Hydra Guild (1)
The Hydra Guild. Even after stepping down from the pinnacle of power, where no one could challenge them, they remained one of the top three guilds in Gideon. The Hydra Guild was a subordinate guild of Hades and served as the organization that oversaw all guilds in Gideon at the time—an undeniable testament to the overwhelming influence of the Hades Guild. Most guilds either shut their doors due to the Hydra Guild's excessive interference or, in the worst cases, were outright absorbed into the Hades Guild. The Iron Shield had barely managed to avoid that fate. Zeek didn't know the details. All she knew was that Isaac had somehow managed to stay in their good graces. Still, from that point on, the senior members had quietly disappeared.
<Welcome to the Guild of Exiles!> — Excerpt from Volume 2, page 117.
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Contrary to appearances, the Iron Shield had been carrying out several plans. The New Covenant was one of them. In short, it involved providing free education to the Children of God and raising them into capable individuals. Naturally, the Iron Shield could strengthen its forces by personally training promising talents. Even if they didn't join the guild, they would develop a favorable impression of the Iron Shield, potentially becoming allies who could help the guild someday. That was Isaac's reasoning. Though he phrased it that way, the truth was that he'd forced the project into existence just to quell the guild members' complaints. What the members wanted was the guild's prosperity and stability—not for guild funds to be wasted on complete strangers.
Hans had thought the same at first.
[I agree with helping the orphans, Master. But we're not a charity organization.]
[…….]
[It's fine for now. But sooner or later, we'll hit our limit. When that happens, we'll have no choice but to make a decision.]
Even a massive guild with a solid foundation would struggle. For a fledgling guild less than a year old, it was far too heavy a burden. Of course, he understood the Master's noble intentions…… but this wasn't a dream where everyone could be happy. It was the cold, harsh reality as it existed. People's hearts were fickle. They could change at any moment. That was why, aside from Isaac and Zeek, no one in the guild believed the New Covenant project would succeed.
"Eek?!"
"You're still far from ready!!"
"W-wait a second!"
However, after witnessing the children's growth with his own eyes, Hans had no choice but to retract his thoughts. The growth of the children—especially Diego and Heres—was so rapid that even Hans couldn't help but be impressed. Of course, compared to Zeek, who was more monster than genius, they still fell short. But the fact that they'd begun overwhelming Dig in just two months was undeniable proof of their extraordinary talent. No matter how weak Dig was, Hans judged that Dig's skill level was just barely enough to call himself a hero. That was why Hans hadn't kicked him out yet.
"Those kids have a bright future ahead of them."
"Yeah. Seeing this, the New Covenant doesn't seem like such a bad plan after all."
"What about Sasha and Yuliana?"
"Don't even get me started. When it comes to healing arts alone, they're already better than me."
Healing arts were an essential skill for heroes who faced magical beasts. And the root of healing arts was altruism—selflessness toward others. From that perspective, those two were beyond imagination. Hearing Sophia's words, Hans wore a genuinely surprised expression. It was the first time he'd seen Sophia, who was stricter than anyone when it came to healing arts, acknowledge someone so readily. In response to Hans's reaction, Sophia gave a bitter smile. It couldn't be helped. Only two months had passed since they'd properly begun learning healing arts, yet they'd already grown this much.
"I'm starting to find the younger generation terrifying."
"Do you think the Master planned this far ahead?"
"Maybe he did?"
"I thought he was just an idealist…… but this is genuinely surprising."
At first, they'd thought he was just some arrogant brat who only talked big. But the way he'd saved them, the way he'd gone ahead and founded a guild in Gideon despite everything—it was clear he was a man with real ability. The New Covenant was no different. Thanks to the children, led by Diego, who were beginning to stand out, the number of Children of God attending school had increased. Among them were genuine geniuses. Even a rotten mackerel was still a fish, after all—most of the Children of God carried the blood of heroes. Yet he didn't discriminate against those without talent, nor did he force dreams upon them.
[A baker? A blacksmith? Those are fine dreams too.]
[Learn for the sake of your own dreams. Keep learning.]
[That knowledge will become the future you desire.]
Even the wary children began to open their hearts one by one after hearing Isaac's sincerity. You don't have to become a hero. Find your own dream and move forward. That in itself is something that benefits the world.
'Ah, what do I do? I really am too cool for my own good.'
Of course, the one who'd said it was also the lunatic who thought he was cool for saying it. But unless they could read minds, there was no way they'd know that. And among them, Las clicked his tongue and spoke.
"Lost again?"
"They're all monsters. What am I supposed to do?"
"That's why you need to train regularly…… No, never mind."
Las held his tongue. Words were meant for people, not beasts. Besides, Dig had been training recently too—albeit reluctantly and under duress.
'Sometimes I wonder if he's just pretending to be weak.'
Despite his constant losses, objectively speaking, Dig wasn't weak. At the very least, his skill level was just barely enough to qualify as a hero. No, wait a second. As that thought occurred to him, Las felt something was off. Was it even possible to maintain that borderline level of skill indefinitely? Whether they liked it or not, people improved as they put in effort. Yet after completing quite a few requests and receiving training from Hans, Dig hadn't improved at all? His skills hadn't grown even a little?
'Don't tell me…… he's hiding his true strength?'
Anyone who wasn't an idiot would have noticed. But no one had. Had he planned it that way? Hiding his power behind the image of a fool and an idiot……
"Ah, I'm hungry. When's dinner?"
"You bastard."
"Ack! Why are you going crazy again!?"
But Las neatly folded up his suspicions and tossed them far away. The sight of Dig sprawled on the ground picking his nose was the very picture of a good-for-nothing. In the end, unable to hold back, Las kicked Dig in the head. While the two bickered, the children who had gathered after class were chatting about what they'd learned today.
"I think dual swords suit me."
"Kain said he'd teach me how to make bombs."
"What about Sasha?"
"I'm learning healing arts from Yuliana."
"Well, a healer is essential, after all."
It was an ordinary day. Warm sunlight, a clear blue sky, and children laughing and chatting at school. But the peace of the afternoon shattered in an instant. The first to sense the threat was Kain. The wanderer's keen instincts, honed by using the sky and earth as his blanket, detected the danger before anyone else. Hans also rose to his feet a moment later, sensing the threat. Their hardened gazes turned toward the people in black uniforms standing at the entrance beyond the window. Kain frowned. Each and every one of them was no pushover.
"Senior, those guys. Do you know them?"
"……I've never seen them, but I know who they are."
"What the hell are those bastards?"
"The Hydra Guild."
The emblem of three snakes embroidered on their right shoulders. Thanks to that, Hans had no trouble identifying them. He gave Kain a single-word summary.
"They're Hades' hunting dogs."
This is bad, Hans clicked his tongue. He'd let his guard down because things had been too quiet lately. These were the kind of people who could show up anywhere, anytime. Hans rolled his eyes to scan the surroundings. Fighting here would be dangerous. There were too many non-combatants. The Hydra Guild nominally held a position similar to inspectors, but that was nothing more than a facade. In reality, they were hunting dogs that pursued those who didn't obey the Hades Guild. Especially for the Iron Shield, the Hydra Guild was an even more threatening existence. To the Hydra Guild, which fabricated crimes to execute people, the Iron Shield was nothing short of a juicy piece of meat.
"They've already made a mess of their requests, and now they're doing everything they're not supposed to?"
From the Hydra Guild's perspective, the Iron Shield was one of the most insane guilds around. They openly did everything they were told not to, yet somehow managed to complete their requests in a half-assed manner.
"At this point, maybe we should just fight them?"
Her deep purple hair reached down to her hips. Unlike the others in neat uniforms, she wore only short pants and an extremely short coat that barely covered her abdomen. As a result, her chest and the massive scythe tattoo on her stomach were completely exposed. Her violet eyes eventually turned toward Hans. Hans swallowed dryly without realizing it.
"What do you think, former Deputy Commander of the Holy Knights?"
"How do you know that……?!"
"Who knows? Maybe someone told me?"
'Don't tell me…… the Master? No, that can't be.'
Hans forced his stiffened expression to relax and cooled his head. For a subordinate guild of Hades, having that level of intelligence wasn't strange at all. Yes, that had to be it.
"……That's all in the past now."
'Hmm? Tougher than I expected.'
Watching Hans try to brush it off with a calm expression, Veronika looked genuinely surprised. She'd revealed information that only the Master and a select few knew, hoping to make him suspicious of the Master. Her snake-like, chilling violet eyes passed over Hans and looked beyond him. Even though any guild master in Gideon should know about the Hydra Guild better than anyone and be on guard, he stood there with his arms crossed, watching her with a composed expression. He wasn't just standing there. Simply by being in that spot, he exuded a presence that could put everyone at ease—like a mountain that wouldn't budge no matter what storm came. It was like looking at a giant. Feeling a chill for the first time in a while, Veronika hugged her trembling body, which was now shaking with excitement.
'……So he had something to rely on?'
Well, that explained how he'd been able to openly break Hades' laws and make such a mess of his requests. Having finished her assessment, she drew a cruel smile across her lips.
'It's been a while since I've had something worth breaking.'
'……Hans was the Deputy Commander of the Holy Knights?!'
Meanwhile, the very mountain in question—Isaac—was inwardly startled by a setting he'd never heard before. Wait, wasn't he supposed to be a knight from a fallen kingdom? But the Pope State wasn't a fallen kingdom, was it?