I Opened an Illegal Animal Hospital in Another World - Chapter 149

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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149

Chapter 29. Brilliant Lights Embrace Me (4)

Wondering what all this commotion was about, the Guild Master huffed and puffed as he headed toward the main entrance of the guild headquarters.

“What kind of unscrupulous bastards are causing a ruckus in my front yard now!”

The staff who had stayed late all looked coldly at the Guild Master. Their gazes seemed to say, what was the person who would rank first among the most unscrupulous talking about.

“You can’t find a trace of manners even if you wash your eyes and look! Really, these youngsters these days…”

It was also a tirade from someone who would rank first among those lacking manners. However, the current Guild Master was the longest-serving person since the Apothecary Guild was established, so no one could voice complaints to him.

When he flung open the main entrance, his view was blocked by the swarming crowd. The Guild Master bellowed loudly.

“What are you doing in front of someone else’s establishment! Can’t you move aside right now?!”

People who recognized him as the Guild Master just from his voice quietly moved away. He was so famous for his brutal temperament that he didn’t distinguish between public and private matters, often abusing his power by refusing to sell medicine to those who crossed him.

Getting on his bad side and being unable to buy medicine would be too great a loss.

The Guild Master was secretly triumphant as people retreated from his shouting. The sight of them obeying his commands satisfied his desire for control. He had the kind of personality that only felt satisfied when he could grasp and shake everything in his hands.

The reason he had been able to sit in the Guild Master position the longest was all thanks to his thoroughness in handling everything himself. His meticulousness in paying attention to details others would casually overlook, his persistence in never giving up until the end, and his desire for control.

His silver tongue skilled at flattery also played a part. In front of powerful people, the Guild Master’s tongue became as flexible as a snake’s. There were dozens of famous nobles who backed him in exchange for priority access to necessary medicines and supplements.

In any case, setting aside personal character, one could say he was quite capable of leading an organization called the Apothecary Guild. Thanks to this, the Apothecary Guild had been able to establish itself as a guild with considerable influence, rising from a minor guild in just a few years.

He had achievements to show for it, and was producing results, so even if there were some flaws in his personal character, it was worth tolerating.

But complaints were gradually rising from below.

The Guild Master was excessively petty and showed no mercy to the weak. If someone didn’t provide bribes to his satisfaction, or if he felt they weren’t treating him properly from the start (he seemed to have his own standards), he would ruthlessly impose disadvantages.

One of those was the hospital that had opened in the slums.

The building was decent and clean, befitting the rumors that it was sponsored by nobility, but he was deliberately crushing it for the reason that they had sold medicine without coming to the Apothecary Guild first.

Perhaps because it wouldn’t die no matter how much he trampled it, seeming to have developed a stubborn streak, he was burning unnecessary fighting spirit. Not satisfied with just spreading rumors through people, he encouraged discrimination against the beastfolk who frequently visited there, and diligently interfered by bribing related guilds not to accept deliveries from that hospital.

It was like hiring an assassin to catch a bug, people quietly sneered.

Of course, the Guild Master didn’t care one way or the other.

‘I should call the guards right away and have them all cleared out.’

What were the guards doing? How much money had he fed them, and they weren’t rushing over immediately but were holed up somewhere. Obviously, they must be secretly guzzling alcohol again…

While grumbling and imagining hurrying home to enjoy sweet rest, the dispersing people split to both sides.

The Guild Master fell into a brief delusion. What? Are they clearing a path for me to pass through? To go home safely?

Of course, since he himself knew how ridiculous that delusion was, he had thought of it jokingly. However, to that extent, a path had opened in a straight line.

“What, what is…”

The Guild Master’s dim eyes, looking around unnecessarily, caught the protagonists of the commotion.

Three women and two men.

The way they walked straight through the crowd, anyone would think a carpet had been laid out. The Guild Master inwardly sneered. What was so special about those five that such a crowd had gathered? Did they think they were royalty or something?

Still, unable to overcome his surging curiosity, the Guild Master squinted his eyes. Being cooped up indoors all day looking at tiny numbers under flickering candlelight, his eyesight was inevitably deteriorating day by day.

Indeed, I should quickly reward myself for working so hard. The Guild Master squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. His vision temporarily returned.

‘Who could they be to cause such a commotion…’

The moment the image came into clear focus, the Guild Master unconsciously understood why the crowd had swarmed.

Long blonde hair flowed down in waves. Without expensive jewelry decorations, the clean golden color alone was splendid enough, as if wrapped in light.

The small face was pale and slender, and even though large glasses covered half the face, the visible lips and chin, red lips and long neck caught the eye.

However, what caught attention even more than the extraordinary beauty was the clothing style never seen before.

While it wasn’t entirely surprising for women to wear men’s clothing, though it was rare, the well-fitting pants and shirt, and the sleekly fitted jacket seemed to have been made for women from the start. Moreover, the very simple style that fit perfectly without any common decorations was something he had never seen before.

Not only the blonde woman walking in front, but also the brown-haired woman beside her, and the black-haired woman were all dressed the same way. Needless to say, they were all beauties.

‘Are they theater actors…?’

The way they walked confidently as if they were the masters of the stage was not something ordinary people could do. Moreover, wasn’t such a crowd gathered here?

Even a reasonably shameless person would be intimidated, but their steps were quite cheerful, as if they were enjoying the attention.

In contrast to the confident three women, the two red-haired men following half a step behind had somewhat narrow strides and looked dejected. Because of this, despite their tall and sturdy builds, they appeared smaller than the three women.

The five of them, dressed in matching black pants and jackets, strutted majestically toward the guild. The Guild Master felt slightly breathless.

What is this, it’s strange but cool…!

In addition to the intensity that made it impossible to look away, it was certainly a sight to behold.

While the Guild Master froze, overwhelmed by an inexplicable presence, the five steadily closed the distance. People’s gazes now turned toward the Guild Master, their destination. Unlike those five, the Guild Master had ordinary thickness of face, so his cheeks flushed red.

He desperately hoped they would please pass by him, but the five stopped exactly in front of the Guild Master.

The Guild Master bluffed, praying his voice wouldn’t tremble.

“Wh, who, who… who might you be.”

Unable to bring himself to speak informally, he preserved his pride with an ambiguous ending that wasn’t quite respectful speech. However, his pale complexion, hunched shoulders, and right foot pulled back as if securing an escape route revealed his true feelings. Already defeated by their overwhelming presence.

“I’d like to meet the Guild Master of the Apothecary Guild.”

“We are, people like this.”

As the blonde woman smiled wickedly and held out a scrap of paper, the man whispered quietly.

“…She really wanted to say that line…”

The now-quiet crowd’s gaze turned toward the Guild Master’s fingertips. The Guild Master, who had difficulty accepting the scrap of paper the woman offered, squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. His already dim eyes felt even worse from the stress.

Let’s see, who is this woman…

‘Rierem Hospital, Director.’

Rierem? That Rierem?

That eyesore that’s been stubbornly surviving like weeds for years in that crumbling district?

The Guild Master, who had been overwhelmed by their presence, realized that his opponent was weaker and younger than him and put strength into his eyes. He’d wondered what kind of person was hiding and surviving there, but she was much more of a greenhorn than he thought!

“Ah, that place.”

“…Well, I know of it, but what business brings you here from there?”

The Guild Master, his shoulders tensed with strength, snorted forcefully.

She must have finally come to kneel before me. Intoxicated by his sense of victory, he barely suppressed the corners of his mouth from twitching upward. There were still too many eyes watching.

“We came because when we looked into registering our potions for sale with the Mercenary Guild, we heard that the Apothecary Guild has a monopoly.”

“Says who?”

“I came here because when I looked into registering and selling our potions through the mercenary guild, I was told that the pharmacist guild has a monopoly on it.”

“All of the Empire’s medicine is handled through our Pharmacist Guild. It’s only natural.”

“Says who?”

“Well.”

The guild leader, who had almost replied “It’s my business,” shut his mouth. The blonde little girl seemed to have quite a brazen personality. Her sharp retorts were already getting on his nerves.

If you came here to admit defeat, you should just quietly give your gift and leave.

‘I won’t let this slide unless you get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness.’

“What!”

“You! Who gave you permission to promote!”

“This is troublesome. We were planning to actively promote and do sales from now on.”

“What!”

“Since we only dealt with regular customers, a lot of strange rumors have been going around. We don’t handle poisons or anything like that! We treat everyone equally without discrimination. Our prices are reasonable too. Please come visit us often!”

“Hey! Who said you could promote this!”

“Can’t I even speak my mind?”

As he raised his hand threateningly, the eyes of the four people surrounding the blonde woman instantly changed.

“Would you look at this first?”

“Gasp….”

It felt like heavy air pressing down on his shoulders and cold hands strangling his neck. Even so, the guild master endured with all his might. I can’t lose to this brat. He gritted his teeth.

“Go, go back! If you won’t bow and come in properly, then there’s nothing to discuss! Where does some unqualified brat get off acting up like this? If you don’t follow proper procedures, I won’t even meet with you. I’m calling the guards right now….”

“Would you like to see this first?”

He held out something else. The guild leader, who had been about to refuse, took it under the piercing stare that bore down on him.

He had lost in terms of momentum, couldn’t properly respond to the brazen remarks, and his dignity was already thoroughly crushed. The guild leader wanted to drive away the crowd that had gathered immediately. He had an ominous feeling.

Bad rumors drove away customers so business was failing, and the benefactor who had been providing financial support was about to leave Rearlem, so it seemed he came to the mercenary guild to at least sell some medicine, but was mercilessly rejected.

This is a bad situation where he should be begging for forgiveness, so what’s with this confidence?

That attitude, as if he knew something, heightened the sense of foreboding. It was the instinctive intuition that had sustained him for so long. He unfolded the paper the guild master handed him with a furrowed brow. There, it read.

“Huh…?!”

It bore the inscription “Imperial Cooperative Treatment Center”—words I had never heard or seen before.

‘Th-that’s a lie, right…? Is it bluffing? Is it a scam?!’

Impersonating royalty is punishable by death. However, to the guild master—who had a keen eye despite being essentially a merchant at heart—this was real. The blonde woman smiled prettily as she spoke.

“Now you feel like having a conversation?”

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