That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 34

A middle-aged man clad in a red cloak descends the stairs. Following behind him are a muscular man and a sharp-eyed woman, appearing as if they are accompanying him.

His face is angular. His hair is gray and slicked down firmly with oil, and his leather clothing seems to scream under the strain of his thick chest.

He is a large man. His shoulders are broad, his arms as thick as thighs, and his thighs themselves are like logs. From the way the man in front was addressed as “Master,” it seems this man is the guild master.

“I’ve been listening to everything, but do you realize how much you’ve tarnished the name of this guild right now?”

As he finishes descending the stairs, he imposes his presence on the man named Flog.

“Uh, ghh, but what these people are saying is nonsense! There’s no basis for it!”

“If these people formally complain to the authorities, could you say the same?”

“—!?”

Hmm, it seems the guild master has understood why this man was doomed long ago.

The power held by the Adventurers’ Guild is apparent just from observing the town. It’s likely that guilds exist in key cities throughout the country.

As such, the influential Adventurers’ Guild would naturally be recognized as a huge organization. Naturally, it would be directly taxed by the country.

Indeed, there are national tax officials. And if they find even a slight discrepancy, they relentlessly pursue it.

“What a fool I’ve chosen as a job leader. Your reckless actions could have brought investigation to my guild, indispensable to this town.”

“But, this is—!”

“Silence, your actions are undeniably criminal. To throw away your life over a mere 5000 bronze coins embezzled. You two, quickly arrest this trash and lock him in the dungeon!”

“Yes!”

The man and woman who accompanied him grab Flog by his sides and take him away.

“No! I was only doing it for the guild—mgh!”

“Silence—”

As Flog is dragged away, he tries to appeal to the master, but the muscular man covers his mouth, silencing any further words.

“It seems our former job leader has caused us quite the trouble.”

With Flog gone, the master stands before us, his enormous stature more apparent, resembling a wild bear.

He speaks apologetically, but his gaze towards us is sharp and deep, like a lion stalking its prey.

Indeed, if we’re not careful, we might be snapped up.

But already referring to him as the former job leader, this man is shrewd.

“Once again, I am Dorbel, the guild master of this town. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, h-hi! Nice to meet you!”

Alecto responds with a stutter, perhaps nervous. He should be more confident considering they are of similar standing.

“I am Edson, affiliated with the Magic Guild. This is the unfortunate lady, and behind her is Mei, who is accompanying me.”

“That’s harsh, calling her unfortunate! I’m Alecto!”

Alecto swings his arms up and down, puffing his cheeks in indignation. No dignity whatsoever, that’s his problem.

“Well, I suppose I don’t need to introduce myself?”

“Of course, Lord Roat, the guild is also indebted to you.”

“Hmph.”

Roat seems to show respect. At least he displays the demeanor of a master.

“So, what will you do about that man?”

“Of course, he will be held accountable for displaying such disgrace. At the same time, I am grateful to you. Thanks to you, we were able to expose his corruption before it was too late. If it had been discovered later, the guild could have been targeted under false suspicions.”

It seems that the frog decided to push through on its own.

“If you’re talking about a reward, I’d like to see it properly formalized.”

“Hmm, indeed. Then, first this.”

With that, Dorbel lined up some papers in front of us. These appeared to be Alecto’s debt documents, including contracts I had seen before.

“You said Alecto, right? Are these the documents concerning the debt agreement?”

“Yes, indeed these are.”

“Is that so, then――”

“Ah!”

Alecto exclaimed in surprise. That’s because Dorbel tore up all the debt documents right there and then.

“With this, the debt is null. Of course, there will be no demand for repayment. These are unfair contracts, after all. I will dispose of them all. And of course, I will make a consolidated payment including the amounts that were not paid before. The amount will be adjusted to our system.”

“Um, and that means?”

“It means this man is saying he’ll pay a total of 25,585 bronze coins for everything up to now.”

“Whaaaat! Th-that much?!”

No, you’re overreacting…

“Please calm down, Lord Alecto. This is the reward you should naturally receive.”

“Is that so, naturally?”

“That’s right. You’re just getting back what you were deceived out of. This amount is nowhere near enough.”

“Ha ha, that’s harsh.”

“You’re forgetting something important.”

“What am I forgetting?”

“Rights. You said you took the rights to the magical device in the form of debt from this woman. You need to return that.”

“…I see. But that’s going to be difficult.”

“What? You’re saying you can’t return the rights to the magical device after unjustly taking them?”

“Awawa, awawa.”

“No, miss, stand up for yourself a bit more…”

But really, saying anything unnecessary would only complicate matters further now.

“Of course, I’d like to address that matter, but it’s difficult contractually.”

Then, Dorbel began to talk about the magical device.

“For now, take a look at this contract. You seem intelligent, so I think you’ll understand.”

“A contract?”

I looked over the contract Dorbel handed out, and felt like holding my head.

“What’s wrong? Something the matter?”

“It’s nothing. Alecto, did you check the contents of this carefully?”

“Eh? Um, it means that in lieu of not being able to pay this debt, I transfer the rights to the magical device, right?”

“…I thought as much. Look, this contract states that you’re transferring the rights to the adventurers’ guild unrelated to the debt. The amount corresponds to what was framed as your debt, but this makes it seem like you just sold the rights to the adventurers’ guild.”

“Eh? Eh? What does that mean?”

“It means that just the unfairness of this debt won’t get the rights returned.”

Mei added, but Alecto still didn’t seem to understand. This is why he falls for such tricks so easily…

“But wait, isn’t that odd in itself? If the debt itself is gone, doesn’t that mean this contract should be invalid? The rights for the magical device were sold, but no money was received. If the debt is gone, this contract should be void, right?”

Indeed, what Roat said is possible. If there’s a chance, that’s the basis for demanding the return of the rights, but this man probably…

“That’s something we are fully aware of. There were some mistakes, but let’s make sure to pay you the amount of 4,000 bronze coins.”

“Eh? You’ll pay that? Then isn’t that good?”

“Not at all!”

What a headache. But this woman, she’s judging based on the value attached to something that should have been taken without condition.

“You’re not satisfied? Then you’re welcome to sue us, but the contract has been properly made, and we intend to pay that amount. Insisting here would not be worth the trouble, don’t you think?”

“…So that’s your stance. I see, this really shows the guild’s way of doing things. Alecto, you’re satisfied with the magical device matter?”

“Eh? Yes, I had given up on it once.”

“I see. Then I won’t say any more. Just make sure to get the proper amount and the official reward.”

“Of course. I’ll have it prepared right away. It’s helpful when things move quickly.”

And prompted by the master, the reward was prepared immediately.

Not in bronze coins, but in gold.

“We have prepared 26 gold coins. The excess is for the trouble caused, keep it.”

“If you think so, it’s still missing about five digits.”

“Ha ha, that’s a funny joke. So, will you continue to work with us in the future?”

“Ah, yes, it’s possible―”

“I refuse. From now on, the magic guild will not accept any jobs from the adventurers’ guild.”

“So I see. I meant it out of concern for your guild. Are you sure about future jobs?”

“Mind your own business. And earlier, you said it was missing about five digits?”

“Ah, a funny joke.”

“That part, we’ll recover in another way. As a proper magic guild.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

And with that, we left the adventurers’ guild behind…