The Guild Master's Troubles
In the northeastern region of the Shardena Kingdom stood the Mercenary Guild headquarters. It served as the central hub for every mercenary guild across the continent and drew more requests than any other branch. Today, as always, the building where the guild master himself resided was packed with mercenaries jostling for work and coin.
“This request look decent to you?”
“Hmm… the pay seems a bit low, doesn’t it?”
“Hey, if you’re done picking a request, stop blocking the damn board and move!”
“Aish, you little shit… My ears are ringing. Quit yelling!”
Bronze Plate, Silver Plate, Gold Plate. While higher ranks naturally meant fewer people, the headquarters boasted the largest concentration of mercenaries on the continent, so the hall was a chaotic swirl of all three grades. Platinum Plate mercenaries were nowhere to be seen, of course. Only about six existed across the entire continent, making them rarer than stars in the daylight. The fact that more than twenty Gold Plate mercenaries were visible inside was proof enough of the headquarters’ massive scale.
In contrast to the raucous first floor, the guild master’s office on the quiet third floor was almost eerily peaceful. There, seated behind a massive desk, was Martin Vale—the guild master of the headquarters and the man known by the title of Holy Gold Plate mercenary.
Standing over 190 centimeters with a body carved from pure muscle, a fierce brown beard, matching dark brown hair, and sharp blue eyes, Martin filled an enormous chair built to accommodate his frame. The chair groaned in protest as he rocked back and forth.
Creak— creak—
“Ugh… Seriously. It’s only been a year since I bought this thing. Guess I’ll have to order a new one.”
Muttering to himself, Martin decided to commission a sturdier chair and stamped the finished report. He flipped to the next page with a soft rustle of paper.
The moment his eyes scanned the new document, his eyebrows twitched.
“…Huh? What the hell is this?”
The report detailed recent clashes between underworld organizations popping up all over the city. Such reports came in two or three times a day, but this one caught Martin’s attention because the location of the latest incident was far from ordinary. He called out to his vice-guild master, who was handling her own stack of paperwork nearby.
“Hey, Diona. Is this report accurate? Underworld bastards are really brawling inside the kingdom now?”
“Yes, Guild Master. It’s confirmed. We investigated and found three civilian homes half-destroyed in a back alley in the southwest district.”
“Those sons of bitches… I went easy on them because they hadn’t caused trouble inside the kingdom before, and now they’re running wild.”
“It does appear something significant is happening in the underworld lately. These groups used to be tightly knit. For them to turn on each other like this is almost unheard of.”
Martin nodded at Diona’s assessment. Underworld types might clash occasionally, but they were like cockroaches that generally respected each other’s turf or even cooperated. Until three or four years ago, the number of recorded conflicts barely reached ten per year. Lately, however, two or three incidents were reported daily—sometimes even four. Something was definitely stirring.
And Martin had a rough idea what that something was.
“Looks like… some crazy bastard is trying to swallow the entire underworld.”
“Pardon…? Is that truly the case?”
“It’s the only explanation that fits. This many conflicts means a common factor has appeared across the entire underworld. The most likely cause is that someone is forcing these groups to pick a side—join them or die.”
“But… who in their right mind would even attempt to rule the underworld?”
The underworld was a pit crawling with criminals who wore their malice openly. They were beasts that normal logic could never reach. What kind of madman would try to tame them? Diona’s question carried genuine disbelief.
Martin picked at his ear with a bored expression.
“How the hell should I know? It’s not like I’ve met the guy. And trying to guess why a lunatic wants to rule the underworld? I’m not crazy enough to think like a crazy person.”
“Well… that’s true.”
Since three years ago, intelligence had suggested underworld organizations were gradually converging toward a single point. The existence of someone trying to dominate that world was practically confirmed. Yet the identity of that person remained unknown. The only certainty was that whoever they were, they had to be completely insane.
Still, the important issue right now was that the resulting conflicts had finally spilled into the kingdom itself. If the fights had stayed in the territories, the local nobles could have handled it. But since it had reached the kingdom proper, Martin had no intention of sitting idle.
“If those underworld bastards are bold enough to start brawling inside the kingdom… then we need to remind them exactly who’s in charge.”
“So… what method did you have in mind?”
“Diona, post a request to the mercenaries. Make it a permanent guild commission. One silver coin if they bring back the head of any underworld thug causing trouble inside the kingdom. Ten silver coins if they capture them alive.”
“I see. That should motivate the mercenaries to patrol the kingdom on their own. Understood. I’ll announce the commission today.”
While a few might differ, the majority of mercenaries valued money above all else. Every year, hundreds—thousands—of confident fighters chasing a fortune became mercenaries and eventually vanished as mercenaries. Nothing moved them more reliably than coin. With the right price, directing the countless mercenaries active in the kingdom was simple.
One to ten silver coins per underworld operative causing trouble in the kingdom was more than reasonable. For the mercenaries, it was worth the time and effort. Once the commission went up, even problems in blind spots would be swarmed by willing hunters.
“Good. That should take care of this report…”
Having found a clean solution, Martin stamped the document with a heavy thump and moved on to the next one. It was still early morning, and plenty of paperwork remained. There was no time to rest.
“Let’s finish before evening and grab some cold beer.”
“Sounds good, Guild Master.”
Brimming with motivation to finish every report before sunset and drown himself in refreshing ale, Martin flipped to the next page.
Beep———
Before he could even read the first line, a clear chime rang out. A communication orb on his desk was flashing. Martin lifted his head with a sigh.
“For the love of… I’m swamped. Who the hell is it?”
Who would call at this hour? Morning was the only relatively calm time before the afternoon rush. What kind of person had the leisure to contact the guild master himself?
If it was something trivial, he’d hang up immediately. With that thought, Martin glanced at the persistently ringing orb.
“Huh? Zenle? What’s she calling me for?”
Martin’s eyes widened at the unexpected name. Zenle Hyde, Knight Commander of the Shardena Kingdom’s knight order. Like him, she should have been buried in paperwork at this hour. This was completely unforeseen.
Because it was so unexpected, Martin let out a hearty laugh and poured mana into the communication orb.
Beep———
“Hello? Whoa, what’s this? If it isn’t the esteemed Knight Commander herself?”
[It’s been a while, Martin. Have you been well?]
The familiar voice coming through the orb made Martin burst into laughter again.
“Wahaha! I’ve been doing great. Almost too great, actually! The mercenaries who usually give me headaches have been strangely quiet lately.”
[Is that so? Then I’m afraid this is somewhat unfortunate news.]
“Huh? You’re still as blunt as ever. Kahaha!”
What did she mean by unfortunate? It almost sounded like she was hoping he was overworked. Martin laughed again, but Zenle’s tone remained serious. The next words carried a hint of sympathy.
[I didn’t mean I was disappointed that you aren’t busy. I meant it’s unfortunate that those peaceful days of yours may soon come to an end.]
“What? Why would my daily life end?”
[Because the day after tomorrow, I will be coming to the Royal Capital together with Master.]
“…Come again?”
Martin reflexively asked for clarification. There was no way his ears had failed him, but he wondered if he had misheard.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Kael. Martin was also one of Kael’s disciples and genuinely respected his master. If anything, he would welcome Kael’s visit and treat him properly.
But if Zenle was calling it “unfortunate,” then Kael’s arrival would almost certainly bring trouble. And any trouble caused by Kael tended to be on a catastrophic scale. Martin’s instincts screamed at him even without needing to calculate the details.
And, sure enough—
[Master said he wishes to take on mercenary work.]
The moment those words reached him, Martin froze solid. Ten seconds. Twenty. His mouth hung open so long that drool nearly escaped.
When he finally broke the silence, the only thing that came out was a single, crude summary of his current situation.
“…We’re fucked.”