147 - - Episode 145: A Little Creepy

Talking with the new adventurers' guild master, I was told about the apology of the former guild master and Eltina. I'm nervous because I don't know how the discussion will turn out. It would be easier if they set a trap for us, since all we have to do is to think of a countermeasure.

Oh, former Guilmouth and Ertina are here. ...... Well, both of them look like they've been through a lot of hard work. They didn't use special makeup or anything, did they?

Damage to the hair follicles!　I thought for sure that the hair of the former Guilmouth is obviously thinning. Is this due to stress-induced hair loss?　It's possible I have a talent for curses.

Dark circles under my eyes and a listless expression on my face. I look smaller without my guildmaster look.

Eltina's hair is shaggy and she is obviously exhausted. She does not have the predator-like atmosphere that she had when I first saw her, nor the expressionless mask that she had been wearing since the middle of the meeting.

I wondered why she was so tired, even though a beautiful woman of Ms. Ertina's caliber would be able to handle being dismissed from the Adventurers' Guild.　Is being fired from the Adventurers Guild worse than I thought?

If this is an act of former Guilmouth and Eltina, I'm scared. Or that they didn't sleep or eat for today to make themselves look sick. .......

Oof, I'm a little creeped out just thinking about it. It's scary how you can never say never. While I was alone in my fantasy, the two men stood in front of me and bowed deeply.

"I am very sorry, sir.

I am truly sorry for being so rude."

What am I supposed to do now?　I felt pretty clear last time, so I don't need to worry about it anymore, and I'm going to be punished, right?　If we push him further from here, it would be too much. If I forgive easily, will I be licked?

...... Since there are a lot of adventurers around who don't know me, should I try to impress them this time?

They see the former and new Guilmouth bowing down to us, and they know that we defeated the Fire Dragon. They know we defeated the Fire Dragon. They won't take advantage of us just because we're necromancers.

Then it's in our best interest to make the adventurers we meet for the first time like us. I'm a necromancer, so there may be a limit, but if my favorability rating is a little higher, it will make it easier for Sara and the others to stay in the labyrinth city.

"I understand. I accept your apology.

...... former Guilmouth and Ms. Eltina raised their heads with surprised faces. The new Guillmas is also surprised. What's that?　Did I make some wrong choice?　Maybe he was surprised that I accepted his apology so easily. He must have thought I'd be a goner.

What kind of image do you have of the Adventurers' Guild?　Well, I'm pretty sure I don't have a good image, but I'm pretty sure I've never sold you a fight. I think I've been trying to get him to fight with me for a higher price. That's it.

"Thank you for accepting my apology. I'm sure they're relieved."

The new Guilmouth followed up with a few words to the two who had been frozen in place by the unexpected turn of events.

"No, I just don't have time to worry about people who are going away.

I'm going to say it a little coldly.

"I see. Uh, Mr. Yuta, these two are especially damaging to the Adventurers' Guild. Considering the damage to the punishment squads, they have been spared execution by Yuta's permission, but they will be forced to work in the villages bordering the land of the dead. The former guildmaster will be given 20 years, and Ertina 10 years, is there any problem?"

If I didn't allow it, he would have been executed. ...... It's a different world indeed, there is a pattern of execution by organization. No, the punishment squad is in charge of that. The punishment squad was getting poked and prodded by Dolly.

So, the fact that he tried to kill me is not an issue?　Well, if Guilmouth tried to punish me on his own authority, does that mean I'm not guilty of anything, since there is no rule of law?

Well, it's a fantasy world of royalty, nobility, and guilds ......, and the power of the organizations is strong, so I guess that's about it. They are discriminated, but maybe it's better for them that the necromancers are not being hunted like witch hunters.

Hearing about the forced labor in the land of the dead, former Guilmouth and Ertina's faces are getting even darker. I feel a little sorry for Ertina who has to spend her young time dealing with undead ......, not to mention former Guilmouth who has been dealing with undead for 20 years and 10 years.

But I live further away from the village where I will be punished. It's a bit empty. I should go to the village where you two are.　I know it's in poor taste, but I want to see what they look like.

"I forgave you, so I won't complain about the disposition. Do what you want with the Adventurers' Guild. But is this country safe from the land of the dead?"

It would be troublesome if he escaped and got revenge or something.

"Oh, the village is secured by the Adventurers' Guild, so you can rest assured that it will be well monitored."

Secured by the Adventurers Guild?　There are many adventurers' guilds, so they have their own villages for punishment. They probably send people there who don't go as far as killing them. Would it be bad if I asked where they are?

"Yes, sir."　

"Well, thank you very much. Well, I was worried about being sent to such a difficult place, but I am glad that we were able to repair the relationship. I hope that we can let bygones be bygones and have a good relationship with each other. In the meantime, the Adventurers' Guild would like to ask Yuta-dono to help us break through the 50th level.

The new Guilmouth continued to say strange things with a smiling face. I mean, is this Guilmouth OK?　He said he was worried. Why was this person sent to the labyrinth city?

"What are you talking about?　I accepted your apology, but we haven't restored our relationship. Accepting the apology means that we have nothing more to say on the matter. We have no obligation to help an adventurer's guild that has harassed us for our lives.

"But Yuta-dono is an adventurer, too, and he could cooperate with the Adventurers' Guild, couldn't he?

The new Guilmouth looked surprised and then asked me with a tearful look on his face. It's an expression that makes me pity him terribly, but please don't say he is a master of crying. I don't believe that he would choose such an important guilmouth of the labyrinth city for such a reason.

"I'm in the Adventurers' Guild for identification, and it doesn't matter if I'm in another guild. I came here today because I wanted to apologize to you. Why am I being asked to be of service to the Adventurers' Guild?"

Before coming here, I had thought of a number of ways to drop things with the Adventurers' Guild, but I hadn't expected this pattern.

"You're right, but ...... you're saying that the punishment for these two isn't enough?　Should there be a heavier punishment?"

What makes you say that? Former Guilmouth, Eltina, and the other adventurers around you are all pulling their hair out.

"They accepted our apology, so it doesn't matter. As I said before, the Adventurers' Guild doesn't owe us that much.

I didn't really benefit from it except for the identification. I can make IDs at other guilds, and I'm starting to think that if push comes to shove, I might as well just transfer to ...... already.

"Please do something about that."

New Guilmouth rubbing his forehead on the table and asking for help. I'm getting more and more afraid of this guy.

"No, I won't go slaying fire dragons just because you ask me to. That's impossible.

The adventurers around us nodded. Sylphy and Dene look stunned.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

His expression is beyond weepy and sad. Normally, I would offer money, rank, or some other merit, ...... but I refuse all of them. What's that?　Do you know that, and that's why you're asking me to do this?　...... No way. .......

But mere money is not enough to move someone who has a monopoly on rare materials. And with the Fire Dragon to be slain as well. I have no idea how much it costs. Maybe the new Guilmouth's way is right in a way.

Well, I am glad you asked me what to do. I was going to rush at first, and then to offer some conditions at the end, but this new Guilmouth is kind of scary, so I'm going to end the conversation quickly. This may be another strategy of the new Guilmouth, but I don't care at this point.

"If you agree to my conditions, I will let you break through the Fire Dragon's layer with two parties, or up to ten people in two parties, because it would be troublesome if they increase the number of people in the party.

Two parties would be a nice relief from my monopoly on materials. Even if I could get ten strong people, the mountainous area would be hard to advance due to the group battle, and the next stage looked tricky from what I had read in the book. My advantage would not be affected by the power of the Great Spirit.

In fact, the hardest part was to come up with the right conditions. I couldn't think of anything I wanted from the Adventurers Guild. I thought that there was no need to try to repair the relationship with the Adventurers' Guild, but I decided to take advantage of the fact that I would be taken advantage of wherever I went.

I also thought about asking them to stop discriminating against the genie wizards, but it would be meaningless if the genie wizards went out of control in various places. It would also be no good to have a school for gifted spiritists, because it would be a pimping of the guilds. There would definitely be some kind of a problem.

And since the guild is not completely trustworthy, we should show the party we are going with that we have overwhelming power, well, Sylphy's power, and let them know that we are afraid to make an enemy of them.

When this plan came up, I thought it would only scare them, but I heard that if we show them how we treat Fire Dragon like a brat, they will be too scared to make a sneaky move on us. I guess that's true.

"Really?　What are the conditions?"

He had a sad look on his face a moment ago, but now he's smiling. He's changing too fast. Well, I think there's nothing we can't do, but will you accept my conditions?

"Simply put, shut down all negotiations involving me with the Adventurers' Guild. I want you to shut out all negotiations with the Adventurers' Guild, including royalty, nobility, guilds, and merchants. I will be seriously offended if you cause trouble for me or my neighborhood. And don't send any requests to me from the Adventurers' Guild.

In my case, if I get into trouble with some pompous nobleman, it will be the same kind of trouble I had with the Adventurers' Guild. Now that I know the power of the Great Spirits, I'm afraid I'll lose my patience and get into trouble soon.

Against the state?　I'll take my chances!　I'm afraid he's going to say something like, "I'm not going to do it. If we get too carried away, there is a possibility that they will abandon us.

We don't have time to reject the request from the Adventurers' Guild, even though we have to do some pioneering work.

"Well, that's ...... not something the Adventurers' Guild can handle if Yuta-dono goes to negotiate directly with us, and it's hard to turn down a request from the government. ......"

The smiling face reverts to a sad face again. His facial muscles seem to be working very hard.

"Yes!　If Yuta-san's party is willing to accept an official from the Adventurers' Guild, he can be the one to handle the negotiations!"

The new Guilmouth tries to send a man to my place with a look that says he's come up with a great idea. I don't like that. My secret information will be shared with the Adventurers' Guild.

"I don't like that. If I make it known that there will be a penalty if they try to negotiate with me without the knowledge of the Adventurers' Guild, won't ordinary merchants and the like refrain from doing so?　Two parties will be able to move on, so please talk to them. The Adventurers' Guild is a big organization, so you should be able to handle the request from the government."

"But ......"

I'm not sure if I'm right or not, but I'm trying to convey various feelings to him. It is annoying that they have too much poker face, but it is also annoying that they change their facial expressions so openly.

It doesn't make sense that a person with such an expressive face would be the master of an adventurer's guild in a labyrinth city, and I can't be too careful because something might happen. Hmmm...maybe it's a strategy to make us worry like this. I don't know what's going on anymore, so I'll stop thinking about it.

I'm not going to give up this condition, so please think about the rest on your own. But if someone offers me a better offer while I'm thinking about it, I might go that way, so you might want to hurry.

I just say what I want to say and get up from my seat. I'm afraid of him, so I try to avoid seeing him as much as possible.

"Well, wait a minute. I'm in a hurry, I'm in a hurry, so can you add two more parties to take us to the 50th layer and beyond?　Up to 30 people can move as a group, so it should be fine. Please."

"No. I won't change the conditions, so if you don't agree to them, just forget we ever talked about it.

"Then, please send the materials after the 50th layer to the Adventurers' Guild at ......."

"And if those conditions are met, you can ask the two parties to do so."

Without stopping, he said, and headed straight for the exit. I'm tired, so I'm going to take it easy the rest of the way. I'm sorry Sylphy, but I'm going to have to ask you to check on the new Guilmas. He's kind of creepy. I whispered to Sylphy and asked her to stay with the new Guilmas.

As we were about to exit, a spiritist, who seems to be employed by the government, came up to us with a smile. Oh, yes, he was there too. I want to go home now, but it's going to take a while.