Welcome to the Special-Grade Guild! ~ The Beloved Elf Poster Girl Soothes Everyone’s Hearts ~
Chapter 123

123. Message/Side Story: Kei

“Gil, are you okay?”

Nika-san, who’d arrived a little later, asked this with a worried look on his face, coming closer. That’s right, he’d given us time to escape by making the patriarch dizzy. I was a bit curious about how he’d done it, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to see it without my eyes being destroyed…

“I’m fine. How about you?”

“I managed to stall him for a few seconds… but things are gettin’ a bit bad.”

Bad? I tilted my head, and Nika-san explained.

“The Demon King and the patriarch are still fightin’, but the Demon King’s lost it, like back then.”

“…During the war?”

“What do you mean?”

During the war, so… back when his power as the Demon King had grown too strong, when he’d lost control and rampaged. Eh, does that mean…

“He lost his temper after Yennaliearl’s grave was destroyed. So, basically, it’s going to be just like the war 200 years ago?”

Mara-san, frowning, said this. But she added, “I don’t know the details.”  No way… what do we do!?

“I didn’t expect this to happen. We need to tell the others.”

“Um! I can send a message to Schlie-shan and Carter-shan!”

If we asked Fuu-chan to contact Nephry-chan, and Homura-kun to contact Jiggle-kun, the message would reach them immediately. Because they were spirits of the same type!

『Master! You have work for me? I’ll go right away! 』

『Master, it might take a bit longer for me, compared to the others, but I’ll do it!』

They said they’d use the wind that naturally existed, and the fires burning here and there, to relay the message, so it made sense that fire would be slower than wind. But it was still much faster than them traveling themselves, so it would be fine! …Shou-chan’s speed is an exception. We could have asked Shou-chan, but I didn’t want to overwork it, and I wanted it to be by my side, just in case, so it had the day off!

“Can you do it?”

“Yesh! ‘Demon King-shan’s lost contwol and is rampaging.’ Is that okii? Spirits can’t wemember long messages.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. …I’m counting on you.”

Gil-san ruffled my hair, and my motivation increased. I’m so simple!

“Weave it to me!”

I thumped my chest confidently, and then entrusted the message to Fuu-chan and Homura-kun.

“Meg, there’s something I need to apologize for.”

Gil-san said this as we were waiting for a reply. An apology? From him? I wondered what it was…

“Actually, I knew that there was a high possibility that your mother was already gone.”

“Eh…?”

When he’d found me in the dungeon. He’d noticed the protective magic activated by my earrings. And that it’d vanished when he found me. There was no trace of magic power in the earrings. What that meant… was the caster’s death. He’d figured that whoever had cast it, probably my mother, had died at that time.

He said he’d told Dad about it, and he’d known too, but there was a chance that the magic had dissipated because I was in the special environment of the High Elf Village, and there was also a chance that it had been cast by someone else, so they’d decided to stay silent. And he added that he probably hadn’t been able to tell the Demon King about it either.

“I didn’t want to make you worry unnecessarily. I couldn’t tell you until we were sure. …I’m sorry.”

Of course I wasn’t angry or sad! Because he’d been thinking of me. I shook my head.

“You told me, now. Sho, it’s okay.”

He’d told me, eventually. So I had no complaints. He gently stroked my head when I smiled.

『Master! I got a reply!』

Fuu-chan called out. That was fast! As expected of the Wind. I told Gil-san, Nika-san, and Mara-san, and then listened to Fuu-chan’s message.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

The three of us, the Nemo investigation team, spent two days diligently gathering information. Yeah, it was thrilling. It was a rewarding job. The thrill was… exhilarating. I think I might get addicted.

Well, it was easy because the High Elf who was supposed to be the boss of Nemo was gone. We were easily able to infiltrate the room with all the important documents and the boss’s room. Well, we were discovered a couple of times and ended up having to put about ten people to sleep. As expected of a Special-grade guild. Ah, of course, we altered their memories! We had to erase any information that would be disadvantageous to Ortus. …Though if they used the same method to search our memories, they’d find out. Well, it’s a trivial matter. As long as I don’t get caught, it’ll be fine.

“I mean, I knew you’d get the job done, but, you managed to gather this much information…?”

Ahaha, he sounds a little exasperated. But it’s fine, right? I don’t do half-assed work.

“As expected of Kei. We’ve also gathered quite a bit of information. It seems that Nemo’s been giving financial aid to several villages in poverty-stricken areas.”

Hmm, so it’s give-and-take? Nemo’s operating skillfully. They’re not just a malicious guild. Well, of course not, they’re Special-grade. But to be honest, judging from the Don’s reaction, he wasn’t convinced.

“But they seem to be giving up capable individuals reluctantly. They’re siphoning off the skilled individuals, so those villages stay impoverished. They’re blinded by the immediate profits, completely oblivious to the bigger picture.”

It’s a vicious cycle. Nemo must be aware of it. And yet, they don’t say anything, they just take the personnel and provide assistance. …It’s not like they’re doing anything wrong, and they’re providing ample financial aid, or even more than is necessary, so they’re seen as heroes. Only the skilled individuals who are taken away realize that it’s not a fundamental solution. Ahh, how frustrating.

“This is annoying. Let’s just crush them.”

“That’s a bit short-sighted and radical, but I can’t say it’s a bad idea.”

Ultimately, the easiest solution would be to destroy the organization, using some kind of incident as a trigger. A tragic accident, a self-inflicted fight, you know?

“Now then, Nemo’s about to attack our guild…!?”

“What’s wrong, Schlie?”

Schlie Letziano suddenly stopped mid-sentence. What was it? Had he gotten a message from a spirit? I was right.

“…Don. It’s from Meg.”

“From Meg-chan…?”

I’d figured it would be the guild standby team, but it was from Meg-chan. Had something happened at the High Elf Village? I’m worried…

“Tell me.”

“Yes. It says, ‘The Demon King has lost control and is rampaging, at the High Elf Village.’ ”

“That idiot…!!”

This is really bad, right? It’ll be fine with Gil there, but everyone’s probably worried about Meg-chan.

“…It’s pointless to dwell on it. We can’t go help them until we’re done here.”

“…So, you’re saying…?”

That’s right, isn’t it? Hmhm, I’m getting fired up.

“Let’s go raid them.”