Chapter 22, Ego

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

After returning to the Guild, Kousuke and Mitsuki made their way outside the city walls before teleporting to Amamiya Tower.

 

On the Administration Floor, Peach was already waiting with five Succubi at her side.

 

“Five?” Kousuke blinked in surprise. “I thought there were only two or three available.”

 

Peach nodded with a knowing smile. “It appears word spread that Kousuke-sama had made a direct request. The response was… beyond enthusiastic.”

 

“You didn’t have to push yourselves so hard, you know?” Kousuke said, smiling ruefully.

 

“On the contrary,” Peach shook her head, “we had so many applicants that selecting them became the difficult part. It seems all our most capable personnel had applied.”

 

A frown creased Kousuke’s brow. “But what about the other assignments? Are they properly covered?”

 

“They’re still being managed well. We narrowed it down to five after ensuring other operations wouldn’t be affected.”

 

Despite Peach’s reassurance, Kousuke could only offer a bitter smile. While having such skilled individuals respond to his call was flattering, the thought of other work suffering because of it left him uneasy.

 

Once the briefing concluded, they used Kousuke’s return circle to teleport to Seichun. As before, they would not appear directly within the town—maintaining the pretense of normal travel was essential for their cover.

 

This time, they had decided to enter separately as an extra precaution. The strategy would make it harder to connect them to the Guild, allowing for more discreet information gathering.

 

Peach had warned that any fellow Guild members would see through their disguise immediately, but it might fool less observant eyes. Whether such measures were truly necessary remained unclear, but caution rarely proved wasteful.

 

For these reasons, Kousuke entered Seichun with only his closest companions: Mitsuki and Peach.

 

The adventurer-types waiting in the checkpoint queue made no effort to hide their disdain, clicking their tongues openly at his approach. Sadly, Kousuke had grown accustomed to such reactions.

 

—

 

When Kousuke’s group entered the Guild building, Eku greeted them with her usual composed demeanor.

 

“Welcome back.”

 

“We’re back,” Kousuke replied. “Everything quiet while we were gone?”

 

“Actually, we had a visitor earlier.” Eku’s smile carried a hint of mischief. “Someone from the Tower Capture Guild. He said he had urgent business with you and insisted you should come to see him immediately.”

 

Kousuke tilted his head, puzzled. Since arriving in Seichun, he had not made any meaningful connections. He couldn’t imagine who would go out of their way to visit their Guild, much less make demands.

 

What struck him as odd was Eku’s unusually blunt description—and the fact that she spoke in past tense.

 

“What did you tell him?”

 

“I said I wasn’t sure if our representative could come over right away, since he wasn’t currently available.” Eku’s smile brightened, though Kousuke suspected it had been considerably less warm when directed at their visitor.

 

Depending on one’s perspective, it could be seen as Eku politely suggesting the visitor learn some manners before expecting cooperation.

 

“Fortunately, he was perceptive enough to say he would return later.”

 

“I see.” Kousuke chuckled softly. “Well, when he does come back, let me know.”

 

“Understood.”

 

With a respectful bow from Eku, Kousuke headed upstairs to his room.

 

He had been relaxing with Mitsuki, Peach, and Nana for only a short while when commotion erupted from the Floor below. No shouting reached his ears, but the disturbance was unmistakable.

 

“Looks like your visitor has returned,” Mitsuki observed.

 

Peach nodded, her keen hearing having caught the same sounds.

 

That was all Kousuke needed to identify their unexpected guests. He immediately left his room and descended to the main hall where the reception counter stood.

 

Noticing his approach, Eku offered a respectful bow. The gesture apparently alerted the visitors to Kousuke’s presence as well.

 

Six people stood clustered around Eku’s counter, several of whom looked familiar to Kousuke.

 

“Hey, wait—there’s the guy we need to talk to.” called out a particularly muscular man, pointing directly at Kousuke.

 

Eku’s expression darkened at his casual rudeness. “I never said he wasn’t here. I was simply asking what business you wished to discuss before arranging a meeting.”

 

“Stop wasting our time.” the man replied dismissively. “We came all this way. Can’t you just let us through?”

 

“As I’ve explained repeatedly, that’s not how we operate. This is our Guild, and we follow our own protocols.”

 

“Look, I’m telling you—”

 

Before the argument could escalate further, Alta stepped forward from behind the muscular man and placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

 

“Representative,” Alta said quietly, “perhaps we should hear what Kou-dono has to say first?”

 

“Ah, right.” The man’s voice carried easily across the room to where Kousuke stood. “There’s something I’d like to discuss, if that’s acceptable?”

 

Eku opened her mouth to respond, but Kousuke caught her eye and gave a subtle shake of his head before addressing the group himself.

 

“I’ll be down in a moment. Please keep your voices down—we have adventurers resting here after completing difficult requests.”

 

“Oh, sorry about that,” the representative replied, though his tone suggested more obligation than genuine concern.

 

…

 

To avoid prolonging the disturbance in the entrance hall, Kousuke led the group to a conference room deeper within the Guild building.

 

Once everyone had taken their seats, the muscular man who had caused the earlier commotion spoke first.

 

“Could you do something about that rigid girl of yours?” he said with what might have been intended as humor.

 

Kousuke felt his jaw tighten. “First of all, Vibro.”

 

“Oh?” Vibro looked startled at being addressed by name.

 

The identification had not required any great deduction. Since Alta—whom Kousuke recognized as the Tower Conquest Guild’s vice-guild leader—had called him ‘representative’, this could only be Vibro, their Guild leader.

 

“This building belongs to our Guild.” Kousuke continued, his voice carrying a edge of steel. “We operate according to our own rules and procedures. Please don’t attempt to go around them for your convenience.”

 

“Hey, it was just a small—”

 

“Even small compromises can corrupt an organization’s integrity. As a Guild representative yourself, you should understand that principle. Or are you suggesting we should bend our rules simply because of your position?” Kousuke made no attempt to hide his irritation at Vibro’s cavalier attitude. Both Mitsuki and Peach looked surprised—such open displeasure was rare from him.

 

Vibro studied Kousuke intently, reassessing the man before him.

 

“…I see. So that’s how you intend to handle things?”

 

“If necessary. But, you should understand that any arrangements made through improper channels may not be honored.”

 

“Understood…” Vibro’s eyes narrowed as he regarded Kousuke with new calculation.

 

The atmosphere had grown tense over what might have seemed a trivial matter, but Kousuke had no intention of backing down. A wrong step here would set a dangerous precedent for all future dealings.

 

No matter how much pressure they applied, Wolf Fang would maintain their standards. Establishing that principle from the very beginning was crucial.