The Guildmaster’s office was more museum than a workspace. Aside from some ornate furniture and a plush sofa, the rest of the room was filled to the brim with the faint hum of damaged automatons, dormant magic relics, monster busts, and countless other objects. Every item held a story from his adventuring days–a fact I learned the hard way during our first meeting. A curious question about the wyvern head behind his desk had turned into a three-hour long recounting of that expedition.
“I will get straight to the point, ladies.” The Guildmaster slid into his leather desk chair, the worn wood creaking under his weight. “This is a direct order from the palace. You are forbidden from disclosing what you witnessed to anyone outside this room. Should you disobey, charges of high treason will be brought against you and your households.”
The color drained from Roxanne’s face, leaving her skin the color of parchment. Beside her, Yunyun’s breath hitched, her hands trembling as they gripped the hem of her skirt. In the kingdom, the crime of high treason carried a sentence of public execution by beheading. Punishment was not carried out with a guillotine or sharp axe; instead, executioners used dull, rusted swords to hack heads from their shoulders. If you were lucky, your life would end in fewer than three strikes. The unlucky ones might suffer thirty or more blows before death finally claimed them.
“This is some kind of sick joke, right? If Leon is a high-profile patron, he should have been assigned a dedicated receptionist. Making him use the general queue lines is far too risky,” Lucoa snapped, furious she had been dragged into this against her will.
“I planned to assign one during our meeting three days ago. Unfortunately, that did not happen because his stepmother tried to have him killed on his first night here. She paid a group of assassins to poison his dinner with Manticore venom. The palace learned of this the following morning and sent knights to check on him. When they arrived, his room was empty and his belongings were gone.” The Guildmaster turned his gaze toward me. “Baron Aremus, where have you been this whole time? The palace has been frantically searching for you.”
Confused, I wanted to know what was going on. ‘My status window said my surname was Aremus too. It should be Bartfort, just like the original character.’
Instead of looking like a fool, I kept my mouth shut and shared what Luxion told me, with some necessary alterations.
“After realizing I had been poisoned, I snuck out and checked into a high-class inn near the palace. The poison kicked in just as I staggered into my room; everything after that is a blank. The next thing I knew, it was yesterday morning, and I had one hell of a headache. As I wasn’t fully recovered, I took a rest day to regain my strength.”
Satisfied with my explanation, the Guildmaster wrote up a report and summoned one of the guild’s errand boys. He sent the young man on his way, entrusting him with the document and giving strict instructions to head straight to the palace. With the pressing matters addressed, his demeanor lightened as the tension faded from his shoulders.
“Before we continue, I have something to give you, Baron Aremus. The palace sent over a few items pertaining to your new title and name change request. Everything has been approved by the Crown, so please start using your new surname.”
From a drawer, he retrieved a medium-sized, hand-carved box and slid it across the desk towards me. Unsure of what was going on, I opened the box and reviewed the documents. Sure enough, there was an application for an insignia registration and surname change inside. Both papers had my handwriting on them, yet I could not recall filling them out.
‘I wondered why my status window displayed Aremus as my surname instead of Bartfort. A few of my body’s memories must have been lost during the transition. Hopefully, I have forgotten nothing important…’, I thought. “Thank you for holding onto this for me. Do you have anything else, or are we free to leave?”
“Haha! Eager to get back to dungeon diving, are we? I have a few more things to say, then you are all free to leave.”
The Guildmaster, after retrieving a form from a different drawer, filled it out.
“Lucoa, I am reassigning you to be Leon’s personal guild receptionist. I am well aware of your disdain for nobles, but I need you to act professionally with him. Can you do that?”
“Of course, Guildmaster. After seeing Leon’s stats, I understand just how close I came to death. I will not make that mistake again and swear to act professionally. All I request is that he continue to treat these two well.”
Grateful for her continued support, Roxanne and Yunyun ran over to hug her. As they squeezed the startled dragoness, the Guildmaster continued.
“Regarding the attempt on your life, I would ask you to leave the matter to the palace. They will see Zola and her household pay for their misdeeds with their lives. A war is brewing with the Principality of Fanoss, and we will need your strength if we are to win.”
The Holfort Kingdom and the Principality of Fanoss were bitter enemies now, but four centuries ago, we were one nation. Prior to his secession, Duke Fanoss was a stalwart supporter of the kingdom. To reward his loyalty, the King had decreed that the Crown Prince would take the Duke’s eldest daughter as his bride.
On the day of their wedding, the Crown Prince fled with another woman who had captured his heart. Cast aside before the eyes of the nation, the abandoned bride fled to her family’s territory. Some say she died of a broken heart soon afterward, but rumors say she took her own life because of the unbearable shame. After losing his beloved daughter and his prestige among the nobility, the Duke directed his fury at his liege.
Many attempts were made by the royal family to atone for the Crown Prince’s folly, but every offer only stoked his hatred. When word got out that the backstabbing prince was having a child with his mistress, any hope of reconciliation died. The Duke seceded that same day and launched a full-scale invasion of the kingdom with his faithful retainers. He died without the vengeance he craved, but he left behind a legacy of hatred that his descendants have dutifully carried out to this day.
“So long as I never have to see that viper again, I am happy to leave it to the palace,” I said with a fictitious, grateful nod. ‘Sorry for lying to your face, Guildmaster. Zola and her crotch spawn will be dead long before the palace can act. Her allies may leak the palace’s plans to her, so my best option is to let Luxion handle it.’
With that, the Guildmaster dismissed the four of us. At the receptionist’s counter, Lucoa completed the registration and distributed the Guild IDs. As Roxanne and Yunyun looked them over, she gave the women one last piece of advice.
“As your party’s reputation spreads, people will approach you with job requests outside the guild’s official channels. It is at your discretion whether or not you accept, but I would suggest declining every time. When you accept those jobs, you risk not getting paid or being dragged into illegal activities.”
“We will do our best not to accept those jobs, Miss Lucoa!” the women swore with a salute.
“I am happy to hear that, ladies. Before you depart, is there any other support I can offer you?”
Lucoa’s earlier explanation had been thorough, so neither of them had questions. Turning to me, Lucoa poised the same question.
“Yes, I have two questions. First, when we return later this afternoon, where can we find you? There does not appear to be another receptionist counter, so I wanted to confirm the details with you. Second, can you refer us to a reputable armor, blacksmith, and magic shop? My equipment is fine, but they only have the clothes on their backs.”
“Whenever you need to get in touch with me, just flag down any guild employee and show them your ID. They will alert me, and I will reserve a private room for us to talk away from prying eyes,” Lucoa said, turning her gaze to the women. “I am curious to know where the equipment you told about me is. Care to share?”
In shame, they lowered their heads and mumbled about having exaggerated a bit when they first met. Disappointed with them, Lucoa rolled up some papers and smacked them over the head.
“Is there anything else you have lied to Leon or me about?”
“No, ma’am…” they replied.
From under the counter, Lucoa pulled out a map of the capital and furiously marked locations for me. Affiliated with the Adventurer’s Guild, all the shops would discount our purchases if we showed our IDs. Thanking Lucoa for her help, I led the women toward the exit.
“Not to be rude, but how are we going to purchase our gear? If you recall, Roxanne and I are broke,” Yunyun inquired.
“Do not worry about the money; I will cover you. As the party leader, it is my responsibility to ensure you are properly equipped for the task at hand. I will accept no complaints from either of you.”
With a content smile, Lucoa wished us luck as she waved goodbye.
---An Hour Later---
After securing quality leather armor, a buckler, and a steel short sword for Roxanne, we began looking for magic staves. As we made our way to the closest shop on our list, the shopkeeper greeted us at the door with excitement.
“Welcome to The Humble Talisman! How can I help you today?” the shopkeeper said with a wide smile.
“My companion needs a new magic staff. Could you show us what you have in stock?”
Gesturing toward Yunyun, he suddenly lost his enthusiasm. Just like the porters at the guild, he looked upon her with disdain.
“I am sorry, but I do not sell items to Crimson Eyed Demons. If she goes on a rampage, like her kind do, it will come back on me for enabling it.”
“Understood… Thank you for your time.”
Deciding not to do business with him, I crossed his shop off and made a footnote. Anyone willing to condemn an entire race for the actions of a few individuals does not deserve my money.
As we turned to leave, “Let me save you all some time. No one in the capital is crazy enough to sell magic items to her kind. My suggestion would be to kick her out and find yourself a normal mage.”
“You may sell your goods to whomever you please, but kindly keep your two cents to yourself. If we cannot buy a staff for her, I will make one myself.”
“Haha! Becoming an artificer takes decades of hands-on experience and study, kid. A runt like you could never- “
Before he could finish, the tip of my blade was pressed against his throat. Dumbfounded, the shopkeeper’s face lost all its color, turning pale as a sheet of paper.
“I suggest keeping your mouth shut, citizen. You were already on thin ice after insulting my friend. Continue belittling me, and I will cut you down.”
He blacked out from shock when my house’s insignia was presented. As he collapsed to the ground, a woman darted out of the shop to catch him. Once his head was safely cradled in her lap, she looked up at me with a petrified expression.
“My lord, please spare my husband’s life. We will compensate you for my husband’s insult.”
As I sheathed my blade, I told her, “Calm yourself, woman. I have no interest in compensation or taking his life. The intent was to scare some sense into this idiot. If I were a less forgiving noble, he would be dead right now, or your store would be ablaze. Tell him to be more mindful of his words in the future.”
“Of course! I will reprimand my husband thoroughly when he awakens.”
Overjoyed, I meant them no harm; she dragged his unconscious body into the shop. Roughly doing so, his skull was bashed by the closing door.
“So, what do we do now?” Roxanne inquired. “I doubt the shopkeeper was lying, so Yunyun will have to fight without a staff until you craft her one. Can you still use magic without it?”
“Yes, though, the mana efficiency and power are decreased. I also cannot aim my spells well without a medium…” Yunyun spoke, head hung low. “I am more of a burden to you both than an ally. If you want to fire me, please do so… It was fun while it lasted.”
“What in the world are you talking about, Yunyun? I have no intention of firing you from the party. You are an invaluable member of our team, and someone I consider to be my friend.”
“Leon is right! Friends don’t abandon each other when things get tough. We stick together and find a way forward.”
Taken aback by our sincere words, tears flowed down her cheeks. “Are we… are we really friends? Can I really call you my friends?”
Since the day she was born, Yunyun had only experienced the cruelty and disdain of others. To the people of her village, the same ones she was here to earn money for, she was a disgrace and a waste of space. Her own family had never celebrated her birthday or praised her hard work. They had gone so far as to disinvite her from holiday events because of their shame.
When we nodded our heads, the waterworks began. “Thank you both hiccup so much!! I… I promise to hiccup give my all for you hiccup both.”
“In that case, there may be a way you can help us right now. From what I hear, there are no quality artificers in your village. That must mean you import magical equipment and items, right?”
“Oh, that is right! Miss Wiz’s shop is here in the capital. If it is her, I am certain she will have a staff I can use.”
Upon hearing Wiz’s name, my lips puckered in dismay. Wiz was a kindhearted lich, but her business sense was atrocious. If I recalled right, Megumin’s father sold her shoddy items for a premium regularly. Should that hold true here, Wiz was probably even worse off than these two.
“Uh… When was the last time you saw this Wiz person?” I inquired.
“Eight months ago. I was supposed to check on her when I arrived, but I forgot about it. Do you mind if we take a detour to do that now?”
“If she might have a staff for you, we should go have a look.”
With the decision made, we followed Yunyun to where the shop was located.
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