The covered carriage rattling down the highway was ancient and dilapidated. Its wooden frame looked fragile enough to snap at the slightest touch, and the wheels groaned ominously every time they crunched over a pebble.
A large tear in the canvas cover allowed the wind to whip through the interior, mussing the hair of the Shield of the Sky members huddled inside.
"Cough... hack..."
One of them coughed in agony. The others sat with their faces contorted, looking as though they had been forced to swallow bitter insects.
Their mission had been simple: eliminate a young girl and an old man. They were to execute two unarmed targets who had completely lowered their guard, believing the group to be messengers from the Royal Family.
Yet, Shield of the Sky—the most prominent adventurer’s guild in the Imuris Kingdom—had failed. They had been laid low by a surprise attack from a single Crestless man, an unaffiliated rogue who didn’t even belong to the Adventurer's Guild.
The bearded merchant sitting on the driver's box glanced back, calling out to the dejected guild members slumped in the wagon bed.
"We’re coming up on the next town soon. The coin you gave me only covers the trip that far. If you want me to take you all the way to the Royal Capital, I’m gonna need more gold."
Fiona lifted her head, staring at the merchant with a look of startled disbelief.
"Th-th-that... wadn't the d-deal!"
"Huh? What was that? Speak up and talk right."
"I thaid... the d-deal... wad d-dif-f-f-erent!"
Fiona’s voice was horribly raspy, the words slurred and difficult to parse.
"You lot are from Shield of the Sky, aren't you? You’re loaded, so quit being stingy. Unless, of course, you’d rather get off right here and walk to the capital?"
Fiona surveyed the back of the wagon. Her teammates were still unable to walk properly after inhaling the toxic mist. Even securing this carriage had been a desperate feat; they’d had to beg their original driver to fetch someone from a nearby town.
Being abandoned on a deserted highway in their current state would be a death sentence. That was how weakened the elite members of Shield of the Sky truly were.
Fiona staggered toward the front of the wagon. Reaching into the pouch at her waist, she pulled out a gold coin and managed to press it into the merchant's hand with trembling fingers.
"One more," the man demanded.
"...H-h-ere..."
Gritting her teeth and swallowing the humiliation, Fiona paid the additional gold.
She practically crawled back to her hard seat. Beside her, Clyde—once the picture of intellectual composure—stared vacantly at his filthy, stained robes, his body shivering.
"Vold... I won't forgive you..."
Fiona’s eyes were clouded with a murky, dark hatred, the light within them extinguished.
"I’ll never... forgive you...!"
Blood seeped from her clenched fists where her nails bit into her palms. Her once-pure white robes were now a defiled, crimson-stained rag.
In the Royal Capital, within a palace-like structure carved from white marble, the air in the Vice-Guildmaster's office was suffocatingly tense.
The Vice-Guildmaster sat behind his desk, a deep scowl etched into his face. Standing before him were Holy Knight Fiona and Sage Clyde. Both were swaying on their feet, looking pitifully frail.
Their signature white robes were tattered and caked in filth. They bore no resemblance to the elite S-rank adventurers they were supposed to be.
"I want a detailed explanation of what happened," the Vice-Guildmaster said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.
The two adventurers flinched, their shoulders trembling.
"I told you to speak!"
Fiona finally forced her mouth open.
"Yez... W-we... went do Dudk Hollow Wedlandth and failed the midthion."
"Fiona, your voice is a wreck. I can barely understand you."
"I’m thorry..."
Fiona’s face burned a deep red with shame.
"Did you actually let yourselves get beaten by a girl and an old man? Rare Jobs or not, they are amateurs."
"No... the one we foughd wad... Vold."
The Vice-Guildmaster crossed his arms, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Vold?"
"Id wad Vold."
"Was there someone by that name?" the Vice-Guildmaster muttered to himself, searching his memory.
Unable to watch Fiona struggle any longer, Clyde interjected.
"Vithe Guildmathter... id wad Vold."
"I heard you! You were beaten by some man named Vold!"
It would be quite some time before the Vice-Guildmaster realized that the "Vold" they were referring to was actually Walt.
[Minutes of the 55th Adventurer's Guild Information Center Information Exchange Meeting]
Staff Member 1 => Please report on the current status of the various guilds.
Staff Member 2 => We’ve received a surge of complaints against "Shield of the Sky" from guilds operating within the Royal Capital. They are reportedly poaching high-level members from other organizations at an aggressive rate.
Staff Member 3 => I’ve noticed it as well. Lately, you can’t go into a tavern without seeing someone wearing the "Shield" emblem. They’re usually drunk and causing a scene.
Staff Member 4 => I’ve heard they’re frequently involved in brawls and violence. Shield of the Sky has the city guards in their pocket, so none of it is making the official reports, but...
Staff Member 5 => They’re certainly acting like they own the place.
Staff Member 6 => It’s to be expected. Shield of the Sky has deep ties to the Royal Family. None of the other guilds are willing to risk a formal confrontation.
Staff Member 7 => On a related note, did anyone hear that a group from Shield of the Sky failed a high-profile request recently? Apparently, Holy Knight Fiona returned to the capital looking like a beggar in a falling-apart carriage.
Staff Member 8 => The Fiona? Did she fail a rare monster subjugation?
Staff Member 9 => No, according to a rumor I picked up from a merchant, her group was dismantled by someone named Vold.
Staff Member 10 => Vold? Never heard of him. Who is he?
Staff Member 11 => The word is he’s an [Assassin] who specializes in poisons.
Staff Member 12 => [Assassin] Vold, eh?
Staff Member 13 => If he was able to make a fool out of Fiona and her squad, he must be a master-class [Assassin].
Staff Member 14 => Should we issue a kingdom-wide notice or a bounty?
Staff Member 15 => Probably unnecessary. I doubt anyone with an [Assassin] Job is going to walk into an Information Center to register with a regular guild.
Staff Member 16 => True enough. That sort usually gravitates toward the Dark Guilds.
Staff Member 17 => Speaking of which, what’s the latest on the Dark Guilds?
Staff Member 18 => There are whispers that certain nobles are employing them quite heavily for "sensitive" matters.
Staff Member 19 => The collusion between the nobility and the Dark Guilds is becoming a serious problem.
Staff Member 20 => Agreed. And I fear the roots of that problem go deeper than we realize.