Ch.2929. Human ATM

After that, I went with Shiro to the Polaris Guild branch to return our equipment.

It was an impressive four-story building.

As a major guild, it was about three times bigger than the Explorer’s Association, which surprised me since this wasn’t even their main building.

Honestly, if you asked someone visiting for the first time, they might think this was the Association building.

“Major guilds really are impressive.”

“…Indeed.”

Unlike the Association that constantly gets beaten down by the Imperial Family and explorer complaints, the guild simply had pure strength.

Without major guilds, the entire city’s supply chain would collapse, which is why even the Imperial Family gives them special treatment.

Advanced explorer guilds were indistinguishable from state power.

“Adel, are you going to join a guild?”

As we left the guild and reached the fountain where our paths would diverge, Shiro asked me this.

“If the conditions are good, I plan to join. Having a guild affiliation can’t hurt.”

From what Airi said, it seemed the Guild Master was personally involved in recruiting me.

‘They even told the blacksmith to put expenses on the Guild Master’s tab.’

Joining the guild would basically set me up for life.

No sane person in this world would refuse such an offer.

“…I see.”

“Shiro, do you have no interest in joining a guild?”

A free-spirited cat-like type might not fit well in a guild.

Coincidentally, Shiro’s personality did resemble a cat’s.

“No.”

As expected, she was the romantic type.

“Thank you for telling me in advance. That will help during tonight’s negotiation.”

I smiled at Shiro, but her reaction wasn’t particularly positive.

Was she bothered by me joining the guild?

“…Well, I should clarify. I have no intention of becoming a regular guild member.”

“What do you mean?”

“If this were a simple recruitment, they would have informed us much earlier. They would have notified other guild members and used various methods to elevate our status within the guild beforehand.”

When scouting guild members, it was common practice to introduce them around first.

But Airi hadn’t done that.

“…Why?”

I hadn’t been paying much attention to guild matters, but now that this situation arose, I was starting to get a sense of what was happening.

“There’s a political struggle within the guild.”

Polaris clearly lacks mid-tier talent.

Yet they maintain their position as the second-ranked guild among many because their upper ranks are solidly established.

In particular, Polaris is the only guild with a 9th floor assault team.

Looking at Polaris Guild’s recent status made things clear.

There had been no news about the 9th floor assault team, whose every move used to be newsworthy.

The Guild Master was at the center of the 9th floor assault team. And now the Guild Master’s faction was trying to secretly recruit me to their side.

Which meant:

“There’s likely a power struggle for the Guild Master position.”

A new composition for the 9th floor assault team.

The current Guild Master’s position was precarious.

“Is that why Airi approached us?”

“Yes. It seems they’ve highly overestimated us.”

“…That’s somewhat of a relief.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Anyway.

“You’re amazing to deduce all that.”

“It’s still just speculation. We’ll know for sure this evening.”

Airi was likely a close confidant of the Guild Master.

“We should use this to negotiate favorable terms.”

Guild politics weren’t my concern.

I just needed to ensure my own well-being.

“Yes. See you this evening.”

After our conversation, Shiro left with a noticeably brighter expression.

‘Something feels off.’

Though there were some inconsistencies in my theory, I planned to proceed with this understanding.

I returned to the inn to wait for our appointment time.

***

Evening came.

Even as I headed to the restaurant for our meeting, I couldn’t shake my unease.

‘Is it just a political struggle?’

If it were merely politics, there would be no need to scout talent from the lower floors.

Could they really offer so much support just from seeing me fight once?

Despite these questions, I went to the meeting.

“You’re here.”

“Adel, welcome.”

Shiro and Airi, sitting in a corner of the restaurant, welcomed me.

I was nervous when they called me to this secluded restaurant, but fortunately, it didn’t seem like a trap.

“I’m sorry. Am I late?”

“N-no, not at all! Actually, it was nice to have some time to chat with Shiro. Ahaha.”

Airi seemed tense. Did something happen?

“That’s good. Have you ordered yet?”

“We were waiting for you.”

We each ordered food and began our discussion.

“So, why did you call us here?”

“To be honest, I think you already know.”

Airi looked quite serious.

“I want to recruit both Adel and Shiro to our guild. This isn’t just my opinion—the Guild Master has significant interest in this as well.”

As I suspected.

“Yes, I more or less expected that.”

I answered Airi while Shiro silently watched my face.

…Why is she staring at me?

Anyway.

“Seeing how cautiously you’re approaching this, is something happening within the guild?”

“…You’re perceptive, Adel.”

Airi lowered her head briefly, then looked back at me as if she’d made a decision.

“Currently, our Polaris Guild is in a somewhat complicated situation.”

Honestly, I wasn’t that curious, but since I was already involved, I listened attentively.

“The 9th floor assault team…”

After a long, somewhat boring explanation, it boiled down to this:

– Our Guild Master was a one-man army.

– The Guild Master was obsessed with conquering the 9th floor.

– But conquering the 9th floor consumed many resources, making other members dislike the Guild Master.

– Eventually they hit a wall and realized they needed talent built up from the lower floors to conquer the 9th floor.

– That’s why I was stationed on the 2nd floor looking for talent.

“—And that’s when I found you, Adel.”

“…I see.”

I understood the general flow.

‘Isn’t this just the Guild Master being stubborn?’

Yeah, the Guild Master can’t make money but wants to conquer the 9th floor.

But it’s not working out. Public opinion is bad, so they need to quickly find talent to break through.

That’s the impression I got.

‘Hmm.’

Of course, I could understand the Guild Master’s feelings.

Polaris gained its prestigious status by having the only party confirmed to have entered the 9th floor, something no other guild had achieved.

However, it was only a matter of time before other parties would also reach the 9th floor.

Recently, the Imperial Family had been providing massive support to “Ragnar,” the top-ranked explorer guild.

They must be anxious about being overtaken.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what to think.”

“…I understand.”

Airi seemed to have anticipated this response.

“But my heart tells me the Guild Master is right.”

“By that, you mean…”

An intense desire to clear the 9th floor.

Yes, that’s what I needed to return home.

‘Beyond the 9th floor to the 10th, 11th, and 12th floors.’

The Guild Master wants to reach higher floors, and I know how to get to the 12th floor.

“I want to join you.”

“…Thank you so much, Adel.”

She gripped my right hand with both of hers and looked into my eyes.

Her bright smile showed how moved she was.

“—But I have one condition.”

I continued.

“Since you need to be mindful of other executives, it would be difficult for me to officially join Polaris Guild, right?”

“Yes. I didn’t mention it, but that’s the situation. Still, with a little effort, we could arrange for you to join discreetly.”

No, that wasn’t what I wanted.

“Don’t bring me into the guild at all. I don’t expect significant support either. Just wait until I become stronger.”

“…”

She fell silent for a moment.

She must be somewhat surprised.

While many people are desperate to join major guilds, I was saying not only did I not want to join or receive additional support, but they should wait until I become stronger?

If I failed to become stronger, I’d be the only one to lose out, and even if I did become stronger, there would be no benefit for me.

But I could do it.

I, who had reached the end of this Labyrinth before.

I wasn’t sure if the priestess before me would believe me, but if not, there was nothing I could do.

“If I must join the guild, I’ll have to decline this offer.”

Sorry, but I had no reason to risk getting entangled in guild politics.

They were the desperate ones, not me.

I looked at Shiro with a relaxed smile.

“…”

She seemed surprised, staring at me with slightly wider eyes than usual.

“I understand your position clearly, Adel.”

I expected her to be flustered and refuse, but for some reason, Airi had a smile on her face.

“It seems my judgment wasn’t wrong.”

She gave a meaningful smile.

The rest of the conversation went surprisingly well—almost too well.

***

Morning came.

Fortunately, we didn’t visit a bar after dinner this time, so there was no need to let Shiro sleep in my room.

Besides, I now knew which inn she was staying at.

‘Yesterday’s conversation…’

Lying in bed, I recalled last night’s discussion.

She actually liked my attitude and said she would gather all available budget to support me.

‘Why?’

I had simply said I wouldn’t get involved in unnecessary political struggles and would only help with conquering the Labyrinth. Why did she respond that way?

With my limited information, there was no way for me to know, so I let it go.

“Ugh—!”

I stretched and checked under my door.

She said she would look into the details and send a letter this morning…

There were three letters under the door.

One bore the seal of the Polaris Guild—a letter from Airi.

But what were the other two?

‘House Rostia and House Manis?’

That’s what the seals on the letters indicated.

Hmm. I’ll set those aside for now.

I opened Airi’s letter to check its contents.

The letter was brief and clear.

[Hello, Adel. I’m sending this letter because the available budget was allocated faster than expected.]

[I would like to deliver equipment through the Association, so I would appreciate it if you could visit the Association branch soon to receive it.]

“…”

Below that, she listed the types of equipment, and that was the end of the letter.

So far, there didn’t seem to be any issues.

[Mithril helmet, Mithril longsword, Mithril shield, Mithril-Orichalcum alloy left arm guard…]

Helmet, sword, shield.

The three core pieces were made of mythril, and the rest were mythril-orichalcum alloy.

Below that, she even listed equipment for Shiro.

Price-wise… it would easily exceed tens of millions of Ars.

‘Insane.’

This person was no ordinary ATM.