"Razahad"

Chapter 50 "Razahad"

The sudden voice and turn of events left everyone present stunned.

Shien likewise raised an eyebrow, turning to look at the owner of the hand that had snatched the money pouch.

It was a young woman about Vivian's age who had appeared in the hall at some point and was now standing beside Vivian.

She wore neat, military-style attire and glasses, exuding an air of intelligence and capable efficiency.

"Ryley?"

Seeing her, Vivian froze for a moment before calling out her name.

The newcomer was none other than Ryley.

The surrounding Guild staff and adventurers immediately rose to their feet.

"""""Guildmaster!"""""

Everyone saluted Ryley like that.

Including Tier, Lumya, and Merika.

"Guildmaster?"

Shien was surprised as well.

"You must be Shien, right?" Ryley studied Shien, narrowing her shrewd eyes behind her glasses before smiling. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ryley Razahad, the Guildmaster of the Lamigium Adventurer's Guild. I look forward to working with you."

This was the first time Shien had heard someone introduce their surname.

And she was the Guildmaster of the Lamigium Adventurer's Guild.

"Why did you come down?"

Vivian spoke with both surprise and delight. From her attitude alone, it was obvious that she knew Ryley well.

And that was indeed the case.

"I heard you had returned, and I happened to finish the work I had on hand, so I came down to take a look." Ryley swept her gaze over the members of Vivian's Squad and the large backpack on the counter, smiling. "Looks like this trip went quite smoothly."

"Yeah, it went pretty smoothly. Basically nothing unexpected happened." Vivian nodded, then said with an amused smile, "What? Were you worried?"

"Do I look that cold-blooded to you?" Ryley rolled her eyes. "Since I was the one who shoved this extra job onto your squad, wouldn't it make me look like I was just dumping responsibility if I didn't show some concern?"

"I didn't say it was that bad." Vivian's amused expression turned into a helpless smile.

Their conversation was so natural and familiar that it made their relationship clear to everyone.

The surrounding adventurers and Guild staff were equally unsurprised, clearly already aware of it.

"What's going on here?"

Shien edged away as though avoiding trouble, returning to Tier's side and asking in a lowered voice.

"As you can see, Vivian and Guildmaster Ryley are longtime friends." Tier answered calmly, unmoved. "They already knew each other before Vivian became an adventurer and before Guildmaster Ryley became the Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild. They have been close for at least ten years. I heard Vivian chose to come to Lamigium and become an adventurer because Guildmaster Ryley was transferred here to take office."

So they were childhood friends?

"The person who arranged for you to join our squad was actually Guildmaster Ryley. Like Vivian, she is a prominent figure known for taking especially good care of newcomers. Come to think of it, you should thank her properly. Otherwise, given your circumstances, you might already have become a target for bullying in the Adventurer's Guild."

Tier glanced at Shien as she said this.

"Also, I'm sure you've noticed that Guildmaster Ryley's identity is far from ordinary. She isn't merely the Guildmaster of Lamigium's Adventurer's Guild; she is also the only daughter of a renowned great noble. Even the lord of this territory cannot afford to be discourteous before her, so you should watch yourself too."

No wonder the surrounding adventurers had become so obedient and polite the moment Ryley appeared.

"A great noble?"

Shien muttered quietly.

It seemed that, in this world, only nobles possessed surnames.

While Shien was thinking about this, Vivian had already begun questioning Ryley.

"By the way, fine, you came down, but why did you snatch the reward meant for Shien?" Vivian said, clearly dissatisfied. "That was quite rude, you know?"

"Indeed." Ryley did not deny it, admitting it openly before abruptly shifting the conversation and looking at Shien meaningfully. "What do you think, newcomer?"

This shrewd and capable Guildmaster tossed the matter to Shien.

Shien did not waver.

Because he had already realized why she had done it.

"I think the Guildmaster has a point." Shien said frankly. "As a rookie adventurer, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to take that much reward."

He had only just joined the squad, was merely level ten, and had not even learned a single skill. His joining Vivian's Squad had already stirred up all sorts of controversy. If he then took the same reward as the squad's veteran members and split it evenly with them, that would be unreasonable no matter how one looked at it, wouldn't it?

At the very least, in other people's eyes, Shien had merely gone along with Vivian's Squad for one trip. At his level, there was no way he could have completed a silver-ranked or even gold-ranked commission.

If Shien had accepted that reward just now, then by this time tomorrow, he would likely have become the subject of criticism throughout the entire Adventurer's Guild.

That would not only be bad for Shien himself, but would also affect Vivian's Squad.

This Guildmaster must have come here for that reason, right?

Since she was Vivian's childhood friend and had known her for over ten years, Ryley surely understood Vivian's personality and habits well enough to know that Vivian would not shortchange Shien. That was why she had come to stop her.

In other words, Ryley had come to help Shien and Vivian avoid becoming targets of criticism.

"I didn't contribute much to this commission anyway. Everyone else did the work; I was just watching from the side." Shien said with clear self-awareness. "For this reward, I'll shamelessly take just one gold coin."

There was nothing wrong with that.

After all, Merika had used magic to clear away the Blood Sucking Vine, Merika had collected the spring water, and Tier and Lumya had handled both the monsters and the dismantling of materials. From beginning to end, Shien had only defeated one Golem, and that had nothing to do with the commission. Taking too much reward would be inappropriate.

If he did not think Vivian would be unable to accept it, Shien would not even have wanted to take any reward.

After all, Shien still had a man's pride. Vivian was already taking care of him as things stood; he could not be so shameless in other matters.

He simply had not thought of it at the time. Now that Ryley had reminded him, Shien naturally would not accept this reward anymore.

"But..."

Vivian furrowed her brows, seemingly unable to accept it.

"Enough. Since he has said so himself, don't be so stubborn." Ryley patted Vivian on the shoulder. "Kindness has its proper occasions too. Being unable to distinguish between public and private matters is one of your few weaknesses. This isn't your first time leading a newcomer; you should have realized this before. You should reflect on it properly this time."

As she spoke, Ryley took a gold coin from the snatched money pouch and walked over to Shien.

"You've got potential. This big sister thinks highly of you."

Ryley reached out, lifted Shien's hand, and placed the gold coin into it, giving him an approving smile.

"You flatter me."

Shien returned her smile, inwardly admiring this generous yet thoughtful beauty of a Guildmaster.

She really was an interesting woman.