“C’mon, Roland! Please!”
Tallow clasped his hands together as though in prayer as he entreated me from the other side of the counter.
“No, thank you. Ask as many times as you like. You’ll still get the same answer.”
“Don’t give me that,” he said. “Please?” I could see his face peek around his hands as he begged. I didn’t find the large man’s imploring very swaying. If anything, it had the opposite effect.
“Did you come all the way out to Lahti from the capital just because I didn’t answer you?” The letters were probably incinerated. I’d tossed them straight into the trash after reading them. “I never asked you to come here. Now, if that’s all, please move aside. That’s where the adventurers sit.”
“Don’t say that. Come on.”
Other employees were listening in and guessing at what we were discussing.
“I’d much prefer to sit in on a lecture. I’m your average guild employee and haven’t had much of a career here. I still have a lot to learn.”
The guild master was proposing the opposite.
“I know you’ll be a great instructor.”
“No thanks.”
“Just hear me out. At least consider the offer!”
“Stop getting your spit on everything. And quit being so loud. Some things never change.”
I tilted myself away from Tallow.
He wanted me to give a lecture on how I administered adventurer tests to all the branch offices. My achievements in that field were highly regarded. I could tell this offer only meant trouble, though.
“Word on the street is you’ve garnered a certain quality, since losing that arm of yours.”
“My reputation and whether I would make a good instructor are entirely different matters.”
“Ugh… You have a point, but still…”
As Tallow went silent as he undoubtedly thought up some other method to convince me. A low, familiar voice spoke up from the seat next to us.
“Hunh? Yeah, me? Yeah, I worked as a proctor for years. I got results, too. Plus, I’m very experienced.”
Maurey glanced at Tallow and me, talking loudly so we’d be sure to be overheard.
Perfect.
“I believe my senior colleague would do a spectacular job,” I lied. Maurey faced Tallow with a glint in his eyes.
“Ahh… There’s no one who can match your qualifications, Roland.” Tallow ignored my suggestion outright.
Come on, Maurey, you’ve got to have something more to win him over.
He coughed quite conspicuously and started talking to himself again. “I couldn’t possibly teach about that thing, but I suppose it’d benefit everyone if I did. Maybe I’ll try my hand at lecturing? I really shouldn’t teach that trick, though.”
Whatever he was getting at couldn’t be that special, but he hoped to draw Tallow’s attention by hinting at a special method he used.
An angry vein stood out on Tallow’s head, and he slammed his hand on the counter, sending a loud noise through the office.
“Keep quiet. I’m talking about something very important with Roland right now.”
Maurey’s efforts had failed.
“…Sorry.” He shrunk away as though to match his tiny apology.
I thought it would have been the ideal job for Maurey, who loved showboating and forcing his way into things.
“Well, Roland, since you’re so set on refusing me, I have no choice but to call upon my last resort!”
“Oh? Now, that has me intrigued. Give me your best shot.”
“Get ready. You’ll be in tears.”
Tallow stood up in a rage and stomped past the counter into the branch manager’s office.
“Wait, he’s not…”
Two or three minutes later, Iris came out with Tallow trailing behind.
“Roland, I hear you haven’t been answering his letters. They were from the Adventurer Association, and I handed them directly to you, didn’t I?”
Tallow giddily cackled to himself.
That bastard… He went crying to Iris.
The branch manager had her arms folded, and she looked rather peeved.
“Yes, they all concerned a personal request that I judged unworthy of response,” I answered.
“Are you trying to claim a request for you to teach about the adventurer exam at the capital is a personal matter?”
Honestly, I refused because I didn’t want to stand out. Especially before a live audience. It was difficult to explain that, though.
“You never want to do what His Majesty asks but always help in the end. However, you seem disgusted by the thought of the guild master asking you a favor.”
Tallow frowned. “Seriously? You listen to His Majesty but not me?”
“That just so happened to be how things shook out in the past,” I said. “Also, a guild master is hardly comparable to a king.”
“There’s that heart of gold. You complain all through it, but still get the job done. So why can’t you say yes this time?”
“Because I’m close with King Randolf.”
“What about me?! Aren’t we buddies?!”
“If it’s that important, then order me to do it.”
“Grrr… That would still feel like my loss… It’s tacit admission that I can’t convince you of anything and never will…”
Iris looked between Tallow and me, seeming rather fed up. “I think it would be best for you to quit and find someone else suited to the role.”
“You realize I’m the top of the organization, right?!” Tallow cried.
“I’m not your employee. I’m Iris’s. Don’t try to pull rank when you don’t even see me on a regular basis.”
“What did you say, you little—?”
“Get ahold of yourselves!” Iris snapped. “Roland, as far as I understand it, you seem to be the best person for the position. This is part of your job, so please go.”
I glared and Tallow. He wore a triumphant expression.
“That’s right, Roland. Now stop being unreasonable.”
“You’re the one who tried to force something on me simply because it’s convenient for you.”
“That’s because you blatantly play favorites with the king even though we’re friends, too.”
“I do not.”
“You do.”
“Guild Master!”
Tallow flinched. “Yes?”
“In the future, if you have requests for Roland, please send them through me. I’m his boss, after all. That’s what you did when asking for his temporary transfer to the capital. What makes this time different?”
Tallow’s eyes met mine. It felt like a signal. “Aw, I’m sorry. We’re just close, this guy and me.” He grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me in.
“Hey, let go of me.”
“Even though he acts aloof, like a cat…,” Iris remarked.
“Gah-ha-ha! He’s always been like this. I thought he’d agree when I asked him directly, but the guy blew me off.”
Of course I did. I wasn’t the only one who could fill the lecturer position, but if he wanted someone who could do both jobs, then I was the best option.
“Guild Master, please be sure to go through me next time.”
“Ha-ha-ha. I know, I know.”
“Okay, Roland, I hope I can count on you for the lectures.”
“…All right,” I answered.
Tallow thumped me on the back without reservation.
“We start next week. I’m counting on you, Roland.”
“I understand.”
I headed out with Tallow to see him off, and he made a point of leaving through the back.
Once we were away from the others, Tallow whispered to me, “It’s the corrupt part of the Adventurer Association, the dark side of things, so to speak. I don’t really, um…”
“I know. I realized that you don’t want to involve Iris. It’s a good thing you contacted me directly.”
“I’m sorry for the trouble.”
“If that’s true, then find someone else to do your dirty work.”
“There’s no one else I can trust more than you.”
I gave him a strained smile and shrugged.
“And I’m sorry about your arm,” Tallow added.
“Why mention that now, of all times?”
Apparently, he felt some guilt over it like Almelia did. Tallow was the one who’d assigned me the broadscale quest.