The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 80

Chapter 80   The downfall of the Magic Knights

The next day, Sein gathered adventurers and townspeople in the square to deliver a speech about the recent expedition to defeat the “Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir.”

“Everyone, I thank you for your cooperation in the recent expedition to defeat the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir.’ Our great battle has only just begun. I intend to reorganize our forces and this time, we will defeat the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir.’ But before that, there’s something you need to know. Do you know about the darkness lurking within ‘Dragon’s Ember’? Their heinous, vile, and reprehensible actions? Their despicable, shameless acts that go against human decency?”

The audience gasped.

What kind of heinous acts had “Dragon’s Ember” committed?

“They have been supporting a thieves’ guild while supplying equipment to honorable guilds like ours, sabotaging our efforts to fight monsters and hindering our path to glory. They are merchants of death, spreading misfortune with their weapons. Hypocritical, double-dealing scoundrels. Witnessing these filthy truths, what do you think? Shouldn’t we confront their evil deeds and demand they change their ways?”

Sein posed this challenge.

However, the response from the townspeople was tepid.

The fact that “Dragon’s Ember” had connections with thieves was common knowledge among the island’s residents. They knew the island’s adventurer economy couldn’t function without such connections.

Sein began to feel frustrated with the silent audience.

“Why are you all so quiet? Don’t you care? We are constantly threatened from behind while we fight for you!”

“More importantly!”

One of the audience members approached the podium. He was an adventurer from a small guild that had participated in the great alliance.

“When are you going to pay us? You said you’d pay us after we descended the mountain. Our guild is barely surviving. If you don’t pay us soon, we won’t be able to cover this month’s expenses.”

“The real issue is the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir,'”

Another townsman approached the podium.

“Is the dragon going to continue rampaging? Will it ever stop? Is it going to extend its destruction to the city? You’re the one responsible. Explain it to us.”

“Wait a minute. I haven’t received my payment either!”

Another adventurer approached the podium and voiced their concerns.

As more and more people crowded around the stage, expressing their various worries and complaints, the square became chaotic and uncontrollable.

(Oh, I told him not to give a speech.)

Arl looked at Sein with a resigned expression on his face.

(Sein’s bad habit has come out again. When he’s cornered, he loses sight of everything around him and completely misfires. This time, it’s no good.)

In the end, Sein’s speech was a failure, only increasing the anxiety among the islanders and diminishing the reputation of the “Guardians of the Magic Institute.”

While Sein was giving his speech in the town square, another speech was taking place in the workshop of “Dragon’s Ember.”

“So, what do you think Laurent did to his subordinate who had been loyally serving the guild? He banished him! Literally silencing him.”

Gilbert was delivering his speech in the dining hall of “Dragon’s Ember.”

The employees, in the midst of their lunch, listened intently.

Gilbert, after his initial visit, had been frequently entering and leaving “Dragon’s Ember,” ostensibly for inspections and tours but actually to incite discontent.

“That’s a terrible story.”

“There’s more. Behind those illustrious medals of his, Laurent has betrayed countless men and brought countless women to tears. He lies without hesitation, betrays people, and commits fraud.”

“Unbelievable. The more I hear, the angrier I get. This Laurent guy must be a real villain.”

“That’s right. He’s definitely a child of the devil.”

“No doubt about it.”

“Everyone, make sure this story spreads throughout ‘Dragon’s Ember,’ from top to bottom. Never do business with Laurent’s guild.”

“Of course. We’ll make sure this story is known throughout the guild.”

“Yes, we will never trade with Laurent.”

“Thank you, everyone. Thank you.”

The people applauded Gilbert.

As the room buzzed with excitement, the door suddenly opened, and Lizetta entered the dining hall. Her eyes were sharply narrowed, her lips tightly pressed together, and she wore an expression of intense anger.

She marched straight over to where Edgar and Charles were sitting. Reaching their table, she slammed her hand down so hard that the plates nearly flipped over.

“What is the meaning of this? Why do Jamil and the ‘White Wolves’ have gear that neutralizes my Fire Spears?”

“Huh? If it isn’t Lizetta,” Edgar replied.

“What’s got you so riled up? You’re ruining your pretty face.”

“It’s not about what you did or didn’t do. Why did you give the ‘White Wolves’ gear that nullifies my creation? It undermines my work!”

The dining hall fell silent. Everyone stopped eating and stared at the confrontation.

“If you keep sabotaging my efforts, I won’t let it slide,” Lizetta warned.

“Geez, you’re loud,” Edgar said, standing up with an annoyed look.

“If you have so many complaints, just make a weapon better than ours. That’s all there is to it.”

“Have you forgotten our guild’s philosophy? Competition is everything.”

“My Fire Spears is designed for fighting ‘Fire Dragons’. There’s no way I can compete if they bring in something like Silver-crushing Stone.”

“Then why don’t you just quit this job?” Charles suggested.

“I’ll let the guild master know that you’re stepping down from making the Fire Spears for the ‘Guardians of the Magic Institute’.”

“…Fine. It was foolish of me to expect anything from you. I won’t ask for your help again. Goodbye.”

Lizetta turned on her heel, still fuming, and left the dining hall.

A sigh of relief swept through the room. Everyone resumed their meals.

Gilbert watched the scene closely.

(I see. This guild makes its money by playing both sides. They pretend to support external guilds while pitting them against the thief guilds, ensuring the conflict never ends. And these guys probably don’t even realize what they’re doing.)

Gilbert smirked.

(This could be useful.)

Despite promising “Guardians of the Magic Institute” to complete the equipment maintenance and production within a week, “Dragon’s Ember” found the Guardians returning to the dungeon in less than three days.

Small adventurer guilds seeking their rewards and town leaders demanding action against “Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir” besieged the Guardians’ lodging.

Arl was overwhelmed with handling the complaints in place of Sein, who sulked the entire time.

The lack of direct response from the captain bred distrust among the smaller guilds and town residents. This news also made “Dragon’s Ember” wary of the Guardians’ financial stability.

“Dragon’s Ember” demanded advance payment, resource delivery, or setting a lien on their weapons from the Guardians.

As a result, the Guardians had to dive back into the dungeon with poorly maintained equipment to secure new resources.

The outcome was disastrous.

Without the “Dragonhead Gauntlet” and “Fire Spears,” they stood no chance against the “Fire Dragons,” leading to a chaotic retreat and an ambush by the “White Wolves.” The Guardians were forced back to the town in disgrace.

Meanwhile, a new ship arrived at the port, bearing a flag with a crescent moon and a sword— the emblem of “Crescent Knights,” one of the most prestigious guilds from the southern continent.

Upon hearing of the Knights’ arrival, “Dragon’s Ember” immediately convened a quartet meeting.

“The ‘ Crescent Knights ‘ will soon be here. It will be challenging to fulfill the orders from both the ‘Guardians of the Magic Institute’ and the ‘ Crescent Knights.’ I want to hear your thoughts on this. What do you think?”

Raoul spoke up. “The leader of the ‘Guardians of the Magic Institute,’ Sein, publicly criticized us in his speech. I think we can consider this an act of hostility.”

“They’re broke, right? If we get too involved, it could be risky,” Edgar remarked.

“They’re from outside the island, after all. They don’t have any assets we can seize apart from their weapons and gear,” Charles added.

“Continuing to support them seems pointless. They couldn’t even handle the ‘White Wolves,’ let alone the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir,’” Edgar pointed out.

“The Fire Spears didn’t help them either,” Edgar casually mentioned.

“I must insist,” Lizetta interjected, “that the Fire Spears failure was not due to any flaw in the equipment itself but because the ‘White Wolves’ had shields made from ‘Silver-crushing Stone’…”

“Don’t bring up unrelated issues,” Raoul reprimanded Lizetta, who was speaking rapidly.

“Tsk,” Lizetta clicked her tongue.

“Anyway,” Medes continued, “does anyone think we should prioritize the ‘Guardians of the Magic Institute’ over the ‘Crescent Knights’?”

Medes looked around at the four faces, but no one objected.

(It’s time to cut ties….)

“Alright. Your opinions are clear. We will terminate our contract with the ‘Guardians of the Magic Institute’ effective immediately.”

At the port, the ‘Crescent Knights’ were being welcomed with cheers from the islanders.

“The ‘Crescent Knights’ are here!”

“There’s Yugan, the S rank who defeated S-class monsters on two continents.”

“We’ve been waiting for you, Lord Yugan. Please save us!”

Meanwhile, the ‘Guardians of the Magic Institute,’ clad in their tattered gear, were met with jeers as they tried to leave the port.

“You’re all talk, nothing but a fraud!”

“All you did was anger the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir’!”

“Running away without taking responsibility? Is that what a knight does?”

“Don’t ever come back, you idiot!”

“Yeah, like I’d ever come back to this island. You fickle islanders! Curse you and your Crescent Knights!”

“Sein-chan, let’s stop the shouting match. We need to hurry or we’ll miss the ship.”

“God of the sea, sink their ship.”

“God, turn those losers into seaweed!”

“What did you say, you bastard? Who called us losers? Come forward!”

“Whoa, he’s lost it!”

“Run away!”

“Sein-chan, the ship’s about to leave!”

Soon, the ship carrying the magic knights loosened its stern and bow lines, pulling away from the shore.

“Damn it, this is so unfair.”

“We’ll try again next year.”

Arl said cheerfully.

The flag of the ‘Guardians of the Magic Institute,’ which had been fluttering at the town’s premier lodging, was taken down and replaced with the flag of the ‘Crescent Knights.’