When Fran arrived at the Adventurers Guild, we found many adventurers gathered there. It seems several of them were just informed about the incident at the guild, so they were stunned to see its current state.
One of them noticed Fran, approaching us in a panic.
「Black Lightning Princess!」
He’s probably one of the adventurers who was in the guild at the time of the dragonkin attack. I think I recognize him.
「Where’s Sophie?」
「T-There was a report of many injured at the Beastmen Union, so she went there to treat them………!」
Now that you mention it, we did hear about the dragonkin also going after the Beastmen Union.
Sophie must have heard the report and dashed off to treat them, leaving this guy behind to inform us. She couldn’t leave so many injured alone, especially now that the Sanatorium wasn’t functioning properly.
But what should we do with the adventurers still here? Can Fran really take charge?
The problem was that there were too many of the weaker adventurers. Instead of constantly having worry about their safety, I’d prefer to move solo if possible.
While we were wondering what to do, a new group of about ten adventurers came running toward us. At the front was an elderly man dressed like a receptionist.
「W-What the! The guild headquarters!」
「Submaster! I know you’re upset, but you’ve gotta give us instructions!」
「S-Silence! I’m well aware of that!」
It seems this guy was the submaster of the guild. He must generally work at the branch office.
The submaster started talking to the adventurers in a pompous manner. I guess we can leave the rest to him?
Well, we couldn’t just leave without at least saying hello. Fran was a high-ranking adventurer, after all.
「Submaster?」
「Hmm? Are you…… the Black Lightning Princess?」
「Nn.」
「Oh, yes! The gods haven’t given up on me yet!」
Seems like he has every intention of ordering Fran around. The submaster walked up to us and attempted to grab Fran’s shoulder, but Fran simply dodged, causing him to almost trip.
「W-What are you doing!?」
「That’s my line.」
「Mrrgh. W-Whatever! You stay here and protect me!」
「Nn? Here?」
「Yes!」
The submaster nodded strongly in response to Fran’s question. He’s saying Fran, the strongest adventurer in the city, should stay here? Does he mean to keep her as a reserve force until some other location reports a crisis?
But it seems that wasn’t the case.
「The dragonkin have attacked the guild, and we can’t trust the beastmen either! If I am killed, there will be no one left to organize the Adventurers Guild. That would be complete chaos, so we must prevent the scenario at all costs! Therefore, I give you the esteemed task of protecting me! J-Just protect me and you can ignore everyone else!」
Wow, it’s all about saving his own skin. Is he even trying to hide it?
『Are all the guild leaders in this town so awful?』
（Nn. I hate this guy.）
『Me too.』
That said, we can’t refuse a direct order from a superior just because we don’t like him. One of the most basic rules of the guild states that adventurers are obliged to follow the guild’s orders in times of emergency.
We never have to participate in wars, but we must take part in defending the town if we are present during an bandit or monster attack.
Since this order obviously only fulfilled the submaster’s self interests, we could refuse it on that basis, but……
He worded it as an order to protect the guild’s leader and prevent a disruption in the chain of command, which gives it a non-zero chance of being considered legitimate.
If Fran refused, this could cause problems later on. We had to choose our words carefully.
「I’m good at attacking, but not at defending. I can’t do it.」
「What are you saying!? An alias bearer like you is the only one who can protect me!」
「I’m bad at guarding people. So I don’t think I can protect you well. You should take the adventurers here as your escort.」
「Hmmm… But……」
「It’s better to have lots of people protecting you. A smart submaster would know that, right?」
「W-Well, yeah. I can understand that! I’m very intelligent!」
「Nn. So I’m gonna intercept the antidemons.」
「Wait, wait!」
We threw in some excuses and flattery, but it seems that wasn’t enough. The submaster hurried to stop Fran as she tried to turn away.
Fine, we can try a different approach.
「I’m the best the guild has at the moment.」
「Yes, exactly! That’s why you must protect me!」
「If you hold back your best and cause damage to the town, this would be your responsibility.」
「W-What?」
「The submaster was so concerned for his own safety that he didn’t send out his best force. It’s his fault that the antidemons destroyed the town. They might say that.」
「T-That’s……」
「It’s possible. The antidemons could break through the walls. Prear is dead, so all of it falls on the submaster.」
「W-Wait a minute! Prear-sama is really dead?」
Oh, so that’s how it is. This guy must have suspected Prear to be hiding somewhere. That’s why he thought he could throw all the blame on Prear if anything bad happened.
「Nn. Really. See?」
「H-He’s… he’s really dead! Is it true that the dragonkin got him?」
The submaster shouted loudly after we took out Prear’s body and showed him. This caused all the eyes around us to turn toward him.
We can’t let him put it that way, since that would turn all their hatred toward the dragonkin. However, it’s not like we can take the time to explain everything right now.
Copying Prear’s approach leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but we needed to do something. This isn’t the time for infighting.
「That’s only half true.」
「What do you mean?」
「The dragonkin killed him, but I’m still looking for who gave the order. I took out the attackers, but the mastermind is still at large.」
「What’s that supposed to mean?」
「I don’t know much. Only that not all dragonkin are our enemies. The true enemy betrayed both us and the dragonkin. The other dragonkin are our allies.」
「Hmm. This is a bit hard to believe……」
The submaster found our story absurd. It seems the Dragon King Syndicate making a power grab was more believable from his point of view.
However, he ended up hesitating because he had no way of denying Fran’s words, since she was the strongest adventurer here.
「Anyways, I’m going to fight. Ask someone else to escort you.」
「Eh?」
We decided to leave while the submaster was still stunned. Fran quickly stored Prear’s body again and dashed out of the guild.
