Chapter 143

Did they really think hearing that would make me go, ‘Oh my! It must have been a real misunderstanding! The other elders were actually favorable toward me!’?

Their intentions were obvious. They were trying to test the waters and lowball me, but they must have been flustered when I came on stronger than expected.

The Council of Elders had to scramble to resolve the situation. It would be a disaster if this led to them becoming enemies with Guardian, branch or no branch.

So they decided to pin it on the Jacques School’s unilateral actions, and Maga, the most diplomatic of the elders, stepped forward first.

‘They have to appease me, after all.’

The Council of Elders wasn’t as inflexible as I thought.

Well, they were a bit shrewd, but I had to give them that. The nation’s interests were at stake.

“Then why have you come alone? I made it clear that I would only speak with you if you all came together.”

“Consider me the advance party.”

An advance party? I scoffed.

“And what is the main mission of this advance party?”

“What else? To see whether our dear Guild Master is angry or not. That’s the reconnaissance mission. The old folks are cowards, so they told me to check carefully.”

“And what will you do if I am very angry?”

“I’ll have to do my best to placate you.”

In that moment, I had a feeling. This conversation would become a key point in the negotiations to come.

“I’m curious. How do you plan to placate me? For the record, I’m not a particularly difficult person. As long as you meet a reasonable standard, I have no intention of nullifying the negotiations.”

“In that case, how about you pick one?”

Maga gestured around with his finger, then took a sip of his coffee.

I followed his finger, scanning the area before tilting my head.

“What… am I supposed to be picking?”

“A building in this area. Whichever one you like will become Guardian’s branch office.”

“…Are you saying you’ll provide a building free of charge?”

“Not only that, but the Council of Elders is prepared to take responsibility for all related matters, from the initial funding for establishing the branch to recruiting guild members.”

“…It sounds like you’re saying I won’t have to do a thing.”

“That is precisely it.”

Rather than feeling pleased, I felt a sense of caution.

It was only natural. Duke Ruthius had poured an immense fortune into establishing Guardian’s foundation.

A branch wouldn’t cost as much as the headquarters, but it would still be a significant sum.

There was no way mages, who loved money more than anyone, would cover the costs for no reason.

“There must be many conditions.”

“As expected of a young person, you’re easy to talk to. I suppose I can speak plainly without beating around the bush.”

Maga smiled benevolently. But his eyes shone with a cold calculation.

“Go on.”

“First, we wish for you to share the pocket barrier formula and the anti-monster barrier formula that Guardian is currently selling. Also, we ask that you entrust us with processing the cores obtained in this land.”

Kaiel was currently making a massive profit by processing cores into artifacts, and Akron wanted a piece of the action.

“If there’s a first, there must be a second.”

“Indeed. Second, we ask that you appoint the person we propose as the Guardian branch master.”

“Is there a third?”

“This is the last one. We demand the return of the slaves from Akron who are currently members of Guardian.”

“…!”

In that moment, a chilling aura emanated from Kaiel.

It was faint, but I could tell. It was the unsettling feeling one gets from a mage just before they attack.

‘What’s with him?’

I gently tugged on Kaiel’s robe under the table. The strange aura instantly vanished.

“I refuse.”

“May I hear your reasons?”

“I agree to the first condition. It’s an inevitable situation, anyway.”

“Hmm, continue.”

“The second condition is quite offensive. If someone from Akron were to run the branch, how would that be any different from just asking to borrow Guardian’s name?”

“But wouldn’t it be difficult for the Guild Master to manage a branch as well?”

“Even if it’s difficult, I must do it.”

“Easier said than done…”

“Elder, I command all my Hunters with my own hands. If I lacked that resolve, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

Maga smacked his lips in disappointment. He must have expected me to agree.

“And your reason for rejecting the third condition?”

“I cannot agree to the final condition, even if I wanted to.”

“And why is that?”

“As I told Suren, there are no slaves in Guardian. Your persistent inquiries are starting to become rather unpleasant.”

This was my way of saying that if he brought up the slave issue again, I would end the negotiations. For the first time, Maga’s expression stiffened.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s just that we’ve heard rumors that a large number of slaves who escaped from us have joined Guardian.”

“Your information must be mistaken. Nothing of the sort has happened.”

Now, the Council of Elders would have to make a choice.

Would they risk becoming permanent enemies with Guardian out of a greedy desire to recover slaves they didn’t even desperately need?

Or would they, as I suggested, bury the information about slaves joining Guardian and join hands with me?

Knowing they were a group that meticulously calculated gains and losses, Maga’s mind must be racing right now.

‘Even if we establish a branch, we won’t gain much from it, will we?’

He must be thinking something along those lines.

‘Should I toss out some bait now?’

“We have created an artifact that detects Gates in advance. Performance testing is already complete, and we’re currently processing them into accessories.”

Maga, who had been slouching, straightened his back and leaned forward.

“Really? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“That’s because it was a top-secret project. We plan to provide them to guild members for free and sell them to the general public.”

“Hah… It’ll be a massive hit once it’s released. You have quite the business acumen, Guild Master.”

“I will distribute that artifact in Akron. And I will concede my 30% share of the total revenue to the Council of Elders.”

Maga’s wrinkled eyes widened as if they would tear.

“…A-are you serious?”

“In return, give me 10% of that amount converted into points.”

“Let’s see… If the total revenue is 10 million, we get 3 million. And you want 300,000 of that as points? Not money, but points?”

“Precisely.”

Anyone could see these were much more favorable terms for Akron. For mages who loved money, the offer had to be tempting.

Sure enough, Maga’s expression brightened considerably.

“…They say the Ruthius family burns money for firewood when they run out. Was that saying true?”

“Unfortunately, I’ve never had to burn money for warmth… but I’m not exactly wanting for it.”

“Ooh, how impressive!”

The tense atmosphere became amicable once more.

“The old folks will be itching to hear this news. The slaves are the issue… is there truly no room for negotiation?”

“If you’re going to keep talking like that, I’ll be on my way.”

“My, my, so firm. Very well. I’ll stop, so please relax.”

I, who had postured as if to leave, settled back into my chair.

Maga let out a deep sigh and began to grumble.

“I’m only pressing because the situation is rather urgent. The mana stone fields are on the verge of closing down.”

Mana stones, produced exclusively in Akron, were its main source of income. Even the mana stones used by mages in the Taikan Empire were all from Akron.

“Mana stones are mined. Most of the labor is done by slaves. But about seven years ago, there was an incident where a large number of slaves escaped.”

‘They said he overshares. It’s true.’

I replied nonchalantly.

“I see…”

“Those slaves were of Rihenshato’s bloodline. Who would have thought his descendants would still be alive after 300 years? Such a disgusting life force, isn’t it?”

As I stared at him, the agitated Maga let out a dry cough.

“Ahem! He may be a hero who founded the Magic Tower in Taikan, but to us, he’s a damn traitor and murderer… Forgive my excitement.”

“Everyone has their own circumstances. If you’re finished, we’ll be on our…”

“It was Rihenshato’s bloodline that caused this current slave shortage!”

“…I guess you’re not done yet…”

I settled my half-raised bottom back onto the chair.

“If he was going to escape, he should have done it alone… But no, he had to go and teach the other slaves the formula to nullify the mana-restraining shackles!”

“I see…”

“Fortunately, about half the slaves couldn’t break their shackles. The ones who gave up on escaping secretly built up their power. To a level where they could activate the formula, that is. They fooled us so perfectly, we didn’t even know such a formula existed!”

“Ah, yes…”

“Eventually, the time came. A Gate opened near the mines. We were in an uproar, since it would’ve been a disaster if the mines collapsed. The slaves used that opportunity to escape.”

Maga sighed deeply, his face weary.

“Phew, you can’t imagine how crestfallen I was when I saw the empty barracks. You wouldn’t understand this feeling, Guild Master.”

Of course I don’t. I can’t even comprehend the idea of using slaves.

I replied indifferently.

“Give up on the escaped slaves and hire new workers. Mages love money, don’t they?”

“Easier said than done. If a mage worked in the mines for just one day, they’d be sick for a week. Who would do such work?”

“Elder, you’re a Hunter, so you should visit the Shop. If you look carefully, you might find magic that reduces fatigue or formulas for safely extracting ore. Things like that might exist.”

“S-such things exist?”

“There’s nothing the Shop doesn’t have. The only problem is finding it. All the artifact formulas I possess were obtained from the Shop, you know?”

“Ooh!”

Having found a solution in an unexpected place, Maga shifted in his seat. He looked like he wanted to enter the Shop right away.

“As expected, it was a good idea to listen to my disciple.”

“Your disciple? Are you perhaps talking about Hunter Miyorn?”

“Indeed. That stingy fellow praised you so much, Guild Master… I had high hopes, and now I’ve unexpectedly received your help. I’m truly grateful.”

“When it’s for the good of the world, it’s important to compromise at a reasonable level.”

“Indeed! What a commendable way of thinking! In a chaotic world like this, people like you are essential, Guild Master. Yes, absolutely.”

My heart stung.

When in fact, I’m the very villain who should never exist in this world.

“…You flatter me.”

As I replied quietly, Maga downed his coffee.

“Phew, that’s refreshing. By the way, this gentleman is quite taciturn. He hasn’t said a single word.”

“He’s the type who only speaks when necessary.”

“Hmm, you must have been quite bored. Old men tend to talk a lot. Please understand.”

After saying everything he needed to, he now seemed concerned about Kaiel.

He probably felt sorry for rambling on in front of a third party and was also worried Kaiel might leak the information.

“It’s fine. He’s my colleague. He needed to know this information anyway, so don’t worry about it.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

Just then, Kaiel pushed his chair back as if to stand up. As he did, he collided with a child who was running between the tables like a crazed pony.

“Whoa!”

The child, having bumped into Kaiel, instinctively reached out and grabbed his hood.

Before anyone could react, the hood was pulled back, revealing Kaiel’s face.

“Waaah!”

“…”

Kaiel paid no mind to the fallen, crying child and pulled his hood back on.

He looked displeased, but I saw it clearly.

The moment the hood came off, a cold smile had flashed across Kaiel’s lips.