Vol 1 Chapter 32 (1/2)
Chapter Three
The Decision
(Part 2)
On the afternoon of a certain day Bard was in the third floor’s office
The reason why his expression was obstinate as he sat on the leather chair was because Frank was sitting in front of him
He was being thoroughly beat down
However, the cause of this heavy feeling was Frank’s duty as head of the Lunéville branch
Frank put the paper he held in his hands down on the table
“Do you have any justifications this time?”
“… No, none”
If one were to talk about height, Bard was taller However, right now his figure seemed even smaller than Frank
“Bard This failure of yours endangered people losing confidence in not only the branch, but the association as a whole No matter how much effort we make, we cannot recover that once it is lost Am I understood?”
“… Yes”
The other day, Bard corave mistake
While registering a commission when the branch was packed, in a rush, Bard istration before it was finished, returning the registration cards and commission chart
Today, this caht The coistration book When the problem was looked into, the mistake was detected
And thus the office staff were in a panic
If a coistered and soreat efforts of the guild members that came to report completions would be wasted
As a result of their swift examination of the problem, since the commission hadn’t yet been accepted in other locations, they soed to avoid much trouble However, in the case that a coistered as complete, it is necessary to make a report that summarizes the reason in order to prevent fraud
Since it was a serious matter this tier
It’s not like Bard didn’t understand that he was being covered by his superior
However, he wasn’t satisfied either
Because the presence of whether or not souild members that have accepted a coence at all
So even though Bard’s mistake could be summed up as primarily due to his inexperience, one of the primary factors was also the expectations Ilya placed on him
Bard, whose concentration dulls when in crowded situations, couldn’t properly asses guild members’ abilities that well And so, unable to predict the results, took extra time
Guild et irritated by that and rush him
In his haste, Bard would often return registration cards and co them
Bard thought that Ilya said too s, but that simply showed his immaturity Therefore, Bard obediently admitted his failure
Seeing hiainst the back of chair, giving all his body weight to it
“So then, ill you take care to do in the future?”
“… Verify them properly”
“Entirely confiristration And?”
“Properly concentrate on my work”
“Alright, if you can properly do those two things, you probably won’t et about this failure, you’re likely to never to it again and grow more used to it in the future”
Although his tone was gentle, his gaze was harsh Because even if this was so minor this time, Bard was made to understand that that wouldn’t always be the case
However, Bard had no intention of exposing such a ain
Gritting his teeth, he soaze
“… Sorry”
And bowed
“Alright Take care You can go back”
“… Eh? Oh, yes”
After replying, Frank’s attitude ih he lost interest Unable to keep up, Bard responded cautiously
“… There’s… no punishment?”
“You properly reflected on your actions Of course, if you continue to make mistakes you’ll be sorry”
Even if he took it as a joke, this wasn’t the kind of situation where the other person could laugh it off
Unable to understand not being punished for failing, Bard was puzzled
Frank looked up fro at Bard More so than feeling kind, his smile felt reliable
“Clerks, receptionists, waiters and waitresses, cooks… even though the branch exists because of theer exists?”
“… To keep theht?”
While saying that, he realized it wasn’t a correct answer
“Well, that’s half right To take responsibility for them, that’s the other half”
“Responsibility?”
Bard couldn’t understand In the thieves guild he used to be in, the responsibility for failure would always land on the person themselves No superior would stand in for their subordinates’ failures
For taking responsibility, the closest parallel would be people pushi+ng their failures onto their subordinates
However, Frank’s words were i that superiors should sacrifice themselves and take responsibility It was the complete opposite idea
“The world isn’t just the thieves guild They desire power to obsess over gaining more power However, it’s nor responsibility Not just you, I will take responsibility for everyone’s sake… Even though I say that, there are a lot of people that attempt to abuse their positions and line their pockets with the hard work of others”
Although Frank spoke with a wry sh to express his immense willpower
Responsibility For Bard, this was so he had only for himself
However, would he take responsibility if Katie died?
Recalling the thing froht of his actions
This was so that he had absolutely never been self-aware of before when he was full of pride for his abilities
“There’s no point in giving you soize and thank theht?”
“… Got it”
With a small bow of his head, Bard left
“… Next is his language huh”
Not quite catching thedown to the first floor and quickly passing through the kitchen
Without entering the reception desk, Bard, who had come in front of the office door, stopped for afor the door He took a deep breath and sighed before slowly opening it
Gazes focused on Bard Although Bard normally didn’t pay itoverwheluilt
“Oooh? Whatever could the matter be~?”
Claude ca, he uilt
Although Bard allared back on reflex, he held back his childish irritation and bowed to not just Claude, but Desiree as well