How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 40

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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
Chapter 40
“The Platinum Mercenary Corps, is it….”
Heindel’s expression shifted.
“Why are you trying to approach them?”
“We’re looking for a strong mercenary guild capable of forming a cooperative relationship with our own.”
“But as for who the Platinum Mercenary Corps might choose to cooperate with… and getting entangled in politics for no good reason….”
“Politics?”
“Ah, no. I was just thinking of something else. In any case, there’s probably no way to approach the Platinum Mercenary Corps… wait.”
Heindel’s face brightened as if something had occurred to him.
“Actually, perhaps there is a way after all?”
“Please, tell me anything you can think of.”
“Yes. This is information I heard through the Red Rose Salon….”
Heindel began his account.
“Do you know anything of Bain?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know much about him.”
At that, Heindel’s gaze turned to Sedric. He cleared his throat and spoke.
“Guild master, Adrian Bain is a Retired Royal Knight Commander. He was once famous as the youngest knight commander, and he was a man of integrity and justice.”
“Precisely. That’s exactly as my employee Sedric has explained. In any case, what I’ve heard is that there’s been friction between Bain and the Platinum Mercenary Corps.”
“…Is that so?”
“It makes sense. A man of such high principles, coming from the knight order, would surely despise something like a mercenary corps.”
Sedric nodded in agreement from beside him. Heindel continued.
“So I recommend that you approach the Platinum Mercenary Corps by leveraging Bain. From what I’ve heard, Bain has publicly questioned the Platinum Mercenary Corps on multiple occasions, and they’ve come to bear ill will toward him in return.”
“Hmm….”
He doesn’t seem like a bad person, but he’s ruthlessly pragmatic when it comes to these matters.
“If you were to bring Bain’s weak points to the Platinum Mercenary Corps, they might come to trust Glob— your guild’s information power and form a cooperative relationship.”
“We changed the name to Arclight.”
“Ah, yes.”
After that conversation, I fell into thought.
Uncover Bain’s vulnerabilities and hand them over to the Platinum Mercenary Corps, he said….
***
Shortly after, Sedric and I stood before the Platinum Mercenary Corps’ building.
I’d decided we should try speaking with them directly first.
“Who are you?”
The moment we entered, a sharp voice came from a young man sitting at the entrance. I answered in a measured tone.
“We’ve come from the Arclight information guild.”
“Arclight? Where was that….”
“You know, that information guild that’s been advertising recently. The font on their posters was pretty nice.”
“Oh, that place.”
The man, having heard his colleague’s explanation, tilted his head with a skeptical expression and stared at us.
“So you came to dig up information?”
“No, no. We came to propose a cooperative relationship. We heard that the Platinum Mercenary Corps hasn’t yet formed a partnership with any information guild.”
I recited the information Sedric had provided beforehand, but the man’s expression remained unsatisfied.
“If we felt like it, we could find plenty of guilds willing to cooperate. We’ve already been flooded with proposals. The reason we haven’t accepted any is that all the other information guilds simply fall short of our standards.”
“Ah, I should introduce myself first. I am Odret Lavendel, guild master of Arclight.”
When I offered my courtesy despite his rudeness, the man looked me up and down, then opened his mouth.
“I’m standing in for the mercenary corps’ master. Call me Rakal.”
Though the man appeared younger than us, he showed no intimidation whatsoever and spoke with casual bluntness.
He looked to be in his late teens, yet he showed no fear when dealing with people.
“Yes, Rakal.”
“By the way, does your companion over there know how to use a sword? From his build and bearing, he looks like someone trained in swordsmanship.”
Rakal’s gaze fixed on Sedric. It seemed those from the knight order could always tell.
Wait—where exactly did Sedric learn swordsmanship? Isn’t he just a poor fresh graduate who came from some exploitative company?
“Yes, I’ve trained somewhat.”
After answering that way, Sedric leaned close and whispered to me in a low voice.
“I… learned it in the family business.”
“Why would they teach you something like that? And swordsmanship must be expensive and difficult to learn, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, there was a belief that the body needed to be strong….”
“That really is a strange company.”
“Anyway, we don’t need partners. So why don’t you head on out—”
“Hey, Rakal. Has Bain come again?”
“Bain?”
Rakal’s expression shifted abruptly mid-sentence. He broke off our conversation, his face darkening with discomfort as he excused himself and moved away.
“It appears Bain has taken to visiting the Platinum Mercenary Corps rather frequently, much to our irritation.”
Sedric observed.
“Master of the guild, couldn’t we use Bain as leverage to forge a Cooperative Relationship with the Platinum Mercenary Corps?”
“Well, we should follow along for now.”
We headed toward where Rakal had vanished.
Before long, I caught sight of Rakal locked in what appeared to be a heated dispute with a man.
‘Is that Bain?’
The man appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties, with bright blonde hair and aristocratic features that seemed entirely at odds with a mercenary’s profession.
As Sedric and I emerged alongside Rakal, Bain glanced at us briefly but pressed on with his words.
“This makes no sense. The sender of that letter must surely be here somewhere.”
“That’s precisely what we know nothing about.”
As I listened to their exchange, something felt off.
‘This doesn’t look like an act—they’re genuinely fighting.’
According to the information I’d gathered from the original work, Bain was the owner of the Platinum Mercenary Corps.
So when I’d heard whispers of friction between the corps and Bain recently, I’d assumed it was theater—a carefully maintained distance to conceal his true position.
I’d thought Bain was deliberately putting on a show of separation from the organization to keep his ownership hidden.
‘Could it be that at this point in time, he isn’t the owner yet?’
Then who is the true master of the Platinum Mercenary Corps? And how does Bain end up running it in the original narrative?
As I was turning this over in my mind, Rakal’s eyes landed on me, and he extended a finger pointing directly at me.
“Right! The information guild! If you take your questions there instead of pestering us, you’ll get your answers!”
“Well, that’s—”
“I’m not sure what the matter is, but I suspect I might be of assistance. I am Odret Lavendel, guildmaster of the Arclight information guild.”
As I seized the opportunity to introduce the guild, Bain’s lips parted as if to protest, then he exhaled slowly.
“I’d rather not broadcast this affair.”
“Bain, harassing us won’t solve anything.”
Bain exchanged a few words with Rakal, then turned his attention to me.
“You said you run an information guild. Can you truly uncover anything?”
“Yes, of course. That’s what we do.”
Sedric, who had by now positioned himself at my shoulder, nodded in agreement with my assertion.
At last, words began to flow from Bain’s mouth.
“Very well. I happen to be in need of assistance. But this matter must be kept in absolute confidence.”
“Our guild always protects our clients’ secrets.”
“Understood. Let us move somewhere more private to discuss this.”
Rakal was so relieved to be rid of his troublesome visitor that he even furnished us with a private room. His expression screamed gratitude at being freed from Bain’s pestering.
“My request is simple: I need to find the recipient of a letter.”
Bain’s story began to unfold.
“I had a beloved whom I lost to illness some ten years ago.”
At this, Sedric leaned close to my ear and whispered softly.
“It’s a well-known tale. Bain, who was once a commander of the Royal Knight Order, withdrew from active service after his beloved died of disease.”
The more I listened, the more it seemed Sedric possessed far more information than a mere guildmaster should—certainly more than I myself possessed.
“I discovered traces of a letter my beloved had been trying to send to someone. I wish to find the recipient of that letter.”
“The recipient… Do you have the letter with you?”
Bain then pressed a faded letter into my hands. The years had caused the ink to blur and portions to tear away, making the original text illegible, but the fragments I could make out read as follows:
-I’ve always been grateful to you.
-Please keep this secret for me.
-We’ll meet again eventually, I’m sure of it.
“Perhaps it was another man—”
I quickly pressed my hand over Sedric’s mouth before he could finish his foolish remark.
He seemed about to suggest that Bain’s beloved had another man in her life, but that was obviously the wrong conclusion.
‘Destiny and love in romance novels are eternal!’
For Bain to have separated from his beloved, theirs must have been a fated love destined to wring tears from every reader’s eyes.
There was no way this letter was intended for some hidden lover.

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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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