Nina's sitting on the couch when I return, and she looks up in surprise as I appear. After a second to process it, she smiles.
"So, how did everything go?" (Nina)
I grin back at her.
"Well, I could tell you now, but wouldn't you rather talk in the bath like I promised?" (Mizuki)
Nina's eyes fly open in surprise, and she begins grinning. I chuckle quietly, then I nod at her.
After removing my gear, I walk over to the tub and spend the next few minutes preparing a warm bath for us. As I'm finishing, I feel Nina kneel beside me and lean on my shoulder, then I hear her voice in my head.
[Hmm…is the bath ready yet?] (Nina)
"Yeah, I think so." (Mizuki)
I look over at her, and she's already removed her clothes. She's looking me in the eye like it's no big deal. That sneaky dragon.
Before I can act, she slides her face closer to mine and presses our lips together. Maintaining the kiss, she reaches toward the hem of my shirt.
Truthfully, I'd feel weird going any further tonight, so I decide that I should put a stop to this.
I grab her wrists and push us apart, and she sighs regretfully as I do. Her face is annoyed.
I cast her an admonishing expression, like 'come on, you know what you did'. She gives me a not very believable look of surprise.
[What? I was just trying to help you get undressed for the bath, Mizuki!] (Nina)
That doesn't even warrant a verbal response. I roll my eyes at her instead.
Afterwards, we both settle into the bath facing one another. Nina is wearing a pouting face, and I can sense disappointment rolling off her in waves.
"Nina, for what it's worth, I thought your technique was flawless. In fact, if it had been another night, I probably would have been fine with it." (Mizuki)
Nina's mood seems to improve modestly at that comment. Then, she looks at me expectantly.
"Oh? Did something happen with your trap tonight?" (Nina)
I can sense mild concern from her. I sigh and sink down into the bath. The water feels nice on my muscles, and I lean my head back against the tub.
"Yeah, I had three adventurers track me into the woods I led them to. Once there, they first tried to intimidate me, then they threatened to kill me. Apparently, they'd done it before." (Mizuki)
Nina smirks and raises an eyebrow at me.
"Fufufu…I pity the people that would try something like that with you. I'm guessing one of them was that brainless human I threw into the door earlier tonight?" (Nina)
"No, actually, it was the guy with the broadsword who tried to recruit you to their party. Apparently, he didn't like taking no for an answer, so he and two of his goons tracked me alone to the woods. First, they tried intimidating me into getting you to join their party, and when that failed, they were going to kill me in the hopes that you'd lose your reason to reject their offer." (Mizuki)
Nina's eyes fly open in surprise at that information. Then she begins laughing.
"Fufufu…fools indeed. I'm guessing you slapped them around a little bit and dropped them off deep in the woods to reflect on their actions?"
I maintain her gaze without laughing, then shake my head.
"No. I teleported all three to your nest in the woods, then executed them one-by-one and disintegrated their bodies and equipment. They'd killed innocent people, probably more than once, and their leader was charming, cold, and calculating. They may not seem like a threat to us in terms of ability, but people like that can find more clever ways to harm you. So, I eliminated them…no exceptions." (Mizuki)
I sense shock from Nina, and she gives me a puzzled look.
"I'm honestly surprised, Mizuki. I thought you disliked hurting people, and preferred scheming to get your way." (Nina)
"When it comes to redeemable people, that's certainly the case. However, I don't make allowances for people like them. Scheming with schemers is dangerous, and they weren't worth the risk." (Mizuki)
Nina seems to purse her lips thoughtfully, and then nods as if agreeing.
"I guess you're right. Well, they won't be a problem anymore. So, on to the other thing that I was curious about! What'd you do in our fight earlier today to grab my arrow? I've never seen anyone move that fast." (Nina)
My sense of apprehension from her about the incident with the adventurers has disappeared, and it's been replaced by strong curiosity. She's staring at me intently, waiting for an answer.
"Hmm…before I tell you, what do you think I did?" (Mizuki)
She smiles confidently, like 'glad you asked'.
"Ha! I think that you made an illusion of yourself where you wanted me to shoot, then hid your real self to the side to wait and grab the arrow." (Nina)
She leans back in the bath and gives me a smug expression, like 'am I right?'. I smile back at her and shake my head.
"Nope, that's not it. However, that is a clever idea as well, and I should think about trying it in the future. Everything you saw with your eyes was what happened. As for how I did it…would you believe me if I said that I learned to slow the flow of time?" (Mizuki)
Nina gets serious, then studies my face as if waiting for me to reveal that I'm joking. When I don't, her eyes go wide, and she shakes her head in exasperation.
"Mizuki, this again!? Tampering with the laws of time is something that most gods don't even do! Don't go telling anyone that you can do that!" (Nina)
"Well, it's not like I'm stopping time, or going back in time, or going to alternate timelines. I'm just slowing it down, which isn't really that much different than increasing my speed. So, it's probably fine!" (Mizuki)
She looks at me like I'm too stupid to try talking to, then hangs her head in defeat. After a minute, she seems to decide that lecturing me further isn't worth the effort, and she changes topics.
"So, if there's no magic in the world you came from, then what was it like? How did the humans there manage to do anything? What were the other sentient races there like?" (Nina)
I take some time to describe modern Earth to Nina, while she listens intently. I explain that humans are the only sentient race, and that most of the things on Azura are just considered myths. I also tell her about how advanced the humans there are, relatively speaking, and explain cars, trains, planes, computers, and other modern marvels to her.
At first, she is suspicious I am messing with her, but eventually her eyes are wide as she reflects on it. I'm not done, though.
"That's not even the most surprising thing. Using the technology we'd developed, humans of Earth had even visited our own moon and other nearby planets. We also had these powerful weapons called 'nukes'. A few of those could destroy the entire Delmura forest in one coordinated attack." (Mizuki)
"Fufufufu…if what you tell me is true, perhaps I really should be more wary of weaker creatures." (Nina)
Well, that's kind of shocking to hear from her. I don't think that her being more cautious is a bad thing, though. As I'm thinking of that, I realize that I have questions for her that need answering as well.
"Hey, Nina, where do you want to live? This is the last night in this inn that we've paid for, so we'll need to decide quite soon. In general, we could keep staying at this or another inn for now, but this one is probably the only one with baths. I suppose we could try to buy a house. That would be permanent, but since we can teleport, it's not really that big of a restriction." (Mizuki)
Nina looks surprised by the question, like she hadn't really thought about it. After a minute, she shrugs.
"I'm still a dragon, Mizuki, I don't really care where we sleep as long as it's comfortable and we keep getting to do exciting things. So long as that's true, just decide it yourself." (Nina)
Well, that's sweet, but also not very helpful. Buying a house sounds like a lot of hassle right now, and we get 'free' meals and baths here with the room cost. Honestly, I don't really need to worry about day-to-day money anymore. So, I think I'll just stay here for the time being.
"Alright, let's keep this room for a while then. I'll extend our stay tomorrow." (Mizuki)
Nina nods, like I just told her the weather forecast.
"Hmm…what do you say we wrap up this bath, get some food, and go to bed? I want us to take some adventuring jobs tomorrow!" (Mizuki)
Nina smiles softly, then after a moment it transitions to a smirk and raised eyebrow.
"Will we be going to sleep immediately?" (Nina)
I'm going to need to get a spray bottle for her at this point. I wonder if she'll get annoyed if I play dumb.
"Hmm…I mean I'll probably fall right asleep, but I have books that you can read if you're not tired by then?" (Mizuki)
Nina's agitation comes through the connection, loud and clear, and I suppress my laughter.
After that, the rest of the night is relatively uneventful.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
The next morning, Nina and I arrive at the guild early to scour the job boards. I explain to her that we can only take G and F-rank jobs right now, and she is not happy about it.
"Mizuki, this is boring! They want us to collect herbs! Herbs, Mizuki!? All these requests for monsters are also weak, the strongest one is a wolf! Why do we have to do these jobs?" (Nina)
I mean…this seems in character for her, so I'm not too thrown by it.
[I understand how you feel, but this is what they ask us to do to prove that we can be trusted with the fun jobs, you know? Remember, we seem human. How many humans here do you think are dumb enough to take on more than they can handle and get killed? They're just trying to limit how often that happens.] (Mizuki)
I sense Nina's frustration wane slightly, and she sighs deeply.
"Fine. What do we need to do to increase in this 'rank' system of theirs?" (Nina)
I appreciate her being a good sport.
"I know about getting to the next rank, but let's go talk to Melanie about higher ranks. Maybe we can do it more efficiently." (Mizuki)
Nina rolls her eyes, but nods in agreement, and we head over to reception. Melanie sees us coming and her face goes a little stiff. Yeahhh…that's fair after last time.
"H-Hi, Nina and Mizuki! What can I help you with today? Also, I told the guild master about Nina, and he was hoping to meet with you today. Should I go grab him?" (Melanie)
Before she can preemptively go grab the guild master, I quickly address the questions.
"That won't be necessary, but perhaps if he's around when we return this afternoon. We were wondering what the criteria for ranking up would be. You mentioned F-rank promotion to me, but what are the E, D, and C-rank promotion criteria?" (Mizuki)
Melanie looks surprised that I'm asking about so many consecutive levels, but glances at Nina for a moment then nods.
"Sure! E-rank would require any two monster-slaying jobs to be completed, D-rank would require completing two D-rank jobs or obtaining a rare item for the guild, and C-rank would require completing a personal skill assessment by the guild. C-rank is when jobs start to get really dangerous, so the guild insists on the skill assessments." (Melanie)
Melanie glances at me apologetically as she says the last part, like 'so Nina can't help'. That's funny, but I also appreciate the concern.
"Hmm…thanks, I understand. So, in theory, if we were to complete any three jobs of F-rank or lower, two of which were monster slaying, and bring back a rare monster item, would we be eligible to take the C-rank exam this afternoon?" (Mizuki)
Melanie's eyes fly open in shock.
"U-Uhm…I mean I can't technically think of any rule against it." (Melanie)
I smile at Melanie appreciatively, and head over to the job board without another word. Nina remains at reception, seemingly disinterested. Looking around at the board, I grab another job for killing slimes, a job for slaying one wolf, and a collection job for five medicinal plants called Mertroot.
I walk back over to Melanie and hand her the three jobs. She looks at me like I'm nuts.
"U-Uhm, I can give you two of these, but parties are limited to two simultaneous job acceptances." (Melanie)
Ah, that's right. Hmm…I wonder…
"In that case, our party will be accepting the wolf and collection job, and Nina will be accepting the slime job on her own as an individual. Since I already have a slime job completed, that shouldn't ruin our plans. Is that against guild regulations?" (Mizuki)
Melanie begins glancing nervously between us again, then sighs dejectedly.
"Again, no, there's technically no regulation against it. However, I'll be recommending that we pass some new rules after the past couple days of dealing with you, Mizuki." (Melanie)
Ignoring her jab, I continue with my information gathering.
"Great! So, one last thing. What is a Mertroot, and do you have a collected one around that you can show me?" (Mizuki)
She seems to have no problems with that exchange, and she disappears into the back. After a moment, she returns with something that looks kind of like a turnip.
I hold out my hand to take it from her, and then pretend like I'm examining it closely. Instead, I'm tuning my magic sense to the plant. I'm not actually about to go randomly eyeball searching for this, after all.
While I'm doing this, she's explaining the plant.
"This is a Mertroot, and you commonly find them hidden below ground level in less dense forest where there's plenty of light and water. They are primarily medicinal herbs, and they are used in making healing potions." (Melanie)
After I successfully tune my magic sense to the plant, I hand it back to Melanie. Nina glances at it briefly, but then loses interest.
"Okay, thanks for that, Melanie. Well then, we'll be taking these three jobs, divided up the way that we asked, and we'll see you again this afternoon!" (Mizuki)
Melanie looks like she wants to roll her eyes at me, but instead quietly processes the job acceptances. Afterwards, I also return the book to her that I'd been borrowing from the guild. Once everything is settled, we thank Melanie and leave the guild.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Following our guild job acceptances, Nina and I are in my forest clearing that's used for training.
"Alright, Nina, I promise we can make this quick, so you won't be too bored. I appreciate your help. Since I'm sure that the wolf is the least boring thing to you, how about you take care of that? You just need to kill one without destroying its body. While you're searching for it, I'll take care of the slime cores and Mertroot. When I'm done, I'll just teleport to you. How does all that sound?" (Mizuki)
"Yeah, that's fine, I don't want to keep doing these boring jobs forever." (Nina)
Wow, I thought she might get all 'dragons don't lie' about me doing the slime job for her. I guess not, though. Then again, she looked so bored in the guild earlier she might not even know that. I'll keep it to myself just in case.
With a little wave, Nina sprints off into the forest. Cool, now it's my turn. Mertroot first, I guess. I focus my magic sense and spread it out in a roughly 500 km semicircle deeper into the forest, then set it to detect Mertroot like earlier. About 200 km away, there's a patch of them that looks like it will do. Hmm…that's pretty far, I'll have to fly.
I activate my stealth flight spells and take off over the tree line at top speed. I think I've gotten faster, because in just a few minutes I make it to a large clearing with a small lake. I check for the herbs with magic sense, and they seem to be near the forest's edge closest to the lake. I deactivate my flight spells and teleport to the area by line of sight.
Looking down, I see the familiar tops of Mertroot, about nine in all. I enhance my dagger, so it won't get dulled, then use it to carefully dig out five of the plants. No need to be greedy.
I make sure to keep the roots of the plant in good condition in case they're important. After about fifteen minutes, I have five decent looking plants. I place them in my travel pack and stand up.
I use magic sense again to search for nearby slimes, but there aren't really any of them around. Too deep in the forest, maybe?
I teleport back to my usual clearing and repeat the process, and I sense about twelve of them within a 20 km radius. I apply max body enhancement, then begin sprinting around taking their cores as before. After a while, I place the last core in my travel pack. Time to check on Nina.
[Hey, Nina, how's it going?] (Mizuk)
[Tch…it took me forever in this form, but I finally located one. Give me a couple of minutes.] (Nina)
I chuckle aloud at her agitation. I guess wolves aren't so easy then, are they Nina?
[Okay, I'm all done now!] (Nina)
Hearing her confirmation, I focus on our connection to locate her. She's about 40 km south into the forest. I teleport next to her, and she looks over at me happily. About 50 meters in the direction she was looking, I can see what looks like a wolf corpse on the ground.
I teleport us both next to it, and I examine it. There seems to be a single arrow sticking out from its chest, as though it shot up from the ground to hit the wolf by surprise. Given what I saw from Nina the other day, that's totally possible.
"Nice shot, Nina!" (Mizuki)
I'm hoping a little praise will make things more appealing to her, but she kind of snorts.
"No, it was a silly little beast. Nothing really. A dragon shouldn't be hunting them." (Nina)
Despite her words, I can sense faint satisfaction from her. I smile where she can't see, and I return my attention to the wolf.
An item box spell would be nice right about now, but I need to carry it some other way. I pull out my dagger, enhance it, then cut off the exposed part of Nina's arrow.
"Hey, Nina, can you conjure a blanket or tarp or something for us to wrap this in, the same way you did with clothes?" (Mizuki)
Nina nods, then kneels and uses the surrounding earth to produce something that looks like a tan blanket. I smile and nod appreciatively, then roll the wolf corpse up in the blanket. With a light body enhancement, I pick the cargo up and toss it over my shoulder, then look at Nina.
"Ready to go get your rank upgraded?" (Mizuki)
Nina smiles and nods.
"If that will make these jobs more interesting, then yes." (Nina)
I smirk and gesture for her to come stand near me. Then, I teleport us back to the forest's edge near the city, and we begin making our way back to the guild.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
"M-M-Mizuki, it's barely noon!? You two were only gone a few hours!" (Melanie)
Back at the guild, when we present the wolf corpse, Mertroot, and slime cores to Melanie, she is a little surprised. I'm sure she'll get over it though.
"I did tell you that we'd be back today. So, when can we make our rank ups official?" (Mizuki)
Melanie directs a glare at me, like 'quit ignoring my concerns'. Well…I mean I was totally upfront with her. I'm just doing exactly as I said. Melanie collects herself and responds.
"First, the guild master and I spoke after you left. He's aware of the situation, and he asked me to bring you both straight to him if you returned this afternoon. Please follow me, and you can talk about your rank up with him." (Melanie)
Without waiting for us to answer, Melanie walks out from behind reception and starts making her way to the stairs. She turns around and gestures for us to follow. Nina gives me a sidelong glance and I can sense her curiosity. I nod to her and start following Melanie.
We make our way up the stairs to the second floor, but we turn the opposite direction from the guild's few rental rooms. We make our way around to a door, then Melanie knocks politely and waits. After a moment, I hear a gruff voice respond.
"Enter!" (…)
Melanie nods at us both, then opens the door and gestures for us to enter ahead of her. Afterwards, she follows us in, shuts the door, and addresses who I assume is the guild master.
"Sir, these are the two you asked to see." (Melanie)
The guild master is an early 50s guy with short grey hair and a stern face that looks weathered. He has a scar that healed poorly across his right cheek. Despite his age, he is well-built, like someone who has stayed very active his whole life. He's wearing a blue military-style button up jacket and black trousers.
Looking around the room, it's a small office like Azazel's, with a desk he's seated behind and a couch for visitors in front of the desk. However, instead of books lining the room, it's mostly adventuring equipment.
The guild master is looking over some papers when we arrive, but he looks up from them to address Melanie with a neutral tone.
"Ah, yes, thanks Melanie. You can return to reception. You two, nice to meet you. My name is Gerard, and I'm the guild master here. You may have a seat on the couch there." (Gerard)
I nod to him and make my way to the couch and have a seat. Nina follows behind me and sits directly next to me on the couch, then leans against me. Seriously, can't she discern that this is a formal situation?
The guild master raises his eyebrows at the sight, but he says nothing about it. He holds up the papers he was reading instead, then addresses Nina and me. As he speaks, his face is neutral, but he watches Nina intently.
"So, from what I'm reading here, we have a newbie register with hands down the single greatest magic abilities in the recorded history of the guild, and her magicless pet who thinks himself clever enough to flaunt guild regulation loopholes. What an interesting pair you two make!" (Gerard)
Nina immediately leans forward off the couch, and I can sense heavy murderous intent coming off her. Gerard seems both unsurprised and unthreatened. So, he expected this reaction, and maybe provoked her intentionally? Why isn't he scared though?
A quick magic sense tells me he's maybe A-rank level at best, so not strong enough to be that calm. Then…could it be?
"What did you say?" (Nina)
Nina's tone is low and severely threatening. Best to do my part.
"It's okay, Nina, please relax. I'm not offended. Plus, he's just testing us after all. I'm sure your display yesterday has already started rumors about your short fuse and attachment towards me. So, he wanted to confirm those rumors himself. He also wanted to know whether I'd be able to temper your more violent impulses. Did I guess correctly?" (Mizuki)
Gerard raises his eyebrows in surprise at me, then after a moment, he bursts out laughing. Nina narrows her eyes at him, but I sense her anger subsiding. After collecting himself, he smirks at us and then responds.
"Hahahahaha…oh boy I guess what you lack in magic you really do make up for in wit. I apologize, I just needed to have a sense of the people I'm responsible for. While it wouldn't be fair to say that I meant no offense with my comments, I can assure you that I hold no negative feelings towards the two of you at present. Please, feel at ease." (Gerard)
Well, that's progress. Nina seems to relax some, but she's still glaring at Gerard.
"I'll let it go this time, but only because Mizuki asked. I suggest that in the future, you don't say such things without him here to protect you, though. Tests or no tests." (Nina)
Good grief…straight back to thinly veiled death threats. Gerard only seems to find that retort entertaining.
"Fair enough. So, I heard that you wanted to take the C-rank exam? Going from G to C rank in one day would be unprecedented. I run my guild as a strict meritocracy, though, so if you pass the guild regulations, loopholes or not, I'll still allow it. However, you're missing the requirements for D-rank progression." (Gerard)
"Ah, yes, about that. I was told that rare monster drops would suffice for that. Will these do?" (Mizuki)
I reach into my travel pack and pull out most of Nina's scale fragments, then walk over and set them on Gerard's desk.
He raises an eyebrow and gives them a cursory glance.
"Oh ho, dragon scales? My, that is impressive. Sadly, while dragon scales are somewhat rare, they're not rare enough for that alternative rank promotion." (Gerard)
I look him in the eye with a neutral expression.
"Really, not even if they're from an Elder Dragon?" (Mizuki)
Hearing that, Gerard snorts like I've made a joke, but makes a puzzled expression when my face remains serious.
He picks up one of the larger fragments and begins inspecting it closely. He pulls out a strange knife and tries stabbing the scale fragment, but it deflects off. Seeing this, his eyes go wide, but then he looks at us suspiciously.
"I can't really be certain that they're dragon scales from an Elder Dragon, but I'm sure that they're not from any dragon I've ever seen. They're way too tough. Let's assume you're correct…how would you two have come across these?" (Gerard)
Well, I definitely can't tell him the truth. Or, can I?
"Well, you see, before Nina joined my party, I was out in the forest alone and came across an Elder Dragon. I woke it up from a nap, and it tried to kill me. Hoping it would calm down, I just beat it a little bit with my bare fists, you know? After the fight, we parted on good terms, and I kept some of the scale fragments that I tore off." (Mizuki)
Gerard groans in frustration. Really? I thought it was impressive. I avoided adding 'now we're lovers' at the end because I thought it might be inappropriate. I sense a rush of amusement from Nina.
"Jokes aside, normally I only care about results. In this case, however, knowing how you got them might lend credibility to them being Elder Dragon scales. You need that to pass the rarity threshold for your rank up." (Gerard)
"Err…sorry, but does it actually matter if we prove that they're Elder Dragon scales, specifically? You've already demonstrated that they are dragon scales of a variety that the guild master can't even confidently identify. Wouldn't that qualify them as extremely rare?" (Mizuki)
These were my true feelings, but apparently Gerard thinks I was being snarky.
"Sure…technically. How far do you think you can keep getting on technicalities, though?" (Gerard)
I shrug and give him a carefree smile.
"Who knows! To the letter, I'm just playing by the guild's rules." (Mizuki)
With that, Gerard sighs deeply and nods his agreement.
"Very well, I'll accept them for now. On to your rank-up exam. I need help with a personal request, but you'd need to be B-rank to accept it – it's A-rank in difficulty. So, if you two are willing to take a special exam, and accept the request afterward, I can promote you straight to B-rank. Then, you'd be able to take anything except S-rank jobs, which hardly ever show up. What do you say?" (Gerard)
He has a sneaky looking smile on his face that makes me a little nervous, but I'm sure we can handle it.
"Sure, what's the exam?" (Mizuki)
"You and Nina will be fighting me and another A-rank adventurer. That's it. You win, you pass. There will be no technicalities for you this time, Mizuki. You'll either have to prove you can actually fight, or Nina will have to be strong enough for both of you." (Gerard)
[Fufufufu…Mizuki, this sounds like fun. Can I fight them both myself?] (Nina)
[Hmm…sure. Don't do anything crazy, though, and definitely don't kill either of them.] (Mizuki)
Well…this should be interesting. I glance at Nina and see a menacing smile on her face.
"We accept." (Mizuki)
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Apparently, the guild has a huge training room downstairs for things like this. It's basic and the floors are just packed dirt, but it's got high ceilings and solid looking construction.
Nina and I have been left down here alone, while Gerard has gone to prepare and bring the other adventurer we'll be fighting. Or more accurately, Nina will be fighting.
After a short wait, Gerard returns in heavy armor with a longsword. Following him is an early 20s guy about Nina's height with brown hair and eyes and a lean frame. Judging by the lack of obvious weapons, and the extra light armor, I'm going to guess assassin-like skills or a mage?
While I'm mulling it over, Gerard interrupts me.
"Nina, Mizuki, this is Levi. He's a fairly new A-rank adventurer, and member of the second highest ranked party at our guild. He'll be my fighting partner today. We can begin whenever you're ready." (Gerard)
Levi waves politely, and scans Nina and I casually. I nod back in return with a polite smile, and Levi gives me a curious expression. What's that about?
Before I can wonder about it further, Nina walks forward in front of me a few meters to face Gerard and Levi, and they separate some.
Levi gives Gerard a nod, then they draw their weapons. Levi is wielding dual daggers and seems to be staring intently at…me? Shouldn't Nina be the obvious threat here?
I apply max body enhancement and draw my katana, just in case. If I get involved, I can't show any overt magic or strength.
With that, the match seems to start. Levi runs around the side of Nina, and Gerard blitzes forward to try a side slash with his longsword on Nina. Based on his speed, I think he's alteration class.
Nina pulls her daggers and blocks Gerard's sword easily, then tries to counter at him with a slash. He jumps back and barely avoids it.
Thus, Gerard and Nina begin a game where Gerard repeatedly baits her to attack, then deflects it to create more room. He tries a few counterattacks, but he seems to be fighting defensively.
I look back over at Levi, and I see that he's to the side of Nina now, still quite some distance away from her. I'd imagine he just left Nina's line of sight. Then, he vanishes from my view as well.
What the hell!? Is that a dark class invisibility spell?
[Nina, the other one can turn invisible like me, he'll probably try a sneak attack on you. I'll track him and try to give you a fair warning.] (Mizuki)
[Tch…how cowardly! Fufufufu…I doubt his weapons could hurt me, though.] (Nina)
I quickly activate my magic sense to track everyone in the training area. I identify a fourth magic presence that I can't see…Levi. Based on his trajectory, he should reach Nina in…he's heading for me!?
Crap. I promptly slow time so I can think. Hmm…how can I stop him without taking serious hits or using obvious magic?
It's a little risky, since it's obviously not something other people could do, but maybe by 'looking' at him constantly I can bluff him into dropping the spell or stall him until Nina finishes Gerard? I drop the time spell.
I glance over, and Gerard seems overwhelmed. I sense Nina getting annoyed, probably from him being harder to incapacitate than she thought, so maybe she's getting serious now.
I line up a fencing stance towards the invisible Levi, and his movement starts to slow about 10 meters from me. He begins circling left and right, like he's testing me, but I keep my gaze on the center of where I sense his magic, and I keep adjusting my fencing stance to face him.
After a few more moments, he stops moving. He doesn't seem to be dropping his spell, though. Just then, I get an idea.
[Hey, Nina, fire an arrow to your left! Just a basic one, and the aim doesn't have to be good!]
I sense curiosity from her, but she doesn't respond. After a second, she jumps back from Gerard and quickly does as I ask. Gerard looks confused. Perfect.
I focus on altering Nina's arrow with gravity magic as she normally would. I maneuver it around behind Levi, and then I apply enhancement to the arrow and accelerate it towards Levi's magic signature. At the same time, I start moving toward him. When I'm a few meters away, a cry rings out.
"Gahhhh!"
As I close in on Levi, I see his spell break, and he falls over on his knees. Nina's arrow is sticking through his side from the back, and blood is spilling out slowly below him. I'm glad I avoided his spine. I capitalize on the momentary window to stick my katana next to his neck.
"Alright, Levi, can you yield so I can get you healed up? I have a potion in my bag. We can watch Nina and Gerard finish their fight afterwards." (Mizuki)
Levi looks up at me with a good-natured grin, but he seems to be in a lot of pain.
"Tch…yeah, man, I yield." (Levi)
I run over to my pack and grab the last potion I have from Percivil, then I hand it to Levi. He cuts off the arrow tip, and he pulls the arrow out from his back with a yell of pain. Then, he chugs the potion, and he lays back on the ground to rest. Poor dude. He put me in a corner, though.
I look over at Nina and I sense frustration from her, worse than before. From what I can tell, she's trying to use only her daggers and no other skills to beat Gerard. The sight makes me chuckle. I guess she thought it'd be too easy otherwise.
However, she's had like a day or two of weapon experience and Gerard is a master. Without magic or bull rushing him with brute strength, speed, and defense, it's no wonder she's having trouble.
Suddenly, Nina jumps back from Gerard and pulls out her bow.
[Tch…Mizuki, I must train more with these weapons. I hate to admit it, but this human is better than me when I match my strength to his. I also saw your attack…very clever, now they'll think I did it. Fufufufu…you'll have to tell me later how you could see him.] (Nina)
I barely contain a 'no shit' response to her comment about Gerard, but I digress. Looking at Nina, it seems that she's decided to end things. She consecutively nocks and fires several arrows into the air with her bow, and there is a brief pause before each firing. An elemental effect, maybe?
After they leave the bow, all the arrows seem to suddenly alter course in the air and converge on Gerard from different directions. Then, they explode.
Nina has already set her bow on her back and redrawn her daggers. As the explosion from her arrows occurs, Gerard is sent flying, and Nina rapidly closes the distance to him.
Gerard hits a wall, and before he can get up, Nina is in front of him, holding daggers at his neck.
Yup, that's a win for us.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
After the match, Gerard, Levi, Nina, and I are all in Gerard's office at his request. Gerard wastes no time getting to business.
"So, thank you both for helping this old timer get his exercise for the day. I think it's obvious to everyone here that you passed. We'll make it official later, but you're B-rank adventurers. Now, Mizuki, from what I saw it was Nina that incapacitated Levi. However, I told you that wouldn't matter, and I meant it. Levi, do you have any objections to Mizuki's B-rank status?" (Gerard)
Levi has that same good-natured smile on, but he's eyeing me intently. Not breaking his gaze, he ignores Gerard's question and addresses me.
"Mizuki…can you really not use magic? I'm certain that you could see me while I was using my spell, and I've never met anyone, ever, who could do that." (Levi)
He's not mad, or threatening, or even very confrontational, he just looks confused.
[Fufufu…yes, what will you tell him?] (Nina)
I give Levi a soft smile, and shrug.
"You're welcome to ask Melanie directly about my magic exam if you're skeptical. She administered it herself, and her pitying gaze haunts me to this day." (Mizuki)
Levi looks apologetic when hearing the news, so I make sure to let out a short laugh. He also seems…disheartened? Maybe because he was hoping his cheat skill wasn't beaten by a magicless newb.
"As for me being able to see you, you're only partly correct. That spell doesn't hide your sound, I noticed. Without any magic, I had to hone my other senses, so I was using sound to get a vague sense of your location. You also subtly stir up dirt as you move." (Mizuki)
Levi looks like he's thinking it over. He doesn't seem too suspicious, but he doesn't seem convinced either.
[That's not a bad cover, Mizuki. I'm not sure it could really work as well as whatever you did, but it looks like he might believe you.] (Nina)
"Even if that's the case, how did Nina know where to shoot her arrow and when? I didn't see or hear you communicate, and there's no way she would have been able to locate me the same way you're talking about." (Levi)
Levi looks at Nina as he says this, wanting an explanation from her. I'm not worried, I already have an excuse prepared.
[Nina, just say 'I only did as Mizuki signaled'.] (Mizuki)
"I only did as Mizuki signaled." (Nina)
Levi turns a confused gaze to me.
"You are correct again, Levi. I never expected to use it for an invisible opponent, but I'm a cautious guy, and Nina and I have a few systems in place to communicate discreetly. Basically, my weird sword fighting stance was a signal to Nina to fire an arrow towards me from the direction I was facing, to hit an opponent from behind. She's in the habit of watching for such signals." (Mizuki)
Levi is nodding repeatedly and looks deep in thought. He seems to think my explanation is plausible, but I'm not sure if he believes that it's the truth. Eventually his expression relaxes, and he speaks.
"Sorry, Gerard, I've just never been so blindsided in a fight, and I wanted answers. To answer your question, I don't have any objections to their B-rank status. More importantly, I want to know if Mizuki will join our party." (Levi)
I'm sure the shock shows on my face, and I can sense amusement from Nina. Levi is looking at me without any hint of joking, though. Gerard is smirking at Levi, and he decides to interject at that point.
"Hahahah…it won't work, Levi, other parties have already tried recruiting Nina." (Gerard)
Levi doesn't stop looking at me, but he shakes his head to Gerard's statement.
"No, that's not it. I'd take Nina, too, obviously. However, Mizuki is the one I want, I meant that." (Levi)
Gerard raises his eyebrows in surprise, then starts chuckling.
"Fufufu…so his skills as a strategist really impressed you that much, eh? I won't deny that he's cleverer than the other adventurers I've got in my guild, but that only takes you so far. No offense, Mizuki." (Gerard)
I smile while I gesture at Gerard and shake my head, like 'none taken'. Levi continues looking at me carefully while he responds to Gerard again.
"Well, yes, I was impressed by how he handled himself. Honestly, I might have asked him to join for that alone. However, Gerard, I think you have the wrong idea about Mizuki. I don't mean about his strength or magic, specifically, just that I know he's…formidable. I don't know why, but every fiber of my being tells me that if I had to fight him or Nina to the death, Nina is the safer option." (Levi)
Well, that's remarkably insightful…I almost want to ask him why he feels that way. Should I be worried that my power can be sensed by someone else?
[Fufufu…Mizuki, I quite like this human. If you wanted to have him join us every now and then for jobs, I think it might even be fun.] (Nina)
I aggressively suppress the shock from showing on my face. Nina likes him!? I mean, I do, too. Still, Nina's not exactly friendly with weaker creatures. Did our contract mellow her?
[Wow…I'll keep that in mind.] (Mizuki)
Looking back at Gerard, he's giving Levi a puzzled expression, like 'sure dude'. Levi's just smiling at me, though, waiting patiently for a response.
"I'm very flattered, Levi, thanks. However, as Gerard said, Nina and I won't be joining another party. It's not anything personal towards you. Nina's and I's relationship is just more than adventuring, so we prefer to work alone. However, we'd join you for a job, if the situation ever presents itself." (Mizuki)
Nina hears me allude to our non-platonic relationship, and I sense a rush of satisfaction from her. Then, I feel her hand reach over and begin stroking my hair. I groan internally. This dragon really needs to learn boundaries in public.
Glancing at Levi, he seems to be smiling and suppressing a chuckle.
"Well, I can certainly understand that. I appreciate that you two approve of me, and I'll reach out if a job appropriate for us three comes up. Well, anyway, it was nice to meet you both! I have to get going now, but congrats on your B-ranking. See you around!" (Levi)
After Levi exits the room, Gerard turns his attention to us, and his face gets a little grimmer.
"Now, about that personal job request that I mentioned…" (Gerard)
Gerard explains that he's received a request to discreetly investigate the 'underground' slave trade in Cedonia of the Ralzen Empire. From what I recall, this was one of the places that Ilina and Klaus have business in. Apparently, slavery is not illegal in the human countries. However, forced slavery and child slaves are illegal.
Despite this, if the individuals are adults and there's no record of them being free individuals within the country's borders, the Empire looks the other way. In other words, slavers can kidnap non-humans from other countries and bring them back to the human countries to sell as slaves, with no repercussions.
The demi-humans and dwarves can't fight such injustices, but the Elven Kingdom is powerful, so the legal slave trade unofficially excludes elves to maintain plausible deniability. The underground slave trade, however, has no such limitations. Still, due to their isolation, there are limited opportunities to enslave elves.
The person requesting this job believes that some elves were recently captured by Cedonia's underground slave trade. Historically, even the underground slave traders would not try something so brazen, but the current emperor doesn't care about other races' rights, and the slave trade has become more aggressive about kidnapping non-human races as a result.
We're to find out where the elves are located, how many there are, and anything else we can about how they were captured. The job is 'off the books', which is why Gerard offered it to us – strong adventurers that have yet to acquire enough notoriety to draw attention.
"So, does that sound like something you'd be willing to take on? The request came from a valuable connection, so I'd consider it a personal favor." (Gerard)
[Mizuki, this sounds like it will require lots of the scheming you love, and we get to go somewhere new together!] (Nina)
"I do have one question. Is it sufficient to make sure that our actions can't be traced back to us, or do we have to prioritize non-interference?" (Mizuki)
Gerard seems surprised by the question, but he thinks it over for a minute.
"I guess my unofficial answer is…so long as it doesn't compromise the lives or freedom of those elves, doesn't harm innocent people in Cedonia, and doesn't implicate the adventurer's guild, you're welcome to complete the job however you see fit." (Gerard)
Perfect…I can't keep a menacing smile from breaking out on my face.