The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

The Demon King suddenly stood up. The archmage, wide-eyed, was left gaping in confusion. I offered him a bright, cheery goodbye.

“Take care!”
“I shall return.”

The Demon King grabbed the archmage’s arm and began dragging him out. The archmage, snapping back to his senses, reached out toward me in desperation.

“Wait, Guild Master? Guild Master! I’ll just change my clothes here!!”
“Nope, denied.”
“Guild Master! Hey!!”

Ignoring his desperate cries, I shut the door.

A few minutes later, a knock on the door was followed by someone stepping inside.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Hunters. The traffic is a nightmare due to all the commotion.”
“……?”
“On top of that, our resident free spirit caused a major incident, so we’ve been trying to handle the aftermath. Huh?”

The man who entered looked around, confused.

“…Who are you? Where are the Hunters?”

At his bemused question, I replied kindly, “The Hunters gathered for the gate-related meeting are in the room across the hall. Didn’t you get the notification about the change of venue?”

This time, the most significant contributor to the gate incident was the office worker Hunter H, also known as the “9th Circle Archmage.” However, others had played a part too.

Apparently, there were individuals who had helped evacuate citizens in the outer regions, minimizing damage. These individuals turned out to be actors from H-Entertainment, who had been in the middle of a brand promotion shoot.

And the man standing before me was none other than the CEO of H-Entertainment.

“You’re CEO Kang Hasu, right?”
“Yes, yes, that’s me,” he replied, flashing a warm, friendly smile.

H-Entertainment was well-known for several reasons—not only because all its actors were also active Hunters, but because its CEO was an ordinary civilian.

I never expected to meet such a famous figure here. For a fleeting moment, I considered asking for an autograph, but I quickly decided there wasn’t much use for it. Instead, I opted to just direct him to the meeting room.

“If you go straight down this hallway, you’ll see another door that looks similar to this one. The meeting is being held there.”
“Oh, thank you, young lady!”

Kang Hasu gave me a small bow and hurriedly ran off in the direction I’d indicated. Feeling a small sense of accomplishment, I sat back down.

Just as I finished a mobile game of Go, another knock came at the door, and it opened.

“I have returned.”
“Why are you so late?”

Instead of answering, the Demon King pouted sulkily. Before I could question him further, the archmage—now wearing a simple tracksuit—answered for him.

“Mahun got us lost.”
…Wait, why is he suddenly calling him by name?

“If you got lost, couldn’t you just—”
The archmage silenced me by placing a finger against his lips. At that, I clamped my mouth shut.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry. Because of me, we all ended up wandering around,” came a voice I’d heard not too long ago.

“Wait… you?”
“Ah, young lady?”

…I definitely gave him clear directions. So why was he walking in with those two?

The archmage helpfully explained, “He got lost, so I brought him here.”

“I’m sorry, young lady. I went to the area you mentioned, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find the meeting room,” Kang Hasu admitted sheepishly, scratching his cheek.

I stood there, mouth slightly open in disbelief. Had the meeting room been moved again? That seemed unlikely. So… just how bad of a sense of direction did this guy have?

Suppressing a sigh, I rose from my seat.

“I’ll show you the way. Hey, Arch—”
Oh, right. I don’t know his name.

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Hey, what’s your name?

He must’ve seen my message, but the archmage didn’t reply. Instead, he pouted and said aloud, “I want to come too.”

“Why not just stay here?”
“No.”

|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: Guild Master, I really don’t want to be left alone with the Demon Kingㅠ

I shot the archmage a withering look. Under my gaze, he quickly sent another message, his face desperate.

|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: If I stay with King one more time, I’m going to get stress-induced hypertension and drop dead!!

Every word felt painfully sincere.

|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: If you leave me behind, I’m just going to teleport home!!!!
|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: ୧( ಠ Д ಠ )୨

I considered how to respond to this utterly pathetic message. After a moment’s thought, I decided to ignore it and simply nodded to indicate that he could come along.

“What about you, Woo Mahun?”
“I shall accompany you.”

Hearing the Demon King’s formal tone, Kang Hasu’s mouth fell slightly open.
Surprising, right? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it soon—although, to be fair, I’ll be dropping you off at the meeting room before you have the chance to adjust.

“Shall we go? Since the meeting will probably start once you arrive, it hasn’t started yet.”
“Oh, thank goodness! Thank you, young lady. I hope I’m not causing you too much trouble.”

Kang Hasu flashed a warm smile but glanced at the archmage and the Demon King behind me. Then, in a lowered voice, he asked, “By the way, why are you students here? You don’t seem to be part of the Center’s Hunters…”

“I am not a student.”
“Eek!”
“Ah!!”

Kang Hasu let out a scream at the Demon King’s sudden interjection, which startled me enough to scream as well.

Clutching his chest, Kang Hasu gasped, “G-Goodness, you scared me…”

I rubbed my throbbing ears and replied, “Don’t mind him.”
Kang Hasu nodded hesitantly, still looking slightly unsettled.

While Kang Hasu worked to calm his startled heart, I received a message that was clearly meant to mock me.

|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: LOL, Guild Master, you were startled by King’s deep voice, weren’t you?ㅋㅋㅋ
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: No, I wasn’t. Shut up.

The sound of the archmage chuckling reached my ears, but I ignored it and picked up my pace.

After walking for a few minutes, we finally spotted a crowd of Hunters gathered together.

“Oh, that must be it!” Kang Hasu exclaimed, smiling brightly.

“Yes. Head over there. We’ll be on our way now.”

I thought I saw Do Hain among the Hunters. To avoid getting an earful from him, I planned to slip away quickly. But Kang Hasu grabbed my arm and gave me a deep bow.

“Thank you so much, young lady. Here, this is my business card. Please come by the company sometime. I’ll get you an album, an autograph, or whatever you’d like.”

“Uh… I’m not really interested in celebrities…”

“Take it anyway. And you two, here, take one as well.”

Kang Hasu handed business cards to both the archmage and the Demon King.

The archmage stared at the card, then for some reason, broke into a smug smile.

Why did he look so irritatingly pleased with himself? My question was soon answered when his message came through.

|9th Circle Archmage|: An archmage in his ninth cycle, and still being mistaken for a student (૭ ᐕ)૭!!

|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: Oh well;
So he still uses that emoji, huh?

The Demon King stared intently at the business card in his hand before speaking.
“I am not a student.”

Not this again.

At his solemn, resounding tone, I rubbed my forehead. Kang Hasu, looking utterly bewildered, murmured, “Ah… you’re not a student, are you?”

“That is correct. I am not a student; I am the Demon King—”

Before he could finish, both the archmage and I instinctively clamped our hands over his mouth. The Demon King’s eyes widened in shock, as if asking, What is the meaning of this?

“…Demon King?”

Seeing Kang Hasu’s slack-jawed expression, I hastily made up an exaggerated story.
“Mahun here is an actor in a children’s theater troupe! He’s just really into his role as the Demon King!”

“Ah… I see…”

Kang Hasu’s murmuring sounded far from convinced, but I plastered a wide smile on my face.
“Well then, we’ll be off now!”

The archmage pressed down on the Demon King’s head, forcing him into a bow, while I gave a polite nod and quickly turned to leave. Only after Kang Hasu and the group of Hunters disappeared around the corner did the archmage and I release the Demon King.

“What is the meaning of this!!”
“What do you think it was?!”

Channeling the spirit of the Demon King’s elder brother, I smacked him squarely on the back with all my strength.

“Ow!”
“It was supposed to hurt, you Demon King bastard!”

The archmage shook his head in disbelief.
“Wow… Demon King, do you really want to go around declaring yourself a Demon King?”

“It is the truth that I am the Demon King. Why should I be ashamed of it?”

“……”

The archmage stared at him with an expression that screamed exhaustion, while the Demon King tilted his head in confusion. Letting out a deep sigh, I tried to put things into perspective.

“Fine. Just think of it as part of your identity.”

The archmage raised a hand slightly, chiming in, “That’s one heck of a unique identity, Guild Master.”

“You’re one to talk, Archmage.”
“Why is that?”
“Take a moment of self-reflection, and you’ll figure it out.”

The archmage placed a hand over his chest as if to say, Touché. A few moments passed before a short message arrived.

|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: (૭ ᐕ)૭?

“Argh!!”
This little…!

“Wait! Time out, time out!”

Enraged, I grabbed the archmage’s hair and tugged as if I were about to yank it out by the roots. Just then, someone tapped my shoulder.

Knowing full well it was the Demon King, I didn’t even bother to turn around before shrieking, “What?!”

“Godslayer, while I hold the archmage’s hair, look over there.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Your Majesty?!”

Ignoring the archmage’s protests, the Demon King gestured toward something in the distance.

I turned to look—and gasped.

Without realizing it, I let go of the archmage’s hair. The Demon King, ever the opportunist, immediately took my place.