The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 9 - Chapter 434.1

SIDE:

The Guild Master’s Wrath

GUILD MASTER ULIGA’S PERSPECTIVE

I STOPPED IN MY TRACKS when the church came into sight. Little by little, my memory was coming back to me.

Three years ago, I was following somebody into this church… Oh, that’s right, it was Vice-Captain Twill I was chasing! Yes, I tailed her into this church.

“But why was I in such a panic that time?”

Now I remember I was going to investigate that church. But…why did I want to do that?

“It’s no use. I can’t remember.”

“Huh?!”

Surprised that my inner thoughts had received a reaction, I turned to the sound of the voice and saw Nalgath looking at me worriedly. Then I remembered that his party had come with me and felt pathetic for losing track of my surroundings.

“I’m okay.”

Pull yourself together, Uliga.

“Guild Master…it’s not your fault.”

I shook my head. I was the guild master. I was in a position of power, and that meant all responsibility fell on my shoulders.

“Guild Master…”

“Let’s go.”

I started to walk again. Villagers were happily chatting at the church entrance.

“Nalgath, get all these people out of the church. There’s no telling what they’ll do.”

“I understand, sir. But…”

“But what?”

“I was just wondering how we might evacuate them without drawing suspicion, sir.”

Without drawing suspicion? Not happening.

“Don’t worry about it. Just get them out quick.”

“Huh?! Er, is that okay, sir? Word of it will spread like wildfire. The villagers will be worried and upset about it.”

He was right. I was going into the church as the guild master, not a private citizen. However…

“Rumors that Appas woke up are already going around. As far as our mastermind knew, Appas shouldn’t have recovered from his illness, but now he has recovered. So what’s their plan? They’re probably trying to gather intel. And how do you think they’d go about doing that?”

Those bastards had tried to murder Appas. They must have been panicking, knowing that he had woken up from his coma.

“I guess…it would be quickest for them to use the adventurers or watchmen under their spell, sir?”

“Exactly. Then, if they find out some of the adventurers have been freed from the spell, what do you think they’ll do next?”

“Oh!” Piarre gasped. “Do you think they’ve set a trap for us, sir?”

I nodded. “Can’t say it’s impossible, can you? And if they do set one, they’ll have to use a summoning circle.”

I wasn’t that much of an expert on summoning circles, so maybe my worries were unfounded. But I couldn’t rule out the possibility that they’d set a trap, and who could honestly say they wouldn’t use a summoning circle for it?

“Since we can’t predict their next move, we need to put them in custody as soon as possible. I don’t want there to be any more victims of summoning circles.”

“Got it, sir. I’ll get the people out of the church right away.”

Nalgath’s answer was a relief to hear. Now no villagers would be harmed if something happened here.

“Good afternoon, sir,” a villager standing by the church door greeted me with a smile. I bowed lightly and answered, “Please leave this place immediately. Something’s wrong here.”

“Huh?! But this is a church, sir.”

“I know that, but a problem has come up, and you must follow my orders.”

These people were devout worshippers, but I didn’t give a damn about that right now. The villager was wary of the situation, but one look at my face and they stopped breathing. Then they quickly called out to the other worshippers to leave the church, and they all scurried away together. I must have been making quite the menacing expression there. Well, I won’t apologize for that.

“Excuse me, but you must leave this church at once.”

Nalgath and his men stepped out from behind me into the church and called out to the people inside.

“What are you doing?! This is a church!” A white-haired clergyman scolded Nalgath and his men, but his face tensed when I set foot inside. I held him in the corner of my eye as I ordered all the villagers inside the church to evacuate. They were hesitant at first, but when they saw the look on my face, they promptly jumped out of the pews and scattered from the building.

“This is a church—the adventurer guild has no jurisdiction here! Leave this place at once! That’s an order!” The white-haired clergyman marched up to me, barking commands. I would have obeyed if I were still under the spell, but the spell was broken and my memory was coming back. And that’s how I knew. I knew that the way he was speaking to the master of the adventurer guild was very strange.

“What are you doing? I gave you an order! Leave!”

He never even considered that I might be free from the spell. He must’ve just been that confident in his spell-casting abilities, which meant that slime Sol’s powers were likely quite tremendous… Without Sol—without Ivy and her party—this village would have been finished.

“But the church struck first—it bared its fangs at the village, and you’ll pay for that.”

“What?!” The white-haired clergyman’s face morphed into shock.

“I’ve got my memory back. I might even remember what you did to me in this very place.”

“What… What utter foolishness. Nonsense!”

“You sure sound confident. I guess you cast an extra-powerful spell? But sorry, I remembered. That’s the truth.”

The white-haired clergyman—what was his name again? Was it three—no, five years ago that the capital officials sent this priest here? Or is he a bishop? I remember this guy casting the spell on me, but I still can’t remember who the hell he is. There’s still a gap in my memory.

“Everyone’s evacuated, sir,” Nalgath reported, standing at attention beside me.

“The use of summoning circles is illegal. Do you know that?”

“I… I don’t know anything about summoning circles.”

“You don’t?”

I shifted my eyes toward the back where the confessionary was. This church had three of them. Two had their doors open, but the one in the back was shut. When the white-haired clergyman noticed my gaze, the blood drained from his face. I’d told him I had my memory back, but he still didn’t seem to believe me. I could tell that his emotions were incredibly unsteady, though. Why was he so worried when he noticed I was looking at the confessionary? His eyes were darting about something fierce, too.

“That’s the room, right? The room where you brainwashed me.”

I walked toward the confessionary in the back. When I got close to it, another clergyman—one with blue hair—blocked the door. “When the door is shut, it means somebody is inside, sir. We cannot let you disturb them.”

I grabbed the clergyman’s shoulder and tossed him over to Arly.

“Agh!”

Arly caught the stumbling blue-haired clergyman and held him still while I raised my hand to the door.

Click.

It was locked and would not open.

“You’re scaring the people inside. Leave this place at once. I must protest this blasphemy!” The white-haired clergyman—the one not being held back by Arly—grabbed my shoulders and glared into my eyes. He probably thought he still had an angle, which pissed me off. So I gave the door a mighty kick.

“Don’t…!”

The door broke down with a crack. Then I saw it—a summoning circle, glowing with an otherworldly light.

“Damn!” The white-haired clergyman body-slammed me onto the ground. The force of the impact pushed me right inside of the very summoning circle which had distracted me.

“Do it!”

“Yes, Father.” The blue-haired clergyman touched the summoning circle with his hand, and the light flashed brighter.

“Guild Master! Arly, grab them!”

A blue light floated up from the summoning circle and bound me like a rope. That’s right… That’s what happened that day. A blue light rose up from the circle and tied me up like this. 

Consumed by an inexpressible terror from that realization, I writhed inside the summoning circle. But I couldn’t escape—the blue rope of light sank into my body… That’s right… That day, Matorry was with me…and they pushed me into the summoning circle. And then this blue rope of light…!

“Nalgath! Get back!”