I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 52: Saya Guild of Nuong

Saya Guild was located in a district called [Nuong].

“The place name sounds strange…”

Although it seemed like a joke, it was said to be an actual geographical name before humanity was driven to Ark by the Great Calamity.

The industrial sector of the city was managed by the Dawn Guild.

Earnest Rail oversaw the city’s overall distribution, including railroads and road routes connected to Ark.

Meanwhile, the Saya Guild was responsible for food supply, based on dairy farming.

Despite being in charge of food, a resource that could grant them significant leverage over other powers, it wasn’t a particularly critical issue for the mega-corporations.

Massive hovercrafts from Ark Headquarters transported food, and if bulk became a problem, people could make do with nutritional capsules instead of meals, even sacrificing taste.

Moreover, it was dairy farming.

Before bringing in livestock, pastures had to be created, which required eliminating all nearby monsters and dungeons.

If something like a Goblin Cave hid nearby and stole precious livestock, it would be a disaster.

Even after enduring such hardships and starting to raise livestock, it took considerable time to see results, as livestock needed to reproduce and grow to provide products of guaranteed quality.

Unlike the Dawn Guild’s mass-processing industries, the dairy farming handled by the Saya Guild required much time and effort to become a cornerstone for the city’s future infrastructure.

For now, the Saya Guild posed no immediate threat, and they seemed aware of this, refraining from aggressive territorial expansion.

It was no wonder people spoke of the onion-like rivalry between the mega-corporations Dawn Guild and Earnest Rail.

“Hmm, is this the place?”

The Saya Guild appeared less like a guild or a mega-corporation and more like a grand noble estate.

Of course, even though it was called an estate, it had a cyberpunk-style structure with magic engines and a tangled network of pipes, giving it the shape of a mansion.

Compared to nearby buildings, it stood out for its clean appearance and the use of seemingly expensive materials.

“Istvan 39-1, this must be the place.”

But it seemed a stretch to call it a corporation.

The districts of Dawn Guild and Earnest Rail lacked skyscrapers but featured vast industrial complexes and collective residential zones for employees.

In contrast, Nuong, where the Saya Guild was located, had few buildings at all.

It could only be described as a typical rural area.

-Knock, knock, knock.

Alice strode up to the mansion—no, the Saya Guild—and knocked on its door.

The wooden door produced a loud sound, followed shortly by the noise of footsteps rushing from inside.

-Thud!

“Oh, hello. Is this the Saya Guild…?”

Alice trailed off mid-sentence.

Given their outward activity in the world, one would typically assume it to be a guild of seasoned and serious Hunters, but the ones who opened the door for Alice were seven young girls.

“……!”

“Wow!”

“Woohoo!”

“Whoa!”

The girls all had slightly different faces, but they shared similar lengths of black hair and black eyes, which sparkled as they looked at Alice.

“A friend is here!”

One of the girls exclaimed, causing Alice to halt her steps into the Saya Guild.

“No! It’s a guest!”

“A friend! A new friend!”

“I said it’s a guest!”

“No, it’s a hand thief!”

“No, it’s a friend thief!”

“Huh? What’s a friend thief?”

“My friend is Craypas.”

“Craypas is red mismatched.”

“Re-red-red flavor… I’m curious, honey.”

“My shoes are mismatched.”

The girls began marveling at Alice, scanning her from top to bottom, and then started arguing among themselves.

Faced with the stream-of-consciousness chatter of the girls, Alice kept her mouth shut.

‘Hmm, well, they’re children, so it’s understandable.’

【What is this conversation even about, human? My logic circuits are rejecting it. Unable to comprehend. Red doesn’t have a flavor. It doesn’t even seem like a joke. What does ‘red mismatched’ even mean? This is incomprehensible.】

However, Auxiliary AI Theresa seemed to have suffered mental damage from the girls’ chatter.

“Children, you shouldn’t behave like this toward a guest.”

“Eek!”

“Guild Master!”

“Master!”

“Great Master!”

“Tag! You’re it!”

“Monster bite!”

“Glow-in-the-dark Guild Master!”

“Whoa, glow-in-the-dark monster is awesome!”

“Kyaaah! Run away!”

-Thud, thud, thud!

-Bang, bang, bang!

-Bee-boop!

At that moment, with the voice of a woman, the children scattered in all directions in a frenzy.

Their escape was far from ordinary.

The children, wearing squeaky shoes, had mana flowing through their arms and legs, allowing them to move faster than human reflexes could track, running along walls or ceilings with incredible speed.

A woman descending the stairs presented a calm and mature impression, unlike the chaotic girls.

“You must have been taken aback by our guild members. I am Sohi Nobion, the head of the Saya Guild’s Jain Branch.”

“What should I call you?”

“I prefer just Sohi. The children calling me ‘Guild Master’ all day is more than enough.”

Indeed, with the children still clinging to door cracks and stair railings, repeatedly whispering “Guild Master! Guild Master!” the term itself could surely become nerve-wracking.

Incidentally, the Saya Guild, restructured for external ventures, didn’t rely on a single Guild Master.

Instead, like a corporation, it distributed authority and shares among multiple guild leaders.

Sohi, originally a high-ranking guild official, became a Guild Master during the reorganization, essentially functioning as an executive.

“So, what brings a charming young lady like yourself here? If you’re here to purchase Saya Guild’s milk and cheese, the best time is this weekend…”

Sohi smiled softly, her appearance youthful yet her calm demeanor and mature impression gave her an air of wisdom beyond her years.

The children calling her Guild Master seemed less about respect for authority and more like addressing a maternal figure, likely influenced by this atmosphere.

“That’s not it. I came after seeing the request. I heard everything is decided through interviews.”

Finally, Alice, realizing she was now speaking to the proper counterpart, pulled out a holographic request stored on her smartwatch.

Sohi squinted at the request on Alice’s smartwatch, tilting her head as though she found it surprising.

“Oh… oh my. Are you a Hunter? You came after seeing that request?”

Sohi looked momentarily flustered.

It was as if she couldn’t believe someone actually responded to that request.

“Come this way for now. I can’t leave a guest and an interviewee standing in the foyer.”

Sohi gestured for Alice to follow.

Though her gesture in the dimly lit mansion made her seem like a villainous empress scheming a dark conspiracy, it was purely a matter of perception. Alice followed her without resistance.

Sohi’s elegant stride, accompanied by the sound of her heels, exuded grace and dignity.

Unlike Fira, whose expressions and chatter were lively and varied, Sohi’s movements and demeanor were refined, reminiscent of a noble from Ark’s inner circle.

Although the Nobion family name was unfamiliar, it gave off that impression.

“Who’s that? Who’s that?”

“Who is it? Who is it?”

“It’s an older sister!”

“A white sister!”

“We’re black, but that sister is white!”

“Isn’t she the same age as us?”

“No! She’s taller than us!”

“She’s smaller!”

“Idiot! She just looks small because she’s far away!”

“Gasp.”

“Gaaasp!”

“Oh, I see!”

“As expected, a genius!”

“She’s a genius!”

The whispers from the shadows and darkness gave off the impression of a clandestine group.

“Please understand. The children rarely encounter other guests.”

“By the way, are all those children guild members too?”

“I can’t say anything yet. If you’re curious during the interview, I’ll answer what I can.”

Following Sohi, Alice observed the giggling girls hiding and sneaking peeks, making the Saya Guild seem less like one of the three dominant factions vying for power in Jain and more like a simple orphanage.

Honestly, while the Saya Guild was said to be weaker in the corporate competition, it had handled and managed issues like the Great Annihilation, so Alice thought it wouldn’t be underestimated.

‘What is this? It’s not a guild or a corporation; it’s just an orphanage.’

【Human, appearances can be deceiving.】

‘What does that mean?’

【Based on the analysis of those girls’ heartbeats, it has been determined that they are not human.】

‘What?’

At Theresa’s words, I turned to look at the children still staring at me and Sohi with their bright, sparkling eyes.

“Kyaaah!”

“Kyahaha!”

“Eek!”

When our eyes met, they would quickly hide their heads, only to cautiously peek out again before scurrying away.

But they didn’t flee far and kept sneaking peeks from behind doors or ceilings. Even if they weren’t normal kids, they still seemed human.

‘Aren’t they just awakened children?’

【Even the awakened have normal heartbeats.】

‘Then what’s up with their heartbeats? Are they excessive or something? Kids generally have faster heartbeats than adults.’

【No, they don’t have heartbeats at all.】

‘…That’s unexpected.’

【Not only do they lack heartbeats, but all their biological and organic signals are eerily quiet.】

If it were just about an unusually fast or slow heartbeat, there might be room for debate. But to have no heartbeat at all means they aren’t normal living beings.

Still, those sparkling gazes seemed real, so it wasn’t something I could conclude immediately.

【A search through Ark’s internal network yielded no matching data. It seems further observation and data gathering will be necessary.】

‘Just keep observing for now.’

Honestly, I’d planned to abandon this if it didn’t feel right and pivot to a high-paying mega-corp request. But this discovery was unexpectedly intriguing.

A group of seemingly awakened children who weren’t even human, let alone normal living beings?

For Alice, driven by curiosity and impulsiveness wrapped in a veneer of romance, it was only natural to be interested.

“Here, please have a seat.”

Following Sohi, Alice found herself in a room resembling an old-fashioned noble’s reception hall.

“Wow, nice place.”

The red leather carpet, wooden table, and furniture looked expensive at first glance, clearly made with advanced craftsmanship. Natural sunlight streaming through the large windows amplified the space, making artificial lamps unnecessary.

“Welcome formally to Saya Guild. To be honest, we didn’t expect anyone to respond to the request we submitted through the Outer Wall Exploration Agency’s intermediary. I apologize for the lack of preparation.”

“So, you weren’t serious about making the request in the first place?”

“As you can see, our Saya Guild has some unique features that set us apart from others.”

Sohi’s gaze shifted to the children peeking their heads out from behind the door.

Indeed, a dairy farming guild teeming with young children wasn’t exactly appealing to most Hunters compared to Dawn Guild or Earnest Rail.

“Before we begin the interview, I’ll need you to sign a simple pledge.”

With those words, a piece of paper appeared in Sohi’s hand.

It wasn’t a holographic contract but an actual piece of paper made from wood.

“There’s no need to be alarmed. It’s simply a non-disclosure agreement about what you see at Saya Guild. It’s not magically binding or cursed with Geass.”

“Then why bother?”

“It’s just to include as evidence when I report to our headquarters in Ark that ‘I’ve handled matters to this extent.’”

Though the document contained clauses about violations and precautions, Theresa quickly scanned them and signaled that everything seemed reasonable before Alice even had to ask.

Alice, not one to blab about her experiences, nodded and signed the paper without hesitation.

“As you may know, our Saya Guild is responsible for food supply in the satellite city of Jain. In the competition between the mega-corporations Dawn and Earnest Rail, we’ve essentially been sidelined, so our corporate policy focuses on maintaining the status quo rather than seizing control of the city.”

It was a wise decision.

Dawn and Earnest Rail were equally matched.

The loser of this corporate war would be entirely ousted from Jain, losing all the resources and lives they had invested.

Conversely, the winner would secure not only the opponent’s investments but also future prestige and capital.

In such a situation, Saya Guild, the weaker faction, chose to preserve its modest gains through dairy farming rather than risk everything for a slim chance of victory.

Of course, even maintaining the status quo wasn’t easy in a place like Jain.

“Before I explain the specifics of the request, may I ask about your Hunter rank?”

“I don’t have one yet.”

“Excuse me? Not even F-rank or D-rank? You don’t have a rank at all? What about your Hunter experience?”

“I’ve been a Hunter for about a month.”

Disappointment flickered in Sohi’s eyes.

Her first impression of Alice had been excellent, but without solid credentials, it was difficult to justify accepting her for a Hunter request.

“However, Director Bronte said to show you this.”

Alice pulled a silver-plated Ultima-tier Returnee identification card from her pocket and simultaneously loosened her coat collar to reveal a blue choker around her neck.

“Oh my, that’s…!”

The Ultima-tier Returnee card alone could be brushed off as nothing too extraordinary.

Ultima-grade Returnee Card could be overlooked.

At most, it just meant being a Returnee, and there’s this perception that Returnees live life with a gaming mentality, so you shouldn’t entrust them with anything important.

However, if you know the meaning of the Blue Choker, it’s a different story.

Being a successor of a First-Class Overseer means having proven skills and potential, and maybe, in a few years, you’d have to bow your head at a 90-degree angle if you encountered them on the street.

“This changes the story.”

Sohi’s face twitched slightly.

She was planning to conduct a simple interview and send them away if it didn’t seem like a fit, but this was an Ultima-grade Returnee and a Blue Choker owner.

If someone like this fell into Mega Corp’s hands, Saya Guild would never capture them.

Perhaps Alice’s value was at its lowest point right now.

“What I want to request from Alice is simple: I’d like you to be temporarily affiliated with our guild.”

“I’m an independent Hunter. You want me to officially join Saya Guild?”

“It’s just temporary. You won’t have the responsibilities or obligations of a guild member, and you can take any requests from Dawn or Ernest Rail. As long as you don’t harm Saya Guild, it doesn’t matter. I’d like you to work with us on developing and pioneering the area near the satellite city, Zain.”

“And the compensation?”

Long-term contracts typically involve not only large amounts of money but even the exchange of certain rights.

Normally, Alice, without any significant achievements, wouldn’t even be considered for such a long-term contract. But the Ultima-grade Returnee status badge and the Blue Choker were more reliable than a first-class credit certificate.

“To be honest, we don’t have any cash that we can pay Alice directly right now. This month’s guild budget is allocated for Zain’s development and guild member management, so what we can offer is limited.”

“You know Hunters don’t move without compensation, right? You’re not appealing to sympathy, are you?”

“Of course not. Instead, I’ll give you 0.3% of all future shares obtained from Zain.”

“0.3%…?”

I couldn’t tell if that was high or low.

【Based on the estimated financial circulation of corporations recognized by Ark’s certified banks, the average monthly capital flow is around 1 to 3 billion dollars.】

‘Wait, 0.3% of 1 billion dollars… Roughly calculating, that’s 3 million dollars…?’

Wait, hold on.

They’re giving all of that?

The cost of living in Ark wasn’t cheap, but Alice could make enough to live comfortably just by running a few dungeons.

But 1 million dollars? That was already a dizzying amount of money.

And this wasn’t a one-time payment; it was coming monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

“Are you sure you can decide something like that?”

“Well, if you compare my position to Mega Corp’s, I’m an executive. I judged that Alice deserves at least that much share.”

“Oh my.”

Money wasn’t something Alice considered that important, but if it was being handed out like this, she’d welcome it with open arms.

Sohi, on the other hand, thought of showing favor to a Blue Choker holder and the successor to a First-Class Overseer as an investment for the future.

“That said, our influence in Zain is still weak, and development is slow. If you join us, while it may be impossible to overthrow Dawn and Ernest Rail, it would stabilize our position here.”

If I refuse this, wouldn’t I be the fool?

‘Theresa, what do you think?’

【There’s no reason to refuse. There are no toxic clauses, and if you don’t like the long-term request, you can file for contract termination.】

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you! Then, since it will take some time for the contract to arrive from headquarters, there’s already a mission I’d like to assign to you.”

“Already?”

Alice, perhaps because it was her first proper request, felt a bit of anticipation.

Entering a sewer to collect black oil was mere manual labor, and the Green Factory incident was an accident that happened without a request. So this was Alice’s first real corporate request.

“Could you take care of our kids for a bit?”

“……..”

Ah, come on.

A babysitting role as the first request?

Look at them.

The kids who had been hiding and watching from behind now had their eyes gleaming.

It was the gaze of predators eyeing their prey in the wild.

Absolutely not.

“In exchange, instead of the lodging you’re staying at now, you can pick any room in this guild mansion.”

“Deal.”

That changed things.

And I regretted that decision within 30 minutes.