How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 56

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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 Small but Decent Guild
Chapter 56
6. The Temple’s Grand Conspiracy Turns Out to Be Neither Immortality nor Resurrection, but Rather a Pot-Bellied, Stubborn Middle-Aged Man Named Park Geoseong
“Hehehehe….”
“Master, why are you laughing like you’re orchestrating some hidden conspiracy as you make your entrance?”
Susanna regarded me with a suspicious look.
“Susanna, surely you’re not slandering the Master too much?”
“That’s only because you haven’t seen it yet, Morian! You have no idea how terrifying our Master is…!”
“However, Sedrick appears remarkably composed.”
“That’s just how Sedrick is….”
“Ah, understood.”
After observing Susanna and Morian exchanging whispers and catching Sedrick gazing at me with an expression of trust, I spoke up.
“Our guild has received good news.”
“What is it? Surely you’re not about to say we’ve gotten more work?”
“That can’t be….”
“Are you perhaps using an Appearance Transformation Ring to evade audits and work overtime?”
“No, no. Sedrick, I was only joking last time, I swear.”
Damn. That joke I made before really was inappropriate for a guild master, wasn’t it?
At last, I swallowed hard and cried out.
“The Platinum Mercenary Corps has paid us an additional fee for resolving the Hatfield Marquis Case! Therefore, I will be distributing a performance bonus to everyone!”
“A performance bonus?”
“Money?”
Susanna’s and Morian’s eyes lit up instantly. I nodded and announced with unmistakable pride.
“It’s a real performance bonus!”
“Wow, long live Master Odret!”
“Maybe we’ll finally escape this tomb-view apartment….”
Why does Sedrick look so pleased?
“Sedrick, you’re happy too, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I was able to witness the guild master’s righteous character in sharing the compensation she received.”
“…Right. Well, I’ll distribute the bonuses right away today.”
“I thought performance bonuses were just a legend! Everyone else at other companies gets them, but I was starting to suspect you were all pranking me together, you know?”
“Susanna, we have received performance bonuses from the previous guild master before.”
“Oh, that? When our salary was 2.308 million pesos, they tacked on 2,000 pesos and called it a bonus, bringing it to 2.31 million?”
“To be honest, I think they just threw in the change because they couldn’t be bothered with the accounting.”
In any case, the news that we would finally receive something called a performance bonus brought a flush of joy to everyone’s faces.
“Yay! I can buy a new Small Phonograph!”
Susanna really does consistently love working while listening to that Small Phonograph, doesn’t she….
“I’m not sure how much the bonus will be, but I intend to save mine. I want to move to a better house.”
“Of course….”
Damn, just thinking about Morian’s living situation makes me want to cry.
“What about you, Sedrick?”
At that question, he looked flustered, as though he’d never given it any thought. Then he stammered.
“D-donation?”
At those words, our gazes snapped toward Sedrick in unison.
Wait, there’s actually an employee who receives a performance bonus and donates it?
“There are people in far more difficult circumstances than myself, and I would like to donate to help them.”
“My goodness, I can’t believe such a good person works at our guild.”
“Susanna, what do you mean by that?”
“Oh, that was a slip of the tongue!”
After applauding Sedrick’s sense of justice, I distributed the performance bonuses in envelopes to everyone.
“It’s more than I expected….”
Everyone’s faces lit up with emotion as they clutched their bonus envelopes tightly. Hehe, I feel quite proud as a guild master.
***
“I was happy to eat Flambéed Rosé Cream Pasta after so long!”
“Mm, it was my first time, but it suited my palate perfectly.”
It turned out to be exactly the kind of food that suited a Korean’s taste, which made my earlier skepticism about Susanna’s dining habits seem misplaced.
“But Sedrick seemed to have a hard time eating it because it was so spicy….”
“It’s so unjustly fiery that it’s strange it hasn’t been banned from sale.”
“…If you don’t want to be reported for workplace harassment, you’d better not eat this next time.”
After finishing our meal and buying a cup of coffee, we returned to the guild building.
“My bag… oh, I left it in the guest parlor when I was cleaning earlier.”
Susanna disappeared into the guest reception room. A moment later, her voice drifted back to us.
“Oh no, my money!”
“Your money?”
“My Performance Bonus is missing!”
Susanna reappeared in the office clutching her bag, her face fallen. Yet it made no sense—we’d locked the Guild when we left. No one could have gotten in.
“Could you have left it somewhere else?” I offered.
At our casual response, Susanna tore through her bag, her clothing pockets, and even her desk drawer with methodical desperation.
We checked our own Performance Bonuses just to be sure, but every other Guild member’s envelope was untouched.
“Noooo! My Performance Bonus!”
Susanna truly couldn’t find it anywhere. How on earth had this happened?
“Could there have been a thief? I don’t understand why only your money was taken, but…”
“But we locked the office perfectly before we left. The key is with the Guild Master, and we all ate together.”
“…It probably wasn’t locked perfectly.”
Just then, Sedrick, who had been observing the situation, spoke up.
“The lock on the guest parlor door is relatively flimsy.”
Sedrick examined the parlor door’s locking mechanism.
“Anyone with something pointed could break into this lock without much trouble.”
“This can’t be happening…”
“So who broke into the parlor and stole my Performance Bonus?”
At least the office lock had held. That was a mercy—there was sensitive information stored there.
If only Susanna hadn’t forgotten her bag in the parlor, the thief would have found nothing but coffee and tea bags.
As we stood there in shock, a bell chimed to announce a visitor in the parlor.
“We don’t have any scheduled appointments today… I’ll go. Since you seem well-versed in these matters, Sedrick, would you investigate the theft?”
Leaving Sedrick to handle the office, I headed alone to the parlor.
I nearly cried out, but managed to contain myself.
‘This can’t be real!’
I recognized her immediately.
A noblewoman in an unmistakably expensive dress stood in the parlor.
She had ordinary brown hair and brown eyes—clearly the result of an Appearance Transformation item meant to conceal her true identity.
There was a beauty mark beneath her eye, and despite never meeting her before, something about her face felt achingly familiar. Because I had seen this face…
‘On the book cover.’
That was it. She was the female protagonist of this world, the one destined for the Crown Prince Sedrian—the Kalired Duchess!
‘The Kalired Duchess came to our Guild?’
Why were two impossible things happening today? A thief on one end, and the Kalired Duchess walking through our door on the other.
The Kalired Duchess naturally had golden hair and green eyes. The fact that she’d concealed her appearance meant she wanted her identity hidden.
“Welcome, guest. I’m Odret, Guild Master of Acrylite.”
I bowed politely, pretending not to have recognized her.
“Please, make yourself comfortable. We have coffee or tea—would either suit you?”
Knowing she was a beloved daughter of that formidable ducal house and an overpowered protagonist, I found myself tensing more than usual.
The Kalired Duchess answered softly.
“Black tea, please.”
“Of course.”
Once I’d poured her tea and set it on the table, the conversation truly began.
“You seem to be nobility. May I ask your station? If you’d prefer not to disclose it, that’s perfectly fine.”
“Well…”
As the original protagonist, her thoughts were unreadable.
“Eventually you’ll know who I am once the commission begins anyway… So before that, I’d like to ask you something.”
“Yes?”
“Can you figure out who I am?”
Ah, so she wanted to test our abilities. But this was far too simple. I already knew.
“Of course, Kalired Duchess.”
“…I’ve heard you’re capable, but how?”
At her slight frown, I continued.
“The dress you’re wearing bears the emblem of the Music Salon. Recently, the Music Salon has become quite fashionable, making commissions difficult to fulfill. Yet all the fabrics and jewels are of the highest quality… If someone possessed that degree of influence and was a noblewoman your age, the Kalired Duchess came to mind.”
“…You’re as impressive as I’ve heard.”
The Music Salon was one of our partner businesses. Not because I recognized her face, but simply from the dress itself, I could deduce her identity.
“That’s right. I’m the Kalired Duchess.”
At last, she—the original protagonist—revealed her true self. When she removed the Earring from her ear, brilliant golden hair and emerald eyes were exposed.
“As you likely know, I’m an adopted daughter.”
“…….”
“My request is this: find the Kalired Duke’s House’s true daughter, the one they lost.”
“……!”

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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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