The Road to A-Rank

Guided by a staff member, Felicia and I headed into the back of the guild.

The room we were shown into was the same one we'd entered when we were promoted to B-rank.

The Guildmaster was waiting inside.

"Have a seat."

"Yes."

We sat down side by side.

The Guildmaster checked the documents on his desk before looking at us.

"First of all, congratulations on clearing the twentieth floor. I hear the two of you even defeated its floor boss."

"Thank you."

"When I heard you'd brought back the Mithril Golem whole, I thought it had to be some kind of joke."

"It's in the disassembly area."

"Several staff members are rushing around over there."

The Guildmaster smiled wryly.

"Now, about your promotion to A-rank."

I straightened up a little.

I'd just heard about it from the receptionist.

To go beyond the twenty-first floor, we had to become A-rank.

"Can we become A-rank adventurers?"

"You're candidates."

The Guildmaster answered without hesitation.

"There's no need to question your combat abilities anymore. The two of you defeated the boss of the twentieth floor."

"You've also achieved great things in the war against the Doran Empire."

My defeat of the Sword Saint should be on record, too.

"However, A-rank is different from B-rank."

"Different how?"

"An A-rank adventurer is one of the foremost adventurers in the Kingdom of Sahar."

"Their name alone carries weight. They're entrusted with major requests, and sometimes nobles, large merchant companies, or even the kingdom itself ask for their assistance."

So A-rank adventurers held that much influence.

"That's why strength alone isn't enough to make just anyone A-rank."

Felicia asked,

"What else do we need?"

"Contributions to this country."

"To the Kingdom of Sahar?"

"That's right."

The Guildmaster nodded.

"High combat ability is a given. Beyond that, people will ask what you've used that strength for."

"Your record on high-difficulty requests, your judgment, your credibility, and your contributions to the kingdom—all of those will be considered when deciding whether you deserve the title of A-rank."

"What about what we did in the war?"

This time, I asked.

"That certainly counts for a lot. You played a major role in the battle that stopped the Doran Empire's invasion."

"Allen defeated the enemy's Sword Saint, and Felicia fought on the front lines as a member of the First Unit."

"Those accomplishments alone put you far beyond ordinary adventurers."

He paused.

"But that alone doesn't guarantee a promotion to A-rank."

"I see."

I'd been hoping just a little.

I thought clearing the twentieth floor might be enough to get us promoted to A-rank right away.

But after hearing his explanation, I understood.

A-rank wasn't simply a title given to powerful adventurers.

"Then what should we do?"

"That's what I was thinking about."

The Guildmaster spread a map across his desk.

His finger moved northeast from Belgrant and pointed to a large city.

"Why not go to the capital?"

"The capital?"

"The Adventurers' Guild in the capital receives requests that never make it to Belgrant."

"Some come from the royal palace or government agencies, and many concern the kingdom as a whole."

The Guildmaster pointed to the capital on the map.

"If you want to make contributions to the kingdom, you'll have more opportunities there than if you stay in Belgrant."

I see.

Becoming A-rank wasn't just a matter of completing a lot of requests.

We needed to do work that mattered to the kingdom.

"The capital..."

I'd never been there.

It was the largest city in the kingdom, and home to the royal palace.

The Adventurers' Guild there must have all kinds of work completely different from Belgrant's.

I looked at Felicia.

"What do you think?"

"I'd like to go."

"Me too."

That settled it.

"We'll go to the capital."

The Guildmaster nodded.

"I think that's for the best. You don't have to make A-rank your only goal."

"For people like you, gaining experience in the capital will help you in the future, regardless."

"Understood."

"You brought in a lot of materials today."

"And with the Mithril Golem, the appraisal will take some time. You should leave after you get the results."

"We will."

I couldn't very well head to the capital while leaving the Mithril Golem in their care.

"That's all I wanted to discuss."

We stood up.

Before we left the room, the Guildmaster called out to us.

"Allen, Felicia."

"Yes?"

"Just because you've only recently become B-rank doesn't mean you need to hold back from aiming for A-rank."

"The fact that you're being considered as candidates is the result of everything you've accomplished yourselves."

"Thank you."

We bowed and left the room.

◇

By the time we left the guild, it was already completely dark.

"The capital, huh?"

Felicia walked beside me.

"We suddenly have a new destination."

"I thought we were going to the twenty-first floor."

"That'll have to wait until we become A-rank."

"Right. First things first."

Today, we'd gone into the dungeon in the morning and cleared the twentieth floor.

We'd defeated the Mithril Golem, too.

And now we had our next goal.

"Since we're here, want to grab something to eat before we go back?"

"To celebrate?"

"To celebrate clearing the twentieth floor."

Felicia thought for a moment.

"How about the place we went before?"

"Sounds good."

It was the same place we'd gone to celebrate our promotion to B-rank.

We decided to head there together.

◇

The restaurant was quite lively when we opened the door.

Some adventurers were eating, while others were drinking.

As we looked for an empty table, a voice called out from the back.

"Allen!"

It was a familiar voice.

Claude was waving at us.

Bolk, Lydia, and Cecil were at the same table.

"Claude-san."

"Come over here."

We headed over to the four of them.

"So you're all here."

"Yeah. We just came to get something to eat, too."

Bolk grinned.

"More importantly, what about you two?"

"Us?"

"I heard. You defeated the boss of the twentieth floor."

Word had already gotten around.

"We only defeated it today."

"After that commotion at the Adventurers' Guild, of course word would spread."

Lydia said with an exasperated look.

"And you brought the whole Mithril Golem back, didn't you?"

"It fit in Storage."

"The fact that you can do that already makes you anything but ordinary."

"Well, never mind that."

Claude laughed.

"Sit down. We have to celebrate clearing the twentieth floor."

We sat in the empty chairs and ordered food.

"Congratulations on clearing the twentieth floor."

Cecil said with a smile.

"Thank you."

"You only just became B-rank, and now you're already on the twentieth floor."

Claude looked at me admiringly.

"You're moving incredibly fast."

"They brought up A-rank today, too."

Claude's expression changed a little.

"They've already started talking about that?"

"It doesn't mean we'll be promoted right away."

I explained what I'd heard from the Guildmaster.

That we needed to contribute to the kingdom to become A-rank.

That our achievements in the war were valued, but wouldn't alone decide our promotion.

And that the Guildmaster had recommended we go to the capital for that reason.

"So you're going to the capital?"

"Yes. We're planning to go once the materials have been appraised."

"I see."

Claude pondered for a moment.

"When I was in the Knights, I spent all my time in the capital."

"What's it like?"

"There are a lot of people and a lot of work. It's on a completely different scale from Belgrant. If you want to get ahead as adventurers, you won't regret going."

"Then it's a nice place to be?"

"Whether it's nice depends on the person."

"Huh?"

Claude smiled wryly.

"The royal palace is there, and so are the great nobles. There's plenty of money, information, and work, but that means plenty of trouble, too."

"Trouble?"

"Well, you'll see when you get there."

"That's the kind of thing that makes me even more curious."

"There's no point worrying about it before you go."

He might be right.

Claude looked at Felicia and me.

"Even in the capital, keep talking things through together and act as you always have."

"Just because you've gotten stronger doesn't mean you should try to handle everything on your own."

"Yes."

"If you can do that, you'll be fine."

Claude had said something similar back when we were in the First Unit.

You don't have to do everything alone.

"We'll do our best."

"Yeah."

Just then, our food and drinks arrived.

There was fruit water in front of me.

A drink of a similar color was placed in front of Felicia, too.

Felicia reached for her glass.

"Wait a moment."

"What is it?"

I looked at her glass.

"That's not alcohol, is it?"

"Huh?"

Felicia looked at her glass, too.

When we checked with the server, it turned out to be fruit wine.

"...That was close."

"No drinking today, okay?"

"I know!"

I remembered the time Felicia had drunk alcohol at this restaurant.

That day, I'd had to carry her back to the inn.

"You don't have to be so wary."

"Just in case."

"You can trust me."

"I do. But I still check the drinks."

Claude laughed from across the table.

"What? Did something happen?"

"Nothing."

Felicia answered immediately.

It seemed best not to say anything more.

We had the fruit wine replaced with another drink.

We picked up our glasses again.

Claude raised his drink.

"Then, to clearing the twentieth floor and your upcoming trip to the capital."

Everyone raised their glasses.

"Cheers."

"Cheers!"

We clinked our glasses.

While eating, we talked about the war and the recent happenings in Belgrant.

Not long ago, we'd been fighting on the battlefield together as members of the First Unit.

From now on, we'd each be moving forward in different places again.

Felicia and I had a new goal.

A-rank.

To reach it, we'd go to the capital.

All that remained was to wait for the appraisal of the materials we'd brought in today.

Once we got the results, we'd head for the capital.

Total P Acquired: 85,475P