Chapter 49: Report Meeting 2
The next day, as planned, Chloe and I arrived at the guild in the morning.
Feeling a sense of returning to the adventurer guild after a long time, we followed Fiene-san and others to the consultation room.
"Jin-san, Chloe-san, how are things going with your jobs?"
"Yes, we're doing fine without any particular problems."
In response to Fiene-san's question, I replied so and gave a report on the current situation.
I also reported about how the royal family has been cooperative, arranging disguises and fake names, and assisting us with various other matters.
"As expected of the royal family. Ordinary escorts wouldn't go that far."
"I do feel like they've done a lot for us. At first, I didn't like it, but now I think it was the right decision. What about you, Chloe?"
"I'm provided with food, clothing, and shelter, and there's time for training, so I find the work surprisingly enjoyable. I think it was a good decision for me too."
As Chloe and I spoke, Fiene-san smiled and said, "That's good to hear."
After a little update on our current situations, Ricola-san, who was preparing some documents, entered the room.
"Jin-san, Chloe-san, it's been a while."
We greeted Ricola-san as she approached, and then we looked through the documents she had brought.
The documents contained information about recent adventurers, and we noticed that until a few days ago, there were many discussions about Chloe and me.
"During the past week, you two have almost disappeared, so the discussions have calmed down a bit, but some topics are still circulating."
"...Is it mainly about the dungeon record being updated and becoming a hot topic?"
"That's right. Also, there were rumors about the speed of your promotions. Chloe still had six months, so it wasn't as intense, but Jin-san, achieving it in just one month, has caused some commotion."
Fiene-san and the others informed us about how the rumors had spread differently for Chloe and me.
Chloe's reputation was spreading as a reasonably talented adventurer, given that she had been active for six months.
However, in my case, with only one month as an adventurer, there were rumors circulating about me being a dangerous person.
"Some people are saying that Chloe's rise was because of her power, but higher-ranked copper-class adventurers argued that it's impossible to climb up just based on that and got into arguments."
"Ordinary copper-class adventurers have overcome considerable hardships to ascend, so they couldn't stand being insulted like that."
"That's right. Even higher-ranked silver-class adventurers got into a fuss, blaming lower-ranked copper-class adventurers, saying, 'That's why you can't get promoted.'"
At that time, Fine-san told us about the incident that had occurred while we were away, looking tired.
"Hey, Jin-kun, if the rumors have settled down, how about going to the dungeon on your days off? If you don't occasionally go out, you'll run out of adventure stories to tell the princess."
"Yeah, we're running out of conversation topics. Maybe it's a good idea to go to the dungeon once the rumors have calmed down a bit."
"In that case, how about going to a dungeon where the monsters have become a little stronger? I think you guys can handle it fine, and you've already conquered the one I introduced you to earlier."
Indeed, that might be a good idea. Some adventurers do repeatedly conquer the same place, but the one we conquered is a popular spot. Avoiding that and going to a slightly more challenging place with fewer people would be more convenient for us.
"My work ends in the evening, so could you find a place where we can return within a maximum of two or three days?"
"Understood. I'll try to keep the difficulty level slightly higher than before, is that okay?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
In response to Fine-san's confirmation, Chloe and I answered.
After finishing each of our reports, we engaged in some small talk.
"The other day, a messenger from the royal castle came, and I heard about Jin-san's performance. Are you really studying under the Sword Saint?"
"Oh, I'm just receiving some advice as a swordsman. I don't really need a master, and Julius-san said he doesn't treat me as his disciple either."
"Is that so? Among the soldiers, many are surprised that the Sword Saint is teaching someone."
I tried to clarify that misunderstanding with the soldiers, but it seems that since I had a normal conversation with Julius that day, it gave the impression that I was trying to hide the fact that I was his disciple. Fine-san commented, "Jin-san is easily the talk of the town."
"Well, I'm aware of that myself. I try to be mindful of it, but..."
"And lately, you've become quite close to Knight Commander Andor-san, haven't you? The maids were talking about it. They said the Sword Saint and the Guardian Deity are raising the same child."
"I guess I just happened to be favored for some reason."
Regarding Julius, I felt that he saw my potential and approached me. However, when it came to Andor, for some reason, he seemed to have taken a liking to me, and I often found myself accompanying him during training. As a result, I have been focusing more on defense training recently and have become quite proficient in it.