The slandered party

"Guildmaster Rukta, I don't understand those two statements!" Guligus forced himself to stay calm. He had weathered plenty of storms in his time. How could he let his ship capsize in the final years of his career?

Of course, those so-called storms were only storms in Guligus's own eyes. Just how fierce they had really been was anyone's guess.

Guildmaster Rukta said nothing. He simply watched the old man quietly, waiting to see what he would say in his defense.

"Ahem, may I be allowed a few words, Guildmaster Rukta?" As he spoke, Guligus gave a thoroughly gentlemanly bow, even doffing a nonexistent hat. It had to be said that his movements were exceedingly elegant.

"Dean, did you see that? This old man might be no good, but his movements are still very gentlemanly. Learn from him instead of sneaking around all day." Kana watched Guligus's gentlemanly bow with great approval.

Dean, however, rolled his eyes. She wanted him to learn gentlemanly etiquette? Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Even if I had nothing better to do, I wouldn't learn such fussy, uncomfortable etiquette.

Of course, he had to admit that those gestures really were elegant—so elegant that Dean could not find a single fault with them.

"I'll learn when I get the chance. Assuming I get the chance!" Dean answered offhandedly, not taking it to heart at all. There won't be any chances. Even if one comes along, I'll have to make sure I miss it.

Kana nodded in satisfaction. This way, theirs would be a powerful and elegant party, and she, its captain, would bask in the glory. Just thinking about it filled Kana with a sense of accomplishment.

"First, Guildmaster, you personally said that Kana's party completed the mission admirably. Of course, I also believe that killing a few goblins would be no problem for them," Guligus said unhurriedly.

"However, this is merely a hypothetical." Taking a sudden turn down a winding mountain path, Guligus spoke as though he had become an enemy of Kana's Squad.

"I mean hypothetically, what if Kana's party never found the goblins? What if they found them but didn't kill them, and merely drove them a little farther away? Of course, that could barely count as getting rid of the goblins." Through Guligus's words, Kana's party had already become a loathsome band of cowardly shirkers.

"Exactly, exactly! If they only drove the goblins away, then there's every chance those goblins will return to my fields." The plump, crooked merchant also jumped in to attack Kana's party.

Since the hall supervisor, Guligus, supported him so strongly, the plump, crooked merchant seized that lifeline without hesitation. So what if the guildmaster was helping Kana's party? The lack of evidence was their strongest, most powerful weapon. Even the guildmaster could not twist the facts.

Thus, the plump, crooked merchant declared without restraint, "This is fraud! You took my hard-earned money, and not only did you fail to get rid of the goblins, you also took away the little money I had worked so hard to earn."

Overwhelming grief and indignation—that was how the plump man's expression could be described at that moment. Anyone unaware of the circumstances who witnessed this scene would surely think at first glance that the plump man had been bullied by a gang of thugs.

Kana's eyes widened. She had never imagined that people like this could exist. Was it really necessary to slander their party so viciously, without the slightest restraint, over a few silver coins? Of course, although it was only a few silver coins, it was still a small fortune.

"One silver coin—no, you won't get even one copper coin! I won't pay a single copper coin as a reward to you greedy bloodsuckers. Never!" What a righteous speech. It almost made all four members of Kana's party feel as though they bore the stain of sin.

"Y-you... what nonsense are you spouting? Believe me, I'll rip that filthy mouth of yours into eight pieces!" Kana could not stand it anymore. Watching the old man and the plump fellow sing in harmony, she felt they were practically painting her party as the vilest criminals alive.

"Young lady, don't get so worked up. Violence won't solve anything. Besides, I haven't finished my hypothetical yet. Please show me some respect. Even a mere show of respect will do. I won't mind," Guligus said solemnly, presenting himself as a good man.

Kana's instincts told her she could not let the old man keep talking, but at that moment she had no way to refute him.

"Let him be. Let him say whatever he wants. Facts speak louder than eloquence. No matter what he says about us or how he slanders us, it doesn't matter." Dean stopped Kana, who was about to erupt. Judging by the situation, it was entirely possible that she might lose control, draw her bow and arrows, and put an arrow into both the old man and the plump fellow.

"Let's consider one final hypothetical. Suppose... Kana's party never drove off the goblins at all, but simply left town, took a stroll, then came back and reported that they had driven them off. What then?" Guligus said with a smile, completely disregarding Kana's party's level-five honor reputation rating.

"Guligus, watch your words and actions. How can you bring yourself to make such blatant false accusations?" Rukta was furious. Even though he knew Guligus's true colors, he had not realized the man could be so irrational.

"Don't get worked up. I only offered a hypothetical. A hypothetical isn't necessarily true; it's merely a possibility. Wouldn't you all agree? I haven't said anything wrong, have I?" Guligus asked all the staff in the Guild hall, but every one of them kept their heads down, seemingly hard at work.

However, Kana's party was currently the only party in the Guild hall. All the other adventurers had gone off to chase their dreams (silver coins). What work could there possibly be to do? They simply did not know whether they should answer Guligus's question, so they chose silence instead.

Guligus had anticipated this situation, however, so he did not blame them.

"Now, let's return to the original condition. Kana's party obtained no evidence whatsoever. Against a mere handful of goblins, they couldn't bring back even a single piece of evidence. That's hardly defensible." Guligus shrugged cheerfully and casually, looking at Rukta with indifference.

"Doesn't that tell us there's a problem?" Guligus drew a breath. "I have serious doubts about Kana's Squad's credibility. So is there anything wrong with lowering this party's reputation and making them start over, my esteemed guildmaster?"

Guligus certainly was an old hand. If Rukta had not possessed information that guaranteed victory, he might not have known how to refute him. Yet Rukta remained calm, with no sign that anything was amiss.

That left Guligus somewhat puzzled. Could it be that I'm so right that Rukta doesn't know how to respond, and he's only forcing himself to stay calm? That must be it. Guligus brimmed with confidence once more.

(End of chapter)