“Oh, I’ve got it! You’ll make a hundred of these by tomorrow!”
As the end of the workday approached, the young lord Ladrith, who always spoke in his own best interest, said this to me with a grin. I looked up at him with fear, clenching my fist tightly, and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Um, I’m sorry, but I have to refuse.”
At that moment, the young lord’s ears twitched and his expression changed from a good mood to a fierce glare, staring at me as if I were a mere roadside pebble.
“What did you just say? Defective mage. Did I hear you disobeying my orders? Surely that can’t be the case, can it?”
It was no use. I wondered when I would ever get to sleep. For five years, I had obeyed their unreasonable demands time and time again, so perhaps they thought that if they threatened me as usual, I would obey.
“I won’t change my statement.”
I stood my ground and refused.
I saw the young lord reach for his saber.
“How dare you! As a commoner, you dare to challenge me, a nobleman! There must be a good reason for this. If it’s a trivial matter, I’ll execute you, but I’m generous. I’ll give you a chance to apologize and retract your statement.”
My teeth chattered with fear.
But I had made up my mind. I would no longer lie to myself.
“I don’t want to work anymore.”
I shouted it out.
Finally, I did it!
I felt a rush of liberation, and my spine tingled.
“What…!?”
The young lord’s eyes widened in surprise. He stared at me, his mouth opening and closing like a gasping fish.
“Um, are you okay, young lord?”
I asked, worried about him. His hand was shaking, and his saber rattled in its scabbard.
“What… what did you say?! This defective mage!!! Don’t be cocky, you’re nothing but a lowly adventurer who can only use basic level magic. That’s right! To fix your snobbery, let’s double the previous item delivery order to 200! That’s a great idea. Don’t think you can get away with it because I sent you a named request! Oh, if only you had listened to me from the beginning, it would have been so much easier.”
Indeed, guild requests were almost mandatory, and it was difficult to refuse them. But that only applied to guild members.
“I have retired, so please give the request to someone else. Thank you for everything so far, young lord.”
Although he seemed to want to say something else, my job was done. I bowed and quickly left.
