By the Grace of the Gods: Volume 13 [Parts 1 to 5] by Roy

Author:Roy
Language: eng
Format: epub

Interlude: A Certain Guildmaster’s Fall from Grace

The night of Ryoma’s sparring match with Sever, an elderly man with a grouchy expression and another man with an intimidating gaze sat on a couch opposite a younger, nervous-looking man.

The nervous-looking man broke the heavy silence. “How can I help a pair of guildmasters at this hour?”

“I apologize for knocking on your door so late,” said Henry of the Merchant’s Guild, holding his piercing gaze on the man opposite him. “There was something that we needed to urgently verify.”

“Fayld, you know why we’re here. We’re well aware it’s far too late for pleasantries. Let’s cut to the chase,” said Charles, the more elderly of the pair. He had flown here from the Adventurer’s Guild in Teresa.

After a few moments of thought, Fayld—none other than the guildmaster who had tried to interfere with Ryoma’s exam—answered coolly, “Master Henry, Master Charles... I haven’t a clue what could possibly warrant you both coming all this way.”

The expression on each inquiring guildmaster’s face shifted. A sharp grin split Henry’s face, and Charles’s disgruntled look turned downright disdainful.

“You have either mastered the art of masking your thoughts, or you’re completely oblivious,” said Charles.

“Fayld, we’re here to have a serious discussion, so drop the theatrics. A boy named Ryoma Takebayashi came here!” said Henry.

“Oh, I remember the boy...but I still don’t understand why you are here. Unless he caused some trouble,” Fayld said, clearly expecting a confirmation.

Charles sat red-faced, straining to maintain his composure. There was a clear disconnect between Fayld and the other two guildmasters. A few seconds later, Charles exploded. “You fool!”

Fayld flinched, but met Charles’ glare with his own in the next beat. “Master Charles, your anger is getting the better of you. It brings into question your professionalism.”

“You dare speak of professionalism?!” Charles bellowed. “When you failed to do your job!”

“I fulfill my duties each and every day. Frankly, I am offended at the accusation,” Fayld countered innocently.

“You—”

“So you never apologized to him,” Henry interrupted quietly, just in time to make Charles hold himself back.

“Apologize?” Fayld repeated. “We simply handled his case as thoroughly as we should have. I’m not sure what tall tales you were told, but his guild card was riddled with suspect information. It is part of my job to consider the possibility of fraud and conduct an interview, just as it is his job to comply to it.”

“That much we agree on. The Merchant’s Guild was suspicious, too, when he brought in parts from monsters he claimed to have slain himself, along with loot he claimed to have taken from bandits. He must have powers that make it possible for him to complete hunts ridiculously fast. Anyone would have doubted his story at first glance,” said Henry.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Fayld said.

“However, his story made sense. Judging from the wear and tear on the materials he presented to us, the Merchant’s Guild reached the conclusion that we could trust his accounts. When we followed up on this by

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