The Corrupt Guildmaster, Making His Debut in High Society
A few days after Aron and the others conquered the Demonic Void Dungeon, Emidia and I were attending a dungeon-conquest celebration hosted by the Kingdom of Fres.
Originally, I had intended to bring Aron and the others along as well, but… Red Dragon’s Wings had received a quest to exterminate Gray Boars that were ravaging farmland in a nearby village, Yolm declined due to treatment for his back pain, and Fiel disliked the idea of attending a celebration filled with nobles because of the matter of her broken engagement.
Only Lizette wanted to come, but…
—There’s gonna be tons of food at the party, right!? I’m going, I’m going!! I’ll eat everything!!
… I had a bad feeling about it, so I decided not to bring Lizette.
In the end, it was just Emidia and me attending. But perhaps that was for the best. Her background would be extremely useful in a place like this. It was ideal for forming connections with nobles who might prove useful. If anything, moving around as just the two of us was easier.
We went around greeting the nobles in attendance. Before approaching each one, I whispered to Emidia.
“Emidia, who’s that old man?”
“That is Marquis Yadel Banaut. He is in charge of border security between the Kingdom of Fres and the Kingdom of Lanam.”
The only nobles I really knew were those around Luminage. I wasn’t well-versed in noble etiquette, and while I was wondering how to handle attending this event, I suddenly remembered Emidia’s background documents.
Emidia was the daughter of the fallen noble house of Viscount Calway. When I checked whether she was familiar with high society, she, just as I’d expected, had even memorized detailed personal relationships.
Dressed in a blue gown, Emidia didn’t pale in comparison to the other noblewomen at al. No, if anything, her beauty seemed to be monopolizing the gazes of the men around us.
With her assistance, I smoothly finished making the rounds to greet the major nobles. Among them was Count Sarandia, the lord of Delta City. After greeting him, I could tell he held this incident in extremely high regard. I would need to deepen my ties with him as well.
As we conversed with the nobles at the standing buffet, King Fres raised his clear, carrying voice.
“Now then, allow me to introduce the achievements of today’s guest of honor. The Guildmaster of the Luminage Guild, now said to be the foremost guild of the Western Nations, Zilkein Oldray. Step forward.”
The nobles in attendance parted to make way. After instructing Emidia to move to the edge of the hall, I stood beside King Fres.
“Guildmaster Zilkein has made tremendous contributions to our kingdom’s knight order as well…”
King Fres began introducing me. At times it felt like he was embellishing the story, but that was likely just royal mannerism. Looking around, I saw noble men and women whispering among themselves.
“So that’s the one from Luminage…”
“To receive a direct request from His Majesty King Fres, what remarkable skill.”
“I heard his guild’s adventurers even defeated the strongest of Ilios, the ‘Fangs of the Great Beast.’”
“It used to be such an ordinary guild not long ago.”
“We must make sure to ingratiate ourselves.”
They were probably thinking that currying favor with the Guildmaster who had completed the nationally selected quest would also bring them closer to King Fres. Simple-minded people. Still… if handled well, I might be able to draw out some investment. Perhaps I should extend my greetings to the lower nobles as well.
“… And thus, Guildmaster Zilkein’s guild members magnificently conquered the Demonic Void Dungeon. From here on, there will likely be more occasions for him to attend gatherings of high society. I ask you all to treat him well.”
Applause rose from around us. Participation in high society, huh… I’d rather avoid being dragged into pointless political struggles. After attending a few times, I’d probably decline with some convenient excuse.
After finishing my greetings to King Fres, I left the spot. When I reached the edge of the hall, Emidia was being spoken to by two women in dresses.
“Oh my, what business does a young lady of the Calway house have in a place like this? Wasn’t House Calway ruined?”
“So does that mean you’re a commoner now? That makes you even more out of place here!”
“……”
Even as the surrounding women provoked her, Emidia listened with a cool expression, letting it pass. Apparently angered by her reaction, one of the women stepped closer.
“Don’t get carried away just because you work under the guest-of-honor Guildmaster! You’re a commoner now, you know? How impertinent for a mere commoner to come to a social gathering!!”
“I…”
Perhaps because they had brought up her status, Emidia’s expression clouded. Good grief. What do these women think they’re doing to my secretary? What if this made her unable to work? Do they have any idea how many times her value exceeds the gold coins they could ever earn?
Looking down on others out of petty pride… how absurd.
Those kinds of noblewomen have nothing but excessive pride. That’s why they seek out those of lower status than themselves, to convince themselves of their own worth. Narrow-minded, the lot of them.
… I suppose I’ll have the troublesome women leave.
Right now, I was strongly trusted by King Fres. Whether Emidia was a commoner or not, the nobles couldn’t treat me lightly. If I fully extended that standing to Emidia, those women would have no choice but to shut up. So this was enough.
I approached them and said,
“Is there something you need with my fiancée?”
At my words, the women froze.
“W-what!? U-um… Z-Zilkein-sama is Emidia…-san’s fiancée?”
“That’s right.”
“B-but why…!? Why would you choose the daughter of such a fallen noble house…!?”
“Anyone who has seen her work would be impressed. Without being told, she works from early morning, utterly devoted, and trusted by everyone. In fact, she’s so earnest that there are times I have to stop her myself. I was deeply moved by her diligence.”
The two women’s faces quickly turned pale. Perhaps I should intimidate them just a bit more.
“I happened to overhear something earlier, you referred to her as a ‘commoner,’ didn’t you? How strange. I was told this celebration would not bring matters of status into it. Why, then, would words like ‘a mere commoner’ be used?”
“Ah… uh…”
“W-we only…”
“If this is truly a place where such discriminatory remarks are permitted, then I will have to lodge a complaint with His Majesty King Fres, the host of this event. Might I trouble you both for your names?”
I lowered my voice just slightly. The women suddenly panicked.
“T-that wasn’t our intention!”
“We were asked to… n-no, please forgive us!”
The women hurried away awkwardly. Asked to? Had someone instructed them to demean Emidia?
… Right. I needed to make sure Emidia didn’t misunderstand. If she thought this was harassment, it would backfire.
“Sorry. I was trying to help, but I ended up calling you my fiancée. Did that upset you?”
“N-no… rather… umm, I’m honored…! Even if it was just an excuse, to hear Zilkein-sama say such a thing makes me happy.”
Emidia lowered her gaze. She looked oddly formal. Perhaps she was being cautious because I was her superior. That wouldn’t do.
“What I said about you is true. I’m always being helped by you. If you have any requests regarding your treatment, tell me anytime. For your sake, I’ll consider anything.”
It would be a serious problem if Emidia were to leave the guild. Thinking about it, I may have relied too much on her diligence. To expand the guild and bring in even larger work, her cooperation was essential… I needed to pay even more attention to Emidia from now on.
“T-that’s far too much! Such words are more than I deserve!!”
Emidia denied it, her ears turning bright red. As I watched her, my gaze was suddenly drawn past her.
There, a nobleman was applauding. A tall man with blond hair and refined features, his eyes an odd mix of blue and green. I’d seen that appearance somewhere before… that man is…?
“Hmm. To deftly drive people away with words alone. As expected of Zilkein Oldray, said to be the greatest Guildmaster in the Western Nations.”
The young man extended his hand toward me.
“I am Ulfred Resta. I’ve been looking for you. I simply had to speak with you.”
As I thought. Those distinctive features… it was Ulfred Resta from the original work.
The man before me wore a refreshing smile. He was a high-ranking member of the fanatical cult known as the “Apostles of the Demon God,” the very group that killed Lizette and offered her as a sacrifice in the original story.
What do you think about this chapter?
