Winter
Winter
One of the truly entertaining abilities of adventurers was that no matter how rowdy things got, they would pick up on the sound of someone getting smacked like ghosts and react to it.
"You're doing a shitty imitation like a goddamn cocksucker and it's pissing me off!"
It was an ordinary punch that didn't turn my head even without wrapping it in Magic Power, but I deliberately kept my head turned to let people know I'd been hit. Naturally, the adventurers around me all started reacting and moving at once, and a space began to open up between the bastard who hit me and myself.
"What? A fight?"
"Another fight? No time to be bored!"
The adventurer's instinct to instantly clear the distance and enter spectator mode at the mere hint of a brawl, as if by agreement, hadn't changed a bit. Probably because it was winter and there were so many adventurers stuck with nothing to do but sit around spending money. Figuring that was enough, I turned my head back to find a bastard wearing the nastiest scowl imaginable staring right at me. Maybe about ten centimeters shorter than me? His height and build suggested he'd never been pushed around anywhere in his life.
But no matter how much I racked my memory, he was a stranger. Then again, if I did know his face, he wouldn't have thrown a punch at me out of nowhere. As I briefly studied him, the fence of adventurers formed around us, and I spotted several more adventurers from farther off tucking their bottles under their arms and rushing over in a hurry.
"Whoa, kids these days got too much energy? Risking their lives over one quest... their lives..."
"Oh, the big boys are going at it?"
"Who is it? Who's fighting ag... oh, shit."
The reactions were all over the place. People who recognized me and were horrified, people who had no clue, and so on. Maybe while I was away, another city had blown up and increased the influx of newcomers like Dantel.
"What are you, mute? Cat got your tongue after taking a hit? What? Why don't you try bumping people with your shoulder again like you just did?"
Be that as it may, the bastard who hit me got even louder when I showed no reaction, his confidence surging. His attitude was so brazen it actually made me seriously wonder if the culture of the quest board had changed while I was gone.
Of course it hadn't. I'd already seen the whole thing from behind before I walked in. Still, this guy was so damn confident that I couldn't help but ask, wondering if there might be some reason I wasn't grasping.
"Why'd you hit me?"
"What? Why'd I hit you? You shoved a person like that and you're asking why I hit you, you fuck?"
Hm, so there really was no reason. Just before I got down to business, I shifted my gaze one last time toward the reception desk. Even in the midst of their busy work, several receptionists had noticed the commotion and were looking over with expressions that said 'what now?' Some showed reactions of incomprehension, some grasped the situation instantly and were horrified, and among them, one even tried to leap over the reception desk in a panic and ended up falling flat on his face. Oof, that's gonna hurt.
"So you've got no personal grudge against me, you got shoved and so you hit me?"
"Why? Does it make a difference if I had a grudge?"
"Of course. A huge difference."
Maybe I wasn't putting enough menace in my tone, or maybe this bastard just had no sense. Even after I'd explained it pretty kindly, the guy wasn't taking the situation very seriously. Though some of the people around him were starting to catch on to how serious it was.
Anyway, it was clear he wasn't specifically targeting me, so I leisurely propped Laika up with just my right hand and looked at the guy who'd gifted me with a sucker punch.
"Heh, what a funny piece of shit. You think just 'cause you've got some..."
And then I swung my left fist and smashed his jaw.
I didn't even need to move my body much. A motion no different from a jab produced more than enough force. A sharp CRACK! traveled up my fist as the joint popped out, so I had no trouble telling that his jaw had been cleanly dislocated.
Honestly, I hadn't expected to control my strength this cleanly, so I was quietly proud of myself. I'd been trying not to shatter his jawbone. While I briefly admired my own restraint, the bastard—who hadn't even managed to react—had barely had his head snap back into place before his eyes rolled up and he started to collapse.
I had no intention of bothering to pick up the collapsed bastard and drag him away, so it took about two seconds to grab him by the hair and stop him mid-fall. With the situation settled so quickly, an almost surreal silence fell over the adventurers who'd been clamoring and expecting some real action.
Something must have changed while I was away from the guild. For them to have that kind of reaction at seeing me beat someone up.
"I am friends with this guy, or we're lovers, or we share a bond deep enough that I would seek revenge for him. Raise your hand."
Even that bastard Dantel had a pack of hangers-on, but this guy must not have had great social connections, because no answer came back. Just in case, I glanced around for a moment, but no one else seemed likely to jump in, so I dragged the guy straight toward the reception desk.
Part of me wanted to start by breaking all four limbs of this bastard who threw a punch without knowing the fear of the world, but at this point, rather than overreacting to personal slights, it was a better time to finish things simply and use the spreading rumor to my advantage. And for the sake of establishing a pretext for a meeting with the guild master, ending it at this level would look more proper.
Above all, it was obvious from his appearance that this bastard hadn't been an adventurer for long. He was so far below my level that he wasn't even worth raising my voice at. If he at least knew the rules, maybe, but raging at a rookie who hadn't figured them out yet would just look pathetic.
"Uh, Eldmia! W... ah."
The receptionist who'd tried to leap the desk and attempted a face-first breakfall had nonetheless mustered his thorough professionalism, scrambling to his feet in a rush, and his short gasp of terminal despair finally escaped him. A face where deep regret and the realization that he was too late coexisted—it was a look befitting a receptionist dedicated to his duties.
I thought highly of his professional dedication, so I decided to give him a new task with a bright smile.
"It's been a while. I'd like to have a word about the unpleasant incident I just experienced."
The receptionist, who had been rolling his eyes between me and the idiot I was holding, once again ignited his thorough professionalism and replied with a business smile.
"Sh-shall we go upstairs? Of-of course, I know you're in the right, Eldmia! But it's just so very rowdy around here right now!"
Wondering what the random fuss was about, I tilted my head before realizing his intent and laughing without meaning to. This guy must've heard about me wrecking shop on the guild master back in the gate city of Raviel.
I readily nodded, left the idiot who'd served as my ticket to the quest counter behind, and followed the receptionist upstairs. The place I was led to was the guild master's private office, where I'd been a few times before. I admired Yen Tié's abilities once again as I stepped inside.
"I had been meaning to meet with you regardless, though I did not expect it to take this form... Is that a pet dog?"
The moment the door opened, the familiar chocolate case and teacups were already prepared, and guild master Engrim was smiling as he naturally offered me a seat and spoke. He hadn't had time to receive a report, so he must have seen the commotion that just happened through the window behind him.
How on earth he could concentrate on work with such poor soundproofing was beyond me... well, it wasn't my place to worry about it, so I answered naturally and took a seat.
"Yes, Laika is well-trained, so there's no need to worry. Anyway, I hadn't intended to meet you under these circumstances either... that fellow ended up serving as my excuse to come up here."
And from that answer alone, I could feel Engrim's smile stiffen slightly. Of course, he wasn't worried about Laika having an accident on the floor.
"That sounds as though you had wished to meet under different circumstances."
It seemed better to stay silent than to answer, so I kept my mouth shut and looked at him with Laika on my lap. After meeting my gaze for a moment, Engrim gave a faint smile, shook his head, and opened the lid of the chocolate case.
"How did you know?"
As expected, Yen Tié was competent. Honestly, if he'd given a reaction of total ignorance after I'd gone this far, I'd have been pretty embarrassed. First, I gave a light nod to express my thanks, then plucked a chocolate and ate it. The instant it hit my mouth, the unaccustomed intense sweetness stimulated my taste buds and started releasing dopamine. This is why expensive stuff tastes best on someone else's dime.
"To be honest, I don't know either. Someone more capable in that area than me just tipped me off."
I had nothing to hide and no ill will toward him, so I answered honestly and lifted my teacup. Engrim gave a small nod and sipped his tea as well. A brief silence followed, but though he'd handled my sudden visit naturally, he seemed to need time to collect his thoughts, so I didn't rush him, deciding to just eat another chocolate.
Gobbling down these expensive things one after another might be the biggest pressure tactic of all, but you've got to eat these things when you have the chance. As padded as my pockets have been lately, I still can't afford to throw around this kind of luxury.
"There were several reasons I wanted to see you, but I think we should begin with your promotion."
"...My promotion?"
"Yes. Surely you aren't planning to play dumb and ask why we're discussing promotion when you haven't taken the promotion exam or undergone an equivalent ability assessment?"
Honestly, I'd considered being completely shameless and saying exactly what Engrim just said, but even I find it hard to be that brazen, so I just nodded. Seeming satisfied with that, Engrim smiled and slowly continued his explanation.
"Looking strictly at your achievements... honestly, there's no reason you couldn't even qualify for purple-rank. However, allowing someone to skip ranks would set a bad precedent from the guild's perspective, so that makes things difficult."
That wasn't something I couldn't understand. No matter how good the intention, if that precedent was set, guys overconfident in their abilities would start making nuisances of themselves, asking why they couldn't have the same treatment. When I readily nodded this time too, Engrim's smile grew even more satisfied.
"Still, this is purely a matter of formality. We will arrange things so that as soon as you attain red-rank, an application for purple-rank will pass without trouble. It is essentially a procedure for appearances. I wanted to ask for your understanding in advance."
"Formalities and procedures are important. I fully understand."
I answered with complete sincerity, yet unexpectedly, Engrim's reaction was far from pleased. The look on his face... it was like he was thinking 'You're the one saying that?', which left me ever so slightly dumbfounded.
I was always a person who valued formalities and procedures, so why was he giving me that unjust look?