04 — The Master’s Pride

04 — The Master’s Pride

Unlike yesterday, our shopping trip ended without incident. When we got back to the guild, the healers were poking at and examining the magic appliances in the kitchen like curious children. It was kind of cute.

“We’re back, everyone. You guys making dinner tonight?”

Jord stepped over, grinning. “We’re done with our magic practice and looking for something to do anyway. It can’t be easy making food for us all by yourself. Y’know, though, those magic items are crazy, but not as crazy as that list of recipes you have. It’s even got stuff from my hometown.”

The rest got themselves all worked up over their own home dishes that had made the list.

“I’ll leave it to you guys, then. Tomorrow, the healers and I are going to the Adventurer’s Guild to show off our magic.”

Their faces darkened. What was their problem? Substance X was bad, yeah, but it was extremely useful once you got used to it. Everyone had looked relieved when they’d realized I’d forgotten to refill my stock, like my very presence somehow equated to barrels of the stuff.

“This’ll be a special free-of-charge thing. I’ve already spoken to the pope about it,” I continued. “We’ll leave after lunch tomorrow. A few knights will join us as guards but the rest will stay here and take charge of the slaves. Anyway, good luck with the cooking. I’ll be downstairs.”

Jord smiled and saluted with a fist to his chest, followed by the rest. I returned the gesture, grateful that my second-in-command was such a skilled mood-maker.

Ketty stayed upstairs to talk with Nalia, and Lionel followed me down to the basement, which meant he was the only one present to witness my reaction.

“We...are underground, right?”

Not even the stone-faced warrior could hide his shock. “I believe it was at one point in time.”

Key word: was. What we were standing in wasn’t an underground basement but open air. The sun now shone where just this morning a magically glowing ceiling had been. Wind blew through what had previously been walls. The modest horse pen had become a pasture, complete with fenced-off, freshly tilled fields and more than enough space for Forêt Noire to frolic as she pleased. Right now, she and the other horses were comfortably lazing about.

“This can’t be real. Dwarves are something else, sure, but there’s no way someone could make this. It’s too life-like!”

“I leveled up, Chief,” Pola replied out of nowhere. “My job. And my artificing skill too.”

“Oh, you’re awake. I mean, hold on, you made all this?”

“It’s not good enough.” She shook her head. “I can’t expand space yet.”

This kid was crazy.

“Ah, you’re back!” Dhoran appeared and I braced myself for his inevitable doting. “Just finished reinforcin’ all the floors. Think I’ll get to experime— craftin’ stuff for the good o’ the guild.”

The damn dwarf was about to say “experimenting.” Just as I was about to give him a piece of my mind, Pola came up and held her hands out.

“Uh, yes?” I asked.

“Stones, please.”

I stared at her blankly. She stared back at me. We continued in this way for some time. Then I glanced at Dhoran, and he turned away.

“I’m all out. I said that when I gave the rest to him this morning.”

She scowled, tears welling up in her eyes. “You lied, grandpa.”

Dhoran howled in agony as the destructive force of his granddaughter’s scorn shattered his heart. “Listen, lass, ya gotta understand, the mister wanted the guild safe, y’see? It takes a lot o’ gems to make a barrier like this, you know that.”

“You said he had a bunch.”

“That... That I did.”

I looked at Lionel. “I wonder how these two compare to other professionals.”

“They’re likely some of the best in their trade. Of the many faces I’ve seen and names I’ve heard, I could count on one hand the number of masters on Dhoran’s level, perhaps two in Pola’s case.”

If Dhoran and Pola were incredible, and Lionel and Ketty were incredible, then that left...

“Don’t tell me Nalia’s as insanely talented as the rest of you. What is it, fighting? Crafting?”

“Nalia has little taste for combat or spellcasting.”

Thank the lord. She was normal.

“But she is gifted at perception, skilled in concealing her magic and presence, and knowledgeable in the ways of royal etiquette.”

Scratch that. None of these crazy people were ordinary. I was starting to think insanity was just the norm in this world.

“Luciel, lad, I’m beggin’ ya,” Dhoran pleaded, “order me to get more magic stones or find us some yourself! Please!”

Pola had her arms crossed, cheeks puffed out. But now that renovations were just about done, I was running out of things for them to do.

“Sorry, but no. Here, I want you to write your ideas down in this, then bring your proposals to me. You’ll get your magic stones later.”

“Th-The cruelty...”

Dhoran took the pen and parchment with sagging shoulders. Pola’s pout devolved into a stunned gape. The reserved, stoic girl from the cell was nowhere to be seen.

This was for my own sanity, honestly. My heart couldn’t handle any more “experiments.”

“Make sure to be detailed. List everything the item can do, its effects, that sort of thing. If I think we can use it, I’ll get the stones we need.”

Their spirits rose slightly. They thanked me and went off to their workshops on the third floor.

“It’s never boring with those guys around,” I mumbled.

“I will protect you, regardless of the equipment we have,” Lionel reminded me. “You only need to say the word.”

“True.”

I cast Purification on Forêt, praying that our show at the Adventurer’s Guild tomorrow would be a success.

Dinner that night was delicious. Nalia’s guidance had brought out flavors I never thought possible, and it seemed I had a new rival in my midst—not. No point in being prideful when there was so much I could learn from her.

Lionel and Ketty each took half of the felon slave group for the night’s watch duty, and after contacting Her Holiness as promised, I finally got some shut-eye.

The following morning, I stretched, practiced my magic, then stopped by the kitchen to lay out ingredients for breakfast.

“Good morning, sir,” Nalia called out.

“Morning. The kitchen’s yours from now on. I’m heading downstairs to do some training.”

She gave a gentle bow. “Of course, sir.”

When I reached the fourth floor of the basement, I found that someone had beaten me to it.

“Morning, Lionel.”

“I’ve been waiting.”

He grinned. A greatsword was sheathed on his back, and a massive shield clung to his left arm.

“How did you know I’d come down here?”

“We’re creatures of habit.”

“Fair enough. So, what are you doing here?”

“I believe I promised to train you, and I wanted to make good on that.”

“Okay, now what’s the real reason? I can go jogging by myself well enough.”

He shrugged. “I want to see just how dull my skills have become. And one other thing. In the past, a friend of mine spoke of an apprentice he found, one who never backed down from injury, and I was jealous at the time.”

That couldn’t have been my master, right? Lionel smirked, seemingly having read my mind.

“Brod was his name, also known as the Whirlwind. Two decades ago, our match ended in a draw, and we’ve exchanged letters ever since.”

Called it! The phrase “birds of a feather flock together” came to mind. Unfortunately, I was now all but certain that Lionel was the same sort of battle-crazed lunatic as his friend.

“Quick reminder: I’m a healer. Please don’t kill me by accident.”

“True, you have important business today. I’ll bear that in mind.”

“That’s better than nothing, I guess,” I groaned. “Let me do some jogging to warm up first.”

I did a few laps and pre-stretches under his watchful gaze. I was getting one of my many famous bad feelings about this match, but there was no escaping it, so I sucked it up, threw up a barrier, and got on with it.

I quickly realized something. Although I couldn’t say who was stronger one way or another, I learned that Lionel and Brod drew their strengths from different areas. While my master excelled in speed, precision, and movement, Lionel was a stalwart golem. He was like a wall, and there was no getting past his shield or the massive strikes of his titanic blade. To put it simply, Brod was the panther to Lionel’s bear.

One other striking difference was in their teaching styles. My master was very deliberate in his coaching whereas Lionel was much more hands-on. Still, the way he panicked when he accidentally dismembered my left arm reminded me of Brod from back when I had still called him “instructor.”

Wait, back up—without Extra Heal, I would have died just now! What good did those slave crests even do if he could mutilate me that easily?

All throughout our match, I prayed and begged the lord above for someone to come and tell us that breakfast was ready and that this would not become a common occurrence. By the time boot camp was over, we’d gathered quite a crowd of slave onlookers.

“Ah, good work last night, everyone. Get some rest after breakfast,” I told them.

They gaped at me, but I was too hungry to care why and hopped onto the magic elevator. We had made sure that it was actually functional yesterday.

The others were waiting for me in the kitchen, their food untouched.

“You guys didn’t have to wait.”

I took a seat, gave my thanks for the meal, and began to dig in when one of the group asked, “Will you be doing any healing when we go to the Adventurer’s Guild today?”

“If I need to. I’ll step in for petrification, poison, or things that High Heal can’t fix, but I want you all to be Yenice’s foundation.”

“May we watch you work, if we have a chance?”

“Sure. I’ve already given you all the gist of my process, but seeing it for yourself is always better.”

We chatted away throughout breakfast, and I was impressed with Nalia once again. She was extremely adept at this sort of housework, but it must have been hard to manage all on her own. An assistant slave for her might not be a bad idea.

Stashing that thought in the back of my mind, I drew up a map of the Adventurer’s Guild and went through where I wanted everyone to be stationed. No one objected to my plan as we talked it over. I found myself grateful to the pope and Granhart for putting me in my current position.

“Let’s show these people what we’re all about!”

“Yes, sir!”

After that, I locked myself away in the guildmaster’s room until a knock came at the door that afternoon.

“Come in.”

Dhoran and Pola entered with neatly tied parchments in hand.

“Um, you guys have gotten some sleep, right?”

They looked haggard, and their eyes were swollen and red. They put their parchments on my desk without a word.

“Is all this...”

“Half’s for us. Half’s for sellin’.”

“They’ll sell for lots,” Pola added. “We want to use half the money for more magic stones.”

It was quite a lot to read all at once. Then I had an idea. All I had to do was work a bit of white-collar magic.

“I’ll look these over and get back to you later. Have breakfast and get some sleep, okay?”

But there was no magic here.

“We’re not leaving until you do.” Small tears sat in the corners of Pola’s bloodshot eyes.

“Look at ’er, Luciel. You can’t make the poor girl cry,” Dhoran insisted.

“For crying out loud. You’re bad at acting, by the way. But fine. Who do I start with?”

“Well, who else—”

“Me!” Pola shouted, staring straight at her grandfather.

“All right, I got it,” I said. “Go rest on the couch in the meantime.”

By some miracle, I managed to get through their proposals just in time for Nalia to come and announce lunch.

“Pola, two accepted, five deferred. Dhoran, five approved, one deferred.”

“And the magic stones?”

“The magic stones!”

The proposals I’d dismissed were so outlandish that I simply couldn’t have green lit them in good faith based on the glance I’d given the writeup.

“We’ll go shopping for the materials we’ll need soon. And yes, I promise to get magic stones.”

Pola and Dhoran high-fived, then finally relaxed. They joined me for lunch, but they were obviously beyond exhausted. The pair really exemplified what it meant to literally put one’s life into one’s work.

Not long after that, it was time to go to the Adventurer’s Guild.

“All right, let’s do this, everyone!”

“Yeah!”

“Safe travels.”

“Do good work!”

Words of encouragement followed us as we set off for the Adventurer’s Guild. No one spoke once in the ten minutes it took us to reach our destination, then I turned around at the door and addressed the group.

“Let’s show Yenice what we’re about.”

“Yes, sir!” they replied spiritedly.

I was hoping this place would become like a second home to them.

“And don’t forget to make sure the people know how strong our guards are. Stay on alert, knights.”

“Sir!”

“Lionel, Ketty, with me.”

“As you wish.”

“Mm-hmm!”

I opened the door and stopped in my tracks.

“Hm, so this is what we’re up against.”

We weren’t even downstairs yet and the hall was already overflowing with patients, some writhing from the effects of poison, some immobilized by petrification.

“We’re using plan C!” I shouted to my team. “We’ll stop by reception and then head downstairs. No detours. We go straight to the basement, understand? I’ll handle the ones in critical condition.”

We got moving. I’d planned for three scenarios today. Plan A was in case we encountered resistance, plan B was if there were no patients, and plan C assumed that the Doctor’s Guild was even less qualified to heal than I’d thought.

“My name is Luciel, S-rank healer,” I said to the receptionist. “I’m with the Yenice Healer’s Guild, as requested by vice guildmaster Jeiyas. Please tell him we’ve arrived.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

She dashed off and I faced the crowd. “We will be treating all of you, courtesy of the Healer’s Guild! Please remain calm and orderly and I promise you’ll all be tended to. We’ll establish a triage area so patients needing attention more urgently will have it first, and anyone with complaints about that can and will be refused care. Likewise, you will not be given care if you become violent. We are not angels, and we are not a charity. But we want to heal, and that is the honest truth. Let us help you.”

“Please!” added the other healers in unison.

Having them there to back me up gave me confidence. I caught sight of Jeiyas coming up the stairs and told him, “I’m going to focus on the ones in the worst condition here on the first floor. I’ll do what I can, but like I said, I’m no god.”

“Of course, sir. This way, men.” He guided the other healers downstairs, leaving me with Lionel and Ketty at my side, and I got to healing.

I spotted a young adventurer hunched over by the stairs, half his body turned to stone and in no shape to speak. I looked at his companion.

“Was he poisoned? Is there any paralysis? It’s fine if you aren’t sure; just tell me what you know.”

The man held what was left of his friend up and rasped in a tearful voice, “I-It was some gas in the labyrinth. Please, do something!”

He reached out to cling to me, but Lionel stepped into his way. As I began to chant Dispel, the man turned back to his friend in desperation. The wounded adventurer’s body glowed, his ossified form returning to flesh and blood. After a Middle Heal, he seemed to be in good health again but was still looking pale, so I threw in a cast of Recover to get him back to normal.

“He should be stable now. If he lost blood, let him rest for a few days.” I looked at the man Lionel had held back, sighed, then cast Recover on him as well. “I understand wanting to look after the people you care about, but please take care of yourself first. You were almost as badly off as him.”

I wove through the crowd of patients, restoring consciousness and bringing others back from the brink, raising cheers with every “miracle.” Frankly, things were going perfectly.

Until they weren’t.

“Line up, everyone! I’ll get to you all!” I shouted just as a fuss downstairs drew my attention.

“I’m sick o’ this! Heal me already, you assholes! Who do you think I am?!” a burly beastman hollered, barely restrained by two knights while Jeiyas tried in vain to calm him.

“We can stop altogether if you like!” I shot back. “I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but I have no patience for your type. What right do you have to complain about volunteer work that doesn’t cost you a copper?” I descended the stairs to the training ground. “Don’t make me file an official complaint with your guild.”

“And who the hell is this brat?”

“The brat is an S-rank healer. Luciel. I run the Healer’s Guild here, which gives me the authority to offer you two options: be quiet and wait your turn or ruin it for everyone and no one else gets healed.”

Lionel stood in front of me, Ketty behind, with a whole lot of adventurers still eagerly awaiting their turn.

The man flashed me an arrogant grin. “All right, Mister S-rank, let’s see how you deal with this! Now!”

Out of nowhere, clouds of black dust came flying at me. Lionel clicked his tongue and readied his shield, followed by Ketty with her cloak, but it was impossible for even the two of them to keep every grain from striking me.

“Have fun healing when you can’t use magic! We’re outta here!” he cackled.

“You won’t escape!” Lionel cried. Seeming desperate after failing to protect me, he readied his greatsword and nearly threw it at the fleeing man but stopped himself. “Curses!”

Our target suddenly began to vanish, quickly disappearing entirely, leaving nothing but a log with a slip of paper stuck to it.

Ninjutsu?! Is this guy a ninja?!

“An illusion. Dark magic!” Lionel shouted as he ran for the opposite set of stairs that our quarry, as well as several other beastpeople, were sprinting for. “Someone stop that man!”

But too many were still badly injured, and Jord and the others had been affected by the dust. Our attackers cut through the training grounds and up the stairs. They were home-free, and we had too many people who still needed treatment to waste time giving chase.

“Unbelievable...” Jeiyas’s shoulders sank dramatically. “I want everyone who can move out there looking for those bastards!”

Lionel’s expression was similar to the guildmaster’s. “I’m sorry, Luciel.”

“Slipped right through my paws,” Ketty whimpered.

“Hey, does this mean we ain’t getting healed?” one adventurer griped.

“Is that all you healers can do? Come on, I’m dyin’ here,” another whined.

“You know how hard it was to drag myself here?”

With nowhere else to direct their frustration, the adventurers turned on the healers, whose healing magic had been completely nullified. We had to do something about their lack of resistance.

I slowly walked over and chanted, “Oh holy hand of healing. Oh birthing breath of the land. Heed my prayer. Banish the impurities before me and shepherd them unto deliverance. Purification!”

My body glowed and every particle of the dust vanished. Then I turned my attention to the healers.

“Oh holy hand of healing. Oh birthing breath of the land. Heed my prayer. Purge all that festers and restore equilibrium. Recover!”

The spell enveloped them.

“Looks like some people need a few more mugs.”

Jord and the others recoiled. Now their magic would work just fine, though, and the complainers managed to get a grip on themselves.

“That takes care of that. Sorry for the trouble, everyone. Now, those who still need healing, please wait patiently,” I announced, “or I’ll have you tied to the wall. That sound good to you, vice guildmaster?”

Jeiyas recovered from his stupor and nodded. “Anyone who’s got somethin’ to say can say it to my face!”

“All right, let’s pick up where we left off.”

Once again I found myself grateful to Substance X. Aside from its side effects (namely how hard it made leveling up), its resistance boosting had come in extremely useful here. It would do the guys good to just hunker down and drink the stuff.

The healing continued. Although Jord and his group weren’t skilled enough to be able to cast Dispel, Recover worked well enough for most status ailments. I stepped in for cases where it didn’t, or for particularly severe wounds or disfigurements. As long as the limb was still technically attached, a cast of High Heal was more than enough to restore it, and that display was enough to garner even more worshippers. Friends and loved ones embraced each other, danced arm-in-arm, and exploded with happiness.

One thing confused me, though. Why wasn’t anyone leaving? We healed and healed but no one ever actually left the guildhall. Didn’t these people have places to be? My companions were just about spent from the massive number of patients they were working through, so I jumped in and started doing rounds on my own.

“Oh holy hand of healing. Oh birthing breath of the land. Heed my prayer. Purge all that festers and restore equilibrium. Recover! There. That should do it.” I looked around. “Does anyone else need treatment? Did we get to everyone? Please look around and tell us if you see anyone in pain.”

No reply came.

“Adventurers,” Jeiyas called out, “our guild has done wrong by the Healer’s Guild despite their goodwill. Some of you lambasted these generous men when the blame was never theirs. It is those men who deserve your anger!” The adventurers shrank in on themselves, looking guilty. “We were told today’s service would be free, but is that good enough for us? No! Hell no! We adventures, we beastfolk, always repay our debts! We’ll find those bastards, and the one who put ’em up to it! C’mon, boys, we’ve gotta save face!”

The hall shook with vigorous cheers and spirited hollers, and after a glance and a light bow, they each shot up the stairs.

“I’m so sorry that happened, Luciel. We’ll make it up to you.” The dragonewt lowered his head.

“Please, Jeiyas, there’s no need for that. They were ready for us. Their plan was obviously to keep us from healing, then spread the word that we couldn’t make good on our promise. They wanted to make the guild look bad.”

“That is...likely correct.”

Well, don’t get all vague on me.

“Do you think they’re connected to Shahza? Or maybe the Doctor’s Guild?”

My team looked surprised. I’d never filled them in on the rival guild’s role in our problems. Or anyone, really. It was sensitive information.

“I can’t say one way or the other,” Jeiyas replied. “But what I do know is that the Doctor’s Guild sells that black powder. It’s most commonly used against monsters, to prevent them from using magic.”

“So pretty much anyone could get their hands on it. Whatever the case, your guild knows the city better than us. I’ll let you handle this.”

I had a feeling we’d only make things worse if we pushed in, and I couldn’t put the others (or, ahem, myself) in any more danger.

“I don’t know how much you trust us after this, but we’ll get to the bottom of it. I swear to you.”

The fact was, I really didn’t trust his people at all. I was just giving them the benefit of the doubt.

“We’re going back to the Healer’s Guild. Please get in touch when you learn something.”

“We will.” He bowed once more, then saw us to the door.

“Until next time,” I said in farewell.

Lionel led us out and took one step outside before abruptly stopping.

“What’re you—”

A group carrying several battered adventurers barreled past us and into the hall, cutting me off. Jeiyas took one look at them, and his eyes went wide.

“Brother!” he cried.

“Get them all within three meters of me, and I’ll use Area High Heal,” I ordered. “I want the rest of you to take care of poison and paralysis.”

“Yes, sir!” the healers replied.

The incapacitated dragonewt, presumably the guildmaster, shot up with a start and glowered at us. “Goddamn healers!” he hissed. “How much more do we have for you to take?!”

He was an awful sight, his skin discolored. He still distinctly resembled Jeiyas, only with more rugged features that added to the ferocity in his eyes. Somehow, though, it lacked intimidation. I was relieved that he was lucid, but faced yet again with the reality of the healer’s plight, I couldn’t help being a little sad.

“We’re not charging a thing this time,” I said with focused calm that surprised even me. “Now lie down and let us help you, dammit!”

After my complete one-eighty from calm to frustration, the dragonewt relaxed. I made sure that everyone was within range, then cast Area High Heal. Most of their wounds seemed internal, so I quickly cast Purification, Dispel, and Recover on the uppity guildmaster until his skin finally returned to a healthy tone. Ignoring the shock on his face as he patted his body, I turned to the ten or so adventurers still in need of attention.

Once things settled down, Jeiyas introduced me to his older brother, Goldhus.

“I’m sorry for shouting earlier. I’m Luciel, S-rank healer and guildmaster of the Yenice Healer’s Guild. I spoke with Jeiyas yesterday about giving a demonstration of our services today, free of charge, and that’s why I’m here now.”

The guildmaster gaped at me, then looked at his brother, who nodded in reply. Goldhus immediately got on his knees and prostrated himself.

“I deeply apologize for my previous outburst.”

I quickly had him stand back up, fearing a continuing conversation with the back of his head. But it was probably too late to stop the rumor mill. Hell, I could already feel a headache coming on.

“Guildmasters shouldn’t be kneeling at all, let alone right in front of the door. People will say things.”

“Yes! Yes, right you are! My deepest—”

“Please just stand up.”

“Right. My thanks.” We’d avoided an endless loop, luckily, but this couldn’t have been the same guy who’d glowered at me only moments before. “I’m the guildmaster here. Call me Goldhus. I really do apologize for earlier. Being cooped up in that labyrinth does things to the mind, and I had no idea you were S-rank.”

Labyrinth or not, his earlier reaction hadn’t been mild, to put it lightly.

“It seems like you’re familiar with healers and what we can do, sir. Your impression of us isn’t favorable, is it?”

His expression darkened. “Not exactly. I had many experiences as a youth with being denied treatment, being extorted. But a few years ago, during a meeting at Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters, I heard about a healer who was different. A bit of a weirdo. You, Luciel.”

Brod was an ex-adventurer, which surely meant the same for Goldhus. I figured it wasn’t uncommon for them to be less than welcoming of my kind. What I was more curious about was who had been spreading rumors about me.

“Well that’s...interesting.”

“They say you lived in the Merratoni Adventurer’s Guild, where you trained and healed everyone, regardless of sex, race, or severity, for one silver each and with incredible passion.”

Now things were just getting out of hand.

“I’d love to hear more.”

“Well, after barely two years, you were transferred to the Holy City, and in less than two more, you reached S-rank. They call you an adventurer-bred healer.”

Crap, that was all accurate. I couldn’t refute any of it.

“But I heard dragonewts were opposed to founding a Healer’s Guild here.”

“Right. As much praise as I was hearing about you, my perspective was limited, given I run a guild filled with beastfolk. I agreed with the council’s decision at the time.”

At the time? “Not anymore?”

“I never imagined you would do so much for us and expect nothing in return.” He frowned. “You even cured wounds that the Doctor’s guild had given up on.”

There was just one thing I had to correct. “Just to be safe, you should know that the freebies were only for today.” I handed him a copy of our guidelines. “These are what our normal rates will be.”

“This here?”

“Yes. Using the treatment I gave you as an example, the High Heal would cost three gold, Purification runs for fifty silver, Dispel for two gold, and Recover for one gold, for a total of six gold and fifty silver pieces. Do you find that excessive?”

The guidelines also specified that prices could vary by upward of fifty percent, but I chose to follow the listed rates.

“No, not at all! That’s a steal! High-grade potions can cost five gold alone, and antidotes can sell for a gold apiece sometimes. And neither are as effective as your magic.”

“Happy to hear it. It took me a lot of time and agony to come up with those rates, so I’m glad they sound reasonable.”

I’d lost count of how many market surveys we had done in the process. And not just for the healers and their clinics; the surveys had included even the adventurers and citizens our prices would affect.

One other thing we had tentatively proposed was having fledgling healers with low skill levels employed by Shurulean Healer’s or Adventurer’s Guilds, where they would practice magic for half-price in exchange for room and board. The archbishops were very receptive to the idea and passionate about cultivating a better environment for higher-quality healers. They weren’t keen on letting me work out the specifics, though.

“A young man of not even twenty has no business making enemies!” the archbishop with the peddler’s face, Muneller, had told me. “Our lives are at their ends, and the people will accept our proposals more readily. If not, we will only have to endure the scorn for a short time. This has a chance to endure for the ages, and we’d like the chance to make our mark on history as you have.”

So I’d given in and let them handle it. Also, I’d started feeling bad about thinking that Muneller’s face looked like a backstreet peddler.

Basically, the archbishops deserved far more praise for creating the guidelines than me, but Her Holiness had decided that I would be at the center of it all—the public face of the movement. The elders had been credited on the document itself, and that was enough for them. It was thanks to them I had left for Yenice with renewed passion for my work, so it felt nice to see their contributions validated.

“Now, how about... Luciel, you are an adventurer, right?” the guildmaster asked.

“Er, yes?” I was feeling many things about the coming conversation at the moment, and “good” was not one of them.

“Then would you accept an assignment?!”

“Sorry, not a high enough rank.”

I’d seen that coming, but luckily my adventuring rank was too low for him to be allowed to nominate me for a private job.

He winced. “Then would it be possible to set up a temporary clinic in front of the labyrinth? The Adventurer’s Guild would cover the cost!”

He sure was grasping at straws now. And unfortunately, he was asking a lot.

“No can do. Not after the trouble we had today, and just yesterday we were attacked in the street. I can’t be away until the guild can run safely and efficiently on its own. Not while I’m in charge, at least.”

“I... I understand.”

I breathed a sigh of relief that he’d finally given up.

“In that case, you’re saying it might be possible once everything is settled.”

Er, scratch that. He was doubling down now. “Listen, I know you want me in particular, but I’m a guildmaster. I can’t just leave the guild to someone else.”

“What a coincidence! I’m a guildmaster too. And my guild is going to do everything in its power to make sure yours can operate smoothly. You have my word!”

The guy wasn’t listening to a word I said. I glanced at my team for a lifeline, but they turned away. Even the knights. The two slaves, however, looked downright excited by Goldhus’s suggestion.

And so our demonstration ended without incident...if any of what had just transpired could be considered “without incident.” I felt myself getting dragged deeper and deeper into shadowy plots beyond my control.