How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 49

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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 Guild
Chapter 49
The moment he shouted, we all leapt from our seats.
“Run!”
“Damn it, we’ve been spotted!”
We bolted toward the Reception Room entrance. The Hartfields gave chase but couldn’t catch us.
But the second we stepped outside, we heard the Count’s voice and found ourselves face to face with guards pouring in.
“Follow me!”
Fortunately, Racal, being a mercenary, led us from the front. We’d tried for the entrance when—
“This way!”
More guards flooded the Mansion’s main entrance, so we had no choice but to dash for the stairs leading to the second floor.
“Eek, what is this?!”
Susanna yelped in exasperation without breaking stride, while Sedric covered our rear.
The maids on the second-floor corridor screamed and scattered as we thundered past.
Damn it, how do we get out of here? Jump through a second-story window all at once?
Even as I ran after Racal’s lead, my mind was racing, when he suddenly threw open a door. Thankfully it was empty, and the moment we were all inside, Sedric and Racal slammed it shut and locked it.
“If they pick the lock, it’s over! Barricade it, quick!”
At Sedric’s shout, Racal grabbed a rod-like object from the corner of the room, and they wedged it firmly through the door handle, sealing it shut.
“Phew….”
I caught my breath, but the situation was dire. We were trapped like rats in a barrel.
“You’ve got nowhere to run! Open this door, now!”
“Get some tools!”
We could hear them shouting outside. I struggled to mask my anxiety and piece together what was happening. Let me listen to what the guards and the Count are saying to each other.
“Count Hartfield, what should we do?”
“No choice—kill them all and dispose of the evidence!”
“But if this gets reported….”
“What are you saying? The whole house will be ruined if we slip up!”
“I’ve never killed anyone before….”
“But what evidence needs covering? They’re just intruders, aren’t they?”
“Tch, you idiots!”
Fortunately, the guards didn’t fully understand what had happened, and they seemed reluctant about harming us.
“What do we do?”
I turned to Racal with that question, and he bit his lip hard before answering.
“I have only one sword to my name. It’s impossible for me to protect all of you while taking on so many guards alone.”
“Should we jump out of here?”
But unfortunately, the window in this room was too small for a person to squeeze through.
Besides, unlike a romance novel heroine, I was just an ordinary person with no fighting ability, and if I jumped from the second floor, I’d at least break a leg.
“What if we pretend to surrender? I’m not confident in my ability to fight.”
“I agree. Better to fake it and look for an opening….”
Susanna and Morian spoke with grim expressions. After a brief moment of thought, I offered my opinion.
“What if we just hold out here? If we wait for outside….”
Just then, the door crashed inward with a bang. Sedric pushed me back and stood in front of the door.
“Damn it! We’d better pretend to surrender first!”
The moment he said that, the door burst completely open. The guards pointed their swords at us.
“We surrender. Please spare our lives.”
Before I could say anything, Sedric spoke first. I signaled him to back away, worried for him, but Sedric stood alone at the front, keeping us behind him.
“As you say, my lord.”
“Should we turn them over to the guard garrison?”
“No, absolutely not! You fools!”
Count Hartfield slapped his own chest repeatedly, then pushed through the guards and approached us.
“Damn it, it’s too risky to dispose of them now…. I suppose there’s no help for it. Listen—we can spare your lives.”
“Yes, we’ll never breathe a word—”
“But we need insurance.”
Count Hartfield grinned at us, baring his teeth.
“You’re going to become our accomplices.”
……!
We were bound with rope by the guards and dragged down into the dark Basement.
And since Count Hartfield had even taken our Identification Badges, he now knew our names as well.
Racal looked anxiously at Count Hartfield and asked a question.
“Is Orion all right?”
“That’s right, he’s still breathing, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Orion needs to take his medicine! If you would only release him…!”
“If you enter into a proper contract with us, there’s no reason I couldn’t let him go.”
Count Hartfield smiled with vulgar amusement as he addressed us, bound and forced into chairs. The Countess watched us from behind with anxious eyes.
“You won’t report this, yes?”
“No, sir. Our lives matter too.”
I spoke in a calm tone, and Hartfield’s gaze swept over us appraisingly.
“Where did you come from? That man over there must be from the Platinum Mercenary Company, and you’re all from there too?”
“…Yes. We’re all members of the Platinum Mercenary Company.”
I answered first, but Hartfield didn’t seem particularly interested in that detail.
“Damn it, if four people go missing in broad daylight like this and a report gets filed, it’s dangerous. If only His Majesty hadn’t reformed the administration of missing persons cases…!”
Hmm, the current Emperor certainly does his job well. He was quite different from the incompetent emperors in typical romance novels.
“I need collateral to ensure you can’t report this. For that to work, you’ll have to become accomplices.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Sign these contracts.”
Count Hartfield produced five contracts from nowhere and slid them toward us.
The contracts stated that we would assist in the transport of military supplies and collect a commission fee from the profits gained thereby. Hartfield had written each of our names on the contracts, learning them from our Identification Badges.
“Sign them. If you don’t, your guild master won’t fare well.”
“Tch….”
Racal’s face twisted with indignation.
But wait—couldn’t we just sign these and report later that we were coerced into it? Doesn’t that work in this world?
Then Hartfield added:
“A substantial sum will arrive in your bank vault today as well. With evidence of receiving the money and signatures on the contract, surely you wouldn’t think of reporting this?”
“Of course, once we sign, we won’t report anything.”
Sedric spoke in an even tone.
“In ordinary circumstances, no one would believe the word of mere commoners like us. Even if we claimed we were coerced, it would be pointless.”
Sedric was speaking to Hartfield, but I found myself drawing an idea from his words.
Wait—ordinary circumstances? But I’m the Crown Prince’s collaborator! If I mention that the Temple can be involved, the Crown Prince will be delighted and help me!
So I should just sign this. I dipped my finger in the ink pad first, showing the other guild members, and pressed my thumbprint onto the contract.
“There. Now let us go.”
The other guild members and Racal hesitated before following my lead. They seemed to think I had some kind of plan.
“Hmm, good. This gives us proof of complicity, but….”
Yet Hartfield was not a careless man.
“If you change your story later, that would be inconvenient, so I intend to leave one final, irrefutable piece of evidence.”
“……?”
“Yes, you’ll do nicely.”
Hartfield’s finger pointed at Sedric, and his gloved hand received something from the Countess—a bloodstained sword.
“The Traitor who stole the Miracle Token and fled is dead. You take this sword. Leave evidence that you killed him.”
“……!”
No—a murder charge? Sedric would never be able to escape that, no matter what.

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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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