Chapter 16

The masters of the Adventurer Guild and the Alchemist Guild were summoned to the Inventors' Association on that day.

The headquarters of the Inventors' Association is one of the largest and most magnificent buildings in the capital.

At the entrance, the two masters, accompanied by their subordinates, met each other.

"Hey, Alchemist. Were you called too?"

"Yeah, yeah. I wonder what it's about... I don't see why we would be called when we don't have any problem children like you do."

"Huh? What are you mumbling about? Maybe it's because you've been caught restricting the import of antipyretics to drive up prices?"

"Don't spread baseless rumors."

"Whatever."

The two masters, who were not particularly close, straightened their collars and entered the Inventors' Association with a "Hmph."

No matter what guild they were from, once they became masters, they were considered notables in the city.

However, in the kingdom of Freya, inventors were everything.

In front of the Inventors' Association, even guild masters paled in comparison.

The Adventurer Guild Master and the Alchemist Guild Master, despite putting on a brave front, entered the luxurious building with tense expressions.

They were led to the chairman's office.

"Please come in. Only the two of you, though."

The two guild masters swallowed hard and entered the room.

There were two elderly men inside.

One was, of course, the chairman of the Inventors' Association.

The other was a well-dressed old gentleman, tanned by the sun.

"Oh..."

The Alchemist Guild Master groaned, but the Adventurer Guild Master didn't recognize the other man.

"Please, sit down."

At the chairman's invitation, they sat on the sofa, and the two elderly men sat opposite them.

Their throats were dry, so they immediately drank the tea that was offered, but they couldn't taste it.

"So, why have we been invited today...?"

The Adventurer Guild Master, who had lost his usual bravado, asked in a timid voice. The old gentleman next to the chairman, rather than the chairman himself, took out a box.

"I want you to see this."

"Huh? What is this?"

The lid of the box opened with a click, revealing a variety of sandwiches inside.

"Oh, not this one. Excuse me."

"... What are you doing, predecessor?"

"Doesn't it look delicious? But I won't eat it. Hehehe."

The Adventurer Guild Master finally understood when the chairman called him "predecessor."

This was the former chairman of the Inventors' Association.

He was supposed to be working as a tour guide now.

When he heard this, the Adventurer Guild Master thought, "Even someone who reached the top of the Inventors' Association can do eccentric things."

"The main topic is this."

The old gentleman took out another box.

When he opened it with a click, there were dried herbs inside.

"!"

"Oh... t-this is..."

Seeing the reaction of the two masters, the old gentleman said,

"I'm glad you recognize them. These are rare herbs that you tried to buy at a low price by taking advantage of the sellers. Is that not correct?"

"What are you saying!?"

"That's not true! There must be some misunderstanding!"

"I don't think it's a misunderstanding. According to the information I gathered, you tried to buy them at one-tenth of the market price and resorted to threats when they refused."

"......!?"

"!"

The investigation was already complete.

If they were to be frowned upon by the Inventors' Association, they wouldn't be able to operate in this city.

One of their guild staff must have talked.

"... Sigh."

The guild masters fell silent, and the old gentleman sighed.

The lunch box he had earlier was delivered by a maid that morning.

She had been bringing him a lunch box every day since then.

She had also mentioned that she was leaving the city today—so they had a longer conversation.

During that conversation, he heard that she was disappointed about not being able to sell her herbs.

He was shocked.

To think that Nina, who had shown such interest in the country by listening to his tour guide, had been betrayed by the people of this city.

His blood boiled, but he didn't show it. Instead, he lied and said he wanted to sell the herbs at his son's store, and bought them from Nina.

Nina was very apologetic, but the old gentleman thought he was the one who should apologize.

There was only one thing to do now.

As the former chairman of the Inventors' Association, he had to reveal the truth and ensure that the appropriate punishment was given.

"A guild is a public institution. Do you understand the gravity of the sin of abusing it and damaging trust?"

The old gentleman's tone was calm.

However, the anger that seeped through made the two guild masters turn pale. Even the chairman, sitting next to them, was breaking out in a cold sweat.

When the two guild masters left, the atmosphere in the room finally relaxed.

"Wow... Predecessor, I didn't expect you to get so angry."

"There was a personal reason."

"They held up well, not fainting or anything."

As a result, instead of reporting this to the royal family of Freya, the two guild masters were given a three-month salary reduction and three months of community service.

They could have been fired and replaced, but if the next masters were corrupt, it would be meaningless.

Under the supervision of the old gentleman, they would perform community service—educating tourists about the country's history.

Summer was coming.

Guiding tourists in the scorching heat would be tough, but the old gentleman did it every day.

He wanted to toughen them up.

(At least, I want to show a better capital to the maid if she comes back.)

Until then, he couldn't die, the old gentleman thought with a smile.

"... By the way, Chairman, you seem to have a lot of problems too?"

"Yes, this paper is giving me a headache..."

The stack of papers the chairman took out was titled "Preliminary Research on the Execution of Magic through the Conversion of Spirit Power and Its Practical Methods."

"If this is proven correct in the verification experiment, it will change the world of magic. It would be difficult in the city, but in nature, where spirit power is abundant, magic could be used freely. Laying railways between cities, which was impractical due to the cost of catalysts, could become a reality with the use of spirit power..."

"That's jumping the gun."

"No... It's a paper from the Mahogany Trading Company, so I can't help but get excited."

"Hmm, the Mahogany Trading Company, huh?"

The old gentleman, of course, knew the Mahogany Trading Company.

Astrid's one move had certainly created ripples.

But they didn't know that Astrid was already planning to leave the city.

"Trading companies that deal in catalysts will suffer a major blow."

"Are such companies still the same?"

"Yes. They are all run by female presidents... They seem to be doing well, always keeping young men around."

Ironically, these were the women who had told Astrid to sell her house.

"If they can't afford to keep young men, it might be for the better."

"They are also buying up land in the capital. Perhaps we should make them give it back and have the royal family redevelop the area."

"That could also be considered community service."

The old gentleman laughed and stood up.

"Then I'll be going."

"Yes. What about those herbs? If you don't need them, the association can buy them."

"I have connections with skilled alchemists. I'll entrust them with the herbs and have them sell them at a lower price to good doctors."

"Is that also community service?"

"Exactly."

The old gentleman took two boxes, winked, and left the room.

The chairman muttered to himself,

"... Still, those sandwiches looked delicious."