Well, are we all done?

　I completed a one-minute mock battle with all 27 rank-up test applicants. None of them were able to touch me, though. Well, that meant that there were no gold-ranked adventurers among them.
　The result was that out of the 27 adventurers, there were 7 competent people who seemed to have reached the green rank. The remaining 20 were deemed not to have reached the green rank. The breakdown was 13 black-ranked and 7 purple-ranked.
　Those 20 people were done with the test at this point. They could leave if they each submitted their cards to the guild staff and completed their rank advancement.
　Galen spoke to the remaining seven.

'Well, it has been determined that the remaining seven of you have at least the ability to attain the green rank. But that only means that you have the minimum level of fighting skill. An adventurer's job is to take on various requests. Each person has their own strengths and weaknesses depending on the type of request.

　It's true that even if you're an adventurer, your style changes depending on what you focus on. I wasn't very good at asking for escorts.
　It's hard to do it without clashing with strangers. Some of them are like, "I'm hiring you, don't complain. There were some clients who said, "I'm hiring you, don't complain, just follow my orders. Also, there were times when I had to share a guard with other adventurers, so that trouble was also troublesome. It didn't go as well as it did with Sue.

''Let's say there's a demonic beast. If you are a knight or a warrior, you would launch an effective attack to kill this monster beast efficiently. They could aim at the heart or crush the head. But if you are an adventurer, this can be a bad idea. Do you know why?

　Mr. Galen asked, and a small girl in the midst of the seven of them raised her hand, "Yes, sir.

'Ho. Do you understand, young lady?
Yes, that's because you might damage the material.
Oh, that's right. For example, the leather of the beast could be sold for a lot of money, but it's no good if it's magically burned. The horns are valuable as an artifact, but if you break them off, they'll lose their value. You have to take this into account when knocking them down. Unless, of course, your life is at stake.

　I got one!　I stare at the girl who is just smiling at me with her smiling face with my own eyes. I told you not to stand out, didn't I?
　Perhaps noticing this, the girl turned away and started whistling. Konnyaro.........
　A short cut head with slightly habitual hair. The name of this girl who was dressed in a short scarf and easy-to-move clothes is called Sarutobi 《Saru Tobi》 Flame 《Homura》. She is a full-fledged knight belonging to the Brunhild Knights and the Secret Department.
　In this rank-up exam, I wanted to get some information from the inside, so I let her blend in with the participants. I've gotten permission from Tsubaki-san, the Hidden Chieftain, to do so.
　In other words, he's an inside spy, and that's why I've ordered him not to stand out. Perhaps it's his natural disposition, but he's a bit restless. Is it okay for a ninja not to sneak around?
　Seeing this, Karina-san, who was next to me, smiled bitterly. I've told Karina-san and Galen-san about the flame as well.

I'm going to ask you all to take a request from now on. This is one of the rank-up tests. The client is the Adventurer's Guild. It's a legitimate request, and you'll be rewarded if it's successful. Of course, if you fail, it will be recorded as a failure of the request. Be careful at best.

　For an adventurer, failure of a request not only undermines their trust, but also causes them to have a negative reputation. Of course, there are two types of adventurers of the same rank: one who often makes mistakes, and the other who has never made a mistake before. Which one the guild would recommend to the client was clearer than the fire.
　Hearing that statement, one of the seven candidates, a young man raises his hand. Oh, it's the brown-haired Longye's brother. That guy asked you a question before. Are you a cautious person?

''Isn't that request 'a request to us personally'?
No. It's a request for a party of seven of you. So, whether the request succeeds or fails, it's all one and the same.

　The candidates buzzed a bit at Galen-san's words. I thought the only one who didn't change was Flame, but there was another one who didn't change her expression.
　It's a cat-eared beast woman. I guess she was born in Miss Mido. She was in her early twenties, with black ears popping out of her black hair.
　She wore light leather armor and had a large knife at her waist. A cat's tail extended from behind the culotte, but only the tip was white.
　It's an equipment that emphasizes quickness. Even in a mock fight, her fighting style was based on quick movements.
　One man from among the examinees shouts out.

''Wait a minute. So if these guys dragged something down and failed the request, I'd be collateral damage?
Exactly. I said we're all in this together.
I'm not kidding.

　A man who clicks his tongue in an uninteresting way. He's nearly two meters tall and has a stocky body. He was in his late twenties?　He rustled and scratched his short, red hair. He wore partial armor for his chest, shoulders, arms and shins, and was equipped with a wide sword (broadsword) at his waist.
　He was quite strong in a mock battle; I think he was the best or second best out of the seven. He seemed to be quite used to fighting against people, so he might have been in some knight or mercenary group or something.

'I wonder which one is dragging their feet. Depending on the nature of the request, I don't want a useless wooden boy to be there.
What did you say?

　It was a woman who sounded provocative to the warrior-like man.
　She wore a sleeveless shirt and vest and a pair of shorts with a large belt. A whip-like object was rolled down on that belt and there was a snake-like tattoo on her right shoulder.
　He was in his early twenties, and his dull silver hair was pulled up in an updo to keep it out of the way.
　The woman looked sideways at the red-haired man, folding her arms. Her breasts, pushed up into her arms, are tearing out of her shirt, asserting their presence. Well, they're big. Hi.
　Galen-san is a ho-ho-ho-ho, her face was smiling, but her eyes were staring at that one point with the sharpness of a hunter. You should at least blink!

Are you saying I'm going to be the one to slow you down?
You seem to be able to do a lot of fighting against people, but do you have any idea what you're doing against a magical beast?　At best, I think you should buy lots of antidotes so you don't whine about being poisoned.
What? Poison?　Godd*mn it.

　Apparently, the red-haired man hadn't even thought about the poison.
　Well, it's not unreasonable. And defeating a poisonous demonic beast isn't a low rank. The guild receptionist can tell me about it, though.

''Oh well. I'm going to be in the same party. Please don't get in trouble now.

　The one who interceded between them with a sigh was the brown-haired Longye youth who was asking Galen-san a question.
　At first glance, he looked like a gentleman, but he was quite a good sword wielder. He's as good as the red-haired man. His manner is also calm, and he may have been born into the aristocracy. For that, though, he was poorly equipped with an old, flimsy piece of partial armor and a sword that seemed to have only sturdiness to it. A fallen aristocrat?

'Oh?　Why do you have to say that to me....
'Didn't I just say we're all in this together?　You're not alone in this, anymore.
'By the way, if you want to get off here, that's fine. You can get the green rank approval and start earning adventurer's money tomorrow.

　The candidates fell silent at the sound of Sister Karina's voice; the seven of us are recognized as being capable of the green rank, though. It doesn't matter if you don't have to go down here and receive a request from the guild.

''I have no intention of going down. I'm not going to be able to get off. It's too noisy.

　It was a dwarven man who just said it didn't matter.
　He has the short stature and muscular build characteristic of dwarves, and a beard that fills most of his face. I don't know his age. Dwarves may be young, but they're still bearded and bearded, and if they're old, they're over a hundred years old without a care in the world.
　He is equipped with a battle axe on his back and a hatchet, a small hand axe that is easy to handle, at his waist. I used this one to challenge him in a mock battle.
　Probably, but this dwarf may have come from the Lyle Kingdom. If that's the case, they may have some connection to the master of the dwarf group building the Dverg, the civil engineering aircraft.

I'm not sure I'll be able to get out of it at this point either, but I'd like to make a decision after I hear what the request is. Depending on the details, I may be able to get out.

　A man in his late twenties, who looked serious, raised his hand after the dwarf. He was of medium build, with no distinctive features, but he wore a light brown coat and carried a wand in his hand. The staff was not the same as Galen's, but a wizard's staff.
　There are two colors of magic stones embedded in the tip of that knotted staff. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. I'm sure you'll be able to find it. I'm not going to be able to get it right.
　He has been using magic to win even in mock battles. 【Light Arrow】 from 【Earth Bint】, it was a pretty good combo, but it took a long time to concentrate, and the time between activation was slow. With that, it's impossible for those who are used to magic to some extent to understand it. You can easily escape from 【Earth Bint】, and avoid 【Light Arrow】.
　If it's against a demonic beast, he might have quite an advantage, but in an opponent or group fight, he's at a disadvantage on the contrary. It's the exact opposite of the red-haired man.

''It's certainly difficult to make a decision without hearing the details of the request. The place is the Dungeon Islands, just after passing through the Transitional Gate. I'm going to one of these islands to fetch Hikurumasou from the mountainside in the northern part of the island. This grass.

　Mr. Galen shows me a precise picture. It's grass with red leaves that swirl and grow like a flame.

''The deadline is three days. Of course, since there are many dangerous monsters, the reward is two white gold coins for each of them.

　Several of the candidates changed their eye color. Two platinum coins, or about two million yen, could be given to them in three days. That would be so.
　Would it be difficult to get a green rank to begin with?　That's the request. Well, there's our ninja girl, and I won't let her die.
　The reward will be paid as a success fee regardless of whether they rank up or not. Even if these 7 people (6 in fact) are all judged to be green-ranked, they can still get their reward if they succeed in the request itself.
　Of course, if they failed, it would go in their history, and the decision to increase their rank would be based on that.
　In the end, none of the seven candidates went down. Despite their complaints, they agreed to accept the request as a party of seven.
　The guild staff took the signatures of all of them and the guild master, Relisha-san, approved it. So the request was accepted with no problems.


　The ninja girl, Sarutobi, Flame, Homura.
　The silent cat-eared woman, Miu.
　The red-haired warrior man, Garon.
　Rose, the big-breasted tattooed woman.
　Brown-haired Ronge, Abert.
　The rugged dwarf, Dom.
　The Serious Wizard, Sarges Partes.


　Except for the flame and the wizard Sarges, they are just names.
　Many adventurers have no family name, only a name. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to find a way to make it work.
　There are many beastmen and sub-humans. I've heard that they sometimes take the name of their tribe or hometown.

The guild will pay for the passage to the dungeon islands, but other expenses will be paid by you. The guild bears the tolls to the dungeon islands, but you bear the rest of the costs.
Oh, come on, can't you give me three days' worth of food?
I told you. I told you this was a legitimate request. My client is not that thorough, is he?
Tsk.

　Garon clicks his tongue at Galen's words. These things change depending on the client. They may let you out, or they may not. Depending on the negotiations, they might let you out, though. In the end, if you don't like it, don't accept it.
　Oh, yeah, one more thing I'd like to mention.

"You'll be assigned to a guild monitor.
What?　What is surveillance?
It's another way of looking at your performance. Just to see how good you are. But you don't need to push yourself to be a good actor. If you let that get in the way of a good performance, it will have a negative impact on your reputation.

　That's what I said to Rose, who reacted to my words. That's the main thing to do in the first place, so it's only natural.
　If the situation is about to get worse, they are supposed to come in to help. This is a request, but it's also a test. I don't want them to die on the exam.

Are there any other questions?

　I asked the seven of them, and the cat-eared Miu, who had been silent the whole time, raised her hand.

'I want to know about that grass we're going to get.

　What are a few candidates talking about?　While the three of us examiners looked at each other and smiled lightly at each other. Did you notice that?

It's a grass that grows in the mountains from summer to autumn. Its leaves have a strong fragrance and are sometimes used as a spice. It is also a favorite food of the firelizard, so the firelizard often lives in the firelizard's habitat.

　I could see some of the candidates gasp at my words.




■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■




　Oh, I knew it. I didn't think His Majesty would prepare a simple exam, but here we are.
　When I glanced at the other examiners, they didn't seem too surprised.
　The Fire Lizard is a large lizard whose entire body is the color of red iron. When it is angry, it emits fire from its body. The scariest thing about it is that it's body is in that state.
　I've never seen one in Yisheng (although its name was a giant fire lizard). And they weren't in Kouga no Sato.
　They said it wouldn't be a difficult mission... I guess I was tricked. Maybe I should have asked Shizuku or Nagi to take over.
　But still!　I'm allowed to get the 2 platinum coins as a reward for success, right?　If you have two gold pieces............ I can eat everything I want!　Maybe it's not so bad. Rather lucky!
　Oh, I was smirking and His Majesty is looking at me with zit eyes. This kind of reaction is the same even though I'm changing my appearance. I'm aware of that. I'll do my job properly.
　The guild doesn't really have anything to do with Brunhild, but the Brunhild Knights are His Majesty's personal knights, and we will obey all orders!
　Well, I don't get too many reckless orders from His Majesty.
　If anything, Tsubaki's chieftain is more reckless than I am. And he's a rough user.
　I felt a chill and looked around. I don't know where he is, but he's definitely there!　Hey, Chieftain, I'm scared!　I'm getting more and more desperate for this devil's wife....　

Are you okay?

　I was beginning to break out in a cold sweat when the cat-eared lady called out to me.

"Ah, haha. It's okay, it's okay, hi.
Yeah.

　The cat-eared sister turned her attention to the three examiners on the stage again. Before she knew it, the killing spirit had subsided. You can't scare us, chieftain. I guess the inspectors watching us are the chieftains....
　But I wonder if that cat-eared sister, Miu-san, is worried about me.　Maybe it's because I was acting weird. Either way, he doesn't seem like a bad person.
　I wrote "Miu +1" on the scorecard in my mind's eye. This doesn't have much to do with the adventurer's ability.

Then, all seven of you must deliver the Wheelgrass to the guild by the evening of three days' time. That's it. That's all.

　The three examiners, including His Majesty, and the Guildmaster leave. Now, let's get to work.