Recruitment Complete! Our Guild Members Are Set, and We Couldn't Be Happier!

“No way... Did that really work?”

Back in the measurement room, the princess held her hand over the 〈Dragon Statue〉, and 【Holy Maiden】 appeared just as expected.

Estelle watched, then murmured in a daze.

The princess was already completely stunned.

“See? Just like I said, right?”

“This is no time to say ‘just like I said’! Do you have any idea what kind of shockwaves this information will send through the world?!”

Let it send as many shockwaves as it wanted.

If anything, I wanted to demand an explanation for why the people of this world knew so little about their own world.

After I’d forcibly dragged her into my room, I had her try the requirements for 【Holy Maiden】 without giving her a chance to argue. The princess had resisted almost violently, but when I seriously told her, “If you want to become a 【Holy Maiden】, just humor me and give it a try,” she reluctantly went along with it. For some reason, her face turned red as she did...

Partway through, we had a bit of trouble when Phyllis-sensei came to investigate after hearing a false report that a female student had been kidnapped by a male student, but we managed to get through it by telling her we were having a study session.

Estelle was in such a hurry to defend me that Phyllis-sensei was convinced. “Studying is fine, but make sure you eat dinner. It’s already seven,” she said, then left.

That was a close one. Who called it in?!

After that, the three of us went to the cafeteria and ate before continuing. It was now past nine.

【Holy Maiden】 took some time to acquire, since she had to meet the Job requirements for all ten of its lower Jobs: 【Priest】, 【Bishop】, 【Shrine Maiden】, 【Shaman】, 【Doctor】, 【Apothecary】, 【Medic】, 【Healer】, 【White Mage】, and 【Holy】. But we somehow managed to finish everything today.

I didn’t want her to sleep on it and come to her senses the next day, so I was glad we made it in time.

Estelle seemed thoroughly impressed by how quickly and carefully I’d arranged the steps for manifesting the Job. Until just now, she’d been calling me Lord Zephyrus as a matter of form, but now she spoke with genuine respect.

Heh heh. Pretty amazing, huh? The wealth of knowledge we 〈Dan-Katsu〉 players have built up.

【Holy Maiden】 was second only to 【Hero】 in strength, so a whole lot of players used it. At the same time, we did plenty of research into the fastest way to become a 【Holy Maiden】.

〈Dan-Katsu〉 had a time limit, after all. Speed and efficiency were always in demand.

So, for me, something like this is a piece of cake.

That’s 【Holy Maiden】 acquired.

“Estelle, you can tell the royal family about this information if you want.”

If anything, I’d encourage you to spread it far and wide. Otherwise, tackling the highest-tier dungeons is going to be rough.

“...No. This information belongs to Lord Zephyrus. I can’t pass it on without your permission.”

“It’s not a big deal... Actually, never mind. If it would cause trouble, let’s keep quiet. If it looks like the secret might get out, just say the princess figured it out herself.”

Since only those in the “Royalty” and “Princess” Race categories can acquire 【Holy Maiden】, there aren’t many people who can take the Job in the first place. I figured there’d be no problem telling her. As for meeting the requirements for all the lower Jobs, she’d have to fulfill them on her own.

“...Understood.”

Estelle agreed, looking troubled.

I didn’t mind sharing a little information, but I wanted to avoid having my time taken up by anything troublesome.

I didn’t mind fun things or being fawned over. If anything, I welcomed them.

〈Dan-Katsu〉 had a set limit on the number of people you could recruit from each Race category: one from “Royalty,” two from “Marquis,” five from “Knight-Baron,” and so on.

That meant I couldn’t reveal the requirements for 【Princess Knight】 just yet. There were a whole lot of people in the “Knight-Baron” category.

Well, I’d keep it secret for a while. I could make it public someday.

All right, next up was 【Princess Knight】.

“You’re next, Estelle... Since you met the requirements for 【Royal Guard Knight】, I take it you can ride a horse?”

“You really do know a lot. Yes, I’ve been trained since I was little.”

“Then it looks like you can fulfill the remaining requirement, ④, by defeating 100 monsters while wearing Dress Armor. You don’t have any Dress Armor, but can you get some?”

“Yes. I’ll have it by tomorrow.”

“Great. I’m planning to dive into Intermediate Beginner first thing in the morning. Let’s meet up when I’m done. You’ve made up your mind, right?”

I meant she’d made up her mind to leave 【Royal Guard Knight】 behind and become a 【Princess Knight】.

As far as I was concerned, 【Royal Guard Knight】 was a flawed Job, since it couldn’t reach its full potential without someone of the “Royalty” Race nearby. There were a few Jobs that boosted each other’s abilities when paired up, but they still suffered from being weak on their own.

By comparison, 【Princess Knight】 was extremely capable.

Knight Jobs fall into two broad categories: the tank-focused 【Knight】 line and the attacker-focused 【Rider】 line.

Jobs like 【Heavy Knight】, 【Royal Guard Knight】, and 【Holy Knight】 belong to the 【Knight】 line.

Jobs like 【Chariot】, 【Pegasus Knight】, and 【Wyvern Rider】 belong to the 【Rider】 line.

You can probably guess from the name, but the 【Rider】 line consists of attackers who fight while mounted.

The 【Knight】 line also includes Jobs that ride horses, but many of them focus on mobility Skills that aren’t directly tied to combat.

【Princess Knight】 is suited to both. That should give you an idea of how capable it is: it has the potential to excel as either a first-class attacker or tank.

【Princess Knight】 is an object of admiration for the daughters of Knight-Barons.

Apparently, many children of knights dream of becoming attackers, fighting with grace, and making a name for themselves, even if they take a 【Knight】-type Job.

Estelle was no exception. And, of course, I knew what her answer would be.

“Yes. I’ll be joining Lord Zephyrus’s guild. Lady Rana, you’re all right with that, aren’t you?”

“Huh?! I-I guess that’s fine...”

“Since that’s Lady Rana’s answer, please accept both of us into your guild.”

Estelle bowed deeply and said with a smile.

The princess must have been deeply shocked that 【Holy Maiden】 had appeared.

She still didn’t seem to have sorted out her thoughts. Was she really all right?

“Lady Rana, please don’t hesitate. Go ahead, too.”

“O-Okay. I look forward to it.”

“Sure. Welcome aboard. I look forward to working with you.”

Looks like that was a yes.

All right! We’d gotten not only a 【Holy Maiden】 but a 【Princess Knight】, too. We’d also met the minimum number of members needed to form a guild. We couldn’t be happier!

Our party was well-balanced, too: 【Princess Knight】 as the attacker, 【Shield Princess】 as the tank, 【Holy Maiden】 as the healer, 【Hero】 for every position, and 【Alchemist】 for crafting.

I’d better give it my all in Intermediate Beginner tomorrow.

If things went well, we might be able to form our guild by the end of the day!

Crap, I need to come up with a guild name!