Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 731: Return to Malovia [2]

There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, or even in my old world. Everything had its own price, and evidently, the price of the radio was a favor of mine.

I quietly pushed the chair back, ready to stand up and walk out the door. Whatever it was, it was bound to be troublesome. Favors from Guilds always were.

But then, I stopped.

I was quite poor at the moment. If the favor was something simple, then this deal might actually end up saving me a lot of money.

I settled back into the seat.

"...Go on."

Maren Holt studied my face for a moment. Then, she gave Harlan a look, and the deputy quietly locked the office door.

Oh, dear...

"What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room. It’s quite sensitive for our Guild."

"And you’re willing to share that with me?"

How bold.

"We’re at a point where we don’t have much of a choice.

"...Fair enough."

I smiled and leaned back. I was curious now.

She folded her hands on the desk.

"One of our people has gone missing."

"....."

"His name is Elliot. Twenty-four years old, and our top recruit. He’s the one who was in charge of registering the radio sessions."

She slid a thin file across the desk. A photo was clipped to the front. A young man with neat brown hair and a bright smile, giving a thumbs-up in front of the Guild’s banner.

"He didn’t take the result of the hearing quite well. In order to prove the usefulness of the radio, he planned on directly tracking down one of the voices and saving the individual before they got into trouble, just to prove that it was useful. And he went..."

"...Where to?"

"Malovia."

My brow rose slightly.

"He was tracking a woman named Mara Ellis. His last message came four days ago, saying he’d found the place she used to live in."

The Guild Master’s voice remained even, but her thumb pressed hard against her other hand.

"There’s been nothing since. His phone has been off the entire time."

’Mara Ellis...? That’s the first voice from the hearing, huh.’

I recalled it quite well since it left quite a big impact. The woman’s voice, and the screaming that followed.

"Send your people, then. Isn’t that what your Guild does?"

"With what license, Mr. Thorne?"

Her lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

"All of our field operations are suspended until the Bureau finishes its review. The moment we send a single member out on Guild business, Silver Lantern is finished."

"Then report it. It’s not like the BUA won’t make a move if you make a request."

"And the Bureau will tie it straight to the radio."

It was Harlan who answered this time, his voice low.

"A member disappears chasing a voice from an anomaly that we concealed for eleven weeks. Our review is next month. If that gets out..."

He didn’t finish.. Instead, he added something else.

"There’s also the issue with the media that we need to handle. If news gets out, then we’ll truly reach the point of no return.’

’A rescue Guild that isn’t allowed to search.’

The fucking irony...

I glanced at the photographs on the wall. Forty years of them rescuing people, and the one time it was their own person lost, their hands were tied behind their backs.

That was pretty miserable, honestly.

"So, the favor."

I tapped the file.

"You want me to figure out what happened to him."

"No."

Maren shook her head, and her blue eyes met mine directly.

"I don’t want you to figure out anything. Not the woman or anything related to the radio. I’m not asking you to solve a case, Mr. Thorne. That’d be too presumptuous of me. I’m asking you to find Elliot and bring him home. That’s... what we want."

"....."

’She’s drawing the line herself.’

A Guild Master who had spent eleven weeks trying to squeeze value out of that radio, now refusing to hear a single thing about it. She had decided that the box was cursed, and she wasn’t entirely wrong to think that way.

I leaned back and thought it over.

’Malovia.’

It’s been a while since I had last stepped there. I knew that island quite well. At least, much better than Sines. On top of that, I had been meaning to go back for a while now.

’And if I use the compass, tracking one person shouldn’t take too long, either.’

A simple search, on familiar land, with the right tool for the job. In exchange, a free anomaly and a Queen-Grade Guild owing me a favor.

The math wasn’t hard.

"Give me his file, and a picture of him. Oh, and the place where he was last seen."

The Guild Master blinked.

"...You’ll do it?"

"I’ll find him. The state he’ll be in as I bring him back will be something for you to figure out."

For a second, the Guild Master simply stared at me. Then, she let out a breath, and it was as if ten years of weight slid off her shoulders all at once.

"The radio will be delivered to wherever you’re staying by tonight. The documents will say it was sold for a symbolic price of one credit."

"Hmm..." My eyes squinted as I looked at the Guild Master. "Can we make it zero? To be honest, I’m kind of low on cash."

"What sort of—"

The Guild Master barely held her words back as she forced a smile.

"One credit, Mr. Thorne. For the paperwork."

Fine. I clenched my teeth.

Such a terrifying level of greed.

Maren rose from her seat and extended her hand across the desk.

"If there’s anything that you need, please feel free to let us know."

I stood up and shook his hand back.

"Then, can I ask for more money?"

"....."

"....."

"...It was a joke."

No, not really.

Give me money.

***

"You’re taking another leave?"

The Section Chief didn’t even look up from his desk as he spoke. Stacks of paper covered every corner of it, and judging by the empty coffee cups lined up by the side, he had been at it since morning.

"It’s a different case."

"For...?"

"A favor for the Lantern Guild."

"....."

His pen stopped.

Slowly, the Section Chief raised his head, his eyes narrowing at me from behind the documents. His brows furrowed as the silence stretched on.

In the end, he shook his head.

"It’ll be hard to approve. We’re right in the middle of preparations, and your name is on half the schedules. Even if I do approve it, I’m sure the others will try to block it."

"....."

I frowned.

’Should I just quit?’

I was seriously contemplating it. It wasn’t like the pay was anything special, and the amount of trouble that came with the position was—

"How about this."

The Section Chief let out a long sigh, dropping his pen onto the desk.

"Since it’s Malovia, we’ll just say you’re going back to collect your things and check on the situation over there. That shouldn’t cause too many problems." He rubbed his temple. "That’s where the main HQ is anyway. We’ll all have to move back eventually, so consider it an early inspection."

"....."

"I’ll file it as official business. Don’t make me regret it."

With that, he picked his pen back up and returned to his papers, as if the conversation had never happened.

I stared at him for a moment.

Then, a smile crept onto my face.

The Section Chief glanced up, catching me still standing there.

"...Well? What are you still doing here?"

He waved his hand at me, shooing me off like some stray cat.

"Off you go. And don’t take too long. Things are already messy enough as they are. I’ll need you in top form."

"Understood."

I turned around and left the office.

’In the end, the Section Chief could be useful when he needed to be.’

I just about took a step outside when the Section Chief’s voice echoed behind me once more.

"Be careful."

"Hm?"

Stopping, I turned my head as the Section Chief looked back at me.

"The place is crawling with anomalies. The BUA has taken several away, but there are quite a lot that are still at large."

"...You’re right."

He was...

But that was also one of the main reasons I wanted to go.

’I need to collect more anomalies.’

For my upcoming Gate.

It was about time that I worked on it.