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Chapter 72

In the original story, after Odrette Lavendel betrayed Cedrian, he sought out a new guild.

The guild that became his ally was the Shadow Lion Guild, which earned Cedrian's trust through their competence and joined him in destroying the Temple.

In the end, they too received various rewards and prospered.

'So that guild originally had our position in the original story. I really want to beat them...'

Just then, a shadow fell over me. I looked up to see a long-haired man looking down at me.

"Ah, you must be the faaamous Arclight Guild Master? I heard you were a young woman."

"Who are you?"

"An information guild and you don't even have that much info? Who do you think I am?"

...A man with golden long hair. Yes, I know.

"You're the Shadow Lion Guild Master."

"Right. Took you long enough. But this is kind of pitiful, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"You went through the trouble of passing the first round, but since you're up against us, there's no way you'll pass the second. Let me give you some advice—don't waste your effort and just give up."

"......"

"Guild Master, stop talking to that little guild and come on! We're busy!"

"Haha, this is fun."

I closed my eyes tightly and opened them. The Shadow Lion Guild in the original story had one characteristic.

The Shadow Lion Guild was, quite simply, bullies who cowered before the strong.

In the original story, this was used as a comedic trait for supporting characters—showing the Shadow Lion Guild, who looked down on others, groveling before Crown Prince Cedrian and the Lady of Kaliad was amusing...

Unfortunately, since our guild was now their target, it wasn't funny at all.

"Guild Master, show them what you've got!"

Susanna whispered from behind.

"How terrifying our Guild Master is at finding and exploiting weaknesses!"

"Assistant Manager Susanna, why do you always paint the Guild Master as such a horror?"

"Tch, you don't know because you haven't experienced it, Morian!"

As Susanna and Morian bickered, other Shadow Lion guild members gathered around us, drawn by the commotion.

First, the Guild Master—the arrogant man with golden long hair. His name was probably...

"Leon Adenhart."

"Oh, you do know me- eh?"

He was highly capable but had a terrible personality, known for looking down on those he considered beneath him.

"Ugh, Guild Master! Let's go already!"

And the red-haired woman was the Vice Guild Master. So probably...

"Annamaria Broman."

"Wow, you know me too! Anyway, hurry up, Guild Master! It's pitiful watching them grovel!"

She played the role of the irritating sister-in-law, constantly needling from the side.

Of course, their guild wasn't a workplace with fewer than five employees like ours, so they had more members, but those two were the core.

I stared them down with intensity.

"Wow, is that a glare? Scary!"

"She's even making a last stand! Guild Master, let's go!"

Feeling instinctively disrespected, Susanna stepped forward.

"Guild Master, are they the famous Shadow Lion Guild?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Is that Guild Master's name Leon?"

"Yes."

"Wow..."

Susanna looked genuinely shocked.

"Don't tell me he named his guild Shadow Lion Guild because his name is Leon..."

"Oh, surely not."

Catching on to her intent, I played along.

"Who would put their own name in a guild name? They're not a teenager, they're an adult, haha."

"Well, you could put your name in it, I suppose... but adding 'Shadow' in front when your name is Lion is just too much..."

Susanna covered her mouth with one hand and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Calling yourself Shadow Lion is a bit... I wouldn't have done that even when I was 15. Shadow Susanna Guild? I never made anything like that."

"Tsk, Susanna! That's rude! They're still at the stage where they call themselves Shadow Lion! Maybe they still have a child's heart!"

"Oh, right! My apologies. I'm sorry, Shadow Leon..."

"The way you address them with proper honorifics is very nice."

"Your hair is impressive—just like a lion's golden mane... but the roots are brown. Did you dye it?"

"W-what the!"

Leon's face turned red and he clenched his fist. But since he couldn't refute it, it seemed he really had named the guild after himself and styled his hair like a lion...

"Alright then, Shadow Assistant Manager Morian. Shadow Senior Staff Cedric. Shall I, Shadow Odrette, take my leave now?"

"Huff."

Just then, Cedric, who'd been silent, let out a suppressed laugh. It didn't seem intentional—he looked slightly flustered after laughing.

"...I apologize."

That was the final blow. Leon hurriedly left, hiding his reddened face.

"Annamaria! Let's go!"

Only after they'd left did I look at Susanna with affectionate eyes.

"That was perfect, Susanna."

"Hoho, only we get to gossip about our Guild Master."

"Haha, I'll forgive you and Morian for complaining about the workload sometimes."

"Indeed, Assistant Manager Susanna's skills were perfect."

"I can't believe she was serious."

"Senior Staff Cedric's reaction was probably the most hurtful."

We returned to our guild in a warm mood, but I still held a grudge against the Shadow Lion Guild.

'If this continues, they'll steal our position just like in the original story!'

Though many things had changed from the original now, I still felt uneasy. After all, wasn't there the law of original story preservation?

"Guild Master, you seem more determined than usual."

"Yes, I really want to pass this project."

"...Don't worry. I'll definitely support you from the side."

"Senior Staff Cedric...!"

Ah, as expected, Cedric was on my side. The effect of treating him well once after making him suffer ten times was working.

"Now we need to prepare presentation materials..."

Since I was the Guild Master, it was probably better for me to present in person.

"How about you come with me, Cedric? We'll need someone to hand out materials."

"Very well."

We created presentation materials based on our first-round documents. In the process, our guild's official designer, Cedric, shone brilliantly.

"Wow! I've never seen such beautiful handwriting!"

"The drawings! Composition! Perspective! Light and shadow! Color! Everything is perfect! It's like you were taught by a famous artist!"

"I-it's just something I learned a little as a child."

Cedric's presentation materials were worthy of preservation as art. He arranged key content appropriately and added design elements with skill as if using a computer.

Now all I needed to do was present well. Practicing tone, emphasis, pronunciation... and most importantly, preparing for questions.

"Guild Master, do your best."

"Guild Master, how about Assistant Manager Susanna and I play the role of spies in the meantime?"

"Spies?"

"Yes, since the project contents shouldn't overlap, we'll check what the other guilds submitted in the first round."

"Good idea."

So I sent Morian and Susanna off and dove into intensive presentation practice under Cedric's special training.

"When presenting, you should be full of confidence that you're perfect, while also preparing for questions... Let me show you. This humble one—no..."

"...Does that presentation style have a name?"

"Imperial Speaking."

"......"

Since Cedric was saying things that sounded like he'd been reading strange books and could get him arrested, I had to present in my own way.

Still, Cedric was very helpful in preparing for questions.

"Now I'm Interviewer No. 1, the type who nitpicks everything."

"That concludes my presentation."

"But why did you name the project First Signal?"

"Because it's a name that looks sophisticated but feels tacky—just how the government likes it."

"Guild Master..."

"Ah, His Majesty the Imperial Family cares deeply about our people's first steps..."

And so it went.

"Now I'm Interviewer No. 2, the type who acts friendly and reassuring but actually tries to break down your guard to find weaknesses."

"Thank you for listening."

"Oh my, that was a great presentation! Where did you get your inspiration?"

"From my guild members..."

"Hoho, so you give your guild members a lot of orders, do you?"

"...I shared my ideas with my guild members, and they proposed that we should join forces and support it. Our company has a horizontal culture."

Though it was just Cedric in front of me, I felt like I could see someone else beyond him... It was truly impressive acting.

Just as we were practicing and my presentation skills were improving, the door burst open with a loud noise.

"Guild Master, Guild Master!"

Susanna called out excitedly. I felt uneasy.

"W-what is it?"

"Look! This was their first-round project!"

· Personal Information Protection Project

"Huh? Why this?"

"But a staff member I befriended told me they changed the project title for the second round!"

· Next Signal Public Safety Management Project

What? Anyone can see that's plagiarism!

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