Chapter 29: Day of the C-Rank Exam (I got Picked on Again)!
On the day of the exam I went to the designated meeting place. For some reason, Sword accompanied me as well. He argued that he has to supervise me since Iâll start some kind of trouble otherwise.
As we waited, four other parties showed up, and immediately got startled.
ââŠHow did you come all the way here?â
âI walked, obviously. No, I suppose itâd be more accurate to say I ran.â
When I answered while looking at Sword, he was yawning, completely disregarding the other adventurers.
âHey, are you okay? Recently youâve been drinking every day, havenât you? You should also drink some water for a change.â
âItâll be fine since Iâve taken the antidote.â
Alcohol counts as poison for you then!?
Looking my way, Sword grinned broadly, âAs expected, even you canât compound medicine, huh?â
âMy parentâŠthe other oneâŠhas been a doctor, so itâs not like I canât as Iâve learned it from watching.â
Swordâs mouth gaped in surprise.
âBut, unfortunately the medicinal plants around here are way too different. Iâve found several I know⊠Still, itâs something I canât handle as long as I donât hear about which effects what plants have by becoming the apprentice of a doctor. âŠOr rather, in this world you can heal everything by just taking a healing potion, and you can detoxify yourself by taking an antidote, canât you? Based on my knowledge, medicine doesnât actually work that way. In the first place, medicine has the task of boosting oneâs own healing powersâŠâ
âYeah, yeah. Least youâve realized that youâve got some limits in what you can do.â He roughly stroked my head around.
ïŒ
âŠFeeling gazes on me, I spotted two parties glaring at me.
One was the party of the scarlet-haired girl who picked a fight with me a few days ago. It looks like her adventurer license hasnât been revoked.
âŠI wonder, whatâs the difference between her and the guy who had his license revoked after picking a fight with me?
The other party consisted of men. Iâd say they are kinda similar to Sword. They started to bicker all of a sudden.
âShit! So itâs gonna be a rigged exam, eh!? That little bitch sure takes it easy, seeinâ how sheâs set to pass anyway thanks to her connections.â
âŠâŠ
âDoes it look like that to you?â
When I looked up to Sword, I was surprised to see him pull a cold face Iâve never seen on him before.
âRigged exam, eh? I sâpose it makes sense for folk who donât get why your my partner. Well, you just need to show âem that your good enough to get through the dungeon without havinâ to rely on my connections anyway, right? Though I hope that their spirit doesnât break from the difference in ability afterwards.â
âŠâŠ?
âIn other words, youâre telling me that itâd be better for me to not go with my self-imposed restrictions?â
âClear the dungeon the fastest with Ryoku.â
âI got it! So basically a clearing with the restriction of not stopping at all!â
Kind of like a sidescroller game, I guess.
âŠSuddenly the scarlet-haired girl planted herself in front of me.
âItâs nice to see that they didnât take your license away.â
âObviously they wouldnât!? I only ăcame to the rescueă!â
âŠEh? Our conversation isnât meshing again?
Placing a finger on my temple, I brood deeply.
âSo you interpreted the ăIâll wallop you a good oneă as ăcame to the rescueă? I was forced to master how to put adults to shame as a child at a very young age, butâŠis there a different way to interpret that when youâre a commoner?â I asked Sword.
âNah. Ainât no way that Iâm gonna finish you off passes as cominâ to the rescue or anythinâ like that.â
Figures.
ââŠS-Shut up! Listen, okay!? We definitely wonât lose to someone like you! Mark my words! Iâll laugh at you after beating you!â
Watching this scene, Sword casually commented, âThatâs impossible for you.â
â!!â
The girl became bright red.
âNow, now, it might be impossible, but arenât you slightly mean to her when youâre so blunt about it? Itâs the statement of a determined girl at an age where sheâd want to push herself to the limits. Just be tolerant and listen to her in silence.â
As I consoled and soothed Sword, the girl scowled at me with tears in her eyes.
Why?
ââŠOnce again your natural agitation skillâs rearinâ its head. Haah⊠Oh well, whatever. Still, I gotta say, sometimes your more of an old man than me, you know?â
âIâd like you to at least change that part into an old woman.â
Why make a guy out of me?
Sword shrugged his shoulders.
ïŒ
Next, the other girls from her party arrived.
âDo you remember having heard the party name ăCrimson Lilies Are a Girlâs Oathă?â A girl that screamed swordswoman asked while glaring at us. 1
ââŠParties have names? I hear about this for the first time.â
Feeling astounded, I looked up to Sword, asking for an explanation, âHey, weâve made a party, havenât we? You didnât stick such aâŠpathetic name to our party, did you?â
ââWhat was that!?ââ
Sword caressed me with a sigh.
âDonât worry, I havenât named our party. Rather, I donât quite get why you girls would cry here. Is there any reason to become so teary-eyed?â
âUncool, scary.â
When they started to tremble, ââŠIâm sorry for beinâ uncool, âkay?â
The other party got angry.
âŠBut yep, I know this is also partly my fault.
âAh. âŠmmh, everyone has different tastes. It just didnât agree with my tastes. Donât mind it.â
ââWe do mind it!!ââ
They thundered at me.
âYou, can you finally give it a rest with the condescending attitude!? Donât get so cocky just because youâve got an S-Rank as a teacher!!â
I was told once more.
âSword isnât my teacher, okay? This guy hasnât taught me a single thing. âŠOu-ouuuch!â
My temples were ground.
âShould I have the nickname of Natural-born Agitator added to you?â
âNo!â
Thatâs so uncool!
âWeâve been active at the town of Ys.â The girl, who seemed to be the calmest among the three, started to explain. âWeâve worked our way up to E-Rank by steadily completing requests. But, at some point we talked about bolstering our numbers with a vanguard since things would become difficult for just the three of us going forward. As if fitting perfectly, we were told by the guild about a kid theyâd like us to take care of.
They told us that she was a beginner at adventuring, and yet should possess the necessary abilities since an S-Rank had been taking care of her. Thus they wanted us to teach her the ropes. Hearing that the girl would be able to attack enemies or assist our party members since she could use sword and magic, it was just the position weâd been looking for to fill for our party. We felt a bit uneasy since she was a beginner, but decided to give it a try anyway⊠When I saw her show up, I got anxious, but since my two partners were brimming with motivation to train her, I suppressed my worries, and tried to call out to her. âŠâŠJust to get ignored.â
Ooohh, from back then, huh?
When I looked up to Sword heâd started to fidget around while looking quite awkward.
âI see. Sorry about that. Back then Sword had dragged me to that place after I had never left my mansionâŠerr, my house and the woods around it. After he had suddenly announced that weâd split up there since he was a big shot, I was quite sulky. It was a time when I pondered whether I should turn the whole region into a death zone with a big, taboo spell. You werenât the only ones I ignored at that time, so please forgive me.â
Sword also apologized while scratching his head.
âYour definitely rightâŠI did somethinâ bad to you girls. You see, Iâd planned various things, but it all went up in smoke because of my mistake. I thought that itâd be great for girls her age to teach her âbout adventurinâ since she was a perfectly lilâ sheltered lady, butâŠyep, itâs completely my fault! Please forgive me! And, Iâm sorry, but I donât plan to party with anyone other than her anymore!â
The composed girl shook her head.
âThatâs not an issue anymore. Actually, weâd be actually troubled if you asked us to let you join now. But, after that he suddenly rose up to D-Rank, so we couldnât reallyâŠcome to terms with that.â
Iâm not a he , but a she .
Hmm, why is everyone so eager to make a man out of me? Just now Sword described me as a sheltered âlilâ lady,â and yet she ignored it altogether? Besides, boys with such slender contours donât exist, okay? The men in this world are kinda like buffed foreigners, arenât they?
Sword is on the more slender side, but even he is quite the macho. I donât think that itâs anywhere close to my slenderness. Or rather, I consider myself to be a beautiful girl, you know!?
Sword also treats me somewhat like a brat, but Iâm a beautiful girl, am I not!?
ïŒ
âŠAs I got upset in my mind, the other two girls joined the conversation as well.
âYes, sheâs absolutely right! Suddenly becoming a D-Rank without doing anything just because youâve got an S-Rank as a teacher!? What do you think how much time and effort it took us to climb all the way to E-Rank!?â
âIn the first place, isnât it an unprecedented, special treatment to ask E-Ranks to look after a G-Rank!? On top of that, you ignored us when we called out to you from our side!! And then you became a D-Rank without any achievements! You believe such selfishness will be forgiven just like that!?â
Even if you tell me all thatâŠ
âI apologized moments ago for having ignored you. Since most of it is Swordâs fault, bring up your complaints with him. Also, the guild master raised my rank to D on his own accord. If you have a problem with it, sort it out with the guild master. If you want, Iâll bring him in front of you next time.â
After shortly being at a loss for words, she gritted her teeth in anger, ââŠI hate that part about you. Throwing your weight around while just borrowing the power of a great man totally sucks!â
Eeeehh?
ââŠWho is the great man youâre talking about?â
âMe, itâs me. Thatâs why Iâve told you that Iâm not a self-alleged ăbigshotă. Did you finally get it, idiot?â
I see, Sword was great, huh? I donât know in what area, but itâd sure help if itâs in regards to political power.
âLetâs leave it at that.â
âHey, donât ignore things as you please.â He told me in a huff.
I feigned ignorance, âThrowing my weight around while just borrowing Swordâs power, you say? I donât recall having said something cute like, âIâll tattle to Sword on you if you donât do as I say,â though. âŠOh well, I suppose thatâs the same misinterpretation as turning the threat to beat someone up into having tried to come to a rescue. I suppose it makes sense in that regard. âŠSword, the friends you tried to allocate to me are girls like these? Would you be able to become friends with them, loner coot?â
âI know, I know, Iâm sorry, okay? Also, donât add coot to loner!â
I ignored him. Looking at the girl trembling in rage, I sighed.
âDonât be so edgy. The exam is going to start anytime soon, and itâs a waste of your cute face.â
I tried to pacify her by saying that, butâŠ
âItâs a really tough call whether that line was agitation or a sleazy, old man comment.â
âŠSword butted in.
Translation Notes:
Lily = yuri, but probably not intended here in that meaning. Still, itâs kind of a wordplay by the author I guess.