The D-Rank Guild Master of the No. 1 Guild

As soon as I entered the cave, Lilith sprang up at the sight of me.

“What did you talk about? Did it go well?”

She must have heard about Shemarin’s visit from Gio.

I was about to answer Lilith when I noticed the blond man, who had woken up and was now staring at me intently.

We locked eyes for quite a while. Without avoiding his clear golden eyes, I finally spoke.

“I’ll tell you later. For now, how long have you been awake?”

Unahar, still in a daze, couldn’t respond immediately. He seemed disoriented, only gazing at me with a blank expression.

Lilith answered on his behalf.

“He just woke up. He says he’s not hurt and is fine.”

He fell from that cliff and he’s fine.

The overpowered aspect of the Switch ability group is this: injuries sustained in animal form don’t carry over to the human form.

If a fatal injury is sustained in the enemy’s territory while in animal form, one can revert to human form and escape.

Gio was leaning against the wall, stretching his legs and munching on snacks. I glanced at both Lilith and Gio.

“Could you two step outside for a while? I need to have a private talk.”

I gestured towards Unahar with a nod.

“Gio, make sure you stick close to Lilith and protect her. Not that I need to remind you.”

Gio was already following Lilith outside as if enchanted by a fairy.

With the kids out, it was time for the adults to talk.

“Unahar?”

I called his name, my tone poking at him. Unahar flinched sharply.

He seemed overly wary of me, like a criminal waiting for judgment.

“Sorry for causing you trouble so suddenly. I feel like I’ve caused you a lot of inconvenience.”

Inconvenience? Was he talking about the rampaging wolf?

“Do you remember everything?”

I asked dryly, tilting my head.

Unahar flinched again, as if I’d pricked him with a needle.

Lowering his head slowly, he bit his lip. His once admired handsome face twisted into a grimace.

Judging by his trembling and convulsing hands, it was clear he was under significant mental strain from this incident.

“Yes, I remember everything. I can’t believe it was really me, or how I turned into such a mad dog. If this is my unique ability, I wish I’d died when I fell off that cliff.”

Listening to him, it seemed that the situation was beyond his control as well.

When he transforms into the wolf, does he lose all self-control and become another personality?

Was that really a personality? It just looked like a bloodthirsty beast.

By now, his lips were trembling with droplets of blood forming on them.

He had gone to such lengths to steal that unique ability item, only to find it completely uncontrollable.

…This was a problem far beyond my capacity. Finding words of comfort for Unahar seemed impossible.

Even as Unahar lifted his head, I still couldn’t find the right words.

But perhaps, this silence was the answer.

“I’m sorry for making you listen to my complaints. This has nothing to do with you… It feels like all I’ve done is cause you trouble.”

Unahar leaned his head against the cave wall and sighed. Watching him, I calmly spoke.

“It might be too much to ask someone who just regained their sanity, but I have to say it. A debt collector came looking for you.”

Just as his frown started to soften, Unahar’s forehead creased again, this time with a fear-like tension that stiffened his whole body.

“By any chance, what did they look like?”

“I sent them away.”

Stiffer than ever, Unahar stammered as he asked how I managed that, but I kept silent about the details for the sake of my own dignity.

“I’ve cut off their interest in you, so don’t worry about that anymore. What I want to know is the circumstances that led Shemarin to chase you.”

Unahar looked reluctant to talk, but feeling indebted to me, he soon opened up.

“The unique ability awakening item is a potion with a purple glow. I… stole it from Shemarin.”

He was vague about the stealing process.

“So you seduced her to steal it?”

Unahar bit his lip hard.

“A true repeat offender, huh.”

I didn’t mean it as a jab, but his cheeks flushed pink.

He must have vividly recalled his previous attempts to seduce me to learn the unlocking method.

It was amusing to see the usually languid nobleman looking so awkward.

“Well, it’s not a bad strategy. If I were prettier, I’d use my looks too.”

Of course, that assumes it wouldn’t come off badly to the viewers.

I said it offhandedly, but Unahar stared at me intensely.

His gaze was so piercing it almost tickled.

“Rudel, you’re… beautiful. Truly.”

Unahar stammered as if he were about to choke, as if he’d never called anyone beautiful before in his life…

“…? What I mean is, Unahar, you didn’t really do anything wrong. You’ll do anything to survive. It’s just unlucky that you got caught by Shemarin.”

I pondered deeply. I knew the purple potion Unahar stole was just a rumor and likely ineffective, so how did he successfully awaken his ability?

Shemarin claimed Unahar awakened his unique ability by drinking the potion, meaning the timing of his consumption and the ability’s awakening were close.

I recalled Shemarin’s story and tried to piece together the sequence of events. Unahar drank the potion and tried to flee but was caught and brought before Shemarin. She then ordered him to serve her in the harem as punishment.

Eventually, he managed to escape, likely transforming into a wolf at that moment.

“Unahar, was there a time gap between drinking the potion and transforming into a wolf?”

“So you’re saying I awakened my ability for another reason, not because of the potion?”

“I don’t know.”

I feigned ignorance, nearly slipping up. I wasn’t supposed to know the Switch ability’s unlocking condition.

I continued to speculate privately. The Switch ability’s condition is:

‘At the crossroads of life and death, adhering to one’s convictions.’

It’s similar to Soul but slightly harder. All three ability groups require a ‘desperate wish or conviction.’

Unahar must have been determined about something when he awakened his ability.

Could it be?

“Unahar, did you transform into a wolf right after telling Shemarin, ‘I won’t join your harem’?”

Was the choice between joining the harem or fleeing for your life the critical moment for you?

You disliked Shemarin that much…?

You awakened your ability because you preferred death over joining her harem. Should I laugh or what?

“You’re someone who uses your looks to get what you want. Isn’t a harem the best place to use them?”

I asked out of curiosity and surprise.

Unahar answered seriously.

“No, I regret it. Using that method backfired on me badly. If there had been another way, I wouldn’t have seduced someone I had no feelings for.”

His golden eyes regained their clarity and sparkled with a newfound resolve. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his determined attitude.

“Good, never try to seduce ‘me’ or Shemarin again. Smart thinking.”

I said it jokingly, trying to match his tone.

But Unahar’s reaction was odd. He looked distressed again, almost as if he was about to cry. Was he still shaken by the transformation into a wolf?

“So, what do you plan to do now?”

Having figured out how he awakened his ability, it was time to get to the main point.

I first wanted to know his intentions.

“…What do I plan to do? You mean my future plans?”

Unahar murmured weakly, as if to say, what can I do with such a messed-up ability?

This was the perfect moment to intervene.

“Don’t act so defeated. Accept it. Your unique ability has a significant flaw, that’s for sure. To put it bluntly, I’ve never heard of other Switch ability users losing their sanity like you do.”

That was harsh. Even I thought so. But if my words hurt Unahar, there was nothing I could do.

This is how I talk, this is my personality.

Offering solutions over sympathy, pushing forward rather than comforting stagnation.

That’s what I do.

“So, stay by my side.”