Chapter 31 ….
Allen sat hunched over, beads of sweat streaming down his face. Standing over him in an oppressive posture was Lisian, glaring daggers at him.
The murderous aura rolling off Lisian made my heart jump, and I hurriedly ran over, wedging myself between the two.
“Hey, what’s going on? Did something happen?”
“……”
“W-Well, um….”
Lisian stayed silent, and the one fumbling for words was Allen. Looking at me with an extremely wronged expression, he complained as if pleading his case.
“I just… I was only talking about my guild….”
“…?”
With a question mark floating over my head, I turned to look at Lisian. If it was about a guild, then maybe…
“Did you have some kind of grudge against Mr. Allen’s guild?”
“…Hoo.”
Lisian let out a deep sigh and swept his bangs back with one hand.
When he slowly opened his eyes again, they looked calmer, but the ferocity lurking within them was still very much there.
“No. It’s just… there’s someone in that guild I don’t want to run into.”
“…….”
So it is someone he’s at odds with? Whoever it is…
“Um, L-Lisian? I really wasn’t sent here by the guild master! I know our guild leader has made enemies all over the place, but I never dreamed one of them would be you, Lisian! I swear it’s not like that…!”
As Allen hurriedly explained himself, Lisian frowned as if he had a headache and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose.
“It’s not a grudge.”
“Eh? Then….”
“It’s an even more annoying relationship than that.”
“Even more—! G-Gasp, don’t tell me! A creditor–debtor relationship?! Did the guild master get into gambling again—!”
“…No.”
Lisian sighed once more, then continued speaking—not to Allen, but to me.
“He’s an old friend I grew up with. If I can help it, I don’t want to see him.”
“Hmmm….”
A friend he didn’t get along with… I didn’t know the exact backstory, but if Lisian was reacting this strongly, he really must not want to meet that guy.
‘And he’s not just a regular guild member—he’s the guild master.’
Forming ties with Allen’s guild was going to be difficult…
In truth, I’d been forming a plan while cooking.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before my abilities became known to the world, and just as Lisian feared, people might try to exploit me from all sides.
So before that happened, I needed to make allies—take the initiative.
First, I’d ask about the size of Allen’s guild, their abilities, gather information…
‘If it was a guild I could rely on after bringing them to my side, I was planning to reach out.’
Since Lisian’s friend was the guild master, I had a hunch their capabilities would be outstanding.
But that plan collapsed before I could even try it. Lisian looked utterly repulsed.
Well, of course. Taking good care of the people already on my side mattered more than making new allies.
I couldn’t force Lisian to do something he hated. Still, I should at least ask his opinion.
I firmly grabbed Lisian’s hand, pulling him closer, and asked Allen for his understanding.
“Mr. Allen, could you wait just a moment? I need to talk with Lisian privately.”
“Ah, y-yes! Of course! Please don’t worry about me!”
Allen seemed completely flustered, bowing repeatedly as cold sweat poured down his face.
I sent him an apologetic look, then took Lisian into a small room and closed the door.
About five minutes later.
After hearing my plan, Lisian rubbed his mouth with a complicated expression.
“…I understand your intentions, Muriel. And honestly, I think it’s a pretty good plan.”
“Oh? Really?”
“…The master of that guild—Veratis—is a rare talent. The guild members are also ranked among the top adventurers.”
The Adventurer Rankings are determined every January in a tournament called the Arena.
Participation is voluntary, but only 100 adventurers advance to the main event.
Out of the thousands of adventurers, only those 100 who pass the preliminaries earn the right to be ranked.
Naturally, the rankings go from 1st to 100th, and the winner of the final match claims first place.
“If the guild members are all high-ranked adventurers, doesn’t that make it a ranked guild? That’s amazing.”
“Well… yes. But that adventurer Allen—if I remember correctly, he isn’t ranked.”
If everyone else in the guild were rankers except him, it was understandable that Allen might feel pressured.
After thinking for a moment, I asked again.
“That friend of yours… the guild master—how strong is he? Is he as strong as you?”
Lisian curled his lips into a faintly mocking smile.
“Not a chance. He doesn’t even come close to my heels.”
“…….”
That was an incredibly arrogant statement, but coming from Lisian, it didn’t feel like empty boasting.
“Ah, anyway—if you really hate it, I’ll just drop the plan. There are probably other guilds worth cooperating with…”
As I trailed off awkwardly, Lisian let out a heavy sigh and looked at me with troubled eyes.
“There’s no need to give it up. You don’t have to do that just because of me. …And honestly, Veratis is better than some mediocre guild.”
“Is it…?”
“Dante—Veratis’s guild master. At the very least, he’s someone you can trust.”
Sensing hope, my ears practically perked up. Lisian noticed and gave a faint smile before continuing.
“Let’s go with your plan, Muriel. Don’t worry about me.”
When we came out of the room, Allen was pacing nervously around the living room.
The moment he spotted us, his shoulders jerked like a prey animal startled by a predator, and his eyes rolled around anxiously.
Just how scared of Lisian was he…?
I approached him with an awkward smile.
“Mr. Allen, please don’t be so tense. You might get indigestion while eating.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
“…You’re hungry, right? Let’s go eat.”
Patting the poor man’s back, I led him into the kitchen-dining area.
The food laid out on the table was still warm. I ladled potato soup into a bowl and set it in front of Allen.
“Enjoy your meal~”
“Thank you…!”
Allen must have been truly hungry—his eyes lit up at the sight of the soup, and he immediately picked up his spoon.
Smiling, I pulled out a chair and sat down. Lisian sat beside me, with Allen across from us.
Perhaps because Lisian had toned down his presence, the atmosphere during the meal wasn’t bad.
Allen ate the food I made with great enthusiasm, showering it with praise the entire time.
“The soup is amazing! How did you make it? I’m fairly good at cooking myself, but I’ve never managed this kind of flavor. Do you have a secret technique?”
And,
“The texture of the eggplant and potatoes is perfect…! Dishes like this depend on cutting the vegetables to just the right thickness and keeping precise cooking times. You’re truly at a professional level!”
He reminded me of a friendly golden retriever puppy.
Meanwhile, affinity indicators kept popping up endlessly above his head.
Affinity toward you: 14♡
Rabbit and Ninabel had pink hearts, Lisian had a black one, and Allen’s heart was blue.
The reason the heart colors differed seemed to be because the type of feelings they held toward me were different.
‘What does a blue heart usually mean again? Friendship?’
I couldn’t remember clearly, but it was probably something like that…
I stole a glance at Lisian and checked his affinity.
Affinity toward you: ????🖤
Still the same…
Lisian’s affinity toward me rose constantly, but the question marks never turned into numbers.
And the heart remained pitch black.
“……”
A chill ran down my spine, and I shivered. Lisian cast me a puzzled look, but I pretended nothing was wrong and focused on my food.
‘Come to think of it, what does Allen’s status look like?’
Curious, I discreetly observed Allen—who was eating happily across from me—and summoned the status window.
Name: Allen Moore
Age: 17
Race: Human
Titles:
Naive Healer
Creative Cook
Mental Stability Totem of Problem Children
Trait: Divine Healing Power (E)
Stats ▶ Click!
Health: 141
Mental Strength: 139
Luck: 98
Charm: 74
Talent: 156
Mana: 0
Divine Power: 12
All stats MAX: 999
I read through the information displayed in the bluish window with interest.
‘So his class is a healer!’
That explained why he said he was a rear-line support. He was a rare existence with divine healing power, but its rank was low.
‘Healing deep wounds with divine power would be difficult.’
That was probably why he went around searching for a skilled apothecary.
‘But what’s “Mental Stability Totem of Problem Children”…?’
It couldn’t literally mean a totem—it had to be metaphorical.
Did “problem children” refer to the adventurers of the Veratis Guild?
‘Now that I think about it, Allen did say…’
“Our guild members are really lacking in social skills…”
…A guild packed with ill-tempered rankers, and the only healing-type member in it.
‘I’ve seen this cliché before…!’
The realization struck me like lightning, and I almost slammed my hand on the table.
“…?”
Noticing my stare, Allen tilted his head in confusion. I smiled as if it were nothing.
If my guess was right, Allen held far more influence within the Veratis Guild than he realized himself.
‘Though he seems completely unaware of it.’
