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

Kanel, always vigilant, lowered his gun as the Saint collapsed. However, I gestured for him to wait and see. Understanding my signal, Kanel holstered his weapon.

The current number one ranker appearing in such a disheveled state to ask for my protection was astonishing. This place was as hostile territory for him.

Judging by his condition, it seemed Aleon wasn’t faking. I decided to bring him into the cave to let him rest.

* * *

Last night, I hadn’t let Kanel into the cave because Gio was sleeping. However, with Gio awake now, I felt it was okay to let someone like Aleon, who hadn’t earned our trust yet, inside the cave.

As I guided Aleon into the cave, I gave Gio specific instructions.

“Gio, sit in front of the sleeping bags where Lilith and Unahar are sleeping and keep watch. If Aleon tries anything sudden, use your unique ability to collapse the cave and get us out. Understand?”

“What do you mean by sudden?”

“I mean if Aleon tries to harm any of the five of us, stop him.”

Gio took a moment to count our numbers, slightly delaying his understanding. But he eventually got it and followed my instructions.

This cave, made of earth and stone, was Gio’s domain. No matter how strong Aleon was, he couldn’t eliminate us all here.

Feeling a bit proud, I had Aleon sit on a blanket.

“Are your injuries severe?”

Aleon’s body was trembling intermittently, and his eyes were constantly shifting. He even flinched at my soft voice like a scared rabbit.

“I’m fine. The wounds have been treated. It looks worse because I haven’t changed clothes.”

“Then change your clothes.”

“…I don’t have any.”

Could it be that he had nothing in his inventory? The master of the northern Ice Castle acting like a beggar seemed absurd. Even last time, he seemed overly generous—perhaps he had given away all his belongings to other characters?

I sighed and asked Gio and Unahar for spare clothes. Gio’s clothes were too big, but Unahar’s seemed like they might fit.

Handing the clothes to Aleon, I said, “Here, put these on.”

“How can I change in front of you?”

“Use pause mode.”

He was so flustered he seemed dumber than Gio.

Realizing his oversight, Aleon blushed. His blue hair and eyes made the redness in his cheeks even more noticeable.

As Aleon settled into his own space in the cave, I turned to my companions. Both Unahar and Lilith, who had been abruptly woken up, were watching the entire scene with bewildered expressions.

I approached Lilith first. Come to think of it, this was the first time Lilith had seen Kanel’s face too. I felt a bit sorry for informing her so suddenly.

“Lilith, we have a new guest. The man with black hair arrived last night, and we hit it off. From now on, he’ll be traveling with us. Be nice to him.”

“Really? He’s your friend, Rudel? Got it!”

My friends are as good as Lilith’s friends. She nodded energetically.

“And what about that man?”

“The man with blue hair… he’s not a friend yet.”

I patted her shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m not sure why he’s here. We’ll have to figure that out.”

Finished speaking, I approached Unahar, who was clutching his blanket and tensing his wrist veins.

“Rudel, this is dangerous. Get him out.”

“It’s okay, just for a moment.”

“If you don’t, I will. You’re being too reckless.”

It’s not recklessness; it’s understanding the game’s mechanics. Aleon had no intention of attacking.

And I knew, considering they are game characters, that Aleon wouldn’t easily stray from his benevolent nature.

Despite my persuasion, Unahar remained hostile towards Aleon, ready to drive him out.

I had no choice but to be a bit harsh to bring him to his senses.

“How exactly are you going to do that? If Aleon so much as waves his hand, we’ll all be swept away unless you transform into a wolf.”

It was effective. Unahar lowered his gaze immediately, his lips trembling slightly.

I felt sorry for hitting a sore spot, but this wasn’t the time to comfort Unahar.

Just as our conversation ended, Aleon reappeared, having exited the pause mode.

Aleon’s blue hair, Unahar’s yellow hair…

All we needed was someone with red hair to complete the traffic light trio.

A frivolous thought crossed my mind briefly.

The water in the coffee pot began to bubble.

I poured the boiling water into wooden cups and stirred in lemon tea bags, ensuring they steeped well.

I handed one cup to Aleon and another to Gio, knowing Gio would throw a fit if left out of anything edible.

Aleon accepted the cup, cradling it with both hands and staring at it intently. Then, with a crackling sound, a thin layer of ice formed on the surface of the cup.

Does the Saint of Ice drink even his tea ice cold? I felt embarrassed for fussing over boiling water for someone who preferred everything cold.

“Could you tell us what happened?” I asked.

I sat down across from Aleon and gently broached the subject.

“…Those I was protecting stabbed me with a knife,” Aleon said, his head bowed, speaking in halting phrases.

Though this wasn’t a counseling center but rather the home base for my companions and me, I let him continue uninterrupted.

Soon, I understood what had happened. The people he had cared for and protected betrayed him, believing the false rumor that they could gain unique abilities by killing him.

“Having failed so miserably, I now don’t know how to live…” The Saint of Ice bowed his head to his knees.

Not only I, but Kanel and Unahar as well, looked at him with disbelief.

So, almost being assassinated was that shocking?

To an ordinary person—or rather, character—it wouldn’t be that surprising.

“If you accept any and all without verification and just generously give to them, it’s natural they’d think you were an easy target,” I thought. 

Moreover, Aleon hadn’t set up even the minimal safety measures like separating spaces to maintain caution. In such a scenario, how tempting must the characters have found the rumor, “If you kill Aleon, you can take his abilities”?

However, this was just a common opinion, and I understood why Aleon had to flee from the Ice Castle. The moment his belief in others was shattered, he was so despondent that he lost all will and collapsed, rendering him almost beyond recovery.

“But why did you come to me? After experiencing that at the Ice Castle, what made you think to seek me out?”

It was a question born purely out of curiosity. When Aleon lifted his head, his blue eyes shimmered with a faint light.

“Those who stabbed me said it was certain that you had spread the rumor to kill me.”

Behind me, Kanel’s gun made a heavy click as it was cocked. I gestured for Kanel to stand down.

But before I could deny it, Aleon continued, “However, hearing that… for the first time, I felt it was something I couldn’t believe. It was obvious they were concocting a story to save themselves.”

He seemed naive enough to be gullible, but at least he had the minimum level of discernment.

“And at that moment, I realized that apart from the people in the Ice Castle, the only person I knew was you. So I came to you for help.”

There was no trace of malice towards me in Aleon’s demeanor. 

Was this a sign that Aleon wasn’t foolish after all, or did it make him even more foolish?

Even after hearing those words that framed me, he came to me without a hint of suspicion. Despite his despair, did he want to give trust one more chance by coming to me? Did he think I was as kind as he was…?

“It wasn’t me who spread that rumor.”

Upon hearing my words, the Saint of Ice’s face visibly brightened.

“I knew it.”

“But if spreading such a rumor had been advantageous to me, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it.”

Aleon’s expression immediately became pale again. Watching him, I felt an unexpected pang in my heart, perhaps the same feeling I had when I first saw Lilith—a desire to protect a child’s innocence.

“You didn’t fail; you were just disappointed,” I continued. “It’s natural for people to be envious of you. This happened because you trusted people too much and gave too much of yourself. You should have taken better care of yourself.”

Aleon’s eyes trembled slightly again.

“Are you saying I should trust no one, help no one, and sometimes act cruelly?”

It was the first time I heard Aleon’s voice so sharp. I nodded and smiled slightly.

“No, you should live as you want. You can’t change your nature. Helping the weak is ingrained in your soul.”

If it were Lilith, I would keep warning her to be cautious, but I knew I didn’t need to do that with Aleon. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about him because he wasn’t my companion.

Aleon was a strong and beautiful saint, likely the top ranker. He could protect others while also protecting himself. Even if he fell and got hurt, he was strong enough to get back up again.

“I’m a simple person, not a great one, so I can only take responsibility for my own companions.” I gestured behind me with a nod. Just four people.

Compared to the dozens in Aleon’s castle, it was insignificant.

“I think you’re amazing compared to me.”

“…Why?”

“Because even though you’re disappointed now, you’ll eventually go back to protecting the weak.”