The Corrupt Guildmaster, Inadvertently Ending Up Carrying the Female Guildmaster’s Dream
—Cassandra Farlane—
Inside the Guildmaster’s office of the Ilios Guild. As I entered, a woman with silver hair wearing a maid outfit, my secretary, Marle, bowed her head.
“Welcome back, Cassandra-sama.”
“Yes. Was there anything unusual while I was away?”
“No, nothing at all. How did it go, Cassandra-sama?”
Marle’s eyes were filled with anticipation. It hurts to tell a child who looks at me like that.
“It didn’t work out.”
“Yes, of course, with Cassandra-sama it would—wait, it didn’t work out…!?”
Perhaps my answer surprised her; Marle opened and closed her mouth like a fish. Her expression was so amusing that I burst out laughing without thinking.
“W-Why are you laughing…!? Fangs of the Great Beast were with you too, weren’t they!? What was Zeiss doing!? I’ll go give Zeiss a piece of my mind!! To fail despite meeting Cassandra-sama’s expectations…”
Marle rattled on angrily. She is Zeiss’s childhood friend, and he’s the leader of Fangs of the Great Beast, so it’s only natural she’d blame him for the failure. I should correct her here.
“That’s not it. They gave it everything they had. This was entirely my mistake.”
“Such a thing… Cassandra-sama making a mistake… there’s no way! Cassandra-sama, you are just being kind and covering for Zeiss and the others, right!?”
Marle tried desperately to comfort me. But no, this really was my mistake. I should have told Zeiss-chan and the others from the beginning that the purpose this time was to see Zilkein-chan’s true ability.
By keeping that hidden and ordering them to “show their strength,” they ended up thinking that my main objective was to secure the state-selected quest. As a result… it led to their party’s combat strength being spread too thin during the melee.
Normally, they would never do something like that. A clever person like Zeiss-chan would have prioritized survival above all else… it was completely my fault. I was a fool who got drunk on my own thoughts.
Just before that melee began, Zilkein-chan exchanged words with Sylvia, the leader of Red Dragon’s Wings. I overheard what he said at that time.
That they should fight as they normally would. With just that one remark, Sylvia realized that the test was meant to observe behavior inside a dungeon. So even though she also dispersed her forces, she shifted not to offense, but to defense.
She teamed up with reliable members outside her own party… it was splendid. And then there was that young man, Aron. His ability rivals even our Zeiss-chan. Truly, power beyond human limits.
On top of that, a female knight who reflects physical attacks, and to think even the Black Lightning was there… with such members cooperating, even an A-rank party wouldn’t stand a chance.
To have adventurers like that under him… Zilkein-chan has quite the capability.
Because of this incident, Zeiss-chan and the others saw the stature of Zilkein as a Guildmaster. If things go badly, Fangs of the Great Beast might transfer to the Luminage Guild in its entirety.
A sharp pain stabbed deep in my chest. It felt like the sensation I had left behind when I retired as an adventurer to become a Guildmaster, and I chose to ignore it.
At the very end of that selection test, when I declared that I would issue recommendation letters to Luminage Guild’s adventurers, there was something I absolutely had to demonstrate: “I am a woman with value.”
… This incident made it clear. Zilkein-chan has the capacity to become the top of the Five Great Guilds of the western nations, the Grandmaster. Rather than testing him, I need to act so that I won’t be cast aside.
So that while I earn, he can earn as well. So that we can become partners.
“Marle. I’m giving up on becoming the Grandmaster.”
“!? W-What are you saying…!? That was your dream for so many years, wasn’t it!?”
“Yes. But you see, I found it. Someone who would be a more ideal Grandmaster than me. A Guildmaster’s job is to discover talent and help it blossom… and that isn’t limited to adventurers alone.”
Marle looked worried. Hesitantly, she spoke.
“… Is Zilkein of the Luminage Guild truly such an exceptional talent?”
I opened my fan and hid my mouth, the fan I’ve used for years to keep my emotions from showing.
“I’ve found the greatest talent, and right now, I’m thrilled.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Eh?”
Marle’s expression turned serious. The girl who had always followed me in silence now had teary eyes and an angry look.
“Then why are you crying…!!”
It was only when Marle said that I realized it. Tears were endlessly spilling down both of my cheeks.
“This is…?”
“Up until now, Cassandra-sama has done so much for us. Sometimes even things that made people resent you… there’s no way you wouldn’t feel frustrated after giving up a dream you worked so hard for! Cassandra-sama, you’re lying!”
Those words felt like a slap across my cheek.
I’ve always earned money. So that these children, so that all adventurers, could live freely without worry, so that they wouldn’t be crushed by the power of the Guild Association and driven to their deaths.
For that sake, I used every means to earn money and wielded it as a weapon to silence the Association’s people. And I kept thinking: if I reached the top of the western nations, if I became the Grandmaster,my ideals would be realized.
… The countless humiliations I suffered from the old men of the guilds when I was an adventurer. So that the next generation wouldn’t have to experience the same thing.
That’s why I earned more than anyone. That’s why I tried to be smarter than anyone.
And yet, all of that was crushed head-on.
“You’re naïve,” they said.
“You’re not fit to be the Grandmaster.”
“… Hehe, I see. Of course I’m frustrated. I was just… covering it up, wasn’t I?”
What hurt the most was failing to see through the ability of that old man, Yolm.
In the past, I was treated terribly by the old men in the guilds. If you didn’t pay bribes, you wouldn’t get quests. Your rank promotions would be obstructed. I endured that kind of harassment more times than I can count.
That’s why I kept earning and earning, changing the situation with the power of money, while looking down on those old men who bent so easily before it as incompetent.
To have it pointed out to me that those experiences had clouded my eyes…
“Cassandra-sama…”
“A pathetic Guildmaster like me… everyone will eventually abandon me.”
“That’s not—”
Just as she was about to say something, the door to the Guildmaster’s office suddenly rattled open. At the same time, several figures tumbled inside. Wondering what had happened, I looked, and saw Zeiss-chan and the others of Fangs of the Great Beast, along with Wilx, whom I had assigned as my guard.
“Hey, Wilx!! Don’t shove us all of a sudden!”
“But come on! I couldn’t hear anything!”
“Could you hurry up and move, Ada…?”
“I can’t, Wilx is thrashing around!”
The four of them were piled up like a mountain. When Zeiss-chan met my eyes, he stood up with a wry smile.
“Guildmaster, we don’t think this was your fault, you know? We just got a little carried away.”
“You were the one who rushed ahead wanting to fight Aron.”
“Well, coming from someone who got taken out instantly like Sol and me, I guess I can’t say much.”
Sol snapped back at Ada, and Zeiss stopped them with a wry smile. After that easygoing exchange, Zeiss’s expression turned serious.
“Hey, Guildmaster. Do you know why Marle is so desperately trying to protect you?”
“……”
I couldn’t answer. I always tried to be strong in front of everyone in the guild. This was the first time they’d seen me like this.
“It’s because she wants to be in your guild.”
“In… my guild…?”
“Yeah. And that goes for us too. We want to be in your guild. Not because the Ilios Guild was the top in the western nations, but because Guildmaster Cassandra is here.”
“Ah…”
“As just an adventurer, I don’t know what you felt from Zilkein-san. So I can’t casually say, ‘Don’t give up on your dream. Just become number one again.’ But… watching you, even I can tell what you’re trying to do.”
I was at a loss for words. I’d always been watching these kids, but they were watching me too?
“… So it’s fine, isn’t it? Even if you’re not number one. Does your dream really have to be number one to come true?”
If I’m not number one…?
Someone tugged on my sleeve. When I looked, it was Wilx.
“I’ll definitely become an S-rank adventurer! In Cassandra-sama’s guild! … So please don’t cry, okay? If Cassandra-sama is crying, it makes me sad too…”
“Wilx… thank you.”
I see now… what I truly want to accomplish isn’t becoming the Grandmaster. It’s turning the Guild Association into an organization where adventurers can live without humiliation. That is my true ideal, what I must do.
I looked around at everyone, took a deep breath, and said this:
“Everyone. This is the kind of woman I am. I probably won’t be able to return to being number one from here. But… I will create a place where all of you can shine, by other means. Even so… will you follow me?”
“Of course. Right, everyone?”
“I’ll support you, Cassandra-sama!”
“M-Me too!!!”
“Wilx, that’s for a different reason, isn’t it~?”
“What a cheeky kid…”
“Please don’t tease me, Ada-san, Sol-san!”
As Wilx was teased, lively voices filled the Guildmaster’s office. This is my everyday life. And it’s the same as what I saw in Luminage, the sight of Luminage Guild’s adventurers gathering around Zilkein-chan, enjoying themselves.
Zilkein-chan. You’ll surely keep trying to earn more and more, won’t you? Beyond that lies the Grandmaster’s seat without a doubt. To me, that’s the same as seeing my dream fulfilled. So I’ll gladly let myself be used by you.
Guildmaster Zilkein, the man who will one day rule all the guilds of the western nations… let’s earn together, as far as we can go. And show me the continuation of my dream.
What do you think about this chapter?
