The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

Crash—!

The sound of a glass shattering echoed through the room. Do Hain had dropped the glass he was holding, spilling water everywhere.

“H-Haun, what did you just say…?”

My brother, who had been about to pour water for Hain, froze, clutching the water bottle so tightly that the water splashed wildly across the table.

I guess I shouldn’t have said it like that.

I had told my brother that I wanted to work as the Demon King’s manager.

“Absolutely not!!”

I was immediately met with Do Hain’s vehement opposition. However, thankfully, my brother sighed deeply and eventually said,

“Fine, it might be good for Haun to experience working in society.”

And so, I received permission. But there was a catch.

“Lady Haun.”

I had to work with that damn pest of a mage, Hae Roun.

Frowning deeply, I glared at him. He quickly cast a defensive spell around himself and sighed.

“Ah, our guild master. Such a sharp gaze you have. By the way, what on earth did you say to Sir Hajun and the young master to get their permission?”

“Who’s this ‘young master’ now?”

“Deputy Guild Master Do Hain.”

So, Hain had gone from servant to “young master.” What a promotion.

Shrugging indifferently, I replied to his question,

“I told them I had a favorite celebrity.”

The mage’s eyes widened in shock.

“What? Who? Guild Master, you’re interested in celebrities?”

“Nope, not at all.”

“…Then why would you say that?”

Scratching my cheek awkwardly, I smirked faintly.

“Because I thought it’d make getting permission to be the Demon King’s manager easier.”

It wasn’t exactly easy, but I got the approval in the end, so mission accomplished. The mage’s eyes bulged further as he asked,

“Guild Master, you didn’t tell Sir Hajun and the young master that your favorite celebrity is the Demon King, did you?”

“That’s exactly what I said.”

The mage groaned dramatically and clutched his head.

“That explains the chaos.”

“……?”

I tilted my head, not understanding. The mage sighed and asked,

“Guild Master, whose brother is the Demon King?”

“Guild Master Woo Mahan’s brother, obviously.”

“And whose sister are you?”

“My brother’s sister, of course.”

“Right. You’re Guild Master Do Hajun’s sister, correct?”

I nodded at his words, but my face quickly twisted into a scowl.

“Quit beating around the bush and just say what you mean. What’s your point?”

Annoyed, I glared at him, and he pouted like a kicked puppy before blurting out,

“Guild Master, you shouldn’t have said that! Haun and Hwarang don’t get along!”

“Why not?”

“Why not?! That’s obvious!!”

Bang! The mage slammed the table.

“Imagine hearing that your precious sibling’s favorite celebrity is the brother of someone you consider your mortal enemy! Of course there’d be an uproar!!”

“……”

I mulled over my brother’s personality. Do Hain certainly hates Hwarang’s Guild Master Woo Mahan.

But my brother…

“He’s the kind of person who separates personal and professional matters. He even said it would be good for me to gain social experience and gave me permission.”

“Guild Master, you really don’t understand Sir Hajun at all, do you?!”

“Shut it! And didn’t I tell you not to call my brother ‘Sir’?!”

The mage murmured while sipping a strawberry frappé.

“You forgot, didn’t you? You don’t remember, do you?”

“Hey!!”
The mage pouted at me as I yelled back at them.

Just as I was about to consider smacking that infuriatingly smug expression off their face, I heard a light knock on the table.

“What on earth were you two talking about so intently that neither of you answered your phones?”

Without me noticing, Kang Hasu had approached, his face scrunched up in annoyance. The mage picked up a piece of strawberry, popping it into their mouth as they replied.

“We figured the Spirit Master would come to pick us up, so we ignored the calls on purpose.”

At those words, Kang Hasu’s face twisted in distaste.

“Hae Roun, why don’t you just get a license? This is the last time I’m driving you to the filming set. What will you do without me to cart around your guild leader?”

Hae Roun just shrugged in response, showing no concern. Stirring the ice-melted remains of my Americano with a straw, I casually remarked,

“He still manage to get me around, even with all that teasing.”

“How?”

“With portals.”

“The mage is diligently working as a portal shuttle, huh?”

Kang Hasu looked at us, visibly at a loss for words.

“…You’re both truly remarkable.”

“The mage is pretty remarkable, yeah.”

“……”

The mage’s cheeky tone made the Spirit Master frown as if they’d swallowed a whole lemon. Shaking my head, I stood up.

“Where’s the Demon King?”

“He’s already gone to the set and are waiting there.”

“Isn’t there over an hour left before filming starts?”

“The Demon King tends to show up early.”

So, they’ve gotten into acting, huh? They claimed they didn’t mind it, but it seems they’re starting to enjoy it. Hopefully, they don’t start ditching their requests because of this.

[The constellation ‘Man of Honest and Beautiful Words’ has sent you a request.]

“……”

How is the timing always so terrible?

The mage and the Spirit Master began glancing nervously at me. Despite watching me for any reaction, neither of them offered to take the request.

Swallowing the sigh that was threatening to escape, I was about to call for the Grand Duke. At this rate, neither the mage nor the Spirit Master seemed in any position to take on the request.

But then—

[The ‘Demon King’ has accepted the request.]

|Northern Grand Duke|: The Demon King is my saviorㅠㅠㅠ

“……”

The Demon King, who was supposed to start filming soon, had taken the request.

And you, Grand Duke! You disappear with the Hero for a few days and then just show up like this?!

Faced with the hopeless antics of my guild members, I let out a deep sigh and started walking.

At least one thing was clear—the Demon King wasn’t about to stop training to become stronger.

*****

On the way, traffic delays ate up quite a bit of time. I was worried we’d be late for filming, but it turned out the director was running late due to some issue.

Feeling relieved, I headed to the tent to find the Demon King.

But then—

“Woo Mahun! Where have you been wandering off to again?!”

“I was taking care of a request.”

“A request?! What request?!”

A voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Doesn’t that voice sound familiar?” the mage murmured, and an ominous feeling began creeping over me.

Swallowing nervously, I grabbed the edge of the tent.

“Mahun, seriously! Didn’t I tell you to focus on just one thing now?!”

But the word “brother” that rang out clearly in my ears made my hand slip off the tent flap.

“Can’t I focus on both?”
“No! If you do that, you’ll end up losing both!”
“I will not lose either.”
“Argh! Why are you so insufferably confident?!”

The voice, full of exasperation, echoed. I turned toward Kang Hasu, who was standing there with a vacant expression, and asked with a calm smile.
“Why is Guild Master Woo Mahan here?”

Kang Hasu snapped out of his daze and stammered,
“Th-that’s a good question. Maybe he heard about the new manager and came to see for himself…?”

The Spirit Master’s suggestion prompted the mage to mutter grumpily, their face scrunched up.
“I knew this would happen.”

Knew what, exactly?!

Clicking my tongue in irritation, I scratched my head. Woo Mahan would surely be able to see through the items Hae Roun was wearing in an instant.
Should I tell the mage to cast a spell over their face? Woo Mahan might not be able to pierce through a spell…

I was about to ask the mage to cover Hae Roun’s face with magic when—

“Do Haun!!”
“Haun!”

Two familiar voices from the Do family called my name.

No, it can’t be. I must have misheard.

I forced my stiff neck to turn, hoping against hope I was mistaken.

“Do Hain…? And… brother?”

But my hopes were dashed when I saw Do Hain walking toward me angrily, with my brother, Do Hajun, right beside him.

“Isn’t that Guild Master Do Hajun and Vice Guild Master Do Hain? What brings them here…?”

The Spirit Master muttered in disbelief before turning to me as if a sudden realization had struck. I avoided their gaze, but unfortunately, the mage was standing in the direction I turned to.

“I told you this would happen, didn’t I?”

Curse you, Hae Roun! The mage even had the nerve to lean closer and whisper smugly,
“It’s going to be a total mess.”

You didn’t say that!!

My face twisted into a grimace as I glared at the mage, who calmly ignored me, feigning disinterest.

There’s no choice now. I have to block my brother and Do Hain from meeting Woo Mahan!

“Guild Master Do Hajun…?”

But before I could make a move, Woo Mahan stepped out of the tent.

You’ve got to be kidding me! You were scolding the Demon King—why are you coming out now?!

As Woo Mahan appeared, an oppressive silence fell over the scene. It didn’t last long, though.

Woo Mahan frowned as he looked at me.
“You are…”

“A-ah, hello.”

I greeted him with an awkward smile, bowing slightly. Woo Mahan’s expression darkened further. As I hesitated, unsure what to do, a warm voice called out to me.
“Haun.”

My brother was standing there with a faint smile, lifting just one corner of his lips. Beside him, Do Hain gestured for me to come over.

Woo Mahan’s expression had gone beyond displeased to outright sour.

At that moment, the mage put a hand on my shoulder and smiled brightly.
“Miss, shall we go?”

|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: The mage is a pacifist, after all!

I squinted at the mage in disbelief as the message popped up.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: What are you even talking about?

|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: Our guild master doesn’t seem to understand the situationㅠㅠ. Are their eyes just for decoration?ㅠㅠ

This is just… unbelievable.