The D-Rank Guild Master of the No. 1 Guild

Thanks to our diligent efforts, by lunchtime, we managed to interview half of this European-style alley village.

In the process, we had to leave Zaet behind due to exhaustion, but we recruited another member of Redmonarch, Shemarin’s former partner.

“Let’s grab a bite to eat.”

I had already picked a place to eat. According to my calculations, there was a nice cocktail bar in a building just 100 meters up the hill from here.

Blance lives alone in that building.

But when we arrived, the door was locked, and no one answered the intercom.

“Where did he go? I specifically announced that guild masters must attend the interviews.”

Especially Blance, not just any guild master. He’s the one with the second most responsibilities after me.

Akata tried to open the floor-to-ceiling glass window to get inside, but the excessively luxurious building had windows that couldn’t be opened from the outside no matter what.

If Blance is missing, the story is obvious. I turned to the camera and shook my head.

“Someone needs to find that guy, passed out drunk somewhere. It’d be a problem if he’s collapsed inside this building.”

I opened a communication window and put out an alert.

[(Urgent) If anyone has seen Blance, please report immediately.]

If we don’t find him in five minutes, we’ll change our route and interview others first. Time is precious.

Luckily, a report came in after just two minutes. A resident from the west-facing alley of this village said he’s sprawled out on a bench in front of their house.

‘Looks like we’ll have to conduct interviews with other characters on the way there.’

I will definitely expose this rascal to the viewers today.

I read the entire report clearly into the microphone.

On the way there, I recalled an incident that happened recently.

Not long ago, for the second anniversary of the game, the company sent me, the representative of Mijon, a gift of alcohol.

Specifically, the employees painstakingly recreated a 70-year-old whiskey and wine. Neither I nor the people here are skilled enough to create something like that ourselves yet.

While I was admiring the bottles in the red wine box on the table in the executive office, the scent of the alcohol attracted the liquor ghost.

At first, I thought this guy had used his wraith abilities to spy and find me.

(Of course, this is a metaphor. In everyday life, his inherent abilities are generally sealed.)

“No, you can’t have it.”

“I’ll do anything.”

“I don’t want anything.”

He even begged.

I dodged around with the bottle, but that guy eventually grabbed onto my pant leg, and just at that moment, Akata, an executive employee, opened the door and walked in, causing a minor commotion.

And a little while later, we finally encountered our capable executive aide.

“What’s that in your hand?”

Even though he was lying there drunk, Blance was clutching the documents I had entrusted to him two days ago, perfectly completed.

“Hmm.”

Shemarin scrutinized his face and disheveled appearance.

“He’s quite similar to Jail.”

A man whose slightly hollowed eyes gave him a decadent impression.

Even though Shemarin already knew what Blance looked like, she was reappraising him—.

This was because Blance was no longer middle-aged.

If you ignored why he was sprawled here, he looked like a swordsman who had deftly countered an assassin’s attack but was eventually defeated.

After we regained our freedom, I had made the same proposal to every middle-aged character, including Blance.

“Would you like to start fresh with a younger appearance? It seems I can adjust your age by up to ten years. If you become ten years younger, you’d be 32. How about it? It’s a shame to start life at 42.”

“What’s the advantage of being younger?”

“When you’re young, you can meet women more easily, things like that.”

He didn’t seem very interested. So I added one more thing.

“If you’re younger, you can probably drink more.”

Thus, Blance became a young, handsome 32-year-old, overloaded with administrative tasks but living without the pressure of the game as a happy drunkard.

By now, we had thoroughly explored the village on Agasa’s side. It was already 3 PM.

Before moving on to a different area, Akata was checking the list to ensure we hadn’t missed anyone.

“Yudirei’s whereabouts are unknown. Should we try to track her down?”

“Hmm, even if we put out an alert for Yudirei, people might not actively help. And there’s a good chance she’s somewhere no one knows about.”

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Yudirei is currently somewhat ostracized.

She hasn’t adapted to a life without games and killing, causing various bloody incidents and accidents.

Because of Yudirei, I had to create a prison and even draft a criminal code based on Korean law.

The punishments are mostly solitary confinement, designed to bore the inmates to death.

To conserve power at the power plant and provide a sense of achievement for the characters, the future school will focus on vocational training.

I’ve already earmarked a job for Yudirei.

She’ll be a butcher.

Akata is managing Yudirei by promising her regular fights with himself, the champion. We’ll reveal more details about this arrangement when we meet her in person for the viewers.

Next, we finally moved to the seaside village on the opposite side.

The characters appearing in the interview from now on either have homes there or were away, not present in our village.

The reason we manage this world by dividing it into various administrative districts is for the characters’ sake.

Since they were once only adversaries met in rounds, there are still unresolved grudges among some game characters.

We keep them separated to prevent them from running into each other.

This also stemmed from complaints like this…

“Living close to Aleon makes everyday life difficult due to his irresistible charm. Please divide the districts.”

As if Aleon were some enchantress. Many subordinates with low stats had filed this type of complaint for a while.

I once overheard characters talking on the street.

“If Akata is the king, Rudel is the representative.”

“Then Aleon is like a religion, a place of solace?”

True to that, Aleon has somehow become a sort of unofficial counselor since the revolution, and it seems his job, like Yudirei’s, is already decided.

The Ice Castle of the Blue Saint has been replaced with a glass one, still located in the center of the village, exactly as it was before.

Of course, it is open to everyone.

“I’ve been feeling unwell and lethargic lately. What should I do…?”

“Try eating something delicious. What do you like?”

After filming the counseling session of Aleon, I revealed myself once the character he was advising left.

“Rudel! Welcome.”

Even though the guild boundaries have broken down and we see each other almost daily, Aleon always greets me with such heartfelt enthusiasm.

Once, shortly after he was created, he somewhat naively proposed to me, but after I got together with Akata, he gracefully let go.

His affection for me never wavered.

In fact, I feel like we’re more genuinely comfortable friends now.

Since it might get boring if the same people appear too often, we switched out some reporters when coming to the seaside village.

Akata was left behind, so it was just Shemarin and me now, besides the cameraman.

After finishing Aleon’s interview, we took a short break. Aleon, seeing the camera turned off, walked around the table and sat beside me.

“Are you doing well these days? It seems like you’re overworking your mind. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

“I’m used to it. You’re doing your part from where you are, and that’s more than enough help.”

Aleon’s lips curved into a gentle smile. He continued.

“Rudel, how about taking a break in the outside world? I’ll take care of the office in the meantime.”

“Suddenly?”

“It’s not sudden. I’ve been wanting to suggest it for a while now.”

Aleon, who had only recently come to grips with the concept of reality, had remarkably settled down quickly afterward.

I frowned at his unexpected suggestion.

“Akata has been sad that he doesn’t get to spend enough time with you.”

Aleon gave me a subtle wink.

“Give him a chance.”

He watched my slightly open mouth with amusement.

“Did he really say that to you…?”

“I seem to be quite a skilled counselor, don’t I? The number of visitors is increasing day by day.”

Why would Akata say something like that to Aleon?

Maybe he was still jealous of Aleon and me and made a snide comment, which the Saint interpreted in his own way?

Akata acts innocent in front of me but is ruthless with others. And he doesn’t bother hiding that duality from me.

But still, I find that endearing.

A vacation in the real world. Well, it is time I visited Han Nayeon again.

Thanks for the heads-up, but the question is whether I can trust anyone else but Aleon to take care of things…

* * *

Skipping ahead to later that night, after we finished filming for the day.

A figure with bright, flame-like hair met secretly with another figure glowing with a blue hue.

“Did it work? What did she say?”

“I think it worked. Rudel said she’d think about it, and her tone was positive.”

Akata smiled triumphantly.

In fact, Aleon’s suggestion to Rudel about the trip had Akata’s influence behind it.

If Akata had suggested it himself, responsible Rudel would have likely refused, saying the village was still unsettled and the representative couldn’t just go on a trip.

So, he involved a third party, and this method proved successful.

Akata got what he wanted.

“Thank you. Really. If you ever need something, I’ll repay the favor.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m happy it worked out.”