The Heroine Turns the Guild Upside Down
Elena spun on her heel and headed for the guild headquarters. The reception desk there was a world apart from the rowdy guild tavern. In this place where clients and adventurers directly exchanged requests, clan adventurers lined up to snag quests. Their main targets were hunting commissions. Separate from those posted directly by the Lord's Castle, the Magic Association, Pharmaceutical Guild, Chefs' Union, and Temple put up requests for materials. With high payouts and quests coming straight through the guild, clans had to prioritize them here. The guild, favored by the lord, auctioned these requests to the clans. When clan adventurers scooped up major quests in the central hall via auction...
"Welcome."
Elena leaned on the wooden reception desk. "I want to see the guild master."
She demanded it outright. The receptionist recognized Elena but smiled politely and followed protocol. "Do you have an appointment?"
"An appointment?"
"Interviews with the guild master require advance booking. If it's urgent, submit it in writing, and we'll review and schedule accordingly."
The receptionist's tone was courteous but firm. Normally, Elena would have just said okay and backed off. "The guild master drugged an adventurer and kidnapped him—can't she spare a moment for that?"
"Pardon?"
The receptionist's face stiffened. "I can't comment on that matter. If you want an interview, please follow procedure."
She couldn't hide her discomfort but stuck to the rules. Dealing with countless adventurers meant you couldn't indulge every demand, or it'd never end. Even with this awkward issue thrown at her, the receptionist didn't budge.
Elena clung to the desk, tears welling up as she shouted. "You kidnapped him first!"
Her tear-choked voice echoed to the central hall. "You're telling me to just follow the rules?! I can file a complaint, right?! Does being guild master make it okay?! Does it make kidnapping okay?! The guild took him first!"
"Uh, Miss Elena, th-that wasn't the intent... P-please lower your voice..."
"Waaaaaah!!!!!!"
Affiliate adventurers and clan members noticed the commotion at reception and turned. As eyes gathered, the receptionist's face darkened. She glanced for the section chief, but the usually smug guy had vanished quick, leaving his desk empty.
Just as Elena geared up to wail louder and draw more attention...
"Let her in."
A sweet voice cut clearly through the din from the second-floor stairs beside reception. Click. Click. Heeled footsteps descended. A short-haired black woman leaned on the stair railing, looking down. Elena stopped crying and stared at the approaching woman.
Their eyes met. She smiled. "Elena, come up. I have something to tell you anyway."
Sniff. Elena shot the receptionist one last glance, then followed the bobbed woman up the stairs.
"Why did you kidnap Eck?"
Elena opened with that the moment they entered the guild master's office. Rebecca sat at her desk and crossed her legs. "Was that why you cried so pitifully? Curiosity?"
"I just got emotional, that's all."
She hadn't meant to, but the tears burst out anyway, leaving her embarrassed now.
Rebecca propped her chin on her finger. Her gaze swept over Elena, laced with interest. "Why I kidnapped Eck..."
Elena glared sharply. The air tensed, ready for her to lunge depending on the answer, but Rebecca stayed relaxed, reading it all.
"To give him a warning."
A strange smile spread across her red lips. "You didn't notice the drug I slipped in. If someone with bad intentions had done it, you'd be dead right there."
She extended her fingers one by one, outlining her intent. "Normally, Eck would've flipped the tavern the instant he tasted it. Jeina would've been carted to the clinic fighting for her life, he'd have beaten the mocking adventurers black and blue, and the guild tavern would've been closed for weeks. Of course, I'd have paid for issuing the order too. That's normal Eck."
She clenched her fist, folding her fingers back. "I planned to use it to restore discipline among the adventurers and solidify Eck's position. You can't trust anyone in this business if you're seen as weak, right? That was the plan, but..."
She paused, eyeing Elena. "The one who swung Jeina around was some nameless B-rank adventurer, and the one who trashed the tavern wasn't Eck—it was you."
Rebecca let out a soft laugh. "Amazing. I could never change him no matter how I tried, but you did. How?"
Her eyes meticulously scanned Elena's face. "Pretty, but not that different from me... Taste in women, maybe?"
"You done talking?"
Elena's glare was icy. Whatever the reason, the fact remained: she'd taken Eck.
"So? What do you want from me?"
Rebecca asked. A brief silence. Coming to see the guild master was fine, but she hadn't planned beyond that. She'd come to complain, but Rebecca had explained the kidnapping. Her words implied she understood Eck's situation and maneuvered accordingly—no intent to harm him. But the facts gnawed at Elena: she'd drugged and abducted him.
Rebecca narrowed her eyes. "Eck would've..."
She folded her arms. "Come at me swinging first."
"Then I'll do the same!"
Elena stomped the floor. The fine carpet tore, splintering the flooring beneath. Her mana-wrapped fist rocketed toward Rebecca's face. The air-ripping whoosh shook the office.
Boom!
The office wall exploded. Debris flew. "Ugh...!"
Elena was hurled out to the plaza in front of the guild, landing on the pavement. She stumbled on impact but quickly regained her stance. She looked up at the guild headquarters wall where the guild master's office was. Rebecca stood beyond the hole. Two beasts flanked her. A bird with wings as wide as her scattered blue sparkles; a snake of writhing shadow flames coiled around her. Beasts radiating chilling mana protected Rebecca.
A low murmur of regret. "....I could've hit her."
Elena gritted her teeth. Without the familiars interfering, it would've landed. Or if she hadn't been thrown to the plaza, she could've countered. 'Bad positioning.' But now she knew their tricks—next time would be doable. She'd glimpsed their movements in that instant. Nothing special. Her mind quickly assessed.
But as she charged back for the stairs, guild staff blocked her path. She couldn't shove through the layers or swing at them. Or view them as accomplices in transporting Eck and smash them all? "G-get out of the way!"
"N-no!"
"Move!"
"You can't go in! You'll fight the guild master! That's not allowed!"
Their hands trembled. Former adventurers who'd retired due to force or lack of talent, now guild staff. Having heard about the tavern incident, they were terrified. Elena looked at herself—fist raised at scared people. That stopped her.
"Damn it..."
She couldn't hit frightened folks. Releasing her fist, Elena sighed deeply and turned away. 'Gotta see Eck.' She wouldn't calm down without him. Anyway, she had a strong feeling she'd meet that woman again someday.
Opening Borudo's forge door let the furnace heat caress her cheek. Elena had come to the blacksmith.
"Uncle Borudo."
Borudo crouched by the anvil, tinkering. The dwarf's eyes widened as he turned. "Elena? What brings you here this late?"
"Just... something I wanted to ask."
Borudo held a black-and-red sword. He was shaping a wooden hilt. Elena's eyes fixed on it.
"What's that?"
"Oh, this? Got some prime material recently. Made this masterpiece from it—for the lord's contest. Just finished. Wanna see?"
Elena took the sword. Its hefty weight traveled up her palm. The mana within tingled her fingertips. Her eyes traced the blade: jet-black base etched with red vein-like patterns. Mana flowed along tree-ring grains. Unlike any sword she knew. Worlds better than her current one.
"What do you think?"
Borudo scratched his chin beard. Pride bled through his gruff dwarven voice.
"Can I try it?"
"Handle with care. It's for showing the lord first."
Elena dragged a straw dummy from the back, plating it in sheet metal. Facing it, feet shoulder-width, she lowered her stance, shifted weight to her left foot, and swung.
Slash! Dummy and metal cleaved in two.
"Whoa."
Borudo admired from behind. "Still amazing. Even a good sword doesn't slice metal easy."
"It's 'cause your sword's so great, Uncle Borudo."
"Heh. Knew it? The genius who enchanted Eck has eyes like her mentor."
Borudo grinned satisfied. Elena lowered the sword, staring long at the severed metal. It was a great sword. She wanted it. Eck's gift was good, sure, but she'd felt the limits of ordinary blades. She couldn't sever a troll's limbs clean—this one could.
"Elena, you like it?"
"Huh? Yeah..."
"Your face says it. Eck was right."
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a sharp pang echoed in her chest.