Chapter 14
"Will you please give me this job?"
Gunnard felt his entire body become drenched with sweat in an instant as soon as Kuders came to him with those words.
—d.a.m.n it. This is going to be worse than usual.
"Work?"
He looked down and saw that Kuders was clutching an application requirement sheet.
The location was a village that was on the outskirts of the Crown Prince"s lands. And it was asking for help for some restoration work.
There had been a great storm the previous day, and many fields had been completely ravaged.
They needed extra hands not only to repair houses, but also to dig out water trenches and remove trees and rubble that was in the way, so that they could plant in the fields once again.
But there were also many fences that were broken, which meant that monsters could attack as well. And so they wanted Adventurers to come and help guard the area.
"Kuders. I"m sure you already know this, but this isn"t the kind of work for you. This is for people who are just getting started. And yet you want to do it? What are you planning?"
Master Gunnard stopped what he was doing and glared at the middle-aged man in front of him.
However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not read the will of this man.
He wasn"t a bad man.
Perhaps he was even good.
But just like with those watermelons, he kept doing things that were unpredictable.
In fact, Kuders had still not revealed what those watermelon babies were for.
Also, their standards and values were quite different.
Kuders wasn"t particularly well-built or athletic, and he wasn"t some unimaginably powerful sorcerer either. And that was more frightening than anything.
"You"re too suspicious. Besides, I"m still a newcomer if you consider the length of my career. Oh, why are you looking at me like I"m some kind of swindler? I won"t… …Well, I won"t say that. But I won"t cause you too much trouble."
"So, you"re already sure that you will cause some trouble!"
"I"m not very good at lying."
However, he tended to leave things out that he wanted to keep hidden, so it didn"t make much of a difference.
"But, am I not right for it? Surely I have enough strength and I can even use magic to make up for the lost crops."
Kuders began to explain his own apt.i.tude, but Gunnard quietly shook his head to the side.
"No. I don"t sell my Adventurers cheaply. Those who are capable must be used for more profitable work. I doubt even the other guilds would let you do it. It is practically volunteer work."
Otherwise, the demands of clients would just increase and the market price for work would fall. It could affect the entire industry and make it less active.
As they knew this, there were no guilds that sold their best Adventurers for such prices.
A cynical person might call it market manipulation, but being an Adventurer was dangerous and the income was unstable. And so it was a measure put in place to ensure a degree of financial stability.
"So, just change it so that it isn"t like volunteer work. Something that will be more profitable."
"You…what the h.e.l.l do you think I am?"
At the same time, cold sweat ran down his back.
What was wrong with this man?
This way of thinking. A bold and forceful attempt at flipping the board over. It wasn"t the mentality of a merchant.
No, this was the mentality of a rich government official who was used to making his own rules.
"You, Mister Gunnard? I recognize you as a capable businessman. What of it? Also…I would like you to know that I"ve done some research on it already. With your abilities, it should be possible, even if it is a little absurd."
"d.a.m.n it. This is why I hate overly capable people! Look here, this will be the very last time I do this."
Kuders had probably said all of that knowing that the guild was not only the oldest, but had connections to people who had political influence.
It was scary how perceptive he could be.
What idiot would make such a man an Adventurer!
He should be returned to that disgusting world of politics where he belongs!
…Hopefully, before my stomach bursts from all of the stress I feel!!
Kuders was very much oblivious to Gunnard"s heartfelt cry, and so he beamed like the sun.
"Indeed. I wouldn"t want you to push yourself too hard."
"Then you should cooperate a little. Do you have a plan?"
Surely, he did.
He wouldn"t come here with such a proposal without thinking it through.
In that case, he should just use Kuders as much as possible.
He looked at Kuders with such expectations and was met with a smile.
"Wonderful. Oh, I am so happy to have been blessed with a boss like you."
"And yet here I am, my stomach feels like it"s about to fail because I"m plagued with an unfitting employee."
"That is unfortunate. Now, we should move to another room…"
"No, here is fine."
Gunnard said. Then he muttered the pa.s.sword.
In an instant, wind magic was activated and the area around the reception desk was covered by a barrier.
This was a little trick a previous Guild Master had set up, allowing him to hear reports quickly.
"Now no one can hear us. So, what is it?"
"Very well, then."
Kuders summoned some plants to cover them as well. Then he handed Gunnard the stack of papers.
"Broadly put, I want the project to be greatly expanded in scale. And then I shall travel to this village and oversee it as the leader. As for the guild"s reward, it will be ten percent of the village"s annual profit. Normally, it would be impossible to restore the village in such a short amount of time. There wouldn"t be any profits at all."
"Yes. Such self-destructive requirement would be gladly accepted by them. But no other guilds would touch it. But, you are saying that you can make it happen? There will be enough profits?"
At the very least, Kuders had earth magic that was perfect for plants. Perhaps he would be able to do something about all of the dead crops.
However, this man clearly had other things in mind as well.
"I will double what they made last year and cause the landlord to quiver and shake."
Gunnard looked through the plans and his eyes widened.
"…Are you sure?"
"Of course, I am. Do you really think something like this is too much for me?"
His smile was filled with the confidence of someone who had supported a country for hundreds of years as the Demon Emperor"s righthand man.