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Chapter 78

 

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             Translator: “Hakou”                             Editor: “Weasalopes”                

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In the afternoon of a sunny winter, a man visited a large building facing the Royal Capital square.
Its rugged yet stylish building is the kingdom’s adventurer’s guild.
The good-looking man was taken to the reception room on the top floor, where he met the guild master of the adventurer’s guild.

「Could you please hire me as an adventurer guild’s knight pilot?」

After a very brief greeting, the man immediately cut to the chase.
The man in front of him who heard that crossed his thick arms and leaned his large body against the back of the sofa.
This middle-aged person is the guild master of the Adventurer’s Guild.
His huge, muscular body has several scars on it, including his face. It’s a very adventurer-like figure.
He silently stares at the man in front of him.

「This might be presumptuous of me but, I can say that I’m stronger than the pilots you’re currently hiring」

The good-looking man continued confidently.
He’s a man who had been the pilot of a merchant guild knight until recently. It could also be said that he’s Tauro’s predecessor.
The guild master knew this person well. As a pilot who refuses to defeat medium-sized monsters while saying, You don’t need to dispatch a Knight for such small fries. As a pilot stick to close combat, ignoring the instructions to defeat large monsters with long-range attack magic.
And as a pilot who frequently damaged the weak and not-very-durable merchant guild’s Knight in unreasonable close combat fights.
It is largely because of this pilot that the Knight of the merchant guild was ridiculed as Knight that spent longer time in the dock than their actual work.

「It’s a tempting offer, but it’s also unreasonable to suddenly fire the current Knight I hired for no reason」

He replied with a gentle voice.
The truth is, he had no intention to fire anyone in the first place.
However, it’s a fact that he was once a pilot riding the merchant’s guild’s knight is quite a sweet offer.
He thought that he should at least play along and listen to what he had to say for now.

(And it’s probably time to ask him to go home since I’ve fulfilled that obligation)

He thought so and about to open his mouth when the good-looking man said something that he couldn’t miss.

「There’s no need to fire them」

The guild master knitted his brows not understanding what the man said.
Seeing that reaction, the man offered a proposal.

「You just need to buy a new Knight」

He then can just ride on that.
Or just let the current hired pilot ride on that.
It’s that kind of deal.
The guild master understands and raises both eyebrows. And remembered the word “true pilot.”

(A true pilot only regards money as a lowly thing)

He finds value only in fighting along their Knights and dislikes putting his thoughts on maintenance costs, repair costs, and resupply.
They think that something like that should just be left to the subordinate lower than them.
And the one they considered as the ones on top was only themselves.

「Unfortunately, the guild doesn’t have the budget to buy and maintain a 3rd knight」

The guild master said in a low voice.
To that reply, the man raised his voice.

「Are you seriously going to let go of this opportunity!?」

「Opportunity, is it…?」

The guild master lifts one of his eyebrows.

(I can’t stand talking with this guy anymore. He’s saying too much ridiculous thigs I couldn’t follow)

However the man continued without care.

「It’s a rare opportunity to hire a pilot like me!」

He said while showing his fully confident self.
This time the guild master sighed heavily without hiding it.
Just where did he get this confidence from? Even though he never gets hired by the knight order and has a fragile track record in the merchant guild.
There are certainly people in this world who cannot be reasoned with. And this man is definitely one of them.

「It seems that you are done talking. Now would you please get out?」

The guild master changed his attitude and forcibly took him out to the hallway.
The man made a fuss in the hallway but was left to the staff to kick him out.

(It’s someone else’s problem but, just how desperate they are to have hired someone like him)

The two pilots I hired are like that but, they weren’t as bad as him.

(True pilot, huh…)

He recalled those words with complicated feelings.

(The problem is… 『magic manipulation』 ability is rare and innate)

The guild master thought.
An inborn talent that can be honed but cannot be obtained through effort. And there’s only a few people who had it.

(Elections… is what they called it? The thing that brought a ridiculous culture such an idea that True pilot is a chosen one)

He scoffed in his heart.
Adventurers, like merchants, live in a harsh reality.
This world isn’t such a nice place where food comes on its own and dangers avoid us on their own, if you are thinking of lofty things. It’s the complete opposite.

(Being normal is good enough. If only he’s a pilot that has a normal value and common sense like a normal human, I might hire him even if I had to replace someone with him)

The guild master is envious of the rumored pilot the merchant guild hired recently.
Because of him, the adventurer’s guild has received considerable blow.

(I wish I had hired him first)

That’s right. If he had been hired as the pilot of the adventurer’s guild, the situation would have been completely reversed.
But this responsibility burdened the guild master the most.
Because he went to the pilot school to see the practical test held there.
At that time, he only had the impression that he’s a student with a bad reputation.
Naturally, at that time, the guild master didn’t think that he wanted to hire him so badly that he would even fire his current pilots.

(That damn old geezer!)

The face of the merchant guild’s guild master floated in his mind.
His ears are sharp, his judgments making and actions are also quick. An unbeatable old geezer.
The guild master of the adventurer’s guild switches his mood by turning his shoulders around.
It’s too late to hire him now. Then, we only need to think about what we can do to get out of this predicament.
There are rumors that the blacksmith guild’s Knight and the merchant guild Knight have formed an alliance.
Blacksmith guild’s Knights aren’t suited for combat, but they’re still Knights. I can’t make light of their combat strength.
If that rumour was true, the value of the adventurer’s guild knight from the merchant’s guild’s perspective would drop even lower.

(Why don’t he just drop dead already)

A dark shadow appears on his expression.
The easiest way to get out of the situation they currently faced is to have the merchant guild’s pilot die.

(But that would be difficult)

There’s no way that the merchant guild’s guild master, that old geezer, didn’t make any measures.
It’s impossible to aim the pilot himself.
Even if they attempt to do it, that old geezer would make a move to prevent them.
Once the involvement of the adventurer’s guild is revealed, it will become a matter of the guild’s survival.

(The possibility of getting killed in the attempt is also high)

That old geezer probably has someone from the assassin guild with him.
What the assassin guild does is, as the name implies, assassinates, but their actual specialty lies in guarding key figures.
Being involved with them is too dangerous.

(Damn, all of them are just–!!)

He inhales deeply, exhales loudly, and cracks his neck.
The guild master of the adventurer’s guild descended downstairs to take a break to get rid of his gloomy feeling.

***

「That shitty bastard!!」

The man just got kicked out from the adventurers guild by the staff.
He’s swearing alone while fixing his wrinkled clothes.
He can’t understand why they refused this favorable opportunity to hire him.
I’m an elite who won the Pilot School’s practical exam and participated in the knight training of the knight order.
He obviously would have been hired as a senior pilot.

(They’re just jealous)

The man believes so.
The knight order pilots feared that his ability would deprive them of their position thus decided not to hire him.
That is the truth he believes.

(Why won’t they hire me, who’s clearly above the upper-class pilots?)

There’s a polished gem in front of them and they walked over it just like that.
They are so stupid I can’t believe we are from the same species.
The guild master of merchant guild and the guild master adventurer’s guild, organization led by such idiots won’t last long.

(Especially the merchant guild. They fucking spend their money on that Knight as soon as they kicked me out)

Dark emotions filled his heart.
He has heard recently that the merchant guild’s Knight has subjugated a medium-sized monster.

(Lowly jobs fitting for lowly people)

Something like a medium-sized monster is not an opponent worth fighting using the Knights. You can just leave those to the adventurers or something.
Fighting something like that using a Knight, what a shameful guy who has no dignity, he thought.
By the way, the one he defeated was a Heavy Stone Golem.
He actually saw it with his own eyes when it was brought to the Royal capital.
That would be difficult, was the answer he arrived at when he asked himself whether he could defeat that thing with the Old lady.

(And the merchant guild has spent a lot of money for it)

The current pilot defeated a tough opponent by himself. This fact leads to only one answer.
The merchant guild has spent a great deal of money on upgrading the Old lady to rival the latest Knight.
If they were going to give it a big upgrade, they should’ve done it when he was there. Then even he would be able to defeat a heavy stone golem, no, even a metal golem. He thought.

(Due to the timing of that remodeling, people ended up misunderstood the situation)

The man’s face was distorted as he was overwhelmed with hatred.
He thinks that the people who don’t know about the Knight remodeling are having a misunderstanding that the current pilot is more skilled than himself.
And he couldn’t stand that.

(Knight order, Guilds, this whole country is already rotten)

He thought so.

(Do I have no choice but to be independent as a lone pilot and his Knight?)

He considered his last straw of hope.
He lived his lives with his savings as a pilot until now, but it’s about time to get some sort of income.
As a matter of fact, pilots have a lot of high-paid jobs as long as they’re not being picky.
The ability to manipulate golem and the ability to precisely control it was extremely useful in construction, transportation, workshops, farms, or any other workplaces that use golems.
But he didn’t want to do anything other than controlling a Knight.
At first, he wants to wait until the merchant guild who fired him crying and prostrating in front of him as they begged for him to come back.
But looking at the recent situation, that scenario seems unlikely.
So he went to the adventurer’s guild today.

(The remodeled Old Lady, I can do anything I want if I have my hands on it)

Traveling the world by himself riding the upgraded Old lady that has the power of modern Knights.
The idea sounds attractive to him.

(They threw dirt on my face. The Old lady alone won’t be enough but… I’ll be taking it)

With the corners of his lips lifted, forming a crescent moon, the man laughed evilly.
People passing through the town square averted their gaze from him as if being creeped out.

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