Chapter 19

One day, in my room.

"Yui, we're starting the receptionist training today."

"Yes! Thank you very much!"

I led my apprentice Yui out of the room and headed for the guild hall on the first floor.

"Guild Master!""Guild Master!""Can you train me again today?"

The guild members gathered around me with a "Wah...!"

"Sure, Lord Act, you're as popular as ever today!"

"I don't care. It's a waste of time. All of you, get back to your work."

But even as I tried to shoo them away, the guild members were noisy, saying things like "How about having a drink together today?" and "H-how about a date, sometimes?"

Just then,

"Everyone, the Guild Master is in trouble~"

A tall, elegant female staff member came from the reception area.

"【Catherine】-san!"

She smiled and came over.

"Everyone, if you don't work, you'll be fired~"

"\"We don't want that! We'll work!\""

The guild members dispersed and returned to their work.

"Sorry, Catherine."

"No, no~"

"Good timing. Yui, have her teach you the job. This is Catherine, one of the receptionists."

"Thank you very much~"

Yui bowed and looked at her with sparkling eyes.

"I know! Catherine-san is our most popular receptionist, right?"

"No, no~. It's not that big of a deal~"

However...

"Catherine-san! The reception line is getting long!"

A junior staff member pulled her arm and led her to the reception area. Indeed, a long line had formed.

"It should be the same no matter who handles the reception."

"Everyone likes Catherine-san. She's kind, beautiful, and has this noble aura. Ah... I admire her."

I led Yui to the reception area.

Catherine worked efficiently.

And she taught Yui the job at the same time.

"Sure, Catherine."

"No, no~ Everyone can do this much~. After all, everyone is a capable person chosen by the Guild Master~"

"You're special. I like you."

Especially those who are capable.

"Ah, ahaha~. W-well... thank you very much~..."

For some reason, Catherine's cheeks turned bright red, and her eyes darted around as she spoke.

"Sure enough, Catherine is the Guild Master's favorite, huh~"

"Ku, I envy you, Guild Master~"

"Well, it makes sense. The Guild Master is handsome, reliable, and the best man."

"\"\"\"Strongly agree\"\"\""

The guild members were saying incomprehensible things... when suddenly,

"Catherine! Is Catherine here!?"

The door to the entrance was roughly opened, and a blonde young man entered the guild hall.

The man, who looked nervous, was familiar to me.

"Zalchim-sama..."

Catherine said, her voice trembling.

She looked down with a dark expression.

"Could it be, that guy?"

When I asked her, she nodded several times.

"Yui, take Catherine to my mansion through the back door."

Before he could get closer, I gave Yui the instruction.

"Eh...? W-who is that person?"

"I'll explain later."

Yui nodded and led her away.

"Hey, where is my woman?"

The man called Zalchim looked at me and said that.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Catherine! My ex-fiancée should be working here!"

So this is the man Catherine mentioned.

"I don't know."

"Don't play dumb! I've already done my investigation! Hand over Catherine, you commoner!"

He had the attitude of a spoiled noble.

"What the hell, you!""Coming in here and being rude!""Get lost, rich brat!"

Zalchim's temple twitched, and he said, his voice trembling.

"...Don't think you can get away with insulting me, a noble, just because you're an adventurer. Hey!"

With a thud, armed men entered.

They must be his private army.

"What? You're going to do something?"

"Ridiculous. The sin of insulting me, a noble, with dirty words is grave. Kill this lowly man."

The private army drew their weapons and tried to attack the guild members.

On the other hand, the guild members did not draw their weapons.

"That's enough."

When I said that, thud... the private army fell to the ground.

"What!? What did you do!?"

"I just made them sleep."

It's an application of my unique time acceleration.

By slowing down the consciousness of the private army who looked into my eyes to the extreme, I could make them faint.

"Y-you...! Do you know what it means to lay a hand on my subordinates!?"

"Do you know what it means to lay a hand on my subordinates?"

I came out from behind the counter and approached Zalchim.

"The Guild Association is an independent organization that does not belong to any country. That means you can't interfere even if you're a noble."

"S-so what...!"

He glared at me, so I glared back.

"Ah...!"

Thud, Zalchim collapsed.

"Amazing... The Guild Master doesn't back down even to a noble."

"Sure enough, our reliable Master!"

I glanced at the guild members and said,

"You guys did well to hold back."

They didn't even try to draw their weapons when they were attacked.

"Of course!"

"No matter how strong we become, we don't use unnecessary violence against civilians!"

"That's the Guild Master's teaching, right?"

The guild members seem to be following the teachings properly.

Really, they're so conscientious.

After a while,

Catherine returned to the guild hall with a depressed expression.

"I'm sorry for the trouble..."

"You don't need to worry about it. Get back to work."

"Yes..."

Yui looked at Catherine with concern and said,

"Lord Act, that person earlier, was he Catherine-san's fiancé, right?"

"Yeah, ex-fiancé. He was dumped and disowned by his family."

"Why would someone like that come now...?"

"Probably realized the woman who married in his place wasn't good and came to take her back."

I've seen quite a few of these types before.

"I hope he gives up soon..."

★

Later, in my room.

"Lord Act, it's terrible! Catherine-san! She hasn't come to work even though it's time to start!"

Yui rushed into my room in a panic.

"I know. This happened."

"!? R-resignation letter...?"

I was reading the torn envelope.

It stated that she was resigning from the guild because she was going to remarry with the imperial noble Zalchim.

"...This is ridiculous. He's the one who broke the engagement, and now he's trying to take her back... How selfish..."

Yui raised her voice, looking at the resignation letter.

"This is definitely a lie! She must have been forced to write it!"

"Maybe."

"Maybe...? Is it okay!? If Catherine-san resigns like this..."

"Once a resignation letter is submitted, I can't stop it. We don't chase those who leave."

"That's... so..."

At that moment, a communication from Catherine came through the magical device.

"...Guild Master"

Her voice was depressed.

It seemed like she was trying to cling to something.

"Catherine, what's wrong?"

"...No, it's nothing."

"Guild Master! Let me talk to her!"

Yui snatched the magical device from me and said,

"Catherine-san! Tell the truth! You don't want to go back to that man, do you?"

There was a moment of silence.

But then she said softly,

"...There's no other way. That man doesn't follow common sense. If I don't, I'll cause trouble for everyone in the guild and the Guild Master."

"But... Is this really okay!? Is this what you truly want!?"

"Yui. That's enough."

I took the magical device from Yui and said to Catherine,

"Goodbye, Catherine. Take care."

"...Yes. I'm sorry for the trouble."

I cut off the communication and put the device in my pocket.

"Yui, I'm going out. Take care of things while I'm gone."

"Going out...? Where to?"

I stood up with the resignation letter.

"To the empire for a bit."

"! So you're going to Catherine-san's place to bring her back!? But... don't you say you don't chase those who leave?"

"Don't misunderstand. I haven't accepted the resignation letter yet."

"Huh...?"

"This was left in this room this morning. A resignation letter is invalid unless submitted by the person themselves. Catherine doesn't seem to know this. I'm just going to return this to that stupid noble, citing a procedural error."

Yui, who had been staring blankly, broke into a wide smile.

"Of course, Lord Act is kind and the best Guild Master!"

【To the readers】

If you found it "interesting" or are "curious about the next part," I would be grateful if you could support me by giving a rating of 【☆☆☆☆☆】 or bookmarking the story!