Barse's Guild House, Guild Master's room!
「Are you really sure about this?」
I asked with a serious expression, looking at the mountain of platinum coins
right before me.
「Yeah! The hunter society is based on real strength, after all. You deserve
at least this amount.」
There has to be more to it. Moreover, I honestly don't want to borrow a
favor from him.
Let's not beat around the bush! I have met this short yet muscle-bound man
a really long time ago. To be exact, my grandfather had brought me to meet
this man. This man is one of the people that the current me has a hard time
dealing with, other than Aaron Kaien.
I want to decline this money since I have already received the reward from
the Sacred Martial Arts Tournament, but declining this money would be
equal to not giving this personage any face. Since I plan to live a long,
fulfilled life as a hunter, I definitely can't afford to offend this man, who is
akin to the hero of the hunters.
「Thank you! I shall receive this reward.」
The pouch held a hundred platinum coins. The moment I touched it…
「Using this chance, I'll also raise your hunter rank from E to D. Look, this
is your revised guild card.」
Ralph returned me the guild card he had borrowed from me a while ago.
「Eh? I'm not wishing for promotion though.」
If I'm not wrong, I have received the information about the requirement for
applying to raise hunter rank, which is followed by an examination, when I
registered as a hunter a while ago. Thus, for me to raise my hunter rank so
easily like this might be something worth celebrating.
「As long as you fulfill the requirement for it, any branch guild master can
raise your hunter rank to C. That's why there is no need to worry about the
procedure.」
「P-Please wait a minute!」
Are you kidding me? If I keep getting myself entangled with this
troublesome status, it would surely be a great hindrance to my leisurely,
slow-life plan to travel around the world.
「I understand your worry! You're troubled since you can raise only one
rank, right? Don't worry about it! I'll think of a proper way for you to raise
your rank to C next time.」
What in the hell is this f*cking baldy old man on about?
「That's not what I mea―」
I tried to refuse his offer for a promotion when Guild Master Ralph patted
my right shoulder with a bright smile plastered on his face.
「Relax! I've already talked about this matter with Princess Rose. You'll
have a special status amongst hunters.」
He added a remark that would bring only more anxiety to me.
「But―」
「Lastly, not a single word about this incident's truth will be leaked outside
in accordance with the Princess' wish. That's what you wish for, right?」
「Indeed bu―」
「You must be tired after all this. Let's take a rest.」
Guild Master Ralph didn't even allow me to speak. He just stood and spoke
one-sidedly to me, then left the room with a satisfied smile.
What in the hell happened just now? Things blew up beyond my prediction!
And he said that he was already talking with that black-bellied
princess(Rose) about this matter. That makes me even more anxious!
Dammit! At this rate, my brilliant slow-life plan will get only further and
further away from my grasp.
But, no one will talk about the truth behind this incident, huh! So, not even
Arnold or Guild Master will tell the truth about this incident even if they are
cross-examined. Well, I should be grateful since this means nobody will
leak my personal information.
I left the room after getting a grip on myself. When I descended to the first
floor, two men clad in robes stepped up to me with expressions as if they
were entering enemy territory.
「THANK YOU very much for saving this city!」
「THANK YOU very much for saving us!」
Both of them bowed to me. They were familiar faces. One of them was the
blonde man with thug-like eyes: Raiga; the other was the man with short
black hair, who always wears a hood: Hook.
「No need to thank me! This course of events is something that would've
eventually happened.」
Well, I had my reason for killing that f*cking small fry. My reason wasn't
something as worthless as a sense of justice or wanting to help others. I'm
not some sort of champion of justice. In fact, even you might not
understand my reason.
「No, my cockiness killed our comrades and invited that disaster to this
city. Although I managed to clean up the mess after that, it was by
borrowing your power, someone who I had insulted in the public. That's too
despicable, right?」
Raiga spoke without beating around the bush, his body trembling all over.
I see now! This youngster simply wants someone to blame him. Since there
was no clear requirement or rule that prohibited someone from delving deep
into the forest, no one blamed Raiga and his team for exploring that ancient
ruin. Thus, no one blamed them for being the reason those monsters
attacked this city. That might be why these youngsters can't forgive their
recklessness. But, that's nothing more than their self-satisfaction; such a
thing will leave only detrimental effects on them.
「Stop acting like spoiled children. The reason your comrades died was
that both of you were TOO WEAK. That's the only reason! Becoming
stronger so that such a thing will never happen again is the only way for the
two of you to recompense your deceased comrades.」
That's all I can say to them. Whether they can brace themselves and move
on or not completely depends on themselves.
After saying that, I turned around and left the Guild House.