Chapter 29: 29. Grrr... I Can't Take It Anymore

For a moment, the guild sank into a hellish silence.

Yang Haeyeon, who usually strutted around with her nose in the air, hadn’t even been able to react?

Yang Haeyeon’s companions, who had been approaching, turned around and returned to where they had been.

The flustered receptionists froze with their hands halted, staring blankly.

Gulp!

The person who had swallowed clutched at their own throat.

Those who had only heard rumors about Arin, as well as those seeing her for the first time today, felt a chill run down their spines.

Arin had turned the entire hall into a game of freeze tag.

Ryu-o followed behind her with a faint smile.

Once someone had called out freeze, though, they needed someone else to call unfreeze...

Bang!

"Whew... Why are you so fast...?"

With the Guildmaster’s timely arrival, everyone inside let out the breath they had been holding.

Whew...

"Did you see that...?"

"How could I see it when she was too fast...?"

"Crazy... A legend really is a legend for a reason."

"And that man behind her..."

"Her husband? You’d need that level of ability to have a man like that..."

"Hey, Miss Yang! Come explain this already! My jaw’s about to hit the floor."

The Guildmaster frowned at the disorderly atmosphere in the guild.

"Tsk... Has Arin gone upstairs?"

Everyone respectfully pointed toward the upper floor with the palms of their hands.

"...Meidel, I’ll receive our guests, so get back to work."

"..."

"Meidel?"

"Heeuuugh..."

Thud!

The Guildmaster lightly nudged the collapsed Meidel aside with her foot and headed upstairs.

All while repeating the Eastern District’s guest-reception manual in her mind.

**

As I sat beside my master, the Guildmaster soon entered.

"Arin, I hope you have been well—"

"Relax, Sylvia. Just get to the point."

The Guildmaster, who had been about to take out a tea set, obediently sat down across from us.

"Then... your disciple emerged from the labyrinth portal. Without any record of having entered it."

My master merely nodded and closed her eyes.

"And?"

The Guildmaster was left completely speechless.

Her expression practically said, ‘I’m still the Guildmaster...,’ but my master did not seem to care in the least.

"Well... if you could explain the circumstances a little..."

"Hm?"

"..."

I took my master’s hand and spoke.

"I’ll explain, Master."

My master smiled, her tail swaying gently.

"Will you?"

Sway, sway.

At the drastic difference in how she was being treated, the Guildmaster’s brow creased slightly.

"...?"

"Guildmaster, please promise me that you will never reveal this matter to anyone outside."

"Ah, of course... Ngh... To be honest, I cannot guarantee that."

Hmm... Then I couldn’t tell her either.

I held onto my master’s hand as she seemed about to flare up and asked,

"Why not?"

"Too many soldiers have already seen you, Ryu-o. And with Arin here, even more attention was drawn to the matter."

It was quite a reasonable explanation.

I had been worrying about that issue myself.

"There is only one entrance and exit to the labyrinth. The only people capable of sending someone through a place packed with magical devices like that would be the Tower Lords..."

‘Tower Lords...?’

I took out a blue coin from my subspace.

Upon seeing the coin in my hand, the Guildmaster’s eyes went wide.

"Th-that is... a Tower Lord’s seal?"

"If I get permission to use this and invoke the Tower Lord’s name... would that be enough?"

The Guildmaster’s eyes darted wildly as her hands fumbled across the table.

Then she realized she had not prepared any tea.

She withdrew her hand and nodded.

"That would be... more than sufficient justification."

I looked at my master.

"Master, I can ask for that much with this, right?"

"Of course. If they say no, tell me."

It was embarrassing as a man to rely on her so much, but...

Either way, it seemed possible.

"Then please promise that you will keep it a secret."

The Guildmaster readily nodded.

"Yes. How could I dare lie in front of Arin?"

If I told her, only the three of us would know the truth.

My master would never say anything unless I blabbed first...

I needed to build a good relationship with her going forward, so I decided against threatening her for now.

"I’ll trust you. I have an ability that lets me move portals from inside the labyrinth."

The Guildmaster’s expression turned bewildered at my words.

"I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand..."

"I can bring portals from inside the labyrinth outside. What I brought out this time was the escape portal from the fifth floor. I used it at home and ended up outside the portal."

"...What? Whaaat?"

My master’s brow furrowed at the Guildmaster’s stupid noise.

"You understood perfectly, Sylvia."

"Ah, huh? Yes... yes!"

The dazed Guildmaster pulled herself together and spoke.

"I-if that is true, the entire continent will come after you, Ryu-o. Every organization, by whatever means necessary! This could change the history of Labyrinth City... Is it perhaps a skill? Did you consume the essence of some monster..."

"Calm down. I do not know where this ability came from. It simply appeared one day."

The Guildmaster realized that I had no intention of telling her how I had acquired it.

"I see... I understand what you are worried about."

I decided to get to the main point.

"I want to actively use this ability to grow stronger. Help me until I can protect myself."

She took a moment to compose herself before speaking.

"What you need... is to conceal your labyrinth entry procedures?"

It seemed she had not become Guildmaster for nothing.

I nodded at her accurate grasp of my intent.

"I can now enter any labyrinth from wherever I am. The way I see it, whenever I send out a distress signal, withdraw the soldiers and conceal me."

"Then you will need an additional Adventurer’s badge."

"Yes, one that only you can hear, Guildmaster. If you do that..."

As for what she would get in return...

"I will accept any request you mentioned earlier, once, without fail. Even after that, I will not turn away important requests and will consider them first."

I said any request, but she would never assign me a mission that could put my life in danger.

Would someone who knew my value really send me to my death?

As for the Guildmaster’s response to my terms...

"Then I will become an assistant to a new chapter of history. I look forward to working with you."

Having finished her calculations in an instant, she smiled brightly and held out her hand.

She was using me too... No, there was a better phrase for it: mutual benefit.

Recognizing each other’s value, we clasped hands and shook them up and down.

"I look forward to working with you as well."

**

After that, the Guildmaster said she would make the necessary preparations. A badge for sending rescue signals, sharing the soldiers’ shift schedules...

And then...

"Ah, Ryu-o. You still have not collected the twenty gold coins from your last request as payment."

"What? I received plenty of gold coins and items at the young lady’s villa."

"What? The young lady gave you items... Could it be that you caught her eye?"

Whether I had caught her eye or not... How was I supposed to know when she had not explained anything?

"I’m not sure. She told me to come to the front of the guild on the twenty-fifth."

Muttering to herself, ‘As expected... She does have an eye for talent...,’ the Guildmaster explained.

"It appears that she is preparing to train an expedition party. Would you like an explanation?"

"Yes, please. I definitely need one."

"Yes. Ryu-o, you will be heading to the tenth floor with promising recruits selected by the House of Duke Velatus."

She was sending me to the tenth floor on the twenty-fifth? I was a beginner...

‘Can I handle that...?’

Further explanation began, cutting off my thoughts.

"They will provide all exploration supplies, weapons and armor, assign one trainee knight each to serve as an attendant, station a [Velatus Knights] rescue team before the portal, and before entry... they will give you one essence."

"Wow..."

I had suspected as much from the moment the young lady had piled an armful of things into my arms.

She was a generous person.

"The goal will likely be to subjugate the tenth-floor boss, the Orc Great Warrior. Once the Orc Great Warrior’s essence drops, it will be given to the person with the highest contribution."

At the mention of the Orc Great Warrior’s essence, which only appeared during the Frenzy period, my ears perked up.

"Could you tell me what essences it can drop?"

"[Strength Enhancement], [War Cry], [Warrior’s Charge], and [Harden]."

There was not a single essence there I could pass up as a frontline fighter.

The Guildmaster glanced over my face before taking out a document.

"I wish you good fortune in battle."

The document I received contained detailed information on the Orc Great Warrior’s weaknesses.

She really was capable...

Just as I thanked her and was about to leave...

"W-wait a moment..."

At the Guildmaster stopping me, my master growled.

"What now?"

"Gasp... Well... a statement about the young lady incident... No! Here are your twenty gold coins!"

**

On our way out, one more incident sent a chill through the guild.

For some reason, my master was in such a hurry that she grabbed my wrist and ran at tremendous speed.

Whoosh.

"Haa... Master, could you slow down a little?"

"Quickly... Let us hurry home..."

"Master?"

My master looked strangely impatient.

I simply assumed she had a reason and ran along with her.

Judging by how little force she was using to grip my wrist, she seemed to be showing considerable consideration.

A lot had happened today.

I had suddenly gone through a portal, witnessed my master’s influence, and even made a deal with the Guildmaster.

As I ran while thinking over the hectic day, we had already arrived home.

Tap!

"Haa... A lot really happened today, Master."

"..."

"Wasn’t Master incredibly cool? Everyone respected you... Master?"

My master, whose mood had been bright until this morning... was acting oddly.

Worried, I approached her and stroked her cheek. Then...

"I can’t take it anymore."

...What?

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