The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

At the same time Hajun was being tested for his humanity during a Sudden Test of Aptitude, his sibling, who had been swept away by a gate, reappeared as if nothing had happened—exactly one year later.

The overwhelming relief and joy of that day were impossible to forget, no matter how much time had passed.

“Boss, what should we do about the dungeon that Do Hain cleared?”

“That double-layered dungeon needs to be reported to the Center. Let’s contact them and coordinate.”

“Yes, Boss.”

After finishing his tasks, Hajun pulled out a small notebook—one dedicated to recording his younger siblings’ activities.

Yul, his assistant, tactfully looked away.

“Ah.”

“What’s the matter?”

Hajun tapped on the screen with an awkward laugh.

“Our Haun is officially a sixth-grader now.”

“…Excuse me?”

Hajun drew a bright red star in his notebook and jotted down a new note:

Haun officially enters sixth grade

Then, with a heavy sigh, he muttered,
“I just want Haun to grow up healthy… but maybe a little too healthy.”

Yul stared at him, visibly drained.

*****

“You little brat, Hain! Why did you tell him?! Why?!”

“Because I knew you wouldn’t.”

“I was going to tell him!!”

“Yeah, right. You were probably going to wait until it was time to pay tuition again, like last year.”

Damn it.

I glared at Do Hain and gave him the finger before storming into my room.

SLAM!

“Do Haun!!”

“It was the wind!!”

I yelled back and threw myself under the covers.

Do you think I wanted to flunk out? Of course not! I wanted to attend class properly and study like a normal person. But what could I do when requests kept piling up out of nowhere? It’s not like the other guild members ever helped when it mattered. They were absolutely useless when it came to critical moments!

| Demon King |: Godslayer.
Only call me after the work is done!

I squeezed my eyes shut, ignoring the message that had popped up.

Godslayer, heed my words.

“AHHHH!!”

A solemn, dignified male voice echoed in my ears, making me bolt upright with a scream.

“What the hell?! What now?!”

At the same time, Do Hain flung the door open and stormed in. Shuddering from head to toe, I rubbed my goosebump-covered arms.

“Damn Demon King…”

“The Demon King? You were dreaming?”

I wish it were just a dream. Shaking my head vigorously, I muttered,
“If you’re not feeling well, let me know.”

“I’m not!”

“You look fine to me, so I’m leaving.”

With his annoyingly loud voice, Do Hain shut the door behind him and left.

Frowning, I furiously typed out a message.

| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: You bastard, Demon King!!!
| Demon King |: You ignored my message first.

| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Did you have to use a proclamation for that, you piece of sh—!!!
| 9th Circle Archmage |: ??
| 9th Circle Archmage |: LOL, did the Guild Master wake up to the Demon King’s dulcet tones? 😀

 | Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Shut it.

A proclamation was basically the game-world equivalent of a private voice message. It was exclusive to our guild, but the problem was that I wasn’t the only one who could use it.

What’s the point of being a Guild Master if I can’t even control that?!

| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: What do you want?
| Demon King |: I wanted to personally express my gratitude to you.
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Save it.
| 9th Circle Archmage |: ｡•́︿•̀｡

| 9th Circle Archmage |: Guild Master is pissed off, huh? 🙁
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Shut up and go away!
| 9th Circle Archmage |: (૭ ᐕ)૭?
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: WTF.

What’s wrong with this Mage today? Acting weird just because I asked them to open a portal seems excessive. Something feels off.

| 9th Circle Archmage |: Five minutes left until I clock out!
| 9th Circle Archmage |: (ง˙∇˙)ว
| 9th Circle Archmage |: So excited!!

Ah. That explains it. No wonder they’re acting like this—it’s already 10 p.m.

| Demon King |: Godslayer, you saved my dear nephew today.
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Nephew?
| Demon King |: Though my nephew is currently looking for an angel, I’ll overlook it generously.

“…….”

The memory of the fidgety, babbling little kid came back to me.

Wait a second. That kid was your nephew?!

I ruffled my hair in frustration and sent another message, my temper flaring.

| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: You crazy bastard! That was your nephew, and you didn’t take the request?! Ugh!!!
| Demon King |: I was in my afternoon nap.

Afternoon nap, my ass. What am I supposed to say to this guy?

My head started pounding, but I saw an opportunity here.

| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: If you’re so grateful, why don’t you take the next request?

But something was wrong. Five minutes passed, and there was no response.

| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Demon King?
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Hey?
| Godslayer (Guild Master) |: Hello?!

“…….”

The rising tide of anger was too much.

“You ungrateful Demon King bastard!!”

| 9th Circle Archmage |: LOL, the Demon King bolted, didn’t he? 😀
| 9th Circle Archmage |: Woohoo! Clocking out!

As the Mage’s cheerful message popped up, a blue system window appeared in front of me.

[Constellation, Guardian of the Household, has issued a request.]

Damn it!!

[Constellation, Guardian of the Household, requests that the guild Return retrieve a runaway peacock.]

Oh, for heaven’s sake. Do these stars have nothing better to do? Why do they keep losing their damn birds?!

As soon as the request appeared, the guild chat went dead silent.

Of course. Who else would be sent out at this hour to hunt down a peacock but me?

[Constellation, Guardian of the Household,‘s precious peacock is wandering around the Godslayer’s neighborhood.
Please return the peacock safely to the Constellation before it is captured by wildlife control officers.]

▷ Guild Reward: A-grade Sacred Relic, Argos’ Eyeball

“…….”

Argos, the giant who was supposedly a loyal servant of Hera, one of Olympus’ Twelve Gods.

And the reward for catching this runaway peacock is his eyeball?! What the hell am I supposed to do with that?

Sure, the reward I got earlier could probably be sold on the black market, but an eyeball… No thanks. I’d rather not take the request at all.

I clenched my eyes shut, trying to ignore the request, but the image of the message kept flashing in my mind.

Worse, the peacock was wandering around my neighborhood. If it were somewhere far away, I could have ignored it, but why did it have to be here?!

With a heavy heart and the urge to cry, I accepted the request.

[00:17:48]
▷ Failure Condition: S-rank Outbreaker Dungeon Activation
※ If failed, the Godslayer’s blood relatives will be caught in the dungeon.

Outbreaker refers to dungeons that appear suddenly, without regard for time or place. Most have strict time limits, and if they’re not cleared in time, the gate has a 100% chance of bursting.

And this one? It’s S-rank, the highest level. On top of that, my family could get dragged into it.

“…Oh, for f—!”

Anger welled up inside me, but I had no time to waste on it. Even now, the time limit was counting down.

The only relief was…

[You have arrived at the quest location.]
[The power of the title ‘Godslayer’ has been partially unlocked.]
[The first shackle of the title ‘Godslayer’ has been loosened.]

At least the quest was happening in my neighborhood. I threw on a hooded zip-up jacket and left my room.

In the living room, Do Hain was lying on the floor, watching TV.

“Hain.”

“No. Go back to your room and sleep.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Do Hain lazily got up and leaned against the sofa.

“Doesn’t matter. Just don’t say anything and go sleep.”

“No way. Seoha called and asked me to come out for drinks.”

I threw my friend under the bus once again.

“Drinks?! When there’s a gate break and a sudden test happening? It’s chaos today, and you want to go drinking?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey!!”

At Do Hain’s loud outburst, I covered my ears and retorted,
“Aren’t you tired? Aren’t you sleepy? You just finished raiding a dungeon—why are you acting so fine?”

“I’m not tired. I’m not sleepy. Do you want me to collapse instead?”

I had no time to waste arguing with this brat. I glanced at the timer still ticking in midair.

“Hain.”

“It’s still a no. Just go sleep.”

“Is our brother working overtime again?”

“Yeah, so listen to me and go to bed. Otherwise, I’m calling him.”

Great. That means he won’t be back anytime soon.

《The power of the title ‘Godslayer’ is activated.》
[Effect is halved.]
[Effect is halved.]
[Effect is halved.]

[Authority: ‘Divine Command’ has been activated.]

“Hain.”

“I told you, it’s still—!”

Fall asleep, Do Hain.

The moment my calm voice rang out, Do Hain slumped onto the sofa, burying his face into the cushions.

[Absolute Authority: ‘Sovereign Above Laws’ has been activated.]
[The effect of ‘Divine Command’ will persist indefinitely unless undone by the user.]

Unless I willed it otherwise, Do Hain wouldn’t wake up. Sure, if my powers were sealed again, it might change, but that was a problem for another time.

I tiptoed to the door and slipped outside.

I immediately activated Eye of Truth and began searching for the peacock roaming the neighborhood. Since the bird belonged to one of the stars, its energy was easy to trace.

I found it quickly, but…

“Ah, yes. You. I’m talking to you.”

“…?”

A smooth, almost seductive voice echoed through the air. Instinctively, I ducked behind a utility pole, slapping a hand over my mouth to stay silent.

―Cawwwk! Cawwk!

“Don’t get so worked up. I don’t like this any more than you do.”

There it was—the peacock, with its brilliant feathers spread wide. It had to be the runaway peacock that the Guardian of Family had asked me to find. The star’s energy radiated from it, confirming my suspicions.

But the real issue was…

“So, would you allow me to approach you?”

―Squaaawk!!

“Come on, don’t be like that.”

Who the hell is that crazy bastard?