NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35
35. Welcome
Two days have passed since then.
Returning to the capital, I waited for the postponed guild entrance examination to be over.
And the result── I passed safely.
I officially got recognized as an adventurer.
According to the guild’s rules, newcomers start from the lowest rank, E.
Adventurers are divided into six ranks, from S to E, with different requests and rewards for each rank.
You rank up by completing such requests and building up achievements.
Today, there are the entrance procedures at the guild, so I visited the branch in the morning.
“It seems you passed the examination safely.”
Waiting at the entrance was Luca.
Today, she wasn’t wearing knight armor, but casual clothes like those worn by town girls.
“Congratulations, Haruto.”
“Yeah, thanks. Is your body okay?”
Luca should have suffered considerable damage in the battle against Gyrasvrim.
However, she seemed energetic, and I couldn’t see any scars.
“The wounds healed completely with healing magic. But it’ll take a bit more time for my stamina to recover.”
Indeed, her complexion doesn’t look great upon closer inspection.
“Exhaustion from overusing Factor’s power can’t be healed by healing magic…”
As she said that, Luca suddenly staggered.
“Luca!”
I hastily supported her as she seemed about to collapse.
It ended up looking like I was embracing her from the front.
Even the girl knight boasting such combat prowess fits snugly in my arms, much smaller than I thought.
She fought against a demon general with such a small body──.
“…I’m fine now even without your support.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Feeling embarrassed, I let go of Luca’s body.
“No, thank you…”
Her face also turned slightly red.
“…I forgot to thank you for something else.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you. For helping me.”
Luca gazes at me.
“In the battle against the demon general… If you hadn’t come, I would have been killed.”
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I’ll repay you someday. Definitely.”
To my smiling face, Luca said resolutely.
“Next time, I’ll be the one to help you.”
I heard that the entrance procedures are done at the reception on the first floor.
On my way there after parting with Luca, I met Salome.
“So you became an adventurer? Congrats!”
Salome waved her hand to me with a cheerful smile.
There was not a trace of that cold expression she showed during the battle with the demon general.
Yep, this Salome is better. Yeah.
“You did so well, they could have made you rank A right away.”
“Well, apparently, it’s a rule to start from the lowest rank.”
“The guild is all about rules, huh, boring.”
Salome pouted discontentedly.
“Oh, right. Let’s celebrate Haruto’s achievement next time. Can I invite Lilith, Alice, and Luca too? Let’s all eat something delicious. I mean, eat something delicious? Eat something delicious? Right?”
Why does she say ‘eat something delicious’ three times? That’s too much emphasis.
“Drooling…”
“You’re drooling.”
“Huh!? I-I mean, it’s not like I’m thinking about enjoying gourmet food under the pretext of celebrating Haruto’s achievement, or hoping to be treated, or anything like that. Not at all.”
She definitely was thinking about it. Absolutely.
“──Well, that’s enough joking.”
“It didn’t seem like a joke.”
“I just wanted to congratulate you, Haruto. I’m going now.”
Ignoring my retort, Salome smiled cheerfully.
“To visit the graves of people from Egil City.”
“Graves?”
“Even though it was only a few days, there were people I was close to.”
A lonely shadow passed over her profile.
“Salome…”
“Oh, right. Lilith and Alice were over there, so why not say hi later? They’ve been taking care of you a lot during the examination, right?”
“Ah, I was looking for the two of them. Thanks.”
“See you later, Haruto. Oh, make sure to invite Lilith and Luca properly for the celebration, okay?”
With her smile back to normal, Salome winked and left.
After that, I dealt with various bureaucratic matters such as filling out application forms to become an adventurer and explanations about jobs and rewards.
Finally, I received a guild card as proof of being an adventurer.
It’s a fairly high-end item incorporating magical technology, capable of serving as identification and recording my achievements.
With this, I can get discounts on traveling by magical carriage between towns.
It’ll be useful when going on missions far away, yeah.
So, by the time everything was done, it was already evening.
“Phew, finally free.”
Exiting the guild branch building, I stretched widely.
Anyway, it’s honestly tiring to be bombarded with explanations and more explanations. That’s my true impression.
Well, maybe that’s just how it is when starting a job.
Then,
“Good work, Haruto.”
“It must be tough after passing the adventurer’s examination.”
Lilith and Alice approached.
We met once before the procedures, but they waited for me afterward.
They’re really friendly, both of them.
“When we went through it, the first day was just explanations and paperwork, it took forever.”
“Yeah, Lilith-chan even fell asleep halfway through.”
“I-I didn’t sleep! I listened to the explanations. Well, some of them, not all of them, though.”
Lilith mumbled awkwardly.
I also dozed off a bit during the explanations, so I understand how she feels.
“You waited for me. Sorry about that. And, thank you both.”
I thanked them.
“We had errands in town, so we just stopped by again after we were done.”
“Hehe, our errands finished quickly, so we actually waited for half a day. Lilith-chan just really wanted to celebrate Haruto-san.”
“W-Wait, don’t say that!”
Lilith blushed crimson.
“Uh, well, um, once again──congratulations on passing, Haruto.”
Smiling shyly, Lilith offered her congratulations.
“Congratulations, Haruto-san.”
Next to her, Alice also had a happy expression.
Their smiles bathed in the evening sun were truly lovely──.
Just looking at them made my heart ache sweetly.
“Welcome to the world of adventurers.”
Lilith extended her right hand.
“An adventurer, huh?”
Yes, I’ve already stepped into that world.
“I… from now on, will protect more people. To become capable of protecting.”
Half to myself, half as a pledge to the two who invited me into this world──I took Lilith’s hand.
Her touch was soft and warm.
Then, Alice overlaid her hand on top,
“Let’s continue to do our best.”
“Let’s do our best together.”
I nodded firmly to the smiling duo.