Vol. 3 - Chapter 15 - A conversation with the head of Straheim subdivision
In front of my seat, holding his head in his hands, was Willy Gunman.
I had known him since I was eight years old, when I was a goblin slayer.
I thought I hadn\'t seen his face for a long time, but who would have known he had become the branch manager of Straheim.
"Hm. Don\'t worry about it. I will not be defeated by people of that caliber."
"Moron! Who even dares to mess with the guy who beat the Goblin Lord to his death!"
"Well, that\'s also true."
I was strangely convinced when it was said by Willy Gunman, who was currently filled with grief.
"Hey, Grey, I request you, please do me a favor and stay quiet."
"That depends on them."
If they became hostile, then I would not forgive them. Whoever they were, I\'d smash them to pieces so they\'d never rise again.
"I am not very pleased with the Breathgarn, but they are at least skillful. If they disappear from Straheim, the guild\'s ability to respond to emergencies will be severely diminished."
"And that\'s why you were tolerating their rebellion?"
"Ah, that charade."
He spat out, looking sideways at Eight.
"Charade? You guys, no way.........."
If that was a charade, then the reason the guild hadn\'t handled Eight\'s situation.......
"That\'s the case. Those guys are threatening the guild......"
Certainly, now that I thought about it again, there wasn\'t any worth acting unlawful right under the guild\'s nose. They wanted the guild to come forward to protect Eight and take money from him. That was about it.
"They completely act like a hoodlum. Are they really that skillful?"
"That\'s a good question. As a matter of fact, Breathgarn itself isn\'t any important organisation. The problem is the boss of those guys, Aku, who is an S-Rank adventurer. It\'s like this..........."
S-Rank. There were only three adventurers of this rank in the world. I see. If an S-Rank was crushed, then the power of adventurer organisations would change drastically.
Even so, he took things for granted and decided not to participate in the recent Undead incident because of Caesar\'s absence, which was very poorly received by the imperial government and the Commerce Guild.
It was a rumour but apparently, the donation from the Commerce Guild had been cut in half in the past few months.
If their war potentially decreased more than that, then it would even affect the significance of the Adventurer\'s Guild existence itself. It wasn\'t hard to understand why Willy was on edge.
"So you mean to say it\'s like a slap to them because I have taught them a lesson before the negotiation?"
"That\'s right. That\'s why I\'m asking you to please control your fighting spirit."
Willy pleaded with his not-so-handsome and pathetic face.
The opponent was the family of an S-Rank adventurer. Even though Willy didn\'t have the slightest doubt of my victory, starting from the black-haired receptionist, the rest of the staff members\' expressions changed into suspicion without exception.
"Let\'s take proper measures. So I can assume that this kid is in my protection now?"
Eight\'s body stiffened as the subject of himself came up.
"If it were before, I would be reluctant to leave an up-and-coming adventure in the hands of a monster like you, but it can\'t be helped this time. There\'s no other way."
"That\'s a hell of a thing to say."
"It\'s natural. You have a long criminal record after all."
"Hmm..."
That\'s a sore point I couldn\'t deny.
"Then, Eight, how old are you?"
"14 years old."
"Interesting. One year older than me."
In that case, maybe I should try adding him to my students. One more person wouldn\'t be too much of a burden for me, and it might inspire Pluto and the others.
"I, I am older? But that voice?"
"Oh, this..."
When I took off the pendant around my neck, which had the function of a voice changer, my voice was instantly replaced by that of a child who had grown accustomed to it.
This time, Eight and the entire staff of the Adventurer\'s Guild opened their mouths.
"Then, let\'s do our best together."
"Yes!"
When I stretched out my right hand, he nodded with a faint voice.
The two eyes, slightly hidden behind the long bangs, swayed like a timid puppy, but he didn\'t look away from me.
After that, I explained the situation to Willy and asked him to register the students as adventurers.
"I never expected you to become a teacher in Magic Knight Academy. No wonder that Caesar........"
"Hmm, has Caesar returned to this empire?"
He had recently gone out on an official trip to subdue the disaster-level beast in the eastern region, but there was no contact from him yet.
"I see. So you didn\'t know yet....."
"Willy?"
"Ah, I\'m sorry. You will meet him before long."
From then on, he shut his mouth tightly. He made a subtle remark which now felt like something was stuck between my back teeth.
Anyway, the students had been registered as adventurers, and I\'d received the cards for them. I could ask about Caesar another time.
I left the hall of the Adventurer\'s Guild with Eight.