Becoming the Guild's Disgrace (2)
The woman seated at the podium was smaller than me. She was wrapped head to toe in blue cloth, her featureless mask leaving not a sliver of skin exposed. I knew exactly who she was. Hildegaard, guild master of the adventurer guild Siantia. Siantia rivaled Tragodia in power, and Hildegaard stood shoulder to shoulder with our own guild master, Veronica.
"Don't be shy. Come on up, Vivaldi."
"E-Eh... Y-Yes..."
Her voice was delicate, at odds with her somewhat archaic tone, as she urged me repeatedly to take the stage. How did someone so famous know my name? She might have glanced at the roster, of course. But something about her demeanor suggested this wasn't our first encounter.
"That's Tragodia's rep? Where's Helen?"
"Too dainty for this gig."
"He's cute..."
"E-Eep..."
I shuffled hesitantly to the central podium, and the entire chamber came into view. Famous women whose faces alone were enough to recall their names watched me intently. The seats weren't packed, but each gaze weighed on me like a leaden burden, heavy enough to make me nauseous.
"State your name and affiliation before you speak."
"Ah, y-yes... I'm V-Vivaldi. From Tragodia, and I'm twenty—"
"Age unnecessary."
"Ah, awa—!"
I flushed crimson at my blunder, and the guild masters tittered with laughter.
"Twenty, huh. Heh heh."
"We could just call him a kid, right?"
"Bet he'd taste good..."
"Uwooh..."
Embarrassing, sure—but I felt fine. The more undignified I seemed, the better the odds Kali would boot me from the guild.
"Mnya... Kwoooorhk..."
Unfortunately, Kali missed my pathetic display; she was fast asleep, idly scratching her smooth waist.
"Vivaldi, what do you think we should do about the Monster Protection Association's activities?"
"I..."
Honestly, I didn't care what happened to them. They disrupted adventurers to uphold their beliefs, and adventurers crushed them to protect their livelihoods. Simple as that.
"For reference, I'm asking you because your exploits left quite an impression."
"Pardon?"
"The Monster Protection Association has always protested adventurers at large. But targeting a single guild like this? That's new."
Was she talking about the incident at our guild's Small Labyrinth? They'd protested there, demanding we stop abusing monsters.
"The Association went after Tragodia directly?"
"What the hell did they do?"
"Vivaldi tortured monsters right in front of them. Didn't kill 'em outright—just sliced off limbs and stirred their guts around."
"Pardon?! No! That wasn't me, it was—"
"On your orders, wasn't it?"
"Whoa, damn."
"Looks like a softie, but he's got fire."
Injustice! That was Gerda's doing—I had no idea she'd go that far! I thought she was with the Association! And it sounded exaggerated, too.
"Vivaldi tortured hundreds, thousands of monsters like that every day. Even starved them in cages so they'd devour each other."
"It's a misunderstanding!"
"Tragodia lives up to the name—even their boys start out twisted."
"B-But isn't that a bit much? Dissecting something puppy-like alive in front of animal lovers...?"
"Monsters don't deserve pity, but yeah, that's pretty vile."
At first, the guild masters had eyed me with disdain. Now their gazes held recognition, like they saw me as one of their own. This was bad. To get exiled, I needed to stay a total loser to the end.
"So, Vivaldi—you, who's earned more hatred from the Association than anyone—what's your take?"
"I-I think we should meet the Monster Protection Association's demands...!"
Forcing my boiling brain to spit out the absolute worst possible response for the situation.
The guild masters—and even Hildegaard—fell into heavy silence.
"...What did you say?"
"Th-That incident wasn't intentional. A tragic misunderstanding, layered on misunderstandings..."
"..."
"I respect their ideology. M-Monsters have lives too, right?"
I expected protests or mockery, but the chamber stayed deathly quiet. My plan was to botch things, but this felt like it was veering into unintended territory, making my heart race.
"So we should all stop hunting monsters...! Then we could understand each other and find a way to coexist..."
"...Should we?"
"Not a bad idea."
"Deep thoughts from such a cute boy."
"Eh?"
Desperate for any reaction, I'd spewed nonsense—but not the backlash I'd hoped for. The guild masters murmured in discussion, some nodding thoughtfully.
"Finally feels like a proper council. We'll vote shortly, then. As proposed by Tragodia's rep Vivaldi: halt all monster hunts. One month, to start."
Even the eminently rational Hildegaard was talking nonsense now. No monster hunts for a month? That meant abandoning most guild requests. It was a declaration of starvation for every guild in Labyrinth City!
No one would agree to this absurdity...
"If no solution arises in that time, Tragodia takes full responsibility, right?"
"P-Pardon?! W-Wait a sec...!"
"Natural course of events."
"Th-That wasn't what I meant...!"
No matter how mighty Tragodia, it couldn't shoulder a month's losses for the entire city. This wasn't just exile fodder—I could die for real...
After the council, I avoided everyone. Straight to my private office on arrival, straight to bed after clocking out—never stepping foot outside it. Sleep evaded me, haunted by fears of Natalia popping out for execution.
"Vivaldi-nim, you okay?"
"Your complexion's awful lately."
"Wanna touch my wings?"
"N-No thanks..."
The Maries seemed genuinely worried, but their wings terrified me.
"Vivaldi-nim. Light workload again today, hehe."
Haru brought half the usual paperwork—or less. No surprise. Per the council vote, all monster-hunting requests were rejected. Over eighty percent vanished at intake.
Customer outrage echoed from outside even now.
Rejections bred violence, so the Maries had pulled back from the counters. Rough adventurers manned them now, accepting only non-monster jobs and shooing the rest. Their glares at me lately? Pure venom. They knew I was why their pockets were empty.
"Ugh..."
I burrowed into bed right after work again. How had things spiraled this badly? I'd meant to screw up, but not this catastrophically.
Crash!
"Kyaaah!"
The window shattered, and I bolted upright screaming. Black-masked figures flooded my room in seconds. The guild had sent them to eliminate me!
"I-I'm sorry! That wasn't my intent! I just wanted out of the guild—"
"Shut it!"
"You heartless bastard...!"
The assassins closed in, murder in their eyes. I scrambled to flee, to survive somehow.
"...Vivi. You're fine."
"Eh...?"
Natalia emerged from the shadows in the corner—who knew how long she'd been there. The moment she stepped forward gracefully, the assassins froze.
"...I'll protect you."
Thud, thud. I didn't even see her move, but their heads hit the floor. Blood fountained, soaking the room.
I stared blankly at the carnage.
"...Mm. I'll clean up too."
"N-Natalia? You're not here to kill me?"
"...What joke is that? I'm guarding you. Knew the Monster Protection Association would come for your head."
"The Association? For me? Why?"
Shouldn't what I did help them? Her head tilt screamed confusion at my confusion.
"...You planned for risks like this, right?"