The Extra's Rise-Chapter 256: Second Mission (2)

'How exactly are we going to do this hunt?' Luna asked me in my mind, her voice edged with skepticism as I reached the hotel. It was officially a break day, which only made it clearer just how lazily the Redknot Guild was approaching all this. A cabal of criminals masquerading as adventurers, taking their sweet time while the city rotted. Bureaucracy, corruption, and general incompetence—the holy trifecta of why things rarely got done in an orderly fashion.

'Well, obviously, I need a few key pieces first,' I replied, pushing open the hotel door. 'And one of them should be arriving soon.'

Luna barely had time to begin her protest before she stiffened, eyes narrowing as her senses caught up.

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'Oh, you planned this,' she muttered. 'That's terrifying. Even my foresight can't predict your moves. It's like trying to read a book while someone keeps turning the pages out of order.'

'Why, thank you,' I said, just as a knock rapped against the door.

With a small smile, I strode over and pulled it open, revealing a woman with striking red hair and the kind of expression that suggested she'd spent too much time being deeply unimpressed with the world. She raised a badge, displaying it like a royal decree that might somehow demand my respect.

"Hello, Arthur," she said, her voice clipped and professional. "I am Carrie Milton, Vice Guild Master of the Redknot Guild."

"Please, come in," I said, stepping aside with a graciousness I absolutely did not feel.

Carrie entered with the careful precision of someone who expected to find knives behind the furniture. She sat herself down on the couch, and I took the seat opposite her, mirroring her stiff posture just enough to be mildly irritating.

"I formally greet the Vice Guild Master of the Redknot Guild as the official Guild Master of the Bronze-rank guild, Ouroboros," I said, tone polite but deliberately weighty. I had officially become the Guild Master after using Cecilia's influence to skip the test and get the six-star adventurer license.

Carrie nodded, though there was a faint tightening of her expression—mild disappointment, the kind that came from realizing that a newly minted Bronze-rank guild was about as useful as a paper sword in a rainstorm. The guild ranking system was a mess. The gap between Bronze and Silver rank was wider than the ocean, and Ouroboros was brand-new. Not exactly a reliable ally in her mind, especially if she had the same suspicions I did.

"I came because of the message you sent," Carrie said finally, her words slow and careful. "The… possible corruption within the Redknot Guild."

She knew. At least, she had an idea. Carrie was one of the few untainted members of the guild, an unfortunate soul whose reputation for righteousness had gotten her hired but whose fundamental trust in others had made her easy to deceive. The Guild Master had played her like a well-tuned instrument.

Not perfectly, though.

"Yes," I said, leaning forward. "The crimes plaguing this city—they all trace back to them. I need your help to expose it."

Carrie's lips pressed into a thin line. There was doubt in her eyes, a wariness born from knowing she was dangerously close to a truth she might not be ready for.

This was always the tricky part. Getting people to see what was right in front of them.

"You know it too, don't you?" I pressed, watching Carrie's face with the kind of patience usually reserved for people trying to convince a cat to come inside during a rainstorm. "You don't want to admit it. That's fine. I don't want to believe it either. That's why the investigation will focus on gathering evidence first."

That, of course, was an absolute, bald-faced lie. But the wonderful thing about lies was that most people weren't particularly good at detecting them. Only those with an almost supernatural ability to read people—like the three princesses—could truly see through my deceptions. Carrie, despite her experience, wasn't one of them.

"I understand," she said, her voice carrying the weight of someone clutching at the last remaining threads of optimism. "..I don't want to believe this either."

"Exactly. And if we find out we were wrong, all the better." I smiled, all warmth and reassurance, like a doctor telling a patient that the good news is, they probably won't need surgery. "But if we're right, then I need someone like you on my side."

Carrie Milton hadn't become the Vice Guild Master of Redknot by sheer luck. She was a low Ascendant-ranker, which meant she was one of two people in this city who could actually deal damage to the Bishop. Strong, experienced, competent—exactly the kind of person I needed to make sure this plan didn't crumble into a thousand tiny regrets.

"So what's your plan?" she asked, the skepticism in her voice thick enough to spread on toast.

I laid it out for her, step by step, from the subtle maneuvering to the more direct interventions, explaining each part with the care of someone defusing a particularly volatile bomb. She listened, silent and focused, her expression shifting from doubt to calculation. When I finished, she leaned back, exhaling.

"..It could work," she muttered, then frowned. "No. It should work. Even if the Guild Master was a high Ascendant-ranker."

"Well, but of course," I said smoothly, as if this wasn't something I'd been planning with the obsessive detail of a mad scientist trying to reanimate a corpse.

Carrie studied me for another moment before nodding. "Alright. I'm in."

That was the thing about good people. Once they saw the right path, they didn't hesitate. They didn't second-guess. They just moved forward, no matter what it cost them.

"And you mentioned this Reika girl… she's their main target?"

"Yes," I nodded, keeping my voice even. "The Redknot Guild has been corrupted by one of the Four Cults."

Another lie. It was the Red Chalice cult, but saying that outright would be like telling someone their childhood bedtime stories were actually real and out to get them. As far as most people were concerned, the Red Chalice cult had been wiped off the face of existence. Mentioning them would get me the kind of look reserved for lunatics and prophets.

Better to let Carrie figure that part out on her own.

Carrie tapped a finger against her knee, thinking. Her eyes weren't on me anymore but staring somewhere past me, the way people do when they're trying to convince themselves that what they're about to do isn't going to end in disaster.

"I'll need to be careful," she said finally. "If the Guild Master or anyone else suspects I'm working against them—"

"They'll deal with you before you can be a problem," I finished for her, nodding. "Which is why you're not working against them. You're just investigating a few inconsistencies. Following standard procedure. A responsible Vice Guild Master doing her job."

Carrie let out a sharp breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Right. And if things go wrong?"

I shrugged. "Then we adjust. Improvise. Hope they haven't already prepared for that."

That got me a dry look, the kind that suggested she was reevaluating every life choice that had brought her to this conversation. "Your confidence is inspiring."

"I try," I said, standing up. "In any case, I'll get things moving on my end. You just make sure you stay out of sight when you need to."

Carrie stood as well, adjusting her coat. "And you'll keep me updated?"

"As much as I can," I promised. "And if anything urgent comes up, I'll make sure you know."

She studied me for a moment longer, then nodded. "Alright. Then I'll start looking into things from the inside. Discreetly."

"That's the spirit," I said, walking her to the door. "And, Carrie?"

She paused, one hand on the handle.

"Be careful," I said, my voice losing the casual edge.

Carrie gave me a small, humorless smile. "I will be."

With that, she pulled open the door and stepped out, the dim hallway light casting shadows over her face. She didn't look back as she walked away, disappearing around the corner with the kind of determination that usually led to either heroism or disaster.

I closed the door behind her and let out a breath.

'Well. That's one piece in place.'

Now I just had to make sure the rest of them didn't fall apart before the game even started.