A burly old man stood before a map.
He wore a well-tailored casual outfit, and his temples had already gone gray.
Most striking of all was the bristly beard on his chin, hard as steel needles. It lifted slightly as he pursed his lips, giving him an imposing air even without anger.
This was Necros, the man at the helm of the Grayrock Town Adventurers' Guild.
There were two other people in the room.
On the left stood a middle-aged man with a troubled expression. He was Vice President Homan, and also Nia's uncle.
On the right stood a plump middle-aged woman, Martha, the guild's chief quartermaster.
Today was the first day of the large-scale joint clearing operation.
The three had gathered here for emergency intelligence revisions and casualty assessments.
"Here..."
Necros picked up a feather quill and heavily crossed out a location on the map that had originally been marked as an Ordinary danger zone.
"Who exactly was responsible for scouting this Goblin stronghold?"
The old man's voice was low, suppressing the anger on the verge of erupting.
"Did he grow up eating shit?"
"Such an obvious mutated nest was marked as an Ordinary gathering site? If the squad hadn't reacted quickly and split up on their own, the whole team would have been wiped out there today!"
He redrew a new attack route on the map, the tip of his pen nearly tearing through the parchment.
"The three-stage relay route must be revised immediately, or we're sending people to their deaths!"
He had originally devised the tactics using the most generous budget and the most conservative plan.
Yet a list of casualties had appeared as soon as the operation began. This was an egregious failure in intelligence work.
Necros slammed the feather quill onto the table and turned to the vice president.
"Homan, investigate this. Drag out the idiot responsible for the scouting."
"Have the punishment posted on the notice board first thing tomorrow morning. We need to give everyone an explanation."
As he said this, the old man's gaze softened slightly, though his tone remained stern.
"Also, double the compensation for the adventurers who died today."
"Yes."
Homan nodded and rapidly recorded the orders, silently calculating just how great an additional expense this would be.
At that moment, Martha, who had remained silent until now, spoke with deep concern in her voice.
"President, there's more bad news."
She glanced at the two leaders and hesitated before continuing.
"The supplies sent to the vanguard today were consumed far faster than expected."
"Especially the reserve hemostatic potions. The stock is basically depleted already."
"What?!"
Necros cried out, his pitch suddenly rising. Even his beard trembled twice.
"It's only the first day! How could they have used them up so quickly?"
Homan sighed and added at the right moment.
"I checked today's combat records."
"Because of the mana turbulence inside the forest, those monsters became unusually frenzied. Their desire to attack was far stronger than usual."
"That caused combat intensity to skyrocket, and the injury rate far exceeded our projections."
The office fell into brief silence.
Necros stared at the red flags on the map, deep in thought.
At this rate of consumption, the guild's planned funds probably would not last until the operation was over.
Martha carefully watched the president's expression and cautiously asked:
"President... should we reduce the later supplies a little?"
"No!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Necros rejected them without hesitation.
"Absolutely not!"
The old man braced both hands against the edge of the table, his gaze exceptionally firm.
"Every adventurer is an irreplaceable treasure of Grayrock Town."
"Every copper we spend on them now will earn us back tenfold, a hundredfold, once those Violet Academy students arrive."
Necros took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, and pointed to the area on the map that was about to be cleared.
"Our top priority now is to ensure, at any cost, that this practice zone is cleared completely before those students arrive."
"If even one well-connected noble student dies, the compensation alone will truly bankrupt us!"
He paced back and forth across the room, his heavy boots thudding dully against the floor.
After a while, he stopped and looked at Martha.
"Martha."
"Yes."
The plump woman hurriedly responded.
"The payment from this month's mission settlements, along with the subsidy issued by the higher-level guild, happened to arrive today."
"Tomorrow, contact Morwenna Potion Shop and the Silver Bottle Alchemy Firm. Have their people come over."
"Tell them that we need to finalize the procurement plan for Troll's Blood tomorrow."
"President, this..."
Homan could not help speaking up to stop him.
"If we purchase based on this rate of consumption, the reward funds after the guild's clearing mission is completed may not be enough to distribute."
As the chief steward responsible for approving guild funds, Homan was the most sensitive to the numbers in the accounts.
This joint clearing operation was, in essence, a massive gamble.
Its purpose was to activate Grayrock Town's circulating funds through a large-scale joint clearing operation, then revitalize the entire guild's economy by bringing in the academy's resources.
But that required extremely precise control over cash flow.
If any link overspent, the fragile chain of funds could snap at any moment, triggering a cascade of collapses.
Previously, because of insufficient funds, they had signed only part of the procurement plan.
And with time so tight, they could only supply the vanguard first. The logistical supplies for the later teams also had to be settled tomorrow.
Time was extremely tight as well.
As for the procurement budget for Troll's Blood, it was completely insufficient if they were to replenish supplies according to the current rate of consumption.
"My suggestion is... even if we don't reduce supplies, we can appropriately lower the standards for judging injuries."
Homan presented his alternative plan.
"For example, some minor injuries could be treated with cheaper herbal powder. There's no need to use expensive finished potions for all of them."
"Rejected."
Necros dismissed it outright without even looking at him.
"You're gambling with people's lives."
"You want them to fight Gnolls with wounds at risk of festering?"
"The quality of the potions must be guaranteed."
The old man's tone was hard as iron.
"Only by keeping people strong enough to fight on the front lines can we win this battle."
Homan opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it helplessly.
He knew his old partner's temperament. Once Necros had made up his mind, not even nine oxen could pull him back.
Necros rubbed his throbbing temples, then turned to Martha, his tone carrying both helplessness and expectation.
"Then we'll have to find a way at the negotiating table."
"Tomorrow, renegotiate with Morwenna and the others."
"Tell them we're buying a large quantity and have them bring the price down."
"Or..."
"Ask whether they have any newly developed potions that cost less but can achieve seventy or eighty percent of Troll's Blood's effect."
Before you continue