episode_0023

“Ha…”

Claude sighs.

It’s a very irritated expression.

Is it because I haven’t been able to sleep properly lately?

No, honestly, it’s not that difficult for him, just not being able to sleep for 4-5 days.

He gets a little irritable, but his personality is usually nasty, so it doesn’t make much of a difference.

The reason Claude was so annoyed right now was because of something else.

“Why are you suddenly calling me out and making such a fuss?”

Claude arrived in Citrine, the city where the guild headquarters is located, to meet the adventurer guild elders who had suddenly summoned him.

The large city of Citrine, also called the second capital of the Maios Empire.

If we say that the Preta branch is a guild branch that is practically the headquarters.

The Adventurer’s Guild in Citrine is the real headquarters.

The guild headquarters located in Citrin is where the elders, including the guild master, decide whether the guild will be successful or not.

Of course, it is only a headquarters in name, and adventurers are active like other guilds.

However, occasionally, adventurers who base their activities in other cities are called here.

In most cases, the reasons are limited.

When you receive the title of hero, when you are promoted to S-rank adventurer, and… when those top adventurers commit something big and get punished.

It’s about when you do a great job and receive an award.

However, Claude had already received the title of hero, but it was still too early for him to reach S rank, and instead of performing amazingly, he made mistakes.

In other words, I was brought here to rebuke my mistakes.

Of course, I didn’t even realize that it was such a big mistake.

‘Fuck, honestly, I’m in Yongsan. Why am I being punished for killing a few innocent villagers? Honestly, is it my fault? Is that what wyverns are like?’

Even if there was a mistake, he thought it was Mary’s fault for being greedy and that he was not at fault at all.

He couldn’t even think about the fact that he had chosen a dangerous request for himself and arrogantly went to hunt down a wyvern with just the three of them.

Anyway, Claude arrived at the guild headquarters and went to the conference room where the elders were gathered.

“Are you here, warrior Claude?”

Then the guild elders, whose faces were covered with something that looked like dark silk, greeted him with a solemn tone.

‘Can’t we just stop doing things like that? I feel embarrassed when I see this.’

He covered his face with a silk cloth, as if to reveal his untouchable power, and made a deliberately solemn voice.

Why would an adventurer’s guild that symbolizes freedom do such an outdated and shameful thing?

I didn’t understand it well.

Is it because they are all old people who were active before the creation of the Adventurer Academy?

“What’s going on? I’ve already been punished.”

Ban on requests for a week and do volunteer work designated by the guild.

That’s why Claude was cleaning the sewers until yesterday.

Of course, it wasn’t real cleaning, it was just extermination of monsters that appeared in the city sewers.

Of course, since it is a volunteer activity designated by the guild, it is free.

Since it was something everyone avoided, it was done as a volunteer activity.

‘I still feel like there’s a rotten smell coming from my body.’

So far, that was more stressful than not being able to sleep.

Anyway, I am already receiving the punishment given by the guild.

I wanted to quit right away, but I held on to it, thinking that if I went against it for no reason, my title as a hero could be taken back.

But why did they call me this time?

The elders looked at Claude and explained the reason.

“Hero Claude, I have something to suggest to you.”

“…Suggestion?”

What a sudden offer.

This is a proposal that is even called to the headquarters separately.

What is that?

“Scorching Mary, Mary Blaze. His family contacted me.”

Claude’s expression crumpled at the word Mary.

‘That greedy bitch.’

If she hadn’t been greedy for the wyvern egg, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.

he thought.

Why do you reveal so much money to a wealthy noblewoman?

It was really funny.

Since she is the youngest daughter who cannot inherit the family anyway, is it because she is blind to collecting future money and power from now on?

“This was a communication expressing dissatisfaction with the personal punishment imposed by Chairman Mureos on you and your party, including Mary.”

Draco Blaze, Mary’s father and the head of the Blaze family.

Naturally, the people he contacted in anger were the elders of the Adventurer’s Guild.

It tells the elders that Mureos behaved as he pleases, so he should be properly punished.

No, it was a threat to completely ban him from being an adventurer and chairman of the board.

Of course, Chairman Mureos is a tremendous figure.

I know that I can’t win even if the entire Drake Marquis attacks me.

But they are not the only marquis.

Elders of the Salte Kingdom, the Adventurer’s Guild, and numerous nobles and royals from friendly countries.

Even the royal family of the Maios Empire.

Their power is not simply magic and force.

More than that… there is a greater power that holds and shakes the world.

Believing in that power, they planned to carry out a behind-the-scenes operation to prevent Chairman Mureos from spreading his power.

And one of the ways is to have the adventurer elders punish Mureos.

Anyway, she belongs to the Adventurer’s Guild, so let’s start there first.

That would give people around her an excuse to bite her.

And since he has turned his back on so many powerful people on the continent, no matter how great Mureos is, he will not be able to live in front of people like he is now.

Because things called power will somehow make it impossible to do that.

“So, what does that have to do with me?”

Claude asked as if he didn’t understand.

Then you can just do it with the elders and their connections. Why are you calling yourself and talking about it?

I didn’t understand it well.

Of course, I really don’t like Chairman Mureos.

Because he dared to place a strange curse on himself.

I was wishing I could die right now.

If they punish Chairman Mureos, it will feel a little refreshing.

But the problem is.

So what does this offer to Claude mean?

What, are you telling me to fight Mureos?

“Only punish? Because that’s not enough.”

The elders of the Adventurer’s Guild answered Claude’s questions.

They thought that wasn’t enough.

They were already wary of the growing power of Mureos within the guild.

I still regret letting the Adventurer Academy be created.

I had no idea that his power and status would grow so much.

Anyway, I was planning to use this opportunity to grab Chairman Mureos and drag him out.

Wouldn’t that then be more helpful to Marquis Blaze in preparing to bite her?

They are aiming for complete expulsion from this opportunity.

And finally, the opportunity came.

“An adventurer named Edin who used to travel with you. Do you remember?”

“…What is that guy?”

When another unpleasant name came out after Mary, Claude’s expression began to get worse.

“They said the academy hired that guy recently. As the owner of a general store.”

“Huh.”

To be honest, I wasn’t really interested.

Academy or anything else, the only thing you can do is become a general store owner.

I thought it was a job that suited the scrappy Edin well.

However, there is one thing that makes me feel bad.

‘Is that bastard still in Preta?’

Of course, I thought I would go to my hometown or somewhere in the countryside.

He didn’t like the fact that he was still in Preta, where he was still active.

“Fuck…”

Claude feels increasingly worse.

Forced cleaning of the sewers combined with my irritated nerves from not being able to sleep for 4 days.

I was under so much stress that my hair felt like it was falling out.

However, the elders’ subsequent words made his wrinkled face open up little by little.

“Use that guy to bring down Chairman Mureos. Since I was your subordinate, wouldn’t you be able to use it well?”

“……”

“They may plant people here too, but new people who suddenly join are bound to be suspicious. But… wouldn’t the story be different if the Chairman Mureos had personally selected him?”

Edin is an employee directly selected by Chairman Mureos.

Trust will be on a different level.

‘Is that why you wrapped your arms around that bastard?’

They didn’t understand why Chairman Mureos suddenly appeared and punished them, but Claude’s curiosity was somewhat satisfied.

Anyway, that’s what the elders say.

Since you are close to Edin, you can trick Edin into uncovering Chairman Mureos’ bad secrets.

Or, they create a justification for punishment by inventing a crime that does not exist.

Since they are directly selected employees, their reliability will be high.

No matter how Chairman Mureos is, there will be some things that loosen up a bit.

The idea is to take advantage of that gap.

Then immediately throw away the used Edin.

Cut off the pods to prevent them from being caught later.

‘Are you going to throw away Edin, kick out the chairman, and send him to hell?’

That’s a method I quite like.

Claude thought.

It never occurred to me that it would be difficult to trick Edin.

‘That bastard has been my friend since long ago. ‘You’ll do everything I ask?’

Does he not even think about the fact that he kicked him out by his own hand, or does he think that Edin will listen to him even if he knows about it?

I felt like he was a very comfortable person.

“Good. Let’s give it a try. Instead…”

Claude accepted the offer and said while smelling his own body.

“…Please skip cleaning the drains, now. Honestly, I did enough in 3 days.”

“Let’s consider it.”

Could it be that body odor is simply due to sewage?

Or maybe it’s the unique stinky smell that comes from a human body that has become trash…

I don’t know for sure.