10. The Underground Sewer and the Butterfly Effect

“……Aila, stop keeping Lady Round at the entrance and come in together quickly.”

“Alright, Cellie.”

Aila shrugged her shoulders. Cellie let out a deep sigh.

With her dark green bob cut and pitch-black eyes, she was a close friend of Aila who also worked as a mercenary, and a spirit summoner contracted with a high-grade earth spirit and a low-grade water spirit.

Kana recalled the information internally as she followed them into the conference room.

Guild Master Denia sat in the center with guild members seated around her. Her seat was between Aila and Cellie.

As the three sat down, curious glances from the guild members subtly turned toward Kana. She maintained a composed expression and upright posture, seemingly indifferent.

Denia clapped her hands to draw attention.

“Now everyone’s here. Before starting the meeting, I’ll introduce our new member. Sitting between Miss Aila and Miss Cellie is Lady Kana Round who just joined us!”

“Ah, the one the Guild Master tried so hard to recruit……”

The guild members in the conference room whispered. Denia immediately nodded and added,

“Yes, she even made a donation when joining the guild. After that, several nobles gave large donations too. This is undoubtedly thanks to Lady Round!”

“It’s a bit embarrassing…… but not entirely wrong since there are people I maintain good relationships with and my friends among them.”

Kana smiled faintly. She recalled how Letie, Evie, Olivia, and other noble ladies she was close with had eagerly insisted on making donations when they heard she joined the guild.

Usually, noble patronage went to artists in various fields like writing, art, music, theater, or to orphans in orphanages. The Guild Master had reason to be excited about this unusual flood of donations.

Denia smiled brightly at her and encouraged a response from the guild members.

“Indeed. Now, everyone, let’s give a big round of applause.”

“Ooh.”

The applause filling the conference room gradually died down. Kana waited for the atmosphere to calm before addressing Denia.

“Guild Master, what’s today’s meeting topic?”

“Ah, we received a rather important request.”

Concern filled Denia’s eyes, suggesting this wasn’t empty talk. Aila, true to her nature as a spirit summoner who also worked as a mercenary, immediately raised her hand and asked the key question.

“Who’s the client and what’s the request?”

“I was just about to explain. The client is Count Caliman Nuer, and the request is to explore the underground waterway.”

The Guild Master’s answer was concise. A strange light flickered in Kana’s eyes. As she expected, this was related to the protagonists.

In ‘Fake Saint’, Richard goes to the underground waterway while investigating the First Prince’s schemes, taking Count Caliman Nuer along with a couple of mages and guards.

During that process, it was mentioned that they brought along some people from a spirit summoner guild as precaution, though the guild’s name wasn’t specified since it wasn’t an important detail.

‘So it flowed here too.’

Since novels naturally revolve around the protagonists, information about main characters and important figures was relatively detailed, but less important parts were often glossed over.

‘There’s a reason why supporting role players are busy running around on foot.’

That’s why everyone, regardless of faction, preferred roles with relatively high status and position.

It meant less hardship and restrictions, and it was easier to obtain good information not mentioned in the original work.

While she was lost in thought, the guild members in the conference room whispered in surprise. Cellie muttered with furrowed brows.

“If it’s Count Caliman Nuer……”

“He’s a northern noble known as the Blue Flame Knight for his outstanding martial arts, and counted among His Highness the Second Prince’s important confidants. I’ve heard he has a strong constitution and maintains robust physical and mental strength despite his age.”

Kana’s clear voice cut through the surrounding noise. As the atmosphere suddenly quieted, attention focused on her. Denia clapped her hands with a pleased smile.

“That’s right, Lady Round explained it well!”

“Then what’s this underground waterway exploration? Looking at the high compensation, a request from a noble lord can’t be simple.”

Aila’s eyes narrowed. Her usually friendly smiling face had turned serious. Denia shrugged and answered.

“The content is exactly as the title suggests, but he said he’d explain the details after we accept the request.”

“Hmm, that’s exactly the kind of request that tends to go wrong.”

“Besides, the underground waterway itself is not great…… The environment is damp and dark.”

“Right. It may be called an underground waterway…… but it gives an unsettling feeling.”

The guild members whispered with reluctant expressions. Those with mercenary experience seemed especially hesitant.

Recognizing the unsettled atmosphere, Denia quickly moved the meeting forward.

“For now, I’m thinking of selecting about three volunteers.”

“So that’s why you gathered only the more experienced members.”

“Yes. It’s fine if there aren’t any. Is there anyone who wants to volunteer?”

“I will.”

Kana alone raised her hand. Since Alderaan was too busy with work to manage, she had agreed to check it out in his place.

Denia’s eyes widened at the unexpected volunteer.

“Lady Round?”

“You really want to go there? Perhaps you should reconsider……”

The guild members sent worried glances her way. In their eyes, she looked like a noble lady recklessly volunteering without knowing better.

Just then, a gray-haired man sitting across released his spirit energy and snorted.

“Hmph, can a delicately raised noble lady really handle such a place?”

“Kayden!”

“Aila, did I say anything wrong? Requests aren’t child’s play. If you want to show off spirit magic, look for something else. Ah, maybe your skills are exaggerated too?”

He felt uncomfortable with the situation where everyone is praising Kana. Wasn’t she just an ordinary noble lady with a gentle impression on the surface?

Having never seen her use spirit magic, he boldly displayed his prejudice.

“This is absurd.”

Kana’s voice, which had been consistently polite and gentle, turned ice cold. The guild members flinched and observed her expression.

Kana spread Nubes with an expressionless face and released her spirit energy. The surging spirit energy precisely pressed down on only Kayden while avoiding other guild members. She added words while watching him flinch.

“You’re being quite rude because I treated you nicely. You seem to be misunderstanding something, but I’m not someone who needs to prove my abilities to others.”

“Then why……”

Kayden gritted his teeth, feeling the heavy pressure. She spoke calmly while maintaining her spirit energy.

“Do I need some grand reason to participate in a request as a guild member? You, at least, don’t seem qualified to discuss my abilities.”

“……”

Having started the confrontation first only to be thoroughly overwhelmed in spirit energy, Kayden had nothing to say. Kana withdrew her spirit energy while subtly warning:

“Watch your words next time.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Kayden barely caught his breath with a flinch. Amid the stirring atmosphere, Denia cleared her throat politely.

“Ahem, I’ll put Lady Round on the list for now. Is there anyone else who wants to volunteer?”

“Agh, can’t be helped. I’ll volunteer too.”

“Yes, Miss Aila. For the last person……”

“I’ll do it.”

“Alright, Miss Cellie. Then we’ll go with you three.”

The situation was quickly resolved with the two volunteers.

After exchanging opinions on other lighter topics, the meeting ended. Only the underground waterway exploration volunteers remained while the rest of the guild members left.

Kayden rushed out of the conference room without properly looking at Kana. Watching his retreating figure, Aila muttered with a contemptuous expression.

“……Ugh, how base. That’s what he gets for needlessly provoking someone who was minding their own business.”

“Well, thanks to him becoming an example, Lady Round’s abilities were properly impressed upon everyone.”

“Right. Lady Round handled it well. His usual arrogant attitude was quite an eyesore anyway, so this feels satisfying.”

“Having picked a spirit energy fight only to get thoroughly suppressed, he’ll stay quiet for a while.”

Cellie’s eyes curved round. Aila was the same. Their reactions made it clear how that person had been living until now. Kana laughed silently.

They stayed behind to receive the details and schedule from the Guild Master. Then they chatted lightly and agreed to meet on the day before parting ways.

* * *

As Kana arrived in front of the mansion, her communication orb sparkled. Checking it, she found it was Kiriel’s code. She flicked her finger to block any sound leakage and received the contact. He spoke first,

— Miss Kana, are you busy right now?

“No. I just got back to the mansion after attending a spirit summoner guild meeting.”

— You went to the guild. What was the meeting about?

“Just introducing me as a new member and some simple agenda items.”

Kana brushed it off lightly. Kiriel hesitated for a moment before getting to the point.

— I see. Actually, I contacted you because I had something to ask, would you have time next week?

“Ah, I’m sorry. I have an important schedule then so it’ll be difficult to make time.”

— Really?

“Yes, I agreed to carry out a request from the guild.”

— ……Wait, what kind of request?

Kiriel suddenly became anxious. He knew she prioritized safety and avoided dangerous situations depending on circumstances, but for some reason his instincts were raising alarms.

“Well, it’s difficult to explain the details…… but it should be fine?”

Kana ended her answer with a questioning tone. His subdued voice flowed from the communication orb,

— ……Miss Kana, you haven’t entered the mansion yet, right?