kscans

Chapter 161 - A Person of Interest

Hayato had come to the Maid Guild headquarters, bringing Esha and Rose with him.

When he said he wanted to see the Maid Chief, he was granted a meeting right away and shown to her office.

There, he found the Maid Chief smiling. She was processing the documents on her desk with considerable speed, yet her gaze was fixed on Hayato, so much so that it seemed she was only pretending to be busy.

"Welcome, Hayato-sama. And Esha and Rose, too. You seem to be in quite a hurry. Is there something I can help you with?"

Was she saying this knowing full well, or was she feigning ignorance? Either way, she was difficult to deal with.

He had asked for a maid, but the one who arrived specialized in assassination. It was enough to make him want to complain.

"Um, about this Rose-san here. I was told her specialties are escorting and assassination."

Even if the other party was at fault, Hayato took a slightly humble approach. It was just his nature.

He thought she might at least act a little apologetic, but the Maid Chief’s expression didn't change at all. The hand processing her documents, however, did stop.

"Yes. Among our combat-oriented maids, she is likely the strongest after Esha. Is there some issue with that...?"

"Rest assured. I am also an expert at disposing of evidence. Not even a famous detective would find a trace."

"I would just take care of the detective himself. Assassination is so tedious."

"Um, Esha and Rose-san, could you step out for a moment? I'd like to speak with the Maid Chief-san alone."

The Maid Chief nodded at Hayato's request. Esha and Rose bowed their heads and left the room. Only Hayato and the Maid Chief remained.

"Now then, Hayato-sama, was there some problem with Rose? Unlike Esha, I am quite proud to have sent you a very capable maid."

"She's so capable it's a problem. I wanted you to send a normal maid."

"However, many maids wish to work for you, Hayato-sama. I had no choice but to send Rose, who won that right through force."

"I think the problem starts right there."

In fact, it was nothing but problems. Hayato had no intention of meddling in the Maid Guild’s management, but he did want to ask why force was necessary to win that right.

"Ahem, do you not have any normal maids? You know, ones who can't fight."

The Maid Chief didn't answer his question. She removed her glasses and pressed the index finger of her right hand to the bridge of her nose, as if lost in thought.

She put her glasses back on, her expression now serious.

"Hayato-sama, I was debating whether or not to tell you this, but I believe it is something you need to know."

"What are you talking about?"

"To put it simply, you are being targeted, Hayato-sama. Your life is not in danger, but there is a possibility you could be abducted."

"Huh?"

Hayato's only thought was that this sort of thing had been happening a lot lately, but he had no idea who might be targeting him.

"I understand your surprise, but it appears multiple organizations have their sights on you, Hayato-sama. The Maid Guild has been investigating these groups, but we have yet to grasp the full picture, which is why I did not report it to you, but..."

"Multiple organizations?"

"Yes. One is the Assassin Guild. A guild that undertakes assassinations. You know, the kind that gets things done nice and quick."

"I know of them, but why me...?"

Hayato had never had any dealings with the Assassin Guild. He knew it existed, but he had never made a request of them, nor had he earned anyone's resentment enough to be targeted for assassination.

"It seems you have earned their enmity by supporting the Thieves' Guild and cleaning up the Royal Capital's slums. It is, in a word, a misplaced grudge."

"That's so unreasonable."

"Such is life. However, they are not aiming for your life. They wish to borrow your skills, the same skills that reformed the Thieves' Guild. The Assassin Guild likely wants to improve its image, much like the Thieves' Guild did."

"Couldn't they just stop assassinating people...?"

He wanted to ask what was the point of the Assassin Guild trying to improve its image in the first place. But irrational as it was, the reason was now clear. If there were others, he should find out, so he pressed on.

"You said there were multiple, right? What other organizations are there?"

"Another is the bandit group, the Greedy Fire Serpent. There are other bandit groups targeting you, but this one will be the most troublesome."

"A bandit group? I didn't even know such a thing existed. Are they famous?"

"Quite famous. They are an organization that parted ways with the Thieves' Guild. If the Thieves' Guild consists of orderly thieves, the Greedy Fire Serpent are lawless thieves who will do anything."

"That's what thieves are supposed to be like, though. But why am I being targeted by them?"

He was being targeted by a bandit group he had only just learned of today. He couldn't understand the reason.

"It is likely because Sonia-sama, the Guild Master of the Thieves' Guild, contacted you, Hayato-sama. I do not know the details, but did you not accept work from her other than making treasure chests?"

He set aside the question of how she knew that. It was possible she already knew the details, but Hayato couldn't say so himself.

"Assuming that's true, why would that make a bandit group target me?"

"It is quite rare for Sonia-sama to make a move herself. Among thieves, the talk is that the mountain has moved and that things are about to get rough. And right now, the hottest topic among them is you, Hayato-sama. They believe the treasure chest matter is a camouflage and are trying to find out what the real request was."

"This is nothing but unreasonable."

Whether it could be called the real request was debatable, but he had indeed been commissioned to find and build the airship's design documents. Still, being targeted by various organizations because of it was just plain irrational.

"And one more thing."

"There's more? I'm already full from just this."

"This is the last one. It is of a different nature from the other two organizations, but you are being targeted by the Ten Holy Demonic Swords."

"The Ten Holy Demonic Swords? I feel like I've heard that somewhere...?"

"They are a group of samurai from the Eastern Country. It is not that they bear you any grudge, Hayato-sama, but rather that they have their eyes on your Blacksmithing Skill. They want you to forge the ultimate sword for them."

"Huh, that's actually a little interesting. If they're willing to teach me, I wouldn't mind making it."

"...According to our investigation, the manufacturing method is a closely guarded secret. If you were to learn it, you would spend the rest of your life in a prison in the Eastern Country."

"Unreasonable."

None of them were targeting Hayato for any legitimate reason. From his perspective, it was all completely irrational. He thought to himself that he definitely couldn't take off his Ring of Teleportation, which let him return to his base at any time, and touched the ring on his right hand protectively.

He had so much to do, like building a large ship and preparing for the salvage, yet there were so many troublesome things happening.

Hayato let out a grand sigh.

"The Assassin Guild and the bandit groups will likely be fine as long as Relic-sama keeps them in check, but he cannot be with you around the clock, Hayato-sama. You seem to spend a lot of time with Esha, but guarding you with only long-range attacks would be difficult. In that case, having a maid skilled in assassination by your side is one option. To be honest, when we received the request from you, Hayato-sama, I thought it was a timely opportunity."

Apparently, the Maid Guild had been assigning maids to guard Hayato without his knowledge, and now they felt they could do so openly.

They had been unsure who to assign, but Rose had volunteered, and since she had pushed her opinion through with force, they decided to have him hire her. That was the Maid Chief's explanation.

"So all that was happening without my knowledge."

"You are considered a person of great importance from many different places, Hayato-sama. It would be best for you to be cautious as well. So, what will you do? I believe Rose is the most suitable maid to dispatch to you."

This wasn't a story the Maid Chief had fabricated. If it was a lie to get him to hire Rose, Hayato would tell Relic. The Maid Chief was surely smart enough to predict what would happen then. This had to be the truth.

In that case, there was only one thing Hayato could say.

"Please, take care of me."

"I believed you would understand. If we learn anything, we will contact you through Rose. By the way, is it acceptable for Rose to live in, just like Esha? I believe it would be safer."

"That would probably be best. Let's go with that, then."

"Understood. Esha and Rose. In terms of combat power, they are the top two within the Maid Guild. Please make good use of them."

Hayato felt a little drained at being told he had hired fighting power when he thought he was hiring a maid, but he decided to give up on a lot of things.

Hoping this wouldn't affect his afternoon's work, Hayato bowed his head and left the office.