Episode 36

Viola Raiza—.

An essential named character that can’t be left out of Guild Master.

One of the top ten, the group leader of the Viola-Mercenary Group.

A genius in swordsmanship and a genius in discovering talents.

She was especially an inevitable target of conquest for those who had a desire for subduing strong women, hence she enjoyed tremendous popularity in the community. Naturally, wandering around in a micro bikini could almost be considered her default outfit. Her appearances in doujinshii¹ also ranked within the top five among all named characters.

[1]: self-published fan works

Honestly, Allen couldn’t help but be surprised by Viola’s beauty. … She was far more beautiful than he had imagined.

Allen couldn’t help but be amazed by those incredible stats and traits.

‘…My stomach would feel satiated without even having to eat if I had just one member like this.’

What was especially noticeable was the [Aesthetic Eye] trait—.

There are only three named characters who inherently possess this trait. Namely, Group Leader Viola of the top ten, the Blind Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, and Arpen the Bloodsucker.

Once you achieve a certain level of affection with Viola in Guild Master, she begins to reveal the potential of characters in numerical values, and it’s this [Aesthetic Eye] trait that enables her to do so. For reference, the Blind Saintess perceives potential not in numbers but in colors. Meaning, the [Aesthetic Eye] applies differently depending on the characteristics of each character.

Thanks to this ability, Viola earned the nickname of Talent Scouting Genius. After all, the number of successful cases she discovered was overwhelmingly higher compared to others.

Kalim Danju’s arrangement of Allen and Viola’s meeting was, of course, never a coincidence. She was known across the continent for having the keenest eye for talent….

However, this was merely ‘potential’. It didn’t guarantee that the person would definitely grow to meet those expectations. In fact, there were numerous instances where they fell short of expectations.

And sometimes, this potential changes in people, due to the influence of their traits. After all, traits could change or even be added.

Honestly, it was a trait Allen found too desirable. The ability to see the potential in others through [Aesthetic Eyes] that couldn’t be seen through the status window.

But bringing Viola in was a matter of questionable probability in the future, so he immediately gave up on the idea. From the start, she was as difficult to win over as ‘Agnes Neptune’. The saying, “It’s easier if you give up,” suited her perfectly.

Just moderately increasing her favorability and asking for favors only when truly needed would be the most efficient way. And today would mark the first step in that endeavor of increasing favorability.

“My name is Allen Dewise Pomwell. I am currently the leader of the Allen-Mercenary Group.”

He gave a light bow.

“It is an honor to meet you.”

There was a sharp look. Allen waited. She was probably assessing his potential with [Aesthetic Eyes].

Still, he had no expectations. After all, the potential of his worthless body was bound to be terrible.

‘…No, is it so bad that she doesn’t even feel it’s worth responding to?’

To begin with, Allen’s stats were poor, and his traits were nothing special. The only traits he had were garbage ones like [Sex Maniac], [Womanizer], and [King of the Night].

However, there was one strange characteristic called [Rebirth], but since Allen had never heard or seen anything like it, he ignored it. Still, it probably wasn’t as good as the [Genius] trait.

After quite some time, Viola finally opened her mouth.

“Did you say… the group leader of the Allen-Mercenary Group?”

“Yes.”

“……I see…….”

Allen became unnecessarily worried by her lukewarm reaction, which was colder than he had expected. He wondered if it wasn’t his appearance that was the problem but rather that he had somehow ruined the first impression.

…However, contrary to Allen’s thoughts, Viola was internally shocked by a number she could never have imagined.

The number she saw was clearly 522.

It was impossible that her eyes, which had been functioning perfectly fine until now, had suddenly broke. She checked several times just in case, but the number did not change. …If so, that must mean that it was indeed true.

She, who wass seldom surprised, had been taken aback because it had surpassed all previous records by a notch.

Before laying eyes on the man before her, the highest number she had ever seen was 433. The owner of that figure was none other than the current strongest in the continent, ‘Sword Emperor Magnus’. Following that was ‘Ghost Flame Grenzo’ with 409.

Normally, those who exceeded 300 were recognized as strong figures across the continent. And 400 was already beyond human limits. ……But 500?

‘…Is that even possible? Did I misunderstand something? No, that’s not it… What? Who? Why…?’

He looked as if he had never wielded a weapon. That meant it wasn’t about physical potential. So, she wondered if perhaps he was a mage.

“Are you, by any chance, a mage?”

Her tone, once condescending, had changed. …She was someone whose words couldn’t be taken lightly. At least, by her standards.

“No, I’m not.”

“…Really, you aren’t?”

“I know nothing of magic.”

It didn’t seem like the other was lying. Not a magician, then.

Of course, there was exactly one instance of someone being neither a warrior nor a magician and still surpassing 300. That crazy woman, Yedna.

Viola suddenly felt her mouth go dry. Then, she lightly licked her red lips with her tongue. ……It felt like a heart that had been still for a long time was beating again.

Of course, she knew that the numbers she could see weren’t always the definitive answer. But that didn’t mean she could just ignore them.

Being able to grow that much meant, even if he fell slightly short of expectations, it was possible to reach the vicinity of that potential. That alone already signified the birth of a historical monster.

Only then did Viola realize why Group Leader Kalim had suddenly sent him to her. He must have seen something special in him too.

‘…Indeed, you can’t underestimate the value of field experience.’

Viola was incredibly excited. She couldn’t control her excitement at all. Her temperament to get excited upon seeing talent had, at this moment, reached its peak.

…However, she could not show it. There were more than a few who had failed after getting carried away, thinking they had scored high with her. Not to mention, there were quite a few who were ruined by the jealousy of others. High scores often brought more harm than good in many ways.

After losing several precious talents that way, she refrained from carelessly speaking about scores. If it seemed high, she would call it low.

Especially this time, it must be so. If the number exceeds 500, those damned bastards will never leave him alone. They’ll probably torment him miserably until, in the end, he’s utterly destroyed.

Viola put on a mask. To not reveal her excitement… to protect him.

There was goodwill, but…, honestly, there was a bit of greed as well.

“I’ve read the letter. You did well… Group Leader Kalim spoke highly of you.”

“Ah, it’s not like that.”

“Group Leader Kalim is not one to speak empty words. I’ve worked under him before. He must have seen your potential.”

“…To hear you say that, I’m just grateful.”

The conversation paused for a moment. Viola licked her dry lips with her tongue and continued the conversation.

“When did you come to Vermandois?”

“Ah, I just arrived.”

“Do you have a place to stay?”

“Yes, I have a place to stay with my colleagues.”

“I see… How long do you plan to stay here?”

“…That hasn’t been decided yet.”

“Then you don’t have a job yet.”

“Yes.”

Allen was reminded of the one time he had traveled abroad on Earth and had experienced an immigration interview. It felt exactly like that now.

Still, it was a relief that Viola’s attitude had become more positive than before.

‘…I was almost labeled as worthless.’

He wanted to leave before his lack of resources became apparent. Since he had made his presence known, there was no reason to stay any longer.

Since the silence was dragging on, it was time to tactfully make his exit.

“If there is no further business, I will take my leave now.”

Then Viola raised her index finger and called him to stop.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

And then, she pulled something out of the drawer and pushed it slightly towards Allen, resting her chin on the desk.

“Give it a try if you’re interested. I’ll recommend you.”

Allen slowly approached the desk. …There was a faint scent of flowers.

He picked up the paper on the desk and quickly skimmed through it. …It was a large-scale request form. Accepting applications from various mercenary groups.

It was undoubtedly a great opportunity. Just by assembling the right number of people, one could gain fame and money.

However, Allen couldn’t shake off the thought that it was an overly generous offer. No matter how nicely Kalim, the leader, had put it, suggesting a large-scale request seemed a bit too much.

The experienced Viola couldn’t have failed to read such a look in Allen’s eyes.

“Just think of it as me making you one of my people. As you know, you have to sow to reap, right?”

Allen slightly pondered. Even in Korea, there had been a concept of joining factions, and for positions like assistant managers and department heads in companies, people had always been vying to join.

The moment he wondered if he should line up for Viola, Allen couldn’t help but let out a silent chuckle—a mere nobody daring to question an offer from one of the top ten.

‘…Right, let’s eat first. Eat and grow. Think after growing. It wouldn’t be too late to check if the rope is sturdy or rotten then.’

“I will do it.”

Honestly, putting aside whether it was sturdy or rotten, a major request was too tempting. Especially because, in a place overflowing with mercenary groups, finding work wasn’t easy, so how could he refuse such a good opportunity rolling his way?

To grow bigger, he had to devour everything unconditionally. If it wasn’t fatally dangerous, what was the harm in eating and facing some troubles?

“…You’ve made a good choice. Then, I’ll take it as such and include it in the recommendation letter.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“You may leave now.”

Allen bowed a bit deeper than before and left the master’s office. Kalisman quickly followed him.

“You’ve worked hard. …How was it?”

Allen clicked his tongue and lightly shook his head.

“Phew. I thought I was going to die of nervousness. Let’s go have a beer quickly.”