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Early TBAGM Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 1
🕑 Added 2025-04-27 17:53:40 +0000 UTCFull title: The Banished Advisor’s Guild Management
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Translator: Canon
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Chapter 2 - The Rebellious Blade
Meanwhile, in the grand hall of the Incarnation of the Sun headquarters—
An emergency summons had been issued by Kyros to the First Unit, which I used to lead.
An emergency summons was unheard of in Incarnation of the Sun. The summoned members gathered in the hall, abuzz with confusion over this unprecedented event.
Then, two men stepped onto the stage, looking down upon the gathering.
The moment the crowd saw who they were, a murmur rippled through them.
“Hey, isn’t that Allen standing next to Lord Kyros?”
“Why would a senior member of the Second Unit be here instead of Lloyd?”
“Wait… isn’t that the First Unit’s emblem on Allen’s chest?”
Many of the gathered members were visibly puzzled by the pairing of Kyros and Allen.
The guild had three units, but relations among them were far from harmonious. Each unit kept the others in check; none were on friendly terms.
That’s why seeing Allen, who belonged to the Second Unit, here at all felt out of place.
And when the two opened their mouths, what they said sent an even greater shock through the ranks—
“Starting today, Allen will be taking command of the First Unit.”
“Nice to meet you all, my name is Allen. As Lloyd’s successor, I’ll be leading the unit from today onward. I intend to do my utmost in this role, so I humbly ask for your support.”
“““Huh?”””
The members all raised bewildered voices in perfect unison, as if rehearsed. The great hall fell into a hush, confusion stalling everyone’s thoughts.
“Wh-What about Mr. Lloyd?”
“You’re one of the senior members, aren’t you? Lloyd? I expelled him.”
“What?”
It was a blunt declaration from Kyros, as if it were of no consequence. Bram, the deputy, was left speechless with his mouth agape. No advance notice, and a reassignment in the form of expulsion no less; who could’ve foreseen such a thing?
“Lloyd failed to meet the monster material quota I assigned for three months. Despite that, he clung to his executive position. That’s hardly justifiable, wouldn’t you agree?”
Kyros spoke with a dismissive sigh. But no one accepted his explanation. Bram stepped forward, voicing what the others were thinking.
“Mr. Lloyd is an advisor! Are you saying someone in a non-combat role should dive into dungeons and fight?”
Unlike the other Units, the members of the First Unit truly understood Lloyd’s value. To them, he was practically the strongest person in the guild. To suddenly expel such a figure; of course they couldn’t stay quiet.
Kyros responded coldly.
“He’s gone into dungeons before, hasn’t he?”
“You’re aware the team moved into the dungeon’s middle layers three months ago, right? That area gives even C-rank adventurers a hard time! There’s no way someone like Mr. Lloyd, who’s not even a combatant, could handle that!”
“““Exactly!”””
The room roared with agreement, voices rising in protest. The tension swelled to a breaking point—until Kyros’s next words silenced the hall like a splash of cold water.
“You’re Bram, yes? If you defy me again, I’ll strip you of your rank.”
“Ugh… I—I apologize.”
“That goes for the rest of you as well. This is final. From today forward, Allen will lead the First Unit.”
Kyros’s gaze swept the room, his authority pressing down on all present like a physical weight.
“Now then, Allen. Do your best not to tarnish the name of the First.”
“Yes, sir! As long as I’m here, I won’t let any other unit take our top spot!”
Allen responded with a proud nod. Unit rankings were determined annually, based on monster kills, material recovery, and dungeon achievements. First was highest, followed by Second, then Third.
Lloyd had created the system to foster a competitive environment.
“Well then, everyone—let’s work together moving forward!”
“““……”””
No one could muster more than a pained nod in response to Allen’s smile.
The emergency assembly ended with Allen’s brief address, and the First Unit members returned to their dormitory; a smaller building off the main hall reserved for them. The guild headquarters was made up of a central building and three annexes, each one housing a unit.
“This is bullshit! We got this far because of Mr. Lloyd!”
In the common room, Bram finally let his fury spill out. As Lloyd’s right hand, he was in his early thirties and highly experienced; a central pillar of the unit. Once a bottom-rung adventurer stuck in the Third Unit, Lloyd had unearthed his talent and trained him to this point. Bram understood Lloyd’s value better than anyone.
“What’s with the noise?”
“Nero…”
A young man emerged from a back room, hair disheveled and still in sleepwear. He looked like he’d just woken up. The others didn’t bat an eye; this was normal for Nero.
“Why didn’t you come to the assembly?”
“Couldn’t be bothered. So what happened?”
With striking scarlet hair and twin blades always strapped to his back—even in bed—Nero was the First Unit’s sole A-rank adventurer. At nineteen, he was young, but in the brutal meritocracy of adventurers, strength was everything. No one dared question him.
Grinding his teeth, Bram explained bitterly.
“Mr. Lloyd was expelled…!”
“What?! Mr. Lloyd?!”
Nero’s eyes widened in disbelief. After a moment of thought, he posed a quiet question.
“Did he say anything?”
“No. We haven’t received any word from him.”
At that, Nero’s expression shifted. A crooked grin crept onto his face.
“What is it? Something funny?”
“Heh… no. Just thinking—we got tossed aside.”
“““What?”””
“Or maybe… maybe we made Mr. Lloyd toss us aside.”
“That’s ridiculous! There’s no way Mr. Lloyd would abandon us!”
One of the members stepped up, radiating hostility. But it was Nero—he silenced the man with a single glare.
“You all started to rot. That’s how we ended up here.”
“S-Started to rot…?”
“Yeah. Sure, Kyros is the one who expelled him. But the real reason… it’s that you betrayed Mr. Lloyd.”
“…Ugh.”
The man faltered under Nero’s brutal honesty. Nero grabbed him by the collar and growled provocatively—
“So strange, considering how much you all hated him at first…”
When Lloyd had first been appointed captain of the unit, everyone had shunned him. He was a non-combatant, a so-called advisor with what seemed like a useless skill. Someone like that had no place in the squad; no value to contribute. But as he began to rack up achievements, the members gradually opened up to him. By the end, he had earned everyone’s respect as an S-rank Advisor.
Many of the original members of First Unit were dropouts; adventurers who had failed to rise in other squads. Lloyd had nurtured their talents through guidance and training, awakening their latent potential. As a result, what was once the Third Unit had risen to become the top-ranking First Unit.
“You ruined Mr. Lloyd’s life just to keep a hold on that title.”
If it had become widely known that Lloyd possessed not only appraisal but also top-tier teaching ability, the higher-ups might have reassigned him back to Third Unit. To prevent that, the members of First Unit had hidden his accomplishments from the others. Worse still, they had spread the lie that he was promoted because of his friendship with Kyros. And Lloyd, always thinking of his subordinates, had never once bragged about his achievements.
“You repaid Mr. Lloyd’s kindness with betrayal!”
Nero howled, as if finally releasing emotions that had long been building. Lloyd hadn’t lacked talent, nor had he failed to deliver results. He had simply been betrayed by the very people he had raised.
“Nero, where are you going?”
“I’m quitting. This damned guild isn’t worth it.”
“Th-then we’ll come with—”
Nero turned his back on them and walked toward his room, presumably to pack up. The others began to move as if to follow.
But he stopped and, without turning around, spat out a final remark.
“You’re too scared to let go of your positions. If Mr. Lloyd were ever in danger, you’d still choose your status over him.”
“……”
Not one of them could deny it. Not one dared follow him with conviction.
†
About a week had passed since the founding of Veiled Moonrise when Orgus contacted us to say that the guild’s building had been completed.
I—Lloyd—invited Ellis to accompany me, excitement in my chest as we headed for the designated location. With only two members in the guild, I hadn’t expected the building to be all that large.
And yet what stood before us far surpassed anything I had imagined.
“This is… incredible…”
“It really is… This is our guild…”
Though not quite on the scale of the Incarnation of the Sun’s headquarters, it was clearly the grandest structure in the neighborhood. Where the Adventurer’s Association was forged from iron, this one stood tall and proud in wood. Orgus had clearly pulled out all the stops.
Ellis looked up at the large crest displayed on the guild’s front and asked,
“Lord Lloyd, is that our crest…?”
“That’s right. Miss Serina designed it for us. We owe her a great deal.”
The emblem depicted a crescent moon glowing brilliantly amid swirling clouds—our symbol, the mark of Veiled Moonrise. Ellis and I had tried coming up with a design ourselves, but none of our ideas were remotely presentable. In the end, we had enlisted Serina—the perfect maid who could do anything—and she had graciously created it for us.
Incidentally, Serina had also agreed to reside at the guild full-time. She had offered to manage our daily affairs, and I could never thank her enough for that.
“It’s… it’s so spacious…”
“Maybe a bit too much, actually…”
As we stepped inside, the scent of fresh wood drifted through the air. I wondered just how much money had gone into this place. Apparently, the building had originally been a rundown structure, refurbished entirely at the Guild’s expense. Orgus had seen promise in our future, and this level of support was highly unusual.
Which meant we now had to live up to that promise.
“All right, let’s get down to business. We should set our goals.”
We sat at a massive table that could easily seat over ten people. At first glance, I thought it was a banquet hall; it was just that large.
“Ellis, how much do you know about dungeons?”
“I spent most of my time training at home, so… not a lot, to be honest.”
She slumped her shoulders, visibly apologetic.
“No problem. Let’s start from the basics.”
Currently, there were three known dungeons in the country: a volcanic dungeon, a forest dungeon, and a desert dungeon. Dungeons were mysterious underground structures, and no one had fully uncovered their secrets. They teemed with monsters; mindless creatures driven by a singular impulse to kill.
Most dungeons consisted of thirty floors, divided into three zones: upper, middle, and lower. The upper floors ranged from E to C rank, the middle from C to B, and the lower from B to S. The deeper you went, the stronger the monsters. The boss waiting at the very bottom could give even a group of A-rank adventurers a serious challenge.
So why would anyone enter such perilous places? There were two major reasons.
“The first is that monster materials are extremely valuable.”
Many of these materials couldn’t be replicated by human hands. This country had built entire industries on them.
“The second is that guilds compete over dungeon conquests.”
There were twenty-six adventurers’ guilds in Feraia, including Veiled Moonrise. They competed in many areas, with official rankings published once a year. High rankings attracted investors and secured funding. Low rankings, on the other hand, brought the threat of dissolution.
On average, two dungeons were conquered per year. Once conquered, a dungeon collapsed, and a new one would appear about six months later; a kind of natural cycle. Conquest count had the highest impact on rankings. Even one dungeon cleared could secure a guild a top ten spot.
That was why so many guilds sent their adventurers into the dungeons.
“So, we’re going to focus on dungeon conquests, then?”
“Eventually, yes. For now, it’s just you and me, so I want to focus on training. But as soon as we recruit one more member, I plan to send a team in.”
I already planned to start scouting tomorrow. But the decision to prioritize training wasn’t because I lacked confidence; it was because I wanted to guide Ellis personally.
Ellis had no limits. Her appraisal results made that abundantly clear.
How far could she grow? How high could she soar?
I wanted to find out for myself.
“If we’re going to target a dungeon, which one do you have in mind?”
“Hmm… probably the volcanic one.”
As the name suggested, it was filled with fire-element monsters. A perfect fit for Ellis, who wielded 【Water Ball】. On top of that, I had heard rumors that the Incarnation of the Sun was focusing its efforts there. If we played it right, we might even snatch that conquest from under them. Personal reasons aside, the timing was ideal.
“First, we need to head to the Adventurer’s Association.”
“The Adventurer’s Association? Did we forget to fill out some paperwork?”
“No, everything’s done. But Orgus said he wants to see what you can do.”
Orgus’s Appraisal skill was A-rank, lower than mine. Without Insight, he couldn’t see inherent qualities or hidden skills. As far as he was concerned, Ellis was just another D-rank adventurer. In other words, he doubted her abilities.
“So I’m supposed to prove myself to the Chairman… Now I’m nervous.”
“You’ll be fine, Ellis. I know you will.”
I had no doubt she would do fine. If anything, I should probably be more worried about Orgus. Hopefully, Ellis wouldn’t reduce the Adventurer’s Association headquarters to rubble with 【Water Ball】.
“Thank you for saying that, Lord Lloyd. I’ll give it my all!”
I was fairly certain what she’d shown me before wasn’t even close to her full strength. I didn’t want to imagine what Ellis looked like when she truly gave it her all—so I didn’t.
Instead, I headed off to the Adventurer’s Association with Ellis, feeling just a bit sorry for Orgus.
—
