Chapter 261: Let’s Take the S-Rank Exam (Not)
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My health recovered from getting a good dose of sleep. At some point, Sword had started to drink while sitting next to me.
“Yay! I’m back to full health!!”
He got startled when I suddenly jumped while yelling.
“Whoa! Calm your horses! That’s been a shock!”
He was whining around despite having noticed beforehand that I woke up.
“I might have been too tired. I felt somewhat helpless since it was my first time experiencing something like that, but now I’m back to normal.”
Sword stroked my head and said, “Don’t force yourself too much, ‘kay?”
“I haven’t been forcing myself in the slightest, but I’ve overestimated the abilities of my own bodies, I guess.”
Ever since coming back from the dead at the age of five, I didn’t suffer any injuries or illnesses, so I considered myself to be super healthy, but it looks like that was a wrong assumption. Anyway, I’ve recovered, so let’s value that as something good.
Sword answered my happy smile with one of his own.
“It looks like things around here are peaceful, so let’s run a stall for a bit, and if its reception is bad, we’ll scoot out of town.”
Once I mentioned this, Sword held me back with a hand.
“Wait a sec. An S-Rank exam might be held in this town. And since we’re here ‘nyway, you might as well take it, too.”
Heeh, I see.
“Okay, but I thought you can’t become an S-Rank as long as no dragon attacks.”
In response, Sword told me his own assumption about this.
“Dragons might actually be nearby. So maybe they’ve been repellin’ them since they show up regularly?”
That’d be something to look forward to!
“Alright, I’ll stay! Let us stay here! I saw a flame and ice dragon in the capital’s dungeon, but it’d be great if I could encounter even more amazing dragons. Maybe a thunder dragon exists as well? Or maybe a dragon that turns transparent…? A dragon which digs underground before pushing out from beneath with a huge force, would be fun, too!”
When I pulled on Sword’s arm, coaxing him to go right away, he looked at me and smiled.
“It’s great to see that your full of energy ‘gain. I was already worried that you might lose all that spunk of yours because of the lack of requests,” he said while ruffling my head.
＊
We went to the adventurer’s guild once more.
The guildmaster was obviously troubled when he saw us visiting a second time, but without caring about that, I immediately got down to business.
“You said that there’s an S-Rank exam, right? Does that mean dragons are frequently visiting this town? If that’s the case, I want to take that exam. Since it looks like it’d be bad to kill them, I’ll at least drive the dragons away! Yahoooo! Formidable enemies for the first time in a long while! My excitement is overflowing!!”
When I yelled while pulling a hurrah-pose, Sword laughed, “Well, it probably won’t be one as big as the dragon that attacked the capital, but it’s gotta be quite a challenging foe, right? I’m also curious about this, so please tell me.”
Sword appeared to be excited, too. At the same time, the guildmaster looked awfully troubled.
“……Please allow me to explain.”
Being reined in like that, he led us to his office.
＊
The guildmaster sat down and declared, “Let me make things clear first. There won’t be any S-Rank exam in this town.”
It totally felt like being stopped dead in your tracks.
“A town that’s frequently attacked by dragons wouldn’t be prospering so much, right? Not to mention people, trade vessels would stay clear from this place as well!”
The guildmaster’s remonstration was very reasonable.
A deadly silence dominated the room.
I let my head hang together with Sword. The guildmaster cleared his throat.
“…The adventurer guild elevated those who repelled the attack on the capital to 『S-Rank』. In exchange for receiving preferential treatment when dealing with the guild, S-Rank adventurers are asked to finish requests which normal adventurers can’t handle. Three S-Rank adventurers exist at present. That hasn’t changed. However, it’s not like all S-Rank adventurers will visit all towns and complete the requests at all guilds. As a matter of fact, the only one visiting this place at long last was you, 【Thunderclap Whit…”
“Allrounders!”
Sword cut in to not let him finish what he was saying.
“…This here is a port town that’s situated at the mouth of a bay. All sorts of monsters attack this place. So we don’t have the leeway to wait for some S-Rank adventurer who might or might not show up someday.”
That makes sense.
Once we nodded, the guildmaster continued, “Rather than waiting for the S-Rank adventurers to possibly come all the way out here, it’s a lot more promising to raise adventurers who won’t lose in quality to those S-Rank adventurers. Currently, the sole and strongest B-Rank adventurer of this guild would be the guy you met earlier – 【Shining Lightning Star】.”
Ah, all of a sudden I’m feeling cold again. I wonder what’s going on? Is the guildmaster’s room so cold?
Sword agreed while shrugging his shoulders, “I see. Ain’t like I got ‘ny beef with that. Rather, I think I’d answer here that it’s pretty welcome that way. So, your sayin’ he’s got the drive to obtain the power to become the 『Next Generation’s S-Rank Adventurer』 someday, huh?”
I reluctantly came to terms with it as well.
“I see… No dragons attack this place…? I thought that would be something to look forward to in this town, but it sounds like I was wrong…”
Seeing me all downhearted, Sword stroked my head.
“Cheer up. How ’bout we go out along the coast, seeing how we came all the way out here? Even if there might not be any leviathans ’round, maybe we’ll run into an adult Darking Octopus?”
I nodded.
After listening to us, the guildmaster told us with a somewhat apathetic voice, “…It’s no Darking Octopus, but if I remember correctly, there are Brutal Morays. But, no boats will sail out into those waters. After all, no one’s so reckless to put their lives on the line for catching one of those.”
So he’s talking about a huge moray?
“That’s no problem. This girl here is such a great magician and sorceress that she easily puts S-Rank adventurers to shame. She’s already developed a magic tool to nimbly travel across the ocean,” Sword answered.
The guildmaster froze, unable to say anything to this. Meanwhile I folded my arms and considered the time after the kill.
“It sounds like it’ll be fine to take it down. But, eating it will be quite difficult. It’s very slimy and full of mucus, and in the case of a huge version, I suspect it contains heaps of salt.”
“Does it taste good?” The glutton asked.
“Hmm, any seafood tastes good, you know?”
Hearing that, the guildmaster finally rebooted.
“Indeed! Boy, you sure know your stuff!”
I’m no boy. But I’ve already gotten used to it, so whatever.
“Anyway, we’re off then. If there’s a lot to the body, you can probably skin it. It’d be a waste to lose the salt, so please call out to some people to process it. I’ll freeze it as a countermeasure against parasites and it’ll need a whole day to thaw thereafter, so please tell them that the processing will take place two days later.”
“Got it.”
The guildmaster had become quite cheerful.
“I’ve never eaten a moray, but it looks like it’s okay for me to get my expectations up, huh?”
In response to my question, the guildmaster scratched his head, “Well, its good taste plays a role, but it’s processed into medicine. A nourishment tonic. Its fangs are used as spearheads, and if you process the skin, it can be used for making armor. Moray materials rarely appear on the market, so I’m looking forward to it.”
All of a sudden, he’s holding expectations…
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