t.i.tle: Queen’s knight.
He has a t.i.tle. It seems he is a queen’s knight. Why is he here? Oh! This is Kastal Queendom. A Queen’s knight is like a queen’s guard. They have a higher position than a normal knight. Of course, the basic requirement is also higher, too.
Our movement was considerable flashy this time. It might get us into trouble, so I have to prepare. I didn’t think we would have any relations.h.i.+ps with the royal family this suddenly…
After we waited for a while, the guild master comes.
[Oh, sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s enter this room, and we’ll discuss the details there.]
We are official members of the guild now. Of course, Tamo-san and Midori are on standby in the carriage. It isn’t too troublesome for my precious follower monsters.
[Ugh… Gilbert is here…]
[Yeah, I asked him to be here.]
[I see… Well, I guess it is natural…]
The guild master has a conversation with Gilbert. I don’t think they have a relations.h.i.+p problem…
We arrive at the reception room. There are a lot of chairs here, enough for everyone. By the way, Dora is sitting on my knee. Being healed.
The guild master starts talking immediately.
[First, let me thank everyone for their partic.i.p.ation in yesterday’s stampede. Because of you guys, we didn’t have any damage, at all. When I think about the stampede, I feel this might be considered to be a first cla.s.s achievement.]
Since I took care of it on my own, I would be troubled if we stood out too much.
[However, I must apologize. We can’t give you a reward. We aren’t able to prepare a spec
ial reward for you. Although the guild made a forced request to defend Atarime Town, we never thought the stampede will be brought to an end so quickly.]
Of course, it is natural. I mean, we weren’t really aiming for a reward, so don’t worry.
[Eh, are you going to punish us?!]
Mio stands up and raises her voice. She is really sensitive about being punished.
[No, we won’t. You took your carriage out to help with the rescue mission, and then you stayed behind to thin out the monsters. It wasn’t a problem, at all. But then, it is quite suicidal for a usual E-ranked adventurer to do that.]
Well, you are correct. I paid attention to the excuse. Mio is relieved and sits down.
[I mean, isn’t it an excuse for you?]
We are busted. Well, we don’t even try to cover it. I have no excuses if it appeared to be too suspicious.
[Because of that, please accept the reward for defense preparations and rescuing the refugees with your carriage.]
As he spoke, he held out a small bag. It is the reward that he was talking about.
[Although you’ve already handed over the monster stones from stampede’s monsters to us, I’m sorry I can’t do anything for it.]
[No, you don’t need to worry about that.]
[They handed those monster stones to the adventurers because they didn’t want anyone to complain about stopping the stampede beforehand, so don’t worry.]
Gilbert also adds to the discussion. Although it isn’t funny if they complain about their target be s.n.a.t.c.hed away…
[Honestly, the number of casualties would have been even greater, if we had to fight them directly. Aside from the stampede, Tiara Forest is famous for being peaceful. However, it is still difficult to enter if you aren’t a senior adventurer.]
Atarime Town is in a tough spot, too. From the look of it, the force from both sides might be even. Although we might able to protect the town, it wouldn’t be without casualties. And, you must remember that Tyrannosaurus was behind this stampede, after all. If it comes to a stampede, Atarime Town will be destroyed, for sure.
[Come to think of it… Could you tell us the reason why we were called here? The purpose isn’t just for small talk, is it?]
We can do what we have been doing here at the reception desk, without a problem. No, let’s say that being in a reception room is unpleasant, but it is a where we can discuss something that we don’t want other people to hear.
[…Understood. Of course, it wasn’t the main subject. We have three purposes: Reward, questioning and a request.]
It seems there are a lot of questions. I wonder what they’re about.
[First, a reward. Jin-kun, I want to raise your guild rank to B…]
[I refuse.]
Since I refused immediately, the guild master’s face becomes stiff. However, he is able to focus again, almost immediately.
[Why? I saw your activity record. You were raising your guild rank aggressively… Isn’t it better to jump to a B-rank without having to take a normal examination?]
[My goal is just to raise it to a C-rank.]
The guild master and Gilbert both understand what I mean.
[Is it about the duty of a senior adventurer?]
[Yeah. Our purpose is to travel freely. We don’t need excessive rights nor duty to do so. A C-rank is just an intermediate cla.s.s. Please raise me to a C-rank if you want to reward me. Oh, please do the same to all my party members, if possible.]
[Hmmm…]
The guild master groans. Is it hard to put us all at a C-rank level?
[Well, for person who can stop a stampede alone, a C-rank is really unworthy… My real intention is to give you a suitable position for your power.]
I understand what you think, but please forgive us. I don’t feel charmed to be in suitable position in this world.
[Is a C-rank no good? I can’t say that all your party members are good enough to be C-ranked. How about I give just you a C-rank and the rest a D-rank?]
There is nothing to say. Our ability is good enough, and this could save a lot of time by preventing us from having to do a lot of requests.
By the way, let’s explain a bit about the guild master’s authority. The guild master can give an adventurer with enough achievements a C-rank. As you expected, you need to take an extra test in order to become B-ranked and higher, and not many people can pa.s.s it.
[Understood. By the way, those eight people are aiming for a B-rank. No, an S-rank. So you can raise their ranks, if you want.]
I point at Cloud and Coco who are in the corner. He seems surprised when I suddenly started talking about him.
[That is really a big goal. No, if they are companions of someone as powerful as you, it is possible that they will reach it someday…]
It seems he hold me in really high regard.
[Please renew your guild card later. I will raise your rank. However, let’s do that after questioning.]
In other word, an interrogation…
[Could you tell me the secret of your strength? I want to hear whether it is even possible…]
[It is impossible.]
[Well, I guess so.]
I don’t really care if I’m known as powerful, but I can’t mention anything about the details. These kinds of skills and special powers are hard to believe, after all. So there is no point to talking about it.
[Hearing a secret from highly-ranked adventurer is part of highly-ranked guild member’s job, after all. Well, information is like a lifeline. I heard you guys can use
