How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 89

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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 Good Guild
Chapter 89
“Sigh…”
When Sedrian let out what must have been his fifteenth sigh, Eric finally turned his head.
“I was trying to ignore it, but this is really too much. Isn’t this the point where I’m supposed to ask what’s wrong?”
“Exactly.”
“What on earth is the matter?”
Eric asked the question halfheartedly, and Sedrian began to pour out his troubles.
“It’s a serious problem. I think Odret will hate me when I reveal my identity.”
“So that means she likes you before you reveal it?”
“No, not a chance. As far as I can tell, whether it’s Sedrick or Sedrian, she shows absolutely no romantic interest. Right now it’s like zero.”
“……”
“The problem is that once I reveal my identity, I think she’ll actually dislike me even more. It’ll go into negative territory.”
“Why don’t you just continue living with these two separate identities?”
“Now you’re just spouting nonsense like it has nothing to do with you.”
Sedrian glared at Eric, and finally Eric had no choice but to offer genuine advice.
“Then think about which angle would make her fall for you.”
“Angle?”
“Between Sedrick, a lowly Guild member, and Sedrian Elbarone, the Crown Prince—which one do you think she’d prefer?”
“From what I can tell, the Crown Prince side has the upper hand. As Sedrick, I only worked, but in this form at least I’ve managed what you might call a few dates.”
“Then you should push that advantage. And when she’s fallen for your current self, wouldn’t you have to confess that Sedrick was actually you all along?”
“What if the love falls apart again after that?”
“Then it’s Your Highness’s karmic debt. Who told you to infiltrate in the first place?”
“But I really feel wronged. A subcontracted Guild member from the Temple is helping me—doesn’t that seem like a spy from any angle? Though I do trust her completely now.”
It seemed he wanted to unburden himself to someone more than he actually needed advice, so Eric decided to let it go in one ear and out the other.
“There’s no help for it. There’s only one way.”
Fortunately, by then Sedrian had already reached his own conclusion.
“I’ll show devotion and respect as Sedrick, and competence as Sedrian Elbarone. Something will come to light eventually.”
“Yes, well… do your best, Your Highness.”
***
After arriving at the Temple, I sought out Aria.
“High Priest Aria, it’s Odret, a Mid-rank Priest.”
“Come in.”
Aria welcomed me with a smile. I poured tea for her in the familiar manner I’d grown accustomed to.
“Hehe, the tea you brew always seems to taste better.”
…Ever since Park Geo-seong had complained to me that my tea was tasteless, I’d become a master at steeping tea with tea bags.
“Actually, I came to ask you about something.”
“Hmm?”
“I went to see an appraiser on Guild business at the Aclrite Guild. There I learned that the Temple frequently purchases Artifacts.”
“Ah, someone’s been loose-tongued.”
Aria smiled knowingly.
“Thanks for the information, Odret. I almost let the secret keep leaking out.”
“……”
True to her rank as a High Priest of the Temple, there was something unsettling about Aria when you really looked at her.
“Yes, but I was curious why the Temple buys Artifacts in the first place…”
“Ah, that? You haven’t participated in the Ritual yet.”
“The Ritual?”
“The Ritual to summon the Seer.”
Finally, the Temple’s ultimate goal flowed from Aria’s lips.
This seemed like the perfect moment to ask about the Seer. I kept my voice as steady as possible, hiding my trembling.
“I’ve been curious about that too. How is the Temple able to summon the Seer?”
“We perform the Ritual once a year. So far we’ve performed it nine times, but they’ve all failed. This year is the tenth Ritual.”
Aria’s explanation continued.
“The High Priest uses a Miracle, and we assist the High Priest. As you know, a Miracle requires many Sacrifices, so that’s where the Artifacts come in.”
I already knew that much. Human trafficking was involved in the original story too. Still, I pretended not to know and asked.
“If I understand correctly, Scripture Copies that priests have written are also offered as Sacrifices for the Miracle. Is that not enough?”
“Not even close. We use everything we can. Blood, tears, Scripture Copies, Artifacts, and even lives.”
I decided not to ask whose lives. The answer wouldn’t be a good one.
So in the end, Artifacts are just part of what’s used to summon the Seer.
“How exactly is the Seer summoned?”
“No one can know for certain. The deity might manifest in that very form, or else inhabit another’s body… We’ll have to attempt every possible means. Haha!”
“I understand.”
After listening to Aria’s explanation, I left her office.
The more I learned, the more terrible the Temple revealed itself to be.
Damn it—in other fantasy novels, the Temple is horrifically unrealistic with all that nonsense about eternal life and immortality, so why is this world’s Temple a realistic black-market corporation?
Grumbling inwardly, I sat down at my desk and got to work.
Today’s assignment involved the Temple’s finances.
“Hm, is that the sound of a calculator I hear?”
“No way. Who would rely on a calculator in the Temple?”
True to Park Geo-seong’s philosophy, these people distrusted calculators entirely. Tapping away on one hidden beneath my desk, I discovered something suspicious in the financial records.
‘The Golden Scale Society?’
I’d stumbled upon the fact that they were funneling considerable sums to the Golden Scale Society.
“Is the Golden Scale Society one of our affiliated organizations?” I asked the Mid-rank Priest beside me.
He perked up, clearly delighted to have something to boast about.
“Those arrogant bastards won’t come over to us. But since they’re just money-hungry after all, if we keep pushing donations their way, they’ll come around eventually, won’t they?”
…In other words, they were working to bring the Golden Scale Society into the Temple’s fold.
“Did lobbying also reach the Red Rose Salon, the Tower of Stars, or the Platinum Mercenary Corps?”
“We can’t lobby the Red Rose Salon and the Platinum Mercenary Corps—no one even knows who runs them. And the Tower of Stars people are too proud to even glance our way.”
So the Golden Scale Society was the only faction they could persuade, and they were clinging to it desperately.
I decided I needed to approach the Golden Scale Society soon and make them completely mine. If things continued as they were, I might lose them to the Temple.
‘At least I’ve already made John Kerdick’s acquaintance.’
I tapped away on the calculator hidden beneath my desk.
Bang—!
“Ow!”
The door suddenly burst open, and I quickly hid the calculator. Fortunately, my action went unnoticed, as a Mid-rank Priest shouted urgently.
“Listen, Seraphine is using ‘Judgment’ right now!”
“What, ‘Judgment’?”
“Yes, come quickly and see!”
The Mid-rank Priests rushed past me. I followed them with a bewildered expression.
Once I entered the building restricted to Mid-rank Priests and above, I found the priests gathered in a circle around someone.
Seraphine stood at the center, and before her knelt Charles, a Low-rank Priest.
‘Charles?’
It looked exactly like Seraphine was interrogating him. But they’d said she was using ‘Judgment’—what did that mean?
“You dared express dissatisfaction with your station and voice complaints against the Temple.”
“That is… that’s not…!”
From what I could see, Charles had been caught grumbling about the Temple. Here, that was a grave sin.
Seraphine clenched her fist. I thought she might resort to violence, but then something unbelievable happened.
Whoosh—
“…?”
A massive Flame Sword materialized in her hand.
As Seraphine swung it, Charles fell, bleeding, bearing wounds that looked as though he’d been cut by a blade and burned by fire all at once—terrible and grotesque.
“Hah…”
“How foolish, to dare defy the great Temple…”
Watching her, I understood.
Just as Sedrian had discovered earlier, the High Priest had granted Supernatural Powers to four High Priests.
As a result, they’d begun to wield portions of the High Priest’s Miracle power, and…
Seraphine had obtained the Supernatural Power of ‘Judgment’ itself.
‘Which means the other three each possess their own power too.’
What kind of abilities did Aria, Etienne, and Matthias possess?

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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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