Chapter 87
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Cooperation
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Overpopulation.
Or an excess of it.
Such was the fate of the Malformed City, where demi-humans were the dominant race.
Even the upper residential districts, home to the nobility, were typically packed to the brim with servants and slaves.
In the lower districts, it was common to find cheap taverns overflowing with every sort of person imaginable, filling not only the rooms and tables but even the bare floors.
But at this very moment…
A tavern tucked away in a gloomy back alley of that same lower district.
[The Drunken Goblet] was quiet.
No, it was more than quiet—it was enveloped in a silence so thick it could suffocate a rat.
And the apparent source of that silence was a giant with the head of a rat, his large build uncharacteristic of a Ratman, distinguished by a scar by his left eye and pitch-black fur.
“Look here, a guild is ultimately a union.”
Tricky.
The Malformed City, a place where all manner of crime ran rampant.
He was the leader of the criminal organization that controlled the largest territory in the city’s back alleys, thanks to his unique brand of cunning and cruelty.
And as the Guild Leader who oversaw the Malformed City’s Thieves’ Guild…
He asked, his posture lax.
“You know what that means?”
“It’s an organization where people of the same profession help each other out.”
“That’s right. In other words, the reason a guild sticks together and functions is because it’s mutually beneficial, ya hear?”
The Thieves’ Guild doesn’t rob members of the Merchant’s Guild; in return, they handle the disposal of stolen goods.
The Butcher’s Guild gets monster carcasses on the cheap from the Crawler Guild; in return, they supply meat at a low price.
The Bard’s Guild gathers and shares information from their travels.
Things that would normally require money.
Or connections.
The ability to handle such matters with just a name was the very power and advantage of a guild.
This was especially true for the lower classes, who lacked the money, talent, and background of the nobility, for whom even making connections was a formidable wall to overcome.
“So in that sense, let me ask you… are you messing with us or what?”
And that was why.
That was why Tricky was grinding his teeth and pressing the issue.
“I can understand you catching and selling off the bastards who went to raid your estate. They weren't even guild members to begin with, and we’d have kicked them out anyway.”
“I’m sure.”
“But what’s with you gleefully hunting down our boys after that? Huh?”
“You mean those wanted criminals?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
The other person responsible for the tavern’s silence.
Tricky’s eyes flashed as he glared at the boy whose eyes were hidden by a white half-mask.
Even if a guild is a lower-class organization, it still has its share of capable people.
The problem was that, in the case of the Thieves’ Guild, a good number of those capable people were wanted criminals.
Like the ones who were killed or sold into slavery when the Wyrm’s Lair slaves scoured the Malformed City, hunting down fugitives.
“Do you have any idea that if it weren’t for the guild’s mediation, we would’ve charged in, noble or not, over just that?”
“Hmm, willing to confront a noble over something like that. How brave.”
“It might be ‘something like that’ to a noble lord, but for us lowlifes struggling not to starve, it’s a matter of life and death.”
“…”
“And now, after making a mess of our guild, you have the nerve to ask for information on the Dogwiryeon?”
Tricky glared at Dion as if he could devour him alive.
And he wasn’t the only one.
Every member of the Thieves’ Guild scattered throughout the tavern emanated a murderous aura.
It was at that moment that the rabbit-eared boy, Naru, who had been cautiously observing the two, timidly interjected.
“Um, I understand your position, Guild Leader. But still, if you’re part of the guild, you have to follow the main branch’s directive.”
“Why should I?”
“Pardon?”
“Main branch, my foot. Why should I do something that brings me no benefit?”
“As for the Thieves’ Guild’s losses, the other guilds will compensate you accordingly…”
“Don’t give me that crap. What good is compensation after we’re all dead?”
“…”
“White-Masked Young Master, since you’re an associate the guild cares about, let me give you a piece of advice.”
After a light scoff.
Tricky spoke in a chilling voice.
“—Stay away from the Dogwiryeon.”
No matter how promising a rising star he was.
No matter if he had the Lord of Nakrang Fortress behind him.
No matter how close he was to the Calamity Princess.
Even if he was from one of the Hundred Great Families.
If he carelessly messed with the Dogwiryeon, he wouldn’t even live long enough to regret it.
As the Ratman spoke with a murderous expression, Naru swallowed dryly, the dark elf maid clenched her fists, and the girl in the straitjacket sneered.
Dion, who had been watching him calmly, smiled brightly.
“Thanks for the advice.”
“If you get it, then get lost.”
“Right, I think I’ve heard everything I needed to hear.”
With a scrape.
The boy pushed back his chair, stood up, and readily turned away.
As he walked past Naru, who let out a sigh of relief, Parsha, who unclenched her fists, and the girl, who blinked her eyes…
He suddenly spoke.
“Ah, in return for your kind advice, let me offer you a word of caution as well.”
“Caution?”
“If you’re just a lowlife struggling not to starve, you should try living a little more diligently.”
“…?”
“Because when someone with no talent tries to act like a big shot, it just looks pathetic.”
“…!”
***
“Um… I’m sorry, my lord.”
“Yes, you should be.”
After leaving [The Drunken Goblet] under the murderous glares of Tricky and the other Thieves’ Guild members.
Dion nodded as he strolled leisurely down the back alley.
He then turned to look at the rabbit-eared boy who was following him hesitantly.
“You, braggart. You’re supposed to be the guild’s envoy, but it seems they treat you like a pushover, don’t they?”
“N-No, I’m not! The guild’s envoy is supposed to be treated with respect, even by the guild leaders!”
“For someone who says that, you were being treated like a parasite by that rat bastard back there.”
“That’s because we’ve caused the Thieves’ Guild so much trouble, thanks to a certain associate…”
Naru argued back before he could stop himself.
Frankly, the Thieves’ Guild had suffered the most since the guild decided to cooperate with Dion.
It was only natural for the Thieves’ Guild Leader to throw a fit.
However…
“That’s your fault for choosing the wrong associate.”
“Are you really the one to say that, my lord…?”
“Isn’t it true that associates who genuinely care for each other should never spare harsh words?”
“Suddenly, I feel an overwhelming desire to care for you, my lord.”
“That’s how it should be. Otherwise, I might have to reconsider whether I should continue this cooperation with the guild.”
“My lord, do you not possess a human heart?!”
“Isn’t it because I have a human heart that I’m overlooking your incompetence, braggart?”
“Th-That’s…”
Naru was at a loss for words.
Whatever the circumstances.
It was an undeniable fact that he had failed to do his job properly due to internal issues.
As the guild’s envoy, the responsibility fell on Naru.
“…Please give me a little more time. I’ll find a way to persuade the Thieves’ Guild Leader.”
“Well, I doubt that’ll be easy.”
“It may be difficult, but I have to do it. If I can get support from the other guilds and offer more compensation…”
“Do you not know, or are you pretending not to know?”
“Pardon?”
“That persuasion won’t work.”
As Naru’s long ears perked up and his round, rabbit-like eyes widened in surprise at Dion…
Parsha spoke with a deadpan expression.
“Did you think that rat-like Guild Leader was just playing hard to get in order to squeeze out a higher information fee?”
“What? Uh, of course I…”
“Try to think a little. If that were truly the case, he would have pushed back and secured his gains from the moment we started our mercenary work.”
“…In that case.”
“This isn’t a matter of profit and loss.”
Tricky had begrudgingly tolerated the losses until now.
Dion leisurely explained the reason for his sudden hostility.
“—It’s a matter of friend and foe.”
“Are you saying that someone who is the leader of the Thieves’ Guild, of all things, has chosen to side with the Dogwiryeon over the guild…?”
“The guild isn’t exactly a military powerhouse to begin with, is it?”
“That’s…”
Naru’s pupils darted about.
As an organization of the lower class, the guild’s strength lay in its broad information network and influence across the entire魔導領 (Madoryeong).
But on the flip side, its weakness was that both its information network and influence were inferior to those of a noble family rooted in a single city-state.
The Odobaekryeong was a world of survival of the fittest.
A world where strength was everything.
As long as they lacked what mattered most—military power, especially high-ranking Awakened Ones.
No matter how many members the guild had, it could never be a match for a noble house that held power right before their eyes.
That was why Naru endured all sorts of injustices and tried so hard to maintain a cooperative relationship with Dion, a direct descendant of a great magical family.
In that sense, it was only natural for Tricky, the Thieves’ Guild Leader, to avoid providing information on the Dogwiryeon.
Or rather, it was more likely that…
“The Thieves’ Guild might have been entangled with the Dogwiryeon from the start.”
“…Why would you think that?”
“Because the Dogwiryeon are nobles too, aren’t they?”
“…!”
Even if they were thieves.
Nobles were still nobles.
They would never handle menial tasks themselves, so they would need someone to take on the dirty work.
And the Thieves’ Guild would have been the most convenient servants.
The response was so quintessentially aristocratic that Naru wore a dazed expression, as if in culture shock.
The girl with purple twintails scoffed.
“To not only steal but to consort with thieves. They are lowlifes, hardly worthy of being called nobles.”
“…No matter what, nobles are still nobles, you know?”
“Hmph, how can such base creatures with no honor, no pride, and no master be considered nobles?”
“I keep telling you, that’s the common sense for nobles of the Old Kingdom era…”
While correcting the Vault Keeper.
Naru continuously glanced at Dion.
No matter what he argued.
What truly mattered was Dion’s will.
His own verdict could change depending on what Dion thought.
And so, as the boy of the Myoto tribe watched with a pounding heart.
Dion spoke nonchalantly.
“What a shame.”
“…!”
“If you, my shuttle, had just finished charging faster, this would have been much easier to handle.”
“That is not my fault! If I must say, it is the fault of a master who lacks even the subjects to use as a charger…”
“Hmm, so it’s my fault?”
“…It is the fault of the disloyal slaves who failed to appreciate your grace!”
Like a broken puppet.
The Vault Keeper, after a brief stutter, shouted energetically once more.
As the dark elf maid’s eyes grew even colder at the twintailed girl’s antics.
Dion chuckled and continued.
“Well, don’t worry too much about it. I have another way to get information on the Dogwiryeon.”
“You do? Where?”
Even the guild, whose information network was comparable to most great families despite their internal strife, couldn’t obtain it. Where could he possibly find such information?
To the bewildered and skeptical Naru, Dion replied with a bright smile.
“I may not know about the Dogwiryeon, but I have a connection who knows a lot about the thieves of the Malformed City.”
***
It had been such long, agonizing days.
So he thought, shedding tears.
He couldn’t help it.
No matter how accustomed he was to taming forcibly purchased slaves, there was a limit.
The result of being forced to buy slaves at over 500% of his budget.
Being hounded by countless creditors.
And selling off those slaves to repay the debt.
The process was so tearful it felt like weeping blood.
Any ordinary goblin would have run away or hung himself long ago.
But he had done it.
Through truly blood-vomiting effort and trickery, he had finally succeeded in clearing that massive debt.
Though the installment payments still remained!
And he hadn’t even broken even!
But that was all in the past.
Now that the worst was over, only a beautiful future and a bright tomorrow awaited him.
Believing this without a doubt, he cackled, savoring his happiness.
…Or rather, he was about to.
Until that dreadful plague demon showed up.
“Hello, Mr. Scammer.”
“Kiiiieeeek!?!?”
The proprietor of the kind and helpful Ketlic’s Slave Company, the goblin slave trader.
Ketlic fainted on the spot.