569 - - The 567th episode?

I asked Sylphy to scout out the other blacksmiths, and was relieved to find that there was no one who could match the combo of Mel's skills and the degraded version of Damascus, but I also discovered the existence of blacksmiths who were up to no good. It is troublesome, but as the organizer, I will have to deal with it.

"Good morning ...... what's the situation?"

When I went to the workshop to pick up Mel on the morning of the competition, I found Yunis glaring at me while hugging Mel who was not even twitching.

It's all right that Eunice is there.

The sword Mel was entering in the competition was the one he had made for Yunice, and Yunice was happy about it and said she would do her best to support Mel, so she must have arrived earlier than us or stayed over the night before the competition.

But I don't understand why he's scowling at us.

Meral and Merrill Serio, who were hovering anxiously behind Mel, were looking at me with a hard stare.

I'm just here to support my apprentice at his workshop, but I feel like I'm completely away from home.

I was pissed off when Eunice found out that I had bet Mel's workshop without her permission, but I haven't done anything wrong since then .......

"It's your fault!"

"What?"

As I was puzzled, the unis began to speak in abusive terms.

As Eunice snapped at me, I asked her about the story, and she told me that Mel had become petrified due to the tension.

I was not satisfied with the depressing amount of abuse I was subjected to before I could get that much out of him, but I understood why he had snapped at me.

It's not that I've done something new wrong, but that Mel's petrification under pressure has brought back some of the old anger.

I was a little scared of Eunice after the plant attack at the Adventurer's Guild, but I was afraid that she would get over it when Mel was involved.

Also, the fact that she is angry, but still shows her joy in hugging Mel is also very scary.

I don't mean to be prejudiced, but let's seriously hope that there will be no future of lilies blooming around his disciples.

"Yuta. The plan worked. Now we just have to catch the main culprit."

Sylphy spoke to me at a subtly awkward moment. I can't reply to her in the current situation, so I express my gratitude with my eyes.

For the time being, it seems that the problem over there has been taken care of, so let's focus all our efforts on solving this problem.

"Mel. Are you sure you're okay now?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine."

He still looks nervous, but he is not running away from reality as he did when he met the king, and his petrified state has been lifted.

I guess I'll be all right now.

The power of a child is great.

While I was wondering what I should do to relieve Mel's tension, Kikka started to sweet-talk him innocently and Marco started to talk to him cheerfully.

Mel begins to move awkwardly.

Before he knows it, Sarah and Gina are there to offer him tea and sweet treats they have prepared and help him relax.

It was a wonderful collaboration that broke Mel's heart.

Thank goodness I didn't say ...... or ...... with people in the palm of my hand.

"Well, let's get going. Are you ready?"

"So, I'm ready."

You bit it beautifully.

But it was for the best, or maybe it was because I was so embarrassed that I was wobbling around with a blush on my face, but it seems that the stiffness caused by my nervousness has been completely removed.

I am sure that I have forgotten something, but if I stay in a daze, my nervousness might come back and make me stiff again.

The long items wrapped in a cloth in my hand will be the exhibits, and as long as I don't forget them, I'll be all right.

Let's get out of here as soon as possible.

****

When we entered the blacksmith's guild, we found that all hell had broken loose in the guild.

Amongst the angry shouts that could be heard, there were a few names that sounded familiar: ...... Huh?　The plan should have worked, right?

"I'll be back in a minute."

Once everyone is out of the guild, I move to a little distance.

(Sylphy, I think it's probably just the chaos of the morning's results, but what's all the fuss about?　(The plan worked, didn't it?)

Mr. Gorden and his three men planned an attack.

To prevent it, they involved the knights who came to tell them of Mr. Dolgem's escape.

The knights were reluctant at first, saying that they were on a mission, but we succeeded in persuading them by telling them that we would take care of Mr. Dolgem and showing them the dagger that the king had given us.

I think I was able to use the dagger properly for the first time.

We called the guards of the labyrinth city, and based on the information provided by Sylphy, we caught the thugs who tried to attack Mr. Gorden and the others in the act.

Since they have identified and provided information on all the interlopers in advance, they must have continued to capture them in a "potato-drop" fashion, leading them to the last main suspect.

It wouldn't have taken this much fuss to capture one blacksmith, the main culprit. Did we miss him by any chance?

"I checked up to the point where the main criminal was caught, but I didn't check up to the point after that. Give me a minute."

(Okay.)

Did you catch the main culprit? If so, it can't be said that it was a mistake not to check afterwards, but Sylphy would have collected information afterwards without fail. ...... Oh, I see.

I see. After that, you were smiling at the exchange between Mel and Gina and the others.

I guess he lost interest in the blacksmith guild because he was amused by the way I was flustered and the way Gina and the others were trying to relieve Mel's tension.

"I get it."

(I knew there was something wrong?)

"Well, I wouldn't say it's a problem, but more of a side effect of the self-cleansing process."

(What do you mean?)

"The short version is that Guilmouth of the Blacksmith's Guild lost his temper after this morning's fiasco. You see, one of the main collaborators this time was an employee of the Blacksmith's Guild, right?　And since the blacksmith's collaborator who was handing out the bribes and the judge who was accepting the bribes were also blacksmith guild officials, including the executive, it seems that Guilmouth ordered punishment and strict discipline, and that's why there was such a commotion."

The problem of the blacksmiths on the bribe side also erupted.

They were in a hurry to get to the convention, and evidence was easily gathered through sloppy planning. That's why they threw it all to Mr. Tabre of the blacksmith guild.

He's the head of the administration department of the workshop, so he's out of his field, but he's an executive of the guild, so I thought he should be able to handle the situation.

He had a very bad look on his face when he saw the evidence I received, so I guess he put it to good use for the guild as well as for himself.

So, the fraud in the blacksmith guild was revealed, and while dealing with it, more fraud was found out.

The problems were so bad that they had to hold a tournament on short notice, and that's why Guilmouth came out of the woodwork.

（But that's a good thing, isn't it?　(And there was a lot of angry shouting about it, though, right?)

Since they don't cover up the dirt, but deal with it publicly, they should choose to wait and see the results, even if there is some dissatisfaction.

Was the punishment too warm?

"They're cheaters, so they used the power of the guild to do all sorts of other ghastly things. And it seems that the victims who had been crying themselves to sleep, took advantage of the situation to file a lawsuit, and that's when all hell broke loose."　　

（I see. Okay, thank you, Sylphy.)

The drowned dog is beaten with a stick method. So far we've been crying ourselves to sleep for fear of the power of the Blacksmith's Guild, but now that they're on our side, there's no reason for us to stay silent.　

But I wish you hadn't made such a fuss when I was organizing the tournament.

No, maybe they were in a hurry to deal with it because I was involved.

I don't mean to sound so self-centered, but I've gone rogue in the Adventurers' Guild, and it's only natural that people would be wary of me.

They don't want to have to replace the entire staff like they did at the Adventurers' Guild because of my mishap this time.

Considering the impression I have in the public, I think it's a fair guess, but maybe I'm thinking too much.

Whatever. It's good for Mel that the Blacksmith's Guild is more open, and it's good for me if the injustice is corrected and the competition is conducted properly.

Besides, I'll know if I'm overthinking things or not when I get in there.

All right, then, let's go in and check in quickly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go inside.

He returns to Mel and the others and calls out to them. Eunice asks, "What were you doing sneaking around by yourself?　They look at me with suspicion, but I ignore them.

I mean, why are you hugging Mel?　Oh, to protect Mel from tension and trouble in the guild? Yes, sir.

When I entered the guild, there were as usual a lot of angry shouts. Careful scrutiny of the contents revealed that many of them were saying that they had been cheated or demanded a bribe.

It seems that the executives in question have been involved in quite a wide range of misdeeds.

The ...... reception counter is full of people complaining. I wonder if the convention will be able to open properly?

I call out loudly to the staff from the side, but the shouts are drowned out by the angry voices and I can't reach them.

(Sylphy, please carry my voice to the staff)

"Beru ga yaru!"

What's all the fuss about in the guild?　Bell, who had been flying around with great interest, comes flying in with a whiz.

He is a man who never misses an opportunity to work.

He nodded his head and called out loudly to the staff once again. The staff member looked at me, holding his ears at the loud voice that suddenly jumped into his ears.

It seems that Bell had not adjusted the volume of his voice and delivered it to the staff member. Thinking that she is still not as good as Sylphy in this area, she beckons for the staff member to come over.

I would like to praise Belle all over for doing a good job, but I can't right now, so I will praise her later.

The victims' appeals were gathered at the staff member walking toward us, but when I managed to tell him that I was the organizer of the convention and that I would like to ask for the receptionist, he seemed to be very grateful and immediately showed me to another room.

It seems that my earlier guess was not entirely wrong.

As we entered the room, all eyes were on us at once.

This is the waiting room for the blacksmiths participating in the competition and their related people, and they are supposed to submit their works in a separate room.

He apologized very politely, to the point of making me feel uncomfortable, for the fact that he had originally planned to assign a room to each blacksmith, but due to the commotion in the morning there were not enough people to cover all of them, so they had to be grouped together.

I was a little depressed because I felt the severity of my bad reputation. I thought I had gained a certain amount of public favor, but it seems I haven't done enough.

Ah, there are the Goldens.

Hmm?　The three of us looked away from each other awkwardly when we were supposed to be eye-to-eye.

Given their personalities, I'm surprised they didn't run away!　I wonder what's going on?

"Oh, by the way, those three were accusing Yuta of doing it to the knights when they were caught in the raid. They said it was absolutely certain and that he was a villain.

...... what?