Acquiring the Utterly Failed Guild (2)

"Guild master, by any chance?"

"Eh…?"

The woman blinked at me, as if she hadn't quite grasped what I'd said.

"This is Lucas Guild, right? I saw the sign outside."

"Y-yeah, it is…. You here to take a quest?"

"Not a quest. I'm here to talk about acquiring the guild."

The woman just stared at me blankly. Then, suddenly, she jolted upright and frantically ran her hands through her hair.

"Acquiring the guild? Oh my god, hold on a sec?"

She tumbled off the sofa and scrambled to her feet, dashing out the back door.

In the meantime, I sidestepped the empty bottles rolling across the floor and headed to the window. I yanked the curtains wide open, flooding the messy interior with bright light.

Empty liquor bottles were a given, along with plates crusted over with half-eaten food. A rusted suit of armor and sword leaned against one wall. The framed picture hanging there was so caked in dust you couldn't make out what was inside, and a thick layer of grime coated the floor and furniture.

This place is a disaster. Seriously. It looks like it's been shut down for ages.

From the crack in the back door she'd disappeared through came the sound of vigorous splashing and gargling.

I swept the dust off the table as best I could and dragged over a chair. No way was I standing in this dump to chat.

A moment later, the woman returned, looking far more presentable, wiping her face with a towel.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't expecting any visitors."

"I'm not exactly a visitor. I'm here about acquiring the guild."

"Have a seat, at least. Can I get you something? Booze this early might be a bit much, huh?"

She chuckled awkwardly, the half-empty bottle sloshing in her hand.

"No thanks on the booze. But you can talk, right?"

"Of course? I'm perfectly fine now."

She wobbled a bit as she plopped into a chair.

"I'm Leana. Guild master of Lucas Guild. For now, anyway."

"Leonar. I immigrated from the Grangtest Empire."

"We both start with 'Le.' Haha."

"Any relation to the Lees?"

I tossed out a habitual modern joke, and Leana gave me a weird look.

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind. Anyway, I want to run a guild here in the Nant Duchy, but I don't qualify to establish one myself."

"No academy graduation?"

"Right. Never had the chance to study—too busy with other work. So…."

"You're thinking of acquiring our guild and keeping me on as the nominal guild master to run it?"

She'd clearly been around the block; she picked up on my pitch right away.

"Exactly."

"Hmm, I see…."

Leana let out a sigh and glanced at the framed picture on the wall. It was too dusty to see clearly, but it looked like a portrait of someone.

"How'd you hear about our guild, anyway? We never put out a sale notice."

"Oh, you know, asked around here and there."

I vaguely brushed off the city hall clerk who'd tipped me off, and Leana nodded.

"Makes sense. Everyone in this city knows about Lucas Guild."

She sighed again, faintly. Even after rinsing her mouth, her breath still reeked of alcohol. She'd really tied one on.

Listening to her, I rifled through the strategy guides and lore in my head. Nant Duchy's Schlessi—Lucas Guild…. Nothing specific came to mind. The duchy wasn't a main stage in the game to begin with. Just a sparsely mapped area until the expansion packs.

All I had was what Clemence at city hall had told me. This was an adventurers' guild founded by Leana's father, Mr. Lucas. It had decent name recognition around Schlessi, with a fair number of members back in the day. Young Leana had helped her dad as the clerk.

Then her father died in an accident on a quest, and she inherited the guild. No academy diploma, but her ten-plus years as clerk qualified her to take over.

Ironically, once the founder's daughter became guild master, things started ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going downhill. Guilds like this live or die by the master's connections and salesmanship—unless you're some mega-corp. Unlike her famous mercenary dad, Leana had only handled internal admin, so she had zero network or know-how on that front.

She held onto his old clients at first, but commissions don't roll in like clockwork ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from a factory. As jobs dried up, she couldn't open new channels—still too green for that. Members trickled away, leaving her to hold down the fort alone.

"So, what do you think? Any interest in selling?"

Leana spread her arms, gesturing at the trashed interior like it was on display.

"Tell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me if you're open to it first."

"Hmm, sure. If I say yes, you'll buy, right?"

She glanced at the portrait again. That had to be her father, Lucas.

"Hoo…."

After staring at it for a long moment, Leana swept back her hair with a boozy sigh. Seemed like a habit.

"I've heard the story. This guild is your father's legacy, right?"

"Yeah. That's why I can't just let it go."

"Then wouldn't selling it to me be even better?"

Leana flashed a grin my way.

"Why's that?"

"You seem to know it all already, but since you asked, I'll explain."

I held up my fingers so she could count.

"First: You can't revive this guild alone. You need outside help."

"Fair. Guilty. Next?"

"Second: I plan to keep you as guild master. Better than shutting it down entirely, don't you think? I get to run a guild, and you preserve your dad's legacy."

"Hmm, true. Even if I'd just be a figurehead."

"Third: I'm capable and trustworthy. I'll pay you fair market value for the acquisition, honor the contract keeping you as master, and revive the guild to boot."

I folded all three fingers, and Leana smiled.

"Not convinced on the third yet."

"You have thought about selling, though?"

She swept her hair back with both hands and gave a hollow laugh.

"I did, until recently. But seeing it like this, I figure Dad's hurting up there. Maybe it's time to just close it for good."

"Then why scrap it for nothing when you could sell to me and keep your title too?"

"Yeah, that's true…."

I watched her wrestle with it and soon read her mind.

"You don't want to sell to just anyone."

"Well… yeah. I do want to sell, but ideally to someone who can bring it back to its old glory."

"Then I'm your guy."

Leana burst out laughing.

"What makes you think you're that person, Leonar?"

"Your father died encountering a demon on a quest, right?"

Her face hardened instantly.

"How do you know that?"

"You just said it yourself. No one in this city doesn't know about Lucas Guild."

According to Clemence, the "accident" was a demon encounter. Demons have this innate passive that instinctively terrifies people. No matter how tough you are, you freeze up in front of one. That's why the imperial knight commander kept fleeing during the great demon expedition.

Only Demon Hunters, with their mental resistance to that passive, can face demons head-on.

"I'm a Demon Hunter. Hard to believe, I know, but I slew the great demon that descended on the Grangtest Empire with my own hands."

Leana's stern expression cracked, and she roared with laughter.

"Hahaha, that's hilarious. Sorry, it's just too funny—pffahaha!"

I got it. No proof, just claiming I offed a great demon? Who wouldn't laugh?

She laughed for ages, wiping tears and gasping for breath.

"Whew, I'm dying. Haven't laughed that hard in forever. Hoo…."

She swept her hair back repeatedly, then smiled.

"If you're not just talking big, why not bring back a demon head or something? That'd sell it."

"A demon head? That do it?"

"More than enough. We could taxidermy it and hang it as a trophy. 'Demon Hunter guild master'—instant buzz."

"Hmm, yeah. Smart."

The great demon would revive soon, unleashing demons across the empire again. Advertising as a demon-hunting specialist now could mean fat commissions.

"Deal, Leana. I'll bring a demon head. But…."

"Promise. If you do, I'll trust you and sell."

I stood up right away. Snagging ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a demon head? Piece of cake.

I scanned my mental strategy guides for demons lurking near the empire's border.

A rundown shack in the border wilds of the Nant Duchy.

A shabby man hurriedly opened the door and slipped inside, clutching a few squished, spoiled bunches of grapes he'd swiped from a nearby vineyard—culls with no market value.

As he bolted the door, black flames engulfed his body. The human form melted away, revealing the demon's true self, crowned with massive horns.

The demon popped the grapes into its mouth one by one, savoring them like rare delicacies. But it couldn't eat too much—had to save some for tomorrow.

After the great demon's absurd downfall, demon forces had shrunk drastically. Until the revival, they all hunkered down like this, scared of getting tracked and killed if they acted out.

Polymorphing into human form every time it went out was a pain, and choking down this crap food got old. But just hang in there. Once the great demon returned, the world would be theirs!!

Then the shack wall exploded inward as a human burst through.

A blade gleaming like starlight sliced the air, and the demon's head tumbled free.

Leonar scooped up the severed head at his feet and strolled out of the shack.