The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

Suddenly, the topic of height came up, and I couldn’t help but shout.
“Who even grows taller after turning twenty?!”
“I grew taller!!”
“Good for you!”
“Argh!!”

I kicked Kang Hasu’s ankle with all my might and stopped in front of the emergency exit. A breeze blew up from below.
“You can go down from here!”

The Spirit Master, clutching his ankle and groaning, kindly informed me. Instead of thanking him, I immediately headed down the stairs.

Splash—

But as soon as I saw the floor, which was soaked with water, I froze in place.
The Spirit Master, who came down a little later, grumbled behind me.
“It’s not like I was making fun of your height! I just said I grew taller after twenty, and you kicked me for that?!”
“Spirit Master.”
“What?!”

At his annoyed tone, I pointed at the ground. When he looked where I was pointing, his eyes widened in shock.
“Looks like your underground parking lot’s ceiling needs some repairs.”
“What the…!”

I left his stunned exclamation behind and stepped out of the emergency exit. Water splashed and soaked my shoes. Behind me, the Spirit Master’s footsteps grew louder as he followed. Without looking back, I asked him,
“Do you remember what it looked like?”
“I do.”

Even though he said he remembered, he didn’t elaborate. I was about to scold him when he finally replied.
“Oh, right. It looked exactly like that.”

―Ah… Ahhh…?

“……”

Why did that white SUV with a blue-haired woman sitting on top of it look so familiar? Or rather, why was it not a woman, but something that only resembled one?
Where legs should have been, there was a fish’s tail. Where ears should have been, there were gills, like those of a fish.

“I found you, Siren.”

I had found the mermaid who had come ashore. Smiling, I reached for the chain at my side.
If only the Spirit Master hadn’t been standing there, completely dazed. His brownish eyes were out of focus.

Oh, come on! This guy, really!!

With a grimace, I stomped on Kang Hasu’s foot with all my strength.
“Argh!!”

Kang Hasu let out a scream and jumped up, clutching his foot. Bent over and rubbing his injured foot, he yelled at me,
“What’s your problem?! Do you have some grudge against me? Why do you keep stepping on me?!”
“That was only once. And get a grip. You almost zoned out again.”

At my words, the Spirit Master flinched and lowered his head. Clicking my tongue in irritation, I walked away.
“Just stay here. You’d only get in the way. Call for the mage.”
“Why do you need the mage? Can he even come?”
“He can.”

No, he definitely would. I gave the Spirit Master a sly smile.
“Want to get dragged to the center for evaluation after this?”

At my question, he shook his head violently. Satisfied, I smirked and said,
“Then quit complaining and call him.”

I don’t know how he managed it, but soon, the guild’s message board was flooded with the mage’s anguished cries. I ignored them.

The Siren, now up close, tilted her head slightly and opened her mouth.
―Ah… Ahhh….

“She seems like she wants to say something…”

I trailed off and then smiled brightly.

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”
And I wasn’t curious, either. Without hesitation, I swung the sword in my hand.

《Title, ‘Swordmaster,’ has been forcibly unsealed.》

A message appeared indicating restrictions had been placed on the title’s effects, but I didn’t care.

[Absolute Authority, ‘Sovereign Above Laws,’ is now active.]

Any restrictions imposed would be nullified.

―Kyaaaaah!!

The Siren, who had been silently opening and closing her mouth, suddenly let out an ear-splitting scream, her jaws gaping wide. The sound was so deafening that it made me grimace. That alone wasn’t the problem, though…

“Ugh…”

The issue was the blade-like winds slashing across my body. To make matters worse, the wind was so fierce that the bluish trajectory of my strike was completely scattered.

Should I crush her with the sanctuary?

I took a step back, preparing to use my authority.

Just as I was about to unleash it, a gentle breeze enveloped me, soft and comforting. In an instant, the blade-like winds subsided. There was only one person here who could pull off something like that.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: thx

“Focus instead of sending messages!”

A sharp reprimand made me chuckle. Smirking, I swung the sword in my hand swiftly.

The bluish arc of lightning slashed through the Siren.

―Kieeeek!

Once again, the Siren let out a scream that seemed to tear at my eardrums. Black blood began to drip onto the roof of the white SUV she had perched on.

Thump, thump―

Hearing the knocking sound on the car windows, I frowned slightly and took a light step forward.

―Ah… Aaah…

The Siren, seemingly on the brink of death, coughed up blood in large gurgling spurts. I had intended to end her life swiftly, but it seemed I’d caused unnecessary suffering.

Not exactly a pleasant sight. Grimacing, I raised my sword high.

―Saintess.

I inhaled sharply at the blood-soaked face of a man that overlapped the Siren’s visage.

―Are you satisfied now?

The mocking tone in his voice twisted my expression into a scowl.

This damned mermaid must be up to some ridiculous trick. Grinding my teeth, I brought the sword down—

Boom!

The sudden explosion of a head right in front of me stopped me in my tracks.

Crimson blood splattered across my cheek. I felt someone wipe it off, gently trailing a finger down where it had trickled.

“What are you doing here, Guild Master?”

The sword in my hand disappeared. My arms fell limply to my sides as I mumbled in a daze.

“…Mage?”

The troublesome mage smiled, his eyes narrowing mischievously.

“The Spirit Master made such a fuss, insisting I come inside, so here I am…”

He glanced around the damp underground parking lot and then at the blood-soaked white SUV before speaking with a smirk.
“Bet the mage doesn’t know what’s going on, huh!”

The Sudden Test of Aptitude had officially concluded.

Even so, there were still things left to do. Snapping back to reality, I shouted urgently,
“The score!!”

“Huh?”
“What?”

Both the mage and the Spirit Master tilted their heads, confused. I leapt off the white SUV and yelled at them.
“We have to find the score!!”

The Spirit Master looked puzzled as he asked,
“Didn’t you already finish the quest?”

“I left halfway through because of you!”

I turned toward Kang Hasu, who was inexplicably sitting on the floor, and snapped irritably before throwing the emergency exit door open.

“Guild Master, stop!”
But the damned mage suddenly blocked my path.

“What? Move!”
“I want to move, but I can’t, can I? The evaluation is over, right? People outside are probably coming in right now, aren’t they?”

At his words, I looked up toward the stairs.
“This place… well…”
“First… just…”

The noise upstairs indicated that people had indeed started pouring in. Frustrated, I ruffled my hair and checked the time remaining. The time that had stopped when the Sudden Test of Aptitude ended was now ticking down again.

【00:04:03】

Not even five minutes left. I was so anxious I wanted to bite my nails. Then, out of nowhere, the mage asked,
“Where is the score?”

“Huh? Oh… well…”

Trying to think on the spot, my mind blanked. What floor was the recording studio on again? If you don’t know, it’s best to ask.
“Boss! The floor with the recording studio—”

“Never mind, just stay here with the Spirit Master for a moment.”

The mage cut me off and disappeared before I could finish.

“…Where did that mage bastard go?”
“No idea…”

Could he have figured out my plan and run off? If so, I’d make sure to catch and deal with him. While I was making that vow, a loud voice suddenly shouted near my ear.

“You! What the hell was that earlier?!”
“Ack! What did I do?!”

Clutching my throbbing ear, I jumped in surprise. The Spirit Master, pointing a finger at me, shouted furiously.
“Were you trying to get yourself killed?!”

“What…?”

What kind of nonsense is that? Frowning, I looked at the Spirit Master, who snorted bitterly and said,
“The Guild Master was enthralled, too. You were enthralled, and yet…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Never mind.”

The Spirit Master brushed it off and stood up.

“Hey!!”

What the hell? Nothing is more annoying than someone saying, ‘It’s nothing,’ or ‘Never mind.’

I was about to threaten to kick his ankle again when a playful voice chimed in.
“The Spirit Master is right. The Guild Master doesn’t need to know, right?”

“…?”

The mage, who had disappeared like the wind, reappeared just as suddenly, holding a few fluttering sheets of paper in his hand.
“Here, the score. This is it, right?”

“Uh…?”

Caught off guard, I took what he handed me. A message immediately appeared.

[You have obtained the S-rank holy relic, ‘The Score of the Wraith Caller,’ on behalf of the client, ‘The Fallen Celestial.’]
[‘The Fallen Celestial’ extends infinite gratitude to you.]

The score I had accepted was soon enveloped in radiant light and disappeared, followed by messages about rewards and such.

I glanced at the mage, who was smiling brightly. He curled his lips into a grin and said,
“The mage is a more remarkable person than you thought, huh?”

Before I could reply, another message appeared:

[All powers of the title ‘Godslayer’ have been restricted.]

Yes, the mage truly was an extraordinary person.