Chapter 49

Sighing, Yufine leaned against the classroom door, firmly gripping the letter containing secrets given to her by her mother.

---

After returning from the "Dungeon of the Demon World," Yufine, while easing her stiff shoulders, muttered to Monica, who was standing beside her.

"Even if it's a crucial moment, making us conquer dungeons one after another is too much. I won't be satisfied unless Roland treats us to something... Hey, Monica? Where are you going? Hey!"

Yufine suddenly chased after Monica, who had started running.

---

Monica headed to the quest reception area.

She immediately checked the rankings for the number of defeated enemies.

(Alright, I got first place this month!)

Monica made a fist pump.

(It was tough, but I managed to do it. Roland will surely recognize this, right?)

As Monica was thinking this, she heard cheers from the street.

"What's going on? Why is everyone so excited?"

"Beats me. Let's go check it out. Excuse me, sir."

Yufine called out to a man walking down the street.

"It seems like something exciting is happening. Did something happen?"

"Yeah, an S-class adventurer has been born."

"An S-class adventurer?"

Monica and Yufine looked at each other.

The two of them rushed to the street to find a spot where they could see the parade.

In the middle of the road were Roland and Jill, receiving blessings from the people.

(Roland... with Jill...)

Monica felt a strange stirring in her chest as she watched the scene.

---

Lucius had gone missing.

The townspeople were so elated by the birth of an S-class adventurer that it took some time for them to notice Lucius's disappearance.

Lucius had become a wanted criminal.

The police immediately set up a perimeter to prevent Lucius from escaping the town.

The town, which had been in a festive mood, suddenly turned into a tense atmosphere with armed security patrols regularly patrolling the streets.

"Even though he has declined since becoming the guild master, he was once an A-class adventurer. Don't underestimate him. When apprehending him, use multiple people. At least three or more. If you encounter him alone, buy time until your comrades arrive."

The security captain warned his subordinates and urged them to be cautious.

The police also visited "The Guardian of the Magic Tree" to request their cooperation.

Roland watched from the window of "The Guardian of the Magic Tree" as the armored security patrols returned from their regular patrols.

(I ended up informing the police, incited by Diana. Was that really the right thing to do? I never thought Lucius would go missing.)

As Roland was lost in thought, Lillian approached him.

"I'm worried. That Lucius hasn't been caught yet. And the position of the 'Golden Eagle' guild master is still vacant."

Roland didn't respond, just continued to look out the window with a gloomy expression.

(Lucius, what are you thinking? Are you trying to make a last stand? The game is already over. What good will it do to add more sins?)

---

The banker visited Roland the next day.

"Me, as the guild master of 'Golden Eagle'...?"

"Yes, I would like to ask you."

The banker said this while smoking a cigar in the reception room of "The Guardian of the Magic Tree."

"I already have the agreement of all the investors. We will also dismiss Lucius. We want to welcome you as the new guild master of 'Golden Eagle.' All we need now is your answer."

"Such a sudden request... I'm currently busy with both 'The Guardian of the Magic Tree' and 'The Spirit Factory'..."

"The 'Golden Eagle' is in a terrible state. Due to Lucius's repeated mistakes, the revenue has plummeted. If this continues, adventurers will lose their jobs and flood the town."

"Originally, I am a board member of 'The Guardian of the Magic Tree.' 'The Guardian of the Magic Tree' is a rival guild to 'Golden Eagle.' For someone like me to become the guild master of 'Golden Eagle'..."

"Jill Arwin."

When the banker said this, Roland reacted.

"Wouldn't it be a loss if she is prosecuted? Not only for her but also for the town."

"..."

"For whatever reason, she has violated the guild contract. We don't know what the next guild master of 'Golden Eagle' will decide, but her position might become precarious."

"Are you using her as a bargaining chip?"

"No, no, that's not it. It's just that we need to urgently address the dire situation of 'Golden Eagle,' and we don't have much leeway."

"..."

The banker pressed the cigar into the ashtray and stood up grandly.

"I'll take my leave for today. Please take your time to think about it. But we don't have much time either. Please give us your answer within a week."

---

The atmosphere inside "The Guardian of the Magic Tree" was still filled with the excitement of victory, brimming with energy.

However, it was also a fact that an unignorable ominous air was permeating the place.

The rumor that Roland had been approached to become the guild master of 'Golden Eagle' had already spread, and everyone knew about it.

In the midst of this, Monica, Shakma, and Yufine were having lunch in the cafeteria.

"What does Roland plan to do?"

Shakma started the conversation.

"He's not going to leave 'The Guardian of the Magic Tree' now, is he?"

"That's ridiculous. Why would Roland suddenly return to 'Golden Eagle'?"

Yufine said firmly.

"Being the top guild in town is a thing of the past for 'Golden Eagle.' 'The Guardian of the Magic Tree' is now in a much better position."

"That's true. Roland wouldn't abandon us to go to 'Golden Eagle,' right?"

Shakma said, relieved.

"Exactly. So, we need to focus on what's in front of us. We need to prepare for the next dungeon appearance, train our stats, and manage the dungeons. It's a lot of work with three dungeons."

"..."

"Monica? What's wrong?"

Yufine looked at Monica, who had been lost in thought for a while.

"Huh? N-no, nothing."

"Are you sure? You looked troubled."

"She seemed distracted."

"I'm fine, really. It's nothing."

Monica sipped her soup to avoid the question.

"Okay, if you say so..."

However, Monica soon lowered her head again.

('The Guardian of the Magic Tree' is in a much better position... But Roland cares about Jill...)

Since returning from the dungeon, Monica had encountered Roland a few times, but he always had a troubled look on his face and didn't say anything to her.

---

Roland visited the "Spirit Factory" to prepare for the dungeon management.

As soon as he entered the workshop, he heard Ranju talking to a salesperson.

"So, we can't take on jobs under 500,000 gold. We can't even make them if we wanted to. Even a 1,000,000 gold deal has a waiting time of a few months. Oh, Roland. Sorry, can you wait a bit?"

Ranju noticed Roland and interrupted her conversation with the salesperson to come over to Roland.

"Welcome back, Roland! The preparations for the dungeon management meeting are ready."

"Alright, let's head to the conference room then."

"Ah, it's Roland."

"Welcome back, Roland."

As Roland crossed the workshop, the workers greeted him.

Among them were Arie and Chial.

"Ah, Roland, I want you to look at the refined silver later."

"Roland! Can you check the maintenance of the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer' later?"

"Sure, I'll look at everything later."

As usual, Roland checked the equipment, inventory, and supplies in the workshop, as well as the workers' conditions.

(Still, this place is the most reassuring.)

When Roland looked at the corner of the workshop, he saw Jill and Dowin there.

"Jill. Dowin."

"Roland, I'm intruding."

"Thank you."

The two of them bowed to Roland.

Roland felt a complex emotion.

While Dowin was an alchemist, Jill was here because she had no place in 'Golden Eagle.'

"Sorry, Dowin. I've kept you here until the end."

"No, working with Chial is a good learning experience for me."

"Jill, I'm sorry. Your wounds from the battle with the Skull Dragon haven't fully healed yet, have they?"

"No, it's not like that..."

"You can use the break room of 'The Spirit Factory' freely until the preparations for the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer' are ready. Treat it like your home and make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you. I appreciate your kindness."

After saying this, Roland headed to the conference room with Ranju.

As they walked, they started the meeting.

"Currently, we have 50 silver ores, 20 Earthcraft ores, 20 Zianite ores, and 100 iron ores in stock. For next month's production, we need 300 silver ores, 300 Earthcraft ores, and 1,000 iron ores. So, we want to mine 250 silver ores, 280 Earthcraft ores, and 900 iron ores from the mines in this dungeon management."

"I see."

Ranju opened the door to the conference room.

On the table in the conference room was a map of the dungeon.

Red checks were marked on the positions where ores could be mined.

"Among the dungeons that have appeared this time, there are five ore beds where we can mine over 1,000 ores. One each on the 9th, 11th, and 22nd floors of the 'Mine Dungeon,' one on the 13th floor of the 'Forest Dungeon,' and one on the 8th floor of the 'Dungeon of the Demon World.'"

"Five?"

"Yes. So, we need to prepare five teams to escort the alchemists and clear the monsters around the ore beds. Can we prepare five teams?"

"Hmm, with 'The Guardian of the Magic Tree' alone, three teams are the limit. But it's not good to rely on external help either."

"Maybe we can get the cooperation of 'Golden Eagle'?"

"..."

"I don't know. 'Golden Eagle' is in a tough situation right now."

"..."

Ranju moved on to the next topic without pressing further.

---

"A new silver craftsman?"

"Yes, to be honest, Chial has reached her limit. Not only silverware, but also the development of new weapons and maintenance of weapons like the 'Silver Iron Dragon Slayer Bow' are beyond her physical capabilities."

"Indeed, Chial's physical limits are a concern."

Roland looked through the glass window at the workshop.

The workshop and the conference room were separated by a glass window, allowing a view of the workers in the workshop from the second-floor conference room.

Roland used Status Appraisal on Chial, who was working.

[Chial Cotton's Status]

Stamina: 30

(Making one piece of silverware consumes 10 stamina. She also needs to manufacture and design weapons, so with her current stamina, she can only make one piece of silverware a day and 20 pieces a month. To increase revenue in the future, we need to produce more silverware and weapons... Indeed, Chial alone is too much.)

"Understood. I'll try to find a solution."

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else?"

"About the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer'... What do you think?"

Roland's face clouded slightly.

"Hmm? What about the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer'?"

"If... if we can maintain a good relationship with 'Golden Eagle'... we can continue to handle the maintenance of the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer.' This would require the continued production of new materials... But if we don't receive maintenance fees from 'Golden Eagle,' we will have to stop producing new materials. What do you think?"

Ranju, who already knew about the guild master offer to Roland, chose her words carefully.

"Hmm, I see."

Roland thought for a moment.

"Sorry, I need more time to think about this. Can you wait?"

"..."

"Understood."

"I'll go see Arie."

Rolan left the conference room.

Ranju watched Roland's back with concern.

---

"Take a look at this."

Arie showed Roland two materials on a tray, the materials for the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer' and a new material, 'NeoCraft.'

"This is..."

(The same new material, but something is different?)

Roland used Item Appraisal on the two new materials Arie handed him.

[Right-hand New Material]

Quality: A

Weight: 16

Capacity: 16

[Left-hand New Material]

Quality: A+

Weight: 15

Capacity: 15

(The same new material, but the right-hand one has a weight and capacity of 16, while the left-hand one has a weight and capacity of 15. Hmm? The left-hand one is A+?)

"How is it?"

"Yes, they are different. One is New Material A, and the other is New Material A+. The capacity is slightly less. Why...?"

"The materials are different."

"The materials?"

Roland used Item Appraisal again.

[New Material A Materials]

Iron A, 3

Silver A, 6

Zianite A, 1

[New Material A+ Materials]

Iron A, 3

Silver B+, 6

Zianite A, 1

"Ah, the New Material A+ uses Silver B+ instead of Silver A?"

"Yes. It was a mistake by a new employee, who confused Silver B and Silver A... But thanks to that, we discovered a special Silver B. And we found that the New Material A, which was supposed to be made only with Silver A, could be made with this special Silver B."

"This special Silver B..."

"Ah, it's over there."

Arie pointed to a pile of silver.

Roland appraised the silver.

[Silver Status]

Quality: B+

Weight: 1

Capacity: 1

Magic Power: 90

(Quality B+. Lower weight and capacity than regular silver. And abnormally high magic power.)

"Arie, this is indeed a special type of Silver B."

"Yes, I thought so. As expected."

"Did you notice this on your own? Without using Item Appraisal?"

"Yes. I felt something was off while touching and observing it."

Arie smiled bashfully.

"I heard that the weight and capacity of the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer' were a problem, so I thought it might be useful."

"Ah, it's a huge help. Reducing the weight and capacity of the new material by 1 makes a big difference."

"I'm glad."

Roland appraised Arie's status.

[Arie's Status]

Observation: 90-100

(When did her observation skill reach 90-100?)

Roland looked at Arie again.

She seemed much stronger than when they first met.

(She's been working tirelessly in front of the furnace.)

"Roland? Is something wrong?"

Arie looked at Roland.

"No, it's just... I'm glad I hired you."

"I'm glad to work at 'The Spirit Factory' too."

The two smiled at each other.

"So... What do you think, Roland? Will we produce new materials next month? What about 'Golden Eagle'...?"

Roland had a troubled look on his face.

"Sorry, I'm still discussing this with Ranju."

"..."

"I'll go see Chial. I need to tell her about the new material."

"Okay."

Arie watched Roland's back with concern.

---

Jill was watching Dowin hammering the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer' in a corner of the workshop.

"Thanks."

"Hmm?"

Jill suddenly spoke, and Dowin stopped hammering.

"The 'Dragon Slayer Hammer.' Without it, I couldn't have defeated the Skull Dragon."

"That's not a weapon I made."

"Huh?"

"The design was done by Chial. I couldn't fully utilize that new material. But she came up with the idea of making a hammer in the shape of a sword. I just followed her instructions. I think she surpasses me in design."

"Really?"

"Just stating the facts. But, are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"Betraying 'Golden Eagle' so openly. I can still make excuses because I was following Lucius's orders. But some people, especially those in Arik's team, blame you. They say if you hadn't betrayed us, we could have won."

"Depending on what the next guild master decides, you might not only be expelled from 'Golden Eagle' but from the town as well."

"No regrets."

Jill said with a downcast face.

"I just wanted to restore Roland's honor. I wanted to repay him. I'm prepared to accept any punishment for that. So..."

"Alright. Impressive loyalty. It's not my business, but... what will you do with the 'Dragon Slayer Hammer'? It's technically the property of 'Golden Eagle.' If you're expelled from the town, there will be no one to use it."

Jill's expression became