I, the Villainous Prince, Buy the Ruined Villainess with Money

Chapter 70: Report and Promotion

The goblin extermination went off without any real problems.

We already had some experience with it, and there weren’t any accidents or anything, so it wrapped up nice and smooth.

By the time evening rolled around, we made it back to the guild.

Oh, and by the way, we’d actually stopped by once before we left the imperial capital to report about the slimes too.

“Alright, we knocked out the request in just one day.”

“Normally the standard is to split it over two days, though…”

“Hehe, well, it’s Master we’re talking about.”

“No, you were moving pretty damn well yourself, you know.”

“Uh, th-thank you…”

Yulia wasn’t really used to getting compliments, so her face went a little red and she looked kinda embarrassed.

Yeah, this girl definitely needs more chances to interact with other people.

Unfortunately, Alvis wasn’t exactly the type who’s good at giving praise.

Anyway, when we went to the reception desk, they led us to the back again and we ended up in the guild master’s room.

At the guild master’s gesture, Yulia and I sat down side by side on the sofa facing him.

“I never would’ve thought you’d finish it in less than half a day…”

“I’ll vouch for the fact that we did it properly.”

“Yes, I know. You’ve brought the subjugation proof too… I heard something about a black slime showing up?”

“I’ll vouch for that part too… Well, you’ll understand once you see it anyway.”

Sitting on the table was the slime’s core.

I’d asked about it in passing earlier, and apparently cores are a rare material that only comes from slimes.

And among them, a black slime’s core is supposed to be usable for all kinds of different materials.

“Yes, that’s right. Still… I never imagined one was hiding in the sewers like that… Alvis-sama, thank you so much. If the next newbie who went down there hadn’t been you, there definitely would’ve been casualties.”

“Hmph. There’s no need to thank me. I just got rid of an annoying pest that happened to show up in front of me, that’s all. More than anything, this is really the fault of the nobles who are supposed to be managing the city in the first place.”

“Haha, that’s definitely true. But still… it’s not an opponent you can take down that easily…”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t dig too deep into what I can do.”

Since he can use water magic, it’s not completely impossible that he could also use recovery magic.

Even if the church has a monopoly on it, he could just say he figured it out on his own.

But as for ice magic, he had no intention of spreading that around carelessly.

…Even though he’d already used it way too much.

“Yes, that makes sense for an adventurer.”

“Then we’re good. So, does that mean we passed?”

“Of course. Normally you’d still need to complete at least three more requests at minimum… but considering the black slime as a significant achievement on its own, we’ll go ahead and treat this as a promotion with a pay raise.”

“Hm… That’s not gonna count as some kind of cheating or anything, right?”

“Not at all.”

“Then let’s do that.”

Heh heh heh. I don’t really get how, but I just got promoted crazy fast.

This is gonna make earning money way easier from now on.

Plus, this black slime core looks like it could actually come in handy for something.

…Hm. I just got a pretty good idea.

—

Chapter 71: From the Guild Master’s Perspective

…Man, people can really surprise you, huh.

That big-heartedness of his… it’s just like how His Grace the Duke was back when he was young.

And yet, he’s got this heart that can forgive others too.

“Phew… I’m wiped out.”

I sank deep into the chair and let out a long breath.

When I first heard Alvis-sama was coming, I seriously felt like my soul was gonna leave my body.

Not just because of him—there were letters from my old teacher, His Grace the Duke, and even from His Majesty the Emperor up in the heavens… my stomach was killing me, seriously.

“Ugh, how pathetic.”

“Don’t say that. More than anything, Alvis-sama used to be famous for being super arrogant and stuck-up… so hearing what you think from Kyle-san’s point of view again is—”

“I already explained it briefly back then, but that guy saved me for free. And not only that—he even gave money to help evacuate the kids.”

“Stuff we’re supposed to be the ones handling…”

After Kyle-san went missing, we did try searching on our end too.

But stuff like that happens to adventurers all the time, so we were kinda hesitating.

Some people hate it when others poke around in their business, y’know.

“Heh, I’m not expecting the guild to go that far. As the guy at the top, you’re way too soft.”

“People do call me sweet, yeah.”

“I don’t hate it, though. Anyway… basically, I don’t trust humans or nobles. But you… and Alvis-sama too—I think he’s actually someone worth swearing loyalty to.”

“…Coming from you, a lion beastman, that’s saying something.”

This isn’t the same as normal people pledging loyalty.

Lion beastmen don’t follow anyone. We either become the boss of a group or we stay lone wolves. That’s just how it is.

There’s only one exception: when we truly acknowledge someone, we show we’re willing to submit.

And of course, there’ve been nobles who’ve tried to take advantage of that and force us to obey.

This time was probably more of the same crap.

“Yeah, even I was shocked. Never thought the day would come when I’d feel this way.”

“But the rumors and the real thing are so different it’s kinda weird, right?”

“That’s just my personal take… but maybe he’s just awkward as hell. Seems like he hates getting praised, and when people thank him he gets all flustered.”

“Awkward… yeah, his words are pretty harsh, but he actually looks out for us. Makes sense. So all that didn’t come across right and people kept misunderstanding him.”

From what I can feel, there’s zero malice coming from him.

If anything, the Crown Prince gave off way more bad vibes.

Right away he’s like “raise his rank now” and “I didn’t even get His Majesty’s permission yet,” acting all high and mighty like he’s above everyone.

That kind of attitude doesn’t fly in an adventurers’ guild.

“I’m planning to let the other beastmen know. Leaving him like this is just too pitiful.”

“If you’re the one saying it, they’ll believe you. In that case, I’ll use my own info network to spread the word too.”

“Oh? Is the guild master who’s supposed to stay neutral really allowed to do that?”

“No no, it’s exactly because we’re neutral. That’s why we have to make sure the right information gets out.”

“Kuk, you’re a bad guy. Well, I guess you gotta be like that to hold the job.”

“Hey, I used to be His Grace the Duke’s subordinate, so I’ve got a little experience with this kinda thing.”

So yeah… His Grace told me, “If you think he’s worth it, lend him your strength.”

But honestly, instead of just helping him as an adventurer… I kinda want him to end up sitting on the imperial throne.