The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 158

Chapter 158   Edgar’s Business Trip

The massive body of the “Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir” collapsed to its knees and then lay flat on the ground.

Just before it fell, Jill withdrew her blade and stepped away.

Karla watched the scene from a short distance away.

(Did… did we do it?)

While fighting, she had been completely absorbed, but now that they had actually defeated it, she found herself in disbelief.

However, seeing the corpse of the “Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir” convulsing and spitting something out of its mouth left no room for doubt.

Jill and Karla rushed over to where the dragon had spit out a red jewel.

“Jill, what is that?”

“It looks like the dragon core of the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir,'” Jill replied, picking up the red jewel.

“What’s wrong? You look worried,” Jill asked, noticing Karla’s expression.

“Well, it’s just that…”

(Even if we defeated the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir,’ will the ‘Dragon Burial Ritual’…?)

As Karla was pondering, they heard the sound of many footsteps approaching.

“Jill! Karla!”

“Ah, Laurent!”

Jill’s face brightened up as she ran over to Laurent.

“So, you managed to defeat the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir.’ Impressive.”

“Yes! Thanks to you, Laurent, preparing the ground so thoroughly, we managed to defeat it without too much trouble. And Karla, did a great job assisting me,” Jill responded.

“Is that so? Karla, you did well too,” Laurent said.

“Well, I…”

“Hmm, it seems the ‘Dragon Burial Dance’ was successful too.”

“What? Really?” Karla exclaimed.

“Yes, I had the dragon core appraised, and it bears the effect of the ‘Dragon Burial Dance.'”

“…”

“All that remains is to complete the ritual. If we throw a part of the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir’s’ body into the crater and offer the dragon core at the town’s shrine, the revival of your long-desired ‘Dragon Burial Ritual’ will also be…”

“Ah, Laurent…”

Karla, overwhelmed with emotion, threw herself into Laurent’s arms.

“Huh? Karla?” Laurent said, surprised.

“Laurent, thank you… truly…” Karla sobbed against Laurent’s chest.

Laurent placed a hand on Karla’s head to help calm her down.

“Karla, to complete the ritual, we need to go to the summit,” Laurent said gently.

“…Yes,” Karla nodded.

“Let’s go together, to the summit.”

Around the time when the “Spirit Alliance” defeated the “Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir,” in the town, the “White Wolf” was negotiating with “Dragon’s Ember” to launch a final attack against the “Spirit Alliance.”

The volcano had erupted.

This must mean that the “Spirit Alliance” was defeated by the “Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir.”

If they ambushed the “Spirit Alliance” while they were descending the mountain, they could be sure of victory.

The “Dragon’s Ember” was asked to support them in this plan.

Responding to this request, Raoul quickly began to act.

He submitted a revised equipment proposal to Edgar to defeat the “Spirit Alliance.”

Within the “Dragon’s Ember,” the momentum to defeat the “Spirit Alliance” had surged once again.

However, amidst this atmosphere, Edgar himself felt rather indifferent.

At this very moment, he was nodding repeatedly while listening to Gilbert’s report.

“Hmm… I see. So, that’s what happened inside the dungeon…” Edgar muttered.

“Exactly, look at this,” Gilbert responded.

Gilbert placed the dented armor, damaged from Jill’s attack, on the desk.

“This happened after taking a hit from Jill…” he explained.

“Ah, I see. That’s pretty bad,” Edgar replied.

As an A-rank alchemist, Edgar quickly grasped what kind of battle had occurred just by looking at the damaged armor.

From the extent of the damage, it was clear that there was a significant gap in power.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for your report, I might have naively believed Jamil’s account,” Edgar said.

“Well, I have a suggestion…” Gilbert muttered as he quickly moved closer to Edgar and began whispering in his ear.

His manner shifted from dealing with a business partner to confiding in a close friend.

“In my opinion, they’re done for… The ‘White Wolf’ is finished,” Gilbert continued.

“Hmm,” Edgar pondered.

“It’s time to cut them loose. Don’t you think? You’re a businessman, after all. You need to consider your next move and make a calm, rational decision. So, maybe you should give that plan a little more thought?” Gilbert suggested.

Meanwhile, Laurent and the others harvested the fangs, wings, scales, bones, hide, and horns of the “Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir,” turning them into items as they proceeded toward the summit to complete the “Dragon Burial Ritual.”

For now, they decided to throw one of the dragon’s fangs into the volcano’s crater.

As soon as they did, a purifying wind swept through the crater, dispelling the malevolent energy. In its wake, a hint of green began to sprout on the gray soil near the mountaintop.

From the town below, the scene appeared even more fantastical.

A curtain of light seemed to drape over the summit, resembling an aurora descending from the heavens.

The older islanders watched the sight with wide eyes.

None of them had ever expected to witness the “Dragon Burial Ritual,” which had ceased over ten years ago, being performed again.

On their way back from the quest reception, Wayne and Pat were stopped by people, bombarded with questions.

“What was that curtain of light over the volcano’s summit?”

“Did the ‘Spirit Alliance’ really defeat the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir’?”

“I heard that the ‘Clan of the Dragon Burial’ was restored thanks to Laurent Gill. Is that true?”

“I don’t know!” Wayne replied, irritated, fending off the persistent townspeople. “Laurent hasn’t even returned yet.”

“Come on, don’t get so mad, Wayne,” Pat said with a chuckle. “If they really did defeat the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir,’ which hasn’t been defeated in over ten years, it’s only natural for the locals to be curious about what happened.”

“Yeah, but how many people have asked us the same thing already?” Wayne grumbled.

“Well, well, everything will be clear once Laurent returns,” Pat said, trying to change the subject and distract Wayne from his frustration. “Besides, that magic stone you wanted to show Laurent is finally close to being mass-produced, isn’t it?”

“Heh, yeah, I guess,” Wayne replied, pulling a deep crimson magic stone from his pocket. He flicked it with his finger, catching it in his hand.

“This is the ‘Magma Magic Stone.’ If we can harness its power, it could significantly boost the attack strength of fire-type mages.”

“Fire-type mages, huh… If that’s the case, we might be able to open a market on the Northern Continent,” Pat mused.

On the Northern Continent, there was a high demand for fire magic, but a chronic shortage of talented mages.

The “Spirit Workshop” was gradually taking over the market share from the “Dragon’s Embers” on the island, but their exports beyond the island were still weak.

Wayne’s magic stone could serve as a perfect stepping stone for expanding outside the island.

“If we could establish a trade route outside the island, we could sell Aina’s ‘Exterior Enhancement Coating’ equipment and my ‘Tuned and Calibrated’ instruments too…”

“We could expand our business more broadly. And most importantly, we could steal ‘Dragon’s Embers’ clients from outside the island. That would finally make Edgar eat his words!” Wayne exclaimed with a grin.

“Are you still obsessed with getting revenge on Edgar?” Pat asked, amused.

“Of course I am! Edgar is still the guild master. I’m not going to let him get away with it. Just watch, with this magic stone, I’ll knock that bastard out of his guild master’s chair!” Wayne declared confidently.

Pat laughed. (He’s so stubborn about this… Still, Wayne is finally starting to act like a real magic stone specialist. All thanks to Laurent, I guess… huh?)

Pat stopped in his tracks, noticing a ship docked at the port and a crowd gathered around it.

“Pat? What’s wrong?”

“Well, that ship…”

“Huh? A cargo ship?”

It was a cargo ship specially outfitted to export goods produced on the island.

There were only a limited number of items that could be exported from this island—high-end luxury goods and specialty products unique to the island. Most of them were equipment made by the ‘Dragon’s Embers’ guild.

“Tch. Annoying. But what’s the big deal? Cargo ships carrying ‘Dragon’s Embers’ equipment is business as usual, right?” Wayne muttered.

“Yeah, but something feels off. Cargo ships usually depart at the end of the month. But this one looks like it’s about to set sail as soon as tomorrow,” Pat observed.

“Hmm? You’re right. Now that you mention it, it is strange,” Wayne muttered, recalling today’s date.

“Did something happen?”

“Let’s find out. Excuse me!” Pat called out to one of the crew members who seemed to be in charge of loading the cargo.

“Hm? What is it?”

“What’s going on here? It looks like you’re preparing to depart as early as tomorrow.”

“Yeah, we’ve been ordered to depart suddenly tomorrow,” the crew member replied.

“Oh, really? Why’s that?”

“Apparently, the schedule was changed urgently for the sake of the ‘Dragon’s Embers’ guild master,” the crew member explained.

“For Edgar?” Wayne asked.

“Yes. Apparently, there’s an urgent need for him to negotiate with a trading partner outside the island. So, he’s going on a business trip,” the crew member added.

“A business trip…”

“Well, since the ‘Dragon’s Embers’ guild exports equipment off the island, it’s not too strange that they might have some work outside. But still, it’s quite a sudden development,” Pat said, looking a bit skeptical.

Wayne furrowed his brow, also feeling suspicious.

“Edgar going on a business trip? At a time like this?”

Wayne’s keen instinct sensed the scent of something suspicious in the air.