Chapter 16

As the guild master, while Act was thriving, Iranku, who also led a guild, was in a tight spot.

"C-class bottom... This is bad, bad, bad! There's no more time! Damn, damn, damn!"

In the guild master's room, he scratched his scalp fiercely.

The amount of hair falling out was increasing day by day.

"Damn it! What do you mean it's still early, you damn amateur! There are things that need to be done, damn it! We're already in a dead end...!"

His reputation had hit rock bottom due to the failed fire dragon hunt, and the guild's reputation had plummeted even further with Orga's departure.

Once, the guild known as the "Homegrown Hero" was very popular, but the number of people knocking on their door gradually decreased.

And now, no new members were joining at all.

"In this case... That's it. I'll bring back those who left! I'll do it!"

Iranku was about to leave the room.

"Um... Guild Master?"

The receptionist entered the room with a worried expression.

"Can I have a moment? Actually..."

"Later! I'm busy!"

With a thud, he pushed the receptionist away.

"Kyaa...!"

She fell and hit her hip hard.

"Hmph! You slow, stupid woman. I don't have time to listen to you!"

Without offering her a hand, Iranku left the scene.

"First, I'll go to Orga. He hasn't been gone for long. If I change the treatment, he'll definitely come back..."

But...

"I refuse."

In the dining hall of the inn where Orga and his party members were based, Orga, the leader, clearly refused.

"Why not!? I'll change the treatment. I won't assign unreasonable quests like before! So come back to my guild. Okay? Okay? Hey...!"

Orga sighed deeply.

"Even if you ask us to come back now, it's too late. We're part of Act's 'Heaven-Given Ore' now."

Orga crossed his arms and shook his head sternly.

"It's not too late, is it? Come on, let's start over. I won't ask you to hunt a fire dragon like before, okay?"

Iranku tried to grab his hand in a familiar manner, but Orga pushed it away.

"Sorry, but I have no intention of coming back."

"Why not!?"

"...Because you, as a boss, don't care about your subordinates at all."

Orga said it as if spitting it out.

"First of all, because of the failed fire dragon hunt, we were seriously injured. And you didn't even ask if we were okay."

"Ah, well... That..."

"You don't care about the guild members, do you? You're just trying to bring back S-rank adventurers to improve the guild's ranking, right?"

Orga was right.

It didn't matter what happened to the members.

The guild's ranking, in other words, its reputation, was the most important thing.

"Act was worried about my health. He told me to focus on treatment first. He sent me to the best clinic and even paid for my hospitalization. Thanks to him, I'm still able to be an adventurer."

Orga nodded, seemingly deeply grateful to Act.

"I have no intention of leaving Act's guild. Sorry, but compared to you and Act, the difference in guild master level is like heaven and earth."

Orga stood up and was about to leave.

"Wait! Let's talk properly again!"

Iranku tried to cling to him, but Orga pushed his hand away forcefully.

"Get lost. Before you cling to me, shouldn't you have something to do?"

"I did! I asked Act to come back many, many times! But it's no use!"

Orga looked at him with pity.

"You can't see anything. ...Don't come to me again."

With that, Orga left the dining hall.

"Damn it! What can't I see! You're mocking me! You're mocking me! Damn it!"

★

After that, Iranku visited the former adventurers who had left and asked them to return.

But not a single one came back.

"Why? What's wrong with me...!"

He even bowed to the guild members he had expelled, but everyone gave the same answer as Orga.

"I'm not wrong... Why...?"

He returned to the guild hall of the Homegrown Hero.

But... it was clearly more empty than this morning.

"Hey... What's going on? What happened? Where's the deputy guild master!?"

Iranku asked the receptionist he had pushed this morning.

"He submitted his resignation this morning and left quickly."

"What!? He resigned!? Without even telling me!?"

"Actually, not only the deputy guild master, but many adventurers have also left."

The receptionist was trying to report the mass resignation of the deputy guild master and the guild members, but Iranku had refused to listen this morning.

"This can't be... Why!? Why are people leaving me, like Orga...!"

The receptionist sighed deeply, as if giving up.

"I'm quitting too. Goodbye."

"Wait...!"

Iranku grabbed her hand firmly.

"Hey! Why is everyone quitting!?"

"Maybe because you don't value your subordinates at all?"

The receptionist looked down at Iranku with cold eyes.

"You should have paid attention to the remaining guild members, not those who left."

"But now that Act and Orga are gone, there are no good people left in our guild!"

"Have you ever sincerely listened to the remaining members and tried to revitalize the guild together?"

The answer was no.

He had never tried to change the organization or his own mindset.

He had never even tried.

"That's why people won't follow you. This guild is over. Goodbye."

The receptionist left without even submitting her resignation.

"Why did it come to this... I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not wrong... Why...?"

She turned back and sneered.

"To still not realize your mistakes at this point. It's too late for everything, isn't it?"

[To the Readers]

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