After the victory, the baron and his forces retreated quickly, frustrated with their defeat. The three guilds that silently declared for him also went with them. The Night Blades and another guild that decided to stay uninvolved continued to linger, but they were not particularly happy.

They had missed an incredible opportunity to make a statement.

"Push with the plan of opening smaller casinos and shops across the outer town," I ordered Mahruss, activating one of the contingency scenarios. Unlike when we first arrived, we had enough manpower to control the outer town.

Not to mention, it would be another good test for Mahruss. If successful, I could leave the outer town businesses for him to manage once he completed his third promotion.

However, that was just an idle thought as I helped Zolast get to the headquarters. He was doing his best to look like a frail old man trying to hide his weakness … understandable as the subtle shimmer moved along the roofs, following us.

Only when we entered his office, he spoke, and quickly. "I can feel him around the outer wards. He'll be here in less than a minute," Zolast said.

"He really has horrible timing. We certainly don't need him poking around," I said.

"Maybe we should just deal with him," Zolast offered.

"No, that won't work. We still don't know who is supporting him. Everything is in order here, and you have the four ability stones that can be sold. It's better if I take point, while you handle all the upgrades that need to be done and get closer to the young duke."

"I don't think Artmiss is going to allow that," Zolast said.

"With the last gift the baron left, I don't think that'll be a problem," I said, and Zolast looked at me, surprised. "That last burst of mana was tainted with Destruction mana. I don't know what it was exactly, but my guess is nothing nice."

"Probably not," Zolast answered. "You're right. We can use that."

I nodded. While I respected Artmiss, it was a tainted one. More about his determination than his decision-making. And, considering he was more than willing to sacrifice our whole guild as a favor to another guild, I didn't feel particularly torn up about using his affliction to our benefit.

Zolast didn't seem to be particularly sad either.

"I'm guessing he's about to be here," I said.

Zolast nodded.

"Good. Remember what we discussed about how to play him," I said. Zolast nodded with a smirk, then his expression shifted to a serious one.

At the same time, I slammed my fist on the table, hard enough to leave a crack, before moving to a bookcase and pulling it down, moving up and down until I noticed Zolast's subtle signal. At the same time, I noticed a shimmer at the open window.

"… this is complete nonsense, you bastard! You're risking everything, and for what, some political nonsense."

"Why are you insisting not to understand, you incompetent mountain bandit. The real world doesn't work like that. To make sure our great cause works as intended, we need political support."

"For the cause, or for your precious ascension?" I shouted, which led to a ten-minute scathing fight between us, where I did my best to look like an idealist who had been betrayed by someone. The kind of person that was the easiest to manipulate and play.

Of course, we didn't neglect to bury several clues about how I was the only one who knew how to maintain contact with the hero, with several explicit references to the other side of the wall.

We wanted Bertnam to believe the mysteriously lost hero was still on the other side of the wall, hiding from the corrupted beasts and cultists.

Still, Bertnam proved to be more patient than I expected, and listened to our fight for ten minutes before he interrupted. To his credit, he did it subtly, which would have tricked us if I didn't have my ridiculous Perception and Zolast hadn't recovered from the curse of his god.

He deliberately triggered one of the outer wards. Zolast made a show of tensing. "Someone is trying to get in," he warned.

I immediately abandoned my furious expression — except for a few lingering signs, as it would be better to make Bertnam believe that I was incapable of truly suppressing my emotions. "Are they hostile?" I asked as I drew my sword.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"I don't know. Probably—" Zolast started, tense, only to freeze.

Our uninvited guest chose that moment to reveal himself. As he dispelled his imperfect invisibility, he was already sitting on a chair, his legs crossed, leaning back.

A nice, theatrical entrance. It would have been quite intimidating as well had we not been playing him from the moment he arrived.

"Bertnam, what a surprise," Zolast said, immediately calm as he sat down. "Euon, why don't you serve a drink to our valuable guest."

"As you wish, Guildmaster,' I said with reluctant respect, just the slightest frustration infecting my tone. While I walked toward the drinks cabinet, Bertnam shuffled for comfort.

"I see that you finally have a decent office, Holy Guide," Bertnam said, his tone outwardly respectful. But, he wasn't able to hide the hint of glee in his tone, a sign of just how much he enjoyed throwing around Zolast's old title.

A subtle stab that reminded Zolast both of his curse and his loss of position, disguised as a show of respect.

Interesting personality.

"I'm guessing you didn't come here just for a chat?" Zolast said.

"It's always a pleasant experience to talk with you, Holy Guide," he said, once again his smug satisfaction wrapped by a layer of respect. "But, you're partially right. I have been planning to visit for a while, but the sudden visit from the military hastened my plans a bit. I decided to help you."

"As you see, we don't need any help," Zolast said, making a show of acting prickly.

"Oh, certainly not. It was incredible to see that, despite a divine curse, you're still able to cast such an incredible healing spell," he said, the mocking edge in his tone even more apparent. "And, you even managed to build a brand new dungeon despite an informal blockade hampering you. Quite impressive."

At that point, I chose to let out a soft snort, subtly indicating that it was a credit that belonged to me. For all his faults, Bertnam was a sharp young man, and I was sure he would take the bait.

He did. He kept his attention on Zolast. "It's incredible to see that you managed to create a completely new web of contacts despite your curse, managing to single-handedly build a guild," he said, complimenting Zolast excessively.

A little excessive, but after we managed to sell the idea of a rough upbringing, Bertnam clearly wanted to make sure his little ploy took hold.

Zolast played his own role perfectly and just nodded, accepting the credit without any problem like any ambitious leader would, and I made a show of tensing in frustration. "That's what I do," Zolast said. "But enough about me. Since you decided to stick around, you need something?"

"Need is a strong word," Bertnam said as he leaned forward slightly, reminding us about his supposedly superior position. A little too desperate, showing just how enthusiastic he was to rub this new power balance on his old leader's face. "Since I'm here, I would prefer to establish stronger communication. Things are getting heated up. We don't want everything you build here to turn into an accident, right?"

"As you wish. How about you leave a liaison here?" Zolast offered immediately, quick enough to show a hint of desperation.

"Actually, I have a different idea. How about you send a liaison to our little group? I think we need someone smart and cautious, but also someone with an excuse to disappear for long stretches of time," he said, once again laying it a bit too thick as he looked at me. "I think Quartermaster Euon is an excellent choice, wouldn't you agree?"

"That's impossible. He is busy with too many different things. The casino, the outpost, food purchases, building a new forge—" Zolast quickly countered, each task he referred to being treated as culturally inferior. Tasks for servants and merchants.

Giving me an excuse to radiate a barely concealed fury.

"Enough, Holy Guide," he cut in. "I'm sure you have others that could handle those tasks."

"Not really. We don't have many capable subordinates. And, Euon is not exactly a good candidate as an envoy."

"I'm sure Quartermaster Euon will be more than capable of the task. And, since you'll be staying safely at the headquarters, you can always handle some of those tasks yourself," Bertnam delivered smugly, happy with the insult he managed to squeeze in.

Without saying anything, he threw a small metal plate toward me. "What's this?" I asked.

"It's a communication device," he said as he cast a spell, and a line of text appeared. "I will send you the necessary information once I arrange your trip. Until then, take care…" he said, and disappeared once more.

I pretended to panic because of his sudden disappearance, not paying any attention to the subtle shiver that moved toward the window. "Is he gone?" I asked Zolast, as if I wasn't able to see him at the window. Or the fact that he had left a very subtle spell on the chair.

"Yes. He's gone," Zolast confirmed, but he gave a slight tug through our connection, signaling that he was able to listen to us.

Likely about the spell, meaning we had to play a bit more. "How dare you treat me like a servant! Just because you were once some kind of priest doesn't make you the voice of our god!" I shouted, exploding in visible anger.

"You think you know what you are playing with, you pathetic bandit," Zolast answered. "Just because your talents as a merchant are valuable, you think that…" he continued, and we continued fighting for another ten minutes, until I felt the spell fading.

I looked at him questioningly, and then nodded. "Yes, he's gone," he said with a chuckle even as I went toward the drinks cabinet once more, pouring us two drinks.

"It's fun to jerk around arrogant younglings, right?" I asked as I passed the glasses to him, and he applied his magic trick to enhance the taste.

"I have to admit, it was more fun than I expected," he accepted. "Not as much as teaching him a lesson directly, but fun nonetheless."

"Good," I said, enjoying another sip from my drink.

"Still, I was surprised that he didn't bring me there immediately. It suggests that he's not a decision-maker in his group. Not exactly a good sign."

"Certainly not," I answered. "But one problem at a time. Let's just focus on what we can control." Zolast nodded. "But first, let's finish our drinks. It'll be a pity to waste them."

With all the intrigue around us, we would be extremely busy.

So, we appreciated the moment of calm before the storm.