Translator: Nox

I Became A Married Man in Another World

Chapter 100

#100 Guild Master Percel

“So that’s the man claiming to be Santa’s Contractor.”

Percel muttered to himself as he watched the man’s face rising above the crowd.

Every year, numerous branches across the country report that they’ve discovered Santa’s Contractor.

Among them are those who truly believe it to be true, but there are also those who know it’s a lie or collude with swindlers to make the report.

Regardless, they are all undoubtedly fakes.

On very rare occasions, there were cases where one might think it was the real deal, but none of them ever turned out to be Santa’s Contractor. They had simply mistaken a rare magical beast for a Rudolph.

Such things happen because people assume anyone with a Rudolph is Santa’s Contractor.

The ability to create a Rudolph only manifests after meeting Santa, receiving a gift, and finalizing the contract—but people don’t know that.

‘But this time, it’s certainly unusual.’

A horned baby horned rabbit. There was no need to even verify it. If that horn was real, it was definitely a Rudolph.

‘Furthermore, considering it comes with a guarantee from Leonard of the Miller Merchant Company, there’s a high probability it’s real.’

Leonard was a man of great renown as a magical beast hunter. Even though it had been a very long time since his retirement, his name remained a legend among hunters.

His eye for magical beasts was remarkably accurate, and he wasn’t the type of person to lie about such matters.

It wasn’t that Leonard was so honest he didn’t know how to lie, or that he was a purely saintly man, but he wasn’t someone who would engage in a swindler’s deception.

Well, even if he were to lie, he wouldn’t try to deceive anyone about something that would eventually be exposed. If he did lie, it would be the kind of lie no one would ever find out. Of course, Percel didn’t think he would do such a thing.

Percel spat out the plant stalk he had been gnawing on and popped a fresh one into his mouth.

He had started putting on weight as he got older. He constantly felt the urge to eat something. If he didn’t have something in his mouth, he became restless and irritable. He had resorted to cutting up tree stalks to chew on, and now he felt like he couldn’t live without them.

‘Addicted to tree stalks… people would laugh if they heard.’

Chewing rhythmically, Percel followed the man from a distance.

His name was Juhwan, if he recalled correctly. The information Percel had was sparse.

At most, he knew the man had a wife and daughter, possessed a horned rabbit presumed to be a Rudolph, and had a personality that deeply cherished his family.

Now, he could add that the man also had a unicorn.

‘I have no idea what on earth happened in that short span of time. It’s not like a unicorn would just drop from the sky or be found abandoned on the roadside.’

Percel shrugged his shoulders.

Percel’s chief advisor had apparently worked with the master of this branch in the past. He had assessed the branch master as someone quite capable and diligent, even if his rank wasn’t high. He had said something like, “You can trust that branch master.”

There weren’t many people the chief advisor spoke so highly of.

If the chief advisor said so, then the man must be truly trustworthy.

When such a man arrived at the main headquarters with Leonard’s letter of guarantee, claiming to have discovered a Santa Rank, the chief advisor—suggesting this time might be the real thing—had kicked Percel out, telling him to go verify it immediately.

Normally, another staff member would conduct a preliminary investigation before the Guild Master moved.

Percel let out a long sigh.

It was certain that the Guild Master held a higher position than the chief advisor, but well, it couldn’t be helped.

The Santa Guild could function without a Guild Master, but without the chief advisor—who knew everything from the masters of the national branches to the characteristics and personnel of each location—all guild business would immediately pile up and grind to a halt.

So, when the chief advisor said do this, he did this; and when told to do that, he did that.

‘Still, it’s strange.’

Even Percel had never seen a Rudolph. They were beings that barely existed in this world. To find someone who had actually seen a Rudolph, one would probably have to dig up a grave.

Nevertheless, the ones who knew the most about what little information existed were the royalty and himself, the Guild Master. Upon becoming Guild Master, the very first thing one learned from their predecessor was about Santa and Rudolph.

Percel chewed on his stalk, keeping his eyes on Juhwan and the magical beasts in the distance.

As far as Percel knew, a Rudolph manifested its unique abilities regardless of its original form.

It wasn’t that a Rudolph was more powerful because its base was a unicorn, or weaker because it was a horned rabbit.

A Rudolph’s abilities had nothing to do with its original body.

It was simply that a creature that was once a magical beast was reborn as an entirely different existence called a Rudolph.

A Rudolph was a creature that focused solely on reading its master’s heart and following their will. It existed only for its master.

It would never follow anyone else, even family members. It didn’t matter if they were the master’s parents, siblings, or children. A Rudolph was a being that desired only its master and loved them blindly. Not a single shred of affection for another person existed within a Rudolph. His predecessor had stated that clearly.

‘But that one seems to follow the child better than the master.’

The way the horned rabbit sat atop the head of the little girl held in Juhwan’s arms, and how it seemed to keep reacting to and playing with the child, was completely at odds with the information Percel possessed.

The five-year-old daughter was registered as a Beast Tamer; perhaps she truly had a genius talent for taming.

But regardless, that horned rabbit likely wasn’t a Rudolph. There was no way a Rudolph would follow another person like that.

‘Tch, I got my hopes up a little.’

Percel clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Then the remaining possibility is… it doesn’t look like the horn was attached on purpose, so is it a cranial deformity?’

Very rarely, such magical beasts existed. They were born with a protruding skull bone that looked like a horn.

Most deformities can be identified by feeling the area where the horn sprouts. This is because they are distinctly different from normal horns.

Most magical beasts born that way die before reaching adulthood. The horn might grow in a strange, curved shape, or sometimes it would grow inward, damaging internal organs and causing death. Either way, it was a painful death. It was a pity, but that small, cute thing would likely suffer the same fate.

“What a shame.”

There was no need to watch any further. He would meet them later at the office for the final—

It was the moment he thought that and turned his body. Suddenly, a peculiar sensation sent a chill down his spine. The hair all over his body seemed to stand on end.

Danger.

Following his instincts, Percel quickly shrouded himself in mana. Wind instantly wrapped around his body, following the flow of his power.

Ping!

A strong gust of wind sent by someone struck the barrier of mana he had draped around himself and bounced off.

Judging by the sensation upon contact, it was a small, somewhat spherical burst of wind. It clearly carried hostile intent. Had he been even a moment later, he would have been pierced or torn by the impact.

‘It’s remarkably strong.’

The mana surrounding his body was vibrating, hammered by the opponent’s overwhelming power. It meant the mana the opponent sent was that potent.

The only reason he had been able to deflect it was due to the difference in experience.

The opponent’s mana was likely stronger than his, but their method of manipulating the wind seemed unrefined.

In contrast, Percel was able to handle it skillfully with less mana, thanks to his long years of experience.

If they had possessed similar levels of experience, or if the opponent had been even slightly more accustomed to mana manipulation, he would have certainly been broken. His heart went cold.

‘But who?’

There were many adventurers in this village, but there shouldn’t have been anyone with mana strong enough to surpass Percel.

Though it was a bit embarrassing to say so himself, Percel was a very strong man. He wouldn’t budge even if ten or twenty average adventurers attacked him at once. One couldn’t be a Guild Master without at least that much strength.

‘Could it be?’

Percel turned his gaze toward Juhwan.

He was still smiling as he looked at his wife and child. He didn’t seem to have noticed what had happened over here.

However, if one were to consider who in this village currently possessed mana stronger than his own, there was no one else but that man, the master of the Rudolph.

Suddenly, the unicorn looked his way. Its lake-clear eyes locked onto Percel’s face with precision.

As if mimicking the unicorn’s actions, the horned rabbit soon looked at Percel as well.

Their gaze was strange. Neither beast felt like an animal. The thought crossed his mind: had those two realized he was following them? Was that why they attacked? A chill ran down his spine.

‘No, no, that’s impossible. They’re magical beasts. Besides, not to brag, but I’m the Guild Master. If I couldn’t even hide my own presence properly, I wouldn’t be the Guild Master.’

To erase his presence, he had sent his scent far away on the wind and created barriers with nearby wind at intervals. His gaze and footsteps should not have reached them.

Furthermore, on second thought, a magical beast couldn’t perform that kind of attack.

Magical beasts were different from humans. Their attacks were instinctive. No matter how cleverly a magical beast used mana, their actions were rooted in animalistic behavior. A beginner might not be able to tell the difference, but someone as experienced as Percel knew the moment they touched that mana.

The attack just now was distinctly human.

Suddenly, Juhwan turned his head.

For a very brief moment, their eyes met.

He didn’t show it to the woman and child, but Juhwan’s eyes as he looked at Percel were filled with clear wariness.

Ah, it was him. That man was the one who sent the attack.

He just knew.

‘Was that a warning just now?’

It seemed to be a warning that he had noticed the tailing and would kill him if he performed any more suspicious actions.

Come to think of it, they said that man used wind and fire magic, not to mention healing magic.

Black hair, black eyes, and three types of magic.

Because he had only thought of him as Santa’s Contractor, he hadn’t considered the meaning at first. But perhaps…

‘Was he a Hero, not Santa’s Contractor?’

Santa’s Contractor could be someone of ordinary appearance. However, according to the legends, they often shared the same appearance as a Hero.

What distinguished a Hero from Santa’s Contractor was not their appearance, but whether they could create a Rudolph and how many types of magic they could handle.

Santa’s Contractor could not use multiple types of magic, and a Hero could not create a Rudolph.

‘But if he is a Hero, why is he in a place like this?’

Heroes were beings summoned by royal families. Since a vast amount of mana was required for the summoning and a magic circle passed down only within royalty was used, an ordinary magician could not summon a Hero.

‘Furthermore, that unicorn and horned rabbit… they don’t seem like ordinary magical beasts.’

Something was strange. It didn’t add up.

Percel raised both hands to signal he had no intention of fighting, then began walking toward Juhwan.

---

The first one to notice the man was the unicorn, Yeonhwa. Juhwan hadn’t noticed. It was likely because the other man’s skill was superior to Juhwan’s.

Pretending nothing was wrong, he checked the man’s appearance.

At first, he thought it might be one of the Border Count’s subordinates, but the atmosphere was different from the advisor he had seen. He didn’t look like a noble.

If he had to categorize him, he felt similar to the Master. For some reason, he suspected the man might be an adventurer.

Just in case, he checked to see if there were others, but the man was alone. Seeing as Yeonhwa and Oz weren’t taking any action, it must be true.

He had already heard that someone from the main headquarters would be coming to determine the Santa Rank. He figured this was the person who had come for that, but if so, why was he following them secretly like a rat?

To give a warning and test the man’s skills at the same time, Juhwan launched a simple attack.

He gathered mana and fired it like a ball.

Once his skills improved, he might be able to attack an opponent by manipulating distant winds without having to fire from his current position.

But for now, he could only manage to clump together nearby wind and throw it.

If there was a physical object like an arrow, he could imbue it with mana and send it, but in empty space with nothing, it was impossible.

The wind Juhwan fired flew true and struck the man.

However, the man easily deflected Juhwan’s attack.

He was certainly more skilled than Juhwan.

Juhwan’s wariness spiked to its limit.

Seeing the man approach after raising both hands to show he had no intention of fighting, Juhwan spoke to Oz and Yeonhwa in his mind.

‘If that man shows any sign of trying to attack, counterattack immediately. You can kill him, so do it in one go.’

Regardless of how outstanding the man’s skill was, it wouldn’t take Yeonhwa even a second to kill him.

With Oz there as well, it would be fine even if there was an ambush. Although Oz couldn’t properly use his power as a Rudolph yet, his warning cry was close to a sonic attack. Juhwan could fight while the enemy was faltering.

Juhwan silently watched the man approach, shrouding his own body in mana.