When Gelda entered her office, Helena was greeted by long legs crossed prominently on the desk.

Gelda was lying back in her chair, almost reclining, with a thin booklet covering her face.
“You’re a bit late.”

Even though Helena hadn’t identified herself, an answer came as if Gelda could see everything. The voice was quite muffled. It was unclear whether it was because it was blocked by the booklet or because she was drowsy.

Helena looked at the mud on the tip of Gelda’s boots and squeezed out a lame excuse.
“Ah… I got a little mixed up with Lily…”

“It’s fine.”
A hand covered in ink splotches waved once in the air. Gelda grunted and removed the booklet, sitting up.

“There’s no way that chatterbox would have just seen you and delivered the message. That tiny thing somehow knows what’s pretty and good, and subtly hides it.”
Cracking her neck from side to side, she smirked before running a hand through her hair. When her disheveled black hair had mostly found its place, her face similarly took on a serious expression.

“Anyway, I’ll get right to the point.”
Gelda nodded towards a chair in the corner opposite her desk. While Helena pulled up the chair to sit, Gelda spread out a map of Daylon Forest.

“There may be differences by region, but from now on is the breeding season for monsters in Daylon. If left unattended, it becomes a huge headache when they’re buried in snow or soil later, so we need to start removal work right away.”

“Then monster hunting…”

“That will naturally accompany the process. With prey walking into the forest on their own, you think those things will just sit still?”
Gelda slid her finger across the map, stopping to tap on the waist area of the forest.

“This weekend, we’ll start from the Delta zone. Of course, the deep areas will be deployed after the first half of the year’s habitat analysis is complete. I’ll let you know the details then, so study the monster grades in the meantime.”

Seemingly annoyed, Gelda started to stand up but instead turned her chair to the side. She stretched out her legs and kicked the bottom of the bookshelf forcefully.

A thick hardcover book that had been precariously inserted in the middle shelf fell with a thud. The book landed precisely on the space Gelda created by curling her shoe toe.

“Ha- Perfect.”
Gelda smiled with satisfaction at her own praise. She tapped the cover to roughly dust it off and handed the book to Helena.
⌜Monster Encyclopedia – Special Illustrations of Grade 1 Species⌟

Helena took it reflexively. It must have been quite heavy, as Helena’s hands sank down as soon as Gelda let go.

Helena scratched the cracked part of the cover leather with her fingernail for a moment before looking up.
“Am I also participating in the subjugation mission?”

At the quiet question, Gelda’s right eyebrow noticeably rose.
“Why else would I have called you? What, you don’t want to?”

“It’s not that… I just didn’t expect to be given such an important task so soon.”

“With those skills, why would I let you rot doing menial tasks day in and day out? That would be a huge loss for you, a loss. Do you think the guild is some charity, expecting me to just sit and watch such a loss?”

A sigh mixed with reproach escaped through Gelda’s teeth, as if she had expected this. She continued speaking while rolling up the map and fastening it with a thin metal ring.

“If you have power, you should know how to use it. Is it power if you just have it? It’s just a burden. So you should also, as much as possible…”

Meanwhile, Helena just stared down at the book.

Finding this strange, Gelda threw the rolled-up map into a distant container and brought her gaze back to the front.
“Or, don’t tell me you’re feeling burdened? If it seems a bit too much-”

“No.”
Helena hastily cut off Gelda’s words. Seeing this uncharacteristic behavior, Gelda kept her raised eyebrow frozen and closed her mouth.
Helena, raising her head, answered again in a calmer tone this time.

“I’ll start right away.”

Gelda’s expression facing her became peculiar. Gelda leaned back in her chair, interlocking her fingers and wiggling her index finger.

Not long after, Gelda let out a short nasal sound and abruptly stood up.
“Well. Since that’s your wish, I won’t deny it. But don’t act too hastily. This isn’t some rigid capital academy.”

“…?”

“There’s no need to strain yourself trying to prove anything.”

This time, Helena’s eyebrows twitched with puzzlement.

“But when I first came in…”

“Ah, sorry.”
Gelda, finally realizing the contradiction in her words, offered a quick apology along with a hollow laugh.

“Back then, I was just so curious about you and wanted to see more.”

Seeming embarrassed, Gelda rummaged through a drawer instead of meeting Helena’s gaze.

When her bent upper body rose again, there was a cigarette between her fingers.
Gelda grumbled while striking a match:

“Actually, if you stay here, you’ll see that our guild isn’t that rigid. It’s a bit annoying, but it’s natural to see it as a charity. It’s called a guild, but everyone without money or a home crawls in here… tsk. They even leave babies right at the door and leave.”

The last sentence was muffled as she spoke with the cigarette in her mouth, so it wasn’t clearly audible. But Helena vaguely sensed that it was about Lily.

“Anyway, it’s enough if you just show as much power as you have. That’s why this is a guild. It’s not about competing with each other, but about joining forces to form a pack. That’s the survival method here.”

Gelda exhaled smoke after finishing her words. A faint wrinkle formed between Helena’s brows. Gelda glanced at her from the corner of her eye and told her to go now.

Just then, Plam entered, and Helena stood up with the book tightly held to her chest, bowing her head once.

“Don’t scare her too much. You look like you’re going to eat her alive.”

“Shut up. The scariest-looking thing here is you, you.”

“What have I done to deserve that?”

Plam said with a light tone of complaint as he sat down in the chair. The chair, which hadn’t budged when Helena sat on it just before, made quite a large creaking sound.

At that sound, Gelda burst out laughing along with the smoke she had been holding in her mouth.

“How many times have you been wanted as a bandit this year alone? Count it again for me?”

With the cigarette between her teeth, she muttered, “Let’s see,” her voice full of laughter.

Her hands, busy searching the cluttered desk for wanted posters, were similarly amused. Plam grumbled about why she kept such things instead of throwing them away.

“People and their prejudices…”

He hunched his large frame into the chair as if cramming it in, resting his elbow on the armrest and propping his temple.

Gelda finally stopped joking and stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray.
“So why did you come? Don’t you know I’m a busy person?”

“How cold. I was just passing by when I heard a gruff voice about to break through the door, so I came in to check. Thought you might be devouring someone again.”

“Mind your own business, I told you I’ll handle everything.”

“How many have left so far because of that? It’s hard to believe, really.”

“I don’t need those who can’t even endure that much!”

Gelda, with veins popping on her forehead, threw a heavy file of documents. Plam, as if expecting it, naturally blocked it with one hand.

At the perfect defense, an irritated groan escaped through Gelda’s teeth. She stood up with a fierce energy and collapsed her body onto the large sofa occupying one side of the room.

Plam glanced at her and asked casually:
“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

“Well, the cuckoo’s call was quite intense last night. Sometimes I wonder if that guy sends it on purpose.”

“You stop cuckoo-ing too. Let’s just get some sleep.”

After roughly organizing Gelda’s disorderly desk, Plam stood up too. He took slow steps as if he was about to leave the room, but suddenly turned back at the door.

“If the princess goes, the prince will naturally go too… So you’re preparing two, right?”

“Yes. Just turn off the lights and leave quickly.”

Gelda answered while covering her eyes with the back of her hand, then turned to lie on her side. As she tossed and turned a few times to find a comfortable position, Plam left, and she mumbled quietly at the end of a yawn:

“That kid… needs to be a bit… of a mess.”