Cheers were ringing throughout the city.
　The oak village is said to have been built very close to the city where they live, and it's only natural that it's a parade of the expeditionaries who went to defeat it.

"Look, I'm sitting in the cab of that first carriage.That's Elk, the leader of the A party's axe of thunder."
"I know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."

　While nodding to the man next door, it was unexpected that he saw.
　The lower half of the lion, the upper half of the eagle, and the huge wings behind it.In other words, it's...

"Gryphon!"

　Why are you bringing more vicious monsters to the Oaks?A question passed through my mind for a moment, but almost reflexively I was caught by the neck by the man next to me who knew Elk's name.

"Oh, what are you going to do?I must get away with it!"
"Calm down, that Gryphon is a tame monster, and he won't attack anyone."
"What? Time for the Gryphon? What a joke!"
"I'm not kidding.Just think about it.If the Gryphon is an ordinary monster, why are you walking with him beside the carriage?"
「……」

　Certainly, if you think about it carefully, you can understand that what the man is saying is reasonable.but the existence of the Gryphon was too great to do with it.

"Do you know what it is?"
"Yeah. Have you heard that in front of the guild a while ago, Falcon's claws were knocked down by a newcomer who had just signed up for Rank D party?"
"Now that you mention it, I remember hearing such a story..."
"I was actually there, and the newcomer involved was taming the Gryphon.That's the Gryphon."
"...really?"
"Yes, and that Gryphon walks about town quite often.Look around you.There are few who are trying to escape, are there?"

　The man told me to look around, but certainly most of the residents were not trying to escape.and, on the contrary, he seemed to explain to those who were trying to escape at the sight of the Gryphon.Yes, just like myself.
　On the contrary, some of the people watching the parade tossed their dried meat into the Gryphon.
　and the Gryphon caught the flying dried meat and other foods beautifully with a raspard, and swallowed them with a happy cry: "Gurururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururur

"...what?"
"Oh, yes, but I can't imagine any newcomer taming the Gryphon,"
"I thought so at first.and the first time they saw a Gryphon walking about the city was the same.but I don't hear that the Gryphon did any harm to others.And it's very popular among businessmen who serve open-air food.-- well, that Gryphon's owner is buying all the open-air goods without looking at the money."
"Business people are amazing..."

　If he were himself, he would run away, even if he were a visitor.That's what I thought... I suddenly realized.

"Hey, wait a minute.The owner of the Gryphon just registered himself in the guild, didn't he? Did he join the Oak Squad?""Well, if you say so, wouldn't it matter as much as an oak because of the presence of a Gryphon?"
"Oh, I see. ... I hope so.I'm not a Gryphon either, but if I could have a strong monster, I could be an adventurer and leave the battle to the monster and make money easily."
"Oh, that's the kind of guy who's going to take the time of monsters."

　I hit him on the head with a wry smile.

"Oh, my dear sister, please turn this way!"

　At the same time, I heard such a voice at the right time.

"Ouch, just give me a little moderation. ... And what about?"

　The girls watching the parade look at the woman shouting yellow and ask the man next to them.

"That's... the Mire Dog leading the scorching winds of the Rank C party.As you can see, she is adored as an older sister, perhaps because she is quite talented among young people."
"Sister,"

　The parade continued until the Oak Squad reached the guild.





"Oh, I'm tired."

　Elk, who was made a victim of the parade throughout the city and finally reached the guild, gets out of the carriage with a deep sighsigh.
　and while he had been well fighting the oak all night, his face was marked with fatigue's face.

"It's hard to be popular."

　Bobbs also gets out of the carriage with a wry smile at Elk's appearance.

"Why, you're comfortable in a carriage,"
"It can't be helped, for only two people can sit on the cab.and when they saw you, the leader of the axe of Thunder God, they must have realized that they had no need to be frightened by the threat of oak."
"...I know, but can I complain about it? It's not my nature in the first place."
"That can't be helped.for the lord of the town of Gillum, L'Arcus, is directly appointed."
"Huh!"

　Bobbs calls out to the members of the expedition who come down from the other horse-drawn carriage, leaving Elk, who turned away from him very unpopular.

"Everyone did a great job.As I saw in the parade on my way here, the threat of oak has gone away in this city.Now, let's break up here today.As for the reward, please be assured that you will be able to receive it at the Guild reception from tomorrow onwards.As previously mentioned, three pieces of silver are usually purchased for five pieces of silver.In the same way, we will purchase higher-ranked varieties than usual.but be careful, for you will only buy it at that price when you receive the reward for the Oak."

　Everyone nodded to his words, and after that, each of them became a bar, an inn, an arms store, and a tool store, and went all over the city.
　Ray, too, stepped out with Sett to put something in his stomach at a nearby restaurant or stall...

"Ray, you can stay for a moment.I have something to tell you."

　and was stopped by Bobs.

"Glu?"

　I patted Seto's head lightly as he said, "What's the matter?" and then turned to Bobbs."Wasn't the reward to-morrow.
"What about the others? No, I don't care if you get paid tomorrow, but... I have something to tell you about the rank."

　After a few seconds of thinking about the line, he immediately caresses Seto's head again and pulls a few sandwiches out of the mistling.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to finish my business, and Seto, please eat this at his usual place and wait."
"Guru..."

　Leaving a little dissatisfied, Ray and Bobbs go into the guild.
　Seth, seeing him off on his back, made a little noise, and took his sandwich to his usual place.





"Oh, Mr. Ray,"Welcome home."
"Ray? Good. It was safe."

　Ray and Bobbs, who come into the guild... or rather, when they see Ray, Lenora and Kenny talk to each other with a happy expression on their faces.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to talk to Ray.Don't be happy to see me again later."

　Bobbs tells them so and goes upstairs to the guild, and Ray also gently raises his hand and greets them, followed by him.
　When Kenny saw his back, he let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Oh, that's good.Ray is safe."
"Yes, I'm glad of that, but..."
"Renola?"
"It was a punitive expedition of a fairly large group of oaks, wasn't it? I'm sure some of them didn't come back, though I'm sure they'll tell you the details later."
"...it can't be helped, can it?"I think he signed up for the guild knowing that adventurers are in danger."
"Well, that's true, but... it's a little bit less of a face I know."

　Lenora exhales a little.
　In the first place, adventurers are often tasked with fighting, such as killing monsters, searching for mazes, and protecting merchants.There are some requests for collection, but if it is easy to collect them, they will collect them by themselves without submitting a request.Naturally, the guild asks for mainly things that clients cannot go to because they are too dangerous to pick them up.
　As long as the task of being an adventurer is premised on such a danger, it is only natural that there will be death like this.I understand that, but I still can't tell Lenora that I'm completely divisive.

"Look, most people are back anyway, aren't they? Then enjoy a little bit.That's why Lenora has a poor body."

　Lenora was irritated by the word "poor face," but he spoke with a feigned calmness.

"I'm not a poor looker at all,"It's normal. Average. I think it's better than having a body that flatters a man like someone else."
"... oh, who are you talking about?"
"Well, I didn't refer to any particular individual, do you know?"
"No, not at all. That's why women with small breasts are said to have small bowls.AhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhI'd teach you a lot of trickery and all sorts of things like that.""You, Kenny!"

　So, the two of us started playing with each other as usual.But the sad atmosphere that had covered Lenora up until now had already disappeared and returned to the usual Lenora.





"Sit down,"

　The room was the same as when I heard about the Oak Expedition.So Ray is now facing Bobbs.
　Since the first time he entered the room was during the Oak Expedition, the conference room with only two people in Ray was very spacious and looked like a murderous scene.
　It takes several tens of seconds to sit in the recommended chair and face each other.Bobbs broke the silence and opened his mouth.

"I've got a lot to do with afterwards.as to the stars of the dusk.So let me be blunt with you, but your rank will rise to E-rank."
"E? I thought it would be F even if it went up."
"Well, considering your achievements, E-rank is far from enough.Transportation of supplies, escort on the way by set, and solo attacks during night raids.And above all, he beat the Oak King, and despite all his achievements, it's not like he's just one step up.Not to mention C or D, especially since you are ranked G.And..."

　Bobbs stifling at the end.When Ray sees the situation, he smiles inwardly.

(Hush and consolation for the stars in the dark...)

　In a situation that can be said to be a crisis in the city of Gilm, he attacks his friends' parties for his own desire.Bobbs' behavior is no surprise, considering how bad it leads to a loss of confidence in the adventurer's guild.

"Well, I have no particular complaints about raising the rank because it is normal to apply to the guild after performing a certain number of duties."
"Oh, I'm glad you said so.Also, I'll have you take the examination to be promoted to rank D soon, so please remember that."
"...what?"

　Rey listens to Bobbs' words without thinking.Bobbs repeats again, as if he had expected that attitude.

"That's why you're going to take the rank-up exam in the near future."
"Well, for a guild, it's a big act.I don't know if they can raise my rank by three levels all at once."
"Well, that's the reason. I mean, considering your ability and the set you're taming, I think it'll be okay if it's about B rank... but this time, you should understand that it's rank D."
"It's my wish and my wish, but is it all right?
"That's OK. It's strange that someone who can beat Rank B Monster Oak King by himself is ranked G."
"... I see.So when will the rank-up exam be?"
"Well, I can't say anything about that.It's up to the upper management and the officer in charge, not me to decide."

　Nevertheless, Bobbs thought that the examination would be put into practice not too distant.Every guild worker knows that adventurers are always understaffed, and above all...
　Bobbs concentrates on the letter in his pocket.This is a letter that the Oak Expedition received from a messenger from Gilm on their way home.It was written to praise the Oaks, to describe the parade that took place earlier, and to tell Ray about the promotion and upgrade examination of Rank E as soon as he arrived at the guild.

(This move is too early, however much information we have sent back.It's true that Ray's ability is as good as Rank B... if he's bad, he'll be on par with Rank A.But this move was nevertheless...)

　Bobbs himself wanted to propose to the upper management an upgrade to Rank E and an upgrade examination to Rank D, as written in his letter when he returned to the city of Gilm.But Bobbs, who had done this task with Ray, decided to do so, and I didn't expect the upper management to move so quickly just after hearing the report.I mean...

(Do you mean that the upper management, including the guildmaster, are also interested in Ray? ... No, if you're not good at it, the lord of the manor?)

　It's a real concern, but it's accompanied by the Gryphon of the Rank A monster.When I thought about it, I couldn't say there wasn't one.

"Well, I understand what you mean.You mean I'm going to take the examination to get to Rank D in the near future?"
"Oh, that's what you mean,"Rey nods to Bobbs' words and leaves her seat.
　After seeing him off, he was looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble Ray would cause in the streets of Gilm.