Translation: DarkHeartedAlchemist
Editor: Weasalopes

When I was brought to the parade grounds I was honestly surprised.

The guild building itself was quite s.p.a.cious, and there were a lot of flashy-dressed people. Their colorful cloaks adorned with way too many decorative bands were clearly visible even from a greater distance.
Soldiers carrying spears with guild flags on them were also present, but not in that big of a number.

Some of the Knights were also wearing more common, caped cloaks.
I wonder which Order do they belong to?

The one with the ostentatiously flashy helmet must be the one leading them.
Strangely enough, he didn"t seem intimidated or frightened even though he was speaking directly to the guild leader.
Just who are these guys?

「Guild leader, we have confirmed the delivery of the requested items. We will now go report it to Geltsama.」

「Fumu.」

For a guild bigshot, this guy didn"t seem interested in the matter at all.
Is this really okay?

「I"m sorry, but our leader seems to be in the middle of discussing an important matter, so allow us to continue the conversation elsewhere.」

「Fine by me.」

「Then please, this way.」

The staff member who was acting as my guide showed me the way to another building, but before that, I managed to quickly scan one of the knights holding the flag with 【Identify】.
I just had to know who these guys were.

Viscount a.s.sociate Berston Lv.4
Lancer Currently Moving
Battle Position: Ground

What is this.
A t.i.tle equal to that of the guild leader, perhaps?

When they finally left, the guild leader joined us and let out a big sigh and started whining immediately after.

「I"m glad that"s finally over.」

「Tough customer?」

「If only. That was an Inspection Officer, and one of those you don"t want to have anything to do with at that.」

「Inspection Officer?」

「Serving as an escort for some big shot from oversees. He"s been here for quite a while and so far, everything was fine and dandy, but now they are raising complaints about the level of security both in here and in the city. Seriously, guys like that are the ones I can"t stand the most.」

I had a feeling that his rant is going to be a long one.
But more importantly.
Isn"t that a pretty serious situation?

「Oh, that"s right. Where is Aurnier right now?」

「I don"t know about right now but he was till at home before noon.」

「As big of a shut-in as ever, huh? Well, I don"t care as long as he"ll continue to make mana potions for us.」

「I… see.」

It seems that Mana Potions master was making will be supplied to adventurers who are exploring in various places.
It seems that there is a shortage of Pharmacists who are high enough in Levels to make them without relying on external suppliers.
No, to be more precise, it seems difficult to ma.s.s-produce the Mana Potion itself.
It seems to be a quite a complicated matter, and I"m not talking about just the lack of potions.

There seems to be another problem.
This is what Master told me.
If not prepared by a skilled enough person, Mana Potions will just be turned into a highly addictive drug.

Not to mention that Magic Mushrooms are a very rare material anyway.

「It"s difficult to cure those guys who already got addicted, and black market drug dealers capitalize on that fact mercilessly.」

「Seems pretty tough.」

「That"s why we can"t allow people to make those potions left and right. It has to be kept under strict control.」

Prompted by the guild leader, we crossed over to the training halls and entered the other building, which looked like it was a fairly new construction.

「Those are the Alchemy & Pharmacy Quarters, which means that Gelta is calling the shots here.」

「Uh-huh.」

「With that in mind, Keith-san, allow me to give you some advice. No matter what, keep that tongue of yours in check.」

「I can hear you, you know.」

My body has become stiff in an instant.
Right now, I don"t have any of my Summon Monsters with me.
That"s why I didn"t notice that there was a snake on the ceiling above our heads.
This is definitely a Summon Monster, and its owner is probably…

「Well, whatever. Come on in!」

I take a look at the guild leader"s face.
It was so frozen with fear that even I felt the knots tying themselves in my belly, even though technically I didn"t do anything to make me feel this way.

Our destination seemed to be some kind of workshop, which smelled of citrus fruits.
As expected, Geltsan was already inside.
There are also three separate markers indicating the presence of NPC"s, and one marker indicating a player.

For some reason, the guild leader seemed to be quite nervous.
I wonder why?

「Well well well, what do we have here? Aurnier"s disciple.」

「Long time no see, Geltsan.」

「Long time indeed. By the way, why is Aurnier not with you?」

「He was unable to come personally, so I came to make a delivery in his stead.」

Granny Gelta gave a guild leader a scornful look.

「You knew and you neglected to inform me about it? You inbred mongrel!」

「Big sis, do you really think I would not tell you something so important if I knew about it?」

「I know! But it would be so like you to just forget!」

Saying that, Gelta"s tone changed quite drastically.

「Gelta, if at all possible, please refrain from raising your voice too much. It looks like you"re making Aurnier-san"s disciple quite uncomfortable.」

「….Yes, master.」

It was one of the NPCs who told her that. She was a beautiful middle-aged woman.
Master?

「On the other hand, there"s no need for me to do that. Aurnier is not afraid of me, and he probably trained this guy to be the same way.」

I wonder about that.
I take a good look at this NPC woman. She didn"t appear to be that old, maybe in her late 40"s or early 50"s, but there was this certain air about her telling me that she has probably acc.u.mulated quite a lot of knowledge throughout her life.

「Anyway, you seemed to have said something quite interesting, right. master?」

「Master?」

「You are Aurnier"s disciple, correct?」

「Yes.」

「Is that so? Lugran.」

「Yes, no mistake about it.」

I don"t understand what"s going on in here.
Let"s use 【Identify】 on that that NPC woman.

Advisor Juna Lv ???
Death Cardinal　In Conversation
? ? ?

《【Identify】skill Level Up!》

Cool, my skill leveled up.
Now, onto the woman I identified.
What a lovely, edgy t.i.tle she has.
Death Cardinal? Never heard of such a t.i.tle.

「Ah, forgive my rudeness, young man. My name is Juna, and I served as an Advisor for a certain country"s ruler, although currently I am retired.」

「Keith the Summoner, pleased to make your acquaintance.」

When I looked back at her, the expression on her face was calm and collected, almost like that of a stone mask.

「My oh my, you look like such a young boy but you already possess the t.i.tle of Grand Summoner.」

Her face was still, but her eyes were another story entirely. They were like that of a reptile: sharp, narrow and penetrating everything that came into contact with them. I don"t know why but looking into them scared the living daylights out of me.

「Keith boy, Junsama is currently my personal Summoner and Alchemist.」

「Eh?」

「Ever since she was young she was apparently a skilled Necromancer, so she"s looking much younger than she actually is.」

「Gelta, I thought I told you that I am no longer a Necromancer. I am a Death Cardinal now.」

「Ah, yes, indeed. She switched from being a Necromancer to a Death Cardinal, which is why she looks even younger then she is actually supposed to be.」

「Clearly in contrast to you, since despite how you look you still behave like a spoiled child.」

「T-That was unnecessary of you to say! No one here needed to know that! 」

Granny Gelta shouted and pulled Juna"s cheeks with both her hands.

「What? This skin! So tight and springy!」

「H, Hey, stop this at once!」

It"s nice to see that the two of them are on such friendly terms with each other.
Gelta"s master? more like her granddaughter.

But what if she"s even more than that?
I turn towards the guild leader.

「Could it be that this person is also…」

「Yup, you guessed it. She"s also your master"s teacher.」

「Nyunyunyu….」

Juna tried to tell me something, but because she still had her cheeks pinched I couldn"t understand a single word.

「Well, good. Now I want you to take this and give it to Aurnier.」

With that said, Granny Gelta presented me with a mountain-like amount of Magic Mushrooms.

Quite a significant amount of them, but fortunately they are so light that transporting them won"t be a problem.

「You want her to use these to make more Mana Potions?」

「Yes. I need all the manpower I can get.」

「Lugran, I"ll be staying here for a while, so can I ask you to give me a hand?」

「Weren"t you going to together with the Inspector and the rest?」

「No, I can leave them be for now. They will probably go on a pleasure jaunt anyway.」

Next, she approached me.
Face! Her face is too close for comfort!

「Can I ask you to show me your Summon Monsters?」

Oh no.
That face and that eye! I know them all too well!
That mischievous gaze and smile are the same as Master"s!

「Give up and just do it kid or she"ll pester you forever.」

「To be honest, I want to see them too.」

What had I gotten myself into…