I Became the Guardian of Big Shots in the Game

The honorable four-term mayor of Serdin.
If Asif Carodin had to choose the most nervous moment in his life.
He was confident he could answer ‘right now’ without hesitation.
“Mayor, your complexion is pale.”
“Oh my, I seem to have gotten a little nervous without realizing it.”
Ailey muttered “It doesn’t seem like just a little” as she wiped the mayor’s cold sweat with a handkerchief.
Why was the experienced mayor trembling so much?
Because his term was extended by 5 years?
He’s already done 15 years, is an additional 5 years such a big deal?
Standing in the solemn place of the inauguration ceremony?
Would he be nervous for the 4th time after having done it 3 times already?
He slightly turned his head to the right and.
Met eyes with a red-eyed woman who smiled lightly.
‘I’m going crazy.’
The vivid sensation from that day came back to him again.
The day he visited the mansion to meet the young man named Ethan.
The mayor had been held by a woman named Levi.
What he felt then was.
A feeling of being overwhelmed by her very existence, as if facing a dragon.
The mayor was tense for a while after that.
Thanks to that, the boring formal proceedings passed in the blink of an eye.
As soon as the banquet started.
The mayor left the aide and his companion to look for the Royal Inspection Bureau chief.
‘No matter how autonomous, Serdin is still clearly royal territory. If I ask the Inspection Bureau for help, wouldn’t they do something about those monster-like people?’
Even if they can’t do anything.
At least he could let them know he’s in a difficult position.
So he invited the Inspection Bureau chief, who had come to Serdin this morning, to the inauguration ceremony.
But.
The mayor’s plan was shattered.
“Hahaha! It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Yes, Inspector. No, you’re Bureau Chief now, right?”
“Somehow it turned out that way. It’s good to see you again.”
Inspection Bureau Chief Tom Muro, who had recently achieved great results.
And was said to be favored by His Majesty the King.
Was greeting the dangerous person in an incredibly friendly manner and showing off their relationship to those around.
‘Even the Inspection Bureau Chief is in cahoots with them?’
Then the directing of that horrific scene in the Free Market.
Was probably a meticulous calculation to show the end of those who opposed him.
And by having the Inspection Bureau Chief personally cover it up.
To give an even bigger shock.
“Huhu, Mayor?”
-Shudder!
At the voice from behind.
The mayor slowly turned around.
“Miss Levi, what is it?”
“Shallow tricks won’t work.”
“!”
Surprised for a moment.
He almost shouted, but.
“Shh…”
As if telling him to be quiet.
Levi put her index finger to her lips and made a hissing sound.
“If you make any strange noises, what would the distinguished guests at the inauguration ceremony think of you, Mayor?”
“Y-Yes, that’s right. I almost made a mistake.”
“There’s no need to worry. Nothing will be done to harm you, Mayor.”
Is that really true?
He just anxiously waited for Levi’s next words.
After a moment.
Levi’s answer was.
“As long as you don’t do anything foolish.”
Calm yet sharp.
As if she saw right through what he was thinking when he tried to bring in the Inspection Bureau Chief.
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Thank you. Then shall I go?”
She didn’t demand multiple confirmations.
Nor did she say she would hear an oath of loyalty from the mayor.
After hearing his answer that he would keep it in mind.
As if she had no more interest in him.
She left for Ethan.
“Hehe.”
She was generous, but.
Just as ruthless when turned into an enemy.
The head tower in the Free Market must have been to warn of that.
The source of generosity is absolute leisure.
They had the leisure that only the strong can afford.
“Even worse ones than Roan have appeared.”
“Mayor?”
“It’s nothing, Miss Ailey. Just talking to myself.”
He moved his feet that didn’t want to leave.
There were still things he had to do as mayor.
“Everyone must be waiting. Let’s go.”
To the banquet hall where notable figures from various fields were waiting.
*
“…So you see, that’s when Rudy went BAM! and took down the boss of the gang. His punch was so powerful that the guy’s front teeth flew across the street!”
“Chief, you’re drunk.”
“Who’s drunk? I’m perfectly fine, Rudy. Ah, I get it, you’re embarrassed?”
“I apologize on his behalf, Mr. Ethan. He’s weak with alcohol but always gets like this when he’s in high spirits.”
“Ahaha, it’s alright.”
Inspector Rudy took Tom towards the balcony.
Watching them, Ethan muttered to himself, impressed anew.
‘It is amazing.’
The mayor’s inauguration ceremony and banquet held in Serdin City Hall’s annex facility.
Being inside the World Tree, even the lighting was mana stones with no fire hazard.
The interior facilities made to minimize damage to the tree were even mysterious.
“I brought you something to drink.”
“Thanks, Levi. I was just getting a bit thirsty.”
He hadn’t been able to drink properly while listening to Tom’s life story as an inspector.
He gulped down the lemonade and sighed.
“You look very tired.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been around so many people.”
For the few months when he rushed to achieve 100% of ’s challenge tasks.
He recalled a certain young man who only slept, ate, and played the game.
Going out?
Of course he hardly did.
He was someone who rarely even went to the convenience store in front of his house.
It’s no wonder he felt uncomfortable in a banquet hall full of strangers.
“There’s a good solution for times like that.”
“What is it?”
“Shall we go get some fresh air?”
The place they headed to holding Levi’s hand was the balcony.
It was in the opposite direction from the balcony Tom and Rudy went to.
There were people already there, but.
For some unknown reason, when they saw Ethan, they slowly backed away.
Ethan looked out at the city where darkness had settled from the balcony halfway up the World Tree.
Mana stone streetlamps shining like dots illuminated the city’s features.
Far away, he could see the mansion where Hwarin and Hwaryon would be.
‘Hwaryon said she wanted to come along.’
Thanks to Hwarin stopping her and Yuria taking out candy, they were able to persuade her easily, but.
Ethan thought he should be a bit more careful.
And.
The fact that he could have such trivial thoughts.
Made him realize how much his tension had eased.
“I feel better. Thanks, Levi.”
“It’s nothing.”
The banquet had just begun and people from all walks of life were mingling.
As a parachute appointment, he didn’t have the confidence to join in the social gatherings.
And that wasn’t why he attended the inauguration ceremony anyway.
‘Should we go down soon?’
There was a staircase on the outdoor balcony that went down circling the World Tree’s pillar.
“I have somewhere to go, what will you do, Levi? It’s okay if you want to stay at the banquet hall a bit longer.”
“I can’t enjoy the banquet alone. I’ll follow you, Ethan-nim.”
‘It’s really okay.’
But since she persistently declined, they went down the stairs together.
The central lobby of the city hall they arrived at like that.
Had a magic system set up so that only authorized personnel could enter and exit.
They didn’t even station guards.
Thanks to that, Ethan could comfortably chant the spell.
A spell he was familiar with from reciting so many times.
“Geria Astirion Magium Unsroike.”
-Rumble!
As the wall caved in, stairs leading underground were revealed.
Following the stairs down.
They arrived at the basement floor.
Just like when they arrived at the treasure vault last time.
As soon as they set foot on the dark floor, it brightened.
What was floating above the round altar.
Might easily look like simply a curvy fluorescent light, but.
Its value is beyond imagination.
“Found it.”
The final hidden piece that can be found in Serdin.
The World Tree’s first root.
“I should take it out and give it to our Levi.”
As a guardian, he only hopes for Levi to grow well and perfectly clear the main story.
Thinking that, as he reached out his hand.
-Flash!
“Uh…”
The World Tree’s root emitted a blinding light.
*
‘This place…’
The intricately engraved phrases along the walls.
Levi read them carefully as she followed down.
Before the empire was tainted by evil.
Arrangements made by Empress Geria I, the most brilliant sovereign of the golden age, for the savior who would appear later.
‘The primordial light held by the World Tree’s first root. To save the world from evil, it shall rightfully lend power to the chosen one.’
After reading the last phrase.
When she followed down the stairs.
Levi saw it.
The sacred sight of a flood of bright light.
Pouring into Ethan.
*
“Hwaryon seems very bored, huh?”
“Yes.”
With Ethan and Levi away at the mayor’s inauguration ceremony.
Today’s lesson was just for the Hwarin and Hwaryon sisters.
Hwarin behaved maturely and listened well to the lesson, but.
The still young Hwaryon had trouble focusing.
‘As expected, we need Ethan-ssi.’
Just one or two pieces of candy couldn’t have any effect beyond holding Hwaryon’s attention for about 10 minutes.
So Yuria boldly declared.
“Today’s lesson is over.”
“Really?”
“Instead, shall Ryeon read a book with teacher?”
“I like books!”
She read to Hwaryon a fairy tale book found in the study recently.
Every time she did, Hwaryon’s eyes would sparkle and she showed more enthusiasm than during lessons.
“What’s this book about? A secret directive? Or an assassination plan?”
“Huh? Wasn’t it about a witch living in a green house and a hero who saved a princess?”
Baron Roan’s study had fairy tale books that seemed ordinary on the outside, but.
The hidden code phrases inside were about underworld business, so.
It was understandable in a way that Yuria didn’t understand Hwaryon’s reaction.
“Anyway, this book is. A story about a treasure passed down in Serdin.”
“Treasure!”
This book too.
To Hwaryon, it seemed to be about routes for bringing in drugs from the Sergaphilt organization and methods of contact, but.
Hugging Hwaryon who was tilting her head.
Yuria, who was reading the book.
Eventually reached the last line of the fairy tale.
“Thus, someday when darkness comes to the world. A chosen hero will appear and find the hidden treasure.”
“Hero!”
“Then, five beams of light will shoot up around Serdin’s World Tree, brightly illuminating the night sky. The end~”
“Teacher. Like that?”
“Like what?”
Yuria turned her head in the direction Hwaryon was pointing and.
“…W-What is that?”
Muttered with a dazed expression.
It was beyond expectation for the legend in the fairy tale she just read.
To unfold before her eyes.
Clear and massive pillars of light shot up around Serdin City Hall.
Seeing that.
Hwaryon, with her excellent intuition, shouted excitedly.
“Hero! Big brother must be the hero!”