Chapter 119: Let’s Have Some Fun with the Guild Master
“Huh? Wait…?”
The staff member stood there, mouth agape, clearly taken aback by the sudden rejection.
“No, but this is a direct request from the Guild Master!?”
So what? Ignoring someone else’s schedule is simply unacceptable.
“Well, even if you say that…”
In truth, I had no real plans, but being told “right now” in such a condescending manner did irritate me a bit. While we were having this conversation, other adventurers were snatching up requests, and our options were dwindling.
“Can I pick a request first?”
“N-No, wait…!?”
The staff member, who was about to protest further, suddenly fell silent. It seemed that Nil was glaring at him in dissatisfaction. Calm down, let’s take a breath. As I gently petted Nil’s fluffy neck, she seemed to settle down.
“Tch, fine. Just come to the counter later.”
Finally able to speak again, the staff member left with a bitter expression.
“I didn’t think the Guild Master we met the other day was such a difficult person.”
“Yeah, right? I wonder if it’s just that staff member.”
“I hope so… For now, let’s look for a request.”
As we approached the request board again, it was no surprise to see that the number of requests had decreased since the last time we checked. Given how I had just spoken to the staff member, there was no way I could leave without selecting something. I randomly picked a monster subjugation request and headed back to the staff member to save time.
“Sorry for taking up your time.”
At that moment, I found myself at the training ground of the Guild, for some reason alongside the Guild Master. The disgruntled staff member led us to the office, where it seemed the Guild Master had been glaring at him. Apparently, he had been looking for us, but it turned out he didn’t actually want us to come to the office. The “come right now” was just a misunderstanding on the staff member’s part.
However, the words that the Guild Master spoke next left me puzzled.
“I’d like to have a mock battle with that tamed monster. Is that alright?”
“Excuse me?”
I exchanged glances with Nil, but there was no particular reason to refuse, so we ended up at the Guild’s training ground. Oh, and the staff member had returned to his usual duties, so he wasn’t present here.
“Alright, let’s get started!”
The Guild Master, clad in light armor and wielding a great sword, was brimming with enthusiasm. Instead of a training wooden sword, he had brought out a real weapon, drawing a crowd of onlookers who were curious about what was about to unfold.
Listening in, I learned that the Guild Master had once been an A Rank adventurer. He was eager to have a mock battle against a Silver Wolf, a monster typically rated as C Rank. He must have known Nil’s true identity.
“The Guild Master is going to play with you. Lucky you.”
As I patted Nil on the head, her three tails wagged excitedly.
“Just don’t go overboard, okay?”
Rio cautioned, but I trusted that Nil wasn’t foolish enough to go all out. She would surely hold back.
“Wuffuu!”
Stepping away from the one-on-one confrontation, we blended into the crowd. Perhaps the Guild Master was ready, as he lunged at Nil without any signal to begin.
At first, cheers erupted from the audience, but gradually, the atmosphere shifted to murmurs of disbelief. It became clear that the Guild Master was being toyed with.
“This is just awful.”
“Yeah. Getting outmaneuvered by her tail is… I can’t believe you told Nil, ‘play with her’…”
“Wait? Is this my fault?”
I turned to Rio, who responded with a wry smile. I honestly hadn’t expected the gap in their abilities to be this wide…
“‘Oohhh!?’”
Just as I let out a big sigh, cheers erupted from the crowd again. Looking back at Nil and the Guild Master, I saw him being sent flying high into the air.
Somehow regaining his balance mid-air, he managed to land on his feet.
“Ugh… I didn’t expect to be played with this much…”
He leaned on his great sword, trying to catch his breath. It seemed this mock battle was nearing its end. The Guild Master might be reaching his limit.
“Alright, I give up. You’re impressive…”
With his sword sheathed and both hands raised in surrender, Nil, sensing the end, trotted over to us. She kept a slight distance from the surrounding crowd, which was understandable.
“Honestly… you’ve tamed a rare monster. How did you manage that?”
As I was busy fluffing Nil, the Guild Master approached us. How I did it? To be honest, I had no idea.
“Maybe the food I gave her was just that delicious?”
The Great Dragon must have been quite a treat. Nil had devoured it with such enthusiasm. It was a monster not found in the forest, so perhaps it tasted especially good to her.
“I see. It’s a common story when it comes to taming, but it seems you need something exceptionally tasty to succeed.”
He nodded, seemingly satisfied with my explanation, and thankfully, he didn’t press for more details.
“However, if your tamed monster is that strong, then Frances’s words…”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.”
I tried to interject as the Guild Master muttered to himself, but he skillfully dodged my question.