BXBX NOVEL Chapter 16, Bed of Needles
Chapter 16, Bed of Needles
If you got to the guild early in the morning, there was less paparazzi inside than usual, but they were still all around the monitors. A few of them were able to see them and didn’t particularly notice anything, but Tsutomu was taken to the back of the reception by Garm nonetheless.
Further inside the reception room that he was in the day before, there were two stone-faced guards in the same indigo uniform as Garm’s.
“Tell the guild leader that we’ve arrived.”
The gatekeeper, who saw the gold badge Garm had, opened the door, entering briefly, then coming back.
“Enter.”
A clear, dignified voice said. Garm excused himself as they entered the room.
As Tsutomu continued, he passed through a long room, almost like a luxurious room in a hotel. The floor was covered in red carpet, and the walls were decorated with several medals. There were also various other magical tools passed down through generations.
A woman in a blue uniform stood with her back in front of a desk in the room. She gave off a feeling of untouchable sacredness, and Tsutomu stopped as if he was enthralled by a work of art.
“What are you here for?”
With flaming red hair reaching her waist, she turned her a chair around, with hands that had flaming red scales, and placed it before Tsutomu. Thin red scales were attached to her gorgeous face as if embodying confidence.
This dragonewt was Absolute Camille, unparalleled even among her own kind.
As Tsutomu sat down in fear, Garm also took a seat. Camille waited for the two, then sat down herself.
“First, let me introduce myself. I am the head of this guild, Absolute Camille. You can call me Camille. Pleased to meet you.”
Camille, with a firm smile, then turned to Tsutomu, asking for him to introduce himself. Tsutomu spoke while placing his hands on his knees to prevent them from shaking.
“My name is Tsutomu. Nice to meet you.”
“I heard from Garm. You seemed to have broken through to the 50th level at level 20. And I heard from two others that this was thanks to your planning. I hope you will continue to use this guild for the power of your achievements in the future.”
“Pardon me.”
As Camille stopped her train of thought for a moment after hearing Tsutomu, she opened her desk drawer.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the only reason I called you. Garm might have shown you this article.”
Camille took a newspaper out of the drawer and placed it on the desk. Camille stood up, grabbing the newspaper with one hand.
“This guild has deep ties with Solit, and so I should take responsibility for this. I’m truly sorry.”
She stood up from the chair, apologized to Tsutomu, and bowed deeply. Tsutomu tried to stand up for a moment after thinking for a moment, but Garm grabbed his shoulder with one hand and pulled him back.
After looking at Garm, Tsutomu turned forward, and even after a few seconds, Camille did not raise her head. Tsutomu tried to speak as if rushed.
“It’s only Solit’s fault. There’s no need for the guild to apologize.”
“It was due to the endorsements and bribery of the people. Now, Garm and Amy will be the main subjects of the interview, and the responsibility for that falls on me. You pulled in that golden treasure chest that made a lot of profit for our guild, and you managed to bring Garm and Amy back into action. Please accept my apology. “
[…I wonder if this boss has subordinates.]
Tsutomu, looking at Garm and the still-bowing Camille, smiled and thought he must be hallucinating.
“I accept your apology. Please raise your head, since the guild doesn’t owe me anything special.”
“I see. Thank you very much.”
At last, Camille lifted her head and took a breath, as if relieved. It wasn’t hard for Tsutomu to get a noble to bow.
“Now we’re going to deal with Solit, but first we will do our best to modify the content of this article. It will take time, but we’ll be sure to change it. So far, as a given, the problem is with Amy…”
“Oh, Amy will leave the party until the issue has been settled. I don’t think there’d be any benefit otherwise.”
“That’s helpful. But would an alternative party member be convenient?”
Sitting in a chair and putting both her elbows on the desk, Camille pursed her lips as if troubled. The problem was there. An alternative party member would have to come from people under her.
“…Honestly, it’s not likely that we’ll find one. If the guild finds one that is convenient, please introduce them if possible.”
“When it comes to Amy’s replacement, there’s only a limited number of people that would fit. But there are about two people.”
Tsutomu hadn’t asked the guild to recruit members yet, but he didn’t think it would be possible to get the right people. So, even assuming the worst, Tsutomu reassured Camille.
“Maybe it’s only my vice guild leader who could replace Amy. It’s a good opportunity for the vice guild leader to experience my position. I’ll join you in your party instead of Amy.”
“…What?”
Contrary to Camille, the head of the guild, who stood up with a cheerful smile, Tsutomu made an expression as if he stopped thinking.
_______________________________________________________________
The guild was noisier than usual. The guild head had retired, announcing it in the cafeteria. Tsutomu was with Camille and Garm, sitting around a round table.
“No, it’s been a while since I’ve done this. Ahaha.”
“Camille-san.”
“Oi, Garm. Aren’t we equal party members from today? How many times do I have to tell you to drop the honorifics?”
“Don’t say something so unreasonable…”
Camille tapped Garm’s back, which caused his dog ears to spasm. Tsutomu started to laugh.
The conversation steadily went on, and Camille joined Tsutomu’s party instead of Amy. After that, Tsutomu waited for a person from the security headquarters to come, but instead, a newcomer in brand new clothes approached tensely.
When the newcomer, who had sent a message from the guards’ headquarters to Garm, relayed the message, Garm sighed as if he was amazed. The gist of it was that Amy was invading Solit, and the headquarters were heading to suppress the turmoil, and the guild shouldn’t interfere.
Therefore, Tsutomu’s plans were postponed. After that, Camille proposed to deepen their unity as a party, and so on.
“Oh, Camille-san. Can you show me your status card?”
“Drop the formality.”
“As expected, there’s resistance to formality from seniors.”
Camille emitted a kind of presence that no one else had, so much that it seemed that she was trying to be someone she wasn’t. She held her mouth shut lightly.
“Tsutomu, you’re the party leader, right? The party has nothing to do with seniority. Members follow the leader.”
“That’s why I’ll just make you the party leader.”
“I wrote a contract just in case. It is written here that Tsutomu will be the party leader. If not, then I’ll have to withdraw from the part.”
“… isn’t it possible to ask the deputy guild head about this? This is more painful that when Garm was poisoned.”
When Camille turned to Garm, softly and calmly, Garm looked back and glanced at her eyes.
“Oh, really?”
“No, it’s…”
“Looks like it’s okay. I’m sure you’re just hung up over Amy.”
Camille lowered his eyebrows sadly, as Tsutomu laughed at the two, who were acting like wolves in a pack.
“But it’s been a long time since I’ve done this. I’m sure I’m not as good as the Red Demon Clan, but I can still reach the 50th level. My strength should be paramount.”
“No, I think you’ll suffice.”
“That would be nice.”
Tsutomu seemed to be taller by a head compared to the small Camille, but that didn’t matter because there was a 50-level gap in strength between the two. Besides, he thought it would be unpleasant to persistently ask for changes in case the mood turned sour and they’d have to replace Amy’s replacement.
“I understand. Then Camille, can you show me your status card?”
“Ooh! Alright!”
“Alright then, in the future we won’t use honorifics. Is that okay with you, Garm?”
“Ah. Okay.”
Sighing after seeing Camille act so interested while Garm was acting suspicious, Tsutomu saw a beautiful receptionist hand over Camille’s status card.
Her level was 67 – one level higher than Garm and Amy. Her class was greatsword user. Tsutomu, reading out her skills, saw an unfamiliar symbol.
“What is this dragon thing?”
“That’s my unique skill. Using it raises almost all of my stats for a certain amount of time.”
“Unique skill… Hey! That’s amazing.”
“It’s just a skill that you use instinctively, making you stop thinking hard. It’s a skill that you can’t use indefinitely.”
“Hmm.”
Tsutomu continued to listen to Camille, hearing about skills he’d never heard of. Camille continued to talk in a good mood with her nose raised pridefully.
“You can also fly, using wings on your back. You also get a breath attack.”
“Wow! So basically, a dragon form?”
“If you could become an actual dragon, you might be able to get past the 60th level. Even if you can fly, you can’t fly as fast or long as a real fire dragon could.”
“No, it’s still a good skill. I’d like to see your dragon form, so let’s dive into the dungeon and move together.”
As Tsutomu said that, Camille was satisfied, and Garm nodded.