I Became the Guild Leader in Exile

7 – 2# Before Becoming a Hero(2)

Another month has passed.

During that time, Isaac focused solely on the education of Geek and Geek’s younger sister, Jenny. Thanks to that, the guild’s main source of income, the requests, were all being handled by the other guild members.

But even that was reaching its limit now. Of course, no one was showing it. Isaac, who always cared for the guild members, couldn’t help but notice that obvious atmosphere.

Geek is now 8 years old. It was a very young age to go on their first request. But if it’s considered as sowing the seeds and only given minor tasks, there shouldn’t be any major problems. Isaac nodded his head.

“You’ve worked hard up until now.”

“What? All of a sudden?”

“Yeah! Don’t just brush it off with words, ask for something!”

“Fine. I’ll give you a bonus and some time off.”

“Really??”

Heroes receive their work through the guild. Naturally, they handle dangerous tasks and receive compensation, but among that, the guild takes about 3/10 or 5/10 if it’s a bit extra. After all, it’s the guild that introduces the requests.

However, Isaac chose to take only 2/10 as commission. And even that, he gave bonuses and time off if the request was carried out diligently, to comfort their spirits.

This was a drastic policy that Isaac, who had only been concerned about the newcomers, implemented out of inner guilt. But it was a shocking policy for Sophia, Hans, and even Lass.

“To be honest, I’m a little worried.”

“There’s no need to worry.”

“You can’t help but worry! Is it okay to be this generous?!”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Even if Rast and Digg were newcomers, Sofia and Hans were in a business partnership with Isaac. Naturally, if they were to distribute resources like this and the guild were to fail, it would be a significant problem on its own.

And Rast shared that concern as well. At least for now, the guild shouldn’t fail. Whether Isaac knew about this worry or not, he smiled and spoke.

“You guys won’t be left with nothing.”

“Huh…?”

“Besides, it’s a fact that you’ve worked hard during this time. It’s the master’s duty to reward accordingly.”

Isaac’s words were indeed true. If Isaac hadn’t been pouring time into Zeke for the past two months while others weren’t taking on missions, the guild’s finances would have hit rock bottom.

But Hans and Sofia didn’t need to say anything. Especially with Rast showing his prowess, the guild’s finances were now stable, and with higher rankings, they could take on more missions.

Of course, it was too early for Zeke to handle missions on his own. If he accompanied Zeke and provided guidance here and there, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

“Thank you for your hard work. Take a good rest for three days.”

“Wha- suddenly taking a vacation.”

“Well, it’s awkward.”

“Isn’t it obvious what a man and a woman should do?”

“Hey!!!”

Sofia blushed and shouted back, and seeing her like that, Isaac chuckled. Well, it was a good time. Three days should be more than enough.

“Wow! A vacation! Does that mean I can take three days off too?!”

“No, you can’t.”

“Why not?!”

“While others are handling missions, reflect on what you’ve been doing.”

Of course, Digg was an exception. At least if Digg had followed Rast’s lead, even half of the effort Rast had put in, then maybe a vacation could be granted. Unfortunately, Digg had been goofing off the whole time. Despite receiving disapproving looks from those around him, Digg turned a deaf ear. He was just enjoying the guild’s stipend.

So, naturally, he couldn’t expect any rewards. Even when Rast, his fellow novice, had received recognition for his efforts, Digg was still receiving a stipend similar to Zeke, a new recruit.

“To embrace everything in the name of family is neglect. It’s about making them realize their mistakes and fixing them themselves. That’s the best education. It’s the teacher’s way.”

‘If they don’t get their act together by the end, I’ll have to cut them loose.’

Although Isaac packaged it nicely, the message that if they didn’t shape up, they would be cut off resonated like an arrow in the chests of the guild members. At the same time, they realized something.

That Isaac genuinely considered them as family.

Anyway, unable to break Isaac’s strong will, they took the three-day vacation. Digg grumbled but couldn’t bring himself to object, and he was left alone to guard the guild.

“The guild suddenly got quiet.”

“Most of them left for vacation.”

“Then are we going to train again today?”

“No, from today onwards, I will leave the training up to you.”

“What does that mean…?”

Isaac showed the parchment to Zeke, raising a question mark.

“This is your first request.”

* * *

＜I will make a request in the name of Lord Fragax of Sallen＞

Contrary to the grand name and fancy parchment, the request itself was only rated as D rank. This was because Sallen was not a particularly dangerous land to begin with. It could even be said to be the most livable land. At least for now. Isaac looked at Zeke, who was reading the parchment, and asked.

“How do you read this part, Master?”

“Let’s see… it says, ‘I hope you can deal with the pests targeting my daughter.'”

“Pests? Are you talking about insect demons?!”

“Well, something like that.”

Isaac did not say what he really wanted to say. It was still too early for that, and he would find out when the time came. Zeke pointed to the D rank written on the parchment and asked.

“What does this D rank mean?”

“The rank signifies the danger level of the request.”

“Is D rank very low?”

“It can be considered practically the lowest rank.”

Although ranks existed from F rank to S rank, F rank requests could be handled by the country or territory itself. So, in Gideon, D rank requests were practically the lowest rank.

Of course, not all escort requests were low rank. In fact, most escort requests were at least B rank or higher. However, the rank of this request was strangely low.

The reason was that Sallen was a very safe territory. This request was essentially the lord hiring a hero for the sake of his daughter. Isaac thought to himself.

“Preventing pests from bothering his daughter while showing the true form of a hero to his daughter, who has never left the territory. It’s not that difficult of a request.”

In the first place, Sallen had a paladin order stationed there, so it was a territory that received absolute protection from demons. Moreover, farming was always bountiful, and the land was blessed with abundant resources.

At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.

The carriage carrying Isaac and Zeke finally entered Sallen. What stretched outside the window was the sight of a vast water damage, like beautiful mountains and seas. Zeke exclaimed.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful…!!”

“Sallen is often called the blessed land. It was said that all the resources in this land flow.”

“Then isn’t that a great thing?”

“If you live without knowing anything, then yes.”

At that moment, when Zeke couldn’t understand Isaac’s bitter tone and was tilting his head in confusion. The carriage, which had been running vigorously, finally crossed the moat and entered the castle gate.

“It seems that you have arrived.”

“Wow…”

Even after witnessing the vast flood that unfolded before them, Zeek couldn’t help but exclaim. However, since entering the castle, he couldn’t even speak properly. It must have been due to being overwhelmed by the majestic and enormous fortress walls.

The castle seemed to firmly declare that it would not tolerate any invasion. It was extremely grand and majestic, with banners painted in red fluttering on the battlements. Isaac clicked his tongue.

“I’ve never seen such a gigantic castle before.”

“Is this your first time seeing a castle, Master?”

“Probably, there are not many castles like this in the world.”

“In the first place, I have never seen a castle in real life.”

To see such a massive castle in modern times, one would have to go abroad. Naturally, Isaac did not have the luxury to do so. Anyway, while they were both admiring each other, someone came forward.

“To be filled with such admiration, I am truly grateful.”

There were knights dressed in white armor behind him. In front of them, a carefree middle-aged man with red hair and a beard was smiling. Isaac recognized him at a glance.

“Nice to meet you. I am Lord Pragakh of Sallen.”

Yuris Pragakh. He was the lord who ruled over Sallen and also the one who had made the request. However, despite being the lord of the blessed land called Sallen, there was a shadow lurking in his eyes for some reason.

Although Zeek already knew about his carefree and simple personality, he never expected someone from the Order of Knights to personally come out to welcome Gideon’s affiliated hero. Isaac had not anticipated this either.

“Please come inside. I have prepared a simple meal and tea. Let’s talk while we eat.”

“There is no vitality in his voice. It’s like a corpse…”

He appeared very strong and warm on the outside, but for some reason, Zeek couldn’t sense any life in his voice. Instead, he felt a chill from his appearance.