The Filth of Eliss (1)
In a world where Gideon was the city of heroes and myths, Eliss was known as the city of gems and light. Just as the name suggested, Eliss was a massive metropolis and city-state that thrived on the processing of gemstones. In particular, the lanterns of Eliss, crafted with their unique gem technology, were famous for shining as brightly at night as they did during the day. It was thanks to this that Eliss earned its title as the city of gems and light.
But where there is light, there is always darkness. And the darkness lurking in the city of light was unbearably, suffocatingly deep.
In the end, the Iron Shield successfully completed the request from the Golden Deer. Thanks to them, the Golden Deer was now able to develop Mount Eritos. The ending had taken a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn from the original story, but Isaac didn’t particularly care. If the Golden Deer caused any problems later, he could deal with it then.
It seemed the Golden Deer had also come to fully understand the strength of Isaac Silvertehr. They offered far more compensation than what had been agreed upon in the contract. Not only did they provide various trade deals and contracts, they even handed over a brand-new building to the Iron Shield. As a result, the guild ended up moving in rather unexpectedly.
“It’s so much bigger than our old house!”
“And it even has facilities like a dining hall inside.”
“Now it actually looks like a real guild.”
The previous location of the Iron Shield had only been called a guild out of courtesy. In reality, it had been little more than a giant warehouse. But the building provided by the Golden Deer had everything one could possibly need.
This building was acquired from an innkeeper who went bankrupt after failing to repay his gambling debts. Please make full use of it and feel free to renovate as you wish.
The first floor featured display shelves for liquor, a counter, and a considerable number of tables and chairs arranged like a proper dining hall. There was even a small stage where someone could perform. And true to its origins as an inn, the second floor had several rooms for guests, while the third floor contained what appeared to be the private quarters once used by the innkeeper and his family.
“It’ll be quite usable once we make a few modifications.”
“Is this all the luggage?”
“We didn’t have much to begin with.”
The move itself didn’t take very long. Since they were a newly formed guild, there simply wasn’t much to transport. However, moving the luggage wasn’t the end of it. Sophia let out a deep sigh.
“I’m planning to convert the old building into a school, but I’ll need some manpower. Anyone willing to help?”
“It’s been neglected for a long time. I can see plenty of spots that need repair. We’ll have to patch things up quickly.”
Since the building had been abandoned for so long, there were many urgent repairs to be done. On top of that, they also had to manage the school that was already operating. There was a mountain of work to do, but far too few hands to do it. By the time they finally finished everything, the sun had already begun to set outside.
Looking at the guild members sprawled exhausted across the dining hall, Isaac let out a small sigh.
“I know you’re all tired, but we still need to eat, don’t we?”
Though his tone was light, it was not a statement that could be ignored. After all, it was one of the rules Isaac had established. The third rule of the Iron Shield: No matter what happens, you must eat your meals.
Because of that, the guild members had no choice but to force their exhausted bodies to move. The guildmaster’s rules were absolute.
Isaac was the first to open the door and step outside. The courtyard had a small fence, and inside it were long tables and chairs set up so people could drink outdoors. And right in the center of it all lay the massive carcass of a wild boar.
“Master, don’t tell me… that’s tonight’s dinner?”
“Of course.”
“But that’s a demonic beast!”
“Even among demonic beasts, some make for exquisite ingredients.”
“I’ll prepare a vegetable soup to balance out the richness. Yuliana, could you help me?”
“Yes~! Understood, Senior!”
The children who had never eaten demonic beast meat before looked horrified, but Hans, Sophia, and Kain, who had experience with such things, remained calm. After all, there were places where demonic beast meat was a staple of the diet.
“We’ll need to butcher it first if we want to eat.”
“Store the bones and hide in the warehouse.”
“Trophies, huh? Got it.”
Trophies like bones and fangs collected from demonic beasts could be processed into excellent equipment. This particular Eritos boar was an incredibly powerful demonic beast that had even given the Golden Deer a hard time. Naturally, they expected it to yield exceptionally strong gear. With that in mind, Hans and Isaac began butchering the boar.
Before that, Kain ushered all the children back inside the guild building.
“Alright, kids, go on inside. This isn’t a pretty sight.”
“You hurry up and come help too.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming, Senior.”
The carcass of the boar Isaac had subjugated was officially recognized as a trophy for the Iron Shield. There had been an attempt to seize it midway, but Taite had personally stepped in and ruled in Isaac’s favor.
They stored the boar’s hide and bones in the warehouse, then used only the remaining meat to kick off an impromptu meat feast. The savory aroma of meat roasting over a roaring bonfire filled the air.
“Here’s the soup. There’s plenty, so take your time~.”
“I deliberately left the meat out of it. Just something to cleanse the palate.”
Right on cue, Yuliana and Sophia brought out the vegetable soup. Its clean, savory flavor helped cut through the slight richness of the meat. But of course, the true star of the show was the meat itself.
“This is way more delicious than I expected?”
“Indeed. The boar I ate on the battlefield was terrible by comparison.”
“Master! Master, you should eat some too!”
“Thank you, Zeek.”
Unlike ordinary boar meat, this was exceptionally clean and tender—the finest quality. Even the guild members who had been too exhausted to have an appetite ended up devouring the meat with gusto, filling their stomachs.
“That said, we have quite a lot of meat left over.”
“How about supplying the excess to the Golden Deer?”
“That would fetch us a considerable sum.”
True to her role as the guild’s accountant, Sophia was always obsessed with making money whenever possible. Isaac nodded in agreement with her suggestion. Since they had all eaten their fill and there was still plenty left, selling it wouldn’t hurt.
“They said the Golden Deer would personally broker any requests for us.”
“How do those requests come in? Do people come looking for us directly?”
“Looks like one’s arriving right now.”
In the direction Isaac pointed, a bird could be seen flying toward them. So they used messenger birds for delivery. Sophia nodded. It wasn’t a bad method.
The messenger bird landed familiarly on Isaac’s arm. He untied the pouch it carried like a bag and pulled out the contents. Sure enough, the pouch was stuffed full of parchments listing various requests.
“Arrest the bandit, Bronze Owl Man?”
“That one sounds like a joke request.”
“It has a certain cool factor, doesn’t it?”
“……Are you serious?”
Isaac slowly looked through the requests written on the parchments. Sophia, sitting beside him, did the same. It was an ordinary sight, but to someone’s eyes, it was an action that could not be overlooked.
“Master!”
“What is it?”
“The world is spinning round and round!”
“……? Did you drink alcohol?”
When Zeek staggered over with a face flushed bright red, a startled Isaac immediately rushed to her side. Watching from behind, Sophia smiled bitterly. She had made eye contact with Zeek.
You don’t have to go that far to get his attention. I’m not going to steal him from you.
The look in Zeek’s eyes when they had met earlier had been far too clear to belong to someone actually drunk. In other words, she was only pretending to be intoxicated to draw Isaac’s attention.
I wonder when our dense master will finally realize it.
It was no exaggeration to say that most of the guild members had already noticed Zeek’s true gender. Even Diego had caught on. Yet there was still one person who remained completely oblivious.
Isaac still hadn’t noticed a thing.
Sophia let out a small chuckle and took a sip of her drink. The sight of the two of them together was simply too adorable.
The guild members took turns reading through the request parchments. Once Las finished, he passed it to Diego beside him. Diego skimmed over it with a bored expression.
“Hey, you little brat, at least read the requests properly……”
“……”
“……Diego?”
“Why are you nagging me? It’s not like I’m actually going to do any of them. I’ll just keep lounging around the guild and collecting my pay.”
It was the same as always. Skimming through the requests and tossing them aside like trash. Smirking while talking about living off his salary. All of it was typical behavior.
But Las couldn’t simply let it slide. Because for the briefest moment, Diego’s expression had hardened.
The next day.
In the dining hall, everyone except Isaac and the children had gathered around a single table. No one could bring themselves to speak first. They all understood just how serious the situation was.
“Why didn’t you stop that idiot?”
In that heavy silence, Hans was the first to open his mouth. He was used to taking the lead. Even if it meant having to suspect one of their own family.
At those words, Las quickly replied.
“You seniors didn’t stop him either.”
“That’s……”
“I know the reason. It’s because the Master didn’t stop him.”
“……Our junior really is quick on the uptake.”
At the perfect counter, Sophia laughed as if to say she couldn’t win against him. He wasn’t wrong. Last night, when Diego had secretly slipped out, not only Hans and Sophia, but even Kain had noticed. Yet none of them had moved.
Because the Master had remained still.
There was no way the Master hadn’t noticed Diego’s movements when even they had caught on. And yet, the Master had done nothing and simply let him go.
Because he believed in his family until the very end.
“He’s here.”
And at last, the Master appeared in the dining hall.
The moment Isaac came down, he tilted his head in confusion. Why were they all gathered with such serious expressions? Had something happened?
“The Master probably thought there must be some story behind Diego’s actions.”
“But we can’t just leave it be either.”
“That’s why we’re all gathered like this, right, Senior?”
“Of course. If we all work together, we can definitely solve it!”
It didn’t matter if it was inefficient. It didn’t matter if others laughed at them. If not for the Master, none of them would even be here right now. That was why they were ready to follow the Master’s will.
“……”
In truth, Isaac was panicking on the inside.
What the hell is this now? What? Diego? What did that guy do this time?
Isaac had to rack his brain desperately just to follow the flow of the conversation.