How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 6

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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-Scale Guild
Chapter 6
An hour later, I stood at the Temple West Gate exactly as the man had instructed.
From Susanna, I’d learned his name was Charles and that he served as a mid-ranking priest at the Temple.
“Good morning, Priest Charles.”
“Follow me.”
Charles didn’t even glance my way as he stepped through the gate. I trailed behind him into the Temple.
‘So this is the Temple….’
Priests in their robes moved about inside. At first glance, it seemed ordinary enough.
Of course, in the original work it was described as a den of all manner of wickedness—money laundering, embezzlement, drug trafficking, extortion, arms smuggling.
Following the man deeper in, we arrived at a dimly lit room. The oppressive atmosphere made me shrink back instinctively.
“Priest Charles…?”
“There it is again. That insolent look in your eyes.”
He locked eyes with me, his expression darkening.
“You’re just a subcontractor, and you strut around like you’re someone? If it bothers you so much, you should’ve studied harder and gotten a job at a proper company!”
What nonsense was this? Was he really saying people who don’t work for megacorporations deserve contempt? And that those at small companies must not have worked hard enough?
I clenched my teeth, thinking of Park Geo-seong and his company. Some people took jobs at small firms because circumstances forced them to; others because they genuinely chose to.
Besides, whether you worked at a megacorp or a small outfit, the talent pool wasn’t that different. Just watching how this mid-ranking priest Charles conducted himself, I doubted megacorps actually employed smarter people.
“Odelet, we made a promise last time. If you caused us trouble, there would be a price to pay.”
“Yes.”
Was he going to slash my salary? Or maybe beat me?
I tensed, wondering what the original Odelet had endured, when Charles suddenly piled a massive stack of papers in front of me—easily several hundred pages.
“These are all the dispatch requests that came into the Temple. Every single one was rejected. I want you to fill in the reasons for rejection yourself.”
“……?”
“You won’t be clocking out until this work is finished. Keep that in mind.”
In other romance fantasy novels, temples usually just beat people up, conducted human experiments, or used fantastical powers on them.
‘Damn, that would’ve been better.’
Unfortunately, what lay before me was a mountain of work that seemed absolutely endless.
With a grim expression, I picked up a quill pen. My overtime ordeal had begun.
***
“You’re here, Manager Odelet?”
The Enthusiast Villain Manager greeted me with a smarmy grin. I bit back the rage that threatened to burst from my throat.
Last night, I’d clocked out at five in the morning.
That’s right—I’d ‘clocked out’ at five in the morning….
And now at nine o’clock, I was back at the Guild. I’d stripped down for a shower at home and dozed off for a moment, and by then it was already time to come in.
‘True awakening, you bastards.’
My approach to this world had transformed completely.
Escaping the original plot and living like an ordinary citizen? Sticking to the original protagonist’s side?
All wrong. Now I was seized with an active, deliberate desire to crush the Temple with my own hands.
‘The original Odelet was so pitiful!’
They drove that young office worker to death through overwork—they all deserve to pay with their lives.
‘Tear it all down.’
My eyes hardened as I looked at the Guild.
From now on, I was going to devour this entire Guild.
And together with the Crown Prince, I’d destroy the Temple too.
“Oh, Manager Odelet!”
The Manager spoke in a bright tone, oblivious to my true intentions.
“We’re supposedly an information guild, so shouldn’t we build an information network? If we conduct a full audit of all the mercenaries in the Capital, catalog their rates and main job requests, it’d be huge. What do you think? Let’s start today!”
Watching him, I ground my teeth.
Here’s what defines an Enthusiast Villain:
On the surface, his suggestions sound plausible and genuinely beneficial to the company.
But here’s the critical issue: is it even feasible? Who’s actually going to do it?
He brings impossible tasks that we don’t have the resources to complete, then leaves me struggling, getting nowhere, while accomplishing nothing.
Meanwhile, he takes three-hour smoke breaks, then swoops in and takes credit for whatever I’ve actually accomplished.
“That’s a wonderful idea, Manager. Have you decided on the budget and implementation plan?”
“Ha ha, I’m saving that opportunity for you, Manager Odelet! You need to build some merit in this Guild too, don’t you think?”
“Now that I mention it, I heard Susanna’s been wanting to contribute more lately. Isn’t that right, Susanna?”
“Yes, yes?”
Susanna, who’d been glancing over at us, lifted her head with an ominous expression.
“Manager Susanna? But Manager Susanna always leaves on time.”
“Lately you’ve been wanting to work overtime, haven’t you, Susanna?”
“W-well, y-yes, that’s right…. I’ll handle it….”
After successfully dumping the work on Susanna, I quickly settled into my seat.
‘I need to deal with the Manager Deputy soon.’
Since he’d made me work through the night at the Temple, my first priority was that Enthusiast Villain.
Finding the weakness of a type like him wasn’t difficult. Once I had his weakness in hand, then….
“Oh, Odelet! A customer came by! Ha ha ha!”
“Yes, I see.”
Following the Manager Deputy’s alert, I quickly made my way to the Reception Room. As I’d arranged beforehand, the Crown Prince had arrived.
When I entered the Reception Room, a man was still sitting there with his hood drawn over his face. He spoke.
“Have you found out who’s behind it?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve uncovered it.”
I clenched my fist for a moment, and then finally the words spilled from my lips.
“The one behind the Fake Sacred Relic is the Temple itself.”
“…What?”
The Crown Prince’s gaze wavered. He seemed more surprised than I’d expected—had he truly not suspected?
Undeterred, I handed him the evidence I’d prepared in advance. Having already known the answer, finding proof hadn’t been difficult.
“Really….”
The Crown Prince’s voice trembled as he read through the evidence.
“Why would they…?”
“Is the request fulfilled now?”
“Yes, the request is complete, but….”
Before the Crown Prince could say more, I moved first.
“Then I’m calling in my favor.”
“A favor?”
“You said that if I succeeded in this request, you’d grant me one favor. You said you had the power to do so.”
“That’s true, but….”
There was no room for further hesitation.
After that night of grueling overtime at the Temple, my resolve had transformed completely.
“I ask that you employ me as a double agent within the Temple, Your Highness.”
“……!”
Clearly he’d never expected me to know his true identity, and the Crown Prince shot to his feet.
He reached for the sword at his hip, but I continued speaking.
“You needn’t suspect me. I’ve chosen to stand with you now. If you doubt me, you’re welcome to use your Ability.”
I spoke, calling to mind the Ability the Imperial Family had inherited through generations.
The Crown Prince stood there a moment longer, then sat back down and removed his hood.
Beneath the hood, black hair and cool gray eyes were revealed. The moment I saw his face, I was struck by how striking his features were—a sharp-edged cold beauty. He seemed to be the most handsome person I’d seen in this world.
But wait, this is no time to be admiring a man’s face.
“How did you figure it out?”
The Crown Prince’s voice came with a note of caution, and I answered composedly.
“After resolving the request concerning Lady Calibard, I deduced it myself. I wondered whom exactly she had helped in that place. And as I understand it, there was someone who at that time fell victim to a plot, drank poison in the forest, and lost consciousness.”
“…….”
“That’s how I came to know that Your Highness was the client.”
“So you’d already known about that plot….”
“As you know, our Guild is a subcontractor to the Temple.”
Of course, a subcontractor wouldn’t normally have access to such sensitive information, but I pressed on boldly.
“I had an opportunity to visit the Temple recently, and it was then that I learned the Temple was plotting against Your Highness. And I resolved to stand with you.”
“But why?”
The Crown Prince still asked, bewildered.
“I didn’t expect the Temple’s faction to offer cooperation like this. Are you planning to use me?”
“Your Highness. I hold a deeper grudge against the Temple than anyone.”
It was the truth.
“Using you is, to some extent, accurate. Because I want to take revenge on the Temple. I want to watch it crumble.”
“…….”
“If you don’t trust me, you’re welcome to use your Ability. The Imperial Family’s inheritance of the Oath Ability through the generations is something every child in the empire knows.”

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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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