The Guild Master Whose Hobby Was Helping People Found Himself Surrounded by the Strongest, Overly Attached Members - 42-43

Chapter 42: The Old Man’s Pressure Is Overwhelming 2

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After finishing ten hellish laps, I collapsed face-down on the ground, gasping for breath, but Rovan-san showed no mercy.

“Boy, stand up.”

“…I’m already standing… In spirit…”

“If you’ve got the strength to move your mouth, that’s plenty.”

He yanked me up by the arm and forced me onto a bench in the plaza.

“…Next is swordsmanship training?”

If someone who had made a name for himself with the sword was willing to instruct me, that would be an invaluable experience. I didn’t think I could become much stronger at this point, but if it raised my survival rate, it was worth it… Or so I thought.

“No.”

A flat, immediate reply.

“Sit. Stay there, and watch people.”

“Watch people…?”

Not sword training, not muscle training, just “watch people.” From the bench in the plaza, the scenery spread before me.

The town in the afternoon was livelier than I expected. On the stone-paved road, merchants dragged carts that rattled as they passed. Each time the wheels bumped, piles of fruit and cloth swayed.

Across the street, at a food stall, the savory aroma of grilled skewers drifted on the breeze, and children clutched coins as they lined up. Adults bustled by carrying shopping bags, while women who seemed to be housewives gossiped merrily by the well.

Some walked their dogs, while young people—probably adventurers—laughed with their companions, weapons slung over their backs. Laughter, the creak of carts, merchants’ calls, the distant notes of a minstrel’s flute.

Even as I stared absentmindedly, the town kept moving without pause. Sure, if the task was “watching people,” there was no shortage of subjects. But—

“…Does this count as training?”

“On the battlefield, before you swing a sword, your survival depends on whether you can ‘read.’”

“Read… You mean predict?”

“That’s right. People always give signs before they move. Breathing, eyes, the angle of their limbs. Enemies and allies alike.”

Rovan-san jerked his chin.

“There, look at that merchant.”

A middle-aged man arranging fruit at a street corner stall.

“Ah, those apples look good. Maybe I’ll buy some later.”

“What is he going to drop?”

“…Drop?”

Just as I faltered at the sudden question, a bright red apple slipped from the man’s hand—thud.

“…It fell.”

“Easy, right? He was flustered, putting too much strength in his arm. That always makes the fingertips loosen.”

As I gaped, Rovan-san continued.

“Next, that child. What happens next?”

“…He’s just running—”

The boy tripped on a stone and fell flat on his face.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding.”

“The weapon doesn’t matter. It can be a sword or magic. But the ability to see people—you need that no matter what. Yes. Especially you, boy.”

“Especially… What do you mean?”

“Your sword skills are average at best. Your magic, nonexistent. Your build… Well, slender.”

Ouch. Every word hit.

“But your head works. That’s why you can sharpen your ability to read. Even if you can’t win with strength or speed, you can still snatch victory if you read your opponent’s moves first.”

Rovan-san laughed, his voice rasping as though scorched by liquor. It wasn’t just a hearty laugh. It carried the weight of someone who had crossed death’s edge countless times.

“…The ability to read wins the fight.”

When I repeated it, he nodded with satisfaction.

“That’s right. When I cut down my first dragon, it was the same. If I had challenged it head-on, I’d have died. But I read everything—its breath, the angle of its wings—and because of that, I took its head.”

He just casually dropped a “dragon-slaying” story. Wait, first dragon? Most adventurers would brag for life about just one kill.

“Listen, boy. The stronger the opponent, the smaller their openings. But no one has zero. Read them. People, monsters… Even comrades.”

“Comrades too…?”

“Of course. If you don’t think, one day… You’ll get stabbed.”

A chill crawled up my spine. Not stabbed by a sword—he meant something else. His gaze, sharp as when he faced battle, carried a faintly teasing glint.

“…By stabbed, you mean… That. Right?”

I asked hesitantly, and Rovan-san gave a thin smile.

“Of course. Monsters are enemies… But women are far more terrifying.”

My stomach twisted. Ceres’s extravagant smile and rampages flashed in my mind. Iris’s earnest gaze. Lisette’s quiet pressure at my back. Sera’s sweet, needy voice tickling my ear.

“Strong swords and spells can be blocked. Even the Sword Saint’s blade can be dodged. But… The blade of emotions is hard to evade. If you’re not ready to take it, then at least sharpen your eyes.”

Rovan-san leaned back on the bench again and pulled out a flask of liquor.

“…I’ll do my best.”

“Good. Then—try one more time.”

He jerked his chin at a young woman walking along the road. She carried shopping bags in both hands, walking across the stone pavement. Sure enough, her footing looked a bit unsteady.

“…Got it!”

I leaned forward, brimming with confidence.

“She’s going to trip on a stone and fall!”

Rovan-san just looked at me while sipping his drink. Alright, if I timed it right and caught her, I’d earn some points. I dashed toward the woman—

“Look out!”

I shouted, arms outstretched as I leapt. But the woman didn’t trip. She moved gracefully, lightly forward.

…Which meant I ended up hugging her head-on.

“Kya!? W-What do you think you’re doing, you pervert!”

The shopping bag swung and smacked me clean in the face. From the bag flew a daikon, striking my forehead like a finishing blow.

“Guhf…!”

Tears stung my eyes as I toppled over. From above came Rovan-san’s low voice.

“…Boy. Reading is important, but you should think about your own actions too.”

The old man shook with laughter on the bench. The day I earned his approval seemed very far away.

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Chapter 43: I Really, Really Want to Take This Request

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I had one trait that could be called both a blessing and a curse. To satisfy my own inclinations, it was more convenient if no one around me knew my true identity.

As if that wish had borne fruit, whenever I headed to the guild, I somehow ended up caught in some kind of accident, and in battles I could deliberately get myself drenched in blood. Thanks to this “blood-soaked phenomenon,” I had been able to operate until now without ever revealing my face. Most things worked out through one “somehow or another” phenomenon.

But as Lisette tracked down my whereabouts, and as members like Sera and Ragnar joined the guild, this ability had begun to weaken. I returned home without being covered in blood, or incidents wrapped up without me suffering a single injury. Convenient as it might sound, for me it was a matter of life and death.

The reason I was talking about this now was because—

“Ah! Shin-san, it’s been so long!”

“Uh, h-hello…”

I was visiting one of the enormous guilds in the royal capital. Generally speaking, requests were submitted directly by clients to each guild, but since guilds varied in size, contacting every single one of them was troublesome.

So, depending on the client, they might post their requests only with a large-scale guild, and then adventurers from other guilds who came to look could accept them as well. And so, after receiving information from a certain source that there was “an interesting request,” I made my way to the capital—but I was recognized in no time.

Not only by the receptionist onee-san who greeted me, but just by hearing the name “Shin,” the adventurers around started to stir.

“…Hey, Shin’s that ‘Bloodstained,’ isn’t he?”

“Yeah, the B-rank hero. My friend said he was saved by him too.”

“I heard he loved solitude, but…It seems like he’s a guild master now. Supposedly the joining requirement is S-rank or higher.”

“No, that man is braver than anyone else. It’s not about strength or rank. Strong people are drawn to lofty ideals.”

This was unbelievably uncomfortable. Brave? Noble? Who were they talking about? All I wanted was to fight at the razor’s edge between life and death.

And for the record, I had never set any joining requirement of S-rank or above for the guild. The rumor had taken on a life of its own and inflated into some “ideal image of leadership” that portrayed me as the magnanimous leader or something.

The piercing stares—I felt them. Admiration, respect, sometimes envy. My stomach started to ache, so I cut my greeting at the reception short and began searching for the request I’d come for.

The request board at the royal capital’s guild was, as expected of a large guild, overwhelming. Papers covered the wooden board from edge to edge. From transporting daily goods, to monster subjugation, to ruin investigations, and even some stamped with “Official Request from the Royal Palace.”

Groups of adventurers stared intently at the sheets.

Now then… I’ll just pick a request quietly, without drawing attention…

Or so I thought, when yet another voice rang out from behind me.

“Hey, look at that. ‘Bloodstained’ is choosing a request.”

“What kind of dangerous request is he going to take, I wonder…?!”

“They say he secretly prevented the capital’s destruction just the other day!”

Stop narrating, damn it. If it was supposed to be secret, then who told you? The more embellishments got added, the more troublesome this became, so I hurried to scan through the request sheets.

This one’s… A monster subjugation. No, not that. Not material gathering either… Oh?

What caught my eye was a sheet written in luxurious golden letters.

…This is it.

It wasn’t a subjugation. It wasn’t a gathering request either, but it looked like a really interesting request. It would take several days, and since it had only been posted recently, no one had taken it yet. But if I left it alone, someone else would snatch it up soon enough.

When I picked up the request sheet—

“Look! ‘Bloodstained’ chose one!”

“I see…So this is the kind of request where he shows his true worth…”

The adventurers grew lively, convinced of their own conclusions. I definitely had to bring earplugs the next time I came here.

And so, I officially accepted the “interesting request.”

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