Chapter 37: The Circumstances of the Elf’s Wife

Since I’ve also written a work myself.

In a situation that’s already challenging, if you start making remarks here that chip away at my self-esteem…

“When someone is mentally cornered and deteriorating, you have to know when to spoon-feed them just enough to make them obedient.”

There’s nothing easier to handle than a mentally cornered woman.

You kneel her down, slowly coax her, and make her act like your subordinate.

“What was our original goal again?”

“To reform the Elf’s wife, of course.”

It’s to stop her from bothering her husband, the Elf.

Honestly, what fault does the devoted Elf have?

If we look at it closely, apart from lacking memories of a previous life, the loyal elf, Elena, is nothing more or less than an elf who transferred here from another world.

“Well, it’s a bit extreme, but it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

The Cheonma agreed with my opinion.

“Hey, are you really going along with this, Cheonma? You seem to be taking the Saintess’s side?”

“Is there any other option? It’s not like I can handle physical rehabilitation. The Saintess seems to know her way around in this field, so let’s leave it to her. Or do you have a better idea?”

“Well, not really.”

And so, the project to reform the Elf’s wife began.

*

Heavenly King Guild.

The Heavenly King Guild was a mid-tier guild among Korean guilds.

They weren’t particularly focused on raising their guild rank based on skill alone.

While they sent Hunters to dungeons, they weren’t overly active.

To put it simply, they mainly rode the coattails of other guilds.

Their primary activities were similar to loan sharking.

Or making money through manipulating prices on the black market from behind the scenes.

It was a guild solely focused on accumulating wealth.

The guild master, Jeon Taeyeon, had one of his subordinates, who had returned in disgrace, tied up with rope and forced to kneel.

This subordinate was a Hunter who had become impotent due to the Cheonma’s strike.

In other words, he was now impotent.

“You fool, you went off on your own and got beaten up?”

It was absurd.

Sent to the Tower, he got beaten up along with his fellow subordinates.

The sight was so ridiculous that Jeon Taeyeon shook his head.

“Didn’t Master originally order us to try following the Saintess?”

Yes, he had given the order.

However….

“If it wasn’t working out, you should’ve pulled back.”

The command he issued was nothing more than reconnaissance.

It was to see if the Heavenly King Guild could even touch the Tower of Destruction.

Directly approaching the Saintess wasn’t part of Jeon Taeyeon’s plan.

He’d even considered negotiating if possible.

But this idiot standing before him ruined everything.

“At… at first, I thought it would be possible. I had companions.”

You shouldn’t have thought it was possible in the first place.

“And on top of that, you even dared to mention our guild’s name, humiliating us completely?”

What a hopeless fool.

“T-that was…”

“Did you think that by using our guild’s name, we’d get revenge for you? Hey, take him away. Dump him in the outer zone.”

Being sent to the outer zone essentially meant throwing him among the strange creatures outside of Seoul.

It was a place where one couldn’t earn much money and would find it hard to survive alone—essentially, it was an abandonment.

“M-Master! Master! I-I… Gurgle!”

The guild’s Hunters dragged the man away.

After he was taken, Jeon Taeyeon spoke to the woman standing beside him.

“Boss, even though he deserved what he got, it’s true that our guild’s reputation has been tarnished. Won’t you consider retaliation?”

For a moment, I did think about it.

I had looked into the Saintess, thinking we might be able to do something.

But it’s a delicate situation.

“Are you crazy? She’s quite skilled, but she’s a returnee and even took down the Silver Thunder Squad. It seems the Hero Guild has had dealings with her behind the scenes too, which is why many guilds have pulled back. There’s nothing to gain by provoking her. Besides, the more she flaunts her power, the more we can extort.”

If we tried retaliating against the Saintess and got tangled up like the Silver Thunder Squad did, it would be a pointless disaster.

“Oh! Other guilds have borrowed money from us for the Tower of Destruction raid, right?”

“Exactly. They borrowed both money and supplies from us, but since they failed to conquer the Tower of Destruction, they ended up in the red. They won’t be able to repay the principal, so they’re practically shackled to us.”

It wasn’t like we lent money illegally.

It was all within contractual agreements between guilds.

“That interest will fill our coffers nicely.”

Exactly.

That’s how it is.

In fact, the Saintess’s actions are only benefiting us, the Heavenly King Guild.

If they can’t pay what they owe, we can report it to the Administration Bureau, which would put sanctions on their guild and allow us to collect even from nonexistent funds.

And besides…

“Yes, the guilds running at a deficit will likely try to scrounge up cash however they can, and we can suggest lucrative jobs to them.”

“Oh, I see.”

The Tower of Destruction was hyped because of its peculiar structure, high-level monsters, and valuable early drops.

There’s plenty of profit to be made elsewhere.

There’s no reason to clash with the Saintess.

The Hero Guild likely stepped back to avoid the hassle, and the Overlord Guild’s reluctance to act might be for the same reason.

Although one guy embarrassed us by using the guild’s name, we can still profit by exploiting the Saintess from behind the scenes.

‘It’s a relief there were others who went through the test run first.’

Just looking at the gifs circulating online shows members of the Hero and Overlord Guilds getting beaten up by the Saintess.

Not to mention the overwhelming violence on the third floor not long ago.

Without being sure we can handle the Saintess, poking the hornet’s nest would be foolish.

Not that it matters, though.

Fighting isn’t our specialty, and there’s a time for making money.

The low-level fools might keep gambling by throwing themselves at the Saintess, even if they get pummeled, but the pros stay in the shadows, seizing opportunities to rake in money bit by bit.

‘After the Cataclysm, it feels like every Tom, Dick, and Harry became Awakened, which means a lot of brainless idiots among Hunters.’

Of course, sometimes guild circumstances force confrontations, but really, there are so many clueless fools.

Just now, we had one guy who dragged our guild name into this mess.

We tried to bring him in and use him as a worker, but he caused such a scene—there’s no way we can let that slide.

“Remember, we’re not in a hurry.”

Taeyeon said to his subordinate.

“Understood.”

“Don’t mess with the Saintess unnecessarily. Look at Seolhwa Guild—they made a wrong move and lost ten billion.”

Seolhwa Guild did indeed lose ten billion.

Unlike his foolish subordinates, the Heavenly King Guild’s master was surprisingly calm and calculated.

Based on the fate of those who already got wrecked by the Saintess, Jeon Taeyeon’s policy was to avoid entanglement.

Of course, this avoidance applied only to Jeon Taeyeon himself—not to the Saintess.

*

[Author: HeadSmasherSaint]

[Title: Group Photo of the 4th Floor Team from Yesterday]

[Photo]

[Comments]

OverweightOrc: I look like a criminal, lol.

└HeadSmasherSaint: Life is just like that sometimes.

└100YearOldSuccubus: Lol, a criminal and their lackeys.

EnlargedHornDreamDemon: Lol, look at them hitting their stride. Got room for me next time?

└OverweightOrc: Shut up, will you?

└HeadSmasherSaint: What would you even do?

└100YearOldSuccubus: Look at her acting all innocent—makes me want to break her head.

NekoCheonma: Are we meeting at the usual spots today?

└HeadSmasherSaint: Haha.

└MermaidPrincess: Wow, these guys meet up often.

Dwarf9218: Wow, aside from the Orc, these returnee folks look insane.

└HeadSmasherSaint: Lol.

ArtifactMaker100Years: Did you get anything good?

└HeadSmasherSaint: Nah, the fourth floor only has mana stones. We’ll need to go to the fifth floor.

30YearOldKnight: I can take better care of the ladies than that Orc. Isn’t there anything I can do?

└HeadSmasherSaint: I have other things to handle right now, sorry.

FromThe24thCentury: Let me join! My appearance is female, just saying—not a trap!

└HeadSmasherSaint: I’ll invite you next time.

—

When I posted about the meetup in the morning, the response was explosive.

There were a lot more comments, but I summarized the main ones.

-So, what are you going to do?

It was the Goddess’s question.

If you’re asking what I’ll do, it’s simple.

I’ll meet her naturally.

First, I’ll have Battle Mage and the Cheonma take the Innocent Elf out for some fun.

Then I’ll casually head over to their house.

-And after that?

I’ll go and see.

I still don’t know what kind of woman her wife is.

If this whole mess is really just due to a misunderstanding on the Innocent Elf’s part, I can help improve their relationship as a fellow returnee comrade.

-Are you okay with this?

“What do you mean?”

-Your hair and clothes, for one.

Ah, that.

My hair had changed from blonde to silver.

Changing hair is no big deal.

My outfit is more urgent, though.

The problem is, this outfit was made by the god, so it doesn’t exactly change on command.

I could wear my old nun’s habit, but I can’t help but wonder why this combat outfit is called the Saintess outfit.

Sure, it looks nice, but still.

“Why does this outfit look like this, though?”

-Well, to explain the concept of corruption, I’d first need to… Anyway, thanks to you, my domain has changed. Not the overall framework, but…

“Yes?”

-You are the Saintess I chose and my devoted follower, and your body is essentially based on mine, right? So, as my domain changes, your outfit adapts to match your environment.

“So, in other words, my workplace changed, so my uniform changed too.”

-Just to let you know, this is all because of you. Don’t blame me.

Wow, this god of mine really passes all the responsibility onto me.

Truly, an evil god without shame.

Anyway, that aside, today, I’ll be wearing my standard nun’s outfit.

The Elf’s house is nearby, so I’d prefer to go in a more comfortable outfit.

Still, if I appear as a religious figure, maybe her difficult wife will be a bit more understanding.

Once I get a message from Battle mage and the Cheonma confirming they’ve taken the Elf out under the guise of earning some money, I can set off.

[Sender: RealBattleMage]

[Took the Elf out with the excuse of earning money. Hurry over with the Orc.]

Battle Mage’s message came through.

Now it’s time to meet the Orc, who’s likely waiting for me in the sun.

The Orc was already stationed near the Elf’s house, trying hard not to look like a criminal.

“Wow, Orc, you’re even wearing a full hood today.”

The hood actually suits him well.

With his solid build, he might even look decent from afar.

“If I don’t, I’m screwed.”

Judging from yesterday, it does seem that way.

Poor guy might have to wear a huge hood for life—but that’s none of my concern.

“Okay, okay, let’s go then. Orc, keep watch, please.”

Just in case.

I don’t plan to use violence, but if the Elf suddenly comes back, having a lookout isn’t a bad idea.

“You’re not really going to use violence, are you?”

“Come on, just trust me!”

Leaving the Orc behind, I confidently approached the mansion’s gate.

Knock, knock.

I knocked on the door.

[“Who’s there?”]

The voice that came from inside was definitely the Elf’s wife.

Alright, time to start the operation!

To get inside that house!

“Do you know about—” the Way?

“You crazy woman, that’s not how you do it!”

The Orc cried out.

Should I just break his skull?