Chapter 13: Rank Advancement Exam

Exam supervisor Konrad couldn’t take his eyes off the girl.

Normally, he was famous for deciding pass or fail before the results even came out.

If he’d applied that standard this time, this girl would have already passed the moment she drew that sword radiating such beautiful light.

But this time, he didn’t.

‘How beautiful…!’

Konrad couldn’t hide his admiration. Even a minute, even a second—he wanted to see more of that girl’s power. What would she show him next?

And just as Konrad expected, the girl sliced the Mandragora to pieces in the blink of an eye.

As the Demon Beast prepared by the exam venue dissolved into particles, the girl also dispelled the sword in her hand.

‘How long has it been since I felt this?’

Konrad felt his heart tremble.

An emotion he’d never felt even when overseeing S-Rank Hunter advancement exams was now surging up inside him.

And in a mere D-Rank advancement exam at that! This girl was still an E-Rank Hunter. To feel something he hadn’t felt from an S-Rank Hunter from an E-Rank!

It was unprecedented. If Konrad had his way, he would have promoted her two ranks at once, straight to C-Rank.

But that was impossible. Konrad felt a pang of regret that the exam only happened once a quarter and that promotions could only go up one rank at a time. This girl had shown magic so overwhelming and beautiful that he felt she deserved an exception to the rules.

As silence settled over the exam hall, the girl tilted her head. Noticing this, Konrad composed his excited heart and spoke.

“You’ve worked hard. The exam ends here. Results will be announced tomorrow.”

The formal remarks were the same. But the difference was that Konrad was beaming with a bright smile.

Even if he could hide his emotions and voice, he couldn’t hide his expression.

Everyone watching Konrad’s radiant face on the broadcast screen instinctively knew.

This girl had passed.

* * *

After doing it, I realized it too late.

‘I’m fucked.’

That I’d created a scene completely different from what I intended.

I was supposed to control my strength and put on an act of barely defeating the Demon Beast, but the sudden appearance of a new monster made me so happy that I lost control and just obliterated it.

‘This wasn’t supposed to happen.’

Thinking back, the cause was that I’d been hunting nothing but E-Rank Demon Beasts—goblins and kobolds—until I was sick of them.

‘Guess I’ve been pretty bored lately…’

When I first became a Hunter again and headed into a dungeon, the novelty of hunting after so long felt fresh, but lately, facing the same monsters every day, no matter how different the scenery, I couldn’t help but feel bored.

—Murderer!

Of course, people lose their lives in dungeons. It’s common for Hunters.

So I kept telling myself I should never let my guard down and always take it seriously, but…

Seeing monsters get swept away by a single shot of the weakest magic I could muster, I couldn’t help but feel bored. So when I saw a monster I hadn’t seen in a long time—the first since becoming a girl—I got a little excited without meaning to, and after flipping the switch just a tiny bit, I sliced through the data of a D-Rank Mandragora in one stroke.

But a switch is something that turns on when you press it—there’s no difference between turning it on a little and turning it on all the way. My thinking was already screwed from the start.

You can’t put spilled water back in the cup. By the time I realized the supervisors’ gazes on me had changed from before, it was too late.

My first impression of the supervisor hadn’t been great, but the moment I saw him smiling brightly, I couldn’t help but grimace.

[ You’ve worked hard. The exam ends here. Results will be announced in three days. ]

Without even answering, I turned around and left the exam hall.

Clap clap clap—

The sound of applause reached me as soon as I stepped out.

The examinees waiting for their turn were clapping as if they’d been waiting for me to appear.

‘…’

The sound annoyed me, so I fled out of the building.

But nothing changed even after I got outside.

“Ah…”

I let out a sigh at the sight outside.

The stylish people I’d seen before entering the exam hall, and the reporters—I felt their gazes turn toward me. Sure enough, the moment I appeared, they rushed over as if sprinting, and I was quickly surrounded.

“You’re Yoschua, right?”

“Are you satisfied with the exam results?”

“Is it true you’re an E-Rank Hunter?”

“It’s extremely unusual for Supervisor Konrad not to end the exam early! Please give us just one comment!”

There was no way out.

Flashes kept going off, and questions flew at me like they were about to pour down.

My brow furrowed on its own. Come to think of it, this was pretty similar to that scene back then.

—Mr. Verdiol, please give us a response! Taking a civilian who isn’t even a Hunter into a dungeon?!

—Don’t you feel any remorse toward the bereaved family?!

—This is the first case of a civilian dying inside a dungeon. And in one rated S-Rank, no less.

As the noise kept pounding into my ears, my head started to throb.

“Yoschua Verdi!”

“Just one word…!”

“What kind of magic was that—”

But they didn’t care what state I was in—they were just waiting for me to open my mouth.

“Ugh…”

I felt like I was going to throw up.

—If you had any conscience, why don’t you just go die and apologize?

The flashes and the reporters’ words overlapped with auditory hallucinations condemning me.

As memories I didn’t want to recall came flooding back, my hands and feet trembled and my breath grew short.

“Ms. Verdi—”

“Just one word—”

Shut up.

—It would’ve been better if only you had died.

I said shut up.

—You killed them!

I know I couldn’t save them.

But I did my best too.

I risked my own life to save that person.

—Murderer!

Why are you trying to brand me a murderer, you fucking bastards?

Why are you only doing this to me?

You just want to tear into me, that’s all it is.

“Please, just say something!”

Just leave me the hell alone!

“You fucking—”

Sons of bitches!!

“—!”

I tried to squeeze out the voice I’d been holding back, but my words never made it to the end.

Someone suddenly wrapped their arms around me. At first, I tried to resist the unexpected touch.

“Everyone, please step back.”

A familiar voice reached my ears, and I stopped resisting.

I lifted my head and saw Mr. Luca in a pitch-black suit.

“…Mr. Luca?”

When I called out in a cracked voice, Mr. Luca looked at me, flashed a grin showing white teeth, then turned his gaze back to the crowd.

“Who are you?”

“Are you Ms. Yoschua’s guardian?!”

“Wait, that guy… I’ve seen him somewhere.”

This time, questions and flashes poured toward Mr. Luca.

But Mr. Luca didn’t seem to care about their stares at all.

“This kid is still a minor. Please don’t put pressure on her.”

Instead, he stretched his neck out naturally and spoke to them confidently, as if he was used to this kind of situation.

“Who do you think you are…”

“Huh?”

One of the reporters tried to argue, but the moment Mr. Luca’s icy gaze landed on him, he fell silent.

Honestly, even I flinched just now. Mr. Luca was tall and built pretty big, enough to intimidate people.

But more than that, what really let him pressure them was—

“That’s A-Rank Hunter Luca Modred…”

—Mr. Luca’s past.

Someone in the crowd muttered in a disgusted tone.

‘Come to think of it, Mr. Luca was an A-Rank Hunter…’

I’d been so focused on the debt relationship that I’d forgotten about Mr. Luca.

As rough as he seemed, Mr. Luca used to be a Hunter. And an A-Rank, the highest rank below S-Rank at that.

Not as much as me, but back in his active days, Mr. Luca was also famous for his violent temper.

Whether they knew that or not, the guild scouts and reporters all shut their mouths as if they’d gone mute.

“So a retired A-Rank Hunter was backing her…”

“Then she’s probably already in a guild.”

In the end, the guild officials and reporters backed away with disappointed faces.

I thought everyone was leaving, but—

Among the crowd, one pair—a man and a woman—stepped forward alone.

The man was a black-haired, slit-eyed guy who looked like a bad guy at first glance.

The woman was a cold-faced beauty, so much so that it was strange she matched with that man.

How to put it… the first impression those two gave me reminded me of a villain organization’s executive duo.

“That’s… Crescent Guild’s A-Rank Hunter, Hames.”

“Is the one next to him Glare?”

“What are Crescent’s First-Rate Guild members doing here?”

And indeed, that turned out to be the case.

I’d never heard of those two by name, but I had heard of the guild called Crescent.

It was one of the so-called Five Great Guilds—the five most influential guilds in the domestic Hunter industry.

“Been a while, Mr. Luca.”

“Hames? What brings you here?”

Mr. Luca seemed to know these two.

“That kid—the one Mr. Luca’s looking after, right?”

…I didn’t know why he talked like that, but the slit-eyed man, Hames, asked Mr. Luca.

“And if she is?”

“Nothing special, just wondering which guild she belongs to.”

Mr. Luca shot me a look. I subtly shook my head.

“…For now, she’s unaffiliated. But she’s not accepting guild recruitment offers.”

Nice one, Mr. Luca.

“Ayy, don’t be like that. You know our guild, right? It’s Crescent. The top guild in the country—you know that too, Mr. Luca, don’t you?”

“There are circumstances.”

Crescent or Croissant, I couldn’t care less.

I didn’t want to join a guild. I’m not the type to be under someone.

Unless I became a guild master myself or ran a solo guild.

And once you join a guild, unlike a party, it’s not easy to leave, and there are too many things tying you down.

Sure, you get to enjoy a lot of benefits, but for me right now, none of that matters.

Even if it meant paying off all my debt to Mr. Luca, I had no intention of joining.

“Mind if I hear what those circumstances are?”

“They’re circumstances I can’t tell others.”

“Hmm…”

When Mr. Luca stood firm like an iron wall, Hames touched his chin, looking troubled.

Soon, his gaze turned toward me. Maybe because of his slit eyes, but there was a certain ominous feel to his stare.

“Miss, you don’t have any interest in guilds, by any chance?”

“…”

I shook my head side to side.

“Why not! It’s our guild, Crescent! Wouldn’t it be worth at least hearing about it?!”

Like I said, whether your guild is big or not, that’s none of my business.

Croissant would be better. At least you can eat that.

“Hames, while I’m being nice, just leave.”

“Aigo, Mr. Luca. That’s disappointing.”

“Hmph, ‘disappointing’ between us? Hey, want to just settle it with a fight?”

Mr. Luca shouted confidently, but I started to get worried instead.

This old man had been retired for ages—was he really thinking of fighting an active A-Rank Hunter?

“Ayy, as if I’d do that.”

Surprisingly, Hames waved both hands as if giving up and answered quickly.

“Today… I’ll just go.”

The “today” part bothered me, but since he said he’d leave, I let out a silent sigh of relief.

If Hames had actually picked a fight, Mr. Luca was a former A-Rank Hunter too, so he wouldn’t just take it lying down, but regardless of the outcome, I really didn’t want to see those two fight.

“‘Today’? If it’s about guild recruitment, don’t show your face in front of me again.”

“Isn’t that a bit too harsh!”

“Hmph, you wouldn’t have come at all if it weren’t for recruitment in the first place.”

“Ayy, still, I remember the favor you did me. Next time we meet, I’ll bring you a gift.”

“Hmph, if you give a gift, I’ll take it. If you’ve got no business, get going.”

Mr. Luca waved his hand, shooing him away.

“Miss, see you around.”

Hames and Glare bowed to Mr. Luca and left.

Hames said we’d meet again, but I didn’t want to see that bastard ever again.

Setting aside the guild recruitment, he was just a guy who gave me an uneasy feeling.

“Should we go too?”

“…Yes.”

Fortunately, after the duo from the mega-guild Crescent failed to recruit me, no more guilds approached us.

The reporters just fired off a few flashes. And even then, when Mr. Luca shot them a sharp glare, they immediately tucked their tails and ran.

Around the time we got close to the lodging.

“…Thank you for today.”

I bowed my head to Mr. Luca and expressed my sincere gratitude.

If Mr. Luca hadn’t suddenly shown up today, I probably would have just cursed at those people.

If I had done that… I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened after.

“Hmph, I just did what I had to do.”

“Just did what I had to do…”

That didn’t sound like Mr. Luca at all.

Normally, he’d be yelling his head off, saying he’d bill me for this too.

Right when I was about to get a little moved and choked up—

“If you hole up in your room again because of this, when are you gonna pay off your debt?”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

*Pfft.*

It was a reality check, but a laugh slipped out anyway.

Guess Mr. Luca is still Mr. Luca after all. Never changes. My fault for expecting anything else.

…Still, though, today Mr. Luca was… honestly, kind of cool.

This is why I can’t hate this guy.

When people were condemning me as a murderer, Mr. Luca was one of the few who took my side.

On the surface, he talks about debt and helping me out, but… just having someone on my side was a huge help.

Because Mr. Luca was there, I could hold on even at the edge of a cliff.

So.

‘…Thank you.’

I’ll definitely pay back that debt someday.

For sure, no matter what.

But Mr. Luca, how did you know I was in trouble and come find me?

It’s quite a distance from the lodging to here, too.