Chapter 268: 268 Bound to happen

Ian took out the key and opened the door to the Guild House.

Although there were still procedures to handle on paper, it was essentially his property now. He had received the key in advance, along with permission to start using it immediately.

The members, who had thought he was joking, had no choice but to believe him once Ian personally opened the door and stepped inside.

The three followed Ian into the Guild House with faces full of shock.

Since the building currently had no tenants, the interior was empty and a bit dusty. However, perhaps because it was vacant, the immense scale of the interior was visible at a glance, making the overwhelming feeling even greater.

“Is this place really ours?”

“Yeah. We’ll be living here from now on.”

Of course, they would have to clean it and bring in basic furniture… so they’d have to wait a bit longer to move in completely.

Hearing Ian’s words, the reality finally sank in for the three, and they began looking around the interior of the Guild House. The first floor alone was a space large enough for everyone to live comfortably, but the building continued for several floors above.

“Then can we go look upstairs too?”

“I don’t mind… but there won’t be anything there right now.”

“That’s fine!”

As soon as Ian gave his answer, the three ran up the stairs like children at a playground. As Ian followed them up slowly, they were already busy opening the doors to various rooms on the second floor.

Of course, they were just empty rooms without a single stick of furniture, but everyone seemed happy enough just with that, opening doors and chatting with excited faces.

A single room this large would already be far better than their current inn, but this place was so spacious it was hard to even guess how many such rooms there were.

“It’ll take forever to fill a place this big.”

“True. We’ll have to leave it empty like this for a while.”

Ian said as he scanned the empty space of the Guild House. In this game, the Guild House was a place he always purchased, so it was a familiar environment to him. He naturally remembered exactly how much it cost to fill it up.

While he had been lucky enough to buy the Guild House much earlier this time, he still lacked the gold coins to fill the interior the way he wanted.

“Furniture will have to be added slowly. I spent almost everything on buying the building.”

“It’s okay!”

“We’ll work hard to earn more!”

Everyone nodded in understanding. Furniture… it would be expensive, sure, but surely not as much as the price of this building. Rather, everyone’s motivation surged at the thought of decorating a building owned by the mercenary group however they liked.

This time, Ian, who had gone up the stairs ahead of them, spoke to the members following behind.

“These rooms here will be used as the dormitory.”

Ian pointed to a cluster of rooms. While buying the building, he had placed orders for only a few of the most urgent facilities, and one of them was the dormitory. Even if other facilities were left empty, they needed a place to sleep to actually live here.

When Rin peeked into a room, she found a space large enough to fit several of their current inn rooms. The other rooms next to it were the same size. Looking back with a face overwhelmed by the scale, Rin asked Ian,

“All of these are for sleeping?”

“Our numbers will increase in the future.”

“…!”

New recruits!

Rin, Tanya, and Mika all flinched at those words. Come to think of it… he was right. If only the four of them were going to stay, it would have been more efficient to buy a smaller, more suitable building.

A massive building like this would be harder to manage and only cost more. Buying a building of this gargantuan size meant he planned to run the mercenary group on a much larger scale in the future.

Now that they had such a massive base, it felt real. Ian’s mercenary group would grow bigger and bigger. Until now, it was just a vague thoughtâsomeday it’ll happenâbut now, a clear vision of their future as a major mercenary group began to take shape. With a building this big, there would be plenty of applicants. A B-rank, maybe even an A-rank group?

“Rin! What are you doing?”

Rin had been imagining herself as an A-rank mercenary before snapping out of her daydream upon hearing her friends’ conversation. …Right. That was a story for the distant future, and there was a more pressing problem to worry about right now.

The three gathered in a space on the third floor that had caught their eye. A spacious living area by the window, overlooking the street. It was the most impressive space on the third floor, visible as soon as one climbed the stairs.

Unlike an inn room where they couldn’t touch the layout, this base was purely the property of Ian’s mercenary group. They were free to decorate it however they pleased.

It was still an empty space, but that made deciding what to fill it with incredibly important.

“What should we put here?”

“I’d love a lounge.”

Mika raised her hand slightly and offered an opinion.

“Let’s put a sofa like the ones in the cafe here.”

“True. Then we should have a table too…”

Tanya, recalling the luxury furniture of the cafe, pointed out cautiously,

“Wouldn’t it be incredibly expensive to decorate it like the cafe?”

“So what? This building must have been way more expensive. Our group is rich now.”

“I-is that so? Then… let’s grow some flowers on the side too…”

Though they were hesitant at first, once the ideas started flowing, the three began sharing opinions more actively.

“And over here…”

While the three were in the middle of discussing how to fill the empty spaces of the base, Ian, who had gone to check the upper floors, came back down the stairs and found them all huddled together talking. Looking at the space where the members were gathered, Ian spoke in passing.

“Ah, we’re putting a library and an enchanting station there. Mika can use them when she studies.”

“…?”

The three turned their heads at Ian’s words, tilting them with expressions that asked what on earth he was talking about.

“I’ll set up a training room in the largest room on the floor below for Rin, so she can use that…”

“…?”

“We’ll make a workshop on the floor above. I’ll look for someone with maintenance skills first, but… it would be good for you guys to learn too. Knowing how to repair equipment yourself is great when we’re out on expeditions.”

“…?”

With every explanation Ian gave, everyone’s expressions hardened. There were so many rooms they hadn’t even finished counting them yet, but it seemed Ian had a plan for how to use every single inch.

Naturally, Ian already had the entire plan drawn up. After all, layouts eventually settle into the most efficient, habitual arrangements one is used to. Especially Ian’s base design…

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Title: This is How You Arrange a Base

If you place them like this, you get the full base bonus.

– What even is this?

– Why… why would anyone do this?

– There are no rest facilities here, doesn’t a rebellion break out?

– Comfort is at max, so as long as you manage stress, it won’t happen.

– If a mercenary suddenly comes looking for you at night, just tell yourself “it was bound to happen.”

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It was a base layout that always became a “best post” whenever he shared screenshots on the community forums in response to questions about base arrangements. It was an optimized layout created through years of play experience.

Everyone’s jaws dropped, and they stared at Ian with horrified faces.

“Studying…?”

“Training room…?”

“What about the tea table…?”

While Tanya and Mika murmured with confused expressions, perhaps it was because she had been with Ian the longest… Rin was the first to snap out of it and realize that Ian was dead serious.

Ian had no intention of turning this place into the glamorous hideout mercenaries often dreamed of. At this rate… it was going to be a mercenary factory.

Realizing this, Rin looked at her comrades beside her. …Right. Back when she was a total rookie, she had been helpless against Ian’s wicked tyranny. But now, Rin was a mercenary with a fair amount of experience. Her trusted comrades were now close enough that they could understand each other’s intent with just a glance. Mercenaries have a mercenary’s way of solving things.

Rin gave the two a light nudge to signal them, and they exchanged looks and nodded. Then, everyone lunged at Ian at once.

“Grab him!”

As the three lunged forward, a red flashing message window appeared in front of Ian.

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Rebellion Occurred!

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A rebellion?! Ian quickly checked the system window. The status windows of the mercenaries belonging to the group Rin, Mika, and Tanya expanded to display their information.

Why? Stress is in the safe range… They haven’t entered the Labyrinth, so there’s no mental instability… Their wages aren’t overdue. I haven’t even forced myself on them, so let alone [Hatred], even [Resentment] hasn’t risen.

Unable to figure out the reason, Ian immediately ran into the nearest room and slammed the door shut.

“Ah…!”

“It’s locked…”

Standing before Ian’s door, which he had locked in an instant as if he had practiced for this, the three exchanged glances. As the representative, Rin pounded on the door.

“Captain? Let’s just… talk for a second.”

There was no answer from inside the room. Instead, a piece of paper was slid out through the gap under the door. Tanya, who spotted it first, picked it up and called Rin.

“Rin, look at this.”

“What is it? A… Negotiation Document?”

Negotiation Document.

Captain [Ian] shall fulfill the requirements listed below as quickly as possible. Members [Rin], [Mika], and [Tanya] shall immediately cease the rebellion and return to their duties.

“…”

“…”

“…”

It was an official negotiation document with the seal of the Mercenary Guild already stamped at the bottom in advance.

“No… he carries things like this around in advance?”

“All captains carry them.”

In Labyrinth, roughly a hundred rebellions occurred every day. If you went to the Guild counter, they sold them in bulk to captains. …This is so different from what I imagined.

Thinking that, Rin filled in the blank requirements with a sour expression and pushed the document back under the door.

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Rebellion

You have negotiated with the mercenaries.

– [Base: Lounge] has been installed.

– [Base: Flower Bed] has been installed.

– [Base: Tea Table] has been installed.

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