Chapter 7

Marco, who had just returned from the dungeon, was summoned to the guild master's room.

"…That's what happened in the dungeon."

Marco reported his judgments and the fact that Lilianne had a large amount of Earthcraft in her possession.

Lucius, after hearing the story, opened his eyes and glared at Marco.

"So, let me get this straight. You reached the bottom of the dungeon but decided to turn back without engaging in a single battle. Not only that, you stood by and did nothing when a rival guild was trying to clear the dungeon. Is that right?"

"Guild Master, with all due respect, the team was exhausted at that time. Fighting 100 skeleton warriors without Earthcraft in that state would have been…"

"Don't make excuses. Are you still a senior member of the Golden Eagle?"

"I'm sorry."

"That's enough. You may leave."

Marco bowed his head in disappointment and left the room.

Lucius sighed unhappily.

(Really. This is why unreliable people are a problem. We have connections with the nobility, and we're at a critical point where we can dominate this city.)

Lucius had a particularly troubled look on his face.

(The Earl of Elsen approached us because we are the best guild in the city. If word gets out that we lost the dungeon to another guild at this crucial time, what will we do?)

"Dianna, demote Marco."

"Yes. Who will be the new team leader?"

"Hmm. Is there anyone suitable?"

"What about Jill? She's on a roll and has the necessary skills. No one would complain if she were promoted."

"Jill…?"

Lucius put his hand to his mouth and thought for a moment.

(She was one of Roland's trainees, wasn't she?)

"No, wait. She's not ready yet. Choose someone else."

"Okay. I'll make a list."

"Thank you."

Lucius had always been careful not to place Roland's trainees in high positions.

If he did, the guild's leadership could quickly be filled with Roland's trainees.

If the guild's leadership were dominated by Roland's faction, it might lead to calls for Roland to be made guild master instead of Lucius.

Although Roland was no longer around, Lucius still made sure to fill the leadership with his own people.

"By the way, why does the Guardian of the Magic Tree have so much Earthcraft? We should have a monopoly on the alchemists who can refine Earthcraft in the city…"

"Perhaps one of the alchemist guilds has betrayed us."

"Gather the representatives of the alchemist guilds immediately. We need to pressure them and expose the traitors."

---

Roland and Lilianne were meeting at a café.

It was a place where anyone could drop by casually, making it perfect for couples or business meetings.

"This time, our guild, the Guardian of the Magic Tree, managed to clear the dungeon before the Golden Eagle. It's all thanks to you, Roland."

"Oh, I didn't do much."

"Last month, Jill took the top spot in the defeat ranking, but this month we might be able to reclaim it."

"Congratulations. I heard you defeated 35 skeleton warriors on your own. That's quite an achievement."

"It's all thanks to the Earthcraft you supplied. I could have defeated more, but as a team leader, I have to consider the whole team now."

Lilianne sipped her tea quietly.

Today, she looked even more beautiful than usual.

She exuded a grace that comes from a woman who is fulfilled in her work.

"It must be tough to maintain your position as an A-rank adventurer."

"Yes, it is. By the way, we found a mine in the dungeon, so we should be able to obtain a lot of Earthcraft ore. Will your Spirit Factory be able to refine it for us?"

"Of course. I'd be happy to. By the way, I have a request."

"Oh, what is it?"

Lilianne leaned forward eagerly when she heard Roland's request.

"I have a member in my guild who has the skills for 'Ore Mining' and 'Mine Management.'"

"Hmm. If you say so, he must be quite talented."

"Could he join the dungeon mining team?"

"That's perfect. We were short on manpower for item recovery. If he's available, we'd be grateful to have him."

Lilianne immediately took out a piece of paper and wrote an entry permit for the dungeon.

"Here. Give this to the member, and he can enter the dungeon anytime."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Oh, it's already this late. I have a meeting now. I'll take my leave here."

"Sure, see you next time."

---

"Let's start the morning meeting."

In the workshop of the Spirit Factory, Ranzu began the morning meeting, holding a board with the day's schedule.

He was also responsible for communicating such matters to the workshop.

"Today's schedule: I will be mining ore in the dungeon that the Guardian of the Magic Tree cleared recently, so I'll be away from the workshop all morning. Therefore, please support Arie in the morning, as requested by the guild master."

"Understood."

"Arie's task for today is to refine 30 Earthcraft."

"Understood."

"Let's have a productive day. Morning meeting over."

After Ranzu finished the meeting, everyone started their work.

Ranzu prepared to head to the dungeon with a pickaxe, Arie started the kiln, and Roland began preparing for refining by carrying ore and tools from the warehouse.

Roland decided to say a few words to Ranzu, who was about to leave.

"Ranzu, this is a good opportunity to improve your 'Mine Management' skill. Not only mine the ore, but also manage the mine."

"Understood. I'll give it a try."

"I'll gather the necessary personnel for 'Mine Management' as you request. Feel free to ask for what you need."

"Understood. I'll go inspect the mine in the dungeon right away."

Ranzu left the workshop with his pickaxe.

Roland, while supporting Arie, was impressed by the organized ore warehouse that Ranzu had managed.

(I was right to leave it to Ranzu.)

This morning, when he checked Ranzu's skills, his 'Workshop Management' was already at B.

(His efficiency and cost management are excellent. If he can also manage personnel, I can confidently leave the workshop to him.)

"How are you doing, Arie?"

Roland asked Arie, who was working at the kiln.

"Yes, it's going well."

Arie took out some unrefined Earthcraft ore from the kiln.

"Are you taking it out already?"

"Yes. Cooling it at this stage improves the quality of the Earthcraft."

"Really?"

"It takes a bit more time, but I realized this thanks to Ranzu's suggestion."

"I see."

Arie lightly hammered the ore before putting it back into the kiln.

Arie now knew exactly when to hammer the heated ore.

(It's amazing. She couldn't do this before, but now she can do it easily. It's all thanks to Roland.)

Roland felt a mix of emotions seeing Arie's growth.

She had already surpassed him.

Eventually, people grow beyond their mentors.

He had felt this loneliness more than once.

And just like the people he had trained before, Arie was becoming independent.

"Roland, could you prepare some coal for me?"

"Oh, sorry."

Roland, lost in thought, was brought back to reality by Arie's voice.

"I'm not doing well. I've been relying too much on Ranzu lately, and my skills have gotten rusty."

"Yes, he's really amazing. Thanks to him, the work has become much easier."

"I can't match Ranzu."

"But, recently, you haven't been around as much, and I feel a bit disappointed."

Arie blushed and said in a small voice.

Roland didn't hear her clearly.

"What? What did you say?"

"No, Roland, thank you."

"Huh? Uh, sure. What's wrong? Suddenly?"

"I was always job-hopping and getting fired before I met you. Being able to improve my skills like this is all thanks to you, Roland."

"Really, I just helped bring out what was already inside you."

"Roland, if you're free tonight…"

At that moment, Roland noticed black smoke coming from the kiln.

"Hey, Arie. The ore is burning. Is it okay?"

"Huh? Oh, oh no!"

Arie quickly stopped the fire and took out the ore.

She was disappointed to have wasted one.

"It's not good. You seem to be distracted when I'm around."

"No, that's not true."

Arie blushed and fidgeted.

She was embarrassed to admit that she had failed because she was thinking about Roland.

After that, Arie continued to make Earthcraft, but due to the initial failure, she only managed to create 9 Earthcraft A that day.

---

In the afternoon, Ranzu returned with ore.

"Good work. How was it, Ranzu?"

"We got some good ore. I've mined many mines before, but this one has some of the best ore I've seen."

"Great, let's discuss it."

Roland and Ranzu quickly entered the workshop and started their discussion.

The size of the mine, the quality of the ore, and the necessary personnel.

"Can you prepare 5 people with 'Ore Mining' B or higher and 5 more for transportation? With that, we can increase the number of Earthcraft A Arie refines to 15 per day."

Ranzu said confidently.

"Does the quality of the ore make that much of a difference?"

"Yes, the better the ore, the better the refined Earthcraft."

"I see. I'll take care of the personnel."

"Thank you."

"Arie's break is almost over. I'll go to the quest reception to request the jobs. You prepare to support Arie."

"Understood."

As Roland was about to go secure the personnel, he sensed someone entering the workshop.

(Who could it be?)

When he went to the entrance, he was surprised to see an unexpected person.

"Dianna…"

"Hello. How have you been, Roland?"

She entered the workshop with a cold smile and a look of disdain.