Home/How to Survive in a Good Small Guild/ch 13

Chapter 13

Only then did Susanna's face light up with realization.

"That place!"

"Yes, that's right."

"We'll have to go around and post them everywhere!"

"Yes."

Seeing that only Susanna seemed to understand, Cedric asked in puzzlement.

"That place... where is it?"

Susanna and I answered simultaneously.

"The company restroom!"

"......!"

"Our newly built guild restroom is so comfortable! When I don't want to work, I just hide in there."

"Same here."

"......"

Cedric looked as if he'd experienced a cultural shock. Well, at a "family-like company" that was even more black than ours, he probably felt too pressured to even go to the restroom.

"Anyway, we're going to infiltrate various company restrooms and post these."

"Most restrooms aren't locked, after all."

---

A few days later, Cedric and I were walking down the street carrying stacks of copied posters.

"We'll split up—men's and women's restrooms."

Today, the Guild Master had left at lunchtime saying he had an appointment, so he definitely wouldn't be back for a while. Just in case, Susanna stayed behind at the office to cover for us if he returned early.

"Ah, here's a famous trading company building. Let's start with this one."

"Yes..."

Cedric seemed to be experiencing intense existential dread from all the promotional poster work lately, but what could he do? He was a social newcomer with nowhere else to go...

As we walked along posting flyers for a while, Cedric spoke up first.

"May I ask you something?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"I heard from Senior Staff Susanna that this guild is a subcontractor for somewhere."

"Ah, that's right."

"But I heard it's not a typical subcontracting arrangement—there are financial ties and a very clear master-servant relationship."

"That's right."

"Where exactly is this prime contractor?"

At that, I stared at Cedric intently.

Hmm, truth be told, Cedric was someone I wanted to keep around even after I took over the guild.

His work ability was decent, and his poor judgment meant he'd probably adapt well to this absurd guild.

Come to think of it, we're supposed to report to the Temple whenever we hire new talent.

The former Assistant Manager's dismissal was probably reported as well. Not that it mattered—he had no information about the Temple anyway, so there was no need to silence him.

In any case, the fact that Cedric was still working here meant the Temple had approved him.

"Cedric, have you had a meeting with the Guild Master since joining?"

"Once, yes..."

"Did the Guild Master mention your weakness during that meeting?"

"That is..."

Cedric hesitated before answering.

"Since it doesn't matter anyway, I'll tell you. I have a problem with my birth registration, so I couldn't attend compulsory education."

"Oh dear."

"So I can't get hired anywhere else anyway. The Guild Master mentioned my situation and told me to behave well if I wanted to stay here long."

"Without completing compulsory education, getting a job would be hard. But your previous company..."

"...It didn't matter there."

"Sigh, that place must have been quite the company too."

After nodding, I decided it was fine to tell Cedric about our "prime contractor."

"You'll find out soon enough anyway, so I'll tell you. We're a subcontractor guild for the Temple."

"Excuse me? Then does that mean you're also a follower of the Temple, Assistant Manager Odrette?"

"What are you talking about? I'm just working here because I had nowhere else to go."

"...I see."

Still, he kept glancing at me.

"What kind of work do we receive from the Temple?"

"We're an information guild, so information gathering. But there's almost nothing important. It's basically just dumping miscellaneous tasks on us."

"So you're saying there's no way to access the Temple's important information?"

"It's not that there's absolutely none..."

I muttered, recalling the time I'd been dragged to the Temple and made to work overnight. Come to think of it, that overnight shift was also an opportunity to obtain information from the Temple.

"Well, it's practically the same as none."

Cedric seemed quite interested in the Temple.

"I heard the Temple is a very conservative and closed organization that doesn't easily recruit people—I never thought I'd end up joining a subcontractor guild for them."

"Same here. I never thought my life would turn out like this either..."

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.

"Do you worship the Prophet too, Cedric?"

Unlike other romance fantasies, this world's Temple uniquely worshiped a "Prophet" rather than a supreme god or anything like that.

It was a fresh take—worshiping a human who came before us rather than a deity.

"Absolutely not."

Cedric's face hardened with unusual firmness.

"Ah, young people these days tend not to believe in religion. I get it. I'm not interested in religion either..."

The way of worshiping the Prophet in the original story was also quite peculiar.

One day, a "scripture" containing doctrines fell from the sky, and by following it, the Temple was able to grow in power.

The Temple's High Priest inherited a special ability, and the scripture contained the most effective way to use it.

So the High Priest's ability was...

"Miracle?"

"Excuse me?"

"The High Priest's ability is Miracle, isn't it? I've never seen it myself, but everyone who has ends up worshiping the Temple."

"Hah."

Cedric let out what sounded like a scoff.

"Even if I saw it, I don't think I'd believe in the Temple."

"Oh, very much a modern young person..."

"Th-that's not—!"

Cedric tried to protest, but I ignored him and headed into the restroom to post flyers.

Whether a low-level employee believed in religion or not, I had my own life to save.

---

"As I suspected, something's off."

Back at the Crown Prince's palace, Cedric removed his disguise items. Beneath the black hair, gray eyes were revealed.

"From what I've experienced working there, accessing Temple information through this guild is nearly impossible. Yet how does Odrette Lavendel manage to extract information?"

As he burned with determination to uncover Odrette Lavendel's secret, Eric beside him asked in a lackluster tone.

"Your Highness, how's the second job treating you?"

"Absolutely dreadful. Now I finally understand the struggles of the common people. Earning money through labor is a truly noble and great endeavor."

"If I'd known you'd change this much, I would've recommended a second job sooner. Are you finally empathizing with my feelings?"

"Still, I'm better off than Odrette Lavendel and that Guild Master."

"Are you sure..."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing at all."

As they exchanged such banter, Eric opened his mouth as if he had something to report.

"Oh, by the way, Your Highness. For reasons unknown, Marquess Heindel is coming up to the capital."

"Marquess Heindel? Why?"

"I'm not entirely sure either... but rumor has it there's trouble with the Marchioness."

"What kind of trouble? It was an arranged marriage anyway, and the Marquess didn't exactly treat his wife with care, did he?"

"Apparently, lately he's been eating nothing, sleeping nothing, and throwing himself entirely into work—just like someone suffering from heartbreak. And no one has seen the Marchioness recently, so there are rumors that she left and the Marquess has gone half-mad."

"It's probably nothing serious. Surely that Marquess isn't actually in love? Besides, my own life is more urgent than some elite noble."

"Your Highness is an elite imperial though..."

"You've been talking too much lately."

"My apologies."

After brushing off Eric's report, Cedrian decided to focus on his own business. He wanted to extract information about the Temple as soon as possible and leave that guild behind...

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