The Guild Master Whose Hobby Was Helping People Found Himself Surrounded by the Strongest, Overly Attached Members - 35

Chapter 35: I Really, Really Don’t Want to Do a Mock Battle

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“First up… It’s Leon.”

“Yes! I look forward to working with you!”

I took Leon to a plain not far from town. The grass was soft, and the footing wasn’t bad. A perfect spot for this.

Leon’s eyes sparkled as he looked around. He looked like an elementary school kid excited for a field trip.

“Uh…Sorry to say this right away, but Leon, I don’t have a request for you to take on.”

“No request… What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll be doing a mock battle.”

From what I heard from the siblings, Leon was good at close combat, while Iris was a ranged type. The two together would definitely be strong, but in real requests, there was no guarantee they’d always be paired together. 

That was why I wanted to see his individual strength first. So far, all I’d seen was him writhing in pain from the curse. And his opponent would be—

“—Against you, Shin-san!?”

“As if.”

Why the hell would I get beaten to a pulp by a newcomer?

“I hired a skilled adventurer from the royal capital guild. I’ll be the referee, so I can judge your ability fairly.”

“I see! So, where is that person?”

“Uh… Should’ve been around here somewhere…”

The one I requested was an A-rank adventurer, Gob the Snakewhip. As his nickname implied, he could crack a whip like a snake for long-range attacks, and he was said to be strong even up close. I wanted to see how Leon would drag the fight into his own favored field… But the man I had requested wasn’t here.

Scanning the plain, I spotted a short man standing all alone in the distance. When he noticed us, he walked over with an awkward expression.

“Are you folks from White Lamp?”

“Ah, yes, we are…”

When Leon answered, the man pressed his palms together apologetically.

“Sorry, but Gob drank too much and has a hangover. Can we just forget about today’s deal?”

The reason was beyond trivial. The payment was postpaid, so there was no problem about that, but… With this, my plan would be in ruin. 

Come on… Who’s supposed to do it now?

I absolutely didn’t want to. But the man gave us a quick wave and just walked back the way he came. Leon tilted his head, looking at me with serious eyes.

“So then… Shin-san?”

Those eyes were brimming with expectation.

Stop that, you’re making it harder to run away.

I gazed up at the sky, inhaled deeply. I searched for an excuse, but my effort was in vain.

“…Fine. I’ll do it…”

After bringing Leon all the way out here, I couldn’t possibly ditch him. But still… 

“The rule for this mock battle is simple. The first to land a single hit wins. Use this.”

I handed Leon the item I had brought.

“A wooden sword. And don’t you dare hit me for real!”

He did know my rank was lower than his, right? If he swung for real, I’d just straight-up die.

“Understood! I’m so glad I get to be trained by you, Shin-san!”

…He really gets it, right?

“A-alright then… Let’s begin.”

I gripped my wooden sword and took some distance. Leon raised his sword in a middle guard, eyes unwavering.

“Okay, anytime—”

The moment I said it, a thrust shot straight at me. What kind of insane start dash was that!? I barely deflected it, and my arm went numb. Without a pause came a downward slash, a sidestep, a kick. Every move was fast and precise. At this rate, it’d be over in ten seconds.

“Tch…!”

All I could do was parry, retreat, and try to put distance between us. But he closed the gap just as quickly. When I felt hard soil instead of grass under my heels, my back hit a tree.

Crap, this is the insta-kill route.

Honestly, I was shocked. I didn’t think I’d get pushed this far back. Not even a full minute had passed since the mock battle started, and my defense was already at the limit. Still, I understood perfectly that Leon’s skill was indeed A-rank level, just as the Royal Capital Guild had judged.

If I said, “Alright, I surrender,” it would be clean and peaceful.

…But wait. Think about this.

A sly little lightbulb popped on in my head.

If I win here…That means I can make Leon run errands for me, right…?

The S-rank and SS-rank monsters—Ceres and Rovan—if I acted cocky around them, they’d definitely hold my funeral the next day. But against an A-rank?

Even now, while the situation was bad, it wasn’t completely hopeless yet. If luck sided with me… Maybe I could win one out of ten times.

Even if it was only a mock battle, as long as the fact remained that “I won,” I could say things like, “You’ve still got a long way to go—time to train, train!” and dump chores—no, basic training—onto him.

And if I dressed it up as, “To grow strong, you first have to master the fundamentals,” it would sound convincing enough. If I kept tossing him simple requests that way, I wouldn’t need to risk my life on the frontlines.

With this, I could keep my safe, slow life with passive income intact.  On top of that, our guild’s activity record would grow, and our trust with the capital guild would increase. That would reduce the risk of Noran-san saddling me with “more trouble again”…Probably, at least.

Alright, let’s do this. Underhanded or not, a win’s a win.

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