Protagonist Knows Everything - Chapter 53

In my previous life, everyone was excited for the Lunar New Year festival for some reason. But that very day a letter came. An official letter that asked us to prepare for a tax audit. I even faxed the agency to see if the letter was legit or not.

At that time, the employees wore the same distressed expression as Sain right now.

“Hmm.”

Sain put down the official letter stamped with the guild association.

And she said, rubbing her eyes as if she was getting tired by the second, “An auditor from the association is coming.”

At those words, the staff started glancing at each other. Most of them were confused expressions not knowing what was going on.

Amidst that I said, “Does the association have the authority to audit guilds?”

“They have that authority but at the same time they don’t.”

“Yeah?”

“The guild was established under the guild of the three emperors of the empire. The Demon King fell, and he needed an organization to deal with the various monsters he summoned from the Demon World.”

It wasn’t time to study history, but I decided to listen silently.

“At first, the mercenaries operated under the direct control of the emperor, but that later changed. The monsters are generally located near the Lost territory…”

(TN: Before the establishment of the guilds the adventurers were just regular mercenaries.)

“It became quite inefficient for the emperor to manage them.”

“But… it was dangerous to leave it to the local lords. They might amass military might under their direct command while using monsters as an excuse.”

Due to those circumstances the guilds were created. But if left alone then the adventurers may have run wild. So someone had to put a check on it.

And to oversee them, the guild association was established.

“In other words, the association is a semi-autonomous organization. Honestly, so many years have passed without the association doing something like this with our guild that now it feels as if we’re independent.”

“……”

“Anyway…. for all the guilds associated with the association to function properly and for being a semi-autonomous organization, it has the authority to inspect the guilds whenever they please.”

The look of the employees darkened. After that I read the letter once again.

Four days later, the auditor was supposed to visit and look at the post-war process of the acquisition of this guild. Since the acquisition itself was approved and proceeded, there is no problem.

The reason for the auditor’s appearance in the association was not the takeover, it was to find the reason behind the sudden unemployment of so many Wyvern guild’s exclusive adventurers.

Sain spoke in a soft tone to ease the tension between the staff.

“There is no need to worry. They are just trying to investigate the sudden downfall of the Wyvern Guild.”

“……”

“That’s all for this meeting. Thank you everyone.”

That’s how the morning meeting ended. After the meeting I was feeling rather uneasy. What is it? I feel like I am missing something…

As I was looking around in search of that something I heard Elena’s voice.

“Mr. Tay. Are you looking for Sister?”

“No. Well?… Ah!”

Come to think of it, It was Kasha. She’s what I was looking for. There aren’t any quests for Kasha today.

Then Elena said with a bashful smile, “Sister often oversleeps these days.”

“……”

“Wh- Why are you making that face?”

It seems that ‘oversleep’ reminded me of the curse that Kasha was inflicted with not long ago.

I replied, stroking my chin, “Because her timing and attendance is really poor.”

“Huh? You said that she didn’t have to come here every morning.”

“More than that, Mr. Tay. How about this?”

She asks, turning her head slightly while running her fingers through her hair.

This kid sure knows how to handle situations, she might prove to be a great asset. She changed the topic just like that.

How is it? What is the intention of the question? Fortunately, when I was searching for the right answer, Elena answered it herself.

“This haircut looks nice right?”

Was it cut? I was looking for something like an accessory.

“I see.”

“My sister cut it. Sister’s skill is something else, isn’t it?”

When Elena said that, the guild door was flung open….. as usual. And the same as always, it was Kasha who apparently can’t differentiate a door from an enemy.

“Sorry! I am late!”

I replied with a soft smile without my knowledge, “It’s okay. Were you sleeping?”

“Ah. Well. Just what. Haha.”

Kasha ran up to me while ignoring my question and asked, “What were you two talking about?”

Your younger sister’s accessories… No, no, not that.

“About Elena’s hair. You cut it right?”

“Ah. Huh. Did you like it? I have always cut Elena’s hair since we were young.”, Kasha said while puffing up her chest.

Elena was fidgeting a bit but then she suddenly got closer to Kasha to whisper something.

“I told you not to whisper. It tickles.”

“……”

“……”

“Ah… yes. That….Okay. Thanks.”

I couldn’t hear their whispers.

After their whispering Elena turned to me, “Then I’ll go to work. Please share your words well.”

Elena left off in a hurry after saying that. Kasha suddenly crouched down and looked up at me.

“Well. Good morning Tay.”

‘What’s this all of a sudden?’

“You know. So I was thinking… uh would you…..?”

“Ah… I was wondering what happened to your aphasia.”

“No it’s not like that! It’s because I thought Tay’s hair was getting a bit long.”

“……”

Then she glanced while drawing closer and said, “Shall I cut it?”

“Can you do that?”

“Huh. Sure! Of course I can do that!”

“Okay, then let’s do it in the evening.”

At that, Kasha smiled and said, “Okay. Thank you Tay.”

‘Shouldn’t I be the one thanking you?’

****

Time passed really quickly and it was already evening.

When I entered the small meeting room, Kasha was pouting as she said, “Sit here.”

“Oh… uh Thank you.”

“You just wait and I will show you how skilled I am.”

As I sat down, Kasha wrapped a fabric around my neck and lifted her scissors.

I didn’t care much about my hairstyle, nor did I have much experience with hair dressers. But even I could tell that Kasha was really skilled with her scissors. She carefully, but skillfully, cut off my hair little by little.

[Snip. Snip.]

Kasha didn’t utter a single word while cutting my hair. You could say that she was focusing really hard. If it were someone else then I would have no problem. But a quiet Kasha made me rather uneasy.

To break the silence I asked a rather light question.

“About what I asked this morning. Are you going to sleep late these days?”

Kasha replied, While keeping her focus intact.

“Slightly.”

“You’re feeling okay right?”

I had a bit of doubt even though the records stated that her condition was okay.

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

“……”

“The reason I sleep late these days is because I’m studying.”

“Studying?”

I couldn’t imagine someone like Kasha studying.

“You still need to study at your level?”

I was really confused, Kasha wasn’t just a genius but also an A-plus adventurer.

“Hehehe. Thank you. But no matter what my rank is, even I can get stuck at some places.”

“Tell me.”

“Well… I still can’t handle water mana well.”

At that, I bent my head slightly.

“Ah! Don’t move!”

“Water mana? You said that you understood how it worked after your fight with Braum.”

(TN: Tay and Kasha’s first mission.)

“I did. But it just got stuck again.”

I brought up this topic because I was bored, but now it feels like I am having a really important discussion.

No, that’s only natural. As Kasha is Hagnut guild’s most important adventurer it’s only natural to have discussions regarding her growth.

“Can’t you feel water mana anymore?”

“No.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Ugh. It’s not like that……”

Kasha replied as if I was threatening her.

“I can still feel water mana but it’s hard to control. I need to handle it really carefully.”

“……”

“It’s dangerous if you handle it carelessly without knowing it well. So, I’ve been focusing on the theory for the last few days.”

It felt good to see Kasha taking proper precautions. Celia mentioned it before. Kasha wasn’t the type who’d need theory, she just used to do things based on how it felt. And most of the time it worked.

But I couldn’t imagine someone like Kasha focusing on the theory of magic and learning it step by step. As I was thinking, I called out the register.

And found Kasha’s details.

[Concerns: I wonder if I’ll make a big mistake if I don’t do this properly.]

‘A big mistake huh?’

Yeah, that’s exactly how it must’ve felt.

When the smart guy isn’t able to solve a math problem easily then he starts researching the subject even more. And eventually it might tumble down into obsession. If you can’t find a solution then you start questioning your self-worth and your own abilities. If that happens then it won’t be good for Kasha.

Without thinking any further than that I opened my mouth.

“Shall I make you feel it once again? Water mana?”

“Huh?”

“Maybe I can help you with that a bit…”

Then Kasha started fidgeting a bit while simultaneously flailing her hands.

‘Be careful. You are holding scissors.’

“No. I- I want to do it alone!”

“It’s never a shame to get help.”

“But if I keep relying on Tay always then…” Her voice got softer till it was nothing more than a whisper. “It gets harder and harder. To speak confidently.”

“Huh? What do you want to say with that much confidence?”

“Tay needs me.”

Having said that, she suddenly started moving her scissors twice as fast as before.

I chewed over what Kasha had said moments before.

“Kasha.”

[Snip!]

“Ah!”

Then unexpectedly Kasha made a loud and unsettling sound.

“I cut it wrong.”

“……”

“It’s never happened to me before, but… Wow, it’s okay, it still looks pretty good. I can still make up. If I trim this side a little more like this…”

Then I decided not to open my mouth until she was done. When I glanced at the mirror in front of me, for some reason I was wearing a calm smile. Making expressions like this. Maybe I still need some discipline.

****

(Next day)

I got to my office while repeatedly being complimented by the staff about my nicely cut hair.

I busied myself in gathering the proper paperworks and records for the upcoming audit and before I knew it, it was already lunch time. Kasha came to my office and we decided to get lunch together.

We were about to leave through the guild door. But then, the guild door opened and a person came in with a brisk walk.

“Is this the Hagnut Guild?”

‘Didn’t you read the big sign right outside the door?’

Habitually, I pulled up the records to check this person’s details.

[Name: Menain Gritin]

[Occupation: Adventurer]

[Rank: A]

Menain.

I remember hearing that name somewhere before.

While I was wondering where I had heard that name, Kasha exclaimed in a rather surprised voice from behind me.

“Oh! You, you are…!”

“Kasha? Good thing we met right away.”

Kasha moved a bit and glanced at Menain while taking a bit of cover behind me.

“Why are you here?”

Kasha spoke in a surprisingly cold tone, someone who knew Kasha would certainly be thrown off by that. After Kasha’s question I recalled who Menain was.

‘Aren’t you one of the adventurers who partied with Kasha before she came here?’

And the person who left her behind in a dungeon and ran away. Instead of sending a rescue squad this guy submitted a long report stating how Kasha died during the raid. When Kasha came back he was one of the guys who threatened her with Elena’s life.

People like these are everywhere aren’t they? Their kind pisses me off the most. People like them are nothing more than….

“Scum.”

Unexpectedly enough, those words left my mouth.

At my harsh remark everyone turned to me. I shrugged once and pretended as if nothing happened. And then I turned to Menain.

“Excuse me, but who are you? We are about to go out to eat now.”

Menain replied after clearing his throat once.

“Nice to meet you. I am Menain Gritin.”

“……”

“……”

“Seeing your reaction it seems that you’ve heard my name from Ms. Kasha.”

“I didn’t just hear your name. I also know what you did to Kasha.”

Kasha reluctantly nodded from behind me. Good thing Kasha is behind me right now, this guy’s eyes are piercing holes into me.

Without saying anything Menain just stood there and smiled.

Smile?

‘You guys aren’t in the position to smile right now.’

“I came here because I had a request.”

“Request?”

“Not you. That person.”

“Kasha. I have a request for you.”

Throughout my life, I’ve met a lot of people. A lot of them were annoying and constantly pissed me off.

‘Congratulations. I think you can be in the top ranks among all of them.’

“Request? You… want something from me? You?”

“Okay. First of all, I sincerely apologize for what happened before. I was young and immature back then.”

“You are just making excuses!”

Menain just waved his hand in denial. It was as if he had handled and comforted Kasha a lot like this.

“I know what I did was a bit wrong but can you pass it under the rug? We partied for quite some time right?”

“……”

“Do you remember when you came into the guild not knowing what adventurers are supposed to do? Then you asked the receptionist for the request with the biggest compensation.”

While saying that Menain shuddered a bit, perhaps he also remembered something unpleasant while speaking to Kasha.

“….”

He paused for a while and then continued speaking.

“That time you were so small that you couldn’t even reach the reception table.”

“……”

“At that time, not only the receptionist but all the adventurers present inside the guild laughed at you. Who was the one who helped you at that time?”

“….”

Kasha didn’t answer, she’s calm but obviously a bit shaken. Any normal person would be a bit shaken after meeting someone who threatened their lives.

Kasha’s calm demeanor is clearly not pleasing to Menain, he’s a bit frustrated. But at least he didn’t hurl false allegations after meeting Kasha.

Good.

But I think I have to address one thing here.

You don’t just come into our guild and try to coax someone into helping you, especially if you had threatened that someone before.

This guy’s very presence…. displeases me.