episode_0031

“I will make Elgard great again.”

Roughly cut wood, with edges that seemed like they could cut you with just a touch, and a table that looked coarse just by looking at it. Across this table, two people were staring at each other.

When did silence settle between the two of them?

The man on the opposite side, impeccably dressed, leaning on a black staff, and with his eyes gently closed, simply smiled at the silence.

“Eileen, I came because you said you called someone who could solve Elgard’s problems, didn’t I?”

She, who had been quietly listening to the man’s words, sitting on the opposite side with a displeased expression, shook her head.

At her words, Eileen, who had been standing silently behind her, trembling, pitifully stammered out a reply.

“But he’s the one who subdued that ‘Kun’ in one go… I don’t think he’s talking nonsense….”

“……”

In that silence, Eileen seemed to gather more courage and began to speak again.

“Guild Master-nim, don’t you want to revive this place? No one else has spoken so resolutely about solving this situation before, have they?”

Eileen pleaded, speaking to her who sat quietly in her chair, propping up her chin with her eyes closed.

“Alright, Eileen.”

The person called the Guild Master, with blue hair that perfectly matched the color of Elgard’s river, which should have been blue as seen in the game, stood up, her hair swirling.

Eileen seemed surprised by her sudden action and clutched the notebook in her hand more tightly.

“How can that blind person negotiate with the elves?”

“Uh… still, they wouldn’t mess with a blind person…”

“Even if that person can communicate with the elves and has the power to heal the World Tree, how will they get inside the [Garden]?”

“Still, if they navigate the [Garden]’s perimeter well….”

“Eileen.”

“Yes… yes…?”

“Eileen! Are you mocking me right now? Do you think I haven’t done anything for Elgard? I’ve investigated the entire [Garden]’s perimeter and tried to communicate with the elves too! But what did I get in return?”

“…….”

“It was spine-chilling disregard. You know, don’t you? How much I’ve agonized over this situation. How much I think about Elgard.”

“……..”

“But then someone who could solve this situation suddenly appeared, and when I went to see them!”

She pointed a finger at the man who was still sitting upright in his chair, smiling, and looking at the two of them, then spoke.

“A person who can’t even see and walks with a staff is going to revive Elgard? Are you trying to torture me with false hope and kill me?”

“I have ears, you know.”

“Shut up. I don’t know what your intention is, whether to toy with this place or exploit it, but if you’re going to talk such nonsense, get out of here right now.”

She approached the man, placed the thin sword from her waist against his neck, and spoke.

“Don’t insult this place any further, just leave. The matters here are not for an outsider to bother with, nor for someone who can’t even see to solve.”

The Guild Master still glared intently at the man, but the blind person replied with a smile that made it impossible to tell if he was looking at her, if he was nervous because his deceptive intentions had been exposed, or if he was simply a psychopath who found the situation amusing.

“Well, sometimes an outsider’s perspective and strength can be the answer.”

He gripped the thin sword with his hand and spoke.

However, the single most pitiable person in this situation watched the two closely, not knowing what to do.

Her heart, originally full of hope, was now filled with regret.

Why did I listen to this blind person?

Only that question filled her mind.

A confident person who appeared in an extremely harsh situation.

Someone who easily subdued a well-known adventurer in Elgard.

Perhaps she had been lured by such things and brought in a swindler.

She was regretting it.

[Just Before]

Elgard, located next to the World Tree, is a town that is urban in scale. It’s easy to think of it as a city without nobility, thus lacking stationed troops.

So, what would happen if an elf attack or a byproduct from the [Garden] were to attack the town?

The [Guild] in front of me can answer that question.

It’s not that [Guilds] don’t exist where there are troops, but while [Guilds] in cities primarily focus on managing adventurers, [Guilds] in towns like this are also responsible for maintaining public order.

“The [Guild] of Elgard… I would have wanted to come even if it wasn’t for the test…”

There isn’t a single adventurer directly managed or hired by this place.

This means that a single person is maintaining public order in this large town.

She is this town’s shield, spear, and cradle.

It was a phrase about her found in the NPC description.

A person who had served as a Knight Commander in the Empire’s capital, but, missing her hometown, relinquished all her positions to simply become a Guild Master and live a leisurely life.

That was the woman, Ibn.

Isn’t that full of romance?

That’s why I personally admired her.

*Thud thud*

My steps had already led me to the front of the [Guild].

A massive tree-shaped shadow in front of the [Guild].

It was the emblem of Elgard’s Guild and the place Ibn protected.

*Creak…*

In the past, countless adventurers must have visited this place to open this door, hunting and conquering dungeons.

People must have believed that this door would never close, but sparse cobwebs hung from the joints of the door, showing how long it hadn’t been opened.

*Tap tap*

Whispering and complaining sounds, due to the appearance of an outsider, began to reach my sensitive ears.

A large-bodied person standing instead of sitting in a chair.

A person resting a staff larger than their own body on a table.

A person simply leaning against the wall, arms crossed, saying nothing.

There weren’t many people, but they all seemed to be staring at me.

Faint magical energy was all directed at me.

Ignoring such gazes, I walked towards the counter where adventurer requests were accepted.

“Oh, you’re a new face. Registering as an adventurer… Ah… can you not see…? This is a Guild, but perhaps you’ve come to the wrong place…?”

“If you can provide a little support, I will solve Elgard’s problems. Please call the Guild Master.”

“Pardon…?”

An absurd voice.

It was natural.

A blind person suddenly walking into the [Guild] and claiming to solve the town’s chronic problems.

And demanding to see the boss out of nowhere.

They must think he’s crazy.

“Do you… know what kind of problems they are…?”

“Isn’t it the river problem, the danger of the [Garden]’s perimeter, and the World Tree problem?”

“That’s true, but….”

She trailed off, looking elsewhere instead of directly at me.

As if asking for this madman to be removed.

*Clank clank*

Then, with the sound of heavy iron moving, a brawny person began to approach me.

“Hey, what are you going to do that even the Guild Master here can’t solve? Stop talking nonsense and get out.”

“I don’t lie.”

“Did you not understand what I said? Get out.”

Placing a thick hand on my shoulder, he was exerting force as if he would throw me any moment.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes…?”

“If I remove this person, will you grant my request?”

“Uh….”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

I simply nodded and waved my hand in the air.

“This bastard…!”

The man must have grabbed my shoulder, intending to throw me far away.

[Mind Sword]

*Slam!*

“Cough… cough….”

He didn’t realize that the person groaning and spitting out pain would be himself.

‘I hit him with the back of the sword, so he won’t die.’

I checked on him, embedded in the distant wall, and then spoke to the woman at the counter again.

“Now, you’ll take me to the Guild Master, right?”

[Present]

When will this Guild Master shed her suspicion of me?

Her sword was sharp, poised to sever my neck at any moment, and though I couldn’t see her eyes directly, I knew their state even without sensing scattered magic.

I understand.

Because if I were to solve this, all her efforts until now would become meaningless.

“Then, shall we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“If I cannot solve this problem, I will live as a slave to this [Guild] for the rest of my life.”

“Ha, we were short-handed anyway. If you can defeat ‘Kun’, you might be useful after all.”

“You think I’ll fail?”

Then, without a word, she pressed the sword even closer to my neck.

After holding it there for a while, she withdrew the sword and replied to my bet.

“Very well. If you succeed, I will work under you and follow any command.”

Ibn is someone who, as a Knight Commander, does not believe her choices are wrong.

On the contrary, this must have made her accept the bet.

And even offer such an extraordinary condition.

“Then, may I ask a small favor?”

“What is it?”

“I will take a few necessary items from the Guild’s basement.”

“Do as you please. Eileen will guide you.”

“Thank you for your favor.”

She scoffed at my reply and left the room.

As she left the room, Eileen finally seemed relieved and stopped her trembling hands,

while I simply smiled.