How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive at a Good Small Business
Episode 1
1. When you gaze into the abyss of a Small Business, the Small Business also gazes into you
I was confident that I could survive at any company, no matter where I ended up.
The reason was simple: I had previous experience working at a Small Business. End of explanation.
For those who didn’t quite understand, let me elaborate—originally, “Small Business” exceptions exist in labor law to ease the burden on small business owners.
But occasionally, some companies exploit the “Small Business” classification as an opportunity to become the ultimate lawless hellhole, exempt from every regulation. They would destroy our common sense, commit nonsensical atrocities, and show us what the worst company truly looked like.
“So this place is….”
I looked around in bewilderment.
My last memory was falling asleep during overtime at that hellhole company, so why did my body feel so light?
After getting out of bed and thoroughly examining the space and the mirror, I arrived at one conclusion.
Like the most common Romance Fantasy Novel trope, I had undergone transmigration.
“Well, that’s not so bad.”
I had no real attachment to my previous life. My parents had passed away the moment I came of age, I’d gotten a job at that hellhole company and my personality had soured, so I’d lost touch with all my friends….
So I could consider this a new opportunity and enjoy a fresh start, couldn’t I?
I searched through the memories of this body I’d transmigrated into. Fortunately or unfortunately, the memories remained, though quite faint.
“Odret Lavendel, twenty-one years old this year.”
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a noble lady but a commoner, though I did have a small house in my own name. Besides, I had a workplace to commute to every day.
‘I was working at the Information Guild.’
Just like the original me, Odret Lavendel had lost her parents and inherited only a house, then got a job at the Information Guild and lived a busy life every day. It seemed my soul had entered a body that had died of overwork.
‘The Information Guild… I don’t know anything about that kind of work. Wait a minute.’
As I was pondering how to adapt to this new life, I suddenly realized something remarkable.
‘What if I’m inside a Romance Fantasy Novel I’ve read?!’
Usually, transmigration happens within a Romance Fantasy Novel that has an “Original Work.” So maybe I just hadn’t noticed yet, but perhaps this world also has source material!
If that were the case, I had a huge advantage in knowing this world’s future—I’d be perfectly optimized for working at the Information Guild!
‘That’s it. The Information Guild I belong to could flourish.’
Since my memories weren’t fully intact, I was fuzzy on what kind of Information Guild it was, but in any case, I was confident I could develop it into the greatest Information Guild in this world.
An Information Guild, you see, would presumably be something like….
“One martini with an olive, please.”
“How did you know that code?”
You’d breach secret channels like that to get in.
“I’d like you to investigate someone for me.”
“This person is… someone even we dare not touch.”
Crown princes, northern archdukes, saints and whatnot—a group that becomes entangled with all sorts of bigwigs and serves as their aide.
Perfect! Once I figure out what world this is, I’ll use the knowledge from the source material I know!
If there’s no source material in this world, that would be unfortunate… but still, couldn’t I move faster than others by using Romance Fantasy clichés?
Though it was a shame I couldn’t enjoy the luxurious life of a typical Romance Fantasy heroine as a noble lady, I was confident I could accept this new life with joy.
If I could escape a Small Business, anywhere was fine! Hooray!
‘It’s time to head to work?’
Following Odret’s original memories, I dressed in light clothes and headed to the Information Guild.
‘But it’s not very secretive at all.’
Unlike the Information Guild in typical Romance Fantasy Novels, the place I worked had its name plastered right on the office door.

And why such an awkward name? Isn’t it exactly like some startupy hellhole company?
Tilting my head in confusion, I entered the Information Guild. Then I saw three people already seated under dim lighting.
‘Are these people on our team?’
I was pondering how to greet them while searching through my hazy memories, when suddenly I heard someone’s voice booming.
“Why are you coming at this hour?!”
“…Guild Master?”
Fortunately, when I saw his face, my memory came back.
The Guild Master—a man in his mid-forties, the very picture of a stubborn geezer.
“Um… it’s only ten minutes before work starts?”
“A new hire shows up later than me? That makes no sense!”
“I apologize….”
“And you’re setting your bag down at your desk the moment you get here?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t you know what you’re supposed to do?”
“What… what are you talking about?”
“I told you to make my coffee the second you arrive!”
“Ah… I’m sorry….”
I bowed deeply once more.
Right. The Guild Master of the Information Guild where Odret Lavendel worked was, true to the guild’s name, anything but impressive or secretive—just a cantankerous old man.
“Odret! You’re finally here?”
“Yes, um?”
A man who appeared slightly older than me spoke up. Searching my memories, this person was….
“Deputy Manager, do you need me to do something?”
“Ha-ha! Today is the day our Information Guild will undergo a revolutionary transformation! I’ve scheduled three meetings today, so let’s get pumped and execute with agility on the prep work!”
“Ah, yes….”
Right. The Deputy Manager was a villain brimming with passion—the type who created work for himself and made his subordinates suffer for it.
He even mistakenly believed he was young and trendy, constantly mixing in strange foreign words and neologisms.
“Three meetings today!”
“Yes, how wonderful….”
I dodged his gaze and hurried backward to brew the team lead’s coffee when, at last, a woman sitting at her desk called out to me.
“Odret, Deputy Chief!”
“Ah, Susanna, Deputy Chief….”
Susanna, my colleague from orientation. She was….
“Hehe, you’ll make mine too, right? We’re both the same cohort, after all!”
“…Yes, of course.”
“Looking at the mood today, it seems the Guild Master will leave early… but I don’t think my work will be done by then, so I need you to take over for me, okay? I’m going straight home!”
“What? What about me?”
“Hmm? That’s not important—the main thing is I need to leave on time!”
…….
Wait, something feels off.
Only then did the original Odret Lavendel’s memories become clear.
A cantankerous Guild Master, a passionate Deputy Manager, an MZ-generation Deputy Chief, and me.
One, two, three, four. Oh, this is insane! It’s another Small Business with Under 5 Employees!
That’s right! Now I remember! It’s not like they had separate teams—this guild is just four of us total! Which means in this life too, I’m working at a Small Business with Under 5 Employees!
‘This can’t be happening. I have to work at a Small Business again? With these villains hanging over me?’
All the guild members were villains, so it made sense that the original Odret Lavendel had worked herself to death! And Odret Lavendel was, by definition, a complete novice in the working world with no tricks up her sleeve!
That’s right—according to the memories I possessed, Odret Lavendel hadn’t even completed compulsory education and had no work history at any legitimate company. That’s why she’d ended up at this pathetic place!
I spent a moment denying reality, then turned to the Guild Master to confirm the situation.
“Um, actually, how much Annual Leave do I have left?”
“Annual Leave? What are you talking about? Did you dream that? Where would there be something like Annual Leave?”
…According to Odret’s memories, the word “Annual Leave” did exist in this world.
“What about weekly holiday pay? Overtime pay? Minimum wage?”
“Odret, snap out of it. You looked tired yesterday—did you eat something bad?”
The Guild Master clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
“We’re a Small Business with Under 5 Employees, so none of that applies to us!”
……!
This is insane!
At last, I understood.
I had ended up working at a Small Business with Under 5 Employees in this world too—one with no legal protections.
“If you’re going to complain about stuff like that, go work for a prime contractor instead of a subcontractor. What do you expect?”
And worse, we’re a subcontractor to this pathetic place. Whatever this “prime contractor” is, they’ll probably treat us like garbage and pile impossible work on us!
“Ahhh… yes….”
“Go brew my coffee!”
“Odret, Deputy Chief, mine too, please!”
Half my soul vacant, I made coffee for the Guild Master and Susanna, then returned to my desk.
…….
It was piled high with work the passionate-villain Deputy Manager had dumped on me.
I stared down at it blankly for a long time. Could I just quit?
‘But I have no experience.’
I’d only been here two months, so if I quit now, it wouldn’t even count toward my work history.
“Ahhhhh….”
Sitting at my desk, I suffered in silence for a while.
Another Small Business with Under 5 Employees? This pathetic place? Not the glamorous Information Guild from a romance fantasy novel, but the Deputy Chief of a guild full of insane villains?
As I wallowed in despair, my eyes suddenly snapped open.
“Hey, ever since you started at that strange company, you’ve been acting a little weird….”
“No matter what, isn’t it too selfish toward your teammates?”
“Wait, is that how you’re supposed to act at work? You’re saying some really strange things.”
In my past life, I lasted two years at a Small Business.
Those two years taught me something valuable.
When I stare into a Small Business, the Small Business stares back into me.
‘Park Geo-seong raised eighty percent of who I became.’
Recalling the name of the CEO at the X Company where I’d worked in my past life, I smiled to myself.
‘Human X Company—time to deploy.’
I was confident I could adapt perfectly to this insane X Company guild.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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