After seeing off the Royal Guard Knights, Cain and Alex got into the carriage and headed for the guild.
Inside the carriage, the two were lost in their thoughts, remaining silent. The carriage, driven by Dalmecia, passed through the town.
Upon arriving in front of the Adventurers' Guild, Dalmecia opened the carriage door.
"Lord Cain, Lord Alex, we have arrived at the Adventurers' Guild."
The two got out of the carriage and entered the Adventurers' Guild through the door Dalmecia had opened.
The hall, having just finished the busy morning hours, had a quiet atmosphere. The receptionists were chatting while waiting, but Letia, who was in the back, was busy piling documents on her desk and moving around.
When the children who entered the guild were recognized as Lord Cain, the receptionists immediately became tense. One of the receptionists went to Letia and whispered that Cain had arrived. Letia stopped her work and came out from the back.
"Lord Cain, thank you for coming. I will guide you to the Guild Master's office."
Letia arranged for a receptionist nearby to prepare tea and then led Cain and company to the office.
Upon reaching the Guild Master's office, she knocked and announced Cain's arrival. Just as Letia was about to open the door, it was forcefully opened from the inside.
"Lord Cain, I'm sorry to trouble you. Please come in."
The Guild Master, Rikisetsu, led Cain to the sofa with a somewhat apologetic manner.
Cain and Alex sat on the sofa, and Rikisetsu and Letia sat opposite them.
"I came to introduce the new steward. This is my second older brother, Alex."
"I am Alex von Silford, the new steward of Drintor. Nice to meet you."
Alex, a slender man, shook hands with Rikisetsu, a large, muscular man over two meters tall, making the physical difference between the adult Alex and the child Cain even more apparent.
"Lord Alex, I am the Guild Master, Rikisetsu. I apologize for the guild's failure. Currently, Letia and I are working to purify the guild. We have already apprehended two staff members who were involved in secret operations under Betty and are preparing to transfer them to the capital guild today."
Given the guild master's management failure, Rikisetsu maintained a low profile throughout.
Especially with the capital's chief master, Edin, also in Drintor, it was necessary to resolve the matter quickly.
"I'll leave the staff to you. Since they are guild staff, I think they will be judged by Edin in the capital."
Everyone nodded.
Since Rikisetsu and Letia were busy, Cain and company left the guild early.
After Cain and company left, the receptionists started gossiping again.
"Who was that person with Lord Cain? I heard a new steward was coming, but is that young handsome man the one!?"
"Lord Cain is too young, but the steward seems to be an adult. If I were to aim for someone, it would be him!"
Since it was a quiet time at work, the receptionists were excitedly discussing the person who came with the lord.
*Clap*
Suddenly, a clapping sound was heard. The receptionists turned around to see Letia, the deputy guild master, with her hands on her hips, looking angry.
"Alright, enough gossip. That person is the new steward, Lord Alex von Silford."
"Von Silford...?"
"Yes, Lord Cain's older brother. He is the second son of the Margrave. As the second son, he will be treated as a minor noble."
"Lord Alex..."
The receptionists were smitten with the beautiful, blue-haired Alex. While Lord Cain, as the head of a noble family, was out of reach, Alex, as a noble's child, was more approachable. Many noble daughters married into noble families, but there were also plenty of opportunities for commoners.
"Really, you all..."
Letia sighed and started going through the pile of documents on her desk.
After leaving the guild, Cain and company returned to the lord's residence.
In the office, Cain and Alex were sitting on the sofa. Dalmecia had left to prepare tea.
"With this, we can focus on internal affairs."
Alex took out a few books from the steward's office and placed them on the desk.
"First, I want to expand the city walls. We also need to relocate the people living in the slums. The real work will start after the summer break."
Alex was taken aback by Cain's words.
"Cain, expanding the city walls will take years and require a lot of manpower and a huge amount of money. It would be better to start with more immediate tasks."
"That's fine. I'll create them with magic. It will use a lot of mana, but I think it's doable. I'll ask you, Brother Alex, to handle the follow-up work."
"Speaking of which, the king did mention that you do unconventional things... I see. I'll leave the city walls to you, Cain."
As they continued talking, there was a knock on the door, and Dalmecia entered.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. The tea is ready. What about the visitor?"
Dalmecia placed the tea in front of Cain and Alex and asked.
"Visitor? That's unusual. Who could it be?"
"It's... Lord Seth..."
Dalmecia answered apologetically.
"Whaβ!"
Cain spat out the tea he had just sipped.
Alex, who didn't know Seth, tilted his head in confusion at Cain's reaction.
"He's waiting outside. Should I let him in?"
If the Demon King Seth were standing outside the front door, it would shock everyone around.
"Y-Yes, bring him in immediately! It would be a problem if he stayed outside."
Dalmecia bowed and left the office.
A moment later, the door was forcefully opened.
Of course, it was the Demon King Seth. As usual, he had three horns on his forehead and was wearing noble clothing and a cloak.
"Lord Cain! Listen to me!"
However, the almost crying Demon King had no dignity at all.
Cain was just surprised by his appearance.
Thank you for reading.
Due to a norovirus outbreak in my household, I couldn't find much time to write, so this chapter is shorter than usual.
Please take care, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.