The position of the Blood Hunter Guild leader is more like a succession than an individual. Gillian was probably chosen by the previous leader to become the current leader.
In the comics, it is explicitly stated that the Blood Hunter Guild's gliders and silver pistols, which are technologically advanced and out of place in the magical world, were invented by the guild leader, Gillian.
She is a true genius.
Finally, the reason why the ace blood hunter and the guild leader in the comics never show up and are nowhere to be seen has also been found: this unfortunate kid is too young, which may cause many people to distrust him.
"Can you tell me why you stopped me?"
Maggie composed herself and softened her tone considerably; giving an ally the cold shoulder was clearly not a good choice.
"Protect the village."
Jasper shrugged and simply uttered four words.
That's it?
A question mark appeared above Maggie's head.
"It's gone."
Jasper nodded, his expression serious, clearly not joking.
The two stared at each other, and silence fell. After a long while, Maggie, with veins bulging on her forehead, spoke slowly and deliberately.
"...Even without the help of the Temple of Light, an A-rank blood hunter is fully capable of dealing with the so-called invading vampires. Are you sure?"
Maggie felt that this person was playing her, so she crossed her arms and adopted a scrutinizing posture.
"You have to be sincere to cooperate."
To everyone's surprise, Jasper suddenly laughed, waved, and began to apologize to Maggie.
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot to explain. Actually, the ones who have been raiding the village recently are not vampires, but a mercenary group, mercenaries belonging to the Zefnia family."
Jasper's words immediately made Maggie frown. The mercenary group had started hunting and killing slaves again. It seemed that the slave trade was doing very well recently, so well that the supply was somewhat insufficient.
As expected, she was still too slow; the number of victims was steadily increasing.
Given the Blood Hunter Guild's intelligence network, it seems inappropriate to directly seek her help.
"You don't know that I'm the daughter of the Zefneria family, do you?"
Maggie asked in a low voice.
"I know, it is because of you that this village was able to remain intact."
Maggie looked directly into Jasper's eyes and saw that he was slightly serious and his expression was solemn. It seemed that he knew more information than Maggie had imagined, and he probably already knew about her discord with her family.
"You're overthinking it. They're just a mercenary group they hired. They might not even recognize me, the youngest daughter of the Duke's mansion."
Maggie lowered her eyes slightly. There were some things she could guarantee, but she lacked the ability to do so now and couldn't make promises lightly.
“I naturally came to you for help because I had obtained useful information. The mercenary group that the Zefnia family dispatched this time must be very familiar with your information.”
Jasper didn't join Maggie in denying her worth; his tough-guy face, coupled with an incredibly sincere expression, made it impossible for anyone to refuse him.
"The guild has also deployed a large number of Blood Hunters, who are lying in ambush outside the village. But once the battle begins, there will definitely be many casualties in the village, which is something neither you nor I want to see."
His last sentence had a hint of moral blackmail, so Maggie chose to pretend she didn't hear it.
"...."
He is a very cautious person and theoretically shouldn't take such an uncertain risk.
But... fortune favors the bold. All she needs to do is show her face, and the Blood Hunter Guild will owe her a favor after this. It's a very worthwhile deal.
Is this village important to you?
Instead of agreeing right away, Maggie asked a somewhat irrelevant question.
"Um?"
Jasper was momentarily speechless.
"I don't believe that so many people would be mobilized just to protect a dwarf village, and that you would even ask me for help. So this place must be very important to you, right?"
Maggie's eyes were intense; in the moonlight, her golden, glassy eyes seemed to see right through people's hearts.
"Um."
Jasper scratched his head helplessly.
If it were just an ordinary village, they certainly wouldn't be so careful.
"Give me half of the benefits."
Maggie was unfazed and immediately made outrageous demands.
Compared to favors, getting the benefits now is pretty good too. If the Blood Hunter Guild is willing, wouldn't that be wonderful?
"..."
Jasper looked deflated, his expression crumbling.
“Alright, alright, Your Highness, if your intuition isn’t so accurate, I think our cooperation will be even more pleasant.”
What sounded like a complaint was interpreted by Maggie as a sign of compromise, and Maggie's mood immediately improved.
"Now, our cooperation will also be very pleasant."
Maggie rarely showed a smiling expression, and at first glance she looked a bit like a cunning little fox, or rather, a fox that had just eaten meat.
"Your Highness should also know that every dwarf is a born blacksmithing genius, and weapons made by dwarves are always more powerful."
Maggie nodded; that was common sense.
"The dwarves here are even more special. The weapons they forge have special effects, making them more powerful than enchanted weapons."
"The outside world is unaware of the uniqueness of this village."
Jasper rubbed his temples, looking troubled, and continued.
"If the saintess needs a suitable staff weapon crafted, she can notify the guild, and the one made here will definitely satisfy her."
Maggie fell into deep thought: Is it possible to create weapons with special effects?
That does seem to be a very precious resource.
Suddenly, she glanced at Jasper from head to toe, making him feel uneasy, before slowly crossing her arms and saying with a half-smile.
"So, Gillian's pistol was also forged by the dwarves here, right?"
Jasper's expression stiffened further, and an eerie silence fell over the air.
"Alas, Your Highness, if you insist on digging up every secret of the guild, I might get killed by the guild leader."
He's numb.
"Alright, deal's done. Hopefully, I can become good friends with the dwarves here."
Maggie achieved her goal and extracted a lot of information, so she was in an unusually good mood. She chose to let poor Jasper go for the time being and didn't continue to guess.
Given their level of importance, it seems that many of the Blood Hunter Guild's important weapons and newly invented gadgets, including things like gliders, were probably made here.
Now, a mercenary group belonging to the Zefneria family is trying to capture slaves here. If she were in their shoes, she would do everything in her power to protect this place.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Jasper, having received Maggie's answer, seemed finally relieved and immediately made a hasty retreat, disappearing completely as soon as he left, afraid that Maggie might guess some other nonsense.
Maggie was left staring at the empty window, her expression intriguing.
Come to think of it, she hasn't faced off against her family since she destroyed the auction house's base last time. She might even run into an important supporting character from the manga.
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