The Corrupt Guildmaster, Accomplishing the Nationally Selected Quest
~Fiel Valencia~
“GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
We were fighting the boss of the 25th floor, the Silver Dragon. It had been a prolonged battle, but at last, that moment arrived.
“Lizette, go on ahead!!!!!”
“Okay!”
Aron-dono, enhanced by speed-boosting magic, and Lizette, activating her unique skill Black Bolt, attacked the 25th-floor boss, the “Silver Dragon,” from both sides. The two nimbly dodged the powerful tail strike unleashed by the Silver Dragon. Due to the accumulated wounds inflicted across its body by Galius-dono and myself, the Silver Dragon’s movements had clearly slowed.
“GROOOOOOO!!!”
The Silver Dragon opened its massive jaws, preparing to fire a fireball at Aron-dono. Sylvia-dono and Yolm-dono raised their staves.
“Paralysis magic!!”
“Instant Freeze.”
Sylvia-dono released paralysis magic. The Silver Dragon froze for a brief moment. Then Yolm-dono unleashed a powerful ice spell. The Silver Dragon’s face froze solid in an instant, completely canceling its fireball attack.
“Hoho, now that it’s frozen, we can deal massive damage.”
In response to Yolm-dono’s voice, Aron-dono and Lizette activated their techniques.
“Strength Enhancement ×10!!”
“Southern Slash!!!”
Lizette’s Southern Slash struck the Silver Dragon’s head, directly on its left side. A cross-shaped crack formed across its skull, and into that Aron-dono’s reinforced slash followed. In the next instant, the Silver Dragon’s head shattered into pieces, unable even to let out a final cry.
“Alright!! With this, the 25th-floor boss has been defeated. Once we collect the materials, we’ll destroy the dungeon core!”
At Sylvia-dono’s words, I finally felt that the long, long battle against the Silver Dragon had come to an end.
……
With Sylvia-dono and Yolm-dono watching over us, we stepped forward, and the dungeon core emitted an ominous red glow. Aron-dono, Lizette, Galius-dono, and I surrounded the enormous magic stone, the dungeon core, nearly as large as a human body.
“You heard it from the Guildmaster, right? Once the core is destroyed, the dungeon will collapse in 24 hours. From the moment we destroy it, we head straight for the exit. We’ll avoid combat with enemies as much as possible.”
Aron-dono’s expression grew serious. There was anxiety at the thought of having to retrace in a single day the path that had taken us many days to traverse, but there was no need to worry.
“Once it’s destroyed, gather immediately at the entrance to this room. I’ll use the teleportation circle.”
I took out a small bottle from my pocket, something I had received from Zilkein-dono. It was an item called a teleportation circle. Apparently, it was an item developed at a magical academy in the Central Nations that had begun circulating.
Inside this bottle was a teleportation magic still under development. By smashing the bottle, the teleportation magic would activate. They were used in pairs, and the place where the matching bottle was smashed would become the destination. You could instantly move to a preset location, but since it was still under development, the range was limited. In this dungeon, it could only reach up to the 13th floor, the place where we fought the Giant Argen.
“Why did Zilkein have something like that?”
Lizette tilted her head. I had been surprised as well when it was handed to me, but according to Zilkein-dono, when conquering a Demonic Void Dungeon, it was common sense to prepare teleportation circles according to the floors. This time, since it became necessary on short notice, it seemed he had supplied items kept at his estate.
“That thing’s hard to get, you know? We should be grateful to the Guildmaster!”
Galius-dono laughed heartily, his great axe resting on his shoulder. So it really was that valuable. To think he’d give us such a precious, personally owned item… Zilkein-dono truly was a kind person.
“Hey~! Let’s break it already!? I want to hurry back to Zilkein!”
Everyone gave a wry smile at Lizette’s words. All of us readied our weapons and unleashed our attacks at the same time. The gigantic magic stone shattered in an instant. The fragments, glowing faintly, vanished into nothingness.
Immediately afterward, a tremendous roar echoed all around us.
“It looks like the dungeon’s collapse has begun! Everyone, to me!!”
Everyone rushed to my side. After confirming everyone was present, I slammed the bottle onto the floor. A blue magic circle spread around us, and our surroundings turned pure white, as if enveloped in mist—
◇◇◇
After that, we dashed through the dungeon from the 13th floor toward the surface. We encountered monsters many times along the way, but with me at the front activating Eisen Maiden, I reflected the enemies’ initial attacks, allowing us to avoid unnecessary battles. When combat was unavoidable, each of us immediately fulfilled our assigned roles, breaking through with minimal losses.
When the exit finally came into view, I noticed Aron-dono running beside me.
“We made it thanks to you all.”
“Thank you. We were able to conquer it thanks to Aron-dono and the others of Red Dragon’s Wings.”
Aron-dono didn’t reply. He kept his eyes straight ahead and muttered,
“… It’s rare for a Demonic Void Dungeon to appear in the Western Nations. To be honest, this was Red Dragon’s Wings’ first time conquering one too.”
“I see… but it felt like things went remarkably smoothly.”
“Didn’t you notice? We were able to conquer it because the Guildmaster discussed the Demonic Void Dungeon strategy with us beforehand.”
As I spoke with Aron-dono, I realized Sylvia-dono was running alongside him.
“The Guildmaster’s knowledge is extraordinary. From the floor mechanisms to boss placements, we were able to deal with almost everything exactly as he advised.”
“Maybe that guy’s got some kind of future-seeing skill or something.”
Galius-dono called out from behind. Yolm-dono, riding on his back, stroked his white beard.
“Guildmaster Zilkein, you see… he is exceedingly diligent. Even on his days off, he spends his time tirelessly increasing his knowledge in the library.”
Zilkein-dono… had he really been working that hard?
“He never shows that side to the guild members. I became curious about him after Bash was expelled, you see. From time to time, I watched what he was doing. That’s when I realized, he is a man who piles effort upon effort. Zilkein-dono truly became Guildmaster because he was meant to.”
Thinking back, I felt I finally understood why the selection exam had been designed the way it was. Endurance, obstacle courses, chaotic battles… all of it had been prepared for this very moment.
You couldn’t have assembled such an exam without knowing exactly what conquering a Demonic Void Dungeon entailed. If Red Dragon’s Wings had never completed such a quest before, then Zilkein-dono must have designed that exam purely from knowledge alone. That would have required an enormous amount of study.
… Amazing. I thought I had worked hard back in my days as a knight, but it seems I still had a long way to go.
“Ahhh~ Zilkein! I want to see you already~!!”
Unable to hold back, Lizette broke into a sprint and burst out of the dungeon exit. The moment we followed her outside, cheers erupted all around us.
“They’re adventurers from the Luminage Guild!”
“They cleared it this fast…!?”
“They conquered a Demonic Void Dungeon, that’s incredible!!”
“Red Dragon’s Wings is hereee!!”
“Waaaaah, thank youuuu!!”
It was dazzling. As my eyes adjusted to the outside light, I saw them, the Fres Kingdom Knights, the order I once belonged to.
“This is… what’s going on?”
I looked around. The Demonic Void Dungeon’s outline was blurring amid a thunderous roar, as if it were about to vanish completely.
“Fiel-san!!”
A knight pushed through the crowd. It was Raflair, the female knight who had succeeded me as Knight Commander.
“Raflair… why are you here…?”
“The Luminage Guild’s Guildmaster contacted the kingdom. He said it was about time for you all to finish the conquest. He asked us to witness the dungeon’s disappearance in your stead, since you would be exhausted!”
Zilkein-dono…?
“Mages of the Fres Kingdom used detection magic to relay your floor location to the guild, but even so, we were amazed by how well everything was coordinated.”
Before confusion could set in, joy welled up inside me. At the fact that Zilkein-dono trusted us.
Someone patted my shoulder. When I turned around, Aron-dono was scratching his cheek.
“Since the Guildmaster went to all this trouble, let’s head back. To the guild.”
“… Yeah. You’re right.”
Leaving the scene to my juniors from my knight days, we began our journey home.
……
After several days of travel, we returned to Luminage. The familiar sight of the guild greeted us, with Emidia-dono and Zilkein-dono there to welcome us back. Only then did I truly feel that the difficult quest had ended.
After that, things got hectic. Adventurers from all over the town gathered, and a massive celebration broke out. Worse still, I remembered that before setting out, I had told Zilkein-dono that I wanted him to hug me too, just like he did Lizette. The adventurers present immediately started shouting that the Guildmaster should hug me as well.
Emidia-dono’s eyes gleamed sharply. Nearly in tears from how frightening she was, I apologized to her, and Emidia-dono gave a faint, lonely smile.
“You have earned the right to that. After risking your life to protect everyone and returning safely to Zilkein-sama… I cannot tell you to stop based solely on my personal feelings.”
Emidia-dono gently pushed me forward. Surrounded by everyone, I stepped toward Zilkein-dono.
“I don’t know how things ended up like this, but… Fiel, are you okay with it? If you don’t want to, I—”
Unable to put my feelings into words, I shook my head to deny Zilkein-dono’s concern. After steadying his breath, Zilkein-dono embraced me.
A huge cheer erupted throughout the guild. I heard Aron-dono and the others shouting as well, but my mind was too overwhelmed to process what anyone was saying.
Unconsciously, I wrapped my arms around Zilkein-dono’s back. Burying my face against his shoulder, my thoughts spun wildly, if I weren’t wearing armor, I could feel him even closer… such things filled my mind. Freed from the tension of the dungeon, my arms began to tremble.
“… Were you scared?”
“Yes… terribly so… But because everyone was there, I was able to overcome it. And… because I wanted to see you again… thinking that, I…”
I tightened my grip around him. Zilkein-dono whispered gently.
“You did well, Fiel. Having you in this guild… I’m proud of that.”
At those words, tears spilled over. They were the same words he had spoken when we first met, the words that made me decide to become an adventurer. To hear them again…
“Lucky~ hey, I want another one too…! Hey, what are you doing, Emidia!?”
“Lizette, you are far too shameless. Please learn from Fiel-san.”
“Hey, Aron? Should we too—”
“Man~ this really hits home! To think Fiel would end up like this!”
“Gahaha! She didn’t notice at all, Sylvia! Ouch!? Hey, stop it!”
“Hohoho. Springtime, indeed~”
As the guild erupted into chaos, I thought.
No, I’m sure everyone thought the same. This guild, where Zilkein-dono waits for us… this is where we belong. This is our home.
◇◇◇
Two days after Zilkein and the Luminage Guild conquered the nationally selected quest.
—Somewhere in the Western Nations.
In the basement of a church-like building… in a dim underground chamber, two men were present. An elderly man clad in white priestly robes, and a young man kneeling before him. The elderly man gave a low hum.
“Is that story true, Ulfred?”
“Yes. The Guildmaster of the Luminage Guild, Zilkein, will continue to gain the trust of King Fres from here on.”
“… So he is the ideal individual for infiltrating the Fres Kingdom.”
In the basement, where only the sound of dripping water echoed, the young man’s eyes glinted ominously.
“I believe he will be of great service to you, Bastarus-sama. May I bring him into our fold?”
“Very well. I leave it to you, Ulfred. For the sake of fulfilling our long-cherished wish, that of the ‘Apostles of the Demon God,’ you must secure that Guildmaster.”
The Apostles of the Demon God.
In the original world Zilkein knew, they were the fanatical cult that used Lizette as a sacrifice to resurrect the Demon God.
That such people had set their sights on Zilkein… was something he had no way of knowing yet.
What do you think about this chapter?
