kscans

Chapter 45 - The Thieves' Guild and Harassment

Hayato stood before the men who had come to his headquarters.

"I'm Hayato."

"So, it's you... What the hell did you do?"

Hayato was perplexed. The man's words were so clipped he couldn't understand what he was talking about. It might have been about the matchmaking for the upcoming Clan War, but saying that outright could lead to unnecessary suspicion. To be safe, he decided to feign ignorance.

"Um, what might this be about?"

"Don't play dumb. We didn't choose your clan for the betting match. So why are we fighting you? You must have interfered somehow!"

The accusation was baseless, but it seemed Hayato's guess about the situation was correct.

"Ah, that. I was wondering about it myself, so I looked into it. This is just speculation, but it seems your match against the opponent Blood Knights-san designated wasn't approved. In that case, I heard it becomes a random match between clans participating in betting matches."

Hayato simply repeated what Mist had told him. In the first place, it was impossible to interfere with Clan War matchmaking. It was troublesome to be accused of such a thing.

But explaining the situation and having the other party accept it were two different things. They were not convinced.

The man grabbed the front of Hayato's shirt and brought his face close.

"Listen here, buddy. I know that much about the system. The problem is why our match against the opponent we chose wasn't approved. They were A-rank, and the items we bet were of similar value. Why was that rejected, but a match with your clan was approved, huh?"

"I wouldn't know the answer to that. Could you please check with the Clan Management Committee?"

It was clearly a mistake to ask Hayato for that reason. He gave the answer anyone would think of.

"...Fine. Then you're coming with us. If you claim to be innocent, you won't have a problem coming along, right?"

Even if he was innocent, there was no reason for Hayato to go, but he figured saying no would only drag things out, so he decided to go with them.

Hayato explained the situation to Mist and Esha, who was minding the shop.

Esha was exasperated by his explanation.

"Why would you say you'll go? You should just leave them be. It's nothing but a false accusation."

"If I don't go, I think it'll just drag on even longer. I don't want them hanging around here whining, either."

"I doubt you'll get through to people like that. Well, be careful."

With only that, Esha returned to the shop.

"I think so too, you know."

"You think so too, Mist-san?"

"Yes, it's just a baseless accusation. They're probably trying to intimidate and threaten you. It's like starting the battle before the Clan War even begins. It happened a lot in the previous Clan War."

(So that's how it is. But players can't fight each other outside of Clan Wars, and even if I were attacked, there's no pain. I don't think it works as a threat. Well, they look tough, so I guess they seem scary, but that's about it.)

A player's appearance could be customized to some extent, but it was fundamentally the same as in real life. You could change your hairstyle or dye your hair, but that was about it. This meant the man was probably tough-looking in reality, too.

From a personal information protection standpoint, having one's appearance be the same as in real life felt risky, but you had to agree to it in the contract before starting the game. Your name was also the same as your real one. Hayato's real name was Hayato. In this game, you couldn't fake your appearance or your real name.

Some people had objected to it at first, but there had been no announcement from the administration about it. Their stance was essentially, "If you can't agree, don't play."

Hayato recalled this as he stepped outside the headquarters.

Outside were monsters that the members of the Blood Knights were likely riding. Three Fenrirs.

Fenrir was a large wolf, about three meters long. Like the Elder Griffon, it was strong enough to hunt a dragon on its own and could also wield magic. It was no exaggeration to say it was the most popular pet in the tamer community.

Its popularity was due to its strength, but many people probably fell in love with its dog-like appearance. The biggest reason, however, was its movement speed.

Fenrir was the fastest rideable pet. If a player's speed without enhancements was one, Fenrir's speed was four. A normal riding pet was around two, so Fenrir could move at twice that speed.

The combat in this game had a large action component. High movement speed was a considerable advantage.

Surrounded by the Blood Knights on their Fenrirs, Hayato began walking toward the Royal Capital.

After a short while, even Hayato could tell. They were clearly not heading toward the facility where you could register for clans. If anything, they were heading toward a place in the Royal Capital known as the slums. It was a lawless area where the Thieves' Guild, the Assassin Guild, and others were located.

"Where are we headed?"

"Don't do anything stupid, you hear? Just know that making a scene here will cause trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Let's just say it'll be about ten times more trouble than you can imagine."

(Things are already pretty troublesome, though.)

Hayato thought this but, not wanting any more trouble, he followed them without another word.

"Here we are. Get in."

It was a wooden building, about three stories tall, but quite dilapidated. It looked like a deserted wooden mansion. It didn't seem like anyone lived there.

There was no point in refusing now that they had come this far, so he went inside. Besides, it didn't seem like doing this would accomplish anything. If anything, he was curious to see what they would do.

There were about three people inside. That made a total of six opponents, but one was wearing a deep hood, so his face was not visible. Judging from his build, it was likely a man.

Hayato looked around. The exterior was rundown, and the inside was just as shabby.

"You seem pretty calm, don't you?"

The leader of the group looked at Hayato with a smirk.

"No, my heart's pounding on the inside."

"The fact that you can say that means you're calm. Ah, let me introduce myself first. I'm Gardel."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice. I like guys with guts, you know? But I might like you even more if you do as I say. So watch your words, so I don't end up disliking you, okay?"

(Do guts even matter in a game?)

"Now, it's simple. Lose the next Clan War."

He had thought it would be something like this, but he hadn't expected them to actually try to negotiate, or rather, threaten him like this. If a fixed match were discovered, he could lose his ability to log into the game.

Certainly, the prize money for ranking in the top five was attractive, but it was a high-risk move.

As he was wondering how to respond, Gardel spoke up.

"Of course, I won't say for free. I'll give you a part of the prize money we get in the real world. You'll get less prize money than if you beat us, but there's no problem if you get cash without any risk, right?"

While wondering who would agree to such a verbal promise, Ney's face came to mind. She disliked this kind of dishonesty, so she would never agree to it, but if it weren't dishonest, she'd likely agree to anything, and he let out a small sigh.

"Hey, what's with that sigh? You trying to piss us off?"

"No, not at all. Just a little memory-sigh. Um, you want me to lose the next match, right? And it's a merit for me because I can get prize money without any risk."

"That's right. There are three matches left to get the Clan War anniversary prize money. We can't afford to lose to anyone right now."

"Sorry, but I'm aiming for that too. So, I'm sorry, but I have no intention of losing on purpose. If you want the prize money, why don't you win with your own skill? I'll be doing the same."

"Whoa, hold on. This is a pretty good offer, you know? Do you really think you can beat us?"

"I don't see any reason why we'd lose."

"Your clan has never been featured in a video, so I don't know how strong you are. But do you really think you're stronger than us?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't think so."

Hayato was confident that he had assembled a very strong team, led by Esha. Watching their previous matches had convinced him. He was so sure that he thought the only clans that could beat his current members would have to be composed of even more powerful NPCs than Esha's group.

"Is that so. Then it can't be helped. Hey."

Gardel looked toward the hooded man. The hooded man nodded.

Hayato was on guard, but nothing in particular changed.

"Let us know if you change your mind."

Gardel and his men left with smirks on their faces. The only ones left were Hayato and the hooded man.

"Huh? Is that it? Can I go home now?"

The hooded man didn't answer. He pointed to the entrance, then turned his back to Hayato and headed up to the second floor.

Confused, Hayato went outside.

He didn't understand what was happening, but there was no point in staying, so he decided to go back.

Just as he was about to use a Ring of Teleportation to return to his headquarters, a voice chat came in. It was from Esha.

"Master, did you do something?"

"Um, what are you talking about?"

"The headquarters is being harassed. It's a pain, so can I shoot them?"

(Could it be because I rejected their offer just now?)

Thinking this, Hayato used the Ring of Teleportation.

He returned to the vicinity of his headquarters in an instant, only to find a large crowd of people surrounding it. A large number of people were at the entrance to the shop and the entrance to the headquarters, seemingly blocking access.

As far as he could see, there were both players and NPCs. Loitering around a place like this was nothing but harassment, but if they were just standing there, it didn't really matter.

Hayato tried to ignore them and enter the headquarters. But he was stopped by a shabbily dressed NPC.

"Hold it. If you want to pass, you'll have to pay a toll."

"What?"

"This area is our turf. I'm saying you have to pay if you want to pass."

"How much?"

"...Uh, how much is it?"

"You idiot! We have no intention of letting him pass, so there's no price!"

The NPC who stopped Hayato asked the NPC next to him and was scolded.

"Oh, right. So that's how it is. We have no intention of letting you pass, no matter how much you pay. Go home."

"Well, that headquarters is my house. If you're telling me to go home, can't you let me?"

"...What do we do?"

"Huh? I don't know either. Should we let him pass if he's a resident?"

(What a laid-back bunch. They're not fully committed to being evil. Actually, even if they weren't evil, I feel like they could do a better job.)

"Hey, you're Hayato, right?"

This time, a player with a blue name display approached him.

He seemed different from the members he had seen at the shabby mansion earlier, but he was clad in similar black leather equipment and somehow looked like an ally of the Blood Knights.

"Yes, I am. What is this? Are you having a party or something?"

"You're a funny guy, just like Gardel-san said. But I can see right through you, you're scared, aren't you? Let me tell you, it's going to stay like this until you say you'll lose the next Clan War. As long as you're having fun, you don't need money, right? Don't bother Gardel-san with every little thing."

"Oh, I see. Then I'll lose, so can you disperse?"

Of course, Hayato had no such intention. To be honest, he was more determined to win than ever before. He just said it because it was a hassle.

"I like a guy who gets it. Now, as an apology, hand over all your money. Not just the clan's shared funds, but your personal money too. If you're going to pledge your loyalty to Gardel-san, you can do that much, right?"

Hayato was surprised that it had somehow become a matter of pledging loyalty, but he understood that trying to have a logical conversation was pointless.

"Sorry, I don't have any personal money. I've put it all into the clan's shared funds. You should get it automatically if we win the Clan War."

"Tch. Then hand over everything you're selling in the shop. I saw the goods in your shop, and you've got some pretty good stuff. You made those, right? If you hand them over as tribute, you can swagger around as a clan under the Blood Knights, you know?"

Hayato was caught by the phrase "clan under the Blood Knights."

A clan consists of ten members, but that was too few. Therefore, clans sometimes teamed up with each other. It didn't exist as a system, but it was a so-called alliance.

Perhaps considering this, it was said that in Clan Wars, battles between clans with friendly relations did not occur, even though it wasn't a system feature.

Normally, allied clans would be on equal footing, but in the case of the Blood Knights, Hayato figured they were for some reason placing clans under their control, that is, dominating them.

He surmised that the player in front of him also belonged to a clan under the Blood Knights for some reason. The similarity in their clothing was surely a result of that influence.

And Hayato decided this was as far as he would go, quickly giving up.

He had tried to get through the situation somehow, but Hayato was quite angry at being told to hand over the items he had spent so much time and effort making for free.

When he made pet food for Maris, he had intended to give it to her for free. That was because she had brought the ingredients. Esha had told him to charge money for the sake of other craftsmen, but basically, Hayato didn't put a price on his skills. If he were asked politely, he wouldn't hesitate to provide his skills for free.

If he had only been told to provide his skills for free, he wouldn't have provided them, but he wouldn't have gotten angry. However, the items he made were not just the result of his own time and effort, but also the time and effort of the people who had gathered the materials. Being told to hand them over for free without any compensation made Hayato angrier than he had ever been before.

"If you want the items I made, could you please get on your knees and beg? Then I'll think about it. Well, even if I think about it, I have no intention of giving them to you, though."

"...Huh?"

The man who had been harassing Hayato was slow to react, not understanding what he had been told. But as he began to understand, he glared at Hayato.

"My phrasing was poor. It would be a problem if you actually got on your knees, so let me say it properly. I said, there isn't a single item to give to Gardel, so please leave."

"Hey, you don't get it. Don't you know how many clans are under the Blood Knights? It means they'll all turn against you, you know?"

"I have no idea. How many are there?"

"There are over twenty. That means you'll be making enemies of over two hundred people. And you saw them, the number of these NPCs. These guys are from the Thieves' Guild. If you say something so foolish, you might be in for a world of hurt, you know? You don't want your headquarters trashed, do you?"

He was clearly threatening him. Hayato thought that if he told the administration about this, he could get the player's account suspended.

"We've done similar things before, and every clan acted tough like you at first. But in the end, they all broke. You'd better not do anything pointless, you know?"

The man looked at Hayato with a vulgar smile. A triumphant look on his face.

But more than that, there was something that concerned Hayato.

(They've done similar things before? They've been doing this and gotten away with it? How is that possible? Does it mean it's pointless to tell the administration? Or is he lying?)

Hayato decided there was no point in thinking about it and gave up. He would log out first and send an email to the administration, that was what he thought right at that moment.

"Hayato-sama, what on earth is going on?"

Relic was standing behind Hayato before he knew it.

"Um, we're being harassed, or rather, threatened by our next Clan War opponent."

"I see. A common story."

(It's common?)

"Well then, in that case, I shall ask you to leave. You are in the way."

"What's with this guy? An NPC? Hey, how many people do you think we have? Players can't attack players, but there's no such restriction on NPCs, you know? Scram if you don't want to get beaten to a pulp."

"I do not understand some of what you are saying, but I did understand the word 'scram.' My answer is no, I must decline. I am Relic, a butler in this clan. I cannot possibly disappear and leave my master behind."

"Tch. What a pain. Hey, you guys, rough 'em up."

The man ordered the NPCs from the Thieves' Guild. But the NPCs were just whispering among themselves and showed no signs of moving.

"What's wrong! I paid the guild, didn't I! Get to it!"

"Sorry, man. We're out. If it got out that we were harassing a clan with Relic-san in it, we'd be the ones getting killed."

"...Huh?"

"Oh my, are you all from the Thieves' Guild? Is the Guild Master well?"

"Hey, how's it goin'. Yeah, he's fine. But he's been lookin' lonely lately since you haven't been around, Relic-san. You should come by and play a game of chess with him again. I think the boss would be happy."

"Indeed, it seems I have disturbed your work. Please tell him I will visit soon to offer my apologies as well."

"That'd be a big help. Well then, we'll be on our way. Good luck with the Clan War. We'll be rooting for you."

"Thank you very much."

The NPCs from the Thieves' Guild bowed to Relic and left. All that remained were about ten players.

"Y-You'll regret this!"

Even in this state, a threat was probably possible, but with a magnificent parting shot, the players disappeared.

"Thanks to you, Relic-san, we were saved. Thank you very much."

"I am glad to have been of service."

"But why do the people from the Thieves' Guild know you, Relic-san? It sounded like you were acquainted with the Guild Master."

Guild Master refers to the head of that guild. In the case of the Maid Guild, it was called the Maid Chief, but it meant the same thing, just a different way of saying it.

Relic looked a little embarrassed as he spoke.

"The Guild Master of the Thieves' Guild was my partner when I was a thief. We just have tea at the guild sometimes, but I haven't been there much lately as I've been busy."

"Ah, that's because I've been asking you to do the shopping. I'm sorry."

"No, no, please do not worry about it as this is my job. However, I think I will go and show my face next time to apologize as well."

"Please do. I'll make some tea snacks for you next time. Oh, shoot, I think she's fine, but Esha is inside. I'm going to check on her."

"I shall accompany you."

The player had known that the items Hayato made were in the headquarters. That meant he had been inside before. Esha was strong, so he didn't think she was in danger, but she was a woman. Also, he had heard that NPCs could be attacked even if it wasn't a Clan War.

Hayato and Relic hurried inside through the shop entrance. There, they found Esha devouring sweets.

Esha's eyes met Hayato's, but after a moment's pause, she put the half-eaten shortcake in her mouth. And chewed it well.

"What are you doing?"

"Pwease wait... No, I heard them talking about stealing the items, so I thought I'd rather eat them myself. They were delicious."

Esha was safe, but the food was not. The items were clearly disappearing, starting with the highest quality and most expensive ones.

"I'm deducting it from your salary."

"No way! Master, you're such a softie, I thought you would just give them away!"

"If I did that, you would have stopped me, Esha. I think you would have protected them even if you had to defeat me."

"As expected of my master. I am happy to know that my master understands his maid."

"I'd rather not understand, but fine. But let go of that eclair. What are you doing, trying to eat it in the confusion... Besides Esha eating the sweets, there don't seem to be any other problems. I thought they might have trashed the place since there were so many people."

"That's a good idea. I regret not blaming them for the missing food. I ate too much, right up to the last minute."

"Please regret something else."

Stopping his exchange with Esha, Hayato thought.

(For now, I won't be satisfied unless I crush them in the next Clan War so much that they regret it. Also, just in case, I should contact the administration. I was offered a fixed match. There should be some kind of punishment. Maybe we can win by default. They said they've done similar things before, so it might not work, but that itself could be a lie, so I'll give it a try.)

"Master, you have a rather good look on your face, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"No, I mean, you look much more motivated than usual. Could it be that you're angry because you thought I was in danger? Have you finally fallen for me?"

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking about you at all, Esha. If anything, I'm angry that you ate the expensive sweets."

"Oh, come on. I know."

"You're invincible. I don't think you understand anything, but well, that's fine too. I plan to crush our opponent in the next Clan War, so I'll have you fight more seriously than ever. Work hard for the sweets you ate."

After saying that to Esha, Hayato looked at Relic.

"I'm counting on you too, Relic-san."

"As you wish. It seems the opposing clan is using the Thieves' Guild for harassment. The ones who accept the job are also at fault, but I am rather displeased that they would request such a thing from the Thieves' Guild, so I will give it my all."

Even though he said "rather," a considerable amount of anger seemed to be overflowing from his smile. Hayato was happy, thinking he could expect great things.

(Now then, for the week until the Clan War. I should make some preparations myself.)

Hayato contacted everyone and then began preparing for the next Clan War.