The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 115

Chapter 115   Reinforcements

Laurent was wandering inside a volcano.

Lava flowed nearby.

The sky was dyed orange and black.

The fire dragon had scorched the sky with its fiery breath.

Suddenly, arrows flew from high above, and the White Wolf troops closed in, their swords gleaming.

Laurent looked back at his allies.

The unit was in a pitiful state.

Their weapons were in tatters, their legs were exhausted, and everyone wore tired expressions.

He had to protect his unit somehow.

With that thought, Laurent desperately tried to rally his allies.

However, their responses were sluggish, and they moved forward out of inertia, barely able to hold their swords.

The unit was being toyed with and trampled by the White Wolf’s fluid, wave-like attacks.

One by one, his allies fell, and soon Laurent was the only one left standing.

The deadly blade of the White Wolf closed in on Laurent’s back.

“Hah!!”

Laurent woke up in his bed.

Sweat poured down his face like a waterfall.

As he struggled to grasp the situation, a woman with green eyes peered at him with concern.

To Laurent, she looked like a goddess.

“Laurent, you’re awake,” said Lilianne.

“You are… Lily? Why are you here? And where is this place?” Laurent asked as he instinctively looked around.

It was his own room.

Beside him was a bucket of water and a towel.

(Lily must have been taking care of me all this time.)

“I was so surprised. I heard you returned from the dungeon and rushed over, but you were unconscious,” Lilianne said as she wiped Laurent’s face with the towel.

“The dungeon… We made it back from the dungeon? Did the unit survive?” Laurent asked.

“Yes. According to Leon, you lost consciousness as soon as you returned from the dungeon, probably from relief,” she explained.

“I see. Is the unit safe? And what about the people who were captured by the White Wolves?” he inquired.

“Leon and the members of the Dawn Shield are negotiating on behalf of the alliance. So far, everything is going smoothly, and the captives should be released by tomorrow,” Lilianne replied.

“That’s good. No problems, then,” Laurent sighed in relief and lay back on the bed.

“Yes, so you should rest a bit more…” Lilianne started to say, but she noticed that Laurent had already fallen asleep again.

His sleeping face looked much more peaceful than before.

“Laurent…”

While Laurent was sleeping, Alice, Claire, and Will were being released from the White Wolves.

The release of the captives was handled smoothly according to the island’s prisoner agreement, with Leon acting as the temporary representative for the alliance and a representative from the White Wolves.

Alice stretched her wrists, which were stiff from the restraints.

“Ah, finally free from being a captive. My whole body is so stiff!”

“It’s been a while since I was a prisoner. I wonder how Hans is doing,” Claire said.

“Hmm, who knows. He can be a bit fragile. I hope he’s not causing trouble for the alliance,” Alice replied, her face showing concern for her brother.

“Hey, speak of the devil, it looks like our ride is here,” Will said, spotting Lana and Hans approaching.

“Alice, Claire, are you alright?” Hans called out as he and Lana ran up to confirm their safety.

“Brother!” Alice exclaimed.

“We’re fine. But what happened to the alliance?” Alice asked.

“We managed to return to the city without falling apart. But thank goodness you’re okay,” Hans replied.

For a moment, they celebrated their safe reunion.

“So, Laurent collapsed,” Claire noted.

“Yeah, he pushed himself too hard,” Hans agreed.

“I didn’t contribute much during the retreat either. We should visit him when he wakes up,” Will said.

“But what will happen to the alliance now?” Alice wondered aloud.

“What do you mean?” Hans asked.

“Well, wasn’t this basically a failure? Our losses were minor, but the losses for the Spirit Workshop are significant, aren’t they?” Alice pointed out.

“The alchemist guild-led alliance is starting to show its limits,” Claire added.

“You don’t think the Spirit Workshop itself is finished, do you?” Alice asked with concern.

“We’ll have to ask Laurent to know for sure,” Hans said.

All five of them shared a somber mood.

Laurent woke up again, this time it was near evening.

“Here, say ‘ahh,'” Lilianne held a sliced apple up to Laurent’s mouth.

“Lily, it’s okay. I can move, you don’t have to go to so much trouble,” Laurent protested.

“Oh, it’s fine. Come on, say ‘ahh,'” she insisted.

“Mm,” Laurent reluctantly took the fruit she offered.

“I’ve taken a look at the alliance’s formation. There were some rather weak adventurers whose statuses hadn’t been adjusted. Their equipment was in terrible shape too.”

“Ugh…”

“This isn’t like you. To do something so reckless.”

“Adventurers on this island are a complicated matter.”

“I heard from the staff at the atelier. They said adventurer battles are allowed on this island.”

“That’s right. There’s a guild called ‘White Wolf’ that makes a living off of plundering from other adventurers. They’re incredibly troublesome, always hitting us where it hurts. The ‘Dragon’s Embers’ are also a problem. They’re the largest atelier on the island and one of the top alchemy guilds in the world… but in reality, they’re merchants of death. They profit from adventurers fighting each other, wearing out their equipment. The small-time adventurers on the island complicate things further. They pressure outside adventurer guilds, form alliances and become dependent on them, but when it comes time to fight, they prioritize their own guilds’ interests and become uncooperative. This makes it easier for ‘White Wolf’ to operate and exacerbates the malign influence of ‘Dragon’s Embers.'”

“Hmm, I see. It’s completely different from ‘Adventurer’s Town,’ then.”

“How are things in ‘Adventurer’s Town?”

“Not very good.”

Lilianne sighed, troubled.

“People are starting to criticize you for being away from the guild for so long, Laurent. They’re asking how long the preparations to defeat the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir’ will take.”

“I see.”

“I’ve been trying to defend your position as much as possible… but it’s been difficult. My plan for this visit was to check on the progress of the preparations and push for a deadline, but after hearing all this, it seems reckless to rush to a conclusion.”

Lilianne crossed her arms, deep in thought.

“Indeed. I feel terrible for not being able to give a clear answer,” Laurent said, rubbing his face in a gesture of frustration.

“However, this recent incident has shown that the alchemists at the atelier are still mentally immature. I thought it would be okay to shift focus to training adventurers, but I was wrong. Seeing that faulty equipment makes it clear that it was too soon to take my eyes off the atelier. What should I do…”

“You seem to be struggling, Laurent,” a familiar voice said.

Laurent was startled.

(That voice…)

He looked towards the entrance and saw someone he knew well.

“Ranju!?”

Behind Ranju, Arri and Charl also popped their heads in.

“We’ve finished our work in ‘Adventurer’s Town’…”

“We came to help!”

“Regarding dungeon exploration, we may not be much help, but when it comes to running the alchemy guild and atelier, we can definitely lend a hand.”