Home/How to Survive in a Good Small Guild/ch 56

Chapter 56

6. The Temple's grand conspiracy isn't about immortality or resurrection—it's about Park Geo-seong, the pot-bellied boomer

"Hehehe..."

"Guild Master, why are you laughing like a villain as you enter?"

Susanna looked at me with suspicious eyes.

"Assistant Manager Susanna, aren't you slandering the Guild Master too much?"

"That's because Assistant Manager Morian doesn't know yet! How terrifying our Guild Master can be...!"

"But Senior Staff Cedric seems to be keeping his composure."

"It's just that Senior Staff Cedric is..."

"Ah, right. Understood."

After confirming that Susanna and Morian were whispering and Cedric was looking at me with trusting eyes, I spoke.

"We have good news for our guild."

"What? Surely you're not going to say we have more work?"

"Of course not..."

"Are you going to use the appearance-changing ring to avoid audits and work overtime?"

"Ah, no. Cedric. That was really a joke."

Damn, that joke I'd made last time really wasn't appropriate for a Guild Master.

Finally, I swallowed and announced.

"The Platinum Mercenary Corps has paid additional compensation for resolving the Viscount Hartfield case! So I'm giving everyone a performance bonus!"

"A bonus?"

"Money?"

Susanna and Morian's eyes changed instantly. I nodded and said triumphantly.

"A real performance bonus!"

"Wow, long live Guild Master Odrette!"

"Maybe I can finally escape that graveyard-view rent..."

Why was Cedric smiling so contentedly?

"You're happy too, right, Cedric?"

"Yes, I was able to confirm the Guild Master's righteous character in sharing the compensation received."

"...Excuse me? Anyway, I'll distribute the bonuses today."

"I thought performance bonuses were just a legendary word! I'd heard other office workers get them, so I suspected everyone was in on a joke at my expense!"

"Assistant Manager Susanna, we did receive bonuses from the previous Guild Master too."

"Oh, that? The one where our salary was 2,308,000 pesos and he added 2,000 pesos as a bonus, making it 2,310,000?"

"Honestly, that felt less like a bonus and more like he just didn't want to deal with loose change."

In any case, the news that we were actually getting performance bonuses brought smiles to the guild members' faces.

"Yay! I can buy the new version of the small phonograph!"

Susanna really was consistent in her love for listening to music on her small phonograph while working...

"I don't know how much the bonus is, but I plan to save the money. I want to move to a new house."

"I'm sure..."

Damn, just thinking about Morian's apartment made me want to cry.

"What about you, Cedric?"

When I asked, he looked flustered as if he'd never considered it. Then he stammered.

"D-donate?"

At those words, all our eyes turned to Cedric.

An office worker who donates their performance bonus?

"There are people in more difficult situations than me, so I want to donate to them."

"Goodness, I can't believe someone this good works at our guild."

"Assistant Manager Susanna, what do you mean by that?"

"Ah, I misspoke!"

After applauding Cedric's sense of justice, I handed each of them an envelope containing their bonus.

"There's more money than I expected..."

Everyone looked moved and clutched their bonus envelopes dearly. Heheh, it made me proud as Guild Master.

---

"It was nice to eat chargrilled rose cream pasta after a long time!"

"Hmm, I tried it for the first time and it suited my taste perfectly."

Despite having wondered why Susanna liked that dish, it turned out to be quite palatable to a Korean palate.

"Senior Staff Cedric seemed to find it too spicy, though..."

"It's so unjust it's strange it's not banned."

"...If you don't want to be reported for workplace harassment, I'd suggest not eating this next time."

After finishing our meal and buying coffee, we returned to the guild building.

"My bag... oh, I left it in the reception room while cleaning earlier."

Susanna disappeared into the guest reception room. Soon, her voice came from beyond.

"Ah, my money!"

"Money?"

"I can't find my bonus!"

Susanna reappeared with her bag, looking distraught. No way—even if we'd locked up, no one could have gotten in in the meantime.

"Did you leave it somewhere else?"

When we took it lightly, Susanna searched her bag, pockets, and even her desk drawer.

We also checked our own bonuses just in case, but everyone else's envelopes were intact.

"Waah! My bonus!"

Susanna truly couldn't find it anywhere. How could this have happened?

"Could there have been a thief? Though why they'd only take Susanna's money is a mystery..."

"But we perfectly locked the office when we left. The key is with the Guild Master, and we all ate together."

"...It wasn't perfectly locked."

Just then, Cedric, who'd been observing the situation, spoke up.

"The lock on the reception room used for guests is relatively flimsy."

Cedric checked the locking mechanism on the reception room door.

"With something pointy, anyone could pick this lock."

"Unbelievable..."

"Then someone broke into the reception room and stole my bonus?"

At least the office lock hadn't been breached. That's where all our important information was stored.

If Susanna hadn't carelessly left her bag in the reception room, the thief would only have gotten coffee and tea bags at best.

Just as we were panicking, the bell indicating a visitor in the reception room rang.

"We didn't have any appointments today... I'll go. Since Cedric seems knowledgeable about this kind of thing, please investigate the theft."

Leaving the office to Cedric, I headed to the reception room alone.

And then I barely suppressed a scream.

'No way!'

I immediately recognized her identity.

A noble young lady in an obviously expensive dress stood in the reception room.

She had ordinary brown hair and brown eyes. But that was surely an appearance-changing item to hide her identity.

The mole under her eye, and a face that felt familiar even though I'd never seen her before. So I had seen this face...

'On the cover.'

That's right. She was the heroine of this world—the one who would end up with Crown Prince Cedrian, the Lady of Kaliad!

'The Lady of Kaliad came to our guild?'

Why were two unexpected things happening today? A theft on one hand, and the Lady of Kaliad visiting on the other.

The Lady of Kaliad originally had golden hair and green eyes. The fact that she'd disguised her appearance meant she wanted to hide her identity.

"Hello, customer. I'm Odrette Lavendel, Guild Master of Arclight."

I pretended not to recognize her and bowed.

"Please feel free to sit. I can offer you coffee or tea, if you'd like."

Knowing she was the beloved daughter of a terrifying duke from a childcare story and a overpowered heroine, I found myself more tense than usual.

The Lady of Kaliad answered in a small voice.

"I'll have black tea, please."

"Yes, customer."

Soon, I brewed the tea and placed it on the table—only then did the conversation begin.

"You seem to be a noble, customer. May I ask your identity? If you prefer not to reveal it, that's also fine."

"Well..."

As expected of the original heroine, I couldn't read her intentions.

"I suppose you'll find out who I am once the commission begins... so before that, I'd like to ask you something."

"Yes, customer."

"Can you figure out who I am?"

Ah, so she was testing our capabilities. But this was too easy. I already knew.

"Of course, Lady of Kaliad."

"...I heard you were capable, but how?"

She frowned slightly, and I spoke.

"The dress you're wearing has the Musique Salon's emblem. Recently, the Musique Salon has become so popular that it's not easy to get clothes made there. And with all the finest fabrics and jewels... if there's a young noble lady with that much influence around your age, the Lady of Kaliad comes to mind."

"...You're as impressive as I'd heard."

The Musique Salon was our partner. It wasn't that I recognized her face—I could guess her identity just from her clothes.

"That's right. I'm the Lady of Kaliad."

Finally, the original heroine revealed her identity. When she removed her earrings, dazzling golden hair and green eyes were revealed.

"It's a well-known fact that I'm an adopted daughter."

"......"

"My commission is this: please find the real daughter the House of Kaliad lost."

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