How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 34

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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 Small-Scale Guild
Chapter 34
“…Why do you look so exhausted?”
“It’s nothing, really….”
I sat across from the Crown Prince, who had come to receive an intelligence briefing, my face blank and vacant. I had no composure left for propriety. The revelation had been too much.
‘The Seer is Park Geo-sung….’
Not some eighteen-year-old Korean high school girl, nor a working woman with no family or friends whose only hobby after clocking out was reading romance fantasy novels, nor someone struck by some unforeseen accident….
A president of a micro-enterprise with fewer than five employees—Park Geo-sung!
What in the world had gone wrong with this reality? There’s nothing mysterious about it! It doesn’t feel like a romance fantasy at all! There’s no tension whatsoever!
The Temple no longer seemed venerable or impressive to me. It just looked like a mad, exploitative mess.
‘So that’s why….’
It made sense now why the Temple had a suspiciously corporate-abuse feel to it. If they’d adopted Park Geo-sung’s essay as doctrine….
Roughly speaking, the essay was the kind of thing that inflated oneself to grandiose proportions while justifying one’s improper conduct.
“It seems Temple work has been draining you,” the Crown Prince said.
“I… beg your pardon?”
“Ahem—it’s nothing.”
As I looked up at the Crown Prince, still dazed, he hesitated before speaking.
“June third approaches. You’re aware that the Temple holds a festival every year on this day, aren’t you?”
“Oh, the Saint Great Festival, wasn’t it? That’s right?”
“Indeed.”
The Temple held the Saint Great Festival every year on June third.
Originally it must have held some profound meaning, but I couldn’t say I cared about that—it had simply become a day of leisure, like Christmas in my old world. Thanks to it, we’d gained a public holiday.
“Various events are held in the Temple Courtyard to commemorate the Saint Great Festival. I was hoping you might accompany me.”
“Is there something to investigate there?”
“Yes. I wish to confirm whether any suspicious activities occur.”
“Ah, but I entered as a novice priestess, so there are people who know my face….”
“Don’t worry. At the Saint Great Festival, masks are worn for amusement.”
“Oh, that’s perfect!”
“I wish to confirm whether the Temple might be engaging in suspicious behavior under cover of the festival.”
“Yes, I’ll help you with this, Crown Prince.”
“As I thought… you also harbor hatred for the Temple….”
“Yes? Of course—I even swore an oath about it last time.”
Why was the Crown Prince looking at me with such pitying eyes?
It left me somewhat uneasy, but I spoke.
“Then I’ll prepare myself until that day.”
***
The day of the Saint Great Festival finally arrived. With a holiday come after so long, the streets buzzed with energy. The festive atmosphere hung thick, and somewhere, joyful music drifted through the air.
As I gazed with interest at the many green decorations that symbolized the Saint Great celebration, the Crown Prince appeared on horseback. With his help, I mounted.
All of us wore green masks adorned to match the Saint Great Festival.
The broad square before the Temple, reached on horseback, was dotted with several tents, and an enormous decorated structure stood at its center. Nearby townspeople had already gathered in the plaza and were enjoying the festivities.
Fortunately, there were quite a few others in masks besides us, so we wouldn’t stand out.
“Oh.”
Seeing a festival of this world for the first time, I marveled aloud as the Crown Prince helped me dismount from the horse.
“Actually, Crown Prince, just in case—please call me Ode.”
“As you wish.”
The Temple’s priests had come outside to oversee the festivities. From what I’d heard at the Temple before, the lower-ranking priests manage the festival.
“Everyone, let us celebrate together in the spirit of Saint Great!”
We drew naturally into a tent to blend in with the crowd. There, an ordinary game was taking place—popping balloons and receiving dolls as prizes.
“Would you like to try?”
“…Very well.”
The Crown Prince, having paid and received an arrow, took aim at the balloons.
He hurled arrows at the balloons. Pop—pop—pop—they burst in rapid succession.
…But wasn’t he popping them suspiciously well?
Apparently conscious of it himself, the Crown Prince deliberately left about two unpopped at the end. Regardless, his score was excellent, and he received a doll as a prize.
“…It would look odd if I carried this away. Ode, would you take it?”
“Oh, of course.”
I accepted the doll from him. This is strange—in a proper romance fantasy, this should have some romantic overtone….
Unfortunately, the doll he’d given me was utterly unattractive. How shall I put it—it had the feel of a locally-made mascot, forced and awkward. I took the doll self-consciously and let out a hollow laugh.
“Where shall we go next?”
“Toward where the priests are stationed.”
The priests had gathered where the crowds were thickest. Peering through the throng, I realized they were reading fortunes for people today. But the Temple does this too?
“The Temple reads fortunes? …Ah, I suppose it does.”
“Indeed. The Temple regards the act of earning money as a virtuous thing.”
So thoroughly capitalistic—and distinctly Korean about it.
Soon, our turn came in the queue. We took our seats before one of the priests.
Fortunately, it was a priest I’d never met before. There was no risk of him recognizing me by voice.
“Which fortune would you like to see? Business Fortune, Love Fortune, Work Blessing, Moving Fortune, Enterprise Fortune…?”
“Business Fortune.”
“Business Fortune.”
Remarkably, the Crown Prince gave the same answer at the exact same moment I did. I turned to look at him with a puzzled expression. Though, come to think of it, running a nation could be considered a form of business.
“Then let me begin with you first—”
“No. Read Ode’s fortune instead. Ode’s business fortune and my own are intimately connected, are they not?”
Ah, he meant the development of my Information Guild? Grateful for his consideration, I readily asked to hear my business fortune.
“I’m the president of the company, so I’d like to see my business fortune.”
“Very well, let me examine it for you.”
The priest drew something like a Tarot Card and began explaining my business fortune.
“Ah, there is a Noble Person in your company. Thanks to this Noble Person, your company will flourish greatly in the days ahead.”
“What? A Noble Person? Who?”
For some reason, I heard the Crown Prince swallow hard beside me. That’s when it dawned on me.
“Oh! I’m the Noble Person!”
Of course—I’m a member of the company! There couldn’t be anyone else who qualified!
I felt both the Crown Prince and the priest looking at me with strange expressions, but I merely shrugged.
“I suppose I am the Noble Person.”
“…In any case, the company will grow, and there is much Work Blessing upon it.”
“Oh, abundant Work Blessing—that’s wonderful.”
“…Mm.”
The Crown Prince seemed to swallow something, but I listened intently to what the priest said. Essentially, things would go well from here on.
Just as we were about to leave, the priest stopped us.
“Don’t you wish to have your fortune read as well, sir?”
“Would you like to see your Business Fortune too?”
“No, I—”
The Crown Prince hesitated before speaking.
“Let me see my Love Fortune instead.”
Has he already met the original heroine? It’s too early for that, but has he become interested?
As the Crown Prince drew a card, the priest’s eyes widened. He exclaimed with wonder.
“Oh, your Love Fortune is imminent! It appears that you will come to love your partner before they love you!”
“Who on earth could it be…?”
“I cannot say, but your partner’s aura is remarkably strong. They are likely someone above you in station.”
Is the original heroine’s aura really that powerful? So it truly is a work centered on the protagonist.

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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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