How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 27

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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 in a Good Small Guild
Episode 27
I was awake late into the night when the telephone rang. Wait—who knew my private number?
“I’ve taken the call.”
—It’s me. So, listen….
“Your Highness!”
—Now that I think about it, if you keep calling me “Your Highness” even outside the palace, it could get awkward when we meet. I’d better use an alias.
“Ah, yes. How should I address you?”
—Call me Sedrian.
The Crown Prince’s full name was Sedrian, wasn’t it? He’d taken it straight from his own name—could that really be called an alias?
In any case, I went on with the call, addressing him as Sedrian.
“Recent information about the Temple? Well….”
The last report I’d given the Crown Prince was that I’d become Guild Master.
Since then, I hadn’t acquired any additional information about the Temple, but if he needed something, wouldn’t it be better to naturally share what I knew from the original work?
“I haven’t obtained any recent intelligence, but if there’s something you need to know, I’ll look into it.”
—Information I need… Ah.
The Crown Prince paused on the other end of the line.
—Could you see me for a moment?
“Of course. Where should I go?”
—I’ll come to the Guild.
***
It happened that the next day was the weekend when no one came in, so I received the Crown Prince in the empty Guild building.
For what it’s worth, our Guild had originally been a six-day-a-week operation, but after I became Master, we switched to five days. Ha ha—quite the revolutionary reform, if I do say so.
“Welcome, Your—I mean, Sedrian.”
As he stepped into the Guild building, the Crown Prince pushed back the hood that had been covering his face.
His expression was unmistakably that of this world’s protagonist—cool and sharp-edged.
“How much do you know about the Temple?”
“What I know…well, it’s quite varied, but I mostly gather information when I visit the Temple from time to time.”
“I see….”
The Crown Prince seemed hesitant.
Having read the original work, I knew the conflict between the Imperial Palace and the Temple well.
They had always been rival forces checking each other, but the Crown Prince’s fixation on the Temple had another reason.
It was because he suspected the Temple of being behind the Empress Assassination Incident that had occurred ten years ago.
While that incident was officially traced to Republicans and they were executed, the Crown Prince still couldn’t let go of his suspicions about it.
‘In the original work, the real culprit behind the Empress Assassination Incident was the High Priest.’
To ease his concerns, I added:
“I also know something about the internal power dynamics within the Temple.”
It wasn’t something I’d discovered as Odret Lavendel. It was purely knowledge from before my possession.
At my words, the Crown Prince hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“If you have the opportunity to gather information from the Temple next time, there’s something I’d like you to investigate.”
“Yes, please tell me.”
“It’s about the Sacred Scripture they worship.”
“Ah, the Sacred Scripture.”
A scripture that fell from the sky one day. The secret teaching that has grown the Temple to such prominence.
“I’ve heard that the Temple priests quarrel and split into factions just trying to interpret that single book, and that promotions are judged by their understanding of the scripture. But since the scripture’s contents are kept secret from outsiders, it would be helpful if you could learn even a little of it.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The original work hadn’t described the scripture in any detail either. That made sense—it was just an ordinary religious text, after all.
It was obvious it would contain religious doctrine, but I nodded in agreement with the Crown Prince’s request.
“But this….”
At that moment, the Crown Prince’s gaze turned to the scattered documents on my desk. They were papers I’d compiled separately investigating the Tower of Stars.
“Ah, I came in early and was working.”
“…On a weekend?”
“The weather’s been so warm lately that I couldn’t sleep well. I woke up early.”
“So you decided to work?”
“Yes, when I can’t sleep, I usually work.”
“…….”
There was something odd about the way the Crown Prince was looking at me. But work did tire my mind, which helped me sleep afterward.
“This content….”
“It’s related to a commission I’m handling.”
I’d made my own investigation into who had access to Ratel’s thesis.
As a result, I was able to narrow down the candidates like this.
Candidate 1. Fellow Scholar
Name: Luna Moor
—Likewise has a reputation for eccentricity
—Has published numerous papers with the Academy
—Gets along swimmingly with Ratel
Candidate 2. Cleaning Staff
Name: Maria Chesi
—Has a son drowning in gambling debts who causes her endless worry
—An experienced cleaner
Candidate 3. Baron Hyacinth
Name: Dorian Hyacinth
—Comes from the founding family of the current Tower of Stars Academy chair
—A house of high reputation but modest means
—Specializes in military studies
—Has been visiting the Tower of Stars frequently of late
“How exactly did you arrive at this candidate?”
“Ah, that’s internal Guild business. The Information Guild can never divulge a client’s details.”
“Even though I’m the Crown Prince?”
“My rules have no exceptions.”
…….
He regarded me with a dubious look.
Well, but the Crown Prince is the righteous male protagonist, so he won’t throw me in prison over a remark like that.
“If needed, I may be able to offer assistance. Should you require help resolving an Information Guild commission, feel free to say so at any time.”
“I couldn’t possibly presume to….”
“Odret has been helping me, after all.”
“Hmm, but I couldn’t ask Your Highness to work on my behalf….”
“I’m not asking you to assign me tasks. My Ability might simply create an opportunity for me to assist you.”
“The Oath Ability?”
I recalled the Oath Ability that had appeared in the original work.
The Oath Ability could be used to stake something as collateral and prove one’s oath—nothing more nor less.
And it could also discern whether another person’s oath was genuine or false.
“Doesn’t that Ability emit some kind of light when you use it?”
“…There are ways to discern it quietly. You need to uncover information from the Tower of Stars, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Then visit the Tower of Stars with me.”
“Hmm… Would it be enough if I just concealed my face?”
“Disguise—no, do you have Disguise Tools?”
“I do.”
As an Information Guild operative, I naturally had access to Disguise Tools.
I rummaged through the drawer containing the tools and pulled out a pair of Glasses.
“Will these Glasses work?”
“What nobles normally recognize about Sedrian is probably the imperial regalia you wear.”
“Then….”
“Dress shabbily.”
Shortly after, I was wearing Glasses, my hair pulled back tightly, and dressed in shabby attire.
The Crown Prince himself had disheveled hair, wore Glasses, and was dressed just as shabbily, yet he spoke with some reluctance.
“Won’t clothes like this stand out?”
“You’ll blend right in there….”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
They’d probably take us for a couple of shabby scholars passing through.
“But there’s one problem.”
I’d actually been thinking I should enter the Tower of Stars myself and had asked Ratel about it, only to receive a shocking answer.
“That… the Tower of Stars has an oath placed upon it by the Previous Emperor….”
“An oath?”
“Only… those with a Master’s Degree or higher… may enter. Otherwise, your body gets repelled….”
“What? Only Master’s Degree holders can enter? How is such a thing possible?”
“To guarantee… scholars’ autonomy….”
“That’s remarkably elitist!”
“I agree completely.”
I was taken aback after hearing what Ratel said. Sedrick chimed in agreement with him.
“I don’t have a Master’s Degree, let alone a Bachelor’s Degree. Can you possibly break that oath, Sedrian?”
“No, I can’t break an oath either.”
“Then how do we get in?”
“Why couldn’t we get in?”
The Crown Prince looked at me with an expression of bewilderment.
“Obtaining a Master’s Degree is quite easy.”
“Surely you don’t mean that you’re that capable and intelligent, do you?”
“No, that’s not it… Just come with me for now.”
We boarded a carriage and traveled in the direction of the Tower of Stars.
I was puzzled about how I could possibly access that place without a degree, when the carriage stopped in front of a building.

Roden University? It wasn’t exactly a prestigious institution, but it was respectable enough that you’d hear its name mentioned in the Empire.
With his hood pulled over his face, the Crown Prince brushed past me and entered a building marked .
And then…
“I’d like to obtain a Master’s Degree.”
“Which field interests you?”
Unbelievably, a list of degree programs appeared before us.
-Global Self-Development Studies
-Applied Aristocratic Leadership Studies
-Essay Cover Design Studies
-Eco-Green Smart Energy Literature
…
“…What is all this?”
“As long as you have a degree, you can enter. Normally it takes sixteen weeks for a standard course if you pay the tuition, but if you pay five times as much, you can finish in sixteen minutes.”
……
So there’s an institution peddling degrees here too. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I’ll go with Goldfish Food Management Studies. What about you, Odret?”
“…I would like Cactus Spine Evasion Studies, please.”

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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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