Chapter 5

Roland was working right inside the entrance of the workshop.

The room had only a small, low table and a shabby chair.

Beside it, wooden boxes and alchemist tools were haphazardly piled up or scattered around.

This room served as both the reception area and the workshop.

Due to the small size of the building, one room had to serve multiple purposes to make up for the lack of space.

Currently, on the low table in front of him, the ten 'Earthcrafts' that Arie had refined earlier were placed.

Their composition was as follows:

- 2 Earthcraft A

- 6 Earthcraft B

- 1 Earthcraft C

- 1 Earthcraft D

(Excellent. With this, I can fully meet Lilianna's requirements.)

Lilianna's request was to deliver 100 'Earthcrafts' within a month.

Among them, she wanted the defective ones, grade D and below, to be no more than 20%.

At this rate, it seemed the request could be fulfilled.

Roland packed the blue-glowing 'Earthcrafts' into the shipping box.

After that, he had to transport this box to the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree.'

To allow Arie to focus on the refining work, Roland handled all such miscellaneous tasks.

"How are you doing, Roland?"

"Lilianna."

As Roland was packing the products into the box, Lilianna entered the workshop.

"Please wait. I'll bring you some tea."

Roland paused his packing to welcome her, but Lilianna gestured to stop him.

"Oh, no, that's fine. You're in the middle of work, right? Please finish up."

"Sorry, I'll finish quickly."

Roland hurried to pack the box.

Lilianna watched his work from a distance, not wanting to be a hindrance.

When Roland finished his work, Arie came from the furnace room, carrying a tray with the 'Earthcrafts' on it.

"Oh, Guild Master. The 'Earthcrafts' have just been refined. Would you like to take a look...? Wait, Lilianna?"

"Arie, perfect timing. Our investor, Lilianna, has arrived. Show her the 'Earthcrafts' you refined."

"Um, hello."

Arie smiled shyly at Lilianna.

Lilianna looked at her with a warm, friendly smile.

She was dressed like a typical craftsman.

Arie's brown hair was braided into a single braid that hung over her right shoulder.

She wore furnace operation gloves on her hands and a pair of glasses to reduce the glare from the flames on her face.

All of these were bought by Roland.

Her appearance was unpretentious, unlike during the interview, and she looked more natural.

"Oh, hello. You must be the one Roland mentioned, the refiner."

"The 'Earthcrafts' were made by her. Arie, show Lilianna the 'Earthcrafts' you made."

"Yes."

"Excellent 'Earthcrafts.'"

Lilianna picked up the 'Earthcrafts' and examined them closely.

The proportion of Earthcraft A was even higher than before.

"All of these were refined by her."

"Really, you did all of this by yourself?"

Lilianna looked at Arie with a passionate gaze.

Arie, unaccustomed to such treatment, was only flustered.

"No, I just followed the Guild Master's instructions. It's not a big deal."

She felt a mix of pride, joy, and embarrassment.

"Earthcrafts are special items used to refine all kinds of weapons and armor. High-quality Earthcrafts are essential for quick weapon maintenance. If you supply them to the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree,' the sustained combat capability of the parties affiliated with them will significantly improve. I look forward to your continued cooperation."

Lilianna continued to look at Arie with an expectant gaze.

Arie, overwhelmed by the honor, could only nod slightly with a red face.

Roland activated his 'Appraisal' skill to see the skills floating around her.

Arie's 'Ore Refining' skill, which was previously E, had become A.

Roland escorted Lilianna to the entrance of the workshop.

"Lilianna, thank you for coming today."

"Oh, no problem. By the way, Arie, was it okay to praise her like that?"

"Yes, being recognized by someone like you will boost Arie's confidence."

"This is the least I could do. I just told the truth."

Lilianna leaned in close to Roland as she said this.

"It's your effort that has nurtured her, isn't it?"

Roland was flustered by her beautiful face being so close to his.

Her eyes were intensely focused on him.

Roland laughed to cover his embarrassment.

Lilianna also laughed along with him.

"Well, I'll take my leave now."

"Yes, thank you again."

"Likewise."

When Jill returned, the new and lower-ranking members of the guild lined up to welcome her.

"Oh, it's Jill."

"Hurry, clear the way."

The guild members quickly made way for her, stepping aside on both sides.

In the guild 'Golden Eagle,' the hierarchy was absolute.

Jill, who topped the adventurer rankings for monster kills last month, became a senior member of the guild 'Golden Eagle' despite being a new member and one of Lucius' close aides.

She is now a well-known figure among adventurers.

She walked through the palace-like wide corridor from the entrance of the building.

On both sides, junior members stood with their hands on their chests and their heads slightly bowed, showing their loyalty to the guild.

New members and those with poor performance had to do this for senior members.

She walked through them with ease.

Suddenly, Jill looked at the lined-up members.

Most of them were people who joined the guild at the same time as her.

Jill's promotion to senior member was an unusual measure.

Thinking about this, Jill couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

The difference between walking the red carpet and being a low-ranking member was just a bit of luck.

This made Jill wonder if she truly deserved all the attention she was receiving.

(The reason I can stand here today is none other than Roland.)

Jill recalled her days with Roland.

At the time, she was a struggling new member.

She was labeled as having no potential and was assigned to Roland.

However, Roland changed her fate.

Roland converted her from a light-armed archer to a heavy-armed knight.

"Jill, you have the potential to become a heavy-armed knight."

Roland said this to her, even though they had just met.

"No way. I don't have the stamina to wear heavy armor and run around in the dungeon."

Indeed, her stamina was E at the time.

"Don't worry. You can become an A in stamina in the future."

She followed Roland, who was her instructor, with half-belief and half-doubt.

The training Roland imposed was extremely harsh, but it dramatically improved her stamina.

That wasn't all.

He negotiated with the guild to buy her the best armor.

Her defense was dramatically improved.

"Roland, thank you. Now I can contribute to the guild as a shield and a defender."

"No, Jill. Your role is not a shield. It's an attacker."

Jill was skeptical of Roland's words, but he gave her a greatsword.

He even pushed her into the golem extermination team.

She grew rapidly in battle and defeated three brick golems.

Defeating three golems in one dungeon run was an unprecedented record, not just for a new member but for any adventurer.

Most adventurers either ran out of stamina or ran out of potions due to excessive damage.

Thus, she acquired boundless stamina to run around the dungeon all day while carrying armor, defense that could withstand hammer blows, and the power to cut down any hard and large enemy.

(All of this is thanks to Roland. If he hadn't changed my approach, I would have ended up as an ordinary archer.)

She remembered his teaching methods.

He praised her for even the slightest improvement and pushed her when she became complacent.

(His timing for praise and criticism was truly impeccable.)

Even after she blossomed as a heavy-armed knight, Roland was not satisfied.

He set her a goal of defeating five golems a day.

She hasn't achieved this goal yet.

She was reassigned to the guild's main force by Lucius.

Since then, she has been in high demand and has worked tirelessly for the guild.

Even after becoming a main force member, she fully utilized her abilities.

She excelled in both defensive and offensive roles and performed well in any quest.

Her glamorous appearance also made her useful as a promotional figure.

She not only fought on the front lines but was also pulled into PR events.

Despite her busy and fulfilling days, she finally took a day off today.

She could meet Roland, whom she had been distant from recently.

(What will he think of my growth? Now that I'm a B-rank adventurer, will he finally acknowledge me? Or will he still say I have a long way to go?)

In any case, she planned to go back to the old days and get a lot of training today.

(Oops.)

She decided to tidy up her appearance before meeting Roland.

She had become more conscious of her appearance as the guild's figurehead, but today she was even more meticulous with her hair.

"Perfect."

(I wonder if he's doing well.)

Roland must still be training new members in a corner of the guild.

Although it might be unfair to the new members, she intended to use her senior member privileges to prioritize herself today.

(Maybe as a reward for my growth, he'll invite me to dinner tonight. No, no, that's probably too much to hope for. I'll probably be yelled at in his ear and pushed to my limits, maybe even forced to run until late at night. But either way, it's a reward for me. Hehe.)

She quickly hid the silly smile that had appeared on her face and opened the door to the new member training area.

"Roland? He's not here anymore."

"Huh?"

The new instructor's words left Jill momentarily confused, her face a mix of surprise and bewilderment.

"He was expelled by Mr. Lucius a little while ago."

"Why... why did that happen..."

"Recently, he kept making mistakes. It couldn't be helped. Wait, Jill?"

Without listening to the instructor's words, Jill rushed out of the room at lightning speed and ran to the guild master's office.

She burst in without knocking.

"Guild Master! I need to talk to you!"