The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 83

Chapter 83   Edgar’s Slander

The “Dawn Shield,” having fended off the assassins sent by the “Dragon’s Ember,” then climbed up the dungeon and reached the quarry of the “Metal Line.”

“Alright. As planned, we’ll extract the ‘Earthcraft.’ Forget the other ores. Just focus on the ‘Earthcraft.'”

Amidst the colorful, gem-like ores, they deliberately selected and extracted the dullest looking one, the ‘Earthcraft.’

“Hurry up. We don’t have much time,” Leon urged with growing anxiety.

(The fact that the ‘Dragon’s Ember’ attacked us… I don’t know what it means, but we need to finish this quest and descend the mountain as quickly as possible to discuss this with Laurent.)

As Jeff extracted the ‘Earthcraft,’ his eyes were drawn to the nearby ‘Fire-Repelling Ore, Firerest.’

(The ‘Firerest’ sells for more than the ‘Earthcraft.’ It wouldn’t hurt to take a little of it back, right?)

While Jeff was lost in such thoughts, Monica raised her voice.

“Everyone, we’re under attack!”

In the distant sky, they saw the ‘Fire Dragon,’ its hard scales glistening as it flapped its wings.

“That’s the ‘Fire Dragon!'”

“Damn it, at a time like this.”

“This is bad. With our current equipment…”

“Everyone, continue with your tasks. I’ll handle this,” Monica said, drawing her ‘Silver Iron-Breaking Bow’ and firing a ‘Red Arrow.’

The red arrow sliced through the sky, narrowly missing the body of the ‘Fire Dragon.’

(Missed!? This must be the penetration effect of the ‘Red Arrow’ Laurent mentioned. In that case…)

Monica recalculated her next shot, considering the trajectory correction due to the penetration effect of the ‘Red Arrow.’

The arrow struck the ‘Fire Dragon’ directly, causing its body to explode.

The ‘Fire Dragon’ was split in two, its spine shattered, and it plummeted, scattering its beautiful scales.

“Alright.”

Jeff watched Monica’s shot in astonishment.

(To take down the ‘Fire Dragon’ from that distance with a single shot…)

“Jeff, is something wrong?” Elio asked with concern.

“N-nothing,” Jeff replied, releasing the ‘Fire-Repelling Ore, Firerest’ he had been secretly collecting and resuming his extraction of ‘Earthcraft.’

(Get stronger. No matter the cost!)

The ‘Dragon Knight’s Haven,’ defeated by the ‘Dawn Shield,’ returned to town in disgrace.

Hearing their report of the defeat, Edgar and Charles scratched their heads.

“That’s strange. C-class adventurers shouldn’t be able to beat my B-class equipment.”

“Was Gilbert’s information wrong? Or did those guys from the ‘Dragon Knight’s Haven’ mess up?”

“I can’t imagine a small guild having B-class adventurers. So, there’s nothing suspicious about Gilbert’s information. It must be that the ‘Dragon Knight’s Haven’ messed up, right?”

“Useless idiots.”

“Hey, isn’t this bad? If the ‘Dragon’s Ember’ lost to some no-name guild like the ‘Arsenal of the Spirits’… If the Guildmaster finds out…”

“Yeah. Let’s keep it secret for now. We need to buy some time.”

Gilbert overheard their conversation from the shadows.

(Useless fools. I warned them about the ‘Hawkeye Archer.’ If I leave it to them, we’ll never defeat Laurent. I guess I’ll have to handle this personally.)

Edgar walked down the corridor, contemplating how to cover up the failure.

(We need to quickly devise a countermeasure against the ‘Arsenal of the Spirits.’ But for now, immediate damage control is crucial. If things continue like this, the Guildmaster’s impression of me will definitely worsen. I have to find a way to cover this up.)

“Mr. Edgar,” a voice called out.

Edgar turned to see Wayne, one of the staff responsible for outfitting the ‘Dragon Knight’s Haven,’ running towards him.

“How was the armor I made? It was good, wasn’t it?” Wayne said proudly, unaware of the defeat the ‘Dragon Knight’s Haven’ had suffered.

Edgar stared at Wayne’s face for a moment, then a brilliant idea struck him.

(I can use this guy.)

“Ah, the armor you made was excellent. It was almost entirely your doing… I mean, it was almost entirely your credit. Helping out with work like this, really, I owe you a lot.”

“Oh no, not at all. You’re exaggerating.”

“So, how about this? If you’re up for it, I can report to the Guildmaster that this success was all thanks to you and recommend you for a senior position.”

“Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course.”

“Wow, that feels a bit much. To get that kind of recognition…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just reporting the facts and rewarding results appropriately. Nothing more.”

“Thank you so much. I didn’t realize you valued my work so highly. I’ll continue to follow your lead, Mr. Edgar.”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you to keep up the good work.”

As Wayne walked away enthusiastically, Edgar watched him with a sly grin.

(Such a simpleton. Sorry, but you’re going to be the scapegoat.)

Edgar made a few adjustments to the broken armor and then went straight to Medes.

“Guildmaster, may I have a moment?”

“Oh, Edgar. How’s the ‘Arsenal of the Spirits’ countermeasure coming along? It’s going well, right?”

“Well, there’s been a bit of an odd situation.”

“Odd situation?”

“Yes. Actually, we’ve received complaints about the equipment from the ‘Dragon Knight’s Haven,’ who were in charge of the ‘Arsenal of the Spirits’ countermeasures. Take a look at this armor.”

“What is this? It’s completely ruined. Did you make this?”

“No, it was made by Wayne.”

“Wayne?”

“Yes. When I mentioned the ‘Arsenal of the Spirits’ countermeasures, he was strangely eager to take on the job. Given his usual hard work and growing skills, I thought it might be time to entrust him with such a task. So, I decided to let him handle it, but…”

“I see. And this is the result?”

“Look here. Notice how unusually thin the armor is?”

“Hmm. Indeed. This level of thinness is unacceptable for armor. What was he thinking with this design? Who was responsible for the design?”

“Charles was in charge of the design. I instructed Wayne to manufacture the armor according to Charles’s design, but this thin section doesn’t match Charles’s blueprints.”

Edgar showed the design drawn by Charles.

“Indeed. There’s nothing suspicious in the blueprint. Why would Wayne do something like this?”

“Well, I’ve heard some unsettling rumors about Wayne.”

“Unsettling rumors?”

“Yes. Apparently, he was seen talking to Laurent.”

“What? With Laurent?”

“Yes. I didn’t say anything because it’s his business who he meets with, but it might be related to this incident.”

“Summon Wayne.”

“Wait. If we confront him directly, he might deny everything.”

“True. No one would admit to such misconduct easily.”

“I have an idea. I haven’t told him yet that the armor came back in this condition. Let’s keep the damage a secret for now and first get his acknowledgment that he was responsible for making this armor. We’ll tell him the armor returned unscathed and that the ‘Dragon Knight’s Haven’ gave it high praise. Then, we can confront him about the betrayal.”

“Understood. Proceed with that plan.”

Edgar quickly brought Wayne to the Guildmaster’s office.

Before entering, they had a brief discussion.

“Alright, as we discussed earlier, you were in charge of Breda’s armor. Based on that, I’ll recommend you for a senior position. Are we clear?”

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

“Good. Guildmaster, excuse us.”

Edgar knocked on the door and entered the Guildmaster’s office.

“Oh. Thank you both for coming. Sorry for calling you during work hours.”

“No problem at all.”

“Wayne, I’ve heard from Edgar. You’ve been working hard on the ‘Arsenal of the Spirits’ countermeasures, haven’t you?”

“Oh, not really. I just did what I was told.”

“Even so, to handle such work at your age is impressive. Breda, the B-class adventurer from the ‘Dragon Knight’s Haven,’ was very satisfied with the armor. I took a look at it myself, and it was quite well-made. I heard you made that armor. Is that true?”

“Yes. I was fully responsible for its manufacturing!”

“Really? So, that armor was indeed your work…”

“Yes, it was quite a masterpiece, wasn’t it?”

“Idiot! Look at this!”

The Guildmaster uncovered the broken armor beside him.

He then threw the broken armor at Wayne’s feet.

“What? What is this? How did it end up like this…?”

“I’m the one who wants to know. What were you thinking, making such a thinly armored piece? You’ve brought disgrace to the guild!”

Wayne turned pale as he examined the thin sections of the armor.

“No, this can’t be. I never made the armor this thin… This must be a mistake!”

(Feigning ignorance so obviously…)

Medes narrowed his already suspicious eyes further, glaring at Wayne.

(Is this guy really bribed by Laurent? In any case, we can’t have someone like him wandering around the guild.)

“So, you claim you were responsible for the armor’s manufacturing but know nothing about these broken parts? Fine. I understand what you want to say. You may leave.”

Wayne left the Guildmaster’s office in a daze.

“Hey, Wayne. Are you alright?”

“Oh, Edgar. I… This has to be a mistake. I would never make the armor like that…”

“Yeah, I know. You’re not the kind of guy who’d do something like that. There must be some misunderstanding.”

“But the Guildmaster…”

“Yeah, he’s completely suspicious of you. But don’t worry. I’ll clear up this misunderstanding for you.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. For now, just go back to your post. You still have work to do, right?”

“Yes. Please, I’m counting on you!”

“Leave it to me.”

Despite Edgar’s reassuring words, Wayne received a notice of dismissal. He was expelled from the workshop the same day. Edgar did not say a single word to Wayne as he left.

“Damn it. Edgar. That bastard, he set me up, didn’t he? I knew something was off. That glory-hound giving me an important job and crediting me for it? When things looked promising, he praised me and took the credit. But the moment something went wrong, he dumped all the responsibility on me and pretended he knew nothing.”

Wayne glared at the ‘Dragon’s Ember’ workshop with hatred.

“This isn’t over. I’ll get my revenge.”