Seeing Greta crying, Paul became genuinely confused.
"Greta… What happened?"
Greta stepped inside, her eyes already wet with tears. She held out her adventurer card with trembling hands and said in a broken voice,
"Prince… Look...!! My rank… It's been lowered to D!"
Paul blinked, stared at the card, and let out a deep sigh. He sat back down in his chair and said in a slightly puzzled tone,
"Didn't you just return the mission letter, to the Adventurer Guild?"
Greta nodded slowly, biting her lip.
Paul furrowed his brow. "Then why was your rank lowered?" he asked, still confused.
Drooping her shoulders, Greta replied with a sniffle,
"Because we canceled the mission after it was already confirmed... They gave me a penalty… and dropped me to D-rank…"
Paul, who was about to resume drawing magic runes, froze. He looked toward Renya, who had stopped sweeping, and then at Kruger, who had just returned and stood in the doorway.
Kruger, who had already understood the adventurer system quite well, opened the conversation in a serious tone. "Prince…" he said as he made sure the door was locked tightly.
After making sure no one could eavesdrop, he continued, "It seems... this is a setup."
Hearing that, Paul nodded slowly. "Of course." he said as he leaned against the wall, his eyes staring at the ceiling as if searching for an answer among the shadows of the wood. "It's a bit strange that the mission we received, was just like that. And, if it were to be canceled just like that… our Rank could drop." he said in a confused tone, squinting as if he was putting together a puzzle in his head.
Then, in a low and thoughtful tone, he said, "So do you think…" as he turned to Kruger, "What exactly is going on here…?" he continued quietly, raising his hand and holding his chin, deep in thought.
Kruger looked toward the window, then back at Paul. "Greta's being made a scapegoat by the guild..." he said grimly.
While looking towards the city, Kruger continued,
"I don't know what that means. But if there was a dungeon like that—which was guarded by the Adventurer's Guild's own team— Normally, this Guild would already have a name in this area... But..."
With hesitation, Kruger stopped talking.
Hearing those words, Greta was shocked.
"Ah... you already knew!?" she said while pointing at Kruger.
She stepped forward, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Why didn't you tell me...?" she asked, her face tense with anger.
Before Kruger could respond, Paul cut in with a sharp voice,
"Greta. Shut up."
Greta immediately flinched, her mouth closing, and she nodded quietly. The room fell silent for a moment.
Seeing that, Paul nodded—a signal for Kruger to continue.
Kruger said, "Greta was able to get a mission... even one signed by the Vice Guild Leader..." His voice carried doubt.
Paul, picking up on the implication, said, "That means we were trapped the moment we accepted the mission... huh?" He rested his chin on one hand, his eyes narrowing.
Kruger nodded firmly. "Yes, Prince... we were the targets. If we had forced our way into that dungeon, we would've walked right into their setup."
Hearing their conversation, Greta blinked in confusion and said, "What do you mean? I don't understand..." Her eyes flicked between Paul and Kruger, searching for clarity.
Hearing that, Paul slapped his forehead, while Kruger lowered his shoulders, and Renya continued cleaning the living room without a word. Paul then said, "You know... after we defeat them, dead or alive, the others won't stay silent—especially those who are already famous here." He glanced at Greta, then smiled and added, "You understand the rest, right?"
Greta turned pale and said, "But... it was the Vice Guild Master himself who gave the approval..." Her voice carried doubt, then realization dawned as she asked, "Impossible... Why?" Her eyes searched Paul's face in disbelief.
And Paul, seeing Greta's disbelief, just nodded and said, "That's how it is..." While looking toward the city, he added, "Greed... Especially with someone in such a high position..." narrowing his eyes.
Paul then said, "Looks like I have to use this," as he took out a small mana crystal—about the size of a battery cube—and inserted it into a remote listening device (which had no microphone). After that, he grabbed several more listening devices and mana crystals to fill them.
Once he put them all into a bag he pulled from the spartial bag, Paul looked at Renya and said, "Renya, catch it," tossing the bag toward her.
After Renya caught it, Paul said in a serious tone, "Find out who's involved, and place the devices in hidden spots in the Vice Guild Master's room. At least one should be able to pick up everything happening in there."
When Renya said, "Yes," and was about to turn away, Paul said, "Wait," while reaching into his spatial bag and pulling out a pair of thermal binoculars. He tossed them toward Renya. After catching them, Paul said in a firm tone, "Use that, if you can't see clearly up close."
Hearing that, Renya nodded and replied, "Okay," before turning and heading out toward the city.
After Renya left, Paul turned his eyes to Greta, who was still looking gloomy, and called her name in a serious tone, "Greta."
As he reached into his spatial bag again, searching for something, Greta perked up with sudden enthusiasm and said, "Yes, yes... what task do you have for me, Prince?" with hopeful eyes.
While pulling something out, Paul replied in a lazy tone, "Not a chore," and tossed a small package toward her.
"Cook it... for dinner."
After catching what Paul had thrown, Greta stood speechless. In her hands was the Special Rainbow Horned Rabbit—the very creature she had long been dreaming of.
Seeing Greta fall silent, Paul raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't want to? Then—"
Before he could finish, Greta suddenly shouted, "Yes, yes!! I'll cook it…!!"
She spun around and rushed excitedly toward the kitchen, hugging the rabbit like a prized treasure.
"Yeaah!! Rainbow Horned Rabbit!!" she cried out, practically dancing as she disappeared into the kitchen, lifting it high with joy.
Watching Greta run off like that, Paul could only shake his head in mild amusement.
Turning to Kruger, he said calmly, "Kruger, you take a rest," while pulling out several voice-capture radios from his spatial bag. He carefully began attaching miniature voice recorders to each of the devices' embedded magic cores.
Hearing the command, Kruger nodded firmly and replied, "Yes!"
He gave a knight's salute before positioning himself beside the room to stand at ease.
Meanwhile, Paul continued his work, meticulously drawing magic runes on several components that had yet to be inscribed.
Three hours later.
Clop-clop, Clop-clop, Clop-clop, Clip-clop.
Neigh!
Whinny! Snort! Neigh! Snort-snort! Huff... Snuffle... Huff.
Hearing the approaching sounds, Paul looked out the window, his eyes narrowing.
Moments later, the door creaked open—SLAM!
Ghunter stood at the threshold, straight as a pole, and saluted firmly.
"Prince."
Paul nodded calmly. "Come in."
Ghunter stepped in and gestured behind him. "Come on, ladies..." he said with an awkward smile.
One by one, twenty young women entered, all dressed as maids. Their steps were hesitant, their eyes darting around nervously, though they were clean and neatly clothed.
Paul muttered, "Twenty maids...?" His voice laced with disbelief. He narrowed his gaze, scrutinizing each face.
Then he turned sharply to Ghunter. "Are they... hostages from the goblin settlement?"
Caught off guard, Ghunter scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously and turning his face slightly away.
"Yes, yes... that's how it is..."
Paul stared for a moment longer, then let out a sigh and muttered, "You must be kidding..." before turning back to the window, arms crossed.