Defiled Hero c12

Defiled Hero

Guildmaster

In short, because I have

uncommon strength and an unknown past, the guild probably wants to put a collar

on me if possible.

「Izayoi. I'll get right to the

point... Who or what are you?」 (Guildmaster)

「I'm an adventurer on an

uninteresting journey.」 (Izayoi)

「...I want to get this over

with as quickly as possible, alright? Do you think lying to me will make it go

faster?」 (Guildmaster)

With an oppressive tone of

voice lacking kindness, the master asked me again. Even though she's the mother

of a child, she's the strongest one in the guild.

Capable of using various

weapons and magic, mostly of King class, I learned how to use weapons from her,

aside from the sword. I don't know if she's still active now.

「Your inquisition is

pointless. How much do you know about me?」

(Izayoi)

「I don't intend to back down

one step... I couldn't find any information from the town of Arona. What I do

know is that your strength is at least Emperor rank.」 (Guildmaster)

Of course there's no

information on me. There's none to begin with.

「You're the one that broke off

the fang of the A-rank monster Aspis, right? Furthermore, the issue at Laketown

ended with zero casualties because of your strength. The people concerned

didn't say anything about it though.」

(Guildmaster)

I thought Bernando and the

local lord Alfred would have leaked information to the guild, but apparently

they're surprisingly cooperative guys.

「Feigning ignorance is

meaningless, I don't deny that. So, what would you have me do? Make a contract

with the guild? Or perhaps pledge allegiance to the king?」 (Izayoi)

「I'd be thankful if you did,

but you're just saying that aren't you?」

(Guildmaster)

「Yeah, something like that.」 (Izayoi)

「You possess Emperor level

strength. Even though I'm a guildmaster, I don't want to fight something

Emperor rank... Lilia.」 (Guildmaster)

「Y, yes mo— master.」 (Lilia)

Standing behind the master,

Lilia shivered while staring at the gryphon.

「You were with Izayoi for a

bit, right? What kind of person would you say he is?」 (Guildmaster)

「Eh? Wh, what kind...」 (Lilia)

Lilia looked at me nervously.

Why are you looking at me like how you look at the gryphon?

「He's conceited and

foul-mouthed, as you can see!」 she declared with conviction,

then immediately hid behind the master.

After sneaking glances at me,

Lilia went on to add, 「But,」

「But, even though his

personality is bad, he's not a bad person.」 (Lilia)

「I don't see him as a bad

person. I called you to find out what kind of person you are. It would be good

if you are willing to work with the guild, but you've shown no signs of

compliance, so I've given up on that.」

(Guildmaster)

「...Anything else? I said

earlier that I'm not interested in becoming Emperor rank.」 (Izayoi)

「I thought you'd say that.

Becoming Emperor rank would grant various rights, and restrictions as well.

However, I'm the master of the guild. Do you think I'll listen to your request?」 (Guildmaster)

「I don't think so. However,

you don't have a gauge on my actual strength, so isn't it impossible to make me

Emperor rank?」 (Izayoi)

「Yes. Therefore, I have a

proposal.」 (Guildmaster)

「An exchange?」 (Izayoi)

「Well, something like that.

The gryphon and the girl...」 (Guildmaster)

Is it that after all? If

there's a problem with the guild, it would be this room.

The number of tamed monsters

is not small. The biggest problem is the tamed A-rank monster. The best tamer

in the world should only have been able to tame a C-rank monster.

It's an A-rank monster, and

it's obeying a small girl to boot.

「The truth is, I have urgent

business I must attend to after leaving this town. When that happens, there

will be nobody to watch over it. I've asked many different people, but they

were all too afraid to take responsibility.」 (Guildmaster)

Of course. It's an A-rank

monster, a gryphon. If a fight broke out, only a high-ranking party could deal

with it.

「It's been tamed so there's no

concern about it going on a rampage, but the master is still a young girl, so

there's no trust. If there's nobody with the appropriate strength to accompany

the gryphon, then it'll become a problem.」

(Guildmaster)

「So you want me to watch over

them?」 (Izayoi)

Looking to the side, the

gryphon stared at me intensely with a menacing look.

「The period is two weeks. Helping

out this much is enough. There's even a reward.」 (Guildmaster)

「I'm not in need of money, and

there are a lot of demerits...」 (Izayoi)

...like having to put up with

them for two weeks. But if you think about it normally, it probably isn't too

bad. If I make any case to refuse, she's going to put Emperor-rank restrictions

on me.

It's better to pass the time

without trouble if possible, but the benefits for me are few. For two weeks,

watch over the girl and the gryphon, and get a reward. I absolutely do not need

money. I have 80 gold coins right now, equal to 800,000 yen.

If I accept this deal, what

else could I get...

「Hey, guildmaster. On a

different note, is Blacksmith Bogan still in this town?」 (Izayoi)

Blacksmith Bogan. A dwarven

blacksmith in this world with only one arm. A straight-laced man who hates

standing out, and uses an alias while going about from place to place, a man

with many mysteries.

I met Bogan in this town six

years ago. During the time when I went around with Zenesys destroying demons,

we visited Bogan to get Zenesys' sword fixed, which broke during a fight with a

strong demon.

「Bogan is here in this town...

You aren't just anybody since you know about him, are you?」 (Guildmaster)

Interest and doubt mixed in

the eyes of the guildmaster.

「Who is Bogan the Blacksmith?

Is he famous?」 Lilia asked the master with

great interest.

It's normal to not know about

him. The only ones that know about him in this town are the guildmaster and I.

If we told anyone about him, he would go live somewhere else I'm sure.

「I'm sorry, Lilia. He would

get mad if I said anything.」 (Guildmaster)

「N, no fair! Please explain!」 (Lilia)

Discontent, the girl who

didn't know wished for an explanation.

「You want to know?」 (Izayoi)

「Yes, I want to know.」 (Lilia)

「Even though I saved you, and

with no feelings of gratitude, but criticism instead...」 (Izayoi)

Remembering the exchange we

had on the way from Arona, I looked into the distance a bit.

A bitter expression surfaced

on Lilia's face. After mulling it over for a few seconds, her curiosity seemed

to overcome her sense of pride.

「I'm sorry! You saved the town

and where I should have given thanks, and I apologize for only saying rude

things! You are an amazingly good person!」 (Lilia)

She desperately lowered her

head and apologized.

Just reflecting on what

happened is good enough.

「Is that so, I understand.」 (Izayoi)

Having said that, Lilia

looked up to face me, eyes shining with expectation.

「Your sentiments have been received.

I'll forgive you for your previous behavior. ——But that is that, and this is

this. Even if Lilia is a good child, there's nothing to tell her in the first

place. And so, guildmaster. Would you write us a letter of introduction for

Bogan? I would like that for my reward this time.」 (Izayoi)

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