The first visitor was Count August.
"Count August is here?"
Earl Garrison's eyes widened.
Soon a stern-looking, middle-aged nobleman entered the office. It was Count August.
Count Garrison hid his surprise and welcomed August.
"It's been a long time, Earl. I'm glad to see you."
"I'm not so glad to see you."
"...what?"
Earl Garrison asked, momentarily stunned.
Count August glared at him, hostility evident in his eyes.
"I will not make a long story of it. You will put an end to the nasty prank you played on Sir Raymond at once."
"...!"
"I trust you know better what I am talking about."
Garrison's face reddened angrily.
"You're doing this because of the grade you gave him?"
"I know."
Garrison was dumbfounded.
Count August, a great nobleman of the South, would come to him personally over the rating of a single healer?
"It is the sole prerogative of the Tower of Healing to determine the rank of a healer, and I don't think it's fair to speak of it so casually."
"Standards?"
"Yes."
Count August scoffed.
"Funny."
"...!"
"It's obvious to anyone who looks at you that you're doing this for the wrong reasons, and you're using such a ridiculous excuse. You're shameless."
At this point, Count Garrison finally had enough and raised his voice.
"You! How dare you, what kind of rant is that?"
"A rant? If it is a rant, explain it to me. By what ridiculous standard did you give Sir Raymond a grade of D?"
An intense momentum boiled up in Count August's body.
It was the 'speculation' of knights.
He glared at Earl Garrison, his eyes piercing.
"I'm a southern hillbilly, so I don't know how to talk like the nobles in the capital. All I ever do is brawl on the frontier, so I have a simple mind."
"...."
Earl Garrison stiffened and shut his mouth.
The power of the Earl of August's household, a great nobleman of the southern provinces who, when he was bored, became a battleground for his enemies, was not something a mere politician in the capital could handle.
"Sir Raymond is a benefactor to my family, my friend, and I am very angry that such a man should be subjected to such nonsense."
"...."
"Explain to my satisfaction why you gave Sir Raymond such a rating."
The Earl of Garrinson pursed his lips, unable to speak easily.
An explanation? There could be no such thing.
Nor could he stare down the Earl of August in front of him as if he were a subordinate.
"Damn it. I can't believe I've been put through all this trouble for that filthy bastard.
The longer the silence lingered, the sharper Earl August's glare, and the guilty Earl Garrison's throat burned.
But that was not the end of the nightmare.
A figure appeared that could not be compared to Count August.
"I wonder, too, why you gave Sir Raymond such a low rating."
Earl Garrison bowed his head in astonishment that was not matched by the appearance of Earl August.
"Her Royal Highness!"
Sophia!
Raymond's half-sister, the First Princess of the Kingdom of Huston, had appeared!
"Rise."
Sophia's face was grim.
Her doll-like appearance was still the same, but her eyes were cold.
An icy majesty radiated from her beautiful face.
"Why did you give Sir Raymond a grade of D?"
"He...."
What was there to say?
Garrison cursed under his breath.
Count August to Princess Sophia.
What he'd taken lightly had grown into something unimaginable.
"If the grade of a healer is so important, I wonder what role the Grade A healers played when I was written."
Garrison was silent. He was dumb with honey.
Princess Sophia sighed lowly. She looked tired, as if she hadn't fully recovered from her earlier collapse.
"I shall leave you to your wise judgment, Count."
As Princess Sophia turned away, Earl Garrison asked in confusion.
"Uh, why would Her Royal Highness care about such a filthy bastard?"
Sophia stopped short and frowned.
"It's not that I care."
"Then?"
"I just can't stand the idea of the healer who dared to treat this body receiving a D-grade, nothing more, don't get me wrong."
Count Garrison was dumbfounded as he watched the sofas disappear.
* * *
As far as Count August was concerned, it was impossible to give him a grade of D, especially since he had gone as far as Princess Sophia.
'Damn her, she's a bitch without a mother.
Earl Garrison cursed under his breath.
"Well, then, what would you grade Sir Raymond, Count?"
The Earl of Garrinson bit his lip hard.
I can't give him a D or a C, given the circumstances.
B... No, maybe he should give him a B+.
But the problem was, he couldn't decide between the two.
"Call the Imperial City."
"Huh?"
The Yellow City!
That was where the emperor of the Crusader Empire was located.
The Crusader Empire was an empire of ten nations, so of course there was a separate emperor.
Of course, the ten nations that made up the Crusader Empire were equal allies, so the emperor didn't have the authority to rule the ten nations by force.
It's technically an elected position, similar to a representative, and is chosen by the most prestigious and popular of the royalty of the ten states.
In any case, the headquarters of the Tower of Healing was located in the ecliptic, where the emperor resided.
"I can't decide, ask the Emperor!"
"Ah, yes, yes!"
The examiners immediately inquired about the matter via long-distance communication magic, and it didn't take long for the answer to arrive.
-Grade U.
That was the grade the Healing Tower had given Raymond.
It meant.
-Undetermined.
It meant that they weren't going to deliberately decide on a grade.
It was also meant to be mocking.
-Unvalue.
A therapist who earned his license by dabbling. Not worthy of a rating.
Anyway, that's how Raymond was labeled, and from that day forward, the letter U became his symbol.
However, after some time, people came to think of the U as meaning something else.
-Instead of Undetermined & Unvalue,
-Untouchable & Ultimate (untouchable, absolute).
And so the S ranks, the SSS ranks.
An absolute rank that surpasses even the Ex rank above it was born.
Of course, that was still in the future.
* * *
"You passed?"
"Really?"
Upon hearing the news, the people at the Bellend Healing Center wore expressions of disbelief.
"That's ridiculous, I thought you'd fail."
"They recognized jutsu as a healing art?"
As usual, the people at the clinic disparaged Raymond's abilities.
But Raymond didn't care what they said or didn't say.
It was a happy day.
"Can't you hear what they're saying? It's De Nguyen, the one who failed the exam."
"...!"
The gossiping apprentices behind me blushed.
For the record, they were the ones who failed the test.
"Oh, you're being harsh, Sir Raymond!"
"What? I can't hear you, you're talking about a failed apprentice. You'll tell me when you pass the exam? Ah, is that forever too much to ask?"
"Profit!"
The apprentices turned red and disappeared, leaving Raymond alone to cheer.
"That's it! I've finally done it! I'm a healer! I'm done with being an apprentice!
No more vegetable soup, no more hard bread.
From now on, only steaks will be served!
"Lead the way, you filthy Velland healer, you have no business being a healer anymore, let's burn this place down!"
"...What are you doing, senior?"
Raymond jumped at the sound of Hanson's voice. He turned to see Hanson holding a piece of firewood in one hand.
"...Uh, it's cold."
"It's summer."
He'd been distracted by his passing.
Raymond, the would-be arsonist, coughed loudly.
"Congratulations, you passed."
"Uh, you too."
Hanson took the test, too, and passed.
Rank C.
Just a regular, run-of-the-mill therapist.
"So what are you going to do now, get a job as a full-time therapist?"
"I don't know. I've been approached by Maple Therapeutic Center."
There are two paths after becoming a licensed therapist.
You can either start a small practice and go out on your own, or you can get a job at a clinic.
These days, most people get a job.
In the capital city, the leading clinics already have all the patients, so it's not easy to stand out from the crowd.
"Maple Clinic? One of the top three clinics in the capital? Monopolizing most of the treatment in the commoner districts? Good for you. Congratulations."
"...."
Hanson's face was grim, despite the obvious opportunity.
Shaking his head, Raymond spoke up.
"Anyway, let's eat something good tonight, I'm calling the shots!"
"You're a senior, do you have money?"
For your information, apprentices are almost unpaid passion pay. Naturally, they are poor.
"I took out a loan as soon as I got my healer license! From Healer Lone! I could use the money for something else anyway."
"...."
"Anyway, let's drink tonight!"
Hanson shook his head, as if he couldn't be dissuaded. But I couldn't blame him.
It was a happy day.
Raymond's joy was unspeakable, especially after five years of apprenticeship.
"Come on, old man. Even so, you're not drinking too much...."
"It's okay, I've got it!"
And so they drank themselves into a stupor.
And the next day.
When I was suffering from a hangover.
An unexpected message arrived.
A formal scouting offer had come in.
From two of the most prestigious healing centers.
* * *
One was the Mont Retreat.
Not a big one, but one with its own traditions.
And the other was from Raoul.
Raymond was genuinely surprised.
"That's one of the top three healers in the capital. In fact, the top healer in the capital.
There are three healers in the capital.
Helien's. Raoul's. Maple's.
The best of the bunch is Helien's.
However, it is run by Count Helien, a Triple-A healer, and is not a common healer, treating only royalty and the highest ranking nobles.
The best of the common healers was Raoul's.
It was there that Raymond was offered a scouting position.
"As you can see, this is a great opportunity. I hope you'll consider it an honor...."
"I decline."
"It's ...?"
The employee from Raoul's therapy center's eyes grew wide.
"What are you saying...?"
"I said I refuse."