I Became the Guild Leader in Exile

16 – Part 4 # Children of the Gods (2)

The red-light district, Tears of the Moon, operated by the Night King Nox, welcomed an unprecedented golden age. Nevertheless, in the past, heroes openly using the red-light district as an excuse were few.

Things changed significantly after Hades Guild seized Gideon’s dominance. The number of those concerned with honor diminished, and many began expressing their desires without restraint.

Moreover, since Hades Guild had Nox’s back, Nox felt no more restraint. Perhaps because of this, Tears of the Moon, under Nox’s umbrella, was among the first to cross the line.

Certainly, many disapproved of Tears of the Moon, but no one could stop it. Because behind Tears of the Moon stood Hades Guild and Nox.

“Welcome, guests.”

“…Excuse me, but which guild are you from?”

They began openly discriminating against guests under the pretext of advanced strategies. If the guest was from a reputable or giant guild, they treated them exceptionally well; otherwise, they openly treated them poorly.

Of course, they weren’t foolish enough to expose it blatantly, like deceiving with cheap alcohol as high-quality or presenting subpar merchandise. It was a way to maintain their image and make money simultaneously. There was a time when a guild member caught onto their scam and was slightly startled. Fortunately, it was possible to smooth things over with the truth about the drunkard.

“Iron Shield.”

‘Iron Shield… On the blacklist…?’

“I apologize, but we’re currently full, sir.”

Roden, a man handling guests in the moonlit tears, smiled with concealed disdain behind it. It was a mediocre guild that wouldn’t have had any business if it hadn’t been on the blacklist of the moonlit tears.

Though from a shoddy guild that probably hadn’t tasted high-quality liquor before, it was unclear how he had noticed. Thanks to it, Iron Shield had made it onto the blacklist of the moonlit tears.

So, naturally, he tried to escort the guest out again. However, the man didn’t move. He just stared at Roden, and that alone created considerable pressure.

“Sir, is there any problem?”

“Alcohol.”

“Yes?”

“Bring me alcohol. The most expensive one.”

“…Is that okay?”

The man nodded. For a moment, Roden hesitated. Should he just give him really expensive liquor and send him away, or should he follow the manual for handling guests? However, the hesitation didn’t last long.

‘Let’s stick to the manual. If I mess up, I might get scolded for making judgments.’

Roden was just a regular attendant; he shouldn’t make judgments arbitrarily. Moreover, even if things went wrong, it would be easy to cover up, especially against a third-rate guild.

With a gesture from Roden, other attendants waiting behind quickly brought a bottle of alcohol. It was a luxurious golden bottle, but in reality, it contained cheap liquor diluted with water.

Carefully pouring the alcohol into the glass that came with the bottle, Roden handed the glass to the man. The man immediately downed the drink. Silence fell for a moment.

“Sir, if you’ve finished, please…”

“That guy was right.”

“Yes?”

“Serving diluted cheap liquor.”

Crash. The glass in his hand was crushed into pieces with tremendous force. But that wasn’t the issue now. The man had an almost monstrous aura, making it impossible even to breathe properly.

Isaac’s anger affected other heroes who were enjoying themselves in the moonlit tears. The heroes who had come out thinking it was an invasion couldn’t do anything.

Overwhelming force. It was a momentum that seemed to split the sky beyond the bamboo. Naturally, Roden and the other attendants, mere civilians, couldn’t withstand it. Finally, he spoke.

“Bring the person in charge of this place.”

“Gah…!”

“There’s no need for that. Guest.”

The one who saved the suffocating Rhoden was the master who took responsibility for the tears of moonlight. She was a woman with golden hair that reached down to her waist, wearing a white dress.

“Why did you suddenly come? Is this supposed to be some kind of rudeness?”

“It seems your guild members cheated my guild member.”

“If you call it cheating…?”

“Here, I’m talking about this bottle of liquor.”

Suddenly, Isaac was holding the bottle of alcohol that Rhoden had arranged for the customer to bring. He had secured evidence beforehand by taking preemptive measures. Furthermore, the logo was even attached, so he couldn’t deny it either.

“Darn it, where did this psycho-like guy come from?”

Is there someone behind the tears of the moonlight? Or is it just the vigor of a young hero? Either way, it is true that the current situation is turning unfavorable. She quickly turned her head.

She couldn’t admit the truth right away. If she did, the image of the tears of moonlight would fall to the ground. But if she continued to deny it, that bottle of alcohol was just too irritating.

“It seems there was a misunderstanding in the middle.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“Yes, that’s right. Our tears of moonlight always promise the best service.”

For a brief moment, Madame came up with a way to turn the situation around in her mind and put on a natural smile again. Her snake-like eyes eventually turned towards Rhoden, who was standing next to her.

“But sometimes, a few waiters cross the line because of their greed.”

“Huh? Wait a minute, could it be…?”

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Rhoden?”

At the moment their eyes met, Rhoden felt as if a snake was crawling on his skin. At the same time, he realized that now that they have cut off the tail, he had no choice.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s all my, my own fault.”

Unable to withstand the pressure, Rhoden eventually admitted his fault. Only then did Madame nod with a satisfied smile. Isaac frowned and said,

“What I want is a sincere apology and prevention of recurrence.”

“What are you doing, Rhoden? Apologize to the guest.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“No, not you. Let your woman apologize.”

However, Isaac didn’t stop there. He pointed at Madame with his finger. As Madame continued to be pointed at, she secretly broke out in a cold sweat. Could it be, did they notice everything?

No, that couldn’t be. Madame lowered her head. There was no room for her to notice the tail-cutting. But Isaac’s gaze remained fixed on Madame, unchanged.

“I-I apologize. On behalf of everyone, I will apologize.”

After a while, Madame finally had to bow her head and apologize to the guest Isaac had brought. If she didn’t do that, something would happen right away. She even returned all the money.

After receiving the money, Deeg finally returned to smiling happily. Zig watched Deeg pitifully and turned his head. As if to say “When did this happen?”, Zig blinked his eyes.

“As expected of the master! You noticed the fraud, you’re amazing!”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

Isaac lowered his head. He didn’t actually realize that Isaac was onto their scam. They weren’t fools either. Due to diluting the strong alcohol, it was extremely difficult for ordinary people to distinguish.

Naturally, Isaac was the same. Feeling the same atmosphere as in the original, he vaguely thought that these kids were pulling off a scam. And indeed, that was the correct answer.

“Thank you! Master! Thanks to you, I recovered the money!”

“Rather than that, how did you figure out it was a scam?”

“The taste of the drink I had before was completely different.”

“…I see.”

Isaac smirked. Considering how expensive the drink was, even drinking it would be quite difficult. How could this brat have figured it out? Isaac let out a sigh.

He didn’t know.

Right now, he just wanted to sleep because he was exhausted.

Only focusing on that, Isaac returned to the guild. Was it thanks to that? Or was there another reason? Until they arrived, they didn’t know that someone was following them.

“Huh? What’s this? Who are you?”

The last one to finally notice was Zeke. Startled by the sight of the kid following him closely, he exclaimed. Isaac and Dig only discovered that child upon hearing Zeke’s voice.

She must have been around 13 years old. She had bright pink hair and a small stature, dressed in revealing clothing that was inappropriate for her age. The first to recognize it was Dig.

“Huh? Isn’t that the attire worn by the prostitutes in Moonlight Tears?”

“How do you know about that?”

“Why do you look at me with those eyes? What’s wrong with a man embracing a woman?!”

“Geez, how pathetic.”

“…She seems to have some story.”

Leaving Dig and Zeke to engage in their own conversation, Isaac carefully examined the child. Her body was covered in wounds and scars, and even her bare feet, without shoes, were bleeding from stepping on a pebble.

A 13-year-old kid with pink hair, working as a prostitute for Moonlight Tears. She looked exactly like the child who appeared in the flashback in the third volume of the original work. Isaac spoke.

“Rest here for a while.”

In response to Isaac’s question, the child vigorously nodded her head.