The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

“Ugh…!”
Dragon Slayer gritted his teeth, determined not to let out a groan, his lips tightly pressed together. I glanced at him coldly before opening my mouth again.

“No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like you heard that name here, right?”

Even if he had heard it, reacting like that was suspicious no matter how I thought about it. There was only one conclusion to draw.

Straightening my bent knees, I stood upright and curled my lips into a smirk as I looked at him.

“You want to go back, don’t you?”

To the place where someone named Erosia resides.

It must have been the correct answer.

Dragon Slayer’s wavering eyes gave it all away, and I sneered as I watched him.

“You can’t go back.”

His bloodshot eyes locked onto me, and he spat out in a voice filled with rage,

“No, I can. I will go back.”

His voice sounded almost like a wounded beast crying. Dragon Slayer growled, veins pulsing in his eyes.

“I’ll kill you, take the Godslayer, and open the gate.”

“Oh, really?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his words. Loosening the chains that bound him, I leaned in close to his face.

“Then go ahead and try.”

Dragon Slayer’s eyes widened in shock but only for a moment. Realizing the chains had slackened, he immediately summoned his sword and swung it toward me.

Bang!

“…!”

However, the sword aiming for my neck fell weakly to the ground.

“Ah… ugh…!”

The smell of burning flesh wafted from Dragon Slayer, who had been struck in the shoulder. The unpleasant stench made me scrunch my nose as I turned my head away.

In the distance, something glimmered under the moonlight.

| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: The mage strikes again!
| Pr. Guild Master (Godslayer) |: Unnecessary.
| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: You could at least say thank you!
| Pr. 9th Circle Archmage |: ୧(ಠ Д ಠ)୨

I clicked my tongue at the returning messages and turned back to look at Dragon Slayer. I wasn’t sure what that pesky mage had done to the bullet, but the flesh around the wound was charred. My face twisted in a grimace at the sight.

“Guild Master, you’re not going to heal this, are you?”

“…!”

Startled by the sudden voice, I inhaled sharply and turned my gaze.

The mage, with a playful expression, had appeared out of nowhere. I dismissed my healing magic and said,

“…Of course not.”

“As expected of our Guild Master.”

What does he mean, as expected? Feeling like I was being mocked, I raised my hand. The mage flinched, but I wasn’t planning to hit him.

“…!”

Instead, I was aiming for Dragon Slayer, who was gritting his teeth so hard his lips bled, trying to suppress his groans.

With the back of my hand, I struck his neck hard. Despite trying to adjust my strength, it seemed I hit him too hard.

“Wow.”

Dragon Slayer couldn’t even scream as his head slumped forward, and he passed out on the spot.

The mage puckered his lips and gave me a thumbs-up. I calmly folded that thumb down for him.

Now that I’d dealt with Dragon Slayer, it was time to address the other matters I hadn’t yet handled.

Facing the desolate and ruined village, I raised my voice.

“Hero!”

I was worried about the Grand Duke, who had collapsed helplessly because of Dragon Slayer.

“You’ll wake up the whole town,” a voice chimed in.

The Hero appeared on the relatively intact roof of a dilapidated house. Her slightly furrowed brow caught my eye, and I greeted her with a bright smile.

“What town? If anyone were going to wake up, they’d have done it by now.”

The Hero nodded as if in agreement.
“Well, where’s the Grand Duke? Is he okay? How’s his condition?”
“I’m here. Not okay, though.”

— Mama!

Ah, so Harim went looking for the Grand Duke. I was wondering where she had flown off to. The Grand Duke staggered into view beside the Hero, with Harim perched on their head.

“How are you feeling? A little better now?”
“I said I’m not okay!”

He sounded irritated at being asked twice. Before I could wonder why he was so sensitive, the pesky mage chimed in with a teasing tone.

“The Grand Duke’s mana is in absolute shambles!”
“You can even tell that?”
“You underestimate mages too much, Guild Master. Do you think a mage can’t discern another’s mana condition?”
“Then why didn’t you figure out anything about the mage who appeared with Dragon Slayer?”

At my retort, the mage pouted and looked downcast.
“I tried to, but I failed.”
“Useless.”
“Hey! Who are you calling useless?!”

The way their temper flared up immediately made me frown. Their loud, shrill protests were enough to make me turn away.

“Grand Duke, I’ll check your condition properly when we get back. For now, let’s take this guy and head home.”

I passed the unconscious Dragon Slayer to the mage and told them to carry him. Meanwhile, the Hero and the Grand Duke frowned as they descended and asked,

“Where exactly are we going?”
“Yeah, where are we headed?”

Even the mage tilted their head in confusion. Scratching my chin, I answered cheerfully.
“To the Hero’s place.”

“… …”

The Hero blinked, then scowled, shouting,
“Guild Master, do you have a death wish?!”

“Sorry!!”

I quickly handed the Hero my blessed black card as a peace offering and begged for forgiveness. The Hero glared at me, warning me to brace myself.

If the card maxes out, Hajun’s going to get a notification. I sincerely hoped that wouldn’t happen.

*****

The man dreamed of his “past” for the first time in a long while.
He had yearned for it, tried to recall it countless times, but it had always eluded him. Only after enduring the agony of near-death did the memories flash by, like the spinning lantern of life.

“Your name will be remembered for ages, Dragon Slayer, as ‘Sion.’”

Of course, the faded memory ended on a bitter note.
The man woke at that very last moment, and with consciousness came a sharp, searing pain in his shoulder.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

The voice wasn’t concerned. It was mocking, as though hoping he’d hurt even more.
The man grimaced and turned toward the source of the familiar voice.

“What are you looking at?”

The voice’s owner lounged arrogantly on the sofa opposite him, one leg crossed over the other.
The man instinctively tried to grab his sword.

Crackle!

“Ugh…!”

But his hand, trembling with numbness, refused to cooperate. Besides, his sword didn’t even materialize.

It was then he noticed something wrapped around his wrist, like shackles. Each movement made an unpleasant clinking sound, which only deepened his scowl as he yanked at the binding on his wrist.

“If you want to get that off, you’ll have to cut off your hand, Lord Dragon Slayer.”

“What…?”

“You’ll get used to it with time, though.”

That’s hardly something you can just brush off, the woman said cheerfully. She held up her wrist to show the man, who was scowling fiercely.

The same shackle-like restraint encircled her wrist, identical to his.

“Thanks to that ‘Godslayer’ title you were so desperate for, I ended up like this. What do you think?”

With a mocking tone, she added, “Still want it?” Her voice, dripping with sarcasm, made the man grind his teeth audibly.

******

“Dragon Slayer, you sure grind those teeth well, don’t you?”

“…!”

Both I and Dragon Slayer flinched at the sudden voice from behind. Turning, I saw the annoying mage smirking mischievously. Unable to hold back, I reached out and pinched his cheek hard.

“You little…!”

“Ah! Ow, ow!”

The mage yelped in pain, his cries making both me and Dragon Slayer grimace.

“How long have you been watching?” I demanded.

“I’ve been here since the beginning. It’s not my fault you didn’t notice,” he replied smugly.

If the Godslayer’s powers weren’t sealed, maybe I would’ve noticed. But with only the Saintess title unsealed, of course I didn’t.

For the record, the Swordmaster only gets unsealed if they wield that blasted Glory’s Blade. And that blade can only be used if the Saintess title is unsealed first. What a pain.

I released the mage’s ear and turned my attention back to Dragon Slayer, propping my chin on my hand.

“Guild Master, you should fix your posture. Otherwise, your spine will twist.”

This insufferable posture fairy…

Sighing, I uncrossed my legs and glared at the mage, who pretended not to notice and whistled nonchalantly.

“…Weirdos,” Dragon Slayer muttered in a slow, low voice.

For a moment, I was left speechless.

Not because I lacked words, but because getting angry here would only lump me in with these weirdos. Still, that mage couldn’t resist flapping his mouth.

“How’d you figure out we’re weirdos? You know, Dragon Slayer, you’re weird too. Oh, look, we have something in common!”

“…”

Does his mouth malfunction if it’s quiet for even a second? More importantly, how can he make fun of someone while they still have a bullet lodged in their shoulder?

“…Crazy bastard.”

Dragon Slayer finally couldn’t hold back and cursed at him. The mage, instead of being offended, just chuckled as if pleased with the comment.

His personality is impossible to figure out.

“Ugh…!”

At a mere flick of the mage’s finger, Dragon Slayer hunched over in pain. The acrid smell of burning flesh once again stung my nose.

Looking closer, I saw that the bandages around Dragon Slayer’s wound were burning away.

I turned to the mage with a pale face, only to see him grinning at me.

This bastard definitely has a worse personality than me.

******

In South Korea, the renowned guild Haun (Summer Cloud) was cloaked in a shadow as dark as a midsummer storm.

“Boss.”

“…”

“Boss!!”

The voice, accompanied by a light slam on the desk, finally made Do Hajun look up. His face, shadowed with exhaustion, made his secretary, Eun Yul, frown slightly in concern.

“Why don’t you take a short nap? I’ll continue looking into matters regarding Do Haun.”