"And if we made it to the gold rank?" Vol said. "You've seen how important Francis treats us already, like we're doing him a favour, just by existing. Isn't he just a clerk? I don't understand it – but I do reckon he wants us to go higher, and somehow, it benefits him."
"…As a gold group of mercenaries, things would change, I suppose…" Penelope said carefully. "I can't imagine they would want to risk making trouble for us. And we aren't so far away. I see what you're saying. We could use our rank as a safety net, before things got too out of hand. As for why Francis wants mercenaries of strength – it's better for all of Merca if we're here. Quests are problems, and the more problems that are solved, the better a town Merca is made. The strength of a town, or city, and its potential for growth is related to its ability to solve all these different sorts of problems."
