Home/How to Survive in a Good Small Guild/ch 29

Chapter 29

"Sigh, what should I do..."

Monday came, and I was deep in thought, scribbling lines on my documents.

"Could there be another suspect? Do I have to infiltrate again? Right, I'm a Master of Cactus Spine Avoidance Studies, so I can get in!"

I fussed as I reviewed the list of suspects I'd written down.

Luna Moore had "sworn" with sincerity that she hadn't leaked anything, so she was completely ruled out.

Could I have missed something with the remaining two suspects?

"Park guard... Should I have asked which park her son works at?"

"Park guard?"

My muttering was interrupted by an unexpected voice.

It was Assistant Manager Morian, who'd been keeping his head down and focusing only on his assigned tasks.

He hadn't interacted much with us, being absorbed in his own work—what was this about?

"Yes, park guard."

"Sorry, but may I ask something? Were you thinking of that as a park security guard?"

"Um... there's a foreign word mixed in, but yes?"

"No."

Morian adjusted his glasses and spoke.

"Park guard means homeless."

"...Excuse me?"

"What was the situation?"

"Well..."

When I explained the general situation, Morian nodded as if he understood.

"She just kicked her son out of the house because she couldn't stand what he was doing. But since she was too ashamed to say she'd kicked him out, she called him a park guard."

"......"

It was absurd, but my trust in Morian went up a bit. Maybe he was unexpectedly useful?

"Assistant Manager Morian, then do you know who the culprit is?"

"This is..."

Morian, who'd been looking at the last part of my compiled documents, tilted his head.

"Viscount Hyacinth says he's visiting the magic tower to pursue the military minister position."

"Yes."

"In my view, Viscount Hyacinth is the culprit."

"Why?"

"Look at the title of the leaked thesis you wrote down."

· Research on Defense Asset Preservation Paradigm Through Non-linear Moat-based Threat Mitigation Systems

"I have no idea what that means at all!"

"It just seems to be saying to use moats when fighting."

"......"

"In conclusion, it's a thesis related to the military."

"Then why would Viscount Hyacinth..."

"If a defense-related thesis from the Veneti Empire leaks to the Norian Kingdom, one would naturally think there's a spy leaking military secrets to Norian. Military alertness will strengthen, and he seems to be trying to take advantage of that gap."

"Ah...! You're right. I found that Viscount Hyacinth majored in military science."

With this, I had a rough idea. Digging deeper into Viscount Hyacinth would confirm it.

"Thanks, Morian."

"No problem."

"Hmm..."

I glanced at Morian's back.

I hadn't expected anything from him this time, but maybe Morian—despite his excessive bravado and packaging—was unexpectedly a capable employee.

I'd watch him a little longer and make him fully part of our guild.

---

"Mr. Latelle, our investigation has identified the culprit as Viscount Hyacinth."

A few days later, when Latelle visited again, I sat with Cedric and handed him documents containing additional evidence we'd gathered.

"Creating danger to get into politics himself! Such injustice!"

Cedric seemed shocked enough to be furious upon learning the truth. He really did love justice, didn't he.

"Truly..."

Latelle's eyes widened as he looked at our evidence.

"Yes, this resolves the commission."

"Thank you, I must go quickly..."

"Wait a moment!"

I quickly stopped Latelle.

"You need to pay first."

This was a very important matter. Half the fee was paid upfront, but the other half was payable upon completion.

Latelle rummaged through his pockets as if he'd forgotten, then made a flustered expression.

"I don't have it..."

"Excuse me?"

No, I absolutely couldn't let the money slip away! Ah, no—he's from the Star Tower, so he'll come back and pay, right?

"Then you can come back and pay later..."

"That won't be enough."

Just then, Cedric, seated beside me, spoke in an equally solemn voice.

"Receiving compensation for labor is a very important matter. You must pay with interest."

Oh, Cedric. In just a few days, interest wouldn't have accrued, but at least we wouldn't be at a loss. His money-obsessed side suited our guild well.

"I don't have it now, so..."

Latelle pulled something out from his pocket instead. It was a ring with a simple design.

"I'll come back and pay the money, but take this for now..."

"What is this?"

"A one-time use appearance-changing ring."

"An appearance-changing ring?"

That's the item the original heroine, the Lady of Kaliad, used—the one I'd investigated for the Crown Prince's commission!

As far as I knew, this "item," which occasionally existed in the Empire, was evidence of miracles performed by the High Priest.

There was no magic in this world, but there were special abilities instead.

I'd heard that when the High Priest occasionally performed miracles, he imbued items with his power, and they were traded at very high prices.

Ordinary people couldn't even dream of seeing them—to get such a good item!

"But aren't appearance-changing items required to be recorded when traded?"

Even in private transactions, it was important to record the owner, since they were strictly controlled items that could cause chaos in the Empire.

"Ah, this is one-time use... The duration is short too, so it's a defective item..."

"So it's a low-grade disposable item that doesn't require recording."

I gladly accepted Latelle's gift.

"If I use this, I can change my appearance?"

"It's automatically set... if you use it, your eyes turn brown..."

"This is truly an amazing item!"

"There are also bracelet and watch forms, but this is all I had..."

At that, Cedric's expression turned subtly odd. Did he think the item wasn't worth money? I assured him not to worry.

"It's fine, it's made of gold, so we can sell it for money. Or we can use it for information guild work."

"I suppose so, haha."

Why was he letting out that fake laugh that he never usually did?

Anyway, I looked up at Latelle with excited eyes.

"But is there a reason the automatically changing eye color is brown?"

"Yeah, it's the most popular..."

"Why?"

"Because brown is the least noticeable..."

"I suppose you're right."

Cedric flinched again. He probably felt offended since his own eye color was also brown. But as Latelle said, brown was the best color for a protagonist to disguise themselves as an extra.

"I had no idea such an item existed, thank you!"

"Thank you too..."

After Latelle left, I looked down at the ring with a joyful heart.

"Guild Master, how will you use that ring?"

"I could sell it if funds get tight, but I think I can use it much more usefully. Maybe for infiltrating and obtaining information?"

"Yes..."

Recalling something, I made a light joke.

"Haha, or maybe I could wear this ring, work overtime, and when the government gives thanks for overtime pay, claim I'm a different person. It could be used for working extra hours and getting paid less."

"......"

At those words, Cedric's face turned serious. Oops, come to think of it, I was the Guild Master now. Unlike when I was just an employee, that wasn't the kind of joke appropriate for me to make.

"I-it was just a joke. It's a one-time use anyway."

"......"

"Please don't look at me with such suspicious eyes..."

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