Chapter 11
Ren looked so pitiful that I felt guilty about handing her the goblin ears right away, so I took out the stone we'd collected from the variant and showed it to her.
"Then let's settle the goblin extermination tomorrow. Could you take a look at this?"
At my suggestion that we settle things tomorrow, Ren's face brightened, and she looked at the stone in my hand.
"Oh, this is a magi stone."
"A magi stone?"
"Yes. They've been turning up all over the continent these days. They're stones that contain demonic energy."
Magi? Mom once told me it was a power used in the Demon Realm, like mana.
"We still don't know why they're appearing, but we've confirmed that monsters that absorb these stones become two or three times stronger than normal."
"That was a close one. I shudder to think what might've happened if you hadn't been there today."
Schutz bowed his head to us in thanks.
"Oh, you two defeated it? No wonder people Lady Aria personally brings along are different from the rest."
"If we'd been on our own, this old man would probably be in the afterlife by now."
"Was it that strong? I'm glad you're all right."
Was that maid really such a big deal?
Schutz had said something like that yesterday, too. I should ask him about her later.
"Ah! Speaking of which, the adventurer insignias you applied for have been issued. Here you are."
Come to think of it, she'd said they'd be ready today.
I examined the copper-colored tag and saw a silhouette of a dog about the size of a medium-sized breed sitting in the middle.
... ...
It was a little different from what I'd imagined...
Deus's emblem was a griffin, but what was this adventurer thing? It looked kind of shabby...
"Thanks again. I'm going to show Eah to my friend. See you tomorrow."
Schutz had given Eah a bump on the head for insisting she was fine and that they ought to drink on a day like today, then dragged her out of the guild.
I waved at Eah as she was dragged away, and laughed when she waved back with a pout.
Ren, having finished her work, said she was heading home and left too.
"Then let's rest for now and have dinner later."
I agreed with Chris and went upstairs to our room.
We ran into a problem when we reached the door.
"Wait... Didn't we return our room key?"
... ...
What were we supposed to do?
We left the guild and started looking for an inn nearby.
We had a little trouble because inns were hard to find, but luckily, we found one and went inside.
We entered the inn, but no one was at the counter.
"Is anyone there?"
It was night, but still too early to go to bed, so I called out in case someone was around.
An old man soon came out from the back.
"Hmm, I'm afraid I don't have any rooms left."
"Ah... Are there any other inns around here?"
"At this hour, the other inns will have closed too. What are you going to do?"
What should we do...? Did we have to spend the night on the street?
As we stood there at a loss, a familiar voice came from inside.
"Hmm? Big sis?"
Eah stood there, somehow recognizing me even though my face was hidden beneath my robe.
"Eah?"
"It is you, big sis! What are you doing here?"
"Eah, do you know these people?"
"They're the older sister I told you about earlier."
Ah, so this was where she'd gone when she said she was visiting a friend.
Soon, Schutz slowly came out from the same place as the old man.
"What brings you here?"
I explained to Schutz, who greeted us warmly, what had happened.
"Ah, I see. Let me introduce you. These are the people who protected your granddaughter."
"Oh, so you were the ones who helped our Maria. Thank you."
"Not at all. I'm sure you would have managed even without us."
Chris said, but Schutz waved a hand in denial.
"No way. There's no denying that goblin was incredibly strong. When Eah was knocked away at the start, if you hadn't stepped in, I would've sacrificed myself to let the children escape."
"So that's what happened."
At Schutz's words, the old man looked at us and thanked us once again.
In any case, we needed to visit somewhere else before it got any later, so we said our goodbyes and started to leave.
"Big sis, why don't you just stay with me? Chris can sleep with my grandpa."
"That's right. As it happens, I have two beds in my room."
"Would that be all right?"
We'd have been stuck sleeping on the street if we waited any longer, so we eagerly grabbed the lifeline that had dropped from the heavens.
"I have no interest in letting my benefactors sleep on the street."
"Then, if you don't mind, we'd appreciate it."
The old man, who'd been preparing dinner, told us to wait at the table while he made enough for us too.
Schutz's friend was named Dirk. He used to be a priest at the Temple of Morphe.
They'd come here to get Eah's injury treated and find a place to stay.
"Is Eah all right?"
"She strained a ligament a little, and that fellow treated her. He may look like a crotchety old man, but he's got quite a bit of divine power."
"I'm all right now!"
"That's good."
She'd looked like she was in a lot of pain, so I was relieved she'd already been treated.
"By the way, when are you two going to take off those robes? I feel stifled just looking at you."
"Ah..."
I hesitated before taking off my robe. Dirk glanced at us with mild surprise, but quickly turned his attention back to the food he was cooking.
"It's been a long time since I've seen elves. You must have had a hard time too."
His reaction was quite different from what we'd seen until now.
"All sorts of people come to see a priest, so I've met people of many races. Make yourselves comfortable."
Soon Dirk finished preparing dinner. We ate while chatting about various things, then had tea and told them we would be leaving soon.
"Huh? You're not staying in Gir?"
"No, Mom wants us to enroll at Deus, so we're on our way to Delrock."
"Sending you to a human academy? Your parents must be quite the oddballs."
"They certainly are. Haha..."
When we told them we were going to Delrock, Eah's dejected expression bothered me.
I remembered how happy she'd been when she said she'd gotten a new big sister, and it bothered me even more.
"Hmm, Eah."
"Yes... Grandpa?"
"I was going to send you later, but why don't you enroll at Deus this time? You're an Aura User now, so there's a lot you can learn at the academy."
At Schutz's suggestion that she go to Deus, Eah stared at her grandfather with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you take Eah to Delrock with you?"
"That won't be a problem, but we have an assignment to finish, so we'll arrive in two months. Is that all right?"
"You'll make it just in time, and it won't affect her enrollment, so go ahead."
Schutz calculated the timing and said it would be fine.
"Grandpa, it'll be expensive there. Are you sure?"
It seemed she was worried about tuition. Was Deus expensive? I'd heard even commoners could enroll without any trouble.
"I have enough for that, so don't worry. Go and make sure you learn all you can."
"We'll accompany her safely all the way to Deus."
"It's reassuring to hear you say that. Ho ho."
This time, Maria, who'd looked calm until then, wore a sorrowful expression.
Maria had expected to spend her whole life with her friend, so she looked crestfallen at the sudden news of Eah's departure. She said she couldn't go with her because she was already taking classes at the temple here in Gir.
"All right, let's go to bed."
Everyone looked tired from what had happened today, and we had to get up early to prepare for the journey, so we went to our respective rooms.
I opened the door to the room Eah had led me to and saw a single bed.
Didn't she say there were two earlier? Why was there only one?
"Only Grandpa's room has two beds. Hehe."
I stared blankly at the lone bed, then looked at Eah, who was grinning brightly.
We had to travel together from now on, and I already felt exhausted.
At the dining table, where the lights were still on, Schutz and Dirk hadn't left yet.
"Don't you trust those elves a bit too much? You haven't known them long."
"They're connected to Lady Aria, and they're quite capable. More than anything, they're elves, aren't they?"
"My friend, elves are only gentle with other elves."
Hmm...
Schutz, who'd closed his eyes in thought, soon opened them and spoke as he looked at Dirk, who was watching him with concern.
"Eah likes them so much, and for some reason, I feel I can trust them too."
"That's strange. You're usually so cautious, yet you trust people you've just met..."
"I find it strange too. And Eah as well."
"Well, if that's the case, there's nothing to be done. Just don't cry when you send your only granddaughter off."
Schutz seemed to be a more sentimental grandfather than I'd expected.
"Everything's been confirmed. A total of fifty-eight goblins and one variant."
After Eah had finished preparing for the journey, we went to the guild and settled the reward we'd been unable to claim yesterday.
"Oh, and the two of you are eligible for promotion to Silver rank as soon as you pass the exam."
Huh? Didn't they say we'd have to complete ten goblin extermination requests before taking the exam?
"More precisely, the requirement is to kill fifty goblins over about ten extermination requests. You killed fifty-eight, plus a variant that seems to be a higher species, so you've met the requirement."
Ren told us not to worry about it; the system was just there to keep riffraff from ranking up too easily.
"And there's an instructor here who can administer the exam, so you can take it right now. Would you like to?"
Could we really rank up that smoothly? Our goal was to reach Gold rank as soon as possible, so there was no reason to refuse.
When we said we'd take the exam, Ren led us farther inside the building.
The place Ren led us to was a wooden space that looked like a training area.
Thump.
I saw someone who seemed to be taking the exam collapse to the floor.
"Failed. Hm? Are you two here for the promotion exam too?"
"Yes, Instructor Gult. Please examine them as well."
Gult, who'd just finished with one person, approached us and looked us up and down.
"You're planning to spar dressed like that?"
We were still wearing our robes, and Gult looked at us with apparent displeasure.
I felt like I hadn't worn my robe properly even once in Gir.
I took off my robe and tossed it to one side.
Some people seemed used to seeing elves; others didn't.
I shuddered at the leering gaze that looked me up and down.
It was the second time since coming to this world that I'd seen a reaction like this, and my mood sank.
The first time had been the same sort of gaze I'd felt from those men I first encountered sixty years ago.
I stepped in front of Chris, who was about to stand before the instructor for the exam.
"Karin?"
Ignoring Chris, who seemed confused by my actions, I looked at the instructor and gave him a slight smile.
"My younger sibling is stronger than I am. If I beat you in a spar, can we both rank up?"
"Sure! In a spar, you'll end up getting touched in a few places by accident. You okay with that?"
I hesitated briefly. The instructor smiled after saying something so obviously suggestive, which made me feel even worse.
Crack.
Was I imagining the sound of a blood vessel bursting in my head?
"Then let's get started. We've got plenty of time, so you can attack first. Come at me."
"Then I won't hold back."
I saw the instructor's smug face as he leisurely assumed a stance.
Even now, I could feel his gaze stealing glances at my chest instead of focusing.
Whoosh!
I seemed to leap for a moment, then my fist suddenly appeared right before his eyes, and the instructor made a stupid sound.
"Huh?"
Wham!
Crunch!
The instructor took my punch and flew like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing into the wooden wall.
Damn, looking at me with those disgusting eyes and...
acting like a damn creep.
How disgusting. Ptuh!
I spat on the spot where the instructor had been and returned to the group waiting behind me, feeling refreshed.
Chris was clutching his head with one hand, as if he had a headache, while Eah's eyes widened like a startled deer.
... Dirk, I understand what you meant now. By the way, jiral? That's a new one. Is that an elven word?
I could also hear Schutz muttering.