Volume 4 Chapter 2 Villainous Guildmaster, Receives a Request from the Hero Party
In my Guild, the Gem of Heavenly Gift.
While working in the office, the silver-haired spearman was elegantly sipping tea.
"This tea is the best every time. But it's such a shame there are no snacks. Guildmaster, don't you have any cookies?"
"None."
"Oh well, can't be helped. I guess I'll open the cookies Ulgar brought back as a souvenir."
He pulls out a can of cookies from his magic bag (a rare item that ignores weight and can hold things) and starts munching noisily.
"Hey, stop loafing around and get out of here."
The other day, the Guild was in an uproar because Frederica got engaged to me.
And then, Hero Lawrence and the other members of the Hero Party showed up.
"It's fine. I was going to take a few days off anyway. And it's about time the Guildmaster should know how far the Demon King Extermination has progressed, right?"
Ulgar neatly sweeps his long silver hair and speaks.
"You want to know? The progress?"
"I don't really care."
"So you do! Well, if you must know, I'll explain it to you!"
Ulgar, excited, spreads out a parchment on my desk.
(Good grief, does this guy always have to show off?)
"This is a map of the Demon King's realm. Just to remind you, the Demon King's stronghold is guarded by 4 key forts."
In the center is the Demon King's castle.
Surrounding it are the North Wall, East Wall, South Wall, and West Wall.
"The Demon King's castle is protected by a barrier. These 4 walls serve as the barrier's generator."
"So I guess we already destroyed the North and East walls."
Each fort is manned by one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
The North Wall's Ilga and the East Wall's Jacky have already been defeated by Lawrence and the others.
"YES. And the southern and western forts, too, were finally broken through just a few days ago! HA HA! It's all thanks to Ulgar's efforts!"
"I see."
"Huh! What's with that blank reaction? Praise me more──THIS WAY!"
Sigh, what a bothersome guy.
"So, the barrier is lifted, and it's finally time to move into Demon King's castle, huh?"
"That's right. But there's one problem."
"A problem?"
Ulgar puts away the sheepskin.
"As soon as the barrier was lifted, strange poisonous gas called 'miasma' appeared around Demon King's castle. We can't enter easily."
I see, so that's why they haven't been attacked after taking the forts until today.
"Right now, Eli and Luna, our brains, are working hard to analyze it. But the investigation is going slowly."
"If those 2 are struggling, it must be a pretty unknown substance."
"Yeah. We know it's harmful to humans, but for demons, it's just a nuisance. If you breathe it in, you'll have trouble breathing within seconds. According to Eli, you'd die in less than a minute."
"Even Lawrence can't handle it?"
"That monster is still human enough, so the poison gas seems to work on it."
Ulgar raises his hand, as if giving up.
"So, are you just shirking work while Eli and them investigate?"
"Ugh! N-No! I'm not skipping! I, I mean... I'm in charge of the body. I'm just building up strength to fight the Demon King!"
Seeing how flustered he is, he probably hit the mark.
Sigh, what a pain.
"Well, I also wanted to deliver this."
He places a small bottle, palm-sized, on my desk.
It's wrapped with many talismans.
When I pick it up, I hardly feel its weight.
But... I can feel a creepy aura coming from inside the bottle.
"Is this the miasma?"
"Yes. We collected it and sealed it inside this bottle. The talismans suppress its effect, so it won't leak out."
I look at Ulgar.
He... honestly bows his head.
"I want to ask you to analyze the miasma."
I see, so that's your real purpose.
So, he's asking me for help.
"Don't you trust Eli and Luna?"
"It's not that. They are trying hard, but it's really tough for them. They've been working late every night. I thought about what I could do for my teammates... So I'm here to bow my head to the sage."
(What's so wise about a sage?)
Seriously... always depending on me.
"Hmph. Do you have no pride as a Hero Party, relying on a Guildmaster who left the Guild?"
If it were the old him, he would be blushing and stubborn here.
But... Ulgar nodded seriously.
"Yeah. If it can lessen the burden on my teammates, I will bow my head as much as needed."
Hmph.
Brat.
You've grown while I wasn't looking.
"So, Guildmaster, will you take the request?"
I stared at the small bottle for a moment and sighed.
"Fine. I will take that request."
"R-REALLY?"
Ulgar leaned forward eagerly.
"Thank you, Guildmaster! You're always the one we can rely on!"
"Hmph. Don't get the wrong idea. This is not for your sake."
I said to Ulgar while putting the bottle away.
"I just want to have a favor from you. One day, when you defeat the Demon King, I'll collect every bit of it."
Ulgar's eyes softened, and he nodded repeatedly.
"Yeah, after all... our Guildmaster is the BEST BOSS!"
"Hmph. You smooth talker. Now that I've accepted it, hurry back and help Eli and the others."
Ulgar nodded and moved to the door.
"Thank you, Guildmaster. I will repay you by defeating the Demon King."
He said, looking at me sincerely.
"Hmph. That won't be enough to repay me. Don't get carried away."
"Haha, got it. ADIEU!"
Ulgar flipped his silver hair and left.
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