The Guild Master's Gaze
Dorian pointed to the largest building among the many establishments of the Sepia Merchant Guild.
"This is the headquarters of the Sepia Merchant Guild."
Raon followed that pointing finger and looked up. It's about the size of Zieghart's main building. The Sepia Merchant Guild Headquarters soared as high as House Zieghart's main estate. It was roughly one and a half times as wide besides, so calling it larger would have been no exaggeration at all.
"It looks rather stiff."
Wrath ran his gaze down the headquarters from roof to foundation and narrowed his eyes.
It does, at that.
Just as Wrath said, the building was cut in hard, unyielding squares, painted a cold gray, and packed with windows set at rigid, even intervals — the whole of it gave off a stifling impression.
Raon stopped before the headquarters doors and took stock of himself. Unlike when he had entered House Robert's territory, he had not disguised himself down to the last detail, but he had changed the color of his hair and eyes, and he was letting only a level of martial power weaker than Dorian's show through. This should be enough. From what he had heard, they had no interest in Dorian whatsoever. A shallow disguise would not be enough for anyone to see through him.
"Let's go in."
"Yes…"
Despite the answer, Dorian did not open the door. He simply stood there staring at it, as if he still had not gathered himself.
"What's the matter with him?"
He's going home for the first time in a long while. He probably wants to make a grand entrance.
Raon folded his arms and waited for Dorian to move on his own.
"Hooo…"
Dorian seemed to have made up his mind. He steadied his breathing and stepped toward the door.
Just as his hand reached for the handle, the door swung outward first, and someone came through.
"Ugh!"
He managed not to get hit by the door. He did not, however, manage to avoid the ungainly spectacle of losing his balance. It was a very Dorian-like sight — and it suited him far better than putting on airs.
"Don't bother striking a pose."
Raon snorted a laugh and nodded at the open door.
"Let's go."
"Ah — yes…"
Following Dorian, who scratched the back of his head, they stepped inside the headquarters. Crowds of people were coming and going. It was not only guild staff. Merchants, martial artists, mercenaries, and people who looked like customers filled the floor in a constant tide.
"Welcome. Welcome to the Sepia Merchant Guild."
An employee from the central lobby on the first floor approached with a graceful smile.
"What brings you here today?"
She did not recognize the undisguised Dorian in the slightest, and she smiled brightly.
"Uh, um."
Dorian dropped his eyes to the floor, and his voice trembled.
"I've come to see the Guild Master."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"I don't, but the Guild Master summoned me…"
"Pardon?"
"I'm the Guild Master's son."
"…Excuse me?"
The employee's eyes flew so wide they looked ready to fall out of her head.
"What on earth are you — ah!"
She stared blankly at Dorian as if she could not quite believe what she was hearing, then gave a great, sudden nod.
"C-could you be Master Dorian?"
"That's right."
"Ah, I apologize. I wasn't informed that you would be coming."
The employee bowed her head in genuine embarrassment.
Raon watched her face and narrowed his eyes. His standing is even lower than I thought. They had told Dorian to come, and yet they had not so much as passed word down to the lobby. Dorian's place in this house was far smaller than expected.
"I'll contact the Guild Master. Please wait over here."
She guided them to a waiting room on the right side of the lobby, then went back out.
"Hah…"
Dorian sank into a waiting-room chair and let out a long breath. Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead.
"They don't even recognize you."
Raon sat on the sofa across from him and looked at the door the employee had left through.
"That employee seems to have joined after I left. Of course she wouldn't recognize me…"
"That's not the point. The guild summoned you. If she works the lobby, they should have at least given her a heads-up."
"Well… I expected that much…"
Dorian said it was fine and stroked his Belly Pouch. He had always been timid, but in this place he had shrunk into a complete shrinking violet, and it was almost painful to watch.
"Ah — would you like something to drink?"
From the Belly Pouch he produced cups, pink tea leaves, a kettle, and a packet of potato snacks. He brewed tea with a kettle that brought the water to a boil on its own and held the cup out.
"Honestly."
Raon huffed a quiet laugh, took the tea, and drank. From the first sip through the middle it was bitter, but the finish carried the faintest thread of sweetness.
"It's bitter! Don't drink that!"
Wrath stuck his tongue out in disgust.
What a child's palate.
Raon ignored him and sipped on. They drank tea, and drank, and drank some more — and two hours passed, and still no one came to the room.
Raon turned the thoroughly cold teacup in his fingers and smiled. Just as I expected.
"Why the hell aren't they calling us!"
Wrath threw a round little fist at empty air.
"This King thought a rich house would mean a proper reception! How long are we supposed to wait!"
So that was why Wrath's mood had been better than usual. He had been looking forward to gourmet cooking. What a magnificent Demon King he was.
"Haha."
Dorian scratched his cheek awkwardly, as if he had known this would happen.
"I'm sorry. He's an extremely busy man."
"I'm sure. To see one of the Five Great Guild Masters, you'd have to make an appointment months in advance. However…"
Raon touched the cold teacup and frowned. An uncomfortable energy bloomed with a wash of heat, and the tea inside the cup boiled up like lava.
"Even with an appointment, seeing the son who came back after nine years — no, almost ten — first should be the natural thing to do."
"Um…"
"And if he was going to be late, that employee should have come back to tell us so."
Even if the Sepia Guild Master had ordered them to wait, the present situation was not normal. Someone had clearly stepped in along the way. It's obvious. Dorian's siblings, no doubt. Unlike Dorian's diminished standing, they would have spent nine years building even greater positions for themselves. It was only to be expected. He could tell how the wind was blowing the moment they had walked in, and it made him want to laugh.
"You said you had three siblings?"
"Ah — yes."
Dorian, who had been nervously chewing his nails, nodded.
"They're definitely taking too long. I'll go out again and try."
He reached for the door handle, saying he would speak to someone once more.
"Don't bother."
Raon waved him off.
"What?"
"Even if you call again, word won't reach your father. If we wait, the one who arranged this will come to us."
He crossed his legs at his leisure and drank the reheated tea.
"Umm…"
Dorian seemed to take his meaning. He sat back down and chewed on a potato snack.
"Don't just drink that tasteless tea — eat the snacks that boy is offering too! This King is hungry!"
They're bad for you.
Raon shook his head at the snacks.
"It's just one snack! What's the harm!"
The impurities from a single snack could decide the outcome of a battle.
"You weakling…"
If I'm weak, that's all the more reason not to eat them.
"Kyaaaaah!"
Wrath clutched his head and howled.
"You're only filthy good with words! This King is so irritated he could die!"
Thanks for the compliment.
"That was not a compliment!"
Listening to Wrath's screams, they spent about two more hours — and then a large presence stirred in front of the door.
The door opened smoothly, and a stylish woman with neatly arranged green hair stepped in. She was built large enough that she seemed to fill the doorway.
"Uh…"
Dorian stood up with a dazed look on his face.
"Sister Phalen?"
The woman called Phalen did not answer him. She looked at Raon first. Taking in his shabby clothes, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
Raon swallowed the laugh that wanted to rise at her reaction. She's looking down on me. The worn clothes and unkempt appearance had her taking him for Dorian's servant, or perhaps a friend. It was exactly the reaction he had wanted, so he was only grateful.
"Sister? Who's your sister?"
Phalen turned her head toward Dorian with a cold smile.
"Even at your age, you still don't know your place?"
"Ah…"
At a voice so cold it was hard to believe they were family, Dorian's shoulders trembled.
"Looking at you, I see you still live without a thought in your head."
Phalen looked him up and down and snorted.
"What have you been doing all this time that your skull still isn't filled?"
"Huh?"
"What have you been doing for nine years with that tiny little pouch?"
It was not merely a mocking question. She genuinely seemed not to know where Dorian had been, or what he had done.
Raon narrowed his eyes at the woman named Phalen. She's worse than Burren was as a trainee. Even with an outsider sitting right there, she poured malice on Dorian and mocked him — and she did not even know what Dorian, supposedly a successor candidate, had been doing all this time. She was a small fry not worth the attention.
"Ah, I…"
Just as Dorian was about to answer with trembling lips, the door opened again. A middle-aged man with sharp eyes and a cold impression stepped in.
"I heard he entered Zieghart and trained in the sword."
He answered Phalen's question in Dorian's place.
"Zieghart?"
"And he's part of the currently most famous Light Wind Squad, no less."
"Brother Dialun…"
Dorian swallowed dryly, looking at the man he had called Dialun.
"Hm…"
Dialun looked at Raon and gave a slight nod. Raon rose from his seat and returned the greeting. Unlike that fool Phalen… This one was dangerous. It was true the Light Wind Squad was famous — but except for Raon himself and the three unit leaders, individual names were barely known. The fact that this man knew where Dorian had gone and which unit he belonged to meant he was no ordinary person.
"The Light Wind Squad?"
Phalen glared at Dorian and frowned.
"The White Sword Dragon's Light Wind Squad?"
The way she started at the name told him that, as expected, his epithet had spread widely even through the Sepia Merchant Guild.
"That's right."
Dialun looked at Dorian, and his gaze settled into something still and cold.
"Hmph! Even so, the only famous one is Raon Zieghart."
Phalen flicked a glance aside as if it meant nothing.
"This one is probably just tagging along as an extra even there."
"Umm…"
Dorian, as if he had thought the same thing himself more than once, could not answer. He lowered his head.
"More than anything, we told you to bring back a great treasure — and you trained in swordsmanship? You're still the same idiot as always."
Phalen let a thick sneer spill toward Dorian.
"Swordsmanship is only for the chosen. Like your superior, Raon Zieghart. As expected, even a successor candidate's seat is wasted on you."
Dorian's jaw dropped almost to the floor.
Raon did not step in among the three of them. He wore a faint smile. A familiar atmosphere. The discriminatory gazes and the air of Zieghart that had begun at the ranking ceremony and run through the trainee days filled this room as well. Just as he had heard — he who had been looked down on at Zieghart, and Dorian who had been looked down on at the Sepia Merchant Guild, had more than a little in common. The way to break this is simple. Provoke them into picking a fight, then crush them. Even if this was a merchant house rather than a martial house, nothing changed. Shatter every one of their schemes with overwhelming power, and both the momentum and the justification would fall into his hands. It might be a bit much for Dorian, but… It would serve his future well.
"Dorian."
Raon made up his mind and called to him. Not only Dorian — Phalen's and Dialun's gazes shot toward him at the same time.
"Are these the siblings you said you'd easily crush and use as fertilizer for the guild?"
He smiled with an innocent face, as if he truly knew nothing at all.
"Urgh!"
Dorian's expression froze, gone deathly pale.
"Easily crush?"
"Use as fertilizer for the guild?"
A chilly light rose not only in Phalen's eyes, which had been fierce from the start, but in Dialun's as well.
"Wh-wh-wh…"
Dorian could not even form words. His jaw trembled. With cracked, desperate eyes, he was screaming that he had never said any such thing.
"It's been a while since I met my little brother, and I haven't even properly introduced myself."
Dialun approached and held out his hand.
"I'm Dialun Sefia. Dorian's older brother."
"I'm Jeden."
Raon gave the name of Jeden, who actually belonged to the Light Wind Squad's Unit 3, and took the offered hand.
"Ah, I've heard of you. You're with the Light Wind Squad's Unit 3, aren't you?"
"…That's right."
As expected, he's no ordinary man. If he knew that someone named Jeden was in the Light Wind Squad, he had gathered his information in considerable detail. It was fortunate Raon had come wearing the same red hair as Jeden.
"Pardon the rudeness. Swordsman of the Light Wind Squad."
Phalen came up beside Dialun with a frown and gave the slightest nod of her head.
"But the words you spoke a moment ago are a bit concerning. You said Dorian claimed he would crush us?"
"Yes. He said he would suppress all his siblings and devour this guild."
When Raon answered with a smile, the air in the room grew another degree colder.
"Uhhhh…"
Dorian began to sing in groans. His eyes shook left and right as if they would pop from his head.
"You little — not knowing your place…"
Just as Phalen started toward Dorian, a thick knock sounded at the door. It opened, and a silver-haired old man in a butler's uniform stepped in.
"Young Master Dorian. The Guild Master requests your presence."
At those words, Phalen and Dialun, who had been closing in on Dorian, stopped where they stood.
"H-how!"
Phalen spun toward the old butler, her eyes flying wide. Her face went pale, as if something impossible had just occurred. Did that woman intercept the message? From the way things were unfolding, she had cut off the notice that Dorian had arrived — and the Guild Master had summoned him on his own.
"Ah — y-yes…"
Dorian swallowed dryly, glancing at his two siblings, and walked toward the door where the old butler waited. His shoulders shook violently, perhaps from worry over what those siblings would do.
A low, grinding pressure filled the room. Phalen and Dialun glared daggers at the back of Dorian's head, as if they wanted to kill him.
Nice.
Raon smiled, feeling the atmosphere sink colder and heavier, as if he had walked into an ice cave. Now this is what siblings are.
Wrath's round eyes trembled as he looked at Raon.
"Are you even human?"
Raon followed the old butler up to the top floor of the headquarters, where the Guild Master waited.
"Why on earth did you do that?"
Dorian hissed the words in a strangled, low scream.
"When did I ever say that!"
"You didn't?"
"I didn't even say anything similar! You saw their eyes! What am I supposed to do now! My life is over!"
Dorian pressed his temples, insisting his siblings were going to make his life a misery. His legs seemed heavy; he climbed the stairs slowly.
"The second brother and the third sister, right?"
"Yeees…"
"I don't know about the second brother, but the sister didn't seem like much."
"What?"
"You don't need to be afraid. I've told you before — the you who left this place and the you standing here now are different people."
Raon chuckled and pointed at Dorian with one finger.
"If you've changed, you should act differently. And you should be treated differently."
"Umm…"
"There's no need to shrink back. Behind you are me and the Light Wind Squad."
Having said that, he climbed the stairs first.
"…Yes."
Dorian paused for a moment, looking at Raon's back. He nodded slightly, then followed.
Raon smiled, seeing that Dorian's trembling had eased a little. Now he has a face worth showing to the father he hasn't met in ten years.
"Don't tell me you provoked that boy's siblings for that reason?"
Wrath narrowed his eyes, as if the idea had caught him off guard.
No.
"Then?"
Because it seemed fun.
"You are truly not in your right mind. You are a being that should not exist in this place!"
Wrath's face went a sickly yellow.
Raon huffed a quiet laugh and came to a stop behind the old butler, who had halted on the top floor.
"This is the Guild Master's office. Please let me know when you are ready."
He spoke in a voice so cold it held no emotion at all, then stepped aside from the door.
"We're ready."
Dorian clenched his fist as he answered, and Raon nodded.
"Understood."
The butler knocked twice and opened the office door. It had been oiled well; it swung inward without the slightest creak.
A gray desk sat among furniture of dark hardwood and a brown carpet that gave off a heavy, settled weight. Behind that desk, an old man wearing a monocle raised his head.
His hair was green and his eyes were round, but the impression and the presence rolling off him were indescribably cold and rigid. His features called Dorian to mind — the atmosphere was the complete opposite.
The Guild Master's gaze went to Dorian first. For a fleeting instant, those firm eyes that looked as if they would never waver trembled, finely, as they scanned Dorian from head to foot. Different. Unlike Phalen or Dialun, who had first taken the measure of the guest, looking at his son first was a distinctly different thing. But that look in his eyes. I've seen that gaze somewhere…
As Raon searched his memory, the Guild Master's eyes hardened again and turned on him. It was a cold gaze that seemed to bore straight through to the core.
"I greet the Guild Master!"
Dorian bowed his head and called out in a loud voice. Raon said nothing and bent at the waist after him.
"Rise."
The Guild Master nodded and gestured.
"Yes."
Dorian lifted his head, his face slightly flushed. His lips were parched from the tension.
Even when Raon straightened again, the Guild Master's gaze did not turn away. It remained on him.
"I am…"
"It is an honor to meet the White Sword Dragon like this."
Just as Raon was about to give his name, a calm voice flowed from the Guild Master.
"Hm…"
Even though he had not hidden it thoroughly, to see through him at a single glance… He had not gone so far as to disguise his height and his skin the way he had when entering Robert Territory, but he had not expected to be identified immediately. Unlike the siblings, this one was no joke.
"I am Raon Zieghart."
Raon met the Guild Master's settled eyes and let a faint smile slip. This won't be boring.