Chapter 217: A Discussion About the Future

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Chapter 217: A Discussion About the Future

「Heya Fran. Congrats on winning third.」

「Mmph.」

「Kukuku. I’m guessing you realized I didn’t quite mean that as just a compliment?」

Dias began congratulating Fran in a teasing tone the moment we entered his room. It was painfully obvious that he’d totally seen through her and knew exactly how she felt.

「...Because lost to Amanda.」

「You know, a normal C ranker would be more than just bragging if they managed to get themselves all the way up to third place.」

The Guildmaster’s sheet-eating grin failed to fade as he shrugged. He was only saying what he was because he knew Fran wasn’t the type to suddenly start boasting about how well she did.

He did have a point though. Common sense dictated that a C ranker beating out an A ranker wasn’t something that could normally be accomplished. It was such a miraculous feat that pulling through with it justified getting full of oneself.

「Also can’t beat Beast Lord.」

「Well, his case is a bit special. Not even I would be able to so much as lift a finger against him.」

「Will win someday.」

「The fact that you’re saying that like you seriously mean it is somewhat terrifying.」

The thing was that Fran really did seriously mean what she said. She wanted to grow strong enough to one day beat the Beast Lord down.

That said, she’d have to first get strong enough to beat down Amanda and Forrund before even considering putting up a fight against an S ranker.

「To be honest, I tried getting you promoted again, but my request didn’t get approved.」

「Even though just became C ranker?」

『Aren’t you pushing for things to happen a bit too quickly?』

「I mean, you guys did actually manage to take down an A ranker. You’re way more capable than the average C ranker should be when it comes to your ability to fight.」

『Yeah, I guess you’re right. But if that’s the case, why didn’t it end up working out?』

Dias’ mention of our strength in battle clearly meant that we weren’t meeting at least one requirement that didn’t relate to it.

「There are actually quite a few problems according to the other guildmasters.」

「Other Guildmasters?」

「Yeah, I used a magic item to speak with a few of them.」

The biggest problem was apparently Fran’s age.

「There were a good number of them going on and on about how there wasn’t any precedent for what I was trying to do. I hate dealing with people like them. I’m actually planning on weeding them all out in due time.」

『Yeah uh, you have fun with that.』

Dias mentioned something that I figured it’d probably be best for us to stay out of.

「Some people also claimed that you couldn’t really judge just how good someone was at adventuring based on their performance in a controlled environment like a tournament.」

「Understood.」

Hearing him mention Rumina reminded me of her circumstances. I was a bit concerned that she’d be subjugated now that she’d fulfilled her purpose.

『Speaking of which, what’s going to end up happening to the dungeon?』

「Well, Rumina’s lost a lot of her power. The number of monsters within her dungeon has decreased drastically, so we’ll probably need to lower the dungeons’ ranks by 1 letter grade each.」

『I see.』

「Sorry.」

Fran’s evolution had a direct, negative effect on Ulmutt’s economy, as the city essentially revolved around the dungeon it contained.

Dias probably shouldn’t have been too happy with us, but surprisingly, he wasn’t actually angry. He ended up lightly shaking his head as he smiled.

「The truth of the matter is that Rumina had always thought there was a chance that leading a Black Catkin to evolve would also cause her to lose her life. Having the two dungeons drop a rank each isn’t really anything to note if you compare it to what could’ve ended up happening.」

『Yeah, but the fact stands that you guys won’t be able to get as many materials or magic stones as you used to.』

「I can’t say that won’t happen, but, the dungeons are actually even more suited to training newer adventurers in their current state. They’ll come en masse, so we’ll be able to compensate for our loss of income through increased trade.」

The depth of Dias’ thoughts served to prove that he really was deserving of his position despite his usual attitude. I was glad that we wouldn’t really be damaging Ulmutt’s economy.

「Oh, right. I’ve also got a request here with your name on it.」

『You’re talking about the one you said you’d give us after we ranked up to C, right?』

「Right. I know you and the Beast Lord are no longer on terrible terms with each other, but I’d already informed several other branches that I was going to be issuing a designated request ahead of time, so I can’t be taking it back now.」

『What’ll we need to do?』

「I was thinking of giving you one that’d send you over to the Beastkin’s Country. You should be able to bypass all those troublesome immigration processes if you’re heading over at the guild’s request. Likewise, the branches we have over there should also offer you their support once you arrive.」

「What to do after arrival?」

「I’d like you to locate a missing adventurer that one day just upped and vanished. None of the people looking for her have been able to come in direct contact with her, so they’d like for someone to confirm that she’s still safe.」

So he wants us to look for Kiara? Man, talk about turning a personal problem into official business.

「Nnnn...」

『Sounds good to me. What say you, Fran?』

「Want to go to auction.」

『You mean the one that’s going to take place in the capital? I mean, I’d like to go there too, but it’s not like we absolutely have to. I’d say we should prioritize heading over to the Beastkin’s Country for now.』

(Can maybe get good magic stones at auction.)

『Yeah, but that’s a maybe, not anything guaranteed. The same could be said for the Beastkin’s country anyways. Don’t worry too much about me, and just go.』

「But...」

「Is something the matter?」

「Want to go to auction in June.」

「Oh, that? You’ve still got a whole month before that happens. You should be able to go to the Beastkin’s Country and come back within 3 odd weeks.」

『Looks like we can make both.』

「Nn. Then will go.」

Fran nodded happily, a clear indication that she’d actually really wanted to go to the Beastkin’s Country from the start.