The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Spirit Master, listen carefully.

More accurately, he should read carefully, but the point stands.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: From now on, the infiltrator at the center is the Dragon Slayer.

The Spirit Master’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at me. I avoided his gaze, pretending to look elsewhere. His baffled expression as he stared at me must have seemed odd to others.

“…Representative Kang Hasu?”

Do Hain raised a hand, blocking the Spirit Master’s line of sight to me, and frowned. The defensive gesture prompted the Spirit Master to exclaim in panic.

“Huh? No, wait! I just thought Haun seemed to have something on her face!”

The only thing on my face was the snack crumbs I hadn’t managed to wipe off. I casually brushed the crumbs from my lips and smiled sheepishly at Do Hain.

Do Hain frowned harder but eventually lowered his hand. As soon as he did, a flurry of messages appeared.

|Pr. Spirit Master|: Are you really going to throw the Dragon Slayer under the bus? Oh, heavens. What did he ever do to deserve this?!
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Stabbing me with a sword.

Kang Hasu’s eyes bulged, and he looked at me in alarm. I tapped the corner of my eye with my finger. Picking up on my signal, Kang Hasu bowed his head slightly and redirected his gaze elsewhere. But that didn’t stop the barrage of messages.

|Pr. Spirit Master|: A stabbing?! What were you trying to blackmail him with that he felt the need to stab you?!

“No…!”

“…?”

Oops. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Do Hain turned to me with a puzzled expression, but I ignored his gaze and reached for the last few remaining snacks.

“These snacks are so good!”

“…Representative Kang, can we take some of these with us when we leave? My sister has quite an appetite.”

“Ah? Oh, yes, of course.”

Great. Now I was officially branded as the gluttonous second child of the Do family.

“But more importantly, Representative, do you have anything to say about the infiltrator? And Haun, didn’t you see anything?”

The question’s aim shifted toward me this time. I rolled my eyes and wracked my brain for an answer.

“Well… I…”

“Miss Haun wouldn’t have seen anything. She stayed inside the whole time with her companions, isn’t that right, Miss Haun?”

“Yes…? Yes.”

The Spirit Master gave me a smile so disingenuously friendly it practically reeked of ulterior motives.

What’s with this guy? What’s he trying to squeeze out of me?

Matching his fake smile with an equally forced one, I watched him warily. Another message popped up.

|Pr. Spirit Master|: You said the Dragon Slayer stabbed you, right?
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Yep.
|Pr. Spirit Master|: Then you must have met him in person. Describe his appearance.

“…!”

Spirit Master, you little…!

When I glanced at him, his smirk deepened, one corner of his mouth twitching upward. As annoying as his expression was, I decided to let it slide this time.

Do Hain, seemingly deep in thought, stroked his chin and furrowed his brows as he asked the Spirit Master a question.

“Judging by what you just said, it seems you’ve seen something. Is that correct, Representative Kang?”

“Yes, well… I wasn’t entirely sure if the person I saw was the infiltrator, so I hesitated to say anything. But I did see someone suspicious.”

Do Hain’s eyes instantly sharpened.

“Someone suspicious, you say? Can you describe them in detail?”

“Yes, of course.”

I followed along with the Spirit Master’s explanation, adding descriptions of the Dragon Slayer’s appearance via messages to match his story.

“He had a rather ominous aura. Muttering something under his breath…”

The Spirit Master paused, furrowing his brow slightly.

|Pr. Spirit Master|: Are you serious?
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Yep.

Swallowing nervously, the Spirit Master let out an awkward laugh before continuing.

“He was saying things like… ‘Saintess,’ ‘Swordmaster,’ and the like.”

Do Hain’s expression turned grave at this revelation. As he jotted the Spirit Master’s words into a small notebook, his brows furrowed slightly.

“‘Saintess’ or ‘Swordmaster’? If he mentioned a Saintess, he might be referring to Healer-type Awakened individuals. And Swordmaster… well, there are a few Awakened with that title…”

“He gave off the vibe of a child of darkness. He was all wrapped up from head to toe. But still, that guy seemed to have a tragic backstory!”

“…Pardon?”

“…”

The Spirit Master—this lunatic—read the exact message I’d sent him out loud! Thankfully, he quickly realized his blunder and tried to backtrack.

“Oh, uh… I was trying to say that it was just a vague impression I got. My words came out wrong, haha.”

His forced laugh only deepened Do Hain’s confusion, though he seemed willing to believe the Spirit Master’s account. Lucky for us.

Just as I was letting out a quiet sigh of relief, my dear, meddlesome little brother threw another wrench into the works.

“Thank you for sharing. By the way, Representative Kang, could you elaborate on this ‘Spirit Master’ business?”

“…”

Can’t you just let it go, you meddling sibling?!

The sudden silence was broken by the Spirit Master clearing his throat before speaking again.

“It’s nothing much. I enjoy hiking as a hobby, and my agency colleagues started calling me ‘Spirit Master’ as a joke because of how nature-friendly I am.”

“…Excuse me?”

Both Do Hain and I blinked in confusion.

Seriously, Spirit Master? What kind of nonsense are you spouting now? Just how ‘in tune with nature’ were you on those hikes to earn that nickname?

Instead of stopping there, the Spirit Master smiled warmly, exuding fake sincerity.

“I suppose Guild Master Woo Mahan’s sibling heard about it and decided to call me that.”

“…”

How on earth would the Demon King know about that?

Judging by Do Hain’s furrowed brows, he seemed to share my thoughts—though he probably didn’t realize that Woo Mahan’s “sibling” was the Demon King.

With his sharp instincts kicking in, Do Hain narrowed his eyes and began to speak.

“That seems a bit…”

“Does that answer your question? I hope it does, Vice Guild Master Do Hain.”

The Spirit Master’s firm tone interrupted Do Hain mid-sentence. The weight behind his words made Do Hain swallow nervously before reluctantly nodding. It was an unconscious reaction.

Watching this exchange, I furrowed my brow and sent the Spirit Master a message.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Hey, Spirit Master.
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Could you not put so much force into your voice? You just scared my little brother!
|Pr. Spirit Master|: He wouldn’t stop asking! I had to make him drop it somehow!!
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Just shut Doby up next time.
|Pr. Spirit Master|: Doby wouldn’t stay quiet no matter how many times you shut him up!!

“…”

Surely he wasn’t bragging about that. Judging by his exasperated face, it didn’t seem like he was.

Leaning back comfortably on the sofa, I sent another message.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Fine, just wrap up the conversation somehow.
|Pr. Spirit Master|: I was already planning to do that.

The Spirit Master’s previously irritated expression smoothed out into a pleasant smile as he addressed Do Hain.

“Vice Guild Master Do Hain? If you’re done here, may I take my leave now?”

“Huh? Oh… yes. I’ve taken up far too much of your time. My apologies.”

“No, no, not at all.”

Kang Hasu offered a genial smile, extending his hand. Do Hain mirrored the gesture with a practiced, equally insincere smile as he shook it.

To an outsider, the scene would have seemed perfectly cordial. But I knew better. This was a textbook display of capitalist diplomacy.

“Well then, we’ll be going now,” Do Hain said, giving my shoulder a light pat.

“Do Haun, let’s go.”

“Yes, yes.”

Trailing lazily behind him, I shuffled toward the door. The Spirit Master volunteered to see us off and reached for the door—though he didn’t get the chance to open it.

“Representative! Please hear me out!!”

Thud!

“……!!”

The door burst open, slamming directly into Kang Hasu’s face.

Clutching his face, Kang Hasu let out a silent scream, while Do Hain inhaled sharply and stepped in front of me protectively.

“Representative! Representative… why are you like that?”

“Bin! How could you just barge into the Representative’s office like that?!”

Recognizing the name, I peered over Do Hain’s shoulder, only to quickly duck my head. Standing at the doorway was none other than Doby, the perpetual troublemaker.

Rubbing his face, Kang Hasu forced his voice into a slow, controlled tone, though the simmering anger was clear.

“…Doby.”

The air in the office vibrated faintly with tension. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but seeing sweat bead on Do Hain’s forehead confirmed it wasn’t.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Calm down.
|Pr. Spirit Master|: How can I calm down?! I thought I’d lose my nose!

Why is he taking this out on me?

Pouting slightly, I sent another message to the Spirit Master.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Repeat after me.
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Hoo—ha, hoo—ha.

|Pr. Spirit Master|: What are you doing?!

Although the Spirit Master sent back an indignant reply, he eventually gave in, inhaling deeply and exhaling rhythmically like he was practicing Lamaze breathing.

It seemed to work. The charged atmosphere in the room began to settle.

“Doby.”

“…Yes, Representative.”

Kang Hasu’s bright smile didn’t reach his eyes as he addressed Doby.

“I believe I’ve told you that if you have business, you’re to knock before entering, haven’t I?”

“It was an urgent matter, and I failed to notice. My apologies, Representative.”