Home/How to Survive in a Good Small Guild/ch 11

Chapter 11

By evening, Cedrian walked into the palace with a dazed expression. At least it was fortunate that he was a contract worker, so his working hours ended earlier than the others.

"No, Your Highness. Why did you suddenly take leave?"

His friend and aide, Eric, grumbled as Cedrian arrived at the office.

"Because Your Highness officially took leave, all the work piled up on me! And if you're going to take leave, at least actually rest—where did you go again?"

"I went to work..."

"Huh? Work? What were you trying to gain by working..."

"Hourly wage of 10,530 pesos..."

"That's exactly minimum wage. Why on earth would Your Highness do such a thing..."

"Exactly what I'm wondering..."

Cedrian let out a deep sigh. He staggered and slumped into his chair.

"Actually, I found a good opportunity to get information on the Temple's side, so I infiltrated it myself..."

"You mean that Global-Whatever I investigated last time. It had a name like a startup that couldn't even get investment."

"That's right."

"But why did you have to infiltrate it yourself? Didn't the investigation last time settle things?"

Cedrian clutched his head and continued.

"I didn't tell you that far. Recently, I commissioned that guild for a task, and one of the guild members saw through my identity first."

"Excuse me? Then how did a guild member from a small place..."

"She was extremely capable and seemed to harbor a deep hatred for the Temple. I confirmed her loyalty with an 'Oath' and all... but you know I dislike people who are outside my control."

"Even with an Oath?"

"Being more capable than necessary is itself a reason to be wary. The fact that she figured out my identity is suspicious."

"That paranoia of yours..."

"So I infiltrated, and..."

"And?"

"She was just a lunatic!"

He shouted in fury.

"She told me to decide the lunch menu, bring coffee with stamp cards, write reports in 32-point font with stick-figure illustrations, and then suggested we hold meetings while doing planks!"

"She's truly out of her mind."

"And when she boasted about the guild's welfare, she bragged about having separate restrooms for men and women. What kind of welfare is that!"

"Isn't that something that should legally be there anyway?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying! I can't believe such an absurd place still exists in the Empire!"

"Couldn't you just rely on the spy you planted? From what I've heard, she sounds more like a lunatic than someone untrustworthy. Your Highness doesn't need to suffer in a place like that..."

"No, I can't do that! I have to see everything with my own eyes!"

"Sigh, that paranoia of yours..."

Eric shook his head, but Cedrian clenched his fist.

He couldn't leave the Temple's information to a mere spy. He would personally verify and control everything himself. Absolutely!

---

"Assistant Manager Odrette, a client is here."

"A client?"

Hmm, a cheating-spouse request? As I was thinking that, Cedric continued.

"Someone related to the client you handled last time, apparently..."

"What?"

A contact of the crown prince's? If that was true, it must be an important mission.

I immediately set aside my work and headed to the reception room. The man seated there had brown hair and yellow eyes.

"Hello. I'm Eric, the Crown Prince's aide."

"Oh, hello."

"You can communicate through me whenever needed. He's quite busy. I came in person to avoid any communication errors in between."

"Oh, I see."

For some reason, he smiled pleasantly.

"Let's work together to crush the Temple from now on. His Highness has decided to fully trust you."

"Oh, so he trusts me!"

"Yes, His Highness completely trusts Ms. Odrette Lavendel."

Was Eric always this lively a character? He seemed in a good mood.

"Let's join forces and bring down the Temple."

"Yes, sounds great."

I looked at Eric with wide eyes.

"I'll gather all the information on the Temple's corruption for you!"

"That's wonderful news. He'll be delighted as well."

---

"Assistant Manager Odrette, did something good happen?"

As I walked into the office with a smile, Cedric asked.

He'd been looking haggard from writing up another report the Guild Master had ordered, and seemed to want to talk about anything else. Well, I'd gladly oblige.

"Yes, something good happened. I got a commission I really like."

"I see. What kind of commission?"

"That's naturally confidential."

"E-even within the same guild?"

"How do I know you're not a spy who'll steal our guild's information and run away? For the time being, you'll have to keep things confidential."

I said in a cold voice.

"Who knows, someone might leak our guild's secrets and write an essay about them..."

"Oh my, Assistant Manager Odrette~, what are you talking about~?"

"Haha, just a joke."

"What a funny joke!"

Susanna let out a forced laugh, clearly stung.

"Anyway, I'll be busy with my new mission from now on. I'll hand over the important tasks I've been handling to you, Cedric."

"You're handing them over to me? Does that mean I'll get to handle important things too...!"

"Yes, very important things."

I began listing the tasks Cedric would have to do from now on.

"First, every morning, you need to transcribe the Guild Master's lectures, summarize them, and circulate them. Later, the Guild Master will want to compile them into a book, so you must write them down."

"......?"

"For any remarks that are inappropriate for publication, edit them to sound more presentable. For example, like this."

Original: "Back in my day, I used to hand-write a hundred documents a day. Kids these days have no patience—they complain after writing ten pages. It's because they lack basic stamina."

Edited version: "Perseverance and physical stamina are the foundation of work performance and the basic competency expected of junior guild members."

"This is how you do it."

"......"

"Second task. The Guild Master has a son, and sometimes we have to do his homework for him. Please take care of that."

"What kind of homework? Mathematics? History? Or literature?"

"No, art homework."

"......"

"Third task. Always copy reports in triplicate and place them on the Guild Master's desk, inside his drawer, and inside his bag. That way nothing gets lost."

"......"

Cedric's face was now much darker than before.

"Um, so the reason I have to do these tasks is... because you'll be handling important work from now on, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I'll be doing truly important things."

"I dug my own grave..."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing... I'll do my best from now on..."

"Right? Let's do well together."

After patting his shoulder in encouragement, I returned to my seat. Susanna shot me a look.

What if he can't take it and quits?

He said he worked at a family-run business as weird as ours, so he'll probably be fine.

After exchanging glances with her, I glanced at Cedric.

"I dug my own grave... Is this really worth it just to gather information... but it's hard to find former high-ranking priests... No, this is still too unjust..."

He was muttering to himself—he seemed exhausted from all the work.

Fighting, newbie!

Newbies need to be trained hard! Sorry!

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