The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 146

Chapter 146   Coup d’état

Medes was being taken away by the police who had arrived after receiving a report.

“Hey, stop resisting!”

“Just surrender quietly!”

“Let go of me! I’m the leader of ‘Dread Drake’!”

“‘Dread Drake’? What’s this guy talking about?”

“He’s babbling about the past. Man, these old-timers…”

“We’ll probably uncover a whole bunch of other crimes during the interrogation.”

On his way home, Wayne happened to pass by the scene and stood there, dumbfounded, watching as Medes was arrested.

(Is that Medes? What the hell is he doing? Why is he being taken down by the police…?)

As Wayne stood there in shock, he overheard the chatter of the onlookers who had already gathered.

“What happened?”

“It seems a drunk attacked the lodging of the ‘Black Wall Knights.'”

“Geez, how dangerous.”

(Attacked the ‘Black Wall Knights’? Could it be that he was so angry about the contract being canceled that he went on a rampage at the adventurers’ guild?)

The next day, the break room at the ‘Spirit Workshop’ was buzzing with this news.

“Apparently, Medes was arrested,” Pat said.

“Were you at the scene, Wayne?”

Aina started the conversation.

“Yeah. According to the people passing by, a drunk Medes threw a stone through the window of the ‘Black Wall Knights’ lodging.”

“A crime committed while drunk, huh? Just because the contract got canceled…”

“And he attacked the adventurer guild instead of us at the ‘Spirit Workshop,’ which makes it even more… odd.”

Pat rubbed his forehead with a troubled expression.

“When he was getting arrested, he kept saying he was the head of ‘Dread Drake.'”

“‘Dread Drake’?”

“I’ve heard that name from my grandfather,” said Rody, the older member.

“Apparently, it was a con artist group that ran rampant on this island over 20 years ago.”

“So Medes was the leader of that con artist group?” Lizetta grimaced.

“He’s always had a bit of a thug vibe, even back when I was with ‘Dragon’s Ember’… Was he really a gangster?”

“Whatever the case…” Pat glanced out the window toward ‘Dragon’s Ember.’

“They’re going to have a hard time ahead, ‘Dragon’s Ember’…”

The news that Medes had attacked the ‘Black Wall Knights’ spread across the island that same day.

Simon, the captain of the ‘Black Wall Knights,’ was furious.

“An attack in retaliation for a contract termination? This is unprecedented. We can’t just stand by and ignore such a reckless act that endangers our members! We, the ‘Black Wall Knights,’ will strongly protest to ‘Dragon’s Ember’ about this incident.”

Simon declared this publicly in the town square.

The shock among the staff of ‘Dragon’s Ember’ and the external adventurer guilds who heard about this incident was immeasurable.

Complaints poured in, demanding an explanation, and Quartet was overwhelmed trying to respond.

“Ugh, we can’t get any work done like this,” Charles sighed as he entered the workshop designated for Quartet.

He had just finished dealing with customer complaints and had finally been freed.

“Damn it. What is our guild master doing? We’re already in trouble with the ‘Black Wall Knights’ defecting,” Raoul couldn’t help but complain.

And before long, a new complaint came in.

“This isn’t good. Today’s production is going to be postponed,” he muttered.

“Raoul, Charles, can I have a word?” Edgar beckoned the two of them over.

Raoul and Charles, puzzled, listened to what Edgar had to say.

“What!? A coup d’etat?” Raoul couldn’t believe his ears.

“Are you serious? At a time when the guild is already in so much trouble…”

“Precisely because of this,” Edgar replied with an unusually serious expression.

“All the recent downturns in our performance are Medes’ fault. And yet, that bastard has been blaming everything on us. He’s useless, dragging us down. How long are we going to let this continue?”

“…”

“If we keep letting him handle things, this guild is doomed. We need to come together and drag him down, right now.”

Not long after, Medes was released.

However, when he arrived at the workshop, what awaited him was a formal letter of condemnation issued by Quartet.

“The recent erratic behavior of the guild master is intolerable. A leader of an alchemy guild who assaults adventurers is not fit to represent us to our clients. We, the Quartet, demand Medes resign as guild master within one week. If he fails to do so, all of us in the Quartet, along with the alchemists under us, will refuse to follow any work orders and halt all ongoing projects.”

While Edgar incited the Quartet and the staff, he also took the opportunity to negotiate with Medes directly. He waited until Raoul and Charles returned to their tasks and then quietly visited the guild master’s office.

“Well, things have gotten pretty serious, haven’t they, Guild Master?”

“What’s serious about it? You’re part of the coup yourself,” Medes retorted.

Medes looked at Edgar, who had approached him with a casual demeanor, and sighed in exasperation.

Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at Edgar. Edgar had a peculiar, disarming friendliness that made it easy for him to get close to others.

“That’s not it. I got roped into this by them. They cornered me, saying, ‘You’re the only one who can stand up to the guild master. You need to lead the protest.’ I even tried to stop them, telling them now is the time for everyone in the guild to unite, not to start an internal conflict. But then they said, ‘If you don’t act, we’re leaving the guild.’ When they put it like that, I had no choice. I couldn’t let valuable people leave the guild,” Edgar explained.

“Sounds suspicious to me,” Medes replied.

“So, what’s going to happen with the trial? You won’t end up in prison, will you?” Edgar asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous. All I did was break some glass while drunk. At most, they’ll charge me with property damage,” Medes scoffed.

(Though they could charge him with assault, battery, or even threats,) Edgar thought to himself.

“Even if it’s severe, I’ll probably just have to pay a fine. In any case, I plan to plead not guilty at the trial,” Medes continued.

(No way you can plead not guilty with the evidence they have,) Edgar thought.

“So, what about the guild? Complaints are piling up, and the staff seems ready to revolt,” Edgar asked.

“Hmm, what to do… At this rate, I might really be forced out as guild master. I can’t just punish the dissenters—there are too many of them. I have to find some way to deflect the criticism…” Medes mused.

“Guild Master, I have a good idea,” Edgar suggested.

“Let’s hear it,” Medes said.

“Make me the temporary guild master,” Edgar proposed.

“What? You?” Medes narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Whoa, don’t misunderstand me. I have no intention of becoming the permanent guild master. This is just a temporary measure. Once things settle down, you’ll return to your position,” Edgar clarified.

“…”

“Obviously, doing nothing would be bad, right? We need a response that satisfies both internal and external critics. Step back for a bit to cool things down, and I’ll make sure you can come back as guild master later. In return, if this works out, you make me the head of the Quartet,” Edgar continued.

“…”

“I’ll take all the criticism. Please, for the sake of the guild, let me be the shield,” Edgar pleaded.

Medes considered this. He didn’t care much about the staff’s criticism; he figured he could dodge and deflect as usual, and it would eventually die down. What really troubled him was his hidden stash of funds.

The money Medes had earned during his days with the underworld was mixed with the assets of “The Dragon’s Ember.” Right now, attracting the attention of the authorities regarding those hidden funds would be bad.

It seemed that the authorities had caught a whiff of Medes’ past. During his interrogation, they had repeatedly probed him about “Dread Drake.”

Why the authorities had suddenly gained knowledge of Medes’ time with “Dread Drake” was a mystery. But, in any case, he needed to keep the hidden funds under wraps.

Transferring the money openly while under this level of scrutiny would be difficult. He needed a way to create a distraction and buy time.

In the end, Medes decided to go along with Edgar’s plan. That same day, Medes’ resignation was announced. Edgar was named as his successor, while Medes would remain within the organization as an executive.

This news infuriated Wayne and Lizetta.

“Edgar as guild master?! Are you kidding me? Why on earth would they make him the guild master?” Wayne fumed.

“And Medes still retains a position as an executive? Keeping a former underworld figure, who’s practically a gangster and facing criminal charges, as an executive? How rotten is that guild’s culture?!” Lizetta added, her face contorted in anger.

“We have to bring them down, no matter what!”

Wayne and Lizetta joined forces with a newfound sense of unity and determination.

The next day, Medes felt a bit more at ease as he prepared to head to the atelier.

(“Phew… I was worried when I was hauled off over those ridiculous accusations, but it looks like I’ll manage to keep my current position somehow. All thanks to my impeccable conduct…”)

However, as he stepped out of the entrance, he ran into the police.

“Excuse us. Are you Mr. Medes?”

“We need you to come with us to the station,” they said.

Within moments, two police officers flanked Medes on both sides.

“What!? W-what do you think you’re doing? What right do you have to detain an innocent person…?”

“You are under suspicion of serious violations of guild ethics, such as falsifying equipment statistics and committing accounting fraud.”

“This comes as a complaint from Edgar Rogue, the new guild master of ‘The Dragon’s Ember.'”

“What?!”

(Edgar is accusing me… Damn it. That bastard Edgar… He set me up!)

Meanwhile, Edgar sat in the guild master’s chair, smirking to himself.

“Heh heh… By now, that old man must have been arrested.”

(Now that I’ve taken over as guild master, you’re of no use to me anymore. Goodbye, Medes. Enjoy eating prison slop.)

“Hey, make sure to announce this publicly. Also, remove Medes from the guild.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Following Edgar’s orders, his secretary hurriedly began drafting the documents.

Raoul watched this with a bitter expression. He was starting to realize that Edgar had been using him all along.

(Is this really okay? Letting Edgar manipulate the guild like this… Is this really what we wanted?)

Thus, Medes’ past misdeeds—falsifying equipment statistics, hiding assets, and committing accounting fraud—were exposed, and his expulsion from “The Dragon’s Ember” was announced.

However, this announcement infuriated the external adventurer guild, “Crimson Sand Players.”

“He falsified equipment statistics?! You’ve got to be kidding me!”

That same day, “Crimson Sand Players” announced the termination of their contract in outrage and their decision to join the “Spirit Alliance.”

Every organization, being run by people, inevitably has a few seeds of scandal hidden within. It’s up to the management’s competence to handle those discreetly and nip them in the bud before they become public knowledge… but…

(To think the organization’s own leader would expose them…)

Pat, a former employee of “The Dragon’s Ember,” was deeply troubled.

(No matter how much outsiders might make noise, as long as the internal members don’t acknowledge it, it would have remained just a suspicion… But now that the leader has admitted it, it’s all over.)

The third external guild, “Fortress Archers,” found themselves in turmoil. Alone, “Fortress Archers” had no chance against the “Spirit Alliance.”

But they didn’t want to pay the hefty cancellation fees, either.

The internal debate within “Fortress Archers” raged with no end in sight until a new ship arrived, and news spread that Jill Irwin, an S-class heavy-armored knight of the “Golden Hawk,” had disembarked at the port.

On the same day, “Fortress Archers” decided to join the “Spirit Alliance.”