Chapter 310: Laying The Groundwork.
Time passed, and before Kael knew it, several more days had gone by. Those days turned out to be rather busy.
There were numerous matters requiring his attention, both personally and as Guild Master of Mothlight. One of the most pressing was the investigation concerning the Dark Viper Guild.
Just as Vice President Jonas had warned him, the Hunter Association reached out to Kael shortly after the housewarming party, and he was officially summoned to appear before the Association’s investigation committee for further questioning.
Naturally, Kael complied.
Although he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about spending his time answering questions concerning an incident he considered long resolved, he understood that the Association still had procedures it needed to follow.
And since he wanted the matter settled properly, there was no reason for him to make things unnecessarily difficult.
Over the following days, Kael was summoned three separate times.
During the first two sessions, the committee reviewed the evidence he had submitted and questioned him about various aspects of the Dark Viper Guild incident.
They asked about the circumstances that had led to his confrontation with the Guild, the crimes he had uncovered, and the actions he had taken afterward.
Kael answered their questions calmly.
He had already provided sufficient evidence to support his account, so there was little reason for him to feel nervous.
Of course, that didn’t mean every member of the committee was particularly friendly toward him.
In fact, one individual seemed unusually determined to make things difficult.
Throughout the questioning, the man repeatedly challenged Kael’s statements, scrutinized minor details, and attempted to cast doubt on the justification for his actions.
At first, Kael simply assumed the man was being particularly thorough.
After all, the committee was supposed to investigate the matter objectively, and asking difficult questions was part of its responsibility.
However, as the questioning continued, it became increasingly obvious that the man’s attitude went beyond ordinary professional scrutiny.
He seemed almost personally offended by the possibility that Kael might escape punishment. Naturally, Kael found that strange, and after making a few inquiries, he eventually discovered the reason.
Apparently, the committee member had a close personal connection to someone implicated in the Dark Viper Guild’s crimes, and thanks to the evidence Kael had submitted, that individual had ended up in serious trouble, something the committee member was clearly unhappy about.
Unfortunately for him, personal dissatisfaction wasn’t enough to change the outcome of an official investigation, especially not when the evidence was already so overwhelming.
By the time Kael was summoned for the third session, the committee had completed its review. This time, he wasn’t there simply to answer more questions, instead, he was there to hear the final verdict.
After examining the evidence and weighing the circumstances surrounding the incident, the Association concluded that Kael’s actions fell within the protections provided by the Jus Maleficii law.
As a result, he was officially exempted from punishment, and with that, the investigation came to a close.
Naturally, the committee member who’d been trying to stir up trouble wasn’t particularly pleased. Kael could still remember the look on the man’s face when the verdict was announced. But there was nothing he could do, the evidence Kael had provided was more than sufficient to justify the decision under the law, and one man’s objections weren’t enough to overturn it.
For the Association, that was all that mattered.
With the investigation finally resolved, he no longer needed to worry about being summoned repeatedly over the Dark Viper Guild incident.
Of course, that wasn’t the only thing he had been dealing with.
During those same few days, Kael also finalized the agreement he’d discussed with Vice President Jonas.
After carefully reviewing the documents, he confirmed the terms matched what Jonas had laid out during their meeting. With that, the deal was officially concluded.
And as far as Kael was concerned, it was an excellent arrangement. The expansion opportunity alone would save the Mothlight Guild a considerable amount of trouble down the line, not to mention the added benefits of trading resources for Association Contribution Points.
Still, even with that matter settled, Kael had plenty of Guild affairs left to handle. Joy had been keeping things running smoothly, but certain decisions still required his personal approval.
Over the following days, he spent quite some time reviewing reports, approving various arrangements, and discussing the Guild’s future development.
Most importantly, he finalized the preparations for the Mothlight Guild’s upcoming auction.
The event had been in preparation for some time, and after considering the schedule of the upcoming tournament, Kael finally decided on a date.
Three days from now.
That would place the auction exactly one day before the tournament began.
And the timing was entirely intentional.
By then, representatives from the other Safe Zones would already have begun arriving.
After all, an event as important as the tournament naturally required participants, officials, and representatives from the various Safe Zones to gather in advance.
And wherever powerful individuals and influential organizations gathered, there were bound to be people interested in acquiring valuable resources.
Kael had no intention of wasting such a convenient opportunity.
Holding the auction just before the tournament would allow Mothlight to attract the attention of individuals who might otherwise never have heard much about the Guild.
And considering the items he intended to auction, Kael was confident the event would leave a lasting impression.
He’d already selected numerous high-grade treasures for the occasion, some rare magical materials, others valuable items that would be difficult to come by through ordinary means. Individually, many of them would have been enough to draw considerable interest, but Kael intended to present them all together.
He wanted people to understand that the Mothlight Guild wasn’t just some newly established organization, it was one capable of obtaining treasures that even major organizations would covet.
And there was another reason he wanted to make such a strong impression.
With his agreement with the Association finalized, it was now more or less guaranteed that Mothlight would eventually expand its operations into another Safe Zone.
That meant the Guild would soon begin interacting with organizations and influential individuals beyond its current territory.
Rather than waiting until the expansion actually happened to establish Mothlight’s reputation, Kael wanted to start laying the groundwork now.
If representatives from the other Safe Zones witnessed the quality of the resources Mothlight could provide, they would naturally begin paying attention to the Guild.
Some might even become interested in establishing business relationships before Mothlight officially entered their territories.
And that was exactly what Kael wanted.