Kiki's smile widened greatly.
"That's the question, isn't it?" she said, her eyes studying the room.
Liam leaned forward on the back of the chair, his short red hair moving back and forth, and replied rhetorically, "I mean, yeah?"
Most of the transmigrators looked around in thought. The ghostly blue panels now hovered in front of most of them, each person reading the same short description at different speeds. Tobi read his again, slower this time.
Only three to five members, and each party needed a leader. It was simple, perhaps too simple. It made him really think about who would be the best to party with.
As Tobi looked around the room, he noticed how few items from Earth remained with the group.
Almost everyone now wore something made in Windhollow. Rough tunics had replaced torn shirts, and loose trousers tied at the waist were better suited for labor than what most of them had arrived in. Even Kostas, who had come in garments worth more than Tobi made in a month, had given up on most of his expensive layers. Though he still wore a ring on each hand.
Only the old man appeared unchanged.
He sat near the back in a dark suit, the fabric still remarkably clean and sharply pressed. He had apparently been preparing several suits when the transmigration happened, leaving him with four complete sets while everyone else had arrived with only what they were wearing.
Tobi still had no idea how he kept them clean.
Carlos was the next to speak after Liam. "So nobody can force someone into a party?"
"No," Kiki said. "The invitation has to be accepted."
"Good," Kostas muttered from near the side.
Kiki added, "And a party can remove members, though the exact process depends on leadership permissions."
The room absorbed this information. "Leadership permissions?" Marie asked softly.
Kiki looked at her. "Only the leader can send invitations. They can also remove people. Some party functions require the leader to initiate them."
Liam interjected. "Wait, so the leader actually matters."
"Obviously." Kian leaned against the table with a sigh, already annoyed by the direction the conversation was taking. Mostly the inevitable stupid questions.
Ohara Satoru raised a hand, then seemed embarrassed by it. "What happens if the leader dies?"
"Leadership transfers," Kiki said. "Unless it'd cause too few members to be in the party... which dissolves the party."
Tobi tilted his head, thinking about the implications. Three to five. Any more was impossible, and any fewer ended it. 'What stopped people from leaving whenever they wanted to?' He thought.
"Can villagers join?" Isla asked quietly.
"No."
The answer came too quickly and harshly.
With furrowed brows, Vita immediately questioned her, "How do you know?"
Kiki only looked at her. "Because they can't."
The air held tense, and Vita's blue eyes stared at Kiki for a moment. Vita's fingers tightened around a strand of her ashen-brown hair. For a moment, the softness left her expression entirely. It was just for a few seconds before she nodded slowly and dropped the question.
It wasn't like this was the first time Kiki had done this. She always had information without a source. There were only two options. Accept the information or continue asking for something she'd never give.
Liam tapped his fingers against the chair back, breaking the silence. "Okay, what else?"
Kiki's eyes moved across the room as they always did. It reminded Tobi of how public speakers gave presentations. "Parties can upgrade over time."
That changed the air more than the original reveal. This meant it was a long-term feature; all they could think of was how many more benefits they could get.
"How do they upgrade?" Carlos asked.
"Like ranks?" Kostas said half a second after.
Liam followed suit. "So parties can level up?"
Kiki sighed before answering each question in rapid succession, "I don't know. If you need to call it that. And something like that."
Before anyone could interrupt, she added more information, "It'll add more member spots." Kiki continued, "Communication additions, group quest boards, and other benefits."
"What other benefits?" Vita questioned Kiki while twirling her hair.
"I don't know," Kiki replied flatly.
Biting her lip, she restrained herself from asking the next question. Her mouth twitched before she spoke, "You keep saying that."
"I keep not knowing."
"You know a lot for someone who doesn't know anything."
Kiki smiled faintly. "And yet here we are." Her smile contrasted with Vita's deadpan expression.
Through this brief back-and-forth, everyone remained silent, but Vita said what most were thinking. Michael, in particular, just observed, arms crossed. His black eyes were never on the people speaking, but toward the people reacting.
Tobi had noticed this as the two's eyes met. Neither of them was just listening to the speakers. They were watching everyone else decide what each word meant.
"Text channels," Carlos said, trying to change the topic as he looked at his own screen. "So we can talk inside the party?"
"Yes," Kiki replied.
"From how far?"
"Short range, but it'll improve later."
"Short range like this room?" Carlos asked.
"Like the village," she replied flatly.
Murmurs spread through the room as everyone reconsidered what "short range" meant.
"The village...?" Marie repeated, her older voice sounding shaky.
Kiki nodded.
The party system had become more than a convenience. It had the potential to grow into something unknown, something that would extend beyond just Windhollow or even the Whisperwood, the forest surrounding them.
Tobi looked down at the panel once more.
'Reduced damage inflicted on party members.'
That line had bothered him since the first reading. It wasn't disabled. It was only reduced by an unknown amount. Tobi felt like the system expected them to fight or have accidents.
Briefly, his eyes shifted between Liam and Michael. Not because he expected either of them would fight, at least not now, but because just a few days ago, it was impossible to harm each other. A rock defied nature and froze in midair rather than letting Liam hurt Michael.
The protection they once had was gone, and now the party system offered a much smaller version of it.
"Three to five members," Tobi said.
The room turned slightly. After all, he hadn't spoken yet. He hadn't needed to.
"There are fourteen of us, fifteen if that forest person is counted. We can make three to four parties... assuming everyone joins a party."
The silence returned, heavier this time.
Ohara Satoru glanced toward the door. "Why wouldn't someone join one?"
No one answered immediately. Tobi thought of the missing person in the forest. They were alive, thriving, and actively refusing the safety of the village. Maybe they were also refusing humanity.
Kiki spoke not long after. "No one is required to join."
"But you'd be stupid not to," Liam retorted.
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
Kiki shrugged. "Maybe it's better not to be tied down to a bad party."
"Like?"
"Like bad judgment, bad leaders, bad members," she said. The list could've continued, but she cut it short.
"That's encouraging," Kostas muttered.
"It wasn't meant to be. It was meant to be a wake-up call."
Marie folded her hands in her lap. "If there are almost enough of us for three full parties, then perhaps we should divide carefully."
"That's what I'm saying," Liam said. "At least we need to know who's gonna lead!"
"Obviously, Michael should lead one," Carlos said. A few people nodded almost immediately.
Michael looked toward him.
Realizing he had been louder than intended, Carlos continued anyway, stammering, "I mean… he got us through the forest. He's been hunting with the villagers. They trust him. I think that matters."
"It does," Isla said quietly.
"He also knows where people are," Kostas added. "And when people are coming."
Michael's expression did not change. He allowed everyone to get their words out.
Liam leaned back slightly. "Yeah, I mean, if we're talking about who doesn't panic, Michael's probably the safest pick."
Others nodded in agreement, including Tobi, who watched Michael closely. There was no pride on his face, no visible discomfort, only his considerations.
"Just because I'm useful in the forest doesn't mean I am a leader," Michael said aloud, neither supporting nor dismissing the notion, bringing quiet to the room.
Tobi almost smiled. That was an important distinction, and that is exactly what made him...
"Competent," Kiki's voice broke the pause, "Michael would be competent."
"That's practically praise from you," Kian said.
She didn't respond to him; she only met Michael's gaze briefly. Something passed between the two. Not obvious enough for anyone to understand without context or even notice without watching too hard.
Kiki knew something about Michael. Or suspected something. It could have been both.
"And Kiki should lead one," Liam said.
Kiki's attention shifted.
"No."
The answer came instantly.
Liam, shocked, asked in disbelief. "No?"
"No."
"You know the most."
"That doesn't mean I want to be responsible for everyone who refuses to listen."
"That's fair," Kian said.
Liam pointed at her. "See, but that's exactly why you should lead. You'd be mean about it, but you'd probably be right."
Kiki blankly stared at him.
He lowered his pointed finger slowly.
Kian crossed his arms. "She doesn't have to lead a party to be useful."
"Neither do you," Kiki said.
Kian gave her an exaggerated hurt look. "Why was that aimed at me?"
"Because you were about to say something annoying," she said with the same ease as everything else.
He opened his mouth, paused, then looked away.
Tobi kept listening.
The conversation had started as a question of leadership, but it wasn't really about leadership anymore.
It was about trust.
That made Tobi wonder, 'Who had earned enough in just one week?'