I Became the Guild Leader in Exile

21 – 5# Lion King of the Valley (1)

The requests are usually ranked based on their level of danger. But since humans are the ones assessing these ranks, there are occasional mishaps where rankings are inaccurately assigned due to mistakes.

It was almost playful when a lower-ranked task was misjudged as higher. At least, if one prepared diligently, it wouldn’t usually lead to injury or death. The biggest issue lay in the opposite scenario.

In cases opposite, one might survive through sheer luck, but more often than not, lack of ability led to complete failure. Gideon’s heroes termed such requests as malignant tasks.

“The Lion King of the Valley.”

“Yeah, things are chaotic over there now?”

“…It reminds me of the past.”

At that time, Zeke was still an apprentice in the guild, unable to handle requests solo. If only he had three more years, maybe he could have resolved the issue of the Lion King of the Valley tribe.

The task everyone avoided, deemed malignant.

The request for the Lion King of the Valley.

Excerpt from ＜Welcome to the Guild of Exiles!＞ – Volume 4, page 2.

* * *

The chilly breeze of spring disappeared completely, giving way to the scorching sunlight of summer. Surprisingly, there had been no incidents whatsoever during this time. Isaac found it peculiar.

In the original work, the Hades Guild was a dominant faction imposing their laws with a strict survival-of-the-fittest logic. But challenging them was akin to confronting them with an iron shield.

Isaac couldn’t be unaware of this. He naturally assumed that the Hades Guild would have sent someone to condemn. Yet, as time passed, nothing happened at all.

“It’s odd. They wouldn’t be this quiet.”

Nox felt the same way. Being concealed from the Hades Guild, he was more than a match for them in terms of sheer influence. But why this silence?

Should I make the first move from this side? No, that wouldn’t align with Isaac’s concept of treating guild members like family. At that time, Isaac was grappling with internal conflict.

“Hey, mind if I interrupt?”

Sophia opened the door and entered. As Isaac was about to greet her, he noticed the parchment in her hand. It bore the emblem of the Hades Guild. Ah, finally!

“Is this a declaration of war from the Hades Guild!”

“What? No, it’s not…”

“Daring to touch family. They’re asking for total annihilation.”

“Listen to me, please!”

Sophia’s outburst eventually silenced Isaac’s antics. With a swollen lump on his head from the bumping, he unfolded his arms and spoke.

“So, the Hades Guild has designated us for a task.”

“Yes.”

“May I see it for a moment?”

“Here it is.”

The parchment from Sophia held the name “Lion King of the Valley.” In essence, it entailed dealing with lions residing in a valley in the northeastern part of the Micah Kingdom.

“Hunting lions. Not monsters, but literal lions?”

“I don’t really know, but wouldn’t it be a common request for a C-rank?”

On the surface, the request to escort his daughter to a safe territory was classified as a D-rank quest. C-rank quests could be considered the most basic tasks for heroes, such as exterminating ordinary magical beasts.

“Actually, I already know everything!”

The Lion King of the Valley is the main story of the fourth volume. However, it is a very dark story with no apparent partner. This is because it is a part that highlights the darkness of the Gideon heroes in earnest.

But spoiling it goes against Isaac’s own beliefs. He tried to maintain an unknowing expression as naturally as possible. Sophia sighed and spoke.

“Listen. I understand that Hades isn’t pleased, but expressing it openly isn’t a good choice.”

Sophia saw this as Hades’ advice. Resolve this request, pretend not to know, and close your eyes. Of course, Sophia was not so humble as to submit to the strong, but she was not so foolish as to be unable to read the situation. Reluctantly, she bit her tongue.

“It’s better to bow your head for now. You have to wait for the right moment.”

“Once you bow your head, it’s forever.”

“Oh, you stubborn master. Please!”

“But I find this request intriguing.”

“Why? Are you going with Zeke again this time?”

Isaac nodded. Sophia let out a sigh. She was relieved that he was at least doing this much. Sophia gave Isaac some parchment and went back down.

“If it’s a lion extermination, it shouldn’t cause any problems.”

Thinking so carelessly.

—

A carriage was both a means of transportation and a sign of a guild’s status. In the case of large guilds that valued splendor, they sometimes used golden carriages that could be pulled by the emperor of the empire.

They also used silver carriages pulled by winged horses. Depending on the size of the guild, carriages came in various shapes and colors. However, depending on the size of the guild, there were cases where the carriage was either unimpressive or nonexistent.

In the case of the Iron Shield, it was a newly established guild. Unfortunately, the guild did not own a carriage. Of course, there was enough money to purchase one, but the biggest problem was the maintenance cost.

“To manage horses, we need stables and stable hands. Of course, we have the money, but isn’t the situation a bit difficult right now?”

At the moment, the Iron Shield was openly showing its defiance to Hades. For some reason, Hades’ guild was quiet at the moment. However, it was unknown when and where they might suddenly change and impose some sanction.

In preparation for that, Sophia suggested saving as much money as possible, and Isaac, thinking Sophia’s suggestion was reasonable, agreed. The result was the current cargo carriage.

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

Right now, Isaac and Zeke were not using a guild-owned carriage, nor did they borrow one. They were riding on a merchant’s cargo carriage. Because a significant amount of money was spent to rent the carriage, Isaac chose to ride a cargo carriage to save money. Of course, it also served as an escort for the merchants.

The Mikes Kingdom was quite a distance from Gideon. Of course, one could suspect that they deliberately sent Isaac far away and during that time, the Iron Shield might be attacked.

But unequivocally, Hades Guild would not do such a thing. True to their claim of survival of the fittest logic, they were individuals who would never bend to break anything head-on in any situation.

“Thanks to that, the protagonist ended up being completely overwhelmed.”

While some may curse the Hades Guild as foolish, Isaac couldn’t curse the Hades Guild. After all, they were somewhat like him. As a concept enthusiast, he couldn’t curse their beliefs.

“What kind of place is the Kingdom of Mikes?”

“It’s a place where technology has developed based on abundant iron ore.”

“Did you request it because you couldn’t subdue the lions there?”

Zeke’s question was quite reasonable. How could they, with the power of a nation, not subdue a pack of lions? It was only natural to be suspicious. Isaac nodded.

“That’s why you need to examine the request closely.”

“It means there’s a hidden agenda, like the first request.”

“Exactly. Glad you figured it out on your own.”

“hehehe…”

Isaac stroked Zeke’s head with a satisfied smile. Perhaps it was because of the warmth. The girl unconsciously enjoyed Isaac’s touch, smiling blissfully. Soon, he withdrew his hand.

“We’ll be arriving soon.”

“That place…?”

“Yes, Nemea Fortress located in the northeast of the Kingdom of Mikes.”

Nemea Fortress was, as the name suggested, a fortress named after a valley. Zeke raised the fluttering tent to get a glimpse of the fortress. A massive fortress wall welcomed them in true fortress fashion.

“It’s a bit different from what I saw in Salen.”

“Any fortress would be impolite to compare with Salen.”

“Because of Behemoth, resources overflowed.”

Nemea Fortress ruled as the ultimate guardian controlling the entrance to the valley. The tightly closed gate opened, and Isaac and Zeke entered naturally along with the merchants.

“…”

However, despite the majestic appearance of the fortress, the interior was in complete disarray. Broken weapons rolled on the floor, and those who couldn’t be accommodated in the infirmary were scattered nearby.

“It’s similar to the corpses I saw in the village.”

Surprisingly, Zeke calmly observed the scene. It was no different from the corpses he had seen in his hometown. No, it might even be better now. At least they hadn’t lost their lives.

“Master, I understand a bit now.”

“What did you realize?”

“The cut edges are clean, like they were cut with a knife.”

No beast’s claw or tooth could create such clean cut edges. However, most of their wounds were incisions caused by sharp blades. The meaning behind it was clear.

“The lions in the valley are not real lions; they’re people.”

It was strange from the beginning. A C-rank danger rating for merely subduing lions, not even monsters. But now, it made sense. The opponents were not ordinary lions. Isaac could only nod in agreement with the perfect answer.