How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 81

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

How to Survive in a Small-Scale Guild
Chapter 81
“I’m actually getting to research the Crown Prince’s Oath Ability. Every scholar alive will be jealous of me.”
“Right… I feel amazing….”
Now they treated Sedrian as the Crown Prince, though their manner was hardly respectful.
But Sedrian seemed to regard scholars as inherently lacking in social grace, and made no issue of their demeanor.
“So what kind of research will you conduct?”
The moment Sedrian asked in a voice that had recovered its regal composure, a brutal answer came back.
“We’ll test the Ability on criminals! We can examine whether people denying their crimes are actually lying! If they fail, they’ll simply die!”
“I intend to ascertain how much stronger soldiers can become through oath-taking….”
“I see. Can we falsify the records to make it look as though the research started much earlier?”
“Absolutely, as long as we can conduct the research!”
“We’ll fabricate the access logs as well….”
And so, fabricating false records for the Crown Prince proceeded without difficulty.
We need only report to the Temple that the Crown Prince has been conducting Ability research at the Tower of Stars.
“We’ll test the Oath Ability across multiple groups. Your Highness would have easy access to criminals and the like, wouldn’t you?”
“…That wouldn’t be just. There are ethical concerns.”
It seemed coordinating their opinions wouldn’t be simple.
“Um, well….”
Ratel turned to look at me.
“Does the Acryte Guild have some connection to His Highness the Crown Prince…?”
It was a sharp question.
Word couldn’t get out that the Acryte Guild was connected to the Crown Prince. That would cause trouble if it reached the Temple’s ears later.
“Could you keep my visit here confidential?”
“Of course! As long as we can conduct the research!”
Seeing their unwavering attitude, the Crown Prince resolved to use his Oath Ability.
“I, Luna Moor, swear that my research with His Highness the Crown Prince and Odret Lavendel’s assistance shall remain secret. Should I break this oath, all my research results shall vanish forever!”
“I, Ratel Aiken, pledge that all matters related to His Highness the Crown Prince and Odret Lavendel shall remain confidential…. Should I break this oath, I shall never again live a life as a scholar….”
Watching them take the oath, it seemed clear they would never reveal the secret. The Oath Ability was proving quite useful.
“Wow, this is what an oath feels like!”
“How strange….”
They were actually delighted at having experienced the Ability themselves and continued their research.
“So how shall we structure the research content?”
I casually asked Sedrian how he planned to report this to the Temple, and after some thought, he answered.
“I’ll say I was researching a military unit that utilizes the Oath Ability. On the surface, that’s sensitive enough to be classified.”
“Yes, Sedrian.”
“Then could we actually test it on real soldiers…?”
“That would be contrary to justice. As a member of the Imperial Palace, I cannot abuse the oath on common citizens.”
“If we could just get permission….”
“Sedrian, hang in there…!”
“Odret, where are you going? Wait…!”
I heard Sedrian’s desperate voice calling for me from behind, but I pretended not to notice and slipped out.
Ugh, I can’t stay in the middle of these obsessed researchers any longer.
In any case, we’d now gained allies in the Red Rose Salon, the Platinum Mercenary Corps, and the Tower of Stars, which was good for us.
Wow, at this rate we can bring everything except the Temple under our influence!
***
“I have a report.”
Days later, I was reporting what I’d discovered before Matthias.
“While tracking Owl’s location, I discovered access records to the Tower of Stars.”
“The Tower of Stars?”
As he received the fabricated access records from me, Matthias furrowed his brow.
“Yes, Owl was conducting research at the Tower of Stars. The scholars conducting research alongside him were Ratel Aiken, a doctor of military science, and Luna Moor, a doctor of criminal investigation. They seem to have used the Oath Ability to keep secrets, so I was unable to obtain information directly from them.”
To protect Ratel and Luna Moor, I added that there was no information I could have obtained anyway.
Unlike my composure, Matthias looked genuinely startled.
“These records… does this mean he’s creating a military unit utilizing the Oath Ability?”
“It hasn’t been created yet, but it appears to be in the research stage. I infiltrated and stole these records.”
Actually, they were trivial documents.
They were false records claiming Sedrian had conducted experiments to create an oath-based military unit, but they contained no evidence that he’d actually succeeded.
I thought Matthias would welcome the new information, but instead he looked grave, as if confronted with an unforeseen crisis.
What’s wrong? Does he view an oath-based military unit as a threat? I’d fabricated it to look classified enough to distract the Temple’s attention, but….
I was puzzled when Matthias opened his mouth, his voice trembling.
“It won’t do….”
“Pardon?”
“If this continues, they might reach a level of power comparable to ours. We cannot allow further research into Abilities.”
Comparable to ours? Wasn’t the Temple’s Miracle already on par with the Imperial Family’s Oath Ability?
Matthias’s words sounded as though the Temple possessed some special power distinct from the Imperial Family’s.
“I’ll have to report this to the High Priest. After that, I suppose… we’ll need to stop them.”
Matthias muttered this while tapping my shoulder a couple of times.
“You’ve uncovered excellent intelligence. Go back and attend to other matters. I’ll summon you again if needed.”
“Yes, of course….”
I couldn’t bring myself to ask him why he looked so grave, and I slipped out of Matthias’s office.
Even as I did, unease crept over me.
Could it be that the records I’d created to divert the Temple’s attention had actually provoked them instead?
What if the Temple became more aggressive?
Why on earth did the Temple view Ability research with such vigilance?
***
“Wait, this is—!”
“Oh….”
While Luna Moor and Ratel made a fuss across the way, Sedrian stood with hollow eyes. Had Odret seen him, she would have remarked, “Oh, what a vacant stare.”
While the Acryte Guild’s information division worked from home, he had to attend the Tower of Stars daily in his capacity as Crown Prince.
After all, creating convincing false records required genuine research notes.
‘There’s no helping it if it’s to protect Odret.’
No matter how exhausted he grew, protecting Odret was his foremost duty, so Sedrian endured.
Sedrian had obtained voluntary consent from certain soldiers and prisoners, subjecting them to tests of the Oath Ability.
While he believed the research results to be modest, Luna Moor and Ratel seemed absorbed in the work with genuine enthusiasm.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!”
Luna Moor called out to him in an excited tone. Sedrian, who had little interest in the research, shuffled over.
‘There are limits to how far an Ability can be applied, after all.’
He believed he already understood the full extent of what he could do with his Ability. He’d been studying it on his own since childhood.
But then Luna Moor and Ratel called him over and uttered something astounding.
“Your Highness, look at that soldier!”
“What about that soldier?”
“See? His Lie Detection Ability has increased noticeably!”
“That’s… part of my Ability, isn’t it? How did that soldier come to wield my power?”
Sensing something amiss, I asked, and Luna Moor spoke with confident pride.
“Which is precisely why we’ve made a remarkable discovery! People who are exposed to an Ability in a particular way for a certain period can acquire the Ability themselves!”
“Wait, that means….”
“Of course, the ability itself might be weaker, but with proper research, Your Highness might be able to grant Abilities to others!”
“Grant Abilities to others?”
Impossible. Abilities were powers only those of pure bloodline within a given family could wield, weren’t they?
And even then, if one was deemed to belong to a Cadet Branch by the judgment of mysterious power, one couldn’t use Abilities at all.
Stunned by the notion that Abilities could be granted, I opened my mouth—when suddenly Sedrian remembered something.
‘Could it be that the Temple already knows this fact?’
The Temple must have researched Abilities using far more unethical methods than the Imperial Family.
If so… there was a high likelihood that the Temple already knew they could grant Abilities to others!

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————