Chapter 48
It was already four in the afternoon by the time I left Marie-senpai’s shop.
It was still early enough, though.
I headed straight to the school buildings.
I’d come to the building where the athletic facilities were located.
While many first-years were taking elective classes to acquire Jobs, this was where students hoping to join the 〈Dungeon Exploration Major, Combat Department〉 tended to gather.
Labyrinth Academy was an institution that trained students aiming for careers related to dungeons. But since it was a massive school with a capacity of twenty thousand students, it had separate buildings for each major and department.
The 〈Dungeon Exploration Major〉 was exactly what it sounded like: a major for people who wanted to conquer dungeons and bring back their resources and information. Within it, the Combat Department specialized in obtaining monster drops.
There were other departments, too, such as the 〈Gathering Department〉, the 〈Research Department〉, and the 〈Trap Disarming Department〉, but those were in different buildings.
The reason I’d come here was simple: I wanted to recruit guild members, especially students interested in combat.
Even if I could set people up with the Jobs I liked, it wouldn’t be right to make someone with no interest in combat take a combat Job. They needed to at least be motivated.
This would be one thing if it were a game, but this is the real world, and these people have their futures at stake. A good Job didn’t necessarily mean a happy life for everyone.
So I wanted to gather members in a way that aligned as closely as possible with what they wanted.
I’d started with the 〈Dungeon Exploration Major, Combat Department〉, but...
Looking around, I saw plenty of upperclassmen wearing uniforms embroidered in green and red, presumably here for the same reason as me.
It seemed the upperclassmen had come looking for promising recruits, too. I guess we were all thinking the same thing.
When I walked in, all the upperclassmen glanced my way for a moment.
But half of them quickly looked away, while the other half kept watching me and quietly whispered among themselves.
“Pardon me, are you indeed the 【Hero】?”
As I was observing the area, someone addressed me in a rather old-fashioned manner.
I turned around to see a tall, slender beauty with black hair in a ponytail, dressed in hakama. She was probably an upperclassman.
I thought I heard the room stir when I realized she was talking to me, but I was too captivated by the beautiful girl in front of me to care.
“Yes, it’s true. I am the 【Hero】...”
Oops. I was so entranced that I got carried away and said something weird. How embarrassing.
But the upperclassman didn’t seem to mind and simply continued. Thanks for letting that slide!
“Forgive my rudeness. I am Kirie, a third-year. I would like you to call me Kiri-chan-senpai.”
“Kiri-chan-senpai...”
I’d thought she was a serious, inflexible type, but she turned out to be a fun senpai.
As I stood there, a little taken aback, Kiri-chan-senpai stared intently at me.
What was it? It was embarrassing to have a beautiful girl stare at me like that... Oh, right. She was waiting for me to introduce myself.
“Well, thank you for that introduction...? I’m Zephyrus, a first-year who just enrolled this year. You can call me Zephyrus, Zephi, or whatever you like.”
“Then I shall call you Zephyrus-kun. I look forward to getting to know you.”
“Likewise. Nice to meet you.”
After we introduced ourselves, Kiri-chan-senpai got down to business.
Though really, there was only one reason to be here. I was a first-year who’d come to be recruited, after all.
“I’m the vice-master of the A-rank guild 〈Thousand Swords Flarcal〉. I’ll get straight to the point. Would you like to join our guild?”
As soon as Kiri-chan-senpai made her offer, the surrounding area grew noisy again.
It was quite something for the vice-master of an A-rank guild to recruit someone in person.
Some of the people who’d been whispering earlier looked like they were thinking, “We got beaten to it!”
I see. Those people had been planning to recruit me. But while they were hesitating, a big shot like Kiri-chan-senpai had approached me. They had no chance of recruiting me now.
I was a little surprised.
A-rank guilds were an extremely exclusive club, open only to a tiny handful of elites.
Due to the guildhouses, there was a limit to the number of guilds ranked C or higher. There were only six A-rank guilds.
Each A-rank guild could have a minimum of ten and a maximum of forty members. That meant only 240 people in total could hold that status.
Out of the twenty thousand students at Labyrinth Academy, I’d been invited to claim one of just 240 elite spots. Can you understand why I was surprised?
I was happy that she thought so highly of me, but I couldn’t accept the offer.
A leveling RPG that started you off at a high rank would be boring, after all.
“I’m very grateful for the offer, but I’m sorry. I want to start my own guild.”
When I turned her down, the people around us grew noisy again. If I listened closely, I could hear plenty of them saying, “No way!”
But the upperclassman only looked a little disappointed.
“I see. No, I’m sorry for springing that on you so suddenly.”
“Not at all. I was happy you asked, and I’m honored, too. But this is something I’m set on.”
“Hehe, I see. I like that. Now I’m even more impressed with you. But it really is a shame. We still have openings until May, so if you change your mind, come find me, all right?”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to live up to your expectations.”
Even though I’d turned her down without hesitation, Kiri-chan-senpai smiled as if she found it amusing.