The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

At my words, the mage, as if waiting for his cue, pointed to the Northern Grand Duke, who had slumped into his seat.
“The dignified and serious black-haired ice-cold beauty of the North sent an SOS in such a solemn and grave voice that it kept interrupting my sleep. So here I am, Guild Master.”

“When did I ever do that!!”

“When did I ever do that!!”

The mage mimicked the duke with a lisping tone, then continued.
“You did, Your Grace. Bombarding me with sudden incantations and asking about the Guild Master… Thanks to you, I didn’t get a wink of sleep today!”

“That’s…!”

The Grand Duke paused, pouting before shouting.
“It’s not my fault! Someone who used my portal suddenly asked me to put up a barrier!”

“And now it’s suddenly my fault?”

The Grand Duke, rising from his seat, made a sulky face, twitching his lips.
“If you two are going to fight, go do it by the Han River or something.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

The low muttering seemed to shut the duke up. Meanwhile, the mage was busy erasing the long scars etched into the building.

“By the way, why’d you come out alone? What about the little lizard? And the Hero?”

“Rim is off in dreamland, and the boss thinks cleaning the shop is important. I just stepped out for a bit.”

“The Hero? The boss? The Hero’s here too?”

The mage, who had just restored the building to its original state, widened his eyes in surprise. When I confirmed, he exclaimed in amazement.
“Wow~! Are we going to see all the guild members today? Guild Master, by the way, was that person you were holding onto that Dragon Slayer?”

I nodded and replied.
“I need to go catch that bastard.”

I still hadn’t heard why he stabbed me in the back. Now there was another question to add to the pile.

The blue incantations that had filled the air—there was no doubt it was Gloria’s magic. I couldn’t have seen it wrong, nor could I have mistaken it.

“…What a lousy day.”

I scratched my head in frustration. Why wasn’t the Star granting me a request? If I had a request, I could use the power of the Godslayer to track that bastard.

Just as I turned to speak to the mage and the Grand Duke, I felt a vibration in my pocket. Taking out my phone, I stared at the screen with my mouth agape.

[Hain] — 73 Missed Calls
[Hajun Oppa] — 41 Missed Calls

The mage, now peeking at the missed calls displayed on my screen, couldn’t resist a jab.
“Our Guild Master is done for, huh?”

“……”

Yeah, I’m screwed, you little brat.

What do I do? How am I supposed to fix this?

Trying to force my sluggish brain into gear, I felt my phone vibrate again.

[Hajun Oppa]

Seeing the name on the screen, I hurriedly answered. Before I could even say hello, an enraged voice exploded on the other end.
― Do Haun!!

But as they say, misfortune never comes alone.

“Oppa, listen! Here’s the thing. I just stepped out to the convenience store for a bit because I was craving ramen…”

― Ramen?! You…

Before Hajun Oppa’s anguished words could finish, the call abruptly ended.

“Hello? Oppa? Hajun Oppa?”

Hoping against hope, I called for him a few more times, but there was no reply. The dark screen of my phone showed no signs of turning back on. I stared at it blankly with my mouth open. Next to me, the mage couldn’t resist another jab.

“As much as I’d like to help, I don’t have Guild Master Do Hajun’s number to lend you my phone.”

“……”

The world went dark before my eyes. Just then, a voice of salvation reached my ears.

“Do you want to borrow my phone?”
“Yes!!”

At the Grand Duke’s words, I nodded so fiercely it felt like my head might fall off. He pulled his phone from his pocket as if to hand it over, only to retract it.

“…?”

What is this nonsense?

Furrowing my brow, I glared at the Grand Duke, who muttered sulkily.
“I’ll lend it to you, but you have to delete the recording.”

“Recording? What recording?”

I asked, frowning slightly, and the Grand Duke suddenly shouted in frustration.
“You know! The one from my conversation with Francesca!”

At the mention of Francesca, the mage reacted.
“Francesca? The magic incantation the Guild Master was muttering?”

“It’s not a magic incantation!!”

“Then what is it?”

“That…!”

The Grand Duke trailed off, his expression sour. It seemed he couldn’t bring himself to say that Francesca was the name of Hera’s cherished peacock from Greek mythology.

Ah, seriously! Magic incantation, my foot!

“Fine! I’ll delete it, so just lend it to me already!!”

Every second counted.

“You swear you’ll delete it?”

“I swear!!”

Still skeptical, the Grand Duke finally handed over his phone. I snatched it and immediately dialed my brother’s number.

But.
― The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone…

Damn it! His line was busy!

It’s one problem after another, and each one worse than the last. Frustrated, I ruffled my hair and shouted angrily.

At whom?

“Mage! Open a portal!!”

At the mage, of course.

At this point, my only option was to rush home and beg my brother for forgiveness. But the blasted mage merely shrugged and responded nonchalantly.
“That’s a bit difficult, Guild Master.”

“What’s difficult about it?! Did you forget the contract we made? Hurry up and open it already!”

At my words, the mage covered his mouth with both hands, feigning shock.
“Oh my, a contract! Does our Guild Master really want to see the mage lose their tongue?”

“Stop joking around!”

“I’m not joking, but… are you really planning to go back like that?”

“!!”

The mage’s finger pointed to my blood-soaked shirt.

The dried blood was bad enough, but the tattered state of the fabric, courtesy of that damn Dragon Slayer’s blade, made it even worse. I considered covering it with a coat but realized it was hopeless. Looking defeated, I asked the mage, almost pleadingly.

“Can’t you fix it… with magic?”

“I can clean it, but I can’t mend the holes.”

With a snap of his fingers, the dried blood vanished, and the shirt returned to its original color. However, the messy slashes remained.

Going home like this would definitely be a problem.

I swear I’ll make that Dragon Slayer pay for this someday.

Determined, I zipped up my jacket, trying to cover the damage.
“How does it look?”

“…What kind of answer are you hoping for, Guild Master?”

The mage tilted his head with a sly grin, making me scowl in frustration.

What now?

My brain was completely fried. Just as I contemplated shamelessly walking home, another voice of salvation echoed.

“Yoo Daegong, are you still there? Why haven’t you come back yet?”

The Hero!

Before the Grand Duke could respond, I dashed off in the direction of the voice.

“Hero! Hero! Help me!!”

The mage snickered behind me, calling me a “mini demon lord,” but I ignored him. The moment I emerged from the alley, the Hero’s eyes widened as she greeted me.

“Guild Master…? Why are you still here? And more importantly…”

She frowned.

“What’s with your appearance?”

“No time to explain! Clothes! Lend me some clothes!!”

“I can lend you clothes, sure, but… they’ll be a bit big on you.”

“I don’t care!!”

I grabbed her arm and jabbed a finger at the mage, who was standing idly nearby.

“Mage! Stay right here and don’t go anywhere!!”

“Mage?”

“Yes, a mage. Hello, Hero.”

The mage waved brightly, his face as cheerful as ever. The Hero frowned at his overly cheerful greeting, clearly not pleased with the situation.

Whatever.

“You two can exchange pleasantries later! Yoo Daegong! If this mage brat tries to run away, grab him! If not, I won’t delete the recordings!”

“You said you’d delete them!!”

Too bad.

The Grand Duke’s recordings were spread across multiple files—File 1, File 2, and so on. As if I’d only save such a treasure in one place. I stuck my tongue out at him and sprinted off to the Hero’s shop.

The Hero grumbled something about how I acted like I owned the place, but…

Sorry, Hero! I’m in a hurry!!

*****

The situation was resolved, thankfully.

Well, I don’t know if it was really resolved.

I managed to spin a story that the clothes from the Hero were something I’d bought at Dongmyo Market while shopping for Do Hain’s clothes…

But.

“What were you even thinking?! Do you know how many times your brother and I called you? And what’s with all those shells in your room?!”

Damn that lizard’s eggshells for tripping me up.

“Well? Are you going to explain?!”

Even if I had ten mouths, I couldn’t explain this. No, I wouldn’t even try.

“Do Haun!!”

The voice that pierced my eardrums made me squeeze my eyes shut. But just when I thought all hope was lost, a brilliant idea came to mind.

| Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Mage, can I sell you out for a bit?
| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: ??
| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: Guild Master, where exactly are you trying to sell me?ㅠ

I sent the mage a message with a deadpan expression.

| Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master) |: You’re starting to sound like the Demon King.
| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: Sound like the Demon King?!
| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: How could you say something so cruel!!!
| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: ୧( ಠ Д ಠ )୨
| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: The mage is very angry right now!!
| Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master) |: ( ° ͜ʖ͡°)╭∩╮

I flipped him off in the chat, then steadied my voice.

“Well… I got them from Hae Roun.”

“Hae Roun? What’s harmful?”

“No, no… Hunter Hae Roun. The office worker. I got them from him.”

“The guy who saved you?”

“Yeah.”

Do Hain narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Avoiding his gaze, I pouted slightly.

“He asked me to pass them on to you…”