that all eyes were on him. Kellen suddenly felt confused, maybe a little flustered as he realised that everyone was stealing glances in his direction.
That was when he realised that a lot of his students were here. Of course, other Guides were getting dispatched to the front lines but in a regular Guide capacity and not a Field Guide capacity. All of the Guides that were in his classes were stealing glances towards him, even as they were chatting with their friends.
As soon as Kellen made eye contact, they began to wave eagerly.
"Guide Woods! Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?" One of them asked, getting up to their feet, their drink in hand before Kellen could even agree. Kellen found himself bombarded with questions, both serious and some not as much, from Guides across the Guild.
Almost all of the Guides hadn’t gone to the front lines before. Apparently very few had volunteered to even go and help out prior to Kellen and Brent joining the Guild, but now they were opening their minds up to the idea of going. They were full of worries. From tents, to food quality, to everything in between.