Ryuu didn't hold any personal grudge against Catherine.

He did have some grievances against the veteran adventurers who were members of this city's Adventurer's Guild, but those had mostly been resolved.

As for the Mimul Adventurer's Guild, he had some resentment, but he hadn't started this whole thing with the intention of holding a grudge against the entire organization, including the guild headquarters.

Of course, he was dissatisfied with how this situation had been left unattended for so long. He thought it might be better if the Adventurer's Guild, which had become entangled in privileges and corruption over the years, were to disappear.

Thus, Ryuu decided to pose a fundamental question to Catherine: "Does the Adventurer's Guild have a reason to exist?"

After all, what was the role and significance of the Adventurer's Guild?

Ryuu heard Catherine's thoughts on the matter, but he found some aspects agreeable and others not.

Catherine emphasized the role of adventurers as the city's defense force. However, Ryuu pointed out that adventurers weren't city guards. They weren't employed by the city or the nation. While they might be hired temporarily, it was always on a contract basis, with payment. They didn't have a constant obligation to protect the city or nation.

Catherine countered by saying that in a war, adventurers were needed. However, Ryuu asserted that it was the adventurers' right to refuse to participate in a war unless the reward was satisfactory. (There were countries that imposed conscription duties on adventurers, but those were mostly authoritarian nations that prohibited free movement. Otherwise, adventurers would simply flee.)

Adventurers were ultimately driven by individual interests. There weren't any adventurers who would protect people without considering personal gain. Those who wanted to do such work with pride should become guards instead.

Catherine argued that if the Merchant's Guild took over the tasks previously handled by the Adventurer's Guild, adventurers would only act for profit, which was dangerous. But Ryuu countered that it was natural for adventurers to be motivated by profit.

Adventurers clearing dungeons—and sometimes assisting with maintaining city security upon request—did so because it was profitable, because they were paid. They weren't engaging in charity work.

In other words, the nature of adventurers was fundamentally close to the philosophy of the Merchant's Guild.

So, why did the Adventurer's Guild system exist?

If they truly wanted to rebuild the Adventurer's Guild, shouldn't they consider that? Ryuu asked.

The origin of the Adventurer's Guild was said to be retired adventurers establishing an organization to support active adventurers.

They should return to that origin, Ryuu asserted.

The current Adventurer's Guild had existed for a long time and, in the process, had accumulated privileges, with those seeking to protect them becoming increasingly prevalent. Many corrupt individuals, engaged in bribery and other forms of embezzlement, were rampant.

The Guild had become an organization that controlled and exploited adventurers instead of supporting them.

If it continued as such, it would only be a matter of time before the organization crumbled, Ryuu declared. The Merchant's Guild, which operated purely based on profit and loss, was inherently more suited to the nature of adventurers.

As long as the current state of affairs persisted, where joining the Adventurer's Guild meant only being exploited within a system of entrenched privileges, no matter how many ideals were presented, the adventurers who had left wouldn't return.

...

However, Ryuu wasn't completely denying the existence of the Adventurer's Guild. He didn't believe it was a purely evil organization that needed to be destroyed. The Guild must have served a purpose when it first emerged.

They should return to that purpose, not acting superior but genuinely helping and supporting adventurers. Eventually, adventurers would return.

Ryuu offered his cooperation if they were to take such action. He had no obligation to help the Adventurer's Guild, but after bringing up the issue, it was only natural to follow through. After all, Ryuu was ultimately the one who had triggered this situation, and he felt some guilt about the hardship it might cause others.

Catherine agreed to consider it, and the discussion ended there. Later, she promised that she would fully accept Ryuu's views and operate as an organization that sincerely supported adventurers.

...

...

...

―　―　―　―　―　―　―　―

Catherine decided to embark on rebuilding the Adventurer's Guild.

First, she reported the current situation and her proposed improvements to the guild headquarters. However, the response was a "formal appointment of Catherine as the Master of the Mimul Adventurer's Guild."

This wasn't a promotion based on Catherine's achievements. It was the opposite. It was a demotion, a transfer to a remote outpost of the guild—a declining one at that—for Catherine, who had been working at the headquarters. It was likely seen as a punishment for her actions, a move to distance her from the headquarters.

That was understandable.

"Reforming the structure of the Adventurer's Guild, which is riddled with privileges, to return to its true purpose."

Catherine's proposal seemed fantastic at first glance. No one could openly object to it. But for the “people in the guild's upper echelon who were immersed in privileges,” it was simply a matter of, "Don't say anything unnecessary."

Of course, Catherine was aware of the consequences.

She could have simply made a safe report, appointed some random adventurer in the city as the Master, and returned to headquarters. However, Catherine, with her honest nature, couldn't abandon the guild she had become involved with.

If left as it was, the Mimul Adventurer's Guild would likely collapse sooner or later.

Even if they requested the headquarters to send a Master, they didn't have an abundance of talent.

Only people who had been demoted would likely be sent to a guild in a remote, backwater town. Or perhaps, they wouldn't send anyone at all, leaving Catherine as the acting Master indefinitely.

If that was going to be the case, she might as well do it herself. After all, any argument lacked credibility without proof.

She would revive this dilapidated Adventurer's Guild in this backwater town. It was a challenging task, but Catherine found a certain sense of fulfillment in it.

...

...

...

Catherine had officially become the Guild Master and promised to return to a sincere guild operation.

Ryuu, in turn, pledged his full cooperation. He had used his Divine Eyes to discern that Catherine was feeling like she'd been dealt a bad hand, but she was still looking ahead without any complaints or whining. Ryuu liked her for it.

Ryuu was partly responsible for Catherine being pushed into this unfavorable position. While he didn't feel accountable for the personnel decisions made by the guild headquarters, he still felt a sense of guilt.

First, Ryuu changed the arrangements for material purchases, completely outsourcing them to the Adventurer's Guild.

He also returned the Dungeon Core he had taken and reactivated the dungeon.

News of the dungeon's revival would draw adventurers to the city soon enough.

The Adventurer's Guild decided to provide adventurers with maps and safety guidelines for the dungeon, as well as focus on supporting low-ranking adventurers and newcomers.

...

...

...

Catherine asked if Ryuu would consider taking on a leadership role for this new initiative.

Ryuu immediately declined.

She then asked if he would take on "requests" for support for new parties. To that, he replied that he might be willing to do so occasionally.

However, he added that it wouldn't be particularly meaningful, and he actually wished he was the one being taught.

Ryuu was, after all, a novice when it came to adventuring. He had been an adventurer for three years but had only ever gathered herbs.

He had only been hunting using his overwhelming, cheat-like abilities after his past life and reincarnated memories returned. He was ignorant of the necessary precautions and know-how that normal adventurers needed.

Ryuu said he might be able to take on the role of a herb-gathering instructor. He intended it as a joke, but seeing Catherine's enthusiastic response, he realized he had made a mistake…