"I’m sorry, I’m really, really sorry!" (Guild master)
The guild master managed to catch up with Crimson Vow as they were descending the stairs, bowing his head and begging them to return to his room.
He then called the staff and instructed them to prepare tea made with the highest quality tea leaves and tea sweets.
At the same time, he had ordered the guild certificates for the four people to be prepared as a top priority.
He was probably thinking of registering quickly before the girls changed their minds.
Well, no matter how quickly the girls register, it's always possible for them to leave the Hunter Guild. Even if you were told that you had already registered or that you could not cancel registration immediately, if you left the request unfulfilled, your registration would expire in a few months and you will be automatically expelled. They couldn't complain even if they were made a "merely affiliated" member, doing only the bare minimum of work to maintain my hunter qualifications, such as delivering a few horned rabbits once every few months, but...
As a guild, it would no problem unless they were C-rank or above, which would allow them to be forcibly recruited in emergencies such as stampedes.
The ability to transport large quantities of supplies and medical supplies to areas that horse-drawn vehicles could not reach literally determined the life and death of many hunters, and indeed, the townspeople.
...But the guild master did something like that, either because he didn't believe the report from the receptionist, or because he was wary of the girls being sent from somewhere, or because he was just..., did he think he was trying to intimidate them first, make them aware of the power relationship, and make them follow his instructions faithfully...?
If you had the ability as reported by the receptionist, it's a seller's market and you could change jobs anytime, anywhere.
That's why he imprinted on them a hierarchical relationship before they knew their own worth and got carried away, and by being kind to them from time to time, they became dependent on him.
According to the receptionist's report, it was almost certain that they were a newly arrived group who had just come from the countryside, given their slightly strange way of speaking and pronunciation. In that case, it would be easier for naive girls to handle it than twisting the hands of a baby. If you were a battle-hardened person...
Maybe that's what he thought, but clearly he was at fault.
The other party fully understood their abilities and their value, and on that basis, they simply thought that they would like to live in this town.
And if the town or guild got carried away and tried to take advantage of them, they would abandon this town and move on to the next one.
If they understood their abilities, it was a perfectly natural decision...
"...Well, if you admit your fault and sincerely apologize, we'll listen to you." (Reina)
"Oh, I see, thank you! No, there are fewer people trying to become hunters these days. And the number of retirees, injuries, and deaths are increasing, and we are in dire straits. So, if a promising person comes along, I definitely don't want to let them go... Also, I wanted to see if you're really a promising person. Just think about it, it's a party of four beautiful girls who seem to have experience fighting monsters, including a user of large-capacity storage magic. Can you suddenly believe that someone like that would register at your place as a new employee?" (Guild master)
"……" (All CV)
The guild master thought that the Crimson Vow girls were satisfied with their explanation when they heard his desperate appeal, but in reality, they were always treated as petty people and were not used to accept any compliments from the front, but when they were called "beautiful girls," they were just a little embarrassed.
...However, as a result of this, everyone's impression of the guild master improved considerably, and the guild master who unconsciously uttered the word "beautiful girl" was extremely lucky.
In addition, the fact that Reina and her party got such a high score that they realized that it was not an obvious flattery, but that she had said it unconsciously, further boosted his luck.
"…Well, if that’s the case, there is some room for extenuating circumstances…" (Reina)
Reina was so cool...
"Yes, I think you can take this to heart as a debt." (Pauline)
It was typical of Pauline that she never asked her to forget about her or to wash her hands away.
"...No, I can understand that explanation, but on the other hand, if you go out of your way to pick a fight with someone you're meeting for the first time, you'll make a bad first impression and cause the relationship to deteriorate or break down, you don't really know what will happen..." (Mavis)
For the time being, Mavis has decided to treat the other person as a guild master, so unlike Reina and Pauline, who speak in a casual manner, Mavis spoke in a polite manner.
As expected, there were things that only happen to leaders.
...Well, maybe it's the result of her upbringing as a daughter of an aristocrat, or maybe it's just her personality.
"Ugh..." (Guild master)
The guild master couldn't help but hesitate, but then the receptionist came to his aid.
"That's because the guild master is brainy and stupid!" (Receptionist)
"Ah!!" (All CV)
...Everyone generally understood.
According to the receptionist's explanation...
A fool couldn't serve as guild master.
Therefore, it seemed that there were many places where people who were promoted to office are appointed, but here there was no one suitable for the office, and this man, who was highly respected and admired by everyone as a top-rank hunter, was in charge of the position...
Although he wasn't very smart, he was good at taking care of his juniors and had sufficient ability, so it seemed that people around him would cover for his "intelligent" side and he was forced to do it even though he didn't like it.
For this reason, even when his subordinates said something harsh about his failures, he obediently followed them without getting angry, and when they pointed out his mistakes, it also seemed to be quite rude to him.
Moreover, since this time he was apologizing to an outsider, it was not wrong to speak in a way that was disrespectful to those within the company, no matter how superior you were.
"...That's why the number of hunters is gradually decreasing..." (Guild master)
After that, the guild master told Crimson Vow a lot of things after they had reconciled and asked about the position and situation of hunters around here.
Sure, they would get a more accurate and believable story if they asked the guild master, rather than hearing from hunters who were likely to drink alcohol and told random stories to make themselves look good.
Thinking so, Reina and the others decided to take advantage of this weakness and use it to their advantage, even though normally they would not be able to use the guild master for such a purpose.
And according to what they heard from the guild master, compared to Reina and the others' common sense, it was clear that the hunters had suffered far too much damage in the battle with the monsters.
In interpersonal battles such as against thieves through escort requests, well, there's not much of a difference. Since it was a battle between the same people, it was due to the individual differences in ability of each person and was within the range of error.
...However, in the fight against monsters, the damage was clearly great when it comes to escorting, subjugating, collecting materials, and various other requests. At this rate, let alone making a living as a hunter, the very survival of the party would be in jeopardy.
The wear and tear of weapons and armor, the use of large amounts of expensive chemicals... and the vacancy of members due to injury or death.
Hunters also needed to manage necessary expenses and risks.
And this would fall even more heavily on the weak, the bottom class, who had low incomes.
Strong people earn more, had less wear and tear on their weapons and armor, used fewer medicine, and suffer fewer injuries.
However, the weak...
If the weak drop out too soon, human resources would not develop.
Those who were supposed to gain experience and gradually became stronger and become veterans died while still beginners or went out of business.
At this rate, the future of the Hunter Guild was dwindling.
And that meant there would be no one left to thin out the monsters, and if there was a shortage of food due to the overpopulation, a stampede of monsters would occur.
...It was a serious problem.
"Does that mean hunters are weak? Or are monsters strong?" (Reina)
Then, Reina asked a fundamental question, but the guild master didn't understand the meaning because she didn't include the words "Compared to the old continent."
Even if he knew, he wouldn't have been able to answer without knowing about the old continent and the strength of the hunters and monsters there...
So Mile followed up on the guild master who couldn't reply.
"Reina-san, it's impossible to answer relative questions without standards. When the winner is decided, whether the winner was stronger or the loser was weaker, that can only be said if you know the standard, right?" (Mile)
"...I see, that's true..." (Reina)
Reina obediently backed down if a convincing explanation was given.
And……
"Well then, for now..."
"Would you like a bet?"
Betting meant "trying to set something on your opponent once" or "trying to challenge your opponent to a match."
You could tell whether your opponent was strong or weak by fighting.
"...So, which one will we fight? Monsters or humans?" (Reina)
The guild master looked shocked at Reina's words...
Author's Note
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