Chapter 79

The part of the mountain that the "Huge Fire Dragon" had destroyed eroded part of the outskirts of the town.

The boundary between the town and the dungeon changed, and the territory of the monsters expanded.

Karla, while protecting her arm that was fixed with a graft, watched the scene from the window of the hospital room.

(The "Huge Fire Dragon" is roaring. Did the "Guardians of the Magic Academy" fail to defeat it?)

Karla hit the wall with her uninjured hand.

"Damn it!"

(Again, I couldn't protect it. I...)

---

Somehow managing to shake off the pursuit of the "White Wolves" and escape to the town, Sain immediately headed for the "Dragon's Blaze."

He burst into the Guild Master's room, slamming the door open.

"Are you here, Guild Master!"

"This is a surprise, Sain. What has happened to you? You look so flustered."

"There's no time for that!"

Sain stomped into the room and slammed the table.

"What about that equipment from the Thieves' Guild? It's as if they were prepared for us to use the 'Fire Spears.' How could you sell out our client's information? What do you think you're doing? If things go on like this, you won't get off easy!"

"Please don't shout in my ear. It's too noisy."

Medes frowned and said,

"Please explain in order. What about the Thieves' Guild?"

"The 'White Wolves' were equipped with 'Silver Shatterstone' shields. That's why our plan failed. The 'Fire Spears' you made were useless. What do you have to say about this?"

"Hmm. The 'White Wolves' had 'Silver Shatterstone' shields. Is that so?"

Medes asked the secretary standing beside him.

"Yes. Indeed, our guild received an order for twenty 'Silver Shatterstone' shields from the 'White Wolves' a few days ago and manufactured them. They were delivered a week ago."

"I see. It seems we did make twenty 'Silver Shatterstone' shields for the 'White Wolves.' So what?"

"What do you mean, 'so what'?"

Sain's shoulders trembled.

"We fought the 'Huge Fire Dragon' for this town! We fought desperately to save this town. And yet! We lost most of our rare metals. We even have injured. It's because you used underhanded tactics and stabbed us in the back. Is this how your guild operates? Pretending to be allies and then pulling the rug out from under us? You scoundrels! Fine! Come outside! I'll drag you through the streets by your neck!"

Medes was exasperated.

"What are you talking about? You're making baseless complaints. We did exactly as you asked, maintaining and manufacturing the 'Fire Spears.' If you have any complaints, show us concrete evidence of our negligence."

"That's not what I'm saying! I'm saying..."

"Hey, cut it out. You've been whining ever since you came in."

Raul, who had been standing by Medes with his arms crossed, interjected.

"What did you say?"

"You're whining. What's the big deal because the 'White Wolves' had 'Silver Shatterstone' shields? What about the 'Dragon Head Gauntlets' I made? The 'White Wolves' would be wiped out with a single blow from the 'Dragon Head Gauntlets.'"

"That's..."

"Besides, you claim you fought the 'Huge Fire Dragon,' but you didn't defeat it, did you? Do you know what state the town is in now? The 'Huge Fire Dragon' caused a disaster by collapsing a mountain."

"..."

"Because you provoked the 'Huge Fire Dragon,' the town is in chaos! And you're blaming the weapons for being defeated by the 'White Wolves'? Enough with the whining! First of all, we already had an agreement to supply weapons to the 'White Wolves,' and you agreed to it. Don't bring it up now."

"That's... I never thought you would supply 'Silver Shatterstone' shields to the 'White Wolves.'"

"Stop making excuses for what you've already said. The real reason for your defeat is that you couldn't use the 'Dragon Head Gauntlets' properly."

"Damn..."

"If you keep complaining, I'll terminate the contract. Go to another alchemy guild for weapon maintenance and manufacturing. I doubt there's anyone else in this town who can maintain and manufacture the 'Dragon Head Gauntlets' besides me."

"Sain, calm down."

Aruru, who had followed Sain and had just arrived at the room, said.

"Right now, it's not a good idea to make the 'Dragon's Blaze' our enemy. Without their cooperation, we can't properly maintain our weapons. Let's back down for now. Once we re-equip and reorganize our team, we can challenge the dungeon again."

"Ugh..."

Sain took a deep breath, as if to control himself, and threw the 'Dragon Head Gauntlets' to the floor.

"Maintain and repair the 'Dragon Head Gauntlets' and our equipment! Within a week."

"Don't talk nonsense. I'll finish it in three days."

"You said it. Three days. If you're even a second late, you won't get off easy!"

Sain left the Guild Master's room and hurried down the corridor.

"Wait, Sain. Hey, Sain, ah..."

Aruru stopped when she saw someone approaching.

It was Jamil and Rod from the "White Wolves."

"Oh? Isn't that the captain of the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy'?"

"What a coincidence. I didn't expect you to be using the same alchemy guild."

"You bastards."

Sain grabbed Jamil by the collar.

"Got the nerve to show your face to me. Huh?"

"Hey, hey. Private duels in the town are forbidden."

"Right. If you want to fight, do it in the dungeon."

Jamil pushed Sain's hand away.

"We're always ready to accept challenges."

"Sure, if you can even get back into the dungeon."

"See you. We have a meeting with the Guild Master about the rare metals we obtained. We took them from some foolish guild, you know."

"What did you say?"

"Sain."

Aruru pulled on Sain's sleeve.

"Let's go."

Jamil and Rod headed for the Guild Master's room, ignoring Sain and Aruru.

Sain clenched his fists and watched them go.

(Damn it. Do they think they've won? Just wait. This isn't over.)

---

While the "Guardians of the Magic Academy" were fleeing to the town, the "Dawn Shield" and the "Pegasus Arrow" had also returned to the "Spirit Factory."

"Welcome back, Hans."

Aina said.

"Hey, Aina."

"How was it? The 'Dragon Piercer'?"

"Ah, it performed wonderfully. We managed to defeat two 'Fire Dragons.'"

"Two 'Fire Dragons'? Amazing!"

"That's a big catch."

Rody said.

"Really, I can't thank you all enough."

Claire said.

"It's been a long time since we had such a good haul. We're having a celebration tonight."

Alice said.

"We, the 'Pegasus Arrow,' intend to continue working closely with the 'Spirit Factory.' We'll entrust all the materials and rare metals from the 'Fire Dragons' to the 'Spirit Factory.' Please maintain the 'Dragon Piercer' for the next hunt."

"Sure, we'll take good care of it."

"By the way, where's Roland? I want to thank him too."

"Oh, Roland is... meeting with the 'Dawn Shield' in the cafeteria."

Aina said awkwardly.

"I see. With them..."

The members of the "Dawn Shield" were in stark contrast to Hans and his team, looking dejected and dark.

They all looked downcast, their faces gloomy.

Roland had just heard their story.

"So, the Grand Alliance collapsed so miserably..."

"Yes. We fought hard until the end... but..."

"Our income from this expedition is zero. Jeff is injured. We can't go on like this."

"Roland, you were right. We shouldn't have joined the Grand Alliance. If we had listened to you..."

Leon said apologetically.

"There's no point in dwelling on what's done. Let's focus on the future."

"Yes, you're right."

Despite his words, Elio and the others still looked gloomy.

(This... will take some time to recover.)

Aina, Rody, and Hans watched from a distance.

"Hmm. They seem to be taking it pretty hard."

Hans said.

"Yes, they are."

Aina agreed.

"At this rate, we can't have a victory celebration here."

"Ah, no feast for us."

Alice said, disappointed.

"It's a close call. If we had joined the Grand Alliance, we might have ended up like them."

Claire said.

"Hans' judgment was right, sometimes."

"Alice, that's one too many."

"They're in bad shape, but what about the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy'?"

Rody said.

"Huh?"

"They boasted so much about defeating the 'Huge Fire Dragon.' The guilds that followed them have zero income. They even caused damage to the town. The town is now filled with resentment towards them."

"Hmm."

Hans put a finger to his lips, deep in thought.

(This isn't over. Is there another storm coming?)