We were riding through the city on our beasts. Isabella and I were on Twilight while Jason was riding a monstrous wolf. When I asked him why he chose a wolf instead of a drake he told me that even when drakes were commonly stronger beasts, wolves are more practical beasts for hunting since you can train them better. He also said that his grey companion was more loyal than any other human he had met. With this, my image of him being a man obsessed with hunting just got reinforced once more.
The trip was quiet for most of the ride, I was having some inner issues with Isabella being attached to my back like some kind of baby monkey; probably a consequence of my recent self-awareness in our relationship. Part of me knew that I should put some more distance between us, but I couldn't get my voice to work when I saw her face.
This was the first time she had joined me to ride Twilight, so her shifting expression of fear and excitement kept me on edge from acting.
This is painful...
"Oi, lovebirds, we are almost there. Let's get the beasts in the nearby stable and get this over with"
"... Sure thing"
When I turned to see how was doing Isabella I noticed that she had a faint blush on her cheeks. Our eyes met for a moment before she averted her gaze with an awkward smile.
Oh, man...
A swift pain landed on my chest as I left Twilight in the stable beside Jason's wolf. On our way to the guild, we received some condescending looks from the locals. I was able to catch some of their whispering as we walked past them. "Aren't those the ones from the transmission?" "They are, even the other one is pretty well known around here" "What do you think they want?" "If it's anything similar to that fight, then I'm sure it's gonna be entertaining"
I ignored them since they didn't seem to pose a real threat. The three of us entered the sliding gates and as soon as we started to walk toward the counter, a death silence filled the room.
"All right, go ahead, make your magic"
Jason stopped on his feet, and without turning away his eyes from the crowd gathering around us, he told me to move.
"It won't take long"
I walked directly to the receptionist and as soon as the bar was at my reach I dropped my guild card.
"I'd like to request a meeting with the guild master"
The mature woman peeled her eyes when she saw my card, but she quickly nodded and started to command the rest of the girls working under her care.
"In a moment sir! Please take a seat in the waiting room while we process your request!"
"Thank you"
I smiled before retrieving my card and walked back to my group. Both Jason and Isabella were shocked by the quick response from the guild. But everything made sense to Jason when he looked at the piece of silver in my hand.
"You're a silver rank?! How is that possible when you're younger than me?!"
"I registered in the guild as soon as I turned 13. Since then I've been clearing requests and making a name of my own, though I did mostly in secret. That's why none of them recognize me with this appearance"
Jason, still incapable of comprehending my words grabbed his head to stop it from flying away.
"In secret? How the hell did the guild allow that? You can't have secret identities in the registration, that's illegal"
"None of my information is false, it's just that I hid my face with a mask and clothes, and I'm also known more by a pseudonym, not my real name"
When I said that, one of the adventurers around us took a step forward.
"If you're a silver and have a secret identity... then you must be 'Black Knife' Dom! The lone adventurer!"
When the rest of the adventurers heard that name a scene of shock and awe took place in the room. I soon got myself trapped between the hands of Jason.
"Wait a frikin second! You're Black Knife?! THE. BLACK KNIFE?!"
Between the adventurers surrounding us and him, the prize for most shocked was his rightful possession.
"Sounds like we met before, care to refresh my mind?"
His face turned into a demon as he grabbed my collar.
"How can you not remember?! It was just a few months ago!! In the depths of the dungeon, in that trap room!"
I used this information to try and crave the memory out of my brain, it took me a couple of minutes but I remember the incident.
"Ah... I remember. You were with that group I saved from the nagas! I think that was the first time I used my magic in front of people as an adventurer"
Jason's face turned into a sour grin. He let go of me when Isabella put her body between us.
"Ahh, yhea all right, I apologize, I lost my cool for a moment there. Don't give me that look"
She was staring daggers at him. This caused a chuckle to escape from my mouth as I grabbed her shoulder to assure her that I wasn't mad for what he did. She sighed before returning to her place on my right side.
"That day I almost lost everything. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here... none of the club would"
He then knelt and pushed his forehead to the ground with his sword in front of him, as if it was an offering.
"My greatest regret was not being able to thank you for what you did that day... That's why, please. Accept my most sincere gratitude..."
Damn... It wasn't that big of a deal to me since I was just getting stronger to protect Veronica... But looks like I have to take him at least with some degree of seriousness...
I grabbed his arm and pulled him up so that he could stay straight on his feet.
"It's fine, you also kept the secret of me being an irregular so let's just say that we are even. I need my president to stay strong, if not, how else are we gonna reach the higher ranks? Don't you want to shut some noble mouths?"
His eyes widened for a moment, but when he let go of his anxiety a big grin appeared on his face followed by a firm grip on my hand.
"You're damn right I do!"
This scene caused the rest of the adventurers to scream and celebrate. I got scared at first, but then I was showered with words of gratitude by many of the parties around us.
Apparently, I had helped more people than I imagined during my stay at the guild as the Black Knife.
I never expected to be greeted with this since all those times were mere coincidences in my way of becoming stronger. I honestly didn't care about ranks or reputation at that time since my only focus was the safety of Veronica. Now that I have more issues to take into consideration this is a very welcoming sight to have if I'm being honest.
I spent the rest of the waiting receiving gratitude from the adventurers I helped at some point in the past. Isabella was always at my side with a pleased smile. I also noticed a certain brilliance in her eyes, the kind that Veronica gave me when we were alone.
My throat tightened at this realization... The weight of the future was now resting on my shoulders in the form of cruel guilt...
"Sir, the guild master is ready for you, if would be so kind as to follow me..."
"Roger that. Let's go, both of you"