Early TBAGM Vol. 1 Chapter 5 Part 1

Full title: The Banished Advisor’s Guild Management

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Canon

____________________________________________

Chapter 5 – Guild Showdown

“Hellooooo! The long-awaited Guild Showdown is finally here! I’m your host for the day, Uns, from the twelfth-ranked guild, Black Fantasy!!”

“““Woooooaaaaaahhhh!”””

The day of the showdown between Veiled Moonrise and Oni’s Fang had arrived. The time was just past noon.

The event was being broadcast live across the kingdom through Projection Magic.

As the Guild Showdown had become a form of national entertainment, many citizens had been eagerly awaiting this day.

“Our contenders today—Oni’s Fang! Their guildmaster, Nike, is a B-rank adventurer and a brilliant tactician with a wealth of strategic options! Today’s event is a siege battle! Things are looking tough for Veiled Moonrise!”

† 

At the Guildmaster Assembly Hall.

“All right, time for our traditional betting session!”

Whenever a Guild Showdown was held, all guildmasters not participating in the match would gather in one place.

There, they would engage in a customary wager over the outcome.

“I’m betting on Oni’s Fang!”

“Same here!”

“Count me in too.”

One after another, guildmasters began stacking their wagers in favor of Oni’s Fang.

“Heh heh heh. I hear Veiled Moonrise can’t even afford potions right now.”

With a twisted grin, Kyros made sure his words were heard by all.

That single comment fanned the flames, and the tide of support for Oni’s Fang surged even higher.

“I’m with Oni’s Fang as well!”

“Me toooo!”

Watching the scene unfold, Kyros sneered inwardly.

(Lloyd… You’ll come to regret abandoning my guild. Stealing Nero from me will cost you dearly.)

He had already confirmed that Lloyd’s team couldn’t afford potions.

In Kyros’s mind, the outcome was already decided.

“This isn’t much of a bet anymore.”

The guildmaster facilitating the wager sounded thoroughly bored.

At this point, twenty-one guilds had bet on Oni’s Fang.

If things continued, every guild would place their money on them—making the bet null and void.

Yet no one wanted to gamble on a guaranteed loss.

“Maybe we should call it off this time?”

The facilitator was about to return the wagers—

But then, that became unnecessary.

“Then I’ll bet on Veiled Moonrise.”

“““……!?”””

Mint declared confidently, placing every last coin she had brought on Veiled Moonrise.

Everyone was dumbstruck by the sight of her laying such a large sum on the losing side.

“Mint… what are you doing? Are you just giving us free money?”

Kyros narrowed his eyes, mixing irritation and pity in his gaze.

His frustration stemmed both from her siding with Lloyd and from throwing away her money on a lost cause.

In response, Mint clutched her stomach and burst into laughter—deliberately provoking him.

“Ahaha! This is hilarious!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Even Kyros couldn’t hide his annoyance at her antics.

She brushed him off with a vague reply.

“Well, let’s just say I’m siding with magic. After all that bold talk, the least I can do is place my hopes on them.”

Her cryptic words left everyone bewildered.

They wrote it off as yet another of her eccentric whims.

Kyros, too exasperated to remain angry, simply pitied her.

(This is what happens when you let magic-obsessed fools play games. Don’t come crying when you regret it.)

He had no idea that pity would one day come back to bite him.

†

The night before the showdown, around 6 p.m.

I, Lloyd, was heading to the Adventurer’s Association.

“Orgus! Lend me an alchemist who can brew potions!”

Normally, I would have gone to the Alchemy Guild.

But in this situation, I believed Orgus—with his 【Appraisal】—was the better choice.

“U-Understood!”

No one expected the Adventurer’s Association to have an alchemist capable of brewing potions.

Everyone, including Kyros, would have assumed it was impossible.

But unlike the rest, we had the chairman—Orgus—who was always prepared for any contingency.

“N-Nice to meet you. My name is Rena.”

A gentle-looking woman wearing glasses gave me a deep bow.

Orgus, anticipating the need, had already hired someone familiar with potion-making as a staff member.

“I’m Lloyd. Are you the one who can brew potions?”

“Y-Yes. It’s only a hobby, but…”

.

[Name]  Rena (Age 20)

[Title]  Staff Member, Adventurer’s Association

[Attributes] Vitality: D/C Magic: C/B Ambition: B/B

       Leadership: C/B Intelligence: B/A

[Skills]  Potion Brewing: C/B Spatial Photography: D/A

[Inherent Trait] None

.

“Thanks, Orgus. You saved me.”

“Not at all. Best of luck.”

—

I had secured someone with knowledge of potion-making and immediately brought her back to the guild. I then assigned her to work with Elna.

“Miss Rena, I’m sorry to ask this after your shift, but I’d like you to work with this girl, Elna, and produce ten potions by noon tomorrow.”

“Ten?! And with a child like her?! That’s absolutely impossible!”

Rena shook her head violently in protest at our request.

A moment later, as if resigning herself to the situation, she began to explain.

“Potion-making, in simple terms, just requires Caene leaves and water.”

She continued.

“Caene leaves have the property of drawing in ambient mana and binding it to their surface. We use the mana adhered to the leaves to brew potions.”

Caene leaves were a core ingredient in potion-making.

They had to be cultivated for about a month in a mana-rich environment to become viable materials, making them both rare and expensive.

“It takes half a day to strip the mana from the leaves. Then another half a day to blend them into water and let the components stabilize evenly. That’s when a potion is finally complete. As you can see, the process takes an entire day. With ten potions, even with two people working, it would take three days.”

“No way…”

Elna drooped her shoulders in despair.

We only had half a day and some extra time. It was now evident we wouldn’t make it in time.

“I told you… it’s just not possible.”

Rena frowned, her expression bitter.

Then Elna tugged at the hem of my coat and murmured in a frail voice,

“Lord Lloyd… am I useless?”

Tears welled in her eyes as she clung to me.

Ellis and Nero were in charge of combat. Nick was crafting containers. And she—she couldn’t do anything.

Unable to bear her own helplessness, Elna clenched her frustration silently.

“S-So I really am… just a burden?”

The tears she had tried so hard to hold back now fell freely, pattering onto the floor from her cheeks.

Because I had vowed to never make Elna cry again.

Because the only thing I could offer was guidance—

“Elna, it’s time to master it.”

I placed my hand gently on her head, hoping to reassure her.

“Time to master… what?”

Elna tilted her head with a puzzled look.

“Yes. Your talent lets you bypass all the unnecessary steps in potion-making!”

“I… I can be useful? I can still stay in the guild?”

As she looked into my eyes, filled with unshaken belief, a faint glimmer returned to hers—like two lights resonating in harmony.

“Of course. I need you, Elna.”

As I said that, Elna abruptly turned away from me.

For some reason, her face turned red, and after a bit of fidgeting, she gave a small, silent nod.

“O-Okay…”

“…?”

Wait… did I say something wrong?

Worried by how Elna still refused to face me, I turned back to Rena and asked,

“Miss Rena, earlier, you called her ‘just a child,’ didn’t you?”

“Yes. I don’t believe someone who hasn’t even come of age can produce potions.”

Her stance hadn’t changed.

To be fair, it was impossible for Elna to brew potions.

She lacked the necessary experience, knowledge, and most of all, her 【Magic Manipulation】 was only C-rank, an insufficient level for proper potion-making.

However, if she could grow here, and if Rena lent her support, the outcome could change dramatically.

“Elna possesses a natural talent for alchemy. But unless you help her, that talent won’t bloom.”

I said this and gave Rena a deep bow.

“Please… lend Elna your knowledge.”

“W-Wait—Mr. Lloyd?!”

Caught off guard by my sudden bow, Rena looked flustered.

Elna, following my lead, bowed her head quietly beside me.

“I… I’m asking you too.”

“Elna…”

The fact that Elna used polite speech—something she rarely did—showed how serious she was about this.

Moved by her sincerity, Rena finally gave a reluctant nod.

Next→