Chapter 1

“Isto Rilos. Do you know what this document is?”

It was early, just after sunrise.

I— Isto Rilos— was being interrogated by my boss, the guild master. He had gone to the trouble of summoning me to his office.

Sweat trickled unpleasantly down my back. Feeling a deep sense of dread, I forced my parched throat to utter a response.

“It’s— I mean, it’s the record of my status.”

“That’s right. It clearly lists your level here. Isto Rilos. Your level is ‘8’. Now, let me ask you a question. In this world, overrun by countless monsters thanks to the ‘Demon King of Power’, what level is required for guild employees like us?”

“…15.”

“Exactly, 15! For adventurers, that’s the level at which they finally move past being beginners and become intermediate. And yet, you haven’t even reached that. Not only are you violating the regulations set by the Guild Union, but you’re tarnishing the reputation of our guild, Barba.”

“I sincerely apologize…”

“I won’t forgive you. Isto Rilos, you’re expelled. Pack your things and leave this place!”

No way… Is this really happening?

My worst fear had come true, and I was utterly shaken.

The only way I managed to pull myself together was by remembering my pride as a guild employee and the anger at the absurdity of the situation.

“Wait! This is too much! Yes, I wasn’t able to level up, but in exchange, I made sure to do my important work to the best of my ability!”

“Staring at paperwork in the dark basement?”

“It’s important work! With the explosion of monsters, adventurers have also surged in number. Do you have any idea how many documents are generated daily? If someone doesn’t organize and process them, it would cause major disruptions to the guild’s operations!”

“How dare you lecture me about guild management! You’re just a slacker who couldn’t deliver results even after a month’s grace period given by the Union!”

“That’s not true! I was only informed of the Union’s decision a few days ago by a colleague! And while everyone was busy leveling up, all the unprocessed paperwork was dumped on me. It’s completely unfair! Please reconsider!”

“Shut up! Shut up! You’re expelled, and that’s final! Don’t talk back to me. Get out!”

◆◇◆

From there, everything progressed rapidly without me being able to argue further.

When I returned from the office in despair, several of my colleagues surrounded me and unceremoniously dragged me out the back door.

They were the very men who had shoved all the paperwork onto me.

Kicked out from the back door, I fell face-first onto the stone pavement in the alley, hitting my nose hard. As if to add insult to injury, my hastily packed belongings were thrown onto my back.

I felt so wretched that I could barely breathe.

When I lifted my face, my colleagues were standing there, grinning triumphantly with contempt.

“Hahaha! It must’ve been a real shock, huh? Getting expelled for violating the rules… Tough break for the diligent little goody-goody, huh?”

I bit my lip.

…They planned this. They did it this way on purpose, to hurt me the most.

“Don’t worry. Even we couldn’t have leveled up in such a short time. But still, a moldy guy like you from the basement should’ve been kicked out ages ago.”

“See ya, useless! Don’t ever come back to the guild. Especially don’t show your face at the front desk, or you’ll regret it. Think about how you made eyes at that girl and live with that shame!”

Their sneering voices hit me like blows.

So, that’s what this was all about.

I was disgusted with my own stupidity.

To think I only now realized the reason for their harassment.

They— were jealous of how close the front desk’s favorite girl had been to me. They must’ve wanted to settle things before she arrived at work this morning.

All I had been doing was trying to work hard for the guild, for the adventurers, and for the people who came to submit requests every day.

—With a heartless creak, the old backdoor of the guild shut.

That door would never open for me again.

Having lost the will to argue, I dragged my heavy body through the alleyway.

The sun had only just risen. The town and its people were just beginning their day.

The alley was dim.

To me, it felt like this path didn’t lead to the day’s start, but to the end of the world itself.