Chapter 471: Rank Up

After we managed to get through the audience with the king, we came to the adventurer's guild. In fact, we had been summoned by Eliante.

The Adventurer's Guild is incredibly densely populated. It may not like a crowded train, but it's about as dense as an elementary school playground during breaks.

In fact, the number of adventurers in the town has temporarily doubled due to the adventurers who came from neighboring towns to help out. In addition, many of them are sleeping and waking up in the corners of the guild floor because there are not enough places for them to sleep. The guild is crowded with these relief adventurers.

Fran was already famous among the adventurers in the royal capital, but some of the adventurers from other towns would still try to get involved with her.

To begin with, most of the adventurers sent to clear away the rubble in the royal capital are of low rank. Some were adventurers with special skills or magic, but about 80% of them were just starting out as manual laborers. In other words, they were all people who could not see through Fran's abilities.

Moreover, once they get to the royal capital, it is much harsher than they can imagine. Maybe they were just longing for the royal capital. But in reality, it was just a repetition of plain labor covered in dust.

It was no wonder that there were idiots who wanted to relieve their sorrows by picking on the girl.

But today, they don't seem to want to get involved. Well, I guess it's because yesterday and the day before, there was a guy who got involved with her and she give him a bit of flashy treatment.

Ah yeah, we can't afford to reduce our workforce now, so I made sure to recover them with recovery magic, okay? In addition, she threatened him that if he didn't work diligently, she would give him a bad time. I'm sure he's working up a good sweat by now.

Perhaps the word had spread, but there was no sign of any newcomers getting involved today. Rather, they gave her a look of fear.

「Stellia」

「Aah. Go right ahead!」

「Understood」

It seems that Stellia has been busy today, as they eliminated the high ranked adventurer's lane and added a new temporary low ranked adventurer's lane.

She certainly doesn’t seem to have time to guide her.

By the way, there's also a line at Stellia's place. In terms of the image of adventurers, I think it's a line of the beautiful woman's place and a deserted scene at Stellia's place……

「You guys! Get in line over here! You're so noisy! Do you want to be stripped off!」

I see. So that's how it is. The newcomers who were exposed to Stellia's intimidation skills were moving to Stellia's lane with blue faces. Well, good luck to everyone.

We continued through the crowded floor and entered Eliante's office……

「It's endless……I can't finish this work……」

『Uwaaahー』

「Mountain of paper」

This is a miserable scene.

A mountain of papers had doubled in size since the other day, and Eliante at her desk surrounded by the pile, working like a ghost.

「Eliante?」

「Aah…You're here huh……Wait a minute」

「Nn」

Five minutes later.

Eliante, who had calmed down a bit after a cup of tea, was presenting some papers to Fran.

「What's this?」

「You've been promoted to Rank B. Here are your official promotion papers」

「Nn? Rank up? Why?」

That's very sudden. I'm sure we haven't contributed enough at all to move up in rank. Besides, she doesn't want to stand out and get tangled up with the nobles.

「You……How much do you think you've done this time? You defeated a monster that wiped out Zephyrd's party, you healed hundreds of people, and you helped clear away the rubble……I can't even begin to count your other minor accomplishments」

If she said it like that, I guess she's right. As long as Ashwrath's achievements are pretended to have never happened, the most meritorious adventurer is Forrund. After that, it will be Fran huh?

「I know you don't like trouble, and I know you've been reluctant to rank up. But, you know, all the reasons that have been holding you back from moving up have now been cleared up」

「What do you mean?」

「Originally, I had no problem with your combat prowess. There was no doubt in my mind that you had the ability of an A ranker. In fact, I'd say that this commotion has confirmed it」

Eliante, the guild master was able to watch our fight with the Marquis. It's the most reliable way to confirm her ability. It's not a mock battle, but a real battle, and it proves that she can do it.

「And one of the problems was your lack of achievements. You have made a name for yourself in the royal capital, and you even received a medal from the Beast Nation」

I see. So at least she had got a good track record for a rank B.

「Then there was your attitude towards the nobles. You had managed through an audience this time, too, and it's proven that you have at least a minimum of courtesy」

Oh, I see. When she become a rank B, she will meet more nobles, so she must have said that she's worried of Fran, who is obviously not courteous. It's a rather valid opinion. However, by having had an audience with the king, the pinnacle of the nobility, that problem has been eliminated to some extent.

「I talked to a nobleman I knew, and he told me that you had perfect manners. I was surprised to hear that you were much more elegant than those lower-class nobles」

He must have been one of the noblemen who lined both sides of the room at the first audience.

「It looks like you were able to refuse the title from the King, right?」

「Nn. But the King was angry」

「The king wouldn't be that mad about it. No, he doesn't want to be taken as a fool by the adventurers, so he pretends to be angry……? Well, he's not a straightforward guy, but he's not an emotionally driven one, so that's not a problem. He's not going to do anything stupid like making an enemy of you. You can trust him」

Was it an act, after all? Or perhaps he was just acting to show his dignity as a king. And yet, he didn't make Fran and Forrund uncomfortable any more than necessary. In other words, he showed them that he was dissatisfied, and then he made no questions about it.

He generously showed mercy to the adventurer who refused the king's extraordinary offer. That's how it works. For example, let's say that the king asks you to do something in the future. There is a high probability that he will think 「You turned down an offer of a title before, so you might as well accept this request」

『Hmmm, I was a bit down on him for allowing the Marquis to revolt, but he's indeed the king of a great nation』

But the other party is Fanatics. It may be more difficult for them to notice.

「Well, I'm not going to do anything rude to someone who has the medal of the Beast Kingdom. From now on, diplomatic relations with that country will be of utmost importance. It is said that Count Bailleys was punished lightly out of consideration for the Beast King」

「Is that so?」

「His relationship with the Beast King is well known. There are even rumors that he was relieved of his post as a lord in order to send him as an envoy to the Beast Kingdom」

Not only did they lighten the punishment, but they want to use it to further strengthen their relationship with the beast kingdom.

「The medal is a also a factor for your rank up. The guild was reluctant to throw out a kid with no backing in front of the nobles, but now they know that she actually has tremendous backing」

There is no shortage of ability, she was able to show courtesy, and she has a great deal of backing. Indeed, I don't see any reason not to raise her to rank B.

「Honestly, if I don't rank you up, it's going to make me question the decency of the guild. I mean, the other guild masters are pushing me to make sure you rank up. That's why take your rank up!」

If we listen to Eliante's lines, she seems to be saying so, but her eyes are shaking with anxiety. In fact, Fran had the right to refuse this offer.

And Fran has her own reasons for refusing. The guild will not remember this well, but the fact that she won't get into trouble with the nobles is too big of an advantage. Even though she has the backing of the guild, she won't have zero contact from the nobility.

『Fran, what do you want?』

(Nn? Accept the rank up)

『Are you sure? Honestly, there will be a lot of trouble, you know? Stupid nobles, stupid adventurers…』

(If they're idiots, just blow them off)

『…I see』

I'll have to make sure she doesn’t overdo it. But if Fran is willing, I have no problem with it. We'll thankfully rank up here.

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