"Oh, I think I'm beginning to see the streets of Gilmoo,"

　Marka screams joyfully in the carriage.
　Lunch on freshly hunted bicorn meat, take a short break and drive for a few hours. The Rays had arrived in the town of Gillum in the early evening.
　In the Duke of Quent's carriage, after lunch, people are excited about the food Marka had for lunch, or the most delicious water Ray had ever served.
　In addition, when Marka borrowed a flowing dagger from Ray and took out the water, a clear-tasting water came out and delighted Marka.
　That'surely...

"Well, Ray, will you hand over the flowing dagger to my mistress? Of course, I won't ask you to give it to me for free." I'll pay whatever I want to pay my mistress."

　Marca, who loved the flowing dagger the most, approached Ray many times.
　But even Ray, the flowing dagger, which produces as much water as he can with magic, is an invaluable magic item in his life as an adventurer. If you need pure water, you can put it in a barrel like an adventurer with a water bottle or a carriage and keep it in a mistling. However, considering the taste of water, the flowing dagger was overwhelmingly superior, so Ray never complied with Marka's request.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to give it away."
"Lady, if you're too persistent, Ray will hate you, though you won't be able to play with Seto..."
"Well, well, that's certainly a problem." ...I can't help but ask Ozos if they have similar magic items."

　Ozos. It's called a magical city, and it's also a thriving city in terms of magic items. The royalists of the Mileana Kingdom, who deeply understood the emphasis on alchemy in the last war, are now plotting to strengthen their ties to Ozos, and this is probably the only option that the Duke and Duke of Quent, one of the most powerful members of the royal faction, should take.

"Do so," If these kinds of magic items spread, even adventurers will find them convenient when camping."
"Well, I don't think ordinary adventurers will be able to buy such expensive magic items, let alone the things they use in their daily lives."

　While he bends his head over Ray's words, the carriage proceeds, finishes the process of entering the city, and heads for the guild.
　...and even though the food he desperately cooked was the magic item, Stee, who was simply defeated by water, was depressed because she was fairly confident in her cooking skills.
　Four people in the carriage, described as bad taste, are Lovre, Stee, Arnicht and Orchide. Of the four, Lovre and Arnicht are incompatible and ignore each other. And Orchide was leaning against the wall of the carriage enjoying a slow afternoon sleep. In order to brighten up the horse-drawn carriage, Stee had to take the initiative in the conversation, as she had done in the morning to subdue the bi-corn, but there was no way that could be expected of Stee, who was depressed, and as a result, the carriage remained silent with a strange sense of tension.
　and, speaking of silence, so was the guild carriage with Ons and Residences. But the good news of the misfortune was that the two of them in this carriage were not of such a character as to be bothered by silence.
　So the silence of the two cabins and the bustling journey of one also ends with the arrival of the guild.
　As for the rank-up examination, we finished defeating Bicorn, who was also the main player, and all we had left was the last interview.
　Everyone gets out of the carriage in front of the guild, and Seto lies down unspokenly towards the subterfuge.
　Check it sideways for a moment and the residence opens its mouth.

"Well, first of all, it was hard work to subdue Bicorn. As I said earlier, the rest is an individual interview. Each person is waiting in the conference room, so we will call one person at a time."

　The residence that tells you so and quickly goes into the guild.
　The others followed him into the guild. . . .

"Oh, I'm back. I'm back." So what do you think?"
"Well, as far as you can see, did you say Stee? She's down. Did you make a mistake in killing Bicorn?"
"There's a guy called Lovre... who's not doing well either. Bicorn, I don't think he'll fail in his quest to become a rank Bicorn said.
"Oh, I don't think so. I know a little about Lovre, but I don't feel so depressed by the failure of the expedition."
"Then why?"
"Now? That's the only way I know."
"Ray... can't see much of his expression on the hood, but he doesn't look anything special."
`Well, pure combat power is not so much as rank C or rank B.' It's strange to have a different name in Rank C."
"Well, then, if Ray were to fall, it would be a different item..."

　Listening to such conversations, the party passes by the counter and goes upstairs.
　Lenora and Kenny at the counter were naturally aware of Ray's appearance, but they were so busy paying adventurers who had completed their requests during the evening that they could not even talk to him about the affairs of the party that failed to do so.
　It's the busiest time of the day, along with the morning, so it's inevitable, but Kenny still sighs regretfully, unable to speak to Ray, who he sees only for a moment.
　However, I was attacked by Lenora, who was running the adventurers next door, with curled papers on my head, and went back to my job.





　Even though it's evening, it's still quite bright, and the sun hasn't set yet. Meanwhile, a conference room on the second floor of the guild was crowded with participants in the rank-up examination.
　The test-goers, including Ray, Residence, the guild examiner, and the nobility, including Marka. a total of nine people
　Meanwhile, the residence opens its mouth in front of Ray and his colleagues sitting in the chair.

"Well, as I said, we're going to have a separate interview now. You can rest assured that I am the only one to have an interview."

　It was Lovre who let out a sigh of relief at the words.
　He must have been grateful to hear from Arnicht only at his residence, as he decided that he was definitely incompatible with him.
　The residence glances at Lovre and calls out to Lovre.

"That's just right. The first interview is from Lovre. Let the others wait here. The place for the interview is a private room next to this conference room. Lovre comes with me."
"What? Oh, my. I understand."
"Good luck, Lovre."

　Stee says to Lovre, nodding nervously.
　Perhaps that's why Lovre nods softly and follows the residence out of the conference room.

"...Lovre, I hope you're all right." I don't like interviews and stuff like that."

　muttering Stee

"But the higher the rank, the more you meet nobles, right? Well, Rank B has a certain number of people, so it doesn't necessarily mean you have to be involved with nobles."

　When Stee says so, Marka sits down in a chair pulled by Coan.

"Well, and if you have a party, you can let other members talk to the nobles."
"Now that you mention it, the Elk on the axe of the Thunder God was like that,"

　Listening to them, Ray says so, recalling the face of a well-known Rank A adventurer who looks like a bad boy has grown up.
　Having actually heard about it from Elk, it must have been impressive.

"... certainly I can't imagine Mr. Elk, the axe of the Thunder God, worrying about courtesy."
"But you know the bare minimum of civility." And perhaps it's because they have something that goes beyond decency."It was obvious that something was being appreciated as combativeness, or not being guilty of his clients.

"But I think that etiquette is necessary to some extent." especially when you think of being commissioned by nobles and royals."

　Arnicht, who was listening to the three men, says so, and Marka and Coan nod as if they were right.
　It's true that even without etiquette you might be able to upgrade, but it was clear that it was better to have it than not to have it.
　It was also true that there could never be so many people as substandard as Elk.

"Well... I don't care about manners or anything like that. It's troublesome. I don't want to be formal."
"Well, you're proud of yourself as a nobleman,"

　Spending time talking like that, Lovre returns to the conference room after about 20 minutes.
　As soon as I entered the room, everyone's eyes were on me and I hesitated for a moment, but I immediately opened my mouth.

"Ray, you're next."
"...me?"

　I thought it was Stee's turn to be a party member after Lovre, so I couldn't help but ask back.
　But Lovre nods silently.
　He must have understood that the nod was no joke. Ray stands up from his chair and leaves the conference room.
　with everyone's eyes on one's back





"Now, sit down first,"

　a room beside a conference room It's about six tatami mats in size, and it's just the right size for a small group of people to talk to.k.a. meeting.
　Entering such a room, Ray sits on a chair at the recommendation of the residence.

"Well, I'm going to start your interview... well, but before that, tell me what you felt or thought about this ranking exam."
"Is that all right?"
"Oh, of course,"

　Ray, who had been staring at the residence when he heard the words, eventually opened his mouth.

"While Seto was chasing Bicorn, Arnicht gave me a strange suggestion. Is this about the examination?"
"...strange content? No, I haven't given any specific instructions. What exactly is it about?"

　Ray is urged to continue, but he is silent for a few seconds.
　Should I say it here or not? I hesitated about which one to choose, but eventually decided that this was part of the examination.

"I was approached to deliberately overlook the bicorns because I would pay them separately. It seems that they wanted to stop all the materials that could only be found around the remote town of Gilm from flowing into the kingdom of Milliana."
"...really?"
"Oh, I'm sure,"

　Rather than doubting it, it was a residence that included the nuance of sanity, but Ray nods and agrees.

"Well, I'll tell you, if you try to trap the nobles, it's a very serious crime. Do you understand that and make a statement?"
"I don't mean to put Arnicht in for a crime of innocence. I'm just saying that I've been approached by such a story."

　So Ray explained, but he was convinced that the conversation at that time was about Bluff, what he called the examination.

(In the first place, Arnicht's arrogant personality itself seems to be deliberately pretending to be like that for this rank-up exam. and with that in mind it would be the right option to speak of Arnicht's conduct here.)

"Well, I see. Then I'll look into it for the time being... Is it really all right? Now that I've said it here, it's not a joke, or a mistake?"

　As if to confirm with caution... the residence says that if the result was groundless, it would only be a disadvantage for Ray.

"Oh, that's all right," If I make a mistake, I'll be punished quietly."
"…that's all right." If I were to say that much, I wouldn't say anything more. I'll tell you the results of the investigation later, so just remember that."

　This was the end of Arnicht's case for the time being, and the interview ended after being asked how he felt about taking part in the examination and the impressions of Lovre, Stee, and Onds who worked together this time.
　The results of the rank-up examination will be known in five days. Up until then, the participants in the rank-up exam, including Ray, will have days of nervousness.