Upgrade (5)

I didn’t doubt my ears.

Why would I?

Honestly, it seemed far more likely that he had simply handed me a blank check than that something in my body was malfunctioning.

Yeah… so—

“You’ve lived long enough to know the weight of your words,” I lowered my voice and spoke coldly.

It simply didn’t make sense. A dragon’s heart was an unimaginably rare treasure—how could someone like a guild master possibly possess it?

“Of course I understand the weight of my words.”

“Are you saying you really have a dragon’s heart?”

“To be precise, it belongs to the guild.”

What is this? Is he trying to mess with me?

I let out a dry laugh and the guild master casually shrugged.

“It’s been sitting in storage for hundreds of years anyway. If it disappears, who would notice? Besides, treasures like that can only be inspected directly by the guild master.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

“…Wow.”

I more or less understood what he was trying to say.

As long as he remained guild master for life, giving away the dragon’s heart sitting in storage wouldn’t cause any problems.

But that only made it more impressive.

“How do you plan on handling the aftermath…?”

Was he only intending to live a few more years?

The position of guild master isn’t eternal.

Even if he gets away with it now, one day he’ll have to pass that seat on to someone else.

“The moment it’s discovered that you siphoned off the dragon’s heart, not just you but your entire family will bear the consequences.”

“You needn’t worry about that. My wife and children have already benefited greatly from me. So they should share the price of failure as well.”

“…Wow.”

That made it the second time I’d reacted like that in such a brief exchange.

Is this guy actually insane?

“There’s a famous saying among gamblers. Do you happen to know it?”

“What is it?”

“Just win it back and pay it off.”

“Regardless of how long it takes, as long as I secure a new Dragon’s Heart and replace it before I step down as guild master, everything will work out, right?”

“…Wow…”

I just barely managed to swallow a third exclamation and asked one final question.

“…Is there, by any chance, barbarian blood in your lineage?”

“Not that I know of.”

Right. Of course not…

***
In the end, I chose to accept the guild master’s proposal. After having Amelia verify it, it turned out that the guild truly possessed a Dragon’s Heart.

Even so, I still didn’t feel entirely comfortable bringing someone I barely knew into the labyrinth…

I couldn’t afford to refuse him. There was no telling when I’d get another chance to obtain that item.

Still, one thing continued to bother me.

It didn’t add up.

No matter how important the position of guild master was, it didn’t make sense to offer a dragon’s heart just to fill a vacant spot in our clan.

Even if it wasn’t his personal property, it still belonged to the guild, and from what I could tell, he intended to replace it later using his own means.

“…No matter how I look at it, there’s definitely something I don’t know…”

“His standing within the guild isn’t great right now. He has quite a few enemies. This is probably his last gamble.”

“…Hmm.”

“If it still bothers you, I’ll dig into it more.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

I decided to have Amelia look further into the guild master…

“…Let’s go. Everyone should be waiting.”

“Got it.”

As I headed to the meeting spot with Amelia, the clan members gathered in the open field welcomed us. It had been a while since I summoned all members of the ANABADA Clan to the sanctuary……

“Ah, you’ve arrived?”

“Long time no see, Kaislan. Did you rest well?”

“Well, I did get some good rest since I wasn’t summoned… but what’s with those three?”

“Two are new members, and one will be entering the labyrinth with us as a guest.”

“A guest……………….?”

“I’ll explain everything, so listen up, everyone.”

Kaislan’s eyes were clouded with doubt, but he chose to hold his questions until I finished explaining.

“Sorry for calling you while you were resting. I summoned you today because there are a few things to discuss. First, the most important thing: the labyrinth will be opening soon.”

“Oh… is that true?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve breathed labyrinth air.”

I was a baron, a chief, and a well-known explorer, so anything I said was taken as coming from a trustworthy source.

“The second reason I gathered you all here is that we have new members joining.”

I summoned each of them individually and introduced them.

The former Vice-Commander of the Magic Corps, Alluva Raven.

The hero of the fairies, Beleg Shucia di Tersia.

There wasn’t much of a commotion until these two.

Everyone knew about my connection with Raven, and in Beleg’s case, he had ties to Erwin.

“The vacant mage and archer positions have been filled, I see.”

“The Golden Mage and the hero of the fairies… it seems no ordinary people ever join this clan.”

Everyone was somewhat surprised by their abilities, but they were accepted into the clan without much issue—at least until Raven, who had just finished her brief introduction, pointed to the last person.

“But why is the guild master here? Don’t tell me he’s a new recruit too?”

Raven looked completely baffled, and she wasn’t the only one.

“I heard his position’s unstable these days…”

“Did he quit and join us or something…?”

Before the murmurs grew louder, I quickly explained.

“Ilya Adnus hasn’t formally joined yet. He’ll be joining us on a few trips into the labyrinth as a guest. Don’t ask why, because it’s a hassle to explain.”

They clearly weren’t satisfied with my explanation, but I ignored them — just as a shield barbarian should.

Still, there was one more matter to address.

“In any case, the third reason I called everyone here… is to reorganize our teams. We’ll be entering the labyrinth in two teams of six.”

As soon as the topic of team formation came up, everyone set aside their interest in the guild master and focused on me.

Even though we had planned to regroup on the sixth floor, it was crucial for any explorer to know which team they belonged to. While there were times when all twelve of us operated as a single unit, more often than not, we split into two teams depending on the situation.

“The teams have already been decided in advance. I’ll hear your objections, but be aware that whether they are accepted will be decided by a vote.”

I proposed introducing democracy as a leader of a new era, but the response I received was unexpectedly negative.

“…Hah.”

“Um… Miss Raven? Why is everyone reacting like that?”

“Mr. Adnus, did you not read the clan rules?”

“Ahem………………”

“It’s written there. The clan leader’s vote counts as equal to the total number of members. Which means that even if we put it to a vote, if he opposes it, it won’t be implemented.”

“…I see.”

If that’s what you want, then you can be the clan captain. Wouldn’t it be more unfair if I had the same voting power as an ordinary member when I’m the one leading?

“…Then, I will announce Team 1.”

Regardless of the members’ opinions, I went ahead and announced the squads I had carefully planned out. The members were as follows:

[Anabada Clan – Team 1]

Frontline: Me
Melee DPS 1: Misha Karlstein
Melee DPS 2: Kaislan
Ranged DPS: Beleg Susia di Tersia (Guide)
Mage: Alluva Raven
Non-combatant: Ilya Adnus

[Anabada Clan – Team 2]

Frontline: Sven Parav
Melee DPS 1: Aynar Pheneline
Melee DPS 2: Emily Raines (Guide)
Ranged DPS: Erwin Fornacci di Tersia
Mage: Lyris Marone
Non-combatant: Auyen Roklov

This was the optimal composition I had come up with.

There were some objections, but as expected, Erwen protested the most.

“What? Isn’t something wrong here? Why am I in Team 2 instead of Team 1? This can’t be right!”

“…Try to understand.”

I didn’t want to put Erwin in Team 2 either. But it couldn’t be helped.

“You were the one who said you didn’t want to be on the same team as your uncle.”

“T-that’s true, but…! What about fusion? If I’m not there, who are you going to fuse with?!”

“Fusion………………? Jandel, you fused with my niece………………?”

Ugh, my head…

“It’s not what you think, so don’t misunderstand.”

The “combine” Erwin referred to was the Elf-Barbarian mode made possible by her Elementalization skill.

I had considered this, too, but since fusion was rarely necessary until the sixth floor, I made this decision.

I was harsher than usual with Erwen’s whining. ‘That’s enough.’”

“That’s enough.”

“…What?”

“Call for a vote if you want it changed. Otherwise, keep quiet.”

Seeing her shocked expression hurt, but I couldn’t help it.

It wasn’t good for Erwin to act like this within the group, and it was even worse for me as a leader to indulge it.

Furthermore………

It wasn’t good for them to start thinking of Team 1 as the “main team” and Team 2 as secondary.

They were all my clan members. My allies.

“This is more than I expected. I figured I’d be on Team 2… but for them to be on my team as well.”

“Raines is probably there because Team 2 needs a leader… and sending the Blood Spirit Queen there is likely to observe the new members. Fennelin listens well to Raines, so that makes sense.”

“Oh, is that so? Miss Marone.”

“Just a guess! Hehe, but I’m glad we’re on the same team.”

“The captain must have recognized that we work well together.”

“Oh, maybe that’s true! Looking forward to working with you.”

By the way, those two…

Had they got really close recently?

****

After announcing the teams, we spent some time sharing a meal. I figured it would help us grow closer before entering the labyrinth, but I hadn’t expected the guild master to stay and join us for dinner as well.

“Ahaha… as for why I’ll be entering the labyrinth with all of you? My apologies. There are certain circumstances… I’ll explain everything when the time is right.”

Maybe it was because the position of guild master was earned through politics, but he was remarkably articulate and had no hesitation in speaking with people he barely knew.

Though it still felt odd seeing someone like him here…

‘He must’ve taken leave or handled it somehow.’

Not my concern.

“Hah! You experienced such unfair treatment at the 17th branch? I’ll look into it immediately once I return to the guild. I sincerely apologize.”

“Oh, n-no, it’s not that serious… but thank you.”

Watching him mingle with the members, I turned my gaze to Raven.

Given her experience as both an explorer and a soldier, she blended in with the others effortlessly, as expected. There were also people she had known for a long time, such as Misha and Aynar. We had explored the underground floor together before.

‘The real issue is that guy…’

Erwen’s uncle was still keeping his distance.

He refused drinks, responded politely when spoken to, but never carried conversations forward.

As if he didn’t want to form any deep connections.

‘…It’ll get better with time.’

Still, it felt too early to force anything, so I decided to just observe for now. After that, I spent some time mingling with the others as well.

And then…

“Baron Jandel is entering!”

The day of the ennoblement ceremony had arrived.

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