I Became the Guild Leader in Exile

19 – 4# Children of the Gods (5)

“Why isn’t it working?!”

Meanwhile, Madam was needlessly throwing a glass on the floor, getting frustrated. She had tried to intervene to fix a guild that knew neither the topic nor had heard of trouble while handling this incident.

However, wasn’t it enough for the Hades Guild to just stay calm, and even Nox too? Let’s assume the Hades Guild could do that, but Nox shouldn’t behave like this.

Considering only the dues paid by the tears of the moonlight to Nox until now, it was money enough to buy several territories. Adding other bribes or gifts, it was an amount impossible to tally.

“C-calm down, Madam.”

“Because the Grandmother directly ordered it, what can I do?”

“Why is that old man from the back room so afraid?!”

The Grandmother was the woman leading Nox, naturally, Madam also acknowledged that setting up Nox was one of the Grandmother’s achievements. But now, she was just an old tiger without teeth.

Why did she still feel intimidated like that? From Madam’s perspective, it couldn’t help but feel frustrating. Wasn’t it that hard to just get rid of a random small guild?

“Hmph, no, it’s fine. Alright, we’ll follow Grandmother’s orders.”

Madam grabbed onto her throbbing head, barely managing to speak rationally. Even without relying on the Grandmother’s help, if she utilized her connections, dealing with such a guild would be more than possible.

“How about the child we captured again this time?”

“They are still resisting.”

“An issue we can’t even talk about, but we managed to capture.”

Madam clicked her tongue with a mix of disdain. She had managed to make something useless useful. It was ungrateful, ignorant behavior, but still, she couldn’t dispose of it.

The woman without a tongue is a rare breed, but there is demand. When inserting objects deep into a hole, the tongue becomes a hindrance, or so they say. It doesn’t matter what excites the customer. The most important thing is money.

And the customers who prefer women without a tongue are important wealthy clients even by the high standards of a discerning madam. The madam clicked her tongue. If she had known this, she might have taken her friends hostage.

“I never even thought about it because it was so filthy.”

For the madam, the children of God were like rat pups. Hamsters were cute enough to be kept as pets, but other rats were so disgusting that she didn’t even want to pity them.

“I can’t ask the kids to bring rats.”

“Madam, one of those kids came earlier.”

“What? The friend of that kid?”

“Yes, I caught him for now. Should I kick him out again?”

“No, no. It’s actually good. Thanks to them, I worry less.”

Those trash even helped once or twice in life. The madam stood up with a bright smile. Soon after, a familiar face appeared where the madam had left.

It was a boy with purple hair and a small scar on his cheek. The madam approached Diego with a smile. Even when captured by them, Diego didn’t lose his venomous gaze.

“Did the rat come back here without knowing the topic?”

“Shut up, give Sasha back quickly. Or else…!!”

“I can’t give her back. But I can arrange a meeting willingly.”

As the madam gestured, the door opened, and Sasha appeared with the staff. Sasha was still wearing the clothes she had on when they burned her before. Diego, who spotted Sasha, shouted excitedly.

“Sasha!!”

“…!!”

“Get her up. And feed her one.”

As ordered by the madam, one of the men holding Diego put his hand into Diego’s armpit and tightly gripped him to the back. Another one thrust his fist into Diego’s abdomen.

“Cough!!”

“Hmm~ At least one scream is somewhat useful.”

“…! …!!”

Watching Diego being beaten in front of her, Sasha tried desperately to stop it. But a fragile girl couldn’t overcome the strength of an adult. The madam laughed and spoke.

“Hey, don’t you still want to work?”

“….”

“Don’t listen to that nonsense. I’m fine, so… Cough!!”

“Well, don’t hit too hard. You might end up killing him.”

Despite the worried tone, there was mockery in the voice. Sasha looked back and forth between Diego and the madam with a desperate expression. And she realized what she needed to do.

“How about it? Has your thinking changed now?”

“….”

Nod.

Nothing changes in this situation. In the end, if Sasha doesn’t step up, Diego will die. Sasha didn’t like that at all. So, reluctantly, she nodded her head. Diego shouted.

“What are you going to do? S…ugh?!”

“Good thinking, kid. Let’s get ready from now on.”

‘Darn it, darn it, darn it! Darn it!!!’

Fists clenched, but there was nothing he could do. All Diego could do was resent the world. In a forsaken place, he was the only friend Sasha could confide in.

But.

Now, even that is being taken away.

Didn’t ask for much.

Can’t we just be together on our own?

Why?

If you were going to hate us so much, why not just not have us from the beginning?

Why us!!

Anger. Powerlessness.

And despair.

Diego, feeling powerless against everything, hating the world, was destined to become a monster. At least, if the door hadn’t been broken, it wouldn’t have been much different.

“What’s this commotion again?”

The door broke. The situation was clear right away. But Madam wasn’t surprised. Instead, she felt absurdity. Did someone deliberately mess with us now? Who the hell?

“Sofia, Hans.”

The silver-haired man who broke the door opened his mouth quietly. Then the two people waiting behind him quickly sorted out the situation. Diego and Sasha blinked their eyes dazedly.

“Don’t move. It’ll be over soon.”

“The girl is fine. The guy is pretty beaten up.”

“Bone fracture. Let’s start with first aid.”

Looking at Diego covered in wounds and Sasha, who was shamelessly exposing herself like a whore, Hans and Sofia felt guilty. It was Isaac who made them realize that.

[When I first saw orphans on the battlefield, I felt sorry for the kids. I felt a sense of guilt, wondering what wrong these little ones had done.]

[…….]

[But now, that feeling has completely disappeared. Instead, I found them annoying and dirty. Even though the kids did nothing wrong…….]

[……Admit the mistake and correct it. It’s not too late.]

The day before, they were hit with tremendous shock. They believed nothing had changed. They didn’t think it was wrong. However, at some point, they had become too accustomed to Gideon.

Isaac was the one who made them realize that. At first, they thought he was just a loudmouth. Holding hands was just because the situation was urgent and they had no choice but to hold on.

However, that was no longer the case. He had the power to lead people directly. And it was in the right direction. Because of that, Sofia and Hans now believed in Isaac. They decided to follow his path.

“In broad daylight…!!”

“Shut up.”

“…?!”

He deliberately installed himself like this. It was even a bit disrespectful. Madame naturally tried to vent her anger. However, a cold word, like the chill of winter, stopped her from speaking. It sealed her mouth shut.

As if her vocal cords were cut, Madame couldn’t utter a word. It was because of the chilling aura emanating from the man with silver hair before her. He soon opened his mouth.

“I am extremely angry right now.”

“W-What on earth…?!”

“Because you meddled with the children I sponsor and protect under the Shield of Iron.”

“What nonsense is this?!”

What? Sponsorship? Protection? Whom? The children of the gods? As Madame, it was maddening, but she couldn’t say anything immediately. Her instincts were speaking. If she made a wrong move, she might really die.

“I’ll give you one last chance.”

“U-Um…!”

“Apologize directly to the children. Swear that you won’t interfere with them again. Otherwise…”

“I-I will! I promise!”

Still, there was some pride left. The owner of tears in the moonlight lowered her head to the guild she had never heard of before, fearing that showing weakness would only make other rivals ridicule and tear her apart.

But at this moment, even such calculations were no longer possible. The fear of death, pressing down on her like Mount Tai, made Madame bow to the children of the gods whom she had despised.

“I-I apologize! I won’t do it again! Please forgive me!”

“For now, let it pass. I won’t take your life.”

“T-Thank you…?”

However, Madame couldn’t finish her words. In the blink of an eye, Isaac took a stance. Even without learning the sword, she could tell. Everyone could see that he would draw his sword and do something.

Swoosh.

A creepy sound as if something was being severed resounded. The warmth of sunlight was felt on her head. Wait a minute, sunlight? Madame slowly raised her head. The uneasiness soon became reality.

“M-My tears of moonlight?!?!”

That’s right. Literally, Isaac drew his sword and split the tears of moonlight in half. She didn’t even hear the sound of cracking, and the building didn’t collapse either.

It just stayed there, cut in half. As if he hadn’t even noticed that he cut himself. Isaac put his sword back into its scabbard. Madame unleashed her anger towards him.

“Why on earth would you do that? What did I do wrong?!”

“You still don’t realize your own mistakes, huh?”

“Gideon has always been a survival of the fittest!”

After the Hades Guild came into power, only the strong were treated well. The weak were thoroughly eliminated. I only followed that way of thinking. But, but what did I do wrong…!?

“You’re not wrong.”

“That’s right! It’s because I’m stronger! I did what I wanted!”

“I’ll return those words to you.”

“What…?”

What is this again? Madam couldn’t think straight. No, she couldn’t go back. Her lifelong achievements had been ruined. For that madam, Isaac spoke.

“As the strongest, I have decided to protect these children.”

So, it is your fault for messing with the children.

Isn’t it?

Madam ended up collapsing, unable to hold on any longer.