How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 80

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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 80
“Does anyone want to investigate why the songbirds have abandoned their nests?”
Without thinking twice, I thrust my hand up.
“I’ll do it!”
I’d instinctively grasped that protecting Sedrian meant I had to step forward myself.
“That would be….”
Everyone, Matthias included, turned their gaze toward me.
“I’m Odret Lavendel, newly promoted to Intermediate Priest—and I’m also the guild master of Arclight, a subcontracted information guild.”
“An information guild master, then. That fits perfectly.”
Matthias nodded with evident satisfaction.
“And newly promoted to Intermediate Priest, no less—you’ll have plenty of zeal for this.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll take it on.”
“Good. We’ll have you handle this, Intermediate Priest Odret. If needed, you can call on other Intermediate or Junior Priests for support.”
“Understood.”
I said it, but I had no intention of asking them for help.
At the same time, unease began to creep through me.
‘How can I keep the Crown Prince safe without raising suspicion at the Temple?’
This was serious. I’d hastily taken on the mission, but I had no idea what to do about it….
***
“Sedrian….”
When the Crown Prince came to see me after such a long while, I eventually laid everything bare to him.
“So I’ve been tasked with investigating your whereabouts.”
I’d brought it up hoping he might help me fabricate a plausible account, but his expression grew even more serious than mine.
“Then what happens to you if you fail this mission?”
“I suppose my promotion would be delayed….”
I downplayed the disciplinary aspects to spare him worry, but his face remained troubled.
He looked like someone convinced I’d face severe punishment if I failed.
“Odret, I… No, never mind.”
Why did he break off like that? Did he think speaking his mind would fall on deaf ears, as it weren’t worth the effort?
As I stared at him with anxious eyes, he seemed to reach some resolve and took my hand in his. I was a little startled by how openly he was acting, but I kept my face composed.
“Odret, don’t you remember? I swore an oath that I would keep any danger away from you.”
“But that….”
“So in this matter too, I’ll do everything I can for you.”
Having made that vow to himself, Sedrian offered up a solution.
“Then there’s no way around it—I’ll have to fabricate that I was doing something else elsewhere. Of course, that will require airtight evidence.”
“Do you have a direction in mind?”
“Somewhere so insular that the truth can’t be clearly verified, yet where my presence would be unremarkable.”
A familiar place came from his lips.
“The Tower of Stars.”
“Of course! You have a Master’s Degree in Goldfish Feed Management, after all!”
“Exactly.”
So what Sedrian was suggesting was that we make it look like he’d been undertaking important work at the Tower of Stars.
“We’ll have someone inside the Tower help us falsify the entry logs and plant credible witnesses—making it appear I was conducting work there.”
“Work, you say….”
“If it’s something related to military matters, it’ll seem natural. Or perhaps something concerning the empire’s criminal issues.”
Two figures immediately came to mind.
“Ratel and Luna Moor!”
Ratel, the scholar who’d commissioned our guild to investigate who’d leaked his thesis, specialized in military science.
And Luna Moor, whom we’d met several times when we went to the Tower of Stars, specialized in criminal investigation.
“I think it would be good to ask for their cooperation.”
“For that, though, we’d need to offer them something appealing enough….”
“Let’s go find them and see what we can work out.”
And so we decided to head to the Tower of Stars.
***
“What?”
The moment we arrived, Luna Moor’s expression soured.
“Cactus Spine Evasion Studies? You thought I’d acknowledge some degree like that?”
“…I actually have a Master’s Degree in Goldfish Feed Management.”
“There’s no difference!”
Since the Crown Prince was dressed in shabby clothes and his identity concealed, Luna Moor failed to recognize him—and cried out in alarm.
Hmm, this is problematic if he reveals himself like this.
“Might I trouble you to read your Master’s thesis once more, Ms. Moor?”
“Ack! …Enough with that. Get to the point.”
Luna Moor became instantly compliant, and we broached the true subject.
“We need documentation that we conducted joint research together inside the Tower of Stars.”
“What are you talking about? So you want to fabricate research? I understand the sanctity of scholarship better than anyone, and I absolutely will not cooperate in such a thing.”
Luna Moor made a face of disgust. It was precisely the reaction I’d anticipated.
The critical thing was to make use of both Ratel and Luna Moor somehow….
The plan was to fabricate false evidence that the Crown Prince had been conducting joint research with them while keeping his identity hidden, then present it to the Temple as if I’d uncovered it myself.
That way, the Crown Prince would be protected, and I could avoid punishment from the Temple.
“…But Sedrian, where exactly have you been all this time?”
I whispered the question softly, but Sedrian did not answer.
“That’s classified….”
“Ah, yes.”
So now even I have secrets kept from me. Rather annoying. But it’s probably related to the original heroine, isn’t it? I suppose I can accept the inevitable.
“Ms. Moor, have you any troubles lately? We’d be happy to resolve them for you.”
I lowered my posture and approached her first to gain her favor, but Luna Moor remained unmoved as expected.
“Do I look like I’d fall for something so obvious?”
Should I try contacting Ratel first instead? After all, we’d resolved a commission for him, and we were in a position of indebtedness….
“Luna… hm?”
Just then, the laboratory door swung open, and a familiar scholar with ash-grey disheveled hair appeared.
Wondering if the two were truly close friends, it turned out Ratel had come looking for Luna Moor.
“You’re… I’ve seen you somewhere before….”
“The Guild Master of the Information Guild that was based in Arclight, whom you previously commissioned. Odret.”
“Ah… I thought your name was something different….”
“…It’s Arclight now.”
Fortunately, Ratel remembered me. He paid Sedrian beside me not the slightest attention and asked:
“What brings you here?”
“Well… we need some assistance.”
“What kind?”
“We need documentation of joint research.”
At those words, Ratel’s face also grew weary at once.
“Fabricated research for credentials—I’m sick of it….”
“No, no! I’m certain I can help you! And this isn’t fabrication for credentials!”
I pressed on with my persuasion.
“Truly, all we need is the documentation alone….”
“That’s familiar too….”
“Right, Ratel. Whatever their game is, they’ll just submit this record to some research institution and chase grants or credentials.”
There was no help for it. I had to deploy a trump card to convince them.
These were scholars. They burned with curiosity, and the moment research became available, they threw caution to the wind and rushed toward it.
“Tell me—have you never wondered about Supernatural Abilities?”
“Of course I have.”
Luna Moor, who had been dismissing us until now, spoke at bullet speed.
“Supernatural Abilities are mysterious forces whose principles remain scientifically unexplained. Ah, I’ve always wondered how this power might be applied! It could certainly be applicable to criminology! Or rather, the fields of application are endless!”
“Same here…. Especially if a member of the royal family leads troops directly, I’ve grown curious how the Oath Ability might be utilized….”
I nodded reassuringly to Sedrian.
Having read the original work, I knew these two were not villains aligned with the Temple, but rather helpers who would stand on Princess Calierd’s side.
At last, once I’d finished assessing the situation, Sedrian opened his mouth.
“Then what if we researched how the Oath Ability might be applied to criminology and military science?”
“Pardon? What do you mean….”
“That’s why I’ve come myself. I swear it.”
As he spoke those words, bright light erupted from Sedrian’s hand. The eyes of both Luna Moor and Ratel widened.
“That’s…!”
“A Supernatural Ability!”
“What say you—would you research the application of this ability alongside me?”
Now the way Luna Moor and Ratel looked at Sedrian had changed entirely from before.
“This is impossible! Me, researching a Supernatural Ability!”
“Ah, a research subject…. A new experimental group….”
Plainly, neither of them cared in the slightest that their interlocutor was the Crown Prince.
“…Is that really all right?”
Unable to bear it any longer, I whispered softly to them, and they answered as though it made no difference.
“Criminal investigation already had such a meager budget that there’s nothing left to cut anyway. Being a little negligent won’t cause any problems.”
“I’m opposed to it…. Military studies can’t have its budget reduced, so we’d just be throwing caution to the wind….”
Though the directions differed, the reasoning felt equally hollow either way….

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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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