Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.23 – The Knight's Interview (5)
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"-A-Attack!!"
The raid alarm echoed throughout the entire building.
In any place, when such an alarm blared, the standard procedure was for everyone to panic and flee in terror.
"Again?"
"Raids have been unusually frequent this month."
"Who’s attacking this time?"
"I heard it’s a knight."
"Hm, would a knight’s body sell well to the alchemists?"
Most of the staff were casually playing poker, their faces showing not the slightest hint of urgency.
As if it were something they’d grown thoroughly sick of experiencing.
And to a certain extent, that was true.
They were the organization hated the most in the entire kingdom.
The Guild Union.
It was the representative body for all guilds gathered in the capital.
"Hm, let’s not pay it much mind and just get back to work."
Simon.
The man serving as the branch leader of the Pendragon Guild Union branch didn’t place much significance on the word "raid."
He treated it as just another trivial part of his daily routine, not worth his attention.
"It’s probably some noble with a grudge against us who sent them. Could even be a knight from that viscount whose land we took the other day."
"We do have plenty of people who’d want to send someone, yeah... Hm. Who should we send?"
"Send some of the guys. It’s a knight, so they should be pretty strong."
"Understood, Simon."
It was an attitude bordering on arrogance.
Even with a knight charging in personally, they just accepted it nonchalantly.
However, this wasn’t mere arrogance—it stemmed from confidence.
It was a fact known only to those in the know, but the guilds possessed many powerful individuals.
They recruited without discrimination, scouting pretty much anyone as long as they weren’t the dregs of humanity on the level of heinous criminals. That was the guild’s principle.
Of course, occasionally, shady deals with nobles were needed to quietly whisk away such miscreants from their sordid pasts, but if some cash could secure a powerhouse, it was a profit.
And thanks to this principle, the guilds had a considerable number of deployed experts.
Some could even rival a typical knight commander, so it was laughable for them to tense up over a mere raider.
Thus, even if a band of assassins burst in, they wouldn’t panic—they simply carried on with their work as usual.
"The production guilds asked us to look for someone who went missing, right?"
"His name’s Hans, a fairly high-ranked blacksmith. There’s a concern he was kidnapped by an illegal mage, and it might’ve been over ten years ago."
"Then he’s probably dead already. No way we find him."
"But..."
"Ah, I know. We at least have to pretend to look."
Simon was the head responsible for the Pendragon Kingdom’s guilds.
He oversaw an organization ranking third in scale among the 101 guilds spread across the continent.
As someone running such a massive guild, he hated letting emotions ruin things and preferred handling matters efficiently and swiftly.
Quickly, promptly, and efficiently, no matter what.
It was akin to Simon’s creed in processing work.
"Haa, got it. I’ll report it as ‘we did our utmost, but the results weren’t good.’"
"You get it perfectly. Now, next issue—the matter with Marquis Jenimia, how’s that..."
Thud!
Rumble!!
"...As for the Marquis Jenimia matter, I understand it’s already in process, so there’s no need for you to worry abou—"
Kaboom!
"That’s true, but looking at these documents, there’s something nagging at me..."
Kwarang!!
"...Why is it so damn noisy?"
"Ugh, is the raider actually pretty skilled?"
"No sign of it quieting down. Tsk."
"I’ll go check it out myself."
"Mm, then handle it, Rem."
"I’ll be back before this black tea cools."
Skinny but known as Simon’s right-hand man in the guild, Rem stepped outside.
A former member of a prestigious knight order, his skill was on par with a vice commander.
Simon figured it would quiet down quickly now that he was going.
And sure enough.
"...It’s finally settling down."
The outside rapidly fell silent.
Simon smiled in satisfaction and resumed the meeting with his secretary—
Kwang!!
"!?!!"
Simon and the secretary’s eyes widened like saucers.
If the door had simply burst open with something appearing, they wouldn’t have been this shocked...
"R-Rem?"
Rem appeared by smashing through the wall.
Or more precisely.
"Groooan...!"
Rem’s body showed no intact parts, as if he’d been used as a tool to demolish the wall.
Less than 30 seconds after leaving, his wretched state was pitiful.
The neatly dressed swordsman from moments ago was gone; now a bloodied wreck of a swordsman lay there.
Simon.
"What the fu—!"
His judgment was swift, his instincts sharp.
The instant he confirmed Rem had been defeated, he hurled himself toward the window to escape.
If he could just slip out the window, he could reach the emergency exit.
Simon had contingency plans everywhere, already calculating all possibilities, so he figured escape wouldn’t be an issue.
—Until he got slapped down.
"—Are you the branch leader?"
Kwaaang!!
—That is.
"—!!"
Whoosh.
Simon saw the sharp dagger that grazed his ear.
It was embedded straight into the wall, a testament to its lethal power just from the sight.
...It felt deliberate, like they hadn’t aimed to hit him.
And as Simon slowly began to turn around.
"Raaaaargh!!"
He spotted a barbarian mercenary charging in using the broken wall as a door!
‘Vent!!’
The fierce child of the mystical barbarian race.
His prowess was already famous in the capital; a butcher who’d single-handedly harvested the necks of 200 vicious bandits.
Not guild-affiliated, but a top-tier mercenary hired through massive sums and long negotiations.
‘He’s here!’
Noting that Vent seemed to have shown up late, drunk as usual, Simon realized that didn’t matter now.
The top priority was Vent eliminating this raider.
Simon looked at Vent with expectant eyes, and Vent responded by swinging his fist with all his might.
It was a blow from Vent that crumpled even an iron shield.
And the raider.
Clang!
"...?"
"Done already?"
...Why did punching his face sound like striking plate armor?
The raider took Vent’s fist without dodging, yet didn’t budge an inch, remaining utterly calm.
"...Steel rock?"
Vent suddenly recalled the massive boulders unique to the Snake Forest Path, homeland of the barbarians.
Boulders boasting supreme hardness, breakable only by great warriors.
Striking this man felt exactly like that.
As if he hadn’t punched a person, but a rock laced with iron ore.
And the raider, wielding what seemed like steel—no, a bizarre technique called [Indestructible]—
Whoosh!
—extended his fist, striking Vent hard.
Boom!!
It landed squarely on the gut, producing an explosion like a drum bursting from Vent’s body.
"...!!"
Fortunately, not fatal, but the pain was such that death might’ve been preferable—Vent collapsed to his knees and passed out.
A top-tier mercenary downed in one blow; it was anticlimactic, but his guts not rupturing proved Vent’s caliber.
And the raider—no, the knight.
"Hey, anyone else coming?"
"......"
...Was a monster.
"If there’s more, bring ’em quick. Don’t make it annoying later."
"...N-No, there aren’t."
"Yeah? Then sit. Let’s have that talk."
"......"
"What, don’t wanna?"
"N-No way!!"
"Hm."
"......"
Gulp...
To repeat: Simon was perceptive.
Thus, he realized.
If his response had been even a second slower.
‘That guy would’ve killed me.’
Without the slightest hesitation.
Simon was certain, staking his position as branch leader.
Kwachik!
He sat in the wrecked chair and casually drew a hand axe, tossing it like water flowing.
Simon flinched, his blood running cold at the thought it might fly at him, but fortunately, where it landed was...
"Th-That’s an expensive desk..."
"Use your head, you idiot."
"...Y-Yes."
Glared at his oblivious secretary, Simon eyed the hand axe standing rigidly through the center of the desk.
As if warning that the desk—or his head—could meet the same fate anytime.
And as predicted.
"I’m gonna ask you one question now. If your answer’s slow, this axe goes to your forehead, chest, or if you’re unlucky, your crotch."
"......"
"Answer."
"A-Ah, understood."
Since becoming branch leader, had anyone ever treated him this roughly?
...No.
Even great nobles or wealthy merchants who disrespected him still showed deference; others watched their step.
But this man before him offered no respect.
Only raw killing intent, enough to feel like he’d tear him apart any second.
‘Wh-Who is he? Wh-When did I ever piss off a monster like this?’
Even as his life flashed before his eyes, Simon didn’t stop thinking.
Proving he hadn’t reached this position by luck in poker, he kept observing and pondering.
To him.
"Your eyes are spinning wild. Curious about who I am?"
"...Y-Yes, I am."
Simon asked honestly.
Not asking when given the chance would be idiotic.
Be thoroughly subservient, but go too low and you get devoured anyway.
Thus, even drenched in sweat, Simon asked, and he replied.
"Lee Han. A demoted knight."
"......"
He revealed his name all too easily; Simon blanked for a moment but soon recalled it from a corner of his memory.
Lee Han.
The same name as the knight who shone in yesterday’s monster raid.
He didn’t entertain stupid doubts like it being a coincidence.
‘-----!’
Instead, Simon’s mind rapidly recalled, sorted information, and output why he’d come here.
"S-Sir! F-First, let’s clear up the misunderstanding. W-We reached a legitimate contract agreement with Lady Levy Polt. B-But if you barge in like this, it’ll only trouble Lady Levy Polt herse—"
"...Your brain spins fast? Nailed the reason I’m here in 3 seconds?"
"Haha..."
To repeat: He hadn’t won the branch leader seat in poker.
‘Damn it! Knew it!’
The moment he heard Lee Han’s name, Simon output Lady Levy Polt’s name and instantly grasped why he’d come.
‘His disciple, huh...’
Currently, Lee Han was classified as a ‘special-grade’ watch target by the Guild Union.
Guild members had already observed his absurd prowess during the monster raid.
Thus, they knew Levy Polt was one of his disciples, and honestly, Simon had felt uneasy taking this job.
Worried about provoking him...
But the guild leadership had been confident.
Even if Lady Levy was the knight’s disciple, he wouldn’t intervene in family matters.
It’d be grossly overstepping bounds.
No knight, no matter how strong, would ignore propriety.
That was the leadership’s thinking, and Simon had nodded along.
Thus, as branch leader, Simon declared confidently.
"T-To be clear, the guild’s role is purely as intermediaries. Sure, it’s not entirely aboveboard, but do we really deserve this level of persecution? This is nothing short of oppression against the guilds—"
"—After seeing the lump you stuck on her trying to harass my disciple."
"......"
......He should’ve just shut up. Screw the bravado!
Simon’s face drained of color, turning ashen, as he heard the chant tightening around him.
"Hey, suppose. I’ve got a girl like a little sister. If some punk thug mocks and harasses her, would a guy get pissed, or not?"
"........."
"Just so you don’t misunderstand I might be lying, that punk thug’s right now dumped in front of your guild’s main gate. Not in any state to talk, but if you want, I’ll use whatever means to fix him up good as new. Then we can check if my words are misunderstanding or truth. How ’bout it, wanna try?"
"...Th-That’s..."
Simon couldn’t form words.
No, he lacked the mind to complete a sentence.
However, he wasn’t so bad a person as to berate Simon for suddenly playing mute.
...However.
"But remember this. If it’s not a misunderstanding, and my words are true. I’ll make you die painfully for sure. I’ll hunt down your family, your siblings, your friends—exterminate your entire clan. I swear on everything I have...!"
It was clear he was a ‘dangerous man’ one ‘absolutely’ shouldn’t provoke.
"........."
...Simon didn’t dare refute, falling silent.
Swish.
He swiftly slammed his forehead to the floor.