The next day right around noon, a large crowd was gathered around the training ground that Crimson Raid was using. These people were both part of the guild, but at the same time, lots of bystanders were gathered by the spectacle that was unfolding before their eyes.
“Kuh… darn it. Stop trying to act all cool!!”
A renowned member of Crimson raid was desperately trying to catch his breath and not collapse under the weight of his own armor.
“Hey, Byron.”
“Oh. It’s you, Victoria.”
Amongst the people on the sidelines, Victoria just arrived back to the guild and decided to approach Byron who was watching the spectacle. Since she wasn’t here from the start she wasn’t aware what was happening so she wanted to be brought up to speed.
“Is that her? The Former Sword Saintess?”
“You got that right. That’s her. And the rumors about her aren’t exaggerated at all. She really is… a monster.”
Leona was casually sitting in the middle of their training arena and apparently was reading a book. And at her feet… most of the top members of the guild were lying unconscious on the ground.
“Damn! This ain’t over!! Pay attention to me!”
The man who was still standing and managed to finally catch his breath rushed towards Leona with all his might.
“Ugh. You really can’t judge the difference between us? How many handicaps do you want me to give you?”
Leona was not wielding her mighty sword, but instead she used just a plain wooden sword while all her opponents were wielding real weapons. She casually dodged the man with minimal movements, twirled around and struck the back of his neck, sending him crashing on the ground.
“I… I’ve never seen such movements. Just… what’s going on here?”
“Well, Victoria, the guys got a bit excited when the she arrived and wanted to see how they stand against her. The result is the pile of bodies you see.”
“And what about you?”
“What, you kidding? I value my own butt. I’m not crazy as to challenge someone like her.”
While the two of them were having this light conversation, the sound of someone clapping and approaching the venue could be heard.
*Clap**clap*
“As expected of you, miss Ironwill. You weren't once called the Sword Saintess for nothing. That was a brilliant display of skill!”
The one that approached Leona was none other than the guild leader, Julius Rodenburg.
“Is that so? Thanks, I guess.”
In truth be told, she gently instigated this conflict. This was all part of her newly acquired husbands’ plan. She had to act like this. These are the instructions she received and did her best to memorize. And now that Julius is making the move, it was time for her to proceed with act II of this elaborate play.
“Allow me to officially welcome you into Crimson Raid. Together, let’s aim for the top!”
Julius did not manage to issue her a proper welcome. Since when she arrived her duty was to first greet the feudal lord of the city before anything else. And of course, her fight with Magnus delayed her another day.
But leaving that aside as Julius extended his hand to give her a handshake, Leona looked at it with disgust and…
*Slap*
She slapped his hand away.
*Gasp!*
Not only Julius, but everyone present couldn’t comprehend the meaning of that gesture.
“Keep your hand to yourself. After having the time to analyze this place, I came to the conclusion that this guild is not fit for me. It’s weak. And I have no business with such a weak guild. I resign from Crimson Raid - effective immediately.”
“WHAAT!?”
Everyone was in shock as Leona’s words started an uproar.
“Miss Leona… you have a funny sense of humor.”
“Do I look like I'm joking right now?”
Julius then started whispering.
“What’s the meaning of this? Miss Leona, do you know how much money I spent to bring you here? We had an agreement.”
“That’s not my problem. I am fully aware that the deposit of 5 million eris that I made won’t be returned if I do this. So go ahead and keep it. Like I said, I have no business being part of a weak guild.”
Julius clenched his fist. In order for guilds to be officially respected, you can’t just join and leave when you feel like it, so each guild will require a collateral upon joining. A deadline is also set. If you stay with the guild until that deadline, the money you left as collateral is returned. If you quit earlier, then the money becomes the guilds’ property. But the 5 million eris was a joke amount because Julius and his father have spent much more money in order to convince Leona to come here.
“Miss… Leona. As the guild master of Crimson Raid I can’t allow that remark. You say you can’t stay because we are weak? Please don’t judge the entire guild based on these people you fought. Ask anyone around you, and they all will say that Crimson Raid is the strongest guild in this region.”
“I see. Then is it okay if I judge the guild based on you and your party, guild master?”
Julius had no idea where this was going. But seeing that Leona didn’t break her demeanor, he could only reflexively answer “Yes!”
“In that case, you too are weak.”
“On what basis are you making such accusations?”
Bingo. That’s the line she waited for. Leona gently pulled out a few folded papers that she kept nier her belt.
“These are all quests you took these past weeks, are they not? They were all reported to have failed.”
Julius started to panic. Byron and Victoria also made distress faces from the audience.
Darn it. I thought I clearly told the Church not to display those. I know these are publicly available but… (Victoria)
These were the documents that Magnus asked Rose to provide. What was written there was the truth.
“Now that I think about it, Julius’s party did come back in a rather bad shape whenever they came from a quest.” (Member A)
“Yeah. Leona might be right here. I joined this guild because they promised to make me stronger but I don’t feel like I’m improving as I used to.” (Member B)
“Hey, come to think of it, isn’t it weird, guys? You remember Julius’s brother? Everyone said he was weak and had no hope, but… it feels like all this started to happen the moment he was kicked out.” (Member C)
“Hmm? You might have a point. I mean… although it’s hard to believe that would be the case, but didn't Julius always bring him with them even in the most dangerous missions? Just what the hell did they make that poor kid go through?” (Member A)
This was bad for Julius. At first it was just the spectators, but now even the guild members started doubting the guild. However it was the truth. Without Magnus, they didn’t manage to complete a single quest. They would often lose themselves in labyrinths. The torches they used barely lit the area in front of them and the monsters they fought seemed harder to deal with. This was all due to Magnus. Magnus was always in charge of perfectly navigating dungeons, lighting their way with basic light magic that even a level 1 human could use and of course, coming up with the most efficient strategy to deal with the monsters. Without all those elements, their efficiency has dropped considerably.
Just what the fuck is going on!? This wasn’t supposed to happen! My shitty brother has nothing to do with this. We’re the strongest there is. Why is everyone doubting that? It was just sheer bad luck. Nothing more!
“Grrr… If we were truly weak then we wouldn’t have the support of the Church!! That’s right! The Church doesn’t just invest in anyone! You should know that!” (Julius)
“And why should I care about what some religious cult I have absolutely no affiliation with thinks? You’re not worthy of my time. That’s all I have to say. You’ll find my resignation on your desk.”
“Hey wait!! This isn’t…”
As soon as Julius tried to chase and grab Leona’s shoulder, his arm was grabbed instead. Leona swung him over her head and quickly pinned him on the ground.
“For a guild master, you have way too many openings. Never try touching me again.”
And with that, Leona left. Julius was so baffled that he couldn’t even get up. But eventually his guild members came by his side.
Ah! That’s right. It doesn’t matter what that bitch said. I still have my friends. As long as we’re together we can overcome this.
But that wasn’t what happened. One by one, they all dropped their guild badges on the ground next to him.
“I’m quitting too.” (Member A)
“If Leona doesn’t approve of this place it’s clear I need to try my luck somewhere else.” (Member B)
“I came here to get stronger, but that’s not happening. Clearly this place was falsely advertised.” (Member C)
Julius couldn’t believe what was happening. What’s worse, Byron and Veronica were just sitting there shaking in their boots. How did this happen? Could the guild recover from this? Even if the Church were to support them, they can’t tell people what to think and given the number of witnesses… their reputation could not be fixed easily. Eventually something snapped inside Julius’s head, as he grabbed his hair, ruffled it and screamed from the top of his lungs:
“GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!”