In the Guildmaster’s office.
Liss placed the documents before Sharlene, speaking with a touch of admiration in her voice. “Guildmaster, Mr. Orl and Senior Dorothy have met.”
“Oh? And what was the outcome?” Sharlene inquired, her interest piqued.
“Mr. Orl has agreed to a concession,” Liss explained. “He said that as long as Celia and her team can defeat a Tier 4 demon beast during the Hero Assessment, he will no longer refuse her becoming a Hero.”
“A bit unexpected, perhaps, but well within my overall predictions.”
Ever since the Silverbloom Sword Princess became Celia’s team instructor, Sharlene had known that the Fiona family’s butler would no longer be able to exert his influence so directly.
He was bound to make a concession, choosing a more equitable method to take Celia away.
What she hadn’t anticipated, however, was this particular demand.
Defeating a Tier 4 demon beast within six months might seem impossible to an ordinary person, yet Sharlene was well aware of Celia and her teammates’ exceptional talents.
Under the guidance of the Silverbloom Sword Princess, they might very well achieve a miracle.
“Wow, Guildmaster, you even predicted that?”
Sharlene’s composure left Liss utterly astonished. After all, when Liss herself had learned of Mr. Orl’s concession, her expression had been as if she’d seen a ghost.
‘That mysterious senior’s background must be truly formidable,’ she thought. ‘Even the Fiona family is powerless against her.’
With a flicker in her eyes, Liss moved behind Sharlene and began gently kneading her shoulders.
Liss had learned a few massage techniques, and Sharlene found her ministrations quite comfortable.
After seeing the Guildmaster close her eyes and enjoy it for a moment, Liss finally revealed her true objective. “Guildmaster, to make Mr. Orl back down, Senior Dorothy must be a truly powerful Hero, wouldn’t you say?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Then, Guildmaster, could you satisfy a little curiosity from one of your employees and tell me who she actually is?”
‘This is a major figure, someone even the Fiona family couldn’t handle,’ she mused. ‘I want to know her true identity, so I’ll have something to talk about with my friends.’
Yet, even this small bit of curiosity, Sharlene could not satisfy.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you,” Sharlene replied, “but I promised Senior Dorothy I wouldn’t reveal any information about her.”
“You’d also do well not to inquire about her identity, or it could bring a great deal of trouble to Vidona.”
Seeing Sharlene’s expression gradually turn serious, Liss’s heart unaccountably fluttered. She realized the matter might not be as simple as she had imagined.
‘The identity of that mysterious senior seems quite extraordinary,’ she thought.
“Is there anything else?”
Shaking her head, Liss exited the office and closed the door behind her.
Leaning against the door, she suppressed her surging curiosity, resolving never again to ask about the mysterious senior.
After all, she was only a small receptionist.
****
After Liss departed, Sharlene propped her chin in her hand, gazing at the documents before her, lost in thought.
She hadn’t lied; if news of the Silverbloom Sword Princess were to spread, it would undoubtedly alarm the Hero Council. A massive influx of Heroes would then descend upon Vidona.
In such a scenario, chaos would inevitably erupt.
The mere thought of it gave her a headache.
Removing her glasses, she massaged her temples, then gathered the unaddressed documents and neatly stacked them away.
Afterward, she donned the loose trench coat from the nearby hanger, concealing her slender figure and alluring black stockings.
No matter how busy she was, she still had her days off; thus, she wouldn’t be working this afternoon.
Adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses once more, she intended to use this free time to take a carriage and visit a certain aloof shop owner.
Within the city, due to the rampage of the Tier 4 demon beast, many areas were ablaze with towering flames and billowing smoke. Fortunately, people had sought shelter promptly, preventing significant casualties.
Many had already recovered from their initial shock, beginning to gather in small groups and discuss Hero Roland’s impressive display.
One could only say, ‘Is this truly a city that has endured countless beast tide purges?’
Sharlene observed all of this, and for the first time, she felt that beast tides weren’t entirely a bad thing.
Each year, during seasonal changes or surges of magic, the demon beasts within the Silent Forest would migrate or become frenzied, consequently forming beast tides.
The residents of Vidona had grown accustomed to their presence, and so, when a demon beast suddenly appeared within the city, they were able to promptly retreat into the beast tide shelters.
This had prevented the possibility of massive casualties today.
Of course, if it had truly come to that, she believed Senior Silverbloom would have directly intervened, cleaving the demon beast in two with a single strike.
The wind chimes hanging from the black leather carriage jingled softly as the carriage slowly halted before the Witch’s Flower Shop. The coachman pushed open the door, and Sharlene, carrying a lady’s leather bag, gracefully stepped down from the compartment.
In that moment, she looked nothing like a Hero; instead, she resembled a noblewoman, exuding an aura of mature elegance.
Seeing the flower shop safe and sound, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
Pushing open the flower shop door, the wind chimes tinkled softly. Alisa, who had been sweeping the floor, hastily put down her broom and bowed towards the entrance. “Welcome.”
“I’m surprised you’re still open,” Sharlene remarked, raising an eyebrow. “After such a terrifying demon beast attack, aren’t you going home to rest?”
“And aren’t you, esteemed guest, also not resting?”
Alisa looked up, and after clearly seeing the visitor’s appearance, she rubbed her eyes, utterly disbelieving. “Guildmaster Sharlene?!”
Guildmaster Sharlene often appeared in the newspapers, so her face was known to almost everyone in the city. Yet, even so, Alisa still couldn’t quite believe that *she* was the Guildmaster.
After all, ever since she became a flower shop employee, such an important figure had never once personally visited the shop.
“I’m looking for someone,” Sharlene stated directly, implicitly acknowledging her identity.
“Who are you looking for?”
Alisa’s expression was somewhat stiff, her small hands unconsciously twisting together in front of her stomach, clearly nervous.
‘What’s going on today?’ she wondered. ‘Heroes I could never even hope to meet are interacting with me one after another, and one of them is even the Guildmaster!’
“Your shop owner, Lena.”
‘Looking for Lena?’
‘Shop owner Lena actually knows the Guildmaster of the Hero Guild?!’
‘Am I dreaming? Or is the world just too fantastical?’
Alisa stood dumbfounded for a long moment before replying, “She’s not here.”
“Did she go home?”
“I’m not sure, but she left the flower shop in my care. She said she’s been a bit busy lately and won’t be coming to the shop much anymore.”
“Busy? What could she possibly be busy with?”
‘Isn’t Lena the flower shop owner? If she’s not managing the shop, what else could she be busy with?’
Sharlene was perplexed.
Alisa was equally puzzled, though her understanding of Shop Owner Lena was not as deep as Sharlene’s, so she wasn’t as troubled by it.
“Guildmaster, is there something you need Shop Owner Lena for?”
Alisa’s question stirred an unpleasant memory in Sharlene. With a cold snort, she replied, “I’m here to settle a score with her.”
“Ah? Did the shop owner offend you, esteemed one?”
Alisa suddenly became very uneasy. Shop Owner Lena was just an ordinary person; if she had offended the Guildmaster…
She didn’t even dare to imagine the consequences, but the flower shop certainly wouldn’t be able to stay open.
“Offended? Of course, she offended me.”
Sharlene crossed her arms over her chest, her elegance tinged with a hint of displeasure.
“She actually dared to ignore my messages! How utterly infuriating!”