Chapter 40

"Damn that woman! If I keep pampering her, she'll just get more arrogant!"

Lucius raised his voice, revealing his anger.

"Tell Jill! If she doesn't change her attitude immediately, we'll expel her from the guild for breach of contract, impose a fine, and revoke her adventurer's license, making it impossible for her to operate in this city!"

"Wait. No, Lucius."

Diana hurried to stop him.

"Confronting her with a hard attitude now isn't a good strategy."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you forgotten about Sebast? What if she runs away from the city? If Jill leaves now, it will be a huge loss."

"Ugh..."

Jill was the biggest reason investors put their money into the 'Golden Eagle.'

If she became an S-class adventurer, she could be sold to other guilds for any price, and it would also be possible to attract new investments from outside the city.

That's why Lucius made Jill his right-hand person and the guild's figurehead.

"Let's try to win her over."

"But that will weaken the organization's cohesion..."

"It can't be helped. The guild is already in turmoil due to recent troubles. If Sebast leaves and we lose more capable adventurers, it will be disastrous."

"..."

"Just bear with it for now. The arrangements to headhunt A-class adventurers from the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree' are complete, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then it's fine. Once we take down the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree,' this city will have only one major adventurer guild. When that happens, no adventurer will dare to defy us."

"…I guess there's no choice. Let's look for a way to win Jill over."

"Jill, over here. Come quickly, please!"

"Ah, I'm coming. Don't rush me like that."

Chial pulled Jill's arm and led her into a room in the 'Spirit Factory.'

Jill was visiting the 'Spirit Factory' to receive guidance from Roland.

Unfortunately, Roland was out at the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree,' so she had to wait, and Chial caught her.

"Jill, look. This is the new material that Dowin and I developed."

"Wow. This is..."

Jill picked up the new material Chial showed her.

"Indeed, it's heavy."

While saying this, Jill lifted the new material with one hand.

"Right? But it's incredibly hard!"

"Indeed. With this, we can make some very powerful equipment."

"Right. But the development cost is high..."

"How much?"

"...About 20 million gold."

Chial said reluctantly.

"...I see. That is indeed a bit high."

"Jill!"

Chial clung to Jill's legs.

"Please, buy this. If you don't buy it, this will be shelved."

"No, I can't just do that..."

"Please, please, please, please buy it."

"Ahaha. I'm in a bind."

"Hey, what are you whining about?"

Ranjou entered the room with a frown.

"Ugh. Ranjou."

"Ah, Chial, you're still not giving up on that new material?"

"But..."

"We talked about it. It's not profitable. Don't bother Jill. Get back to work. You still have to finish a design and a silver craft today, right?"

"Ugh, yes."

Chial left the room dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, Jill. I caused you trouble."

"No, it's fine. I was just waiting for Roland anyway. I learned something."

As they were chatting, a noisy sound and the loud neighing of horses came from outside.

"What's that?"

Jill looked puzzled.

Ranjou also frowned.

"A carriage? That's strange. We don't have any nobles or wealthy clients scheduled to visit today."

As they were talking, armed men barged into the store.

"What's this? 'Golden Eagle'?"

Ranjou said, looking at the emblem on their uniforms.

The men immediately approached Jill.

"Are you Jill Arwin? We need you to come with us."

"What if I refuse?"

Jill glared sharply, and the men exchanged hesitant glances.

"Sure enough, you're here, Jill."

Diana slipped out from behind the men.

"Diana... What's going on here!"

"Jill, it's a summons from the guild leader. Please come."

"Guild leader? What does the guild leader want with me?"

"The guild leader has a compromise to offer you."

"A compromise?"

"Yes. If you refuse, you'll be expelled from the guild and face disciplinary action. You know what that means, right?"

"..."

"Will you come, Jill?"

"Hey, you're here."

Lucius greeted Jill with a smile, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor.

"...What do you want?"

Jill maintained a cold attitude.

"Relax. Jill, be happy. You're getting a promotion."

"A promotion?"

"Yes, you've been appointed as a squad leader."

"Congratulations, Jill. Your salary will go up too."

Jill remained silent, looking at the two of them.

They both smiled, clearly feeling they had won her over.

(Sigh. These two don't get it. That's not what I want.)

Jill looked at Lucius with pity.

(Lucius, in the end, you never understood what I wanted.)

"Understood. I'll accept the appointment."

"Great, you're doing it."

Lucius leaned forward.

"Good job, Jill."

Diana chimed in.

"However!"

Jill held out her hand to stop them from leaning forward.

"There are conditions."

"Conditions?"

"Yes. First, I want the alchemist Dowin to be assigned to my squad."

"Is that all? It's a small request."

"Additionally, I need 20 million gold as a special budget."

"20 million gold..."

Lucius's face darkened.

The 'Golden Eagle' was still in a tight financial situation after losing two dungeons and a significant income.

"If you can't do it, that's fine. We'll consider this conversation never happened."

"Wait. I understand. I'll try to arrange the 20 million gold. In return, you must dissolve the group calling themselves the 'Jill faction' and ensure they disband."

"Understood. I'll work to dissolve them."

Thus, Jill became a squad leader and declared the resolution of her conflict with Lucius.

This led to disappointment among those who had been plotting to overthrow Lucius, and the momentum to remove him quickly cooled.

Jill used the 20 million gold to order new weapons from the 'Spirit Factory.'

(Bad. This can't go on. A new dungeon will appear soon.)

While Lucius was dealing with Jill, Ramon was also anxious.

His relationship with Roland had grown cold.

He had planned to sell Monica and the others to the 'Golden Eagle' to secure funds, but his relationship with Roland showed no signs of improvement.

(Now is the time to sell Monica and the others at a high price. There's no guarantee they'll still be worth the same next month.)

Ramon decided to convene an 'Emergency Executive Meeting.'

The 'Emergency Executive Meeting' was a gathering for key members of the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree.'

Guild members had to follow the decisions made at this meeting and could not refuse for any reason.

Ramon emphasized the need for unity and delivered a passionate speech.

"We can't afford to fight among ourselves when the guild's future is at stake! We must immediately work together to secure funds."

Ramon sought the cooperation of Roland and Lilianne.

However, they refused and even demanded his resignation.

"The guild's financial troubles are due to the guild leader's repeated mistakes. I hereby declare my lack of confidence in Ramon."

With Lilianne's declaration, a vote of no confidence was held on the spot.

The conditions for a vote of no confidence were that two-thirds of the executives must be present, and three-quarters must vote in favor.

The vote resulted in a unanimous decision for Ramon's resignation.

Some of the executives present were loyal to Ramon, but they betrayed him at the last moment, seeing that the Lilianne-Roland faction was in the majority.

Ramon, who had once made significant contributions as an A-class adventurer for the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree,' was forced to leave the guild as a guild leader.

Lilianne was appointed as the new guild leader.

With a new leader at the helm, the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree' faced new challenges.

"Short on funds?"

"Yes, that's right."

Roland and Lilianne were talking in a private room.

Even after Lilianne became the guild leader, their relationship remained unchanged, and she consulted Roland more often.

"It seems Ramon was indeed struggling with finances."

"Really?"

Roland was surprised, as he had thought the financial troubles were just an excuse to sell Monica and the others.

"We're short about 10 million gold for this month's payments..."

"Strange. After taking over two dungeons..."

"There's a time lag before the revenue from dungeon operations reaches the guild."

"Can't you get a loan from banks or investors?"

"We tried several banks, but they consider the adventurer business in this city a red ocean."

"I see..."

The city only had about three dungeons per month, but the number of A-class adventurers and dungeon-clearing teams had increased, intensifying competition.

If this trend continues, the costs of forming teams will rise, and the income for each guild will decrease.

(From the investors' perspective, there's no benefit in investing more.)

"So, Roland, can you consider becoming an investor in the 'Spirit Factory'?"

"An investor in the 'Spirit Factory'...?"

"Yes. Can you help us?"

"Of course, I want to help the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree,' but 10 million gold... Hmm, I'm not sure if we can manage it."

Roland thought about the 'Spirit Factory's financial situation, but he wasn't sure if they could come up with the money.

"I have an idea."

"An idea?"

"Yes. First, the 'Spirit Factory' will get an investment from a bank. Then, the 'Spirit Factory' will invest in the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree.'"

"I see. So the 'Spirit Factory' will act as a bridge between the bank and the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree.'"

"Exactly. The 'Spirit Factory' is currently growing in the silver craft business, and I believe the bank will invest."

"I see. It's worth a try."

After some thought, Roland turned to Lilianne.

"Alright, let's do it."

"Thank you."

When Roland approached the bank with this proposal, the bank representative surprisingly agreed.

"Sure, no problem."

"Really?"

"Yes. The 'Spirit Factory' is one of the most promising guilds in the city."

(The 'Spirit Factory' has the endorsement of the Earl of Elsen. Even if it fails, it won't be a total loss.)

In the end, the 'Spirit Factory' received a 100 million gold investment from the bank.

Roland became an investor and board member of the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree.'

Lilianne now had the 'Spirit Factory' as a cash cow.

With the ability to secure funds, Lilianne gained absolute power within the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree.'

Everyone in every department had to seek her approval for budgets and flatter her.

Thus, the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree' faced the emergence of a new dungeon, outperforming the 'Golden Eagle' in dungeon management, new team formation, status adjustments, team composition, items and equipment, and funding.