I'm Daniel Macri, the master of Mimul Town's Adventurer's Guild.

I was once a B-rank adventurer. Don't get me wrong, I just didn't want to bother with the extra hassle that comes with being A-rank. I was A-rank in skill, though.

I retired from adventuring when I became guild master. From then on, I managed and guided the adventurers. Considering my long-standing contributions to the guild, I think I deserve some kind of recognition.

But what's this? A woman who claims to be an inspector from the headquarters suddenly appeared!

She says she came from headquarters to investigate after reports of inappropriate management in this guild.

Who the hell is spreading such vile rumors?! I'll find them and make them pay!

I told the receptionist to show the woman to the reception room and serve her tea, but she refused. Instead, she started inspecting the guild without even sitting down.

She's surrounded by a bunch of guild staff who seem to be pleading with her. They must be protesting that there's no reason for an inspection. They're good employees who care about their boss.

I think I hear some of them badmouthing me, but it must be my imagination.

Now the woman is inside the reception counter, checking the documents. The receptionist and other staff keep piling documents in front of her.

They're probably trying to prove that there's no wrongdoing. They're eager to show her the evidence, aren't they? The woman looks bewildered as she listens to their explanations. Serves them right.

I think I'm getting glared at by the woman and the staff from time to time, but it must be my imagination.

Then, the woman is about to enter the guild master's office to check the documents.

She can't just barge in like that! I rush to stop her, but for some reason, a bunch of staff members come and hold me down.

Then, another staff member helps the woman overturn the desk and shelves in the office.

What the hell are you doing?!?!?

Soon, the woman comes in front of me and starts complaining loudly that the sales of materials have drastically decreased over the past two to three months.

Don't worry, it's fine. Recently, that jerk Ryu has been interfering and getting adventurers to take jobs from the Commercial Guild. It seems that's why we have fewer jobs, but that's just a temporary setback due to Ryu's shallow thinking. In the long run, this is a strategic move for the greater good. You wouldn't understand, that's why you're a woman.

But even the sales of materials, as well as the number of accepted and completed requests, have been zero for the past week?!

That's impossible. What are you talking about?

Even if we had fewer jobs, it's unthinkable to have zero jobs.

Since it was evening and it was already dark, I told her we could continue the investigation tomorrow. It's a waste of magic stones for the lamp.

I said, "Alright, I'll clear out my office tonight so that you can easily investigate," but for some reason, I was forcefully kicked out.

For some reason, I wasn't even allowed to go home and was forced to stay at an inn. And I have to stay with the two adventurer men who came with the woman.

I have my own house in town! Why do I have to stay at an inn with two guys?!?!?

I tried to leave the inn and go home, but the men wouldn't allow me. These two are incredibly strong. A former B-rank adventurer like me can't move when they restrain me.

The next morning, I was brought back to the Adventurer's Guild.

It's been a while since I showed up at the guild this early in the morning. I usually come in much later and take it easy.

But what's this?

Something's wrong.

…This is bad.

The Adventurer's Guild in the early morning is usually packed with adventurers vying for good requests.

But when I opened the guild door, I saw an empty room and the receptionist alone at the counter waiting for adventurers.

What is going on?!

What, this has been the case for the past week?!

This is ridiculous. I was aware of the decline in jobs and lack of adventurers, but there's no way it would be zero.

Apparently, the woman inspector stayed up all night searching through the guild's files. Some staff members even helped her.

She came to me and said she was going to detain me on charges of various irregularities, bribery, embezzlement, power harassment, and so on. She even said I was suspected of murder. I have no idea what she's talking about.

She said that the formal punishment would be decided later after they gather more investigative materials, but for now, they would put me in the detention cell in the basement of the guild.

Why the hell should I go to such a place?!

I lost it.

Besides, she said she's an inspector from headquarters, but she might be a fake!

She showed me her guild card, but it could be a counterfeit!

That's right, it must be a fake!!

She's probably a scammer posing as an inspector, trying to infiltrate the guild and steal something.

When I shouted that, the guild staff looked at me with a mixture of disappointment and pity. Why?

Whatever, I'll capture the scammer, torture her, and make her confess. With my skills in torture, I can turn white into black.

Fortunately, the two adventurer men who came with the woman were gone. I could easily subdue a woman like her with my skills.

....................

A few minutes later, I was staring at the guild ceiling. My whole body aches. What happened?

…Right, the scammer woman was here.

I caught her…

…I must have killed her.

It's not uncommon to accidentally kill someone during capture.

It happens all the time. No matter who the woman is, dead men tell no tales.

If I do that, I'll be able to go back to my normal life…

…No, that's right…I remember.

That woman was something else.

I pulled out my dagger and attacked her.

But the woman dodged all of my lightning-fast strikes. On top of that, she countered and landed blows all over my body.

The last thing I saw was the sole of her shoe.

I guess I was kicked in the face and fell down.

Later, I heard that the woman was an A-rank adventurer. No wonder she was so strong.

Apparently, the two missing men went to investigate my house. They confiscated all sorts of things that I had extorted from adventurers.

........

Later, the woman told me that I would be removed from my position as guild master.

Furthermore, she said she would sue me for all the profits that the guild should have received. It was an astronomical amount of money.

All the extermination and collection requests that should have been brought to the Adventurer's Guild were sent to the Commercial Guild instead. If they had been brought to the Adventurer's Guild, we would have received commissions. There would have been profits from selling the materials brought in by the adventurers as well.

However, the amount was astronomically inflated because of the dragon materials Ryu had brought. If the guild had bought them, we would have made a profit of over 1 million G even if we sold them normally.

The Commercial Guild, which had bought the materials from Ryu, had sold them at the royal capital auction and made a profit of over 10 million G.

The woman said she would sue me for all the lost profits.

Apparently, they couldn't sue me for the auction sale price, so I was lucky there, but they said they would sue me for the minimum amount if the materials had been sold at the Adventurer's Guild.

If I can't pay, I'll be a debt slave.

They said I wouldn't be a criminal slave because there was insufficient evidence for murder, but I have no memory of committing murder. People who died in the dungeon were responsible for themselves. That's not murder. I was just giving advice to old adventurers that it's okay to abandon those who lack talent. It's just a way to survive.

All the money I had in my guild bank account was confiscated to cover the compensation. All my savings from my adventurer days, the “gifts” I had received from adventurers in exchange for favors, everything I had saved was gone.

Thanks to that, I managed to avoid becoming a debt slave. I still have a huge debt. It's enough to make me a slave normally, but the Adventurer's Guild hired me as a full-time slave, so I got away with not becoming a slave.

However, I'm bound by a contract magic spell, and I can't defy the guild's orders until I pay off my debt. My days are now filled with endless chores from morning to night.

Furthermore, I'm forced to take on requests that other adventurers don't want to do. It's tough to take on these requests with just a beat-up old armor and a cheap sword.

Slaves are guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter, but I'm just an employee, so I have no guarantees.

Everything of value in my house was forcibly sold, and I'm completely broke. Maybe I would have had a better life as a slave.

"Hey! Don't slack off! Have you finished cleaning the warehouse?"

"Yes, sir, I'll do it right away!"

At this rate, it will take me about 50 years to pay off my debt. Will I even be alive by then?!