"I've come to collect the one million gold coins for the 'Rainbow Tear.' I have a promise with Gilmas, so please pay up in full."
The devil had arrived.
That was what the man at the Dōkan Adventurer's Guild reception desk thought.
One million gold coins—for something that was now nothing more than a slightly unusual pebble.
When he'd heard from Gilmas that he'd given up the item's true market value and settled for a mere one million gold coins, he'd thought, "No matter how you look at it, he's still just a Raging Kingdom adventurer." He'd been a fool to think that way.
Had the boy foreseen that this would happen?
Setting that aside, there was no way a backwater guild like this one could scrape together that kind of money.
What were they supposed to do?
That was when the Guild Master arrived.
"Hey, Alan. We can't pay a million gold coins. The value of the 'Rainbow Tear' has completely bottomed out."
"I see. But a promise is a promise, so please pay up."
"That's what I'm telling you—we can't pay!"
The moment those words left his mouth, a piece of paper materialized from the chests of both Gilmas and the adventurer Alan, then vanished.
Immediately after, a large red X mark was carved into Gilmas's forehead.
"Gilmas, that's…"
"Oh dear. You just made a clear declaration that you won't honor the promise. That X mark on your forehead will never fade."
Alan delivered the answer with a grin.
Was this the… Oath Parchment?
Wasn't that the highest-grade contract magic?
Gilmas had agreed to something like a magical contract that easily?! Unbelievable!
Anyone who laid eyes on that large X mark would automatically have the knowledge implanted in their mind that this was a person who had broken a promise sworn before the gods.
No one would have anything to do with him ever again.
"If someone else pays the million gold coins on your behalf, the mark will disappear—but it would be nice if someone that generous existed, wouldn't it?"
With that, adventurer Alan put on the most wicked smile imaginable and left the scene.
◇◇◇
"Huh? You're cutting off my tab?"
Gilmas arrived at his usual bar, hiding the X mark under his hat.
"That's right. There's no point hiding it. You can't be trusted anymore. You need to pay back every cent of your outstanding tabs right now."
The bar's owner delivered the news to Gilmas.
"Damn it! I'm never coming back to a place like this!"
Gilmas fled the bar.
He repeated this over and over until he had nowhere left to go.
◇◇◇
A few days later, an unfamiliar man appeared at the guild reception.
The receptionist asked, who was this?
with suspicion.
"Um, and you are…?"
"I've been dispatched from headquarters and am taking over as Guild Master of this branch effective immediately. Why on earth was I sent to a backwater guild like this… Hey you, first order of business—process the paperwork to dismiss the former Guild Master."
"Um, Gilmas is currently absent and unable to leave for the time being."
"I know that. Rural or not, having Gilmas walking around with a giant X carved on his forehead is an utter embarrassment. That information made its way back to headquarters in no time."
The incoming Guild Master spat out the words with undisgusted contempt.
"Thanks to that, I've been stuck being assigned to this godforsaken town. Hurry up and do the paperwork, you idiot! I'm going to whip this soft guild back into shape from the ground up."
And so the former Gilmas was expelled from the guild, and no one ever knew what became of him after that.
As for someone to cover the million gold coins in his stead—such a person never appeared.
◇◇◇
And so the matter was settled.
I was thinking about leaving this town of Dōkan, but…
"You! How dare you ignore my challenge!"
The spiky-haired blond guy I'd had a brief exchange with in the frontier town of Calista appeared before me.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Mob-san, back for the first time since Chapter 145.
Better treatment than the female knight who was abandoned for about 100 chapters in Part One… probably.
Skills: [Reverse], [Divine Eye], [Sword God], [Fist God], [Spear God], [Scorching Magic], [Freezing Magic], [Clear Gale Magic], [Rock-Iron Magic], [Holy Magic], [Dark Magic], [Space-Time Magic], [Thunder God Sword], [Gentleman Thief], [Ninja Master], [Seeker of Truth], [Supernatural Strength], [Pain Dulling], [Complete Status Abnormality Resistance], [Dark Spirit Protection], [Super Intuition], [Heaven's Gate], [Abyss Contractee], [Magic Hand], [Treasure Search], [Seduction], [Eloquence], [Fortune]
Rank: Orichalcon