The young receptionist Elina, working at the Spada Adventurer Guild Academy District Branch, felt her heart skip a beat the moment the apprentice mage in a robe appeared.
“Welcome back, Chrono! Congratulations on your successful quest! You’re now Rank 3!!”
Elina’s smile was genuine, the first of its kind since she started working at the guild.
“Ah, yes, thank you.”
Chrono, somewhat taken aback by her dazzling smile and unexpected praise, managed to respond casually.
“Um, well, please take care of this.”
With a smile, Elina accepted the three Guild Cards Chrono presented and began to operate the magical tool for updating the cards with practiced ease.
“You’ve advanced in rank at an unbelievable speed. It surprised me!”
“Yes, my party members and I have some skills.”
The ease with which they had reached Rank 3 could hardly be described as ‘a bit of confidence.’
For instance, if a seasoned adventurer, who had long been at Rank 3, were to start again from Rank 1, one might question whether they could return to Rank 3 in just about a month. The answer would certainly be no.
Even though the quests involved defeating Rank 2 monsters, careful preparation and prudent maneuvering on-site are necessary, regardless of being at Rank 3.
Sometimes, even upon discovering a target, the size of the group or the movements of surrounding monsters could lead to missing the opportunity.
In such cases, it naturally takes a considerable amount of time to clear the quest.
Given the time taken to reach Rank 3 in just a little over a month, it can only be inferred that all quests undertaken were completed swiftly with immediate defeat upon encountering monsters.
Moreover, the party known as the Element Master consistently exceeds the required number of monsters defeated in extermination type quests.
This is clear proof of their strength being such that not even a horde of monsters would be a match for them.
Elina was already convinced that the Element Master undoubtedly possessed strength beyond Rank 4.
“Hehe, what were you doing before becoming an adventurer?”
“I’m sorry, that’s a secret.”
“No, I apologize; I shouldn’t have pried.”
Even in their casual exchange, Elina’s certainty grew that Chrono was not just a country bumpkin from Irz Village, but rather had some kind of hidden secret.
Furthermore, considering the party members, the fairy Lily and the witch Fiona, it led her to suspect they were not childhood friends from the same village.
(Could it be that he was an elite knight from Daedalus?)
Thinking back, his history of participating in an emergency quest to flee Daedalus to Spada seemed suspicious.
Instead of just being an adventurer, it might make sense to consider that he, a survivor of the defeated Daedalus army, served as a rear guard to help civilians escape.
After surviving in Spada, becoming an adventurer might not be such a bad choice for a knight from a fallen country.
(Hmm, a knight from a fallen nation? That’s a rather intriguing situation.)
To stave off sweet fantasies, Elina, as an elite receptionist, remained focused on her work and finished updating the Guild Cards.
“Here you go, the update is complete.”
As she handed Chrono the new Guild Card, now shining from bronze to silver, she offered her congratulations and words of encouragement once again.
Praised with heartfelt words and a smile, Chrono showed a slight blush of embarrassment.
In a striking contrast that might terrify some, the way his cold and sharp features softened brought an overwhelming sense of gap moe that tormented Elina’s heart.
(This is dangerous, so nice…)
Elina felt as if she might burst with drool or nosebleed due to her excitement but managed to maintain her composure through her elven steel will.
“By the way, Chrono, what will you do about quests?”
Based on her previous experiences, she expected him to request all the Rank 3 quests needed to rise to Rank 4.
“No, I’ll save the quests for another time.”
“Oh, I see?”
Stunned by this unexpected answer, Elina temporarily halted her thoughts about listing up Rank 3 quests.
“Yes, I think I’ll try attending the Adventurer Course at the School of the Gods from now on.”
“I see, is that so?”
Though she spoke these words, Elina’s mind was flooded with doubts.
(Why now? His skills are sufficient, and having reached Rank 3, he must be familiar with the basics of adventuring. Furthermore, if he was a knight, he should be reasonably educated.)
The Adventurer Course teaches basic reading, writing, introductory mathematics, simple history, and theology. Even if Daedalus was a newly established nation, knights would have undergone a certain level of education.
(What exactly does he hope to learn from the Adventurer Course?)
With no immediate answers, Elina began to doubt her original assumptions about Chrono being a knight from Daedalus, ultimately returning to square one regarding his true identity.
“Um, may I ask you something?”
Just as her mind was overflowing with question marks, Chrono called out to her.
“Yes, what is it?”
Elina immediately replied with a perfect smile, her inner turmoil not affecting her outward demeanor, showcasing the professionalism of a two-year veteran.
“I heard that when you advance to Rank 3, a lot more monster information becomes available, and I’d like to look at it.”
“Yes, that’s correct. From Rank 3 onwards, almost all information is accessible.
As for those details, they are available in the document room on the second floor—”
Rank 3 is considered the point at which one is regarded as a full-fledged adventurer.
Thus, the guild believes it is the adventurers’ freedom to challenge monsters above their rank.
While reckless challenges may only waste lives, if they have gained a certain degree of strength and aim for higher, diving into some level of danger may be necessary.
With that judgment, the guild grants adventurers of Rank 3 and above the right to access almost all monster information, except for certain top-secret data.
“I see, understood, thank you.”
With gratitude directed towards Elina for her thorough explanation, Chrono made her heart race once more.
“Well then, I’ll come back soon to check on quests.”
As Chrono said his thanks and prepared to leave, Elina stopped him.
“Please wait, Chrono.”
“Yes?”
A look of confusion crossed Chrono’s face, completely taken aback by being asked to stop.
“I apologize for this being personal, but I truly wanted to thank you again.”
“…Thank you?”
Before Chrono could ask what for, Elina deeply bowed her head and spoke.
“Thank you so much for saving me from a dangerous situation. If you hadn’t come to help at that time, I would have lost my life to that terrible murderer.”
“W-What? Murderer? Wait, were you the one attacked back then?”
Chrono looked genuinely surprised, and Elina continued to tease him a bit.
“Did you not recognize who I was?”
“Ah, no… I’m sorry, I was desperate at that moment, and I didn’t have the time to confirm faces.”
“It’s fine, you wouldn’t have known in that situation, besides, I had a different hairstyle then.
But I recognized you right away, Chrono.”
Elina’s heart raced for that reason as she faced Chrono.
He was the knight who appeared suddenly and protected her from the cursed murderer Johto.
“I’m sorry, but I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“That’s the same for me; I immediately called the gendarmerie, but I was worried if they had arrived in time… During the inquiry, I learned what had happened, and only then was I finally able to relax.”
The current situation arose because Elina had given her statement on the same day while Chrono was recovering from the battle, allowing him to appear after a night’s rest the following day.
Although Elina was aware that Chrono had saved her, she didn’t know where he was staying.
So, she concluded that the only place they could definitely meet was the Adventurer Guild, leading to this very moment.
“Thank you for calling the gendarmerie; I appreciate it.”
After exchanging a few more words of relief for each other’s safety, Chrono finally departed.
Elina watched the large masculine back cloaked in a black robe and murmured.
“Hehe, Chrono, I’ll give you a perfect score of 100.”
The score she had on hold for Chrono as a man peaked at this moment, reaching a record high of 100.
Chrono has achieved a score of 100!
April 20, 2012
This time, I received an illustration from Niraleba! There’s a link to the character introduction on “Mitemin,” so please take a look!